Expanding reproductive justice through a supportability reparative justice framework: the case of abortion in South Africa
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/443680 , vital:74143 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2018.1447687"
- Description: Theoretical refinement of the concept of reproductive justice has been called for. In this paper, I propose the use of a supportability reparative justice approach. Drawing on intra-categorical intersectionality, the supportability aspect starts from the event of a pregnancy to unravel the interwoven embodied and social realities implicated in women experiencing pregnancy as personally supportable/unsupportable, and socially supported/unsupported. The reparative justice aspect highlights the need for social repair in the case of unsupportable pregnancies and relies on Ernesto Verdeja’s critical theory of reparative justice in which he outlines four reparative dimensions. Using abortion within the South African context, I show how this framework may be put to use: (1) the facilitation of autonomous decision-making (individual material dimension) requires understanding women within context, and less emphasis on individual-driven ‘choice’; (2) the provision of legal, safe state-sponsored healthcare resources (collective material dimension) demands political will and abortion service provision to be regarded as a moral as well as a healthcare priority; (3) overcoming stigma and the spoiled identities (collective symbolic dimension) requires significant feminist action to deconstruct negative discourses and to foreground positive narratives; and (4) understanding individual lived experiences (individual symbolic dimension) means deep listening within the social dynamics of particular contexts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/443680 , vital:74143 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2018.1447687"
- Description: Theoretical refinement of the concept of reproductive justice has been called for. In this paper, I propose the use of a supportability reparative justice approach. Drawing on intra-categorical intersectionality, the supportability aspect starts from the event of a pregnancy to unravel the interwoven embodied and social realities implicated in women experiencing pregnancy as personally supportable/unsupportable, and socially supported/unsupported. The reparative justice aspect highlights the need for social repair in the case of unsupportable pregnancies and relies on Ernesto Verdeja’s critical theory of reparative justice in which he outlines four reparative dimensions. Using abortion within the South African context, I show how this framework may be put to use: (1) the facilitation of autonomous decision-making (individual material dimension) requires understanding women within context, and less emphasis on individual-driven ‘choice’; (2) the provision of legal, safe state-sponsored healthcare resources (collective material dimension) demands political will and abortion service provision to be regarded as a moral as well as a healthcare priority; (3) overcoming stigma and the spoiled identities (collective symbolic dimension) requires significant feminist action to deconstruct negative discourses and to foreground positive narratives; and (4) understanding individual lived experiences (individual symbolic dimension) means deep listening within the social dynamics of particular contexts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Focus on 'the family'?: how South African family policy could fail us
- Morison, Tracy, Lynch, Ingrid, Macleod, Catriona I
- Authors: Morison, Tracy , Lynch, Ingrid , Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446244 , vital:74484 , xlink:href="https://hsrc.ac.za/uploads/pageContent/7505/HSRC%20POLICY%20BRIEF%2011%20-%20MORISON%20Family%20policy_PRESS%20(2).pdf"
- Description: In the past decade South African policymakers have increasingly focused on families as sites of state intervention. To date, several family policies have been developed to support societal well-being and cohesion. The most recent policy document is the White Paper on Families in South Africa (DSD 2012), which aims to facilitate the mainstreaming of a family perspective into all government policy-making. Family policies are intended to provide support, enhance family members’ wellbeing, strengthen family relationships, and help families address social challenges, such as economic instability. Their ultimate aim is to ensure a safe and socially cohesive society (Robila 2014). A core concern, therefore, is with promoting ‘stable, healthy families’. This concern is valid in South Africa since many families experienced a profound lack of stability under apartheid and today instability is brought about by various socio-economic changes, especially the HIV and AIDS epidemic.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Morison, Tracy , Lynch, Ingrid , Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446244 , vital:74484 , xlink:href="https://hsrc.ac.za/uploads/pageContent/7505/HSRC%20POLICY%20BRIEF%2011%20-%20MORISON%20Family%20policy_PRESS%20(2).pdf"
- Description: In the past decade South African policymakers have increasingly focused on families as sites of state intervention. To date, several family policies have been developed to support societal well-being and cohesion. The most recent policy document is the White Paper on Families in South Africa (DSD 2012), which aims to facilitate the mainstreaming of a family perspective into all government policy-making. Family policies are intended to provide support, enhance family members’ wellbeing, strengthen family relationships, and help families address social challenges, such as economic instability. Their ultimate aim is to ensure a safe and socially cohesive society (Robila 2014). A core concern, therefore, is with promoting ‘stable, healthy families’. This concern is valid in South Africa since many families experienced a profound lack of stability under apartheid and today instability is brought about by various socio-economic changes, especially the HIV and AIDS epidemic.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
