Mark D. Regnerus
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195320947
- eISBN:
- 9780199785452
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320947.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Americans remain deeply ambivalent about teenage sexuality. Many presume that such uneasiness is rooted in religion. This book tackles such questions as: how exactly does religion contribute to the ...
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Americans remain deeply ambivalent about teenage sexuality. Many presume that such uneasiness is rooted in religion. This book tackles such questions as: how exactly does religion contribute to the formation of teenagers' sexual values and actions? What difference, if any, does religion make in adolescents' sexual attitudes and behaviors? Are abstinence pledges effective? Who expresses regrets about their sexual activity and why? The book combines analyses of three national surveys with stories drawn from interviews with over 250 teenagers across America. It reviews how young people learn, and what they know about sex from their parents, schools, peers, and other sources. It examines what experiences teens profess to have had, and how they make sense of these experiences in light of their own identities as religious, moral, and responsible persons. The author's analysis discovers that religion can and does matter. However, the analysis finds that religious claims are often swamped by other compelling sexual scripts. Particularly interesting is the emergence of what the author calls a “new middle class sexual morality”, which has little to do with a desire for virginity but nevertheless shuns intercourse in order to avoid risks associated with pregnancy and STDs. And strikingly, evangelical teens aren't less sexually active than their non-evangelical counterparts, they just tend to feel guiltier about it. In fact, the analysis finds that few religious teens have internalized or are even able to articulate the sexual ethic taught by their denominations. The only-and largely ineffective-sexual message most religious teens are getting is: “don't do it until you're married”. Ultimately, the author concludes, religion may influence adolescent sexual behavior, but it rarely motivates sexual decision making.Less
Americans remain deeply ambivalent about teenage sexuality. Many presume that such uneasiness is rooted in religion. This book tackles such questions as: how exactly does religion contribute to the formation of teenagers' sexual values and actions? What difference, if any, does religion make in adolescents' sexual attitudes and behaviors? Are abstinence pledges effective? Who expresses regrets about their sexual activity and why? The book combines analyses of three national surveys with stories drawn from interviews with over 250 teenagers across America. It reviews how young people learn, and what they know about sex from their parents, schools, peers, and other sources. It examines what experiences teens profess to have had, and how they make sense of these experiences in light of their own identities as religious, moral, and responsible persons. The author's analysis discovers that religion can and does matter. However, the analysis finds that religious claims are often swamped by other compelling sexual scripts. Particularly interesting is the emergence of what the author calls a “new middle class sexual morality”, which has little to do with a desire for virginity but nevertheless shuns intercourse in order to avoid risks associated with pregnancy and STDs. And strikingly, evangelical teens aren't less sexually active than their non-evangelical counterparts, they just tend to feel guiltier about it. In fact, the analysis finds that few religious teens have internalized or are even able to articulate the sexual ethic taught by their denominations. The only-and largely ineffective-sexual message most religious teens are getting is: “don't do it until you're married”. Ultimately, the author concludes, religion may influence adolescent sexual behavior, but it rarely motivates sexual decision making.
Margaret P. Battin, Leslie P. Francis, Jay A. Jacobson, and Charles B. Smith
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195335842
- eISBN:
- 9780199868926
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195335842.003.0012
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
Since testing for HIV became possible in 1985, the testing of pregnant women has been primarily voluntary, “opt-in,” but there have been repeated predictions that with the development of more ...
