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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Frisbee C. C. Sheffield
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199286775
- eISBN:
- 9780191713194
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286775.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
This chapter examines Socrates' account of the aim of eros. At different points in his speech, Socrates specifies three aims of eros: the good, reproduction in beauty, and immortality. This chapter ...
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This chapter examines Socrates' account of the aim of eros. At different points in his speech, Socrates specifies three aims of eros: the good, reproduction in beauty, and immortality. This chapter argues that those three aims are, in fact, related under the more general desire for eudaimonia, the everlasting happiness characteristic of the divine. The desire for eudaimonia is the telos, the true end of all erotic striving. According to Socrates, we desire a good whose possession we believe to constitute that state, and one which can be had in an enduring way. The desire to reproduce in a beautiful environment is the characteristic activity of this desire for the good, because productive activity is the mortal approximation to the divine state. The reason why the desire for eudaimonia manifests itself in creative activity in the presence of beauty is because this is the distinctively mortal way in which it can achieve a share of divine happiness.Less
This chapter examines Socrates' account of the aim of eros. At different points in his speech, Socrates specifies three aims of eros: the good, reproduction in beauty, and immortality. This chapter argues that those three aims are, in fact, related under the more general desire for eudaimonia, the everlasting happiness characteristic of the divine. The desire for eudaimonia is the telos, the true end of all erotic striving. According to Socrates, we desire a good whose possession we believe to constitute that state, and one which can be had in an enduring way. The desire to reproduce in a beautiful environment is the characteristic activity of this desire for the good, because productive activity is the mortal approximation to the divine state. The reason why the desire for eudaimonia manifests itself in creative activity in the presence of beauty is because this is the distinctively mortal way in which it can achieve a share of divine happiness.
Robert Woods
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199542758
- eISBN:
- 9780191715358
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199542758.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Social History
This chapter explains why the health and survival chances of the fetus are so important in developed economies today, since late-fetal is often higher than infant mortality, and it establishes the ...
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This chapter explains why the health and survival chances of the fetus are so important in developed economies today, since late-fetal is often higher than infant mortality, and it establishes the need to provide a full account of how fetal health and obstetric knowledge have changed during the past centuries. The chapter also argues the case for taking an inter-disciplinary approach (medical and demographic history combined); of considering long-term changes in practice and experience; and making comparisons between the priorities and approaches adopted in different countries.Less
This chapter explains why the health and survival chances of the fetus are so important in developed economies today, since late-fetal is often higher than infant mortality, and it establishes the need to provide a full account of how fetal health and obstetric knowledge have changed during the past centuries. The chapter also argues the case for taking an inter-disciplinary approach (medical and demographic history combined); of considering long-term changes in practice and experience; and making comparisons between the priorities and approaches adopted in different countries.
Khiara Bridges
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520268944
- eISBN:
- 9780520949447
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520268944.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This book, an ethnography of pregnancy and birth at a large New York City public hospital, explores the role of race in the medical setting. The book investigates how race—commonly seen as biological ...
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This book, an ethnography of pregnancy and birth at a large New York City public hospital, explores the role of race in the medical setting. The book investigates how race—commonly seen as biological in the medical world—is socially constructed among women dependent on the public healthcare system for prenatal care and childbirth. It argues that race carries powerful material consequences for these women even when it is not explicitly named, showing how they are marginalized by the practices and assumptions of the clinic staff. Deftly weaving ethnographic evidence into broader discussions of Medicaid and racial disparities in infant and maternal mortality, the book shines new light on the politics of healthcare for the poor, demonstrating how the “medicalization” of social problems reproduces racial stereotypes and governs the bodies of poor women of color.Less
This book, an ethnography of pregnancy and birth at a large New York City public hospital, explores the role of race in the medical setting. The book investigates how race—commonly seen as biological in the medical world—is socially constructed among women dependent on the public healthcare system for prenatal care and childbirth. It argues that race carries powerful material consequences for these women even when it is not explicitly named, showing how they are marginalized by the practices and assumptions of the clinic staff. Deftly weaving ethnographic evidence into broader discussions of Medicaid and racial disparities in infant and maternal mortality, the book shines new light on the politics of healthcare for the poor, demonstrating how the “medicalization” of social problems reproduces racial stereotypes and governs the bodies of poor women of color.
