European Journal of Women's Studies current issue

On the Shoulders of Giants: Some Reflections on Feminist Historiography

Davis, K. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:53:25 PST

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in the UK: Challenging the Inconsistencies

Dustin, M. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:53:25 PST

Debates about female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) have polarized opinion between those who see it as an abuse of women’s health and human rights, to be ‘eradicated’, and those who may or may not oppose the practice, but see a double standard on the part of western campaigners who fail to challenge other unnecessary surgical interventions — such as male circumcision or cosmetic surgery — in their own communities and cultures. This article interrogates these debates about FGM/C in the context of measures to reduce it in the UK over recent decades. It does not suggest that FGM/C is a legitimate practice, seeing it, rather, as an abuse of women’s and children’s rights that should be combated using a combination of measures. However, it argues that reduction strategies are undermined by inconsistencies in the law and the failure to back up the law with research and education.

Migrant Care Workers' Relationships with Care Recipients, Colleagues and Employers

Timonen, V., Doyle, M. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:53:25 PST

The literature on migrant care workers has tended to place little emphasis on the multiple relationships that migrant carers form with care recipients, employers/managers and work colleagues. This article makes a contribution to this emerging field, drawing on data from qualitative interviews carried out with 40 migrant care workers employed in the institutional and domiciliary care sectors in Dublin, Ireland. While the analysis revealed generally positive carer—care recipient relationships, significant racial and cultural tensions were evident within the vertical and especially the horizontal relationships in the care workplace. The article argues that these findings highlight the need for additional research on the relationships formed in the long-term care sector and further theorizing on the meaning and importance of the affective components of care work within increasingly commodified care markets.

Defending Biomedical Authority and Regulating the Womb as Social Space: Prenatal Testing in the Polish Press

Kramer, A.-M. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:53:25 PST

The issue of abortion has been the topic of heated and frequent debate in post-Communist Poland. Parliamentary debate in 1998—9 centred around a legislative attempt to restrict prenatal testing, specifically amniocentesis, in order to further reduce the numbers of abortions carried out, as it was argued to inevitably result in the termination of pregnancy. Medical professionals are rarely visible as subjects of and authorities on the abortion debate in the Polish context. However, in this debate around prenatal testing, the medical community appear as key commentators and meaning-makers. This article asks the following questions: What role do the medical profession and biomedical knowledge play in the debate around prenatal testing, when abortion is highly politicized? Second, what social meanings and consequences are attributed to prenatal testing? How do these construct the relationship between foetus, pregnant woman and doctor, and what agency and 'rights' are attributed to women in the process of prenatal testing?

Women and Gender Studies, Italian Style

Pravadelli, V. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:53:25 PST

Recovering from Romance: Resocializing Love and Intimacy

Evans, M., Hey, V. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:53:25 PST

What's Love Got to Do With It?

Giardini, F. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:53:25 PST

Intimate Citizenship: A Pragmatic, Yet Radical, Proposal for a Politics of Personal Life

Roseneil, S. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:53:25 PST

Book Review: 'CATCH 89': WHERE WILL WOMEN FIT IN AN ENLARGED EUROPE?: Barbara Einhorn Citizenship in an Enlarging Europe: From Dream to Awakening Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006, ix + 253 pp., ISBN 978-1-4039-9840-8

Tronto, J. C. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:53:25 PST

Book Review: Guilt Trip With Many Engaging Stops: Suvi Keskinen, Salla Tuori, Sari Irni and Diana Mulinari, eds Complying with Colonialism: Gender, Race and Ethnicity in the Nordic Region Aldershot: Ashgate, 2009, 276 pp., ISBN 978-0-7546-7435-1

Seeberg, M. L. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:53:25 PST

Book Review: 'NO COUNTRY FOR SOLITARY WOMEN': Maria Antonia Garcia de Leon and Maria Dolores Fernandez-Figares Antropologas, politologas y sociologas (Genero, biografia y ciencias sociales) [Anthropologists, Political Scientists and Sociologists (Gender, Biography and Social Sciences)] Madrid and Mexico DF: Plaza y Valdes, 2009, 255 pp., ISBN 978-84-96780-58-3

Munoz-Rojas Oscarsson, O. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:53:25 PST

Books Received

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:53:25 PST