Adolescent pregnancy: A feminist issue
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/434360 , vital:73051 , ISBN 978-1-4899-8025-0 , https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4899-8026-7_6
- Description: Pregnancy and mothering are enduring and central concerns of feminism. DiQuinzo (1999) sums this up in stating that “mothering is both an important site at which the central concepts of feminist theory are elaborated and a site at which these concepts are challenged and reworked.” Stephens (2004) argues, ‘…reproduction and mothering are central to theories of patriarchy and women’s unequal position in Western society…Childbirth can paradoxically be seen as both a cause of women’s subordinate position in society and a means of empowerment.’ Yet, despite the pivotal nature of pregnancy and mothering in feminist literature, there has been surprisingly little direct engagement by feminists in the area of ‘adolescent pregnancy.’ The engagement that there has been is a whisper in relation to the plethora of public health, medical, and psychological writings on ‘adolescent pregnancy.’ The feminists who have engaged with ‘adolescent pregnancy’ have, from their initial engagement and to varying degrees, tried to undermine simple interpretations of ‘adolescent pregnancy’ as a social problem and to link micro- and macro-level gender relations to occurrence of, and responses to, ‘adolescent pregnancy.’ Thus, for example, in the 1980s, Chilman (1985) asserted, ‘Sexism particularly afflicts programs and policies for these young people [unmarried teenage parents] as well as the behaviors that lead up to their becoming unmarried parents.’ In the 1990s, Pillow (1997), using a combination of feminist and postmodern theory, argued that ‘teen research and policy interventions can be understood as entrenched in the dilemmas of modernism, resulting often in normative assumptions that reflect our paradoxical attitudes and practices concerning female sexuality.’ More recently, Wilson and Huntington (2005) observed ‘adolescent pregnancy’ at a time when rates of fertility among young women are decreasing in ‘Western’ societies is ‘underpinned by changing social and political imperatives regarding the role of women in these countries.’
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Beyond coming out: lesbians’ (alternative) stories of sexual identity told in post-Apartheid South Africa
- Authors: Gibson, Alexandra , Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Book chapter
- Identifier: vital:6304 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016063
- Description: Over the last several decades, the ‘coming out’i story has become entrenched as the central narrative with which lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people can narrate their experiences of claiming a sexual identity and storying their lives in general (Bacon, 1998; Blackburn, 2009). It has developed into a “canonical narrative” (Bruner, 1987, p. 15), or a culturally recognisable story for LGB people, in that it involves the recounting of a series of familiar events in moving from a place of shame to one of self-acceptance about one’s sexual identity (Cohler & Hammack, 2007; Plummer, 1995). The ‘coming out’ canonical narrative additionally operates as a counter-narrative, which has enabled LGB people to voice their sexuality within heterosexist and heteronormative confines (Blackburn, 2009). Nevertheless, there are limitations (and limiting effects) to this narrative, and further refinement of how we understand sexual identity narratives is required. To illustrate this argument, we draw on a narrative-discursive study of eight lesbians’ stories of sexual identity in post-apartheid South Africa.
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Celebrating 30 years of Feminism and Psychology
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Capdevila, Rose , Marecek, Jeanne , Braun, Virginia , Gavey, Nicola , Wilkinson, Sue
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/444262 , vital:74211 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0452-2"
- Description: Feminism and Psychology (FandP) was launched in 1991 with a sense of possibility, enthusiasm and excitement as well as a sense of urgent need – to critique and reconstruct mainstream psychology (theory, research methods, and clinical practice). Thirty years have now passed since the first issue was produced. Thirty volumes with three or four issues have been published each year, thanks to the efforts of many. On the occasion of FandP’s 30th anniversary, we, the present and past editors, reflect on successes, changes and challenges in relation to the journal. We celebrate the prestigious awards accruing to the journal, its editors, and authors, and the significant contributions the journal has made to critical feminist scholarship at the interface of feminisms and psychologies. We note some of the theoretical and methodological developments and social changes witnessed over the last three decades. We highlight challenges facing feminist researchers in academia as well as international feminist publishing. We conclude that the initial enthusiasm and excitement expressed by the then editorial collective was justified. But, there is still much work to be done.
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Cracks in reproductive health rights: knowledge of abortion legislation stipulations amongst learners in Buffalo City, South Africa
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Seutlwadi, Lebogang , Steele, Gary I
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6296 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1014772
- Description: Background: The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy (CTOP) Act legalised abortion on request in South Africa until up to 12 weeks of gestation and thereafter under specified conditions. Within the context of liberal legislation, accurate information is a necessary (although not sufficient) requirement for women to exercise their reproductive rights. Objectives: This research investigated Grade 11 learners’ knowledge of the CTOP Act and its stipulations. Methods: Survey research was conducted with respondents drawn from a range of schools in Buffalo City, South Africa. Multi-stage sampling was used, namely stratified random sampling of schools and purposive sampling of grades used within schools. The data were collected by means of self-administered questionnaires in group situations. Results: Results indicate that knowledge of the legal status of abortion, as well as of the various stipulations of the law, was poor. Various misunderstandings were evident, including that spousal approval is required in order for married women to have an abortion. Significant differences between the knowledge of respondents at the various schools were found, with those learners attending schools formerly designated for African learners during Apartheid having the least knowledge. Conclusion: Given the multiple factors that may serve as barriers to women accessing abortion, it is imperative that at least the most fundamental aspect of reproductive rights, that is, the right to information, is not undermined.
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Pregnancy among young women in South Africa
- Authors: Macleod, Catriona I , Tracey, Tiffany
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/434371 , vital:73052 , ISBN 978-1-4899-8025-0 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-8026-7
- Description: In 1994, South Africa witnessed its first democratic elections after centuries of colonial and then apartheid rule. As time passes since that euphoric moment in 1994, the difficulties of transformation have become evident. In terms of sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS is acknowledged as one of the most significant challenges, with South Africa having one of the highest infection rates globally. Pregnancy among teenage women is receiving increasing attention as well. For example, public concern has been expressed that the recently introduced Child Support Grant (CSG) acts as a ‘perverse incentive’ for young women to bear children. This emotional claim was refuted by separately commissioned reviews of research on girls who received the grant. National statistics paint an interesting picture that negates the popular opinion in South Africa that rates of teenage pregnancy and childbearing are escalating. The 1998, the South African Demographic and Health Survey (SADHS) indicated that 35 % of women had had a child by the age of 19 years, while in the 2003 SADHS survey, this had decreased to 27 %. The rights-based approach adopted by the South African government to sexual and reproductive health enshrines a young woman’s right to prevent an unwanted pregnancy, to plan a pregnancy with her partner should they wish, to make an independent decision concerning the outcome of a pregnancy, to terminate that pregnancy safely should she wish, and to access non-discriminatory prenatal and postnatal care should she take the pregnancy to term. While there are still many obstacles and challenges associated with the issues of ‘adolescent pregnancy,’ it is important to remember the success represented by, and that arises from, this rights-based legislation.
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