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Since testing for HIV became possible in 1985, the testing of pregnant women has been primarily voluntary, “opt-in,” but there have been repeated predictions that with the development of more reliable testing and more effective therapy, testing should become routine with “opt-out” provisions, or even mandatory. This chapter asks—in the light of new technologies for rapid testing such as OraQuick and the capacity to reduce maternal/fetal transmission rates to less than 2%—whether that time is now. Illustrating the argument with cases from the United States, Kenya, Peru, and an undocumented Mexican worker in the United States, this chapter shows that when testing is accompanied by assured multi-drug continuing treatment for HIV for the mother, the argument for mandatory testing of pregnant women is strong, but that it is problematic where testing is accompanied by adverse events such as spousal abuse, or by inadequate intrapartum or followup treatment—the latter a circumstance common where aggressive AIDS testing programs are being introduced in many areas of the world. The difference is not a “double standard,” but reflects the presence of conflicts between the health interests of the mother and the fetus—conflicts that would be abrogated by the assurance of therapy. In light of these conflicts where they still occur, as in much of the world, careful processes of informed consent are appropriate, rather than mandatory or “opt-out” testing.Less
Since testing for HIV became possible in 1985, the testing of pregnant women has been primarily voluntary, “opt-in,” but there have been repeated predictions that with the development of more reliable testing and more effective therapy, testing should become routine with “opt-out” provisions, or even mandatory. This chapter asks—in the light of new technologies for rapid testing such as OraQuick and the capacity to reduce maternal/fetal transmission rates to less than 2%—whether that time is now. Illustrating the argument with cases from the United States, Kenya, Peru, and an undocumented Mexican worker in the United States, this chapter shows that when testing is accompanied by assured multi-drug continuing treatment for HIV for the mother, the argument for mandatory testing of pregnant women is strong, but that it is problematic where testing is accompanied by adverse events such as spousal abuse, or by inadequate intrapartum or followup treatment—the latter a circumstance common where aggressive AIDS testing programs are being introduced in many areas of the world. The difference is not a “double standard,” but reflects the presence of conflicts between the health interests of the mother and the fetus—conflicts that would be abrogated by the assurance of therapy. In light of these conflicts where they still occur, as in much of the world, careful processes of informed consent are appropriate, rather than mandatory or “opt-out” testing.
Margaret P. Battin, Leslie P. Francis, Jay A. Jacobson, and Charles B. Smith
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195335842
- eISBN:
- 9780199868926
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195335842.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
Infectious diseases and genetic conditions are both transmitted “vertically” from a pregnant woman to the child she bears. Most U.S. states require routine screening of women for syphilis during ...
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Infectious diseases and genetic conditions are both transmitted “vertically” from a pregnant woman to the child she bears. Most U.S. states require routine screening of women for syphilis during pregnancy, and cases of congenital syphilis now number less than about 400 per year. In contrast, although a blood test can diagnose up to 90% of cystic fibrosis carriers and affected individuals, no states require premarital or prenatal screening for CF. These two vertically transmitted disorders are similar in potential incidence, detectability, and the absence of curative treatments after vertical transmission occurs. Past and present screening policies for syphilis can be characterized as preconception, prenatal, paternalistic, state mandated, universal, with presumed consent for tests and treatment, widely practiced, and effective. Screening policies for cystic fibrosis can, in contrast, be characterized as prenatal, postnatal, selective, and voluntary—except, most recently, for newborn testing. While differences between these policies may rest partly on historical or other factors, the chapter argues that there are moral differences, too. Recent emphasis on individual rights and choice may be more important in explaining different strategies than the fact that one type of vertical transmission is infectious and the other is genetic. Neither is “exceptional”; rather, both the historical and the ethical explanations of difference relate to other factors, particularly ready access to treatment and the availability of methods for preventing transmission.Less
Infectious diseases and genetic conditions are both transmitted “vertically” from a pregnant woman to the child she bears. Most U.S. states require routine screening of women for syphilis during pregnancy, and cases of congenital syphilis now number less than about 400 per year. In contrast, although a blood test can diagnose up to 90% of cystic fibrosis carriers and affected individuals, no states require premarital or prenatal screening for CF. These two vertically transmitted disorders are similar in potential incidence, detectability, and the absence of curative treatments after vertical transmission occurs. Past and present screening policies for syphilis can be characterized as preconception, prenatal, paternalistic, state mandated, universal, with presumed consent for tests and treatment, widely practiced, and effective. Screening policies for cystic fibrosis can, in contrast, be characterized as prenatal, postnatal, selective, and voluntary—except, most recently, for newborn testing. While differences between these policies may rest partly on historical or other factors, the chapter argues that there are moral differences, too. Recent emphasis on individual rights and choice may be more important in explaining different strategies than the fact that one type of vertical transmission is infectious and the other is genetic. Neither is “exceptional”; rather, both the historical and the ethical explanations of difference relate to other factors, particularly ready access to treatment and the availability of methods for preventing transmission.
Hera Cook
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199252183
- eISBN:
- 9780191719240
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199252183.003.0017
- Subject:
- History, Social History
Immense positive change has taken place in English people's sexual and emotional lives. This is reflected in changing family forms and greater acceptance of sexual variation of all kinds. These ...
