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The "Letter from the Special Issue Editors" in the Recreational Sports Journal emphasizes the importance of justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion (JDEI) in collegiate recreation and higher education. The special issue aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on JDEI, exploring themes such as systemic challenges, gender constructs, neurodiversity, allyship, and transgender inclusion. The articles in the special issue provide valuable insights into current practices, challenges, and opportunities in the field of collegiate recreation, offering theoretical frameworks and practical applications for practitioners while highlighting the need for further research in JDEI. [Extracted from the article]

This paper explores young Aboriginal women's views on sex and relationships in Australia – including their beliefs about broader social attitudes relating to sexuality, gender, and well-being – and how these understandings can impact young women's sexual health. The project adopted a strengths-based approach and used peer interviewing to investigate how Aboriginal young people in urban settings develop and manage their sexual well-being. The findings draw on interviews with 35 Aboriginal young women, between 16 and 26 years old and living in Western Sydney, Australia. Although the young women's views and experiences were broad and diverse, several key themes were identified. In this paper, we explore how young women's understandings and experiences of sexual shame were gendered and racialised, how they reconciled shame-inducing discourses by embracing more open and positive views about sexuality and how they drew on various sources to foster self-worth and sexual agency. Moreover, the paper describes what young women saw as the defining features of positive sexual relationships which, in their views, included love, connection, respect, consent, trust, honesty and responsibility. Implications for how young women's ties to family, community and culture supported them in fostering sexual well-being are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Retos: Nuevas Perspectivas de Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación is the property of Federacion Espanola de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educacion Fisica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article examines the political and conceptual possibilities of defiance to marriage as a gendered norm through the deviant words expressed in the lyrics of Bangla (Bengali) folk songs, in particular those in the Bhawaiya tradition. Bhawaiya is famous for its lyrics of embodied or sensual love, often in the form of deviant and “illicit” relations outside of marriage, expressed through the female voice of the songs. When performed, the songs can evoke similar deviant emotions in the performers and the listeners, creating an affective atmosphere and constructing a “temporal subjectivity” with the emotions of the female subjects of the songs, which I call the “sexual subaltern.” I argue that throughout the colonial and postcolonial nationalist reforms and the emergence of strict reproductive heteropatriarchy in Bengal, the lyrics of Bhawaiya songs remained popular under the radar and as the artifacts of deviant sexual desire of the female subjects of the songs. This article goes further in examining how the temporal and affective subjectivity of the sexual subaltern, with deviant and defiant emotions, as constructed through these songs, can offer an alternative conceptual tool to dislocate West-centric feminist-queer politics and provide a global feminist remapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literary narratives reflect complex issues and are multi-layered and polyphonic. The paper presents auto-diegetic narration as a feminist narrative technique in retelling to regain women’s agency and depict masculinities from a feminist perspective. In the feminist retelling, the narrative technique disrupts the conventional image of a woman in a classical narrative by changing the context and ending of the story. In such disruptions, the author is the first resistant reader questioning the conventions and traditions. To comprehend and appreciate this complex mosaic in the literary narrative a close reading of the text is essential. Close reading presents the reader with an opportunity to identify moments of disruption. The paper identifies this process by close reading the feminist re-telling of the short story An Afternoon with Shakuntala by Vaidehi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Media representations of sexuality can play a relevant role in the development of gender stereotypes and sexual learning processes. In the current pre-registered study, we examined the representation of sexuality in content on Netflix, a dominant force in global mass media consumption. We coded 271 mixed-gender sexual scenes across seven highly popular Netflix series for orgasm portrayal, depiction of sexual behaviors, including clitoral stimulation, and gendered sexual scripts (i.e., initiation, control, and expression of desires). Our results revealed a nuanced picture of women's sexual pleasure