How content analysis may complement and extend the insights of discourse analysis: An example of research on constructions of abortion in South African newspapers 1978–2005
- Feltham-King, Tracey, Macleod, Catriona I
- Authors: Feltham-King, Tracey , Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446258 , vital:74485 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406915624575"
- Description: Although discourse analysis is a well-established qualitative research methodology, little attention has been paid to how discourse analysis may be enhanced through careful supplementation with the quantification allowed in content analysis. In this article, we report on a research study that involved the use of both Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA) and directed content analysis based on social constructionist theory and our qualitative research findings. The research focused on the discourses deployed, and the ways in which women were discursively positioned, in relation to abortion in 300 newspaper articles, published in 25 national and regional South African newspapers over 28 years, from 1978 to 2005. While the FDA was able to illuminate the constitutive network of power relations constructing women as subjects of a particular kind, questions emerged that were beyond the scope of the FDA. These questions concerned understanding the relative weightings of various discourses and tracing historical changes in the deployment of these discourses. In this article, we show how the decision to combine FDA and content analysis affected our sampling methodology. Using specific examples, we illustrate the contribution of the FDA to the study. Then, we indicate how subject positioning formed the link between the FDA and the content analysis. Drawing on the same examples, we demonstrate how the content analysis supplemented the FDA through tracking changes over time and providing empirical evidence of the extent to which subject positionings were deployed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Feltham-King, Tracey , Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446258 , vital:74485 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406915624575"
- Description: Although discourse analysis is a well-established qualitative research methodology, little attention has been paid to how discourse analysis may be enhanced through careful supplementation with the quantification allowed in content analysis. In this article, we report on a research study that involved the use of both Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA) and directed content analysis based on social constructionist theory and our qualitative research findings. The research focused on the discourses deployed, and the ways in which women were discursively positioned, in relation to abortion in 300 newspaper articles, published in 25 national and regional South African newspapers over 28 years, from 1978 to 2005. While the FDA was able to illuminate the constitutive network of power relations constructing women as subjects of a particular kind, questions emerged that were beyond the scope of the FDA. These questions concerned understanding the relative weightings of various discourses and tracing historical changes in the deployment of these discourses. In this article, we show how the decision to combine FDA and content analysis affected our sampling methodology. Using specific examples, we illustrate the contribution of the FDA to the study. Then, we indicate how subject positioning formed the link between the FDA and the content analysis. Drawing on the same examples, we demonstrate how the content analysis supplemented the FDA through tracking changes over time and providing empirical evidence of the extent to which subject positionings were deployed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Introducing State of the Discipline Papers
- Macleod, Catriona I, Capdevila, Rose, Marecek, Jeanne
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Capdevila, Rose , Marecek, Jeanne
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446272 , vital:74486 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353516649724"
- Description: The editors of Feminism and Psychology are delighted to introduce the first of our State of the Discipline papers. Twenty-five years have passed since the establishment of FandP. Significant work in feminist psychology and in feminisms relevant to psychology has been published both in this jour-nal and in others since (and before) the establishment of FandP. The range of topics that feminists in psychology consider has expanded and the reach of feminist studies has broadened. In light of the dynamic growth of the field, we believe that the time is ripe to establish what we have termed ‘State of the Discipline’ papers. We envision this series as a collection of occasional papers pertaining to particular topics or issues. What, we ask, is the current state of a specific topic within feminisms and psychologies? The State of the Discipline papers, written by scholars with a long-standing engagement with the topic, are neither empirical articles nor literature re-views. Instead, the papers are intended to apprise readers of the current state of knowledge about the topic, drawing on the literatures of both psy-chology and feminist studies. The articles: summarise key developments; point out areas of conceptual and methodological debate among feminist scholars; open up the topic to further scrutiny and new ways of understand-ing; and promote nuanced work in the field.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Capdevila, Rose , Marecek, Jeanne
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446272 , vital:74486 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353516649724"
