I’m not sure this is rape, but : an exposition of the stealthing trend

Citation: Upholding the sexual and reproductive rights of all women and girls has been flagged as a global priority. However, the hetero-patriarchal actions and systems within which female sexuality and reproduction is situated not only disenfranchises women of these rights, but it sometimes usurps these rights from them, without them knowing. One such act, is the practice of stealthing. This conceptual article argues that the stealthing trend is a relevant construct in the human and social sciences because it has a detrimental impact on female sexuality and gender-based sexual violence. Through both a conceptual scrutiny of the construct and through online narratives of stealthing, this article not only establishes stealthing as a distinctive form of gender-based sexual violence, it also establishes it as a practice that deviously subjugates female sexuality and reproduction under the guise of sexual autonomy and sexual consent

Disability porn : the fetishisation and liberation of disabled sex

Abstract: Set against dominant ableist discourses of sexuality, engaging in sex in the face of physical disabilities seems not only impossible but also highly improbable. Long-standing myths and discriminatory stereotypes around the sexuality of people with disabilities are commonplace, in part due to the sheer unknowns about the sexual lives and practises of people with disabilities. In recent years, members of the disabled community have emerged professing to thriving sex lives, and one avenue that provides evidence of not only the existence of disabled sexuality but also the multitude of possibilities within disabled sexuality is in the burgeoning genre of disability pornography. While disability and sex merge in pornography, there is limited interchange in the scholarship on disabled sexuality and pornography. In this chapter, I aim to address this privation by examining the intersection of pornography and disabled sexuality. I conclude that disability pornography not only has positive spinoffs, such as enfranchisement of disabled sex, but also negative upshots, which include the fetishisation of disabled sexuality..

Not just pretty faces, they have powerful voices too : celebrity discourse and the #MeToo movement

Abstract: Please refer to full text to view abstract

Success is our Destiny : a thematic analysis of Black South African women on Destiny magazine covers

Abstract: During the apartheid reign South African women were under-represented in both social and economic spaces. Black women in particular, were by law and social convention excluded and marginalised socially and economically. These exclusions were particularly apparent in the media. Changes in media representations post 1994, have revealed several shifts in how black South African women, particularly the black middle class are now represented. As a media format, hand-held magazines play a significant role in socialising its readers about a variety of topics, and as a form of print media, magazines circulate information to a large and diverse audience. Using magazines, as a genre of mass media we argue that representations of black middle class South African women have shifted from invisibility to now being portrayed as active members of South African society who empower their counterparts. In order to achieve this, the covers of Destiny magazine, as an instance of a middle class lifestyle publication, were examined. Using thematic analysis, 44 issues of Destiny women’s magazine covers, over a four year period were analysed. The results indicate that black middle class South African women are portrayed as socially and materially accomplished and as occupying roles of leadership and stature

The impact of influenza and tuberculosis interaction on mortality among individuals aged >= 15 years hospitalized with severe respiratory illness in South Africa, 2010-2016

BACKGROUND: Data on the prevalence and impact of influenza–tuberculosis coinfection on clinical outcomes from high–HIV and –tuberculosis burden settings are limited. We explored the impact of influenza and tuberculosis coinfection on mortality among hospitalized adults with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). METHODS: We enrolled patients aged ≥15 years admitted with physician-diagnosed LRTI or suspected tuberculosis at 2 hospitals in South Africa from 2010 to 2016. Combined nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs were tested for influenza and 8 other respiratory viruses. Tuberculosis testing of sputum included smear microscopy, culture, and/or Xpert MTB/Rif. RESULTS: Among 6228 enrolled individuals, 4253 (68%) were tested for both influenza and tuberculosis. Of these, the detection rate was 6% (239/4253) for influenza, 26% (1092/4253) for tuberculosis, and 77% (3113/4053) for HIV. One percent (42/4253) tested positive for both influenza and tuberculosis. On multivariable analysis, among tuberculosis-positive patients, factors independently associated with death were age group ≥65 years compared with 15–24 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2–11.0) and influenza coinfection (aOR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.02–5.2). Among influenza-positive patients, laboratory-confirmed tuberculosis was associated with an increased risk of death (aOR, 4.5; 95% CI, 1.5–13.3). Coinfection with other respiratory viruses was not associated with increased mortality in patients positive for tuberculosis (OR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.4–1.1) or influenza (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 0.4–5.6). CONCLUSIONS: Tuberculosis coinfection is associated with increased mortality in individuals with influenza, and influenza coinfection is associated with increased mortality in individuals with tuberculosis. These data may inform prioritization of influenza vaccines or antivirals for tuberculosis patients and inform tuberculosis testing guidelines for patients with influenza.National Institute for Communicable Diseases, of the National Health Laboratory Service and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.https://academic.oup.com/ofidpm2020Medical Virolog