representation. Women's orgasms were depicted less frequently than men's, although orgasm portrayal was generally rare. Sexual behaviors were mostly limited to penile-vaginal intercourse, though cunnilingus was depicted more frequently than fellatio. Regarding gendered sexual scripts, women were portrayed as equally sexually agentic as men, initiating sexual encounters, taking control, and expressing their needs and desires. Our findings indicate that this content simultaneously reinforces and challenges gender stereotypes related to sexual experiences, highlighting the need for sexual educators to critically address the realism of mainstream media portrayals to foster a nuanced understanding of sexuality and pleasure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the evolution of female authorship representation in film, moving from the traditional romantic genius to the emerging demotic author concept. It analyzes how women writers have been portrayed in movies, transitioning from romantic geniuses to madwomen and part of a female chorus. The feminist implications of the death of the author theory and the shift towards demotic authorship, characterized by collaboration and direct audience engagement, are explored using examples from the film "Colette." The analysis showcases how Colette's transition from traditional authorship to demotic authorship in the film signifies her liberation from patriarchal constraints and empowerment as a feminist writer. [Extracted from the article]

Judith A. Allen, a distinguished historian of gender, sexuality, crime, and first wave feminism, passed away in London in 2024. Her career spanned from Australia to America, Canada, and Britain, where she made significant contributions to the field of women's history. Allen's work focused on feminist readings of archival records, challenging traditional narratives and methodologies. She was a respected scholar, mentor, and teacher, leaving behind a lasting impact on the academic community. [Extracted from the article]

As a contested site of struggle, Black women rappers' use of hip-hop and rap music provides them with a platform to affirm their sexual autonomy amid gratuitous sexual violence. Sexual agency is central to Black abolition. To imagine futures beyond violence necessitates that we view Black women's sexual rebellion as an abolitionist praxis amidst precarity. In this essay, I introduce subversive reclamation—a critical reading posture and experimental approach—to explore the imaginative potential of Black pussy talk as a rhetorical strategy employed in Black women's contemporary stripper rap. I situate this exploration of Black women's pussy talk within and in conversation with Black queer feminist (BQF) theories of sex and sexuality as well as pleasure and joy to consider how Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's hip-hop song, "WAP" queers hegemonic inscriptions of Black women's sexualities. Ultimately, I argue that subversive reclamation offers a disruptive reading of Black women's pleasure, fundamentally shifting how rhetorical scholars should talk about Black women's bodies, sexualities, and futures in popular media and public discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article delves into testimonial smothering and testimonial quieting in erotically oppressive lifeworlds, particularly focusing on women's sexual arousal. It critiques the DSM-IV's approach to women's sexual arousal and highlights the harms of mainstream media, pornography, and scientific naturalism. The paper argues that these lifeworlds limit women's agency in expressing their sexual desires. It also responds to objections to DSM-5's conceptualization of women's sexual arousal, emphasizing the importance of recognizing women's subjective experiences. The document explores various aspects of sexual arousal, desire, and dysfunction in women, challenging traditional models and societal norms. [Extracted from the article]

AbstractThis study argues that not every instance of extramarital sexual intercourse among the Igbo women of southeastern Nigeria is adulterous. Using the sex-related rite of iwushi-miri (pouring of water) among the Mgbowo women of southeastern Nigeria (Igboland) as an example, the study explores the different means that the women have used in negotiating extramarital relationships, and sexual behaviours in the traditional, colonial and Christian patriarchal environments. The study brings together both ethnographic and feminist cultural resistance research to appraise the distinctions between punishable and culturally permitted extramarital sexual practices, and to highlight the role that extramarital sexual culture played in resisting the patriarchal domination of female sexuality in the age of empire. It also explores the challenges and the responses of Mgbowo women in negotiating extramarital relationships in a modern-day patriarchal setting. It sets out to explore how women’s sex power, agency and influence have been silenced in the colonial archives and mainstream scholarship. Through semi-structured interviews, the analysis of material culture, and participant observation, this study provides insight into traditional sexual culture(s), marital intercourse, and sex-related rituals