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Immense positive change has taken place in English people's sexual and emotional lives. This is reflected in changing family forms and greater acceptance of sexual variation of all kinds. These changes were propelled forward by the transformation of pregnancy from an uncontrollable risk to a freely chosen product of sexual activity. There are many women throughout the globe who do not have access to adequate maternity care and contraception, and neo-liberal economic measures are eroding the improvements in people lives made possible by the political and social agitation of earlier generations. Acknowledging positive change in the past should give confidence to those who seek change in the future.Less
Immense positive change has taken place in English people's sexual and emotional lives. This is reflected in changing family forms and greater acceptance of sexual variation of all kinds. These changes were propelled forward by the transformation of pregnancy from an uncontrollable risk to a freely chosen product of sexual activity. There are many women throughout the globe who do not have access to adequate maternity care and contraception, and neo-liberal economic measures are eroding the improvements in people lives made possible by the political and social agitation of earlier generations. Acknowledging positive change in the past should give confidence to those who seek change in the future.
Mary Briody Mahowald
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195176179
- eISBN:
- 9780199786558
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195176170.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy
Cases illustrating variables relevant to decisions involving teenage pregnancy and motherhood, confidentiality, female genital surgery, and eating disorders are presented. For each topic, empirical ...
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Cases illustrating variables relevant to decisions involving teenage pregnancy and motherhood, confidentiality, female genital surgery, and eating disorders are presented. For each topic, empirical and theoretical factors relevant to the cases are discussed from an egalitarian perspective that addresses the nondominance of minors as well as their capacity for moral agency. A conception of parentalism as an antidote to paternalism and maternalism is proposed.Less
Cases illustrating variables relevant to decisions involving teenage pregnancy and motherhood, confidentiality, female genital surgery, and eating disorders are presented. For each topic, empirical and theoretical factors relevant to the cases are discussed from an egalitarian perspective that addresses the nondominance of minors as well as their capacity for moral agency. A conception of parentalism as an antidote to paternalism and maternalism is proposed.
Mary Briody Mahowald
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195176179
- eISBN:
- 9780199786558
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195176170.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy
Cases illustrating variables relevant to women’s choices about contraception, sterilization, and abortion are presented. With regard to abortion, these include duration of gestation, condition of the ...
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Cases illustrating variables relevant to women’s choices about contraception, sterilization, and abortion are presented. With regard to abortion, these include duration of gestation, condition of the fetus, methods of termination, availability and cost of the procedure, medical risks to the woman or potential child, capacity for parenting, responsibilities based on relationships to others, and different positions about the moral status of the fetus. For each topic, empirical and theoretical factors are discussed from an egalitarian perspective that privileges women’s standpoint vis-à-vis men’s not only on grounds of nondominance but also on grounds that women, not men, are directly affected by pregnancy.Less
Cases illustrating variables relevant to women’s choices about contraception, sterilization, and abortion are presented. With regard to abortion, these include duration of gestation, condition of the fetus, methods of termination, availability and cost of the procedure, medical risks to the woman or potential child, capacity for parenting, responsibilities based on relationships to others, and different positions about the moral status of the fetus. For each topic, empirical and theoretical factors are discussed from an egalitarian perspective that privileges women’s standpoint vis-à-vis men’s not only on grounds of nondominance but also on grounds that women, not men, are directly affected by pregnancy.
Reiko Ohnuma
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199915651
- eISBN:
- 9780199950058
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199915651.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This book is an exploration of maternal imagery and discourse in premodern South Asian Buddhism, drawing primarily on textual sources preserved in Pali and Sanskrit. It argues that Buddhism in India ...