Human metapneumovirus-associated severe acute respiratory illness hospitalisation in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected South African children and adults

BACKGROUND : Data on human metapneumovirus (HMPV)-associated severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) are limited in settings with high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection prevalence. OBJECTIVES : To describe clinical characteristics and seasonality (all sites), and incidence (Soweto only) of HMPV-associated SARI among children and adults. STUDY DESIGN : Active, prospective, hospital-based, sentinel surveillance for patients hospitalised with SARI was conducted at four sites in South Africa from February 2009−December 2013. Upper respiratory tract samples were tested by multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction assays for HMPV and other respiratory viruses. Incidence of hospitalisation, stratified by age and HIV-infection status, was calculated for one hospital with population denominators. RESULTS : HMPV was identified in 4.1% of patients enrolled, including 5.6% (593/10503) in children and 1.7% in adults (≥18 years; 119/6934). The majority of adults (84.0%) had an underlying medical condition, including HIV infection in 87/110 (79.1%). HMPV detection occurred perennially with periods of increased detection, which varied from year to year. The incidence of HMPV-associated hospitalisation in Soweto was highest in infants (653.3 per 100 000 person-years; 95% confidence interval (CI) 602.2−707.6). The incidence was higher in HIV-infected persons compared to HIV-uninfected persons in age-groups 5−17 years (RR 6.0; 1.1−20.4), 18−44 years (RR 67.6; 38.0−132.6) and 45−64 years (RR 5.3; 3.4−8.3), while not differing in other age-groups. CONCLUSIONS : The burden of HMPV-associated SARI hospitalisation among adults occurred predominantly in HIV-infected persons. Among children, infants were at highest risk, with similar burden of hospitalisation in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected children.The National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service and was supported in part by funds from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia Preparedness and Response to Avian and Pandemic Influenza in South Africa (Cooperative Agreement Number: U51/IP000155-04).http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jcvhb2017Mathematics and Applied Mathematic

The relationship of investment in self to wellbeing

Wellbeing has been of paramount concern to scholars since antiquity, and the pursuit of wellbeing has become a central part of western life. This study was dedicated to wellbeing and optimal human functioning. The study aimed to establish the investment in self construct as a wellbeing construct. In the spirit of positive psychology, the focus of the present study was on the salutary constructs of wellbeing and optimal functioning. To this end, the relationships between investment in self, emotional intelligence and wellbeing and optimal functioning were investigated. Satisfaction with life, relationship satisfaction and job satisfaction were chosen to operationalise wellbeing and optimal functioning, as they were seen as the real-life outcomes of wellness. Measures targeting each of the variables were completed by 352 volunteers from the general population. The data was analysed using the Rash measurement model, correlations and structural equation modelling. The results indicated that investment in self has a positive relationship to emotional intelligence. Investment in self is also positively associated with wellbeing and optimal functioning, as it correlated positively with satisfaction with life and job satisfaction. Similarly, emotional intelligence was found to have a significant relationship to satisfaction with life, relationship satisfaction and job satisfaction. Collectively, this study has successfully shown that investment in self can positively improve people’s lives. Similarly, emotional intelligence seems to have positive benefits to everyday lifeProf. G.P. De Brui

#Blesser: A critical evaluation of conceptual antecedents and the allure of a transactional relationship

Blessed relationships (BRs) bring together technology, sexuality, and economics within a consumerist environment. Academic literature has used ‘blesser’ and ‘sugar daddy’ interchangeably, and online reports have explained how BRs, as a new South African cultural option of structuring relationships, differ from sugar relationships because they represent a new product on offer in relationship shopping. This essay critically evaluates academic and selected online sources to understand the allure and controversy of BRs. Research focuses predominantly on ‘controversial’ frames of health and moral risks. However, labels, such as ‘blesser’ and ‘sugar daddy’ discursively construct different sexual domains. After reviewing literature and online information, the essay presents a nomenclature of transactional relationships that considers the agential and discursive subtleties of BRs. Implications and research recommendations for the structuring of relationships, given newer options for lifestyle, companionship, and sexuality, which BRs have made publicly visible, conclude the essay