among Mgbowo women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even tough clitoris plays a critical role in female sexuality, we lack a precise understanding of qualitative and quantitative aspects of the innervation of the human clitoris. To address this issue, we dissected human clitorides from body donors and imaged them after staining with iodine with microCT for a macroscopic analysis. To resolve innervation patterns at the microscopic level we prepared thin sections of clitorides and stained them with trichrome azan to reveal the tissue structure combined with immunocytochemistry against Neurofilament H antibodies to reveal all axons and luxol blue labeling to reveal myelinated axons. We find the clitoral branch of pudendal nerve that innervates the clitoris not as single nerve, but as number of loose bundles. In the crus of the clitoris, about 12 such bundles can be recognized while about 32 bundles are present in the clitoral hemi-body. We counted on avarage 2917 axons in the crus of the clitoris (76% of which are myelinated) and 3137 axons in the hemibody of the clitoris (71% of which are myelinated). While the human clitoris receives only one third of the number of axons that innervate the human penis, an estimate of innervation density (per surface area) revealed that clitoris has approximately 6 times denser innervation compared to the penis. Thus, our study combines histology with microCT analysis provides detailed information on the number, myelination and innervation density of dorsal nerve of clitoris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the increasing burden of breast cancer in the developing world, there is a misunderstanding of the complex and multifaceted relationship between culture and cancer, particularly breast cancer. Hence, a dichotomy of illness narratives exists due to differential meaning making concerning breast cancer. While clinicians always recommend biomedical treatment, women with breast cancer often seek alternative treatment pathways. Aims: To explore the experiences of women with breast cancer and clinicians in Nigeria on the dichotomy in the illness narratives. Methods: This qualitative study used in‐depth interviews and focus group discussion to explore the experiences of 22 women with breast cancer and 7 clinicians in Nigeria on the dichotomy in the illness narratives using grounded theory method analysis. Results: This study revealed that many women living with breast cancer (WLBC) hold health beliefs that are contradictory to the biomedical norm. They mostly sought treatment based on the perceived aetiology of breast cancer. The treatment pathway follows faith and traditional healing as alternatives or sometimes in combination with biomedicine. WLBC reported a constant fear of biomedical treatment, perceived to be harmful to women's sexuality, fertility and body image. Hence, after perceived treatment failure from alternative care, biomedical care becomes the last resort, usually at an advanced stage of breast cancer, often responsible for poor prognosis. Conclusion: There is a dichotomy of illness construction between sufferers and health practitioners. To guide women with breast cancer on the path of care, modern care practitioners should consider some cultural norms and practices without compromising professional ethos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the rights and protections enshrined in its new constitution, the West German state confined beggars, alcoholics, convicted prostitutes and vagrants in workhouses on criminal sentences until 1969. Using administrative and inmate files, alongside local press coverage, this article turns to the largest remaining workhouse in West Germany, Brauweiler, between 1950 and 1969 and considers the internment of women arrested under the 'correctional post‐internment' measure. It explores the gendered experiences of workhouse inmates, from the reasons for their internment to the reproduction of gendered boundaries during incarceration. Rather than providing an institutional history, it considers the micro‐perspective of inmate experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Sexual life of pregnant women alters during pregnancy due to the physiologic,' anatomic and hormonal changes in her body. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate female sexual functioning after becoming pregnant. Patients and methods: A prospective survey study including 148 pregnant women. An anonymous questionnaire including 60 inquiries concerning intimate relationship before and during pregnancy was performed. The following statistical test were used: Chi-square test of independence, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and Wilcoxon test. The significance level of p = 0.05 was assumed. Results: Most of the respondents were between 31 and 40 years old (55%). Majority of them were married (86%). During pregnancy, slightly more than half of women had a moderate need for sexual intercourse (51%), a large percentage of them had a low need (32%), a high need for intercourse was declared by 17% of women. The correlation analysis showed a statistically significant relationship between women's education and the need for sex before pregnancy (p = 