In this book, Touko Vaahtera explores how "bodies of latent potential," a cultural attachment to the idea of body as potentiality, carries with it hierarchizing hopes about better bodies. Vaahtera combines disability studies, cultural studies, feminist science studies, transgender studies, post-colonial studies, and Foucauldian genealogy to offer a provocative approach that interrogates capacities and capabilities as obvious frameworks for thinking about the body. Vaahtera explores how swimming skills emerged as a specific biopolitical question in Finland, a country that has been described as the "Land of a Thousand Lakes." Through a profound cultural analysis focusing both on Finnish cultural texts on swimming as well as manifold more globalized texts, Vaahtera considers how the legacy of eugenics and colonialism, the hopes of civilization, and homogenizing assumptions about bodies frame how we think about human capacity.

The chapters in this two-part volume deal with a range of gender-based violence issues that are making news headlines daily. In Part A the contributors address the ways in which wartime rape is treated in international courts, why and how the gender language used at the United Nations matters, how asylum-seekers fleeing gendered violence are treated, how the press and the courts frame rape and other acts of violence, perceptions and responses of and to disabled and LGBTQ people who are victims of gendered violence, the ways we respond to the perpetrators of violence, and the relationship of military service to nationalism. The focus of the volume is global in the sense that international law and tribunals are discussed and norms and attitudes from global samples are compared. A variety of qualitative and quantitative methods including interviews, textual analysis, autoethnography, and secondary analysis of large sample surveys are employed. Each of the chapters has theoretical as well as policy or social implications.

This book analyses gender-based offences on the Internet from the perspective of international human rights law, interwoven with rights theories and feminist legal theories. It investigates whether international human rights law is applicable in regulating harmful online conduct and speech, with a focus on sexual violence, various forms of harassment, sexist hate speech and harmful pornography. This involves assessing whether gender-based online offences are considered violations of international human rights law and - if they are recognised as such explicitly or by way of interpretation - the extent of state obligations. The book reviews a range of international law sources, such as selected international human rights law treaties, case law, soft-law documents and academic scholarship. The application of general human rights law provisions to the online sphere is evaluated by considering the online/offline coherence of provisions as well as potential gaps, inconsistencies and disadvantages that exist in the regulation of online gender-based offences. The makeup, aim and effect of social spheres, areas of law and legal principles are thus assessed in relation to gender and the Internet. Aspects discussed include the architecture of the Internet, the structure of public international law, the harm principle as employed in domestic law and international human rights law, and the scope of particular rights, mainly involving the freedom of expression and the right to privacy. Working from the premise that the transposition of international human rights law to the Internet must ensure the former's functionality and effectiveness, the book argues that a contextual application of rights is called for. This requires assessing what is harmful online - including the effects of online speech and conduct - and what are effective means of regulating liability on the Internet. In turn, such assessments require a gender-sensitive approach.

Sexual harassment in Japanese politics examines a problem that violates women's human rights and prevents a flourishing democracy. Japan fares badly in international gender equality indices, especially for female political representation. The scarcity of women in politics reflects the status of women and also exacerbates it. Based on interviews with female politicians around the country from all levels of government, this book sheds light on the sexist and sometimes dangerous environments in Japanese legislative assemblies. These environments reflect and recreate broader sexual inequalities in Japanese society and are a hothouse for sexual harassment. Like many places around the world, workplace sexual harassment laws and regulations in Japan often fail to protect women from being harassed. Even more, in the 'workplace' of the legislative council, such regulations are typically absent. This book discusses what this means for women in politics in the context of a broader culture whereby victims of sexual violence are largely silenced.

LONGLISTED FOR THE POLARI CHILDREN'S & YA BOOK PRIZE 'An essential guide' LIZZIE HUXLEY-JONES 'This book is perfect' WENN LAWSON 'One of the most important books in autism literature' CHARLOTTE AMELIA POE 'Wonderfully diverse and vibrant' FOX FISHER In this empowering and honest guide for LGBTQIA+ autistic teens, Erin Ekins gives you all the tools you need to figure out and explore your gender identity and sexuality. From coming out to friends and family, staying safe in relationships and practicing safe sex, through to self-care and coping with bullying, being out and about in the LGBTQIA+ community and undergoing gender transition, this book is filled with essential information, advice, support and resources to help you on your journey, and also works as a primer on all things LGBTQIA+ for non-autistic teens who are just figuring it all out. Written by an inspirational autistic queer woman, this is a must-read for every autistic teen wanting to live their very best queer life.