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This book is an exploration of maternal imagery and discourse in premodern South Asian Buddhism, drawing primarily on textual sources preserved in Pali and Sanskrit. It argues that Buddhism in India had a complex and ambivalent relationship with mothers and motherhood—symbolically, affectively, and institutionally. Symbolically, motherhood was a double-edged sword, sometimes extolled as the most appropriate symbol for buddhahood itself, and sometimes denigrated as the most paradigmatic manifestation possible of attachment and suffering. On an affective level, too, motherhood was viewed with the same ambivalence: In Buddhist literature, warm feelings of love and gratitude for the mother’s nurturance and care frequently mingle with submerged feelings of hostility and resentment for the unbreakable obligations thus created, and positive images of self-sacrificing mothers are counterbalanced by horrific depictions of mothers who kill and devour. Institutionally, the formal definition of the Buddhist renunciant as one who has severed all familial ties seems to co-exist uneasily with an abundance of historical evidence demonstrating monks’ and nuns’ continuing concern for their mothers, as well as other familial entanglements. Some of the topics covered in the book are Buddhist depictions of maternal love and maternal grief, the role played by the Buddha’s own mothers, Māyā and Mahāprajāpatī, the use of pregnancy and gestation as metaphors for the attainment of enlightenment, the use of breastfeeding as a metaphor for the compassionate deeds of buddhas and bodhisattvas, and the relationship between Buddhism and motherhood as it actually existed “on the ground.”Less
This book is an exploration of maternal imagery and discourse in premodern South Asian Buddhism, drawing primarily on textual sources preserved in Pali and Sanskrit. It argues that Buddhism in India had a complex and ambivalent relationship with mothers and motherhood—symbolically, affectively, and institutionally. Symbolically, motherhood was a double-edged sword, sometimes extolled as the most appropriate symbol for buddhahood itself, and sometimes denigrated as the most paradigmatic manifestation possible of attachment and suffering. On an affective level, too, motherhood was viewed with the same ambivalence: In Buddhist literature, warm feelings of love and gratitude for the mother’s nurturance and care frequently mingle with submerged feelings of hostility and resentment for the unbreakable obligations thus created, and positive images of self-sacrificing mothers are counterbalanced by horrific depictions of mothers who kill and devour. Institutionally, the formal definition of the Buddhist renunciant as one who has severed all familial ties seems to co-exist uneasily with an abundance of historical evidence demonstrating monks’ and nuns’ continuing concern for their mothers, as well as other familial entanglements. Some of the topics covered in the book are Buddhist depictions of maternal love and maternal grief, the role played by the Buddha’s own mothers, Māyā and Mahāprajāpatī, the use of pregnancy and gestation as metaphors for the attainment of enlightenment, the use of breastfeeding as a metaphor for the compassionate deeds of buddhas and bodhisattvas, and the relationship between Buddhism and motherhood as it actually existed “on the ground.”
Alec Stone Sweet
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199275533
- eISBN:
- 9780191602009
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019927553X.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
The evolution is charted, through adjudication, of the rules governing sex equality in European Community (EC) law. The first section, ‘The Normative Structure’, provides an overview of the Treaty of ...
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The evolution is charted, through adjudication, of the rules governing sex equality in European Community (EC) law. The first section, ‘The Normative Structure’, provides an overview of the Treaty of Rome rules and secondary legislation that constitute the domain of sex equality, while the second examines how Art. 141 (which provides that male and female workers shall receive equal pay for equal work) evolved once it had been constitutionalized by the European Court of Justice. Section III, ‘Judicialization: The Court and the Legislator’, focuses on the relationship between the Court, its case law on sex equality, and the production of directives by the EC legislator; the impact is also briefly discussed of the Court's rulemaking on national judicial and legislative processes; topics included are indirect discrimination, occupational pensions, pregnancy and maternity rights. In the fourth section, ‘Adjudicating Sex Equality Law’, an analysis is made of the aggregate data on litigation and adjudication in the field, focusing on how precedent‐based lawmaking has organized the development of this area. The conclusion addresses a range of theoretical issues.Less
The evolution is charted, through adjudication, of the rules governing sex equality in European Community (EC) law. The first section, ‘The Normative Structure’, provides an overview of the Treaty of Rome rules and secondary legislation that constitute the domain of sex equality, while the second examines how Art. 141 (which provides that male and female workers shall receive equal pay for equal work) evolved once it had been constitutionalized by the European Court of Justice. Section III, ‘Judicialization: The Court and the Legislator’, focuses on the relationship between the Court, its case law on sex equality, and the production of directives by the EC legislator; the impact is also briefly discussed of the Court's rulemaking on national judicial and legislative processes; topics included are indirect discrimination, occupational pensions, pregnancy and maternity rights. In the fourth section, ‘Adjudicating Sex Equality Law’, an analysis is made of the aggregate data on litigation and adjudication in the field, focusing on how precedent‐based lawmaking has organized the development of this area. The conclusion addresses a range of theoretical issues.