0.049). Respondents with higher degrees of education more often felt the need for intercourse before pregnancy. No correlation was found between education and the need for intercourse after pregnancy (p = 0.107). After becoming pregnant, 51% of women had less need for intercourse, 7% more, and 42% the same as before pregnancy, and these differences were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Also, a decreased satisfaction with sexual intercourse was reported during pregnancy (p < 0.001). After getting pregnant, the average number of intercourses decreased in majority (71%) of respondents, and differences in the number of intercourses before and during pregnancy were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Pregnancy has significant impact on woman's sexuality. After becoming pregnant majority of women declare less need for sexual intercourses, decreased number of intercourses with less satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis study is a retrospective examination of how sexual minority women have experienced their sexuality. The analysis examined a national archival dataset that was collected online in the US and Canada to examine the relationship between gender and sexuality in 1084 sexual minority women in 2003, with a focus on butch and femme identities. It provided an understanding of how gender and sexuality interacted at the turn of the last century when the gender identity landscape differed from that of today. While this study collected data from butch and femme women approximately 20-years ago, the results have implications for how we develop situated understandings of the relationship between gender and sexuality. Findings indicated gendered patterns in sexual preferences and attraction that can shed light on how gender and sexuality have evolved in connection. At the same time, there were no differences in sexual satisfaction, which suggests that the enactment of gendered sexuality (in which attraction is structured by a gender dynamic) was experienced as empowering rather than oppressive. We examine our findings in relation to current scholarship on gendered sexuality to consider how sexuality is constructed and reconstructed across time. The findings support a view of gendered sexuality as a source of pleasure, affirmation, and positive embodiment. We theorize gendered sexuality as functioning to enhance experiences of authenticity and resist heteronormativity. The study holds implications for research on the interaction of gender and sexuality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the poetics of touch and female fetishism in Lynn Nottage's play "Intimate Apparel." The author argues that the fetish object in the play serves as a creative medium for female expression, knowledge, and fantasy, rather than devaluing femininity. The protagonist, Esther Mills, uses her attachment to fabrics and garments as a way to navigate her own femininity and overcome feelings of loss and alienation. The article also discusses the transformative power of the fetish object and its influence on Esther's evolution throughout the play. [Extracted from the article]

Vrushali Patil's book, "Webbed Connectivities: The Imperial Sociology of Sex, Gender, and Sexuality," challenges the Euro-centric perspective of gender and sexuality studies. Patil argues that the transnational turn in the field has produced knowledge beyond Euro-American borders but has displaced the transnational itself. She proposes the concept of "webbed connectivities" to rewire common concepts in the sociology of sex, gender, and sexuality. The book explores the historical connections between race, colonialism, and imperialism in shaping sex, gender, and sexuality. Patil's work aims to connect seemingly disparate histories and geographies and offers a blueprint for transforming contemporary field formation. [Extracted from the article]

This article explores the writings of Ralph Werther, a historical figure who focused on sex abnormality and discrimination against individuals with non-normative sexual identities. Werther's work challenged prejudicial practices and aimed to promote accurate information and the repeal of unjust laws. However, their views also included racial and class-based distinctions, which complicate their overall message. The article emphasizes the need for a critical and nuanced approach to understanding Werther's work and its historical context. [Extracted from the article]

This essay takes this occasion—the thirtieth anniversary of the publication of Evelynn Hammonds's germinal essay "Black (W)holes and the Geometry of Black Female Sexuality"—as an opportunity to explore the turn to spacetime and astrophysics in Black feminist writing and scholarship. This understudied tradition has unfolded concurrently alongside the rise of maritime and aquatic metaphors in Black studies. Focusing on the image of the black hole, the essay argues that this metaphor operates as a stimulus for confronting disciplinary objects of anxiety in Black studies, Caribbean studies, physics, and Black feminist studies. By analyzing origin stories that surround the moniker black hole in physics, the essay shows how imperial violence and notions of Black gender and sexual alterity