This book develops a feminist and queer linguistic account of the construction of sex, sexuality, and desire through a linguistic and discursive analysis of naturally occurring sex talk from an online community. Critical discourse analysis is used to analyse a corpus of data drawn from incidental sex 'talk' observed in the community over the course of an 18-month period. Sub-types of sex talk that are examined include cybersex, self-disclosure, confidences, joking, games, flirting, and automated sexual commands that 'generate' sex between participants. The book will be of use to students and researchers interested in the language of gender and sexuality, as well as feminist and queer accounts of technology and sexual communication.

This book is the first to offer a full account of the philosophical work of Else Voigtlander. Locating the sources of her thought in the philosophy and psychology of the nineteenth and twentieth19th and 20th centuries in figures such as Nietzsche and Lipps, the volume book uncovers and examines Voigtlander's intellectual exchanges with both phenomenology and psychoanalysis. The major themes within her work are considered in 12 expertly written chapters that also cover more recent developments in the philosophy of self, emotion, and sociality. The book appeals to scholars who are interested in the history of philosophy, and in particular of phenomenology, as well as those working on the philosophical roots of psychology and in women's studies.

The Female Gaze in Documentary Film - an International Perspective makes a timely contribution to the recent rise in interest in the status, presence, achievements and issues for women in contemporary screen industries. It examines the works, contributions and participation of female documentary directors globally. The central preoccupation of the book is to consider what might constitute a 'female gaze', an inquiry that has had a long history in filmmaking, film theory and women's art. It fills a gap in the literature which to date has not substantially examined the work of female documentary directors. Moreover, research on sex, gender and the gaze has infrequently been the subject of scholarship on documentary film, particularly in comparison to narrative film or television drama. A distinctive feature of the book is that it is based on interviews with significant female documentarians from Europe, Asia and North America.

The Palgrave Handbook of Sexual Ethics is a comprehensive collection of recent research on the ethics of sexual behavior, representing a wide range of perspectives. It addresses a number of traditional subjects in the area, including questions about pre-marital, extra-marital, non-heterosexual, and non-procreative sex, and about the nature and significance of sexual consent, sexual desire, and sexual activity, as well as a variety of more recent topics, including sexual racism, sexual ableism, sex robots, and the #metoo response to sexual harassment. Each chapter defends a substantive thesis about the topic it addresses and the handbook as a whole thereby provides a strong foundation for future research in this important and growing field of inquiry.

This book speaks to the meanings and values that inhere in close relations, focusing on 'family' and 'kinship' but also looking beyond these categories. Multifaceted, diverse and subject to constant debate, close relations are ubiquitous in human lives on embodied as well as symbolic levels. Closely related to processes of power, legibility and recognition, close relations are surrounded by boundaries that both constrain and enable their practical, symbolical and legal formation. Carefully contextualising close relations in relation to different national contexts, but also in relation to gender, sexuality, race, religion and dis/ability, the volume points to the importance of and variations in how close relations are lived, understood and negotiated. Grounded in a number of academic areas and disciplines, ranging from legal studies, sociology and social work to literary studies and ethnology, this volume also highlights the value of using inter- and multidisciplinary scholarly approaches in research about close relations. Chapter 11 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Maggie Gunsberg examines popular genre cinema in Italy during the 1950s and 1960s, focusing on melodrama, "commedia all'italiana," peplum, horror and the spaghetti western. These genres are explored from a gender standpoint which takes into account the historical and socio-economic context of cinematic production and consumption. An interdisciplinary feminist approach informed by current film theory and other perspectives (psychoanalytic, materialist, deconstructive), leads to the analysis of genre-specific representations of femininity and masculinity as constructed by the formal properties of film.

Every story entails a way of life and how every way of life implies a big story. In Every Body's Story, Branson Parler focuses on three predominant myths of sexuality in our secular age--individualism, romance, and materialism--and three dominant myths in Christian circles--anti-body theology, legalism, and the sexual prosperity gospel--exploring how those stories shape our practice. Our views of sexuality and our practices around sex are never just about sex. How we use and view our bodies reveals who/what we think God is (or is not) and who we are. If we truly understand the biblical logic of marriage, sexuality, and singleness--that they are meant to embody the gospel--then we will better understand why this witness is so vital. As God's self-giving faithfulness is put on display by both married and single Christians, those formed by our secular age will have to ask: What if it's true? What if there's more? What if God really does love us that much? Rather than viewing our sexuality as an isolated matter of ethics, we can see how the gospel places our sexuality in the context of God's rescue mission of the world.