Bernard Gert, Charles M. Culver, and K. Danner Clouser
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195159066
- eISBN:
- 9780199786466
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195159063.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter introduces the technical term “malady” as a genus term that includes as species: diseases, disorders, injuries, allergies, illnesses, etc., and can be taken as meaning that something is ...
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This chapter introduces the technical term “malady” as a genus term that includes as species: diseases, disorders, injuries, allergies, illnesses, etc., and can be taken as meaning that something is wrong with the person. It provides a definition of malady that includes the following features: it is a condition of the individual, it involves significantly increased risk of suffering nontrivial harms, and there is no distinct sustaining cause. The role of abnormality in the defining malady and some difficult cases such as pregnancy, short stature, old age, and various genetic conditions are discussed.Less
This chapter introduces the technical term “malady” as a genus term that includes as species: diseases, disorders, injuries, allergies, illnesses, etc., and can be taken as meaning that something is wrong with the person. It provides a definition of malady that includes the following features: it is a condition of the individual, it involves significantly increased risk of suffering nontrivial harms, and there is no distinct sustaining cause. The role of abnormality in the defining malady and some difficult cases such as pregnancy, short stature, old age, and various genetic conditions are discussed.
Rachel A. Cichowski
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199247967
- eISBN:
- 9780191601088
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924796X.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
An examination is made of the impact of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the institutional evolution of European Union sex equality policy, following the provision in the Treaty of Rome (Art. ...
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An examination is made of the impact of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the institutional evolution of European Union sex equality policy, following the provision in the Treaty of Rome (Art. 119 EEC, now Art. 141) that men and women would receive equal pay for equal work – a provision aimed at protecting businesses from unfair competition. This same provision now bestows a positive right on individuals throughout the Member States, and is a judicially enforceable right that remains the backbone of an ever-expanding European social-justice policy. Over time, strategic action on the part of litigants and their lawyers and the ECJ’s judicial rule-making capacity has constructed a supranational space in which women can not only demand the right to equal pay but can also receive protection as pregnant workers. This dynamic process is the focus of the analysis presented, and involves an examination of three basic mechanisms of institutional evolution: the process by which self-interested private litigants and their lawyers are able to activate the European Union (EU) legal system through the Art. 177 (now Art. 234) procedure (which allows national individuals to invoke EU law before national courts); the ECJ’s authoritative interpretation of Art. 119 (focusing on how it became directly effective in national legal systems); and the feedback effects of this judicial rule-making in terms of how the litigation environment has been changed, and the EU and national-level policy consequence. In particular, the latter are traced through the development of EU pregnancy and maternity rights.Less
An examination is made of the impact of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the institutional evolution of European Union sex equality policy, following the provision in the Treaty of Rome (Art. 119 EEC, now Art. 141) that men and women would receive equal pay for equal work – a provision aimed at protecting businesses from unfair competition. This same provision now bestows a positive right on individuals throughout the Member States, and is a judicially enforceable right that remains the backbone of an ever-expanding European social-justice policy. Over time, strategic action on the part of litigants and their lawyers and the ECJ’s judicial rule-making capacity has constructed a supranational space in which women can not only demand the right to equal pay but can also receive protection as pregnant workers. This dynamic process is the focus of the analysis presented, and involves an examination of three basic mechanisms of institutional evolution: the process by which self-interested private litigants and their lawyers are able to activate the European Union (EU) legal system through the Art. 177 (now Art. 234) procedure (which allows national individuals to invoke EU law before national courts); the ECJ’s authoritative interpretation of Art. 119 (focusing on how it became directly effective in national legal systems); and the feedback effects of this judicial rule-making in terms of how the litigation environment has been changed, and the EU and national-level policy consequence. In particular, the latter are traced through the development of EU pregnancy and maternity rights.
Iris Marion Young
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195161922
- eISBN:
- 9780199786664
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195161920.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This essay considers some of the experiences of pregnancy from the pregnant woman’s viewpoint. Drawing on diaries and literature as well as phenomenological reflection on the pregnant experience, it ...