suffused the term from its inception in the world of physics—a history that Black feminist theorists call to memory and challenge in their redeployment of the image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article takes up the sonic slippages between black hole, black hold, and Black hold as a threshold for thought. Taking Evelynn Hammonds's query "what is it like inside a black hole?" as an opening, the author explores the way geometric properties of space shaped not only the material dimensions (volume and capacity) of the hold of the slave ship but also the metaphysical violences that captive Africans underwent in the hold. Through poethical meditations on the hold of the ship, the essay offers Black holds as a practice of Black women's sexuality. The essay concludes with an analysis of Rivers Solomon's The Deep and its speculative imaginings of what holding and touch might offer us. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reflects on the impact of Evelynn Hammonds's seminal essay "Black (W)holes and the Geometry of Black Female Sexuality" to theorize how suturing might present an apt method for considering the complexities and contradictions of Black female sexuality. This essay takes up Hammonds's charge to develop a "politics of articulation" to reveal how Black and Latinx transwomen in the Emmy-award-winning series Pose (as represented by Angel Evangelista, Elektra Abundance, and Blanca Evangelista) and Black motherhood in P-Valley (as represented by the relationship between Mercedes and her daughter Terricka) expose the embodied complexities and contradictions of Black female sexuality. The author aims to demonstrate how suturing these two seemingly antagonistic ways of understanding Black female sexuality remains key to a politics of articulation because they conjure idiosyncratic visions of erotic freedom not reliant on negation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research about the commercial sex industry rarely examines the women who are the clients purchasing sexual services. Examining how this challenges gender stereotypes through the undoing gender framework reveals how gender norms can be reshaped through contextual changes. Based on 3 years of ethnographic data from a high‐end bar in Tianjin, interviews with 27 female clients and 47 MSWs paint a complex picture of how some women adopted ungendered strategies regarding sexuality. As women take control of their own sexual behavior, they free themselves of some traditional societal expectations about their identity. Primarily motivated by pleasure and control, purchasing sex becomes a means for women to experience empowerment and self‐confidence by breaking with traditional gender norms and expectations. Undoing gender involves expanding gendered repertoires, with women finding empowerment in adopting a masculine model of sexuality. However, social stigma and personal efficacy indicate that gender deconstruction is a gradual process. The research contributes to understanding complex gender dynamics and sexual behaviors within commercial sex transactions, shedding light on societal norms and individual agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sexual instinct is a basic biological urge in humans to experience sexual pleasure and beget progeny through sexual relations. However, it is considered a sacred act of procreation in Indian culture and society. For most Indians, a woman is a personification of the mother goddess and her sexuality is a sacramental subject of worship. But the gulf between the ideal imagery and the real-life situation of a woman is a glitch in her sexual expression and choices. Irrespective of the projection of women's inherent sexual energy as being sacred, it is deeply controlled and structured by social institutions. She is not a free sexual being but a situated mother; her sexual choices are located within the institution of marriage maintained exclusively for getting a male heir for the family lineage. This paper expounds and explores the pervasive but ignored women's unseen sexual coercion in the form of maternal choice in Indian society. The dichotomy presented in the symbolic representations of the mother goddess's powerful sexuality--illustrated in mythologies and scriptures, and the social construction of real-life mothers' sexuality influence their choices. It also investigates how her maternal sexual choices are devalued, and viewed as unreal, unethical, and sinful activity. Lastly, it may be said that the divine projection of women as mother Goddesses and the exaltation of their procreative capacity deprive them of their sexual choices. It appears as a free choice but there is a hidden coercion that women fail to understand is the greatest cause of their sexual enslavement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the book "Pagli," by Ananda Devi to examine the relation between the conceptualization of Asian archipelagos and creolization in the context of feminism. Topics mentioned include the depiction of the contrasting island geographies that serve as metaphors to show different attitudes toward creolization, the sociopolitical system of communalism, and the association between the island's space and the social system.