- Description: The editors of Feminism and Psychology are delighted to introduce the first of our State of the Discipline papers. Twenty-five years have passed since the establishment of FandP. Significant work in feminist psychology and in feminisms relevant to psychology has been published both in this jour-nal and in others since (and before) the establishment of FandP. The range of topics that feminists in psychology consider has expanded and the reach of feminist studies has broadened. In light of the dynamic growth of the field, we believe that the time is ripe to establish what we have termed ‘State of the Discipline’ papers. We envision this series as a collection of occasional papers pertaining to particular topics or issues. What, we ask, is the current state of a specific topic within feminisms and psychologies? The State of the Discipline papers, written by scholars with a long-standing engagement with the topic, are neither empirical articles nor literature re-views. Instead, the papers are intended to apprise readers of the current state of knowledge about the topic, drawing on the literatures of both psy-chology and feminist studies. The articles: summarise key developments; point out areas of conceptual and methodological debate among feminist scholars; open up the topic to further scrutiny and new ways of understand-ing; and promote nuanced work in the field.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Stigma resistance in online childfree communities: The limitations of choice rhetoric
- Morison, Tracy, Macleod, Catriona I, Lynch, Ingrid, Shivakumar, Seemanthini T
- Authors: Morison, Tracy , Macleod, Catriona I , Lynch, Ingrid , Shivakumar, Seemanthini T
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446299 , vital:74488 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684315603657"
- Description: People who are voluntarily childless, or ‘‘childfree,’’ face considerable stigma. Researchers have begun to explore how these individuals respond to stigma, usually focusing on interpersonal stigma management strategies. We explored participants’ responses to stigma in a way that is cognisant of broader social norms and gender power relations. Using a feminist discursive psychology framework, we analysed women’s and men’s computer-assisted communication about their childfree status. Our analysis draws attention to ‘‘identity work’’ in the context of stigma. We show how the strategic use of ‘‘choice’’ rhetoric allowed participants to avoid stigmatised identities and was used in two contradictory ways. On the one hand, participants drew on a ‘‘childfree-by-choice script,’’ which enabled them to hold a positive identity of themselves as autonomous, rational, and responsible decision makers. On the other hand, they mobilised a ‘‘disavowal of choice script’’ that allowed a person who is unable to choose childlessness (for various reasons) to hold a blameless identity regarding deviation from the norm of parenthood. We demonstrate how choice rhetoric allowed participants to resist stigma and challenge pronatalism to some extent; we discuss the political potential of these scripts for reproductive freedom.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Morison, Tracy , Macleod, Catriona I , Lynch, Ingrid , Shivakumar, Seemanthini T
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446299 , vital:74488 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684315603657"
- Description: People who are voluntarily childless, or ‘‘childfree,’’ face considerable stigma. Researchers have begun to explore how these individuals respond to stigma, usually focusing on interpersonal stigma management strategies. We explored participants’ responses to stigma in a way that is cognisant of broader social norms and gender power relations. Using a feminist discursive psychology framework, we analysed women’s and men’s computer-assisted communication about their childfree status. Our analysis draws attention to ‘‘identity work’’ in the context of stigma. We show how the strategic use of ‘‘choice’’ rhetoric allowed participants to avoid stigmatised identities and was used in two contradictory ways. On the one hand, participants drew on a ‘‘childfree-by-choice script,’’ which enabled them to hold a positive identity of themselves as autonomous, rational, and responsible decision makers. On the other hand, they mobilised a ‘‘disavowal of choice script’’ that allowed a person who is unable to choose childlessness (for various reasons) to hold a blameless identity regarding deviation from the norm of parenthood. We demonstrate how choice rhetoric allowed participants to resist stigma and challenge pronatalism to some extent; we discuss the political potential of these scripts for reproductive freedom.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
The emancipatory potential of nursing practice in relation to sexuality: a systematic literature review of nursing research 2009–2014
- Macleod, Catriona I, Nhamo-Murire, Mercy
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Nhamo-Murire, Mercy
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446312 , vital:74489 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12131"
- Description: Nurses play a key role in the provision of services in relation to sexuality in both primary and sexual and reproductive health-care. Given the intersection of sexualities with a range of social injustices, this study reviews research on nursing practice concerning sexuality from an emancipatory/social justice perspective. A systematic review of English articles published in nursing journals appearing on the Web of Science database from 2009 to 2014 was conducted. Thirty-eight articles met the inclusion criteria. Analysis consisted of a descriptive phase (types and location of studies, aspects of sexualities focused on, target health users and aspects of nursing practice focused on) and a critical/emancipatory phase. In terms of practice, our analysis revealed that: barriers exist to the integration of issues relating to sexuality in nursing practice; the social location of nurses and their personal feelings regarding sexuality influence their practice; content that addresses gendered norms and media that assist in communication underpin some emancipatory practices. Few studies locate analyses of nursing practice within gendered, cultural and social norms; consider advocacy as part of the practice of nurses; or analyse the promotion of health user participation in health services and structures. The implications for emancipatory practice are drawn out.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Nhamo-Murire, Mercy