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This essay considers some of the experiences of pregnancy from the pregnant woman’s viewpoint. Drawing on diaries and literature as well as phenomenological reflection on the pregnant experience, it seeks to let women speak in their own voices. Section I describes some aspects of bodily existence unique to pregnancy. The pregnant subject is shown as decentered, split, or doubled in several ways. Section II reflects on the encounter of the pregnant subject with the institutions and practices of medicine. It argues that within the present organization of these institutions and practices, women usually find such an encounter alienating in several respects.Less
This essay considers some of the experiences of pregnancy from the pregnant woman’s viewpoint. Drawing on diaries and literature as well as phenomenological reflection on the pregnant experience, it seeks to let women speak in their own voices. Section I describes some aspects of bodily existence unique to pregnancy. The pregnant subject is shown as decentered, split, or doubled in several ways. Section II reflects on the encounter of the pregnant subject with the institutions and practices of medicine. It argues that within the present organization of these institutions and practices, women usually find such an encounter alienating in several respects.
Nancy Woloch
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691002590
- eISBN:
- 9781400866366
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691002590.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter explores the legal challenges that workplace pregnancy posed in the 1970s and 1980s. Debates about workplace pregnancy revived clashes about difference and equality that had vexed the ...
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This chapter explores the legal challenges that workplace pregnancy posed in the 1970s and 1980s. Debates about workplace pregnancy revived clashes about difference and equality that had vexed the women's movement for decades. Paradoxically, pregnancy, a badge of difference, served as a springboard to advances in equal rights. As that happened, the new direction in pregnancy policy underscored the doom of single-sex protective laws. The most enduring steps in shaping pregnancy policy were the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA), which barred discrimination against pregnant workers; the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), which offered up to twelve-week unpaid leaves to employees in larger enterprises for family and medical emergencies; and the Johnson Controls decision of 1991, which barred fetal protection regulations as a form of sex discrimination.Less
This chapter explores the legal challenges that workplace pregnancy posed in the 1970s and 1980s. Debates about workplace pregnancy revived clashes about difference and equality that had vexed the women's movement for decades. Paradoxically, pregnancy, a badge of difference, served as a springboard to advances in equal rights. As that happened, the new direction in pregnancy policy underscored the doom of single-sex protective laws. The most enduring steps in shaping pregnancy policy were the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA), which barred discrimination against pregnant workers; the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), which offered up to twelve-week unpaid leaves to employees in larger enterprises for family and medical emergencies; and the Johnson Controls decision of 1991, which barred fetal protection regulations as a form of sex discrimination.
Robbi E. Davis-Floyd
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520229327
- eISBN:
- 9780520927216
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520229327.003.0011
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
This chapter sums up the key findings of this study on childbirth in the U.S. It shows that the pregnancy/childbirth process has been culturally transformed into a male-dominated initiatory rite of ...
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This chapter sums up the key findings of this study on childbirth in the U.S. It shows that the pregnancy/childbirth process has been culturally transformed into a male-dominated initiatory rite of passage through which birth women are taught about the superiority and necessity of the relationship between science, technology, patriarchy, and institutions. It contends that the salvation of society which seeks to deny women their power as birth-givers will arise from the women who, nevertheless, give that society birth.Less
This chapter sums up the key findings of this study on childbirth in the U.S. It shows that the pregnancy/childbirth process has been culturally transformed into a male-dominated initiatory rite of passage through which birth women are taught about the superiority and necessity of the relationship between science, technology, patriarchy, and institutions. It contends that the salvation of society which seeks to deny women their power as birth-givers will arise from the women who, nevertheless, give that society birth.
Sallie Han
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195380040
- eISBN:
- 9780199869077
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195380040.003.0015
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, World Religions
Based on an anthropological study of the childbearing experiences in the United States, this chapter examines the importance and meaning of fetal ultrasound imaging, or sonograms, for the American ...
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Based on an anthropological study of the childbearing experiences in the United States, this chapter examines the importance and meaning of fetal ultrasound imaging, or sonograms, for the American middle class. Expectant parents in the United States consume fetal images as “baby pictures.” Sonographers compose fetal images using portraiture conventions. This chapter explores this seeing itself as a cultural and social practice that is shaped by expectations and experiences surrounding kinship and personhood.Less
Based on an anthropological study of the childbearing experiences in the United States, this chapter examines the importance and meaning of fetal ultrasound imaging, or sonograms, for the American middle class. Expectant parents in the United States consume fetal images as “baby pictures.” Sonographers compose fetal images using portraiture conventions. This chapter explores this seeing itself as a cultural and social practice that is shaped by expectations and experiences surrounding kinship and personhood.