This book offers an exploration of the postcolonial hybrid experience in anglophone Caribbean plays and performance from a feminist perspective. In a hitherto unattempted consideration of Caribbean theatre and performance, this study of gendered identities chronicles the postcolonial hybrid experience - and how it varies in the context of questions of sex, performance and social designation. In the process, it examines the diverse performances of the anglophone Caribbean. The work includes works by Caribbean anglophone playwrights like Derek Walcott, Mustapha Matura, Michael Gikes, Dennis Scott, Trevor Rhone, Earl Lovelace and Errol John with more recent works of Pat Cumper, Rawle Gibbons and Tony Hall. The study would also engage with Carnival, calypso and chutney music, while commenting on its evolving influences over the hybrid imagination. Each section covers the dominant socio-political thematics associated with the tradition and its effect on it, followed by an analysis of contemporaneously significant literary and cultural works - plays, carnival narrative and calypso and chutney lyrics as well as the experiences of performers. From Lovelace's fictional Jestina to the real-life Drupatee, the book critically explores the marginalization of female performances while forming a hybrid identity.

This book examines the development of biopolitics as an academic perspective within political science. It reviews the work of the leading proponents of this perspective and presents a comprehensive view of biopolitics as a framework to structure political inquiry. The book's chapters present a range of analysis, critique and recommendations for the current study of biopolitics. Coverage includes; the implications of biopolitics for political theory and the need to re-evaluate basic assumptions of the prevailing political science paradigm; an analysis of the methodological concerns of adopting a more biology-based approach to political science; the current state of knowledge of the genetic and neurological bases of mass and elite behavior; and biopolicy issues and the proper role of the life sciences in informing our understanding of them. The concluding chapter restates the case for a paradigm shift toward an interactive model, arguing that, rather than lead to biological determinism as denounced by some, this inclusive paradigm allows us to counteract deterministic protestations more effectively than by continuing to ignore or minimize biological influences.

What impact do political parties have on women's political representation and on state gender policies? Does this vary between national and local levels of government? This study focuses on two Latin American cases. The first analyzes the National Women's Ministry in Chile, a country with a history of ideological conflict, strong parties and centralized government. The second examines the local administrations of the leftwing Brazilian Workers' Party, in a political environment shaped by clientelism, weak parties and decentralization.

This Open Access book uses the concept of 'euphoria' to investigate when, why and how marginal gender, sex and sexuality groups have positive experiences of their diverse variations even within repressive and disordering contexts. Drawing on data from multiple online surveys including a study of 2,407 LGBTQ+ people and a study of 272 people with intersex variations, it names and offers a new ecological framework for understanding participants' influences on and barriers to euphorias, asserting the subversive possibilities of being euphorically queer, as opposed to euphoric and queer. The author argues that it is the particularities of negative internal, socio-cultural and institutional contexts for a marginal group or groups that contributes towards the possibilities that shape their potential euphoric feelings and experiences. Ultimately, she calls for a more expansive focus in gender and sexuality studies to show the complex effects of dysphoria and repression on the possibilities of pleasure and joy.This book will be of interest to scholars across Gender, Sexuality and Queer Studies.

--This text shows students how to organize their work and write gracefully. --Vivid examples show students effective re-writes of example passages. --Classroom and student homework assignments are provided on the book's web site. --Provides examples from both qualitative and quantitative research. --At 150 pages the book is an effective core text for any social science writing course, but brief enough to be assigned in large required courses like social science research methods in sociology and in fields like education, criminology, allied medical health, and other fields where effective research presentation is an important career skill.

This book addresses the 'three moments' in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) asylum seekers' and refugees' efforts to secure protection: The reasons for their flight, the Refugee Status Determination process, and their integration into the host community once they are recognized refugee status.The first part discusses one of the most under-researched areas within the literature devoted to asylum claims based on sexual orientation and gender identity, namely the reasons behind LGBTI persons' flight. It investigates the motives that drive LGBTI persons to leave their countries of origin and seek sanctuary elsewhere, the actors of persecution, and the status quo of LGBTI rights. Accordingly, an intersectional approach is employed so as to offer a comprehensive picture of how a host of factors beyond sexual orientation/gender identity impact this crucial first stage of LGBTI asylum seekers' journey.In turn, the second part explores the challenges that LGBTI asylum seekers face during the RSD process in countries of asylum. It first examines these countries' interpretations and applications of the process in relation to the relevant UNHCR guidelines and questions the challenges including the dominance of Western conceptions and narratives of sexual identity in the asylum procedure, heterogeneous treatment concerning the definition of a particular social group, and the difficulties related to assessing one's sexual orientation within the asylum procedure. It subsequently addresses the reasons for and potential solutions to these challenges.The last part of the book focuses on the integration of LGBTI refugees into the countries of asylum. It first seeks to identify and describe the protection gaps that LGBTI refugees are currently experiencing, before turning to the reasons and potential remedies for them.