The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between relational factors and sexual desire and sexual distress. In order to achieve these goals, a sample of 788 married Turkish women was recruited through social media platforms between June and July 2022. The study employed three instruments to assess the relevant variables: the Sexual Satisfaction Scale for Women to measure sexual distress, the Female Sexual Function Index to assess sexual desire, and the Couple Burnout Measure Short Form to evaluate couple burnout. Structural equation modeling was utilized to analyze the data and test the proposed models. The initial model indicated a negative correlation between marriage length, parenthood, couple burnout, and sexual desire. The employment status of the participants was not found to be a significant factor. The second model revealed that marriage length, parenthood, and sexual desire were negatively correlated with sexual distress, whereas couple burnout was positively associated. In conclusion, our study highlights the intricate interplay between various factors and their impact on sexual desire and distress among married women. Specifically, marriage length, parenthood, and couple burnout were identified as significant determinants of sexual desire and distress. These findings underscore the importance of addressing relationship dynamics, parental responsibilities, and couple well-being in order to promote sexual well-being within committed relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore and synthesize the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapy in addressing sexual dysfunction that adversely impacts the quality of women sexual relationships with the partners. Systematic Literature Review (SLR) methodology was used based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. In this study, a systematic literature search was conducted on integrated databases, namely SagePub, Science Direct, Springer, and PubMed, for articles published between 2014 and 2023. The search terms used were "mindfulness sexual therapy" and a total of eight articles were selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results showed that mindfulness-based therapy could be a valuable and promising intervention for enhancing sexual function in women with sexual dysfunction and low relationship quality. Future studies should conduct similar analyses with male subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most theories predict, and most studies demonstrate, that men have a higher sex drive than women do. A spirited debate has emerged surrounding the origins of gender differences in sex drive; Frankenbach et al. (2022) commented on this controversy in the context of their impressive meta-analysis. We provide a different interpretation of these findings: Specifically, women get worse sex than men do. We argue that if the differences between the sex that women get and the sex that men get were accounted for, gender differences in sex drive would be reduced or eliminated completely. We focus more specifically on two factors that should be accounted for in future meta-analyses—narrow definitions of "sex" as penile–vaginal intercourse, and gender disparities in sexual violence—and additional factors that should be acknowledged when interpreting meta-analytic results—gendered cultural messages, respect from heterosexual partners, and sexual stigmatization. Public Significance Statement: Most research finds that men have a somewhat higher sex drive than women do, when sex is defined vaguely. We address potential reasons for the difference: Women and men may be driven toward different types of sex, women experience substantially more sexual violence than men, messages from society are more permissive and positive toward men's sexuality than women's, heterosexual women are more likely to be disrespected by their partners than heterosexual men, and women are stigmatized for wanting sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although sexual life and its knowledge are still taboo in many cultures, especially for women, it can negatively affect women's sexual health. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the frequency and duration of masturbation and the sexual health literacy among young Muslim women of reproductive age between 18 and 25 years living in western Turkey. Methods: The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 921 young women in western Turkey between March and December 2023. Participants were included in the study per the snowball method. The data consisted of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors regarding masturbation, sexual life, and sexual health literacy. Data were obtained on an online platform and analyzed with SPSS (version 24; IBM). Difference, correlation, and regression analyses were performed. The significance level for statistical analyses was accepted as P < .05. Outcomes: The outcomes of the study are the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors regarding masturbation, orgasm, sexual health literacy, and sexual function in women. Results: The participants were young Muslim women aged 21.00 ± 1.89 years (mean ± SD). The frequency of masturbation was 5.06 ± 2.03 times per month, and the duration was 3.47 ± 1.77 minutes per day. Masturbation frequency and duration were significantly