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/446312 , vital:74489 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12131"
- Description: Nurses play a key role in the provision of services in relation to sexuality in both primary and sexual and reproductive health-care. Given the intersection of sexualities with a range of social injustices, this study reviews research on nursing practice concerning sexuality from an emancipatory/social justice perspective. A systematic review of English articles published in nursing journals appearing on the Web of Science database from 2009 to 2014 was conducted. Thirty-eight articles met the inclusion criteria. Analysis consisted of a descriptive phase (types and location of studies, aspects of sexualities focused on, target health users and aspects of nursing practice focused on) and a critical/emancipatory phase. In terms of practice, our analysis revealed that: barriers exist to the integration of issues relating to sexuality in nursing practice; the social location of nurses and their personal feelings regarding sexuality influence their practice; content that addresses gendered norms and media that assist in communication underpin some emancipatory practices. Few studies locate analyses of nursing practice within gendered, cultural and social norms; consider advocacy as part of the practice of nurses; or analyse the promotion of health user participation in health services and structures. The implications for emancipatory practice are drawn out.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
“Girls need to behave like girls you know”: the complexities of applying a gender justice goal within sexuality education in South African schools
- Macleod, Catriona I, Ngabaza, Sisa, Shefer, Tamara
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Ngabaza, Sisa , Shefer, Tamara
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/444342 , vital:74220 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rhm.2016.11.007"
- Description: Sexuality education, as a component within the Life Orientation (LO) programme in South African schools, is intended to provide young people with knowledge and skills to make informed choices about their sexuality, their own health and that of others. Key to the programme are outcomes relating to power, power relations and gender. In this paper, we apply a critical gender lens to explore the ways in which the teaching of sexuality education engages with larger goals of gender justice. The paper draws from a number of ethnographic studies conducted at 12 South African schools. We focus here on the data collected from focus group discussions with learners, and semi-structured interviews with individual learners, principals and Life Orientation (LO) teachers. The paper highlights the complexities of having gender justice as a central goal of LO sexuality education. Teaching sexuality education is reported to contradict dominant community values and norms. Although some principals and school authorities support gender equity and problematize hegemonic masculinities, learners experience sexuality education as upholding normative gender roles and male power, rather than challenging it. Teachers rely heavily on cautionary messages that put more responsibility for reproductive health on female learners, and use didactic, authoritative pedagogical techniques, which do not acknowledge young people’s experience nor facilitate their sexual agency. These complexities need to be foregrounded and worked with systematically if the goal of gender justice within LO is to be realised.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Ngabaza, Sisa , Shefer, Tamara
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/444342 , vital:74220 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rhm.2016.11.007"
- Description: Sexuality education, as a component within the Life Orientation (LO) programme in South African schools, is intended to provide young people with knowledge and skills to make informed choices about their sexuality, their own health and that of others. Key to the programme are outcomes relating to power, power relations and gender. In this paper, we apply a critical gender lens to explore the ways in which the teaching of sexuality education engages with larger goals of gender justice. The paper draws from a number of ethnographic studies conducted at 12 South African schools. We focus here on the data collected from focus group discussions with learners, and semi-structured interviews with individual learners, principals and Life Orientation (LO) teachers. The paper highlights the complexities of having gender justice as a central goal of LO sexuality education. Teaching sexuality education is reported to contradict dominant community values and norms. Although some principals and school authorities support gender equity and problematize hegemonic masculinities, learners experience sexuality education as upholding normative gender roles and male power, rather than challenging it. Teachers rely heavily on cautionary messages that put more responsibility for reproductive health on female learners, and use didactic, authoritative pedagogical techniques, which do not acknowledge young people’s experience nor facilitate their sexual agency. These complexities need to be foregrounded and worked with systematically if the goal of gender justice within LO is to be realised.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
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