Through focusing on the sexual politics that have emerged out of post-apartheid South Africa, Spurlin investigates textual and cultural representations of same-sex desire outside of the Euroamerican axes of queer culture and politics, and considers the ways in which queer cultural productions in southern Africa do not merely intersect with western queer identity politics and cultural representations but also resist them. "Imperialism Within the Margins" therefore provides an engaged and much-needed critique of the long-present "heterosexist" biases of postcolonial studies and the "western" biases of academic queer theory.

This book introduces the policies surrounding legal gender recognition of trans people in Kazakhstan. Generally, the research in this sphere focuses on medical professions, described as gatekeepers or judges deciding who fit the prescriptions of being a woman or a man, and on trans people themselves, who are often portrayed as victims. However, this process is more complex than only describing the interaction of these two groups or by labelling them either as gatekeepers or victims. The project provides a critical approach and attempts to expand our understanding of the process, the dynamics and the actors involved. This study will be of interest to scholars of contemporary Kazakhstan, and of feminism and LGBTQ activism more generally.

This book examines persistent gender inequality in higher education, and asks what is preventing change from occurring. The editors and contributors argue that organizational resistance to gender equality is the key explanation; reflected in the endorsement of discourses such as excellence, choice, distorted intersectionality, revitalized biological essentialism and gender neutrality. These discourses implicitly and explicitly depict the status quo as appropriate, reasonable and fair: ultimately impeding efforts and attempts to promote gender equality. Drawing on research from around the world, this book explores the limits and possibilities of challenging these harmful discourses, focusing on the state and universities themselves as levers for change. It stresses the importance of institutional transformation, the vital contribution of feminist activists and the importance of women's deceptively 'small victories' in the academy.

The successful return of horror to our television screens in the post-millennial years, and across a multi-media range of platforms, demonstrates that this previously moribund genre is once again vibrant, challenging and long-lasting. The traditional TV audience of the past would have watched very few horror TV shows, because not many were made. But that has changed. Programme makers have tapped into their public's insatiable need - in these days of terrorism, violence and mayhem - to provide programmes that have high production values, engaging storylines, and plenty of frights and gore. Horror TV offers a safety-valve for its audience, one that enables them to enter into it from the safety of their armchairs. The era of instant access, streaming, downloading and binge-watching whole seasons over a weekend, where fandom has blossomed into a cultural force, clearly shows horror as a vital part of today's TV scheduling. This edited collection investigates the rising popularity of horror-television through deconstructing the gender roles within them via series of case studies including such programmes as Hannibal, American Horror Story, The Walking Dead, Penny Dreadful, Supernatural, The Exorcist and Bates Motel. By using a series of case studies and employing theoretical modes of close analysis, each chapter demonstrates how and why these TV shows are important in reflecting the changing gender roles within modern society.

The husband of The Bitch in the House responds with a collection of original essays in which male writers describe what men desire, need, love, and loathe in their relationships and in the world today. Cathi Hanauer's bestselling The Bitch in the House: 26 Women Tell the Truth about Sex, Solitude, Work, Motherhood, and Marriage spurred a national conversation about the level of friction in contemporary marriages and relationships. Now her husband, Daniel Jones, has rallied the men for the "literary equivalent of The Full Monty," in which twenty-seven thoughtful, passionate and often hilarious men, lay it bare when it comes to their wives and girlfriends, their hopes, and fears. Enough with pop psychiatrists telling us why men lie, cheat, and want nothing more than to laze around the house in front of the TV. Enough with women wondering aloud-at increasing volume-why the men in their lives behave the way they do. The time has come for men to speak for themselves. Many of the husbands and fathers in these pages contemplate aspects of their personal lives they've never before revealed in print-they kick open the door on their marriages and sex lives, their fathering and domestic conflicts, their most intimate relationships and situations. Yet unlike the average meat-and-potatoes father who still rules the roost, these men are grappling with new ideas of manhood -- some they are going after and grabbing, and others that are being thrust upon them by a changing world. Powerful, heartfelt and irreverent, The Bastard on the Couch is a bold, unprecedented glimpse into the dark corners and glaring truths of modern relationships that is guaranteed to amuse, entertain, enrich, and provoke.

Considers ways in which raising questions about gender can help researchers and practitioners better understand family relationships and issues in children's development Draws on current developments in thinking about gender relations Offers an overview of sociological, psychological and developmental perspectives on family relationships, child welfare outcomes and the practice/policy realities of professional interventions with families Chapters address range of service settings; including family support, child health, education, child protection, domestic violence, 'looked after' children and youth justice