associated with sexual health literacy and sexual function (P < .001). According to regression analysis, sexual function increased and sexual health literacy increased as masturbation frequency and duration increased (P < .001). Clinical Implications: This study presents results on the current situation regarding the sexual health literacy and sexual lives in women from different geographies and cultures, and it serves as a source for future studies on areas that need to be improved. Strengths and Limitations: The limitation of the study is that it was conducted only with Muslim and Turkish women who use smartphones and are sexually active, so it cannot be generalized to all women. The strengths of the study are that it was conducted with a sample of 921 women, it was based on self-report and addressed many dimensions related to masturbation and female sexuality, and the results were reached through exploratory analysis. Conclusion: The study found that the higher the duration and frequency of masturbation in young women, the better their sexual function and higher their sexual literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the use of sex toys has been primarily performed from a medical perspective, while there is still limited research from a psychosocial perspective. To bridge this gap, in this study we examined whether some psychosocial variables might be linked to sex toy ownership in a sample of 3960 Italian (cisgender men and women) sex toy buyers. More specifically, we investigated the association between gender identities and ideologies and the variety and types of sex toys owned. Based on the data, we detected two dimensions underlying the ownership of sex toys: (1) orientation to owning kinky sex toys and (2) orientation to owning clit-oriented sex toys. Results showed that benevolent sexism and gender system justification were negatively correlated with owning clit-oriented toys. Moreover, strongly gender-identified participants owned a small variety of different toys and preferred toys that were designed to stimulate the vagina or clitoris over less commonly-used toys. No significant correlation between feminist identification and sex toy type owned was found when gender identification was taken into account. These results suggest that the owning of sex toys might be associated with traditional gender ideology and the strength of gender identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research shows that male body odor plays an important role in women's mate choice and that olfactory abilities are associated with women's sexual functioning. What remains unclear is what types of partner's odor actually shape women's experience during intimate activities. This study therefore explored women's experience associated with the partner's various odors and investigated how they affect women's intimate and sexual encounters. We performed semi-structured individual interviews with 20 single women and 20 women in a long-term relationship. Thematic analysis revealed four key natural odor types of the partner: body odor, sweat, genital odor, and semen odor. Further, we have identified three main types of fragrance odor (cologne, shower gel, and laundry agents) and investigated their perception in both intimate (hugging, kissing, cuddling, lying side by side) and sexual (intercourse, oral sex, ejaculation) contexts. Both partner's natural odor and fragrance affected women's emotional state (ranging from pleasant to unpleasant) and behavioral response (ranging from approach to avoidance of partner). Women's odor perception was frequently context-dependent, so that even mostly negatively perceived odors (e.g., semen, genital odor) were often accepted as part of sexual encounter. Finally, women's perception was negatively modified by partner's specific sweat (after workday, workout, or when the partner is ill) during intimate encounters. Our results highlight the complexity and interindividual variability of partner's odor perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sociosexuality refers to the tendency to engage in uncommitted sexual behavior and has been dissected into three domains: sociosexual behavior, attitudes, and desire (Penke & Asendorpf, 2008), which led to the revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI-R), which was validated on a German sample. The current research aimed at translating and validating an Italian version (I-SOI-R), administered to three distinct Italian participant groups. In the first sample (N = 710, females = 521, age = 18–59 years), we found evidence for a bifactor model, articulated in a general sociosexuality factor and three specific factors (behavior, attitudes, desire). High internal consistency was established for total and subscale scores, alongside favorable test–retest reliability. A connection was found between relationship status and sociosexual desire, though not gender dependent. We found evidence for test–retest reliability in a second sample (N = 55, females = 37, age 20–58 years). In a third study (N = 305, females = 147, age = 19–60 years), the earlier findings were replicated, further confirming the I-SOI-R's construct, criterion, and nomological validity on an online sample. Combining data from the three studies revealed full configural, metric, and scalar invariance regarding gender. This allowed