William A. Silverman
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780192630889
- eISBN:
- 9780191723568
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780192630889.003.0011
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
This chapter presents a 1990 commentary on care for seriously compromised newborn infants. It considers questions about how decisions should be made about initiating costly, all-out modern treatment ...
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This chapter presents a 1990 commentary on care for seriously compromised newborn infants. It considers questions about how decisions should be made about initiating costly, all-out modern treatment for such infants, given the lack of information about the relative impact of death (compared with survival) of these smallest infants on families with poor circumstances, single-parent families, after unwanted pregnancy, in families with drug-addicted parents, etc.Less
This chapter presents a 1990 commentary on care for seriously compromised newborn infants. It considers questions about how decisions should be made about initiating costly, all-out modern treatment for such infants, given the lack of information about the relative impact of death (compared with survival) of these smallest infants on families with poor circumstances, single-parent families, after unwanted pregnancy, in families with drug-addicted parents, etc.
Marten Stol
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195380040
- eISBN:
- 9780199869077
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195380040.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, World Religions
This essay is a historical and philological investigation of reproduction as it was understood in ancient Near East societies. It explores the differences in embryology as conceived by various ...
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This essay is a historical and philological investigation of reproduction as it was understood in ancient Near East societies. It explores the differences in embryology as conceived by various cultures in the ancient Near East (primarily among the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Israelites) and their points of similarity. Embryological theories run the gamut from “high” science, with truths still accepted, to superstitions that said that female fetuses were carried on their mother’s left sides, required a longer pregnancy, and drained their mothers’ strength more than did male fetuses.Less
This essay is a historical and philological investigation of reproduction as it was understood in ancient Near East societies. It explores the differences in embryology as conceived by various cultures in the ancient Near East (primarily among the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Israelites) and their points of similarity. Embryological theories run the gamut from “high” science, with truths still accepted, to superstitions that said that female fetuses were carried on their mother’s left sides, required a longer pregnancy, and drained their mothers’ strength more than did male fetuses.
Jeff Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195371932
- eISBN:
- 9780199870967
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195371932.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Buddhism
This chapter presents a detailed description of a mizuko kuyō ritual performed at a convert Zen monastery in Oregon. It then proceeds to a full analysis of the ritual. Numerous changes can be seen in ...
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This chapter presents a detailed description of a mizuko kuyō ritual performed at a convert Zen monastery in Oregon. It then proceeds to a full analysis of the ritual. Numerous changes can be seen in the process of adapting these rituals from a Japanese to an American convert context. Among the most important is the addition of sewing circles, wherein participants manufacture offerings for their mizuko and express their feelings about abortion and other pregnancy losses. The ritual is reoriented along psychological and vaguely Protestant lines, changing it from a rite to benefit fetal ghosts to an exercise in self-healing for the mother.Less
This chapter presents a detailed description of a mizuko kuyō ritual performed at a convert Zen monastery in Oregon. It then proceeds to a full analysis of the ritual. Numerous changes can be seen in the process of adapting these rituals from a Japanese to an American convert context. Among the most important is the addition of sewing circles, wherein participants manufacture offerings for their mizuko and express their feelings about abortion and other pregnancy losses. The ritual is reoriented along psychological and vaguely Protestant lines, changing it from a rite to benefit fetal ghosts to an exercise in self-healing for the mother.
Lisa Arai
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847420749
- eISBN:
- 9781447303688
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847420749.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Health, Illness, and Medicine
In the last decades of the 20th century, successive British governments have regarded adolescent pregnancy and childbearing as a significant public health and social problem. Youthful pregnancy was ...
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In the last decades of the 20th century, successive British governments have regarded adolescent pregnancy and childbearing as a significant public health and social problem. Youthful pregnancy was once tackled by attacking young, single mothers but New Labour, through its Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, linked early pregnancy to social exclusion rather than personal morality and aimed, instead, to reduce teenage pregnancy and increase young mothers' participation in education and employment. However, the problematisation of early pregnancy has been contested, and it has been suggested that teenage mothers have been made scapegoats for wider, often unsettling, social and demographic changes. The re-evaluation of early pregnancy as problematic means that, in some respects, teenage pregnancy has been ‘made’ and ‘unmade’ as a problem. Focusing on the period from the late-1990s to the present in the UK, this book examines who is likely to have a baby as a teenager, the consequences of early motherhood and how teenage pregnancy is dealt with in the media. The book argues that society's negative attitude to young mothers is likely to marginalise an already excluded group, and that efforts should be focused primarily on supporting young mothers and their children.Less
In the last decades of the 20th century, successive British governments have regarded adolescent pregnancy and childbearing as a significant public health and social problem. Youthful pregnancy was once tackled by attacking young, single mothers but New Labour, through its Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, linked early pregnancy to social exclusion rather than personal morality and aimed, instead, to reduce teenage pregnancy and increase young mothers' participation in education and employment. However, the problematisation of early pregnancy has been contested, and it has been suggested that teenage mothers have been made scapegoats for wider, often unsettling, social and demographic changes. The re-evaluation of early pregnancy as problematic means that, in some respects, teenage pregnancy has been ‘made’ and ‘unmade’ as a problem. Focusing on the period from the late-1990s to the present in the UK, this book examines who is likely to have a baby as a teenager, the consequences of early motherhood and how teenage pregnancy is dealt with in the media. The book argues that society's negative attitude to young mothers is likely to marginalise an already excluded group, and that efforts should be focused primarily on supporting young mothers and their children.
Mark Regnerus and Jeremy Uecker
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199743285
- eISBN:
- 9780199894741
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199743285.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter describes what is known about the sexual behavior of American young adults, beginning with the prevalence of virginity and discussion of primary reasons offered for ...
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This chapter describes what is known about the sexual behavior of American young adults, beginning with the prevalence of virginity and discussion of primary reasons offered for it. Serial monogamy, however, appears to be the central narrative of American heterosexual behavior. The chapter describes the average number of sexual partners that unmarried young adults report, highlighting how men and women “remember” their sexual pasts differently. Next the chapter outlines the role of oral sex in emerging adults’ lives and relationships — what it means, how its meaning has changed since adolescence, how popular it is, and what men and women think of giving and receiving it, followed by a discussion of anal sex and its rising — though more limited — prevalence. The chapter concludes with discussions of young adults’ contraceptive usage patterns, experiences of pregnancy scares, and the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among them.Less
This chapter describes what is known about the sexual behavior of American young adults, beginning with the prevalence of virginity and discussion of primary reasons offered for it. Serial monogamy, however, appears to be the central narrative of American heterosexual behavior. The chapter describes the average number of sexual partners that unmarried young adults report, highlighting how men and women “remember” their sexual pasts differently. Next the chapter outlines the role of oral sex in emerging adults’ lives and relationships — what it means, how its meaning has changed since adolescence, how popular it is, and what men and women think of giving and receiving it, followed by a discussion of anal sex and its rising — though more limited — prevalence. The chapter concludes with discussions of young adults’ contraceptive usage patterns, experiences of pregnancy scares, and the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among them.
Mary Beth Harris
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195370577
- eISBN:
- 9780199893386
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195370577.003.0008
- Subject:
- Social Work, Children and Families
This chapter explores school-based pregnancy prevention practices and programs currently in use in schools across the nation. It identifies programs and program components that have been evaluated ...
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This chapter explores school-based pregnancy prevention practices and programs currently in use in schools across the nation. It identifies programs and program components that have been evaluated and demonstrated to be effective in modifying adolescent sexual behavior and preventing adolescent pregnancy. It provides guidance for assessing program goodness-of-fit to the needs and values of the local school and community, and for planning and carrying out programs demonstrated effective in school settings. A bibliography of resources provides program specifics and contact information for locating programs that have been demonstrated to be effective.Less
This chapter explores school-based pregnancy prevention practices and programs currently in use in schools across the nation. It identifies programs and program components that have been evaluated and demonstrated to be effective in modifying adolescent sexual behavior and preventing adolescent pregnancy. It provides guidance for assessing program goodness-of-fit to the needs and values of the local school and community, and for planning and carrying out programs demonstrated effective in school settings. A bibliography of resources provides program specifics and contact information for locating programs that have been demonstrated to be effective.