us to meaningfully compare the observed scores of women and men and replicated the finding that men display higher levels of unrestricted sociosexuality. In conclusion, the I-SOI-R may serve as a valuable tool to assess and enhance sexual health, albeit warranting future research on construct and criterion validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated how religious factors exert social pressure to discipline female bodies through hijab practices in Indonesia. This study identified relationships among factors, such as religiosity, individuals' involvement with religious communities, subjective norms regarding the hijab practice, and the regulation of sexuality. This study found that religious factors positively influence subjective norms which reinforce the regulation of sexuality. Although recent studies have underscored the role of the hijab as a tool for expressing Muslim identity and as a means for Muslim women to construct modernity, the results of this study reveal that the disciplinary function of the hijab still seems to have a greater impact. A group analysis reveals differences in the influence of religious factors on subjective norms. While religiosity has a larger impact among adolescents than their involvement with religious communities, this impact is insignificant in the age group of 20s and 30s. The varying effects of religious factors among different age groups imply that religious values rather than involvement with religious communities have a much greater impact on the construction of subjective norms among adolescents while the role of religion in socialization might be enhanced as individuals get older. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractHonor culture, in which the virtue of the family—if not community—depends on the “purity” of its female members, enforced through “moral policing” of gender norms to collectively control women’s sexuality and uphold a patriarchal gender order, is a central aspect of both honor-based violence and the Salafi-jihadist culture in militant Islamist milieus. Drawing on interviews with 1) an imprisoned Danish woman convicted of ISIS-related terrorism, 2) a mother of a deceased Swedish ISIS foreign fighter, who herself was previously part of the Salafi-jihadist milieu, and 3) “professionals” (e.g. police officers, social workers and municipal employees) conducted during ethnographic fieldwork in Sweden and prison ethnography in Denmark, this article explores how honor-based violence can constitute a mobilizing factor for Western Muslims towards militant Islamism in three distinct ways. First, isolation of Muslim women and children through gender segregation and restrictions on accessing public space to “moral police” gender norms enables the Salafi-jihadist milieu to cement and extend its ideological, religious, and physical control. Second, in an honor culture with intense pressure on men to defend and restore family honor whenever it is challenged, joining ISIS can be perceived as a means to fulfill this obligation, thereby affirming “real” Muslim masculinity and upholding a patriarchal gender order. The deeply ingrained cultural expectations to defend honor can even be exploited by militant Islamist milieus in their recruitment efforts. Third, besides providing a “safe space” where one cannot be persecuted and punished for dishonoring one’s family by leaving it as an unmarried woman, ISIS’s multiethnic diversity and embrace of interethnic marriage can be appealing for someone who wants to escape forced endogamous marriage. Given that honor-based violence strikes at the individual freedoms and rights, thereby undermining liberal democratic values and the rule of law, our article contributes knowledge on the broader threat to democracy from anti-democratic forces in the context of militant Islamism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sexual risk-taking and struggles in managing romantic relationships may put young women with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at risk of sexually transmitted diseases, unplanned pregnancies, and low relational satisfaction. To gain understanding of sexual behaviors and intimate relationships, this study aimed to identify and describe health care professionals' (HCPs) perceptions and experiences of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in young women with ADHD. Methods: Qualitative interviews were performed with 16 HCPs. Data was analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Analysis resulted in the themes Struggling to meet expectations, Sexual risk-taking, and Complex romantic relationships. HCPs' perceptions and experiences indicated that some women were afraid to be judged in clinical meetings when not living up to perceived expectations of sexual behaviors. Lack of impulse control was interpreted by HCPs to result in risk-taking behaviors leading to both negative and positive sexual experiences. Difficulties in assessing intentions of sexual partners were further perceived by HCPs to sometimes lead to sexual regrets or sexual victimization. The HCPs had experience of women wishing for romantic relationships but described these as being complicated by previous experiences, low self-esteem and conflict. ADHD medication and self-knowledge were perceived by HCPs to facilitate the women's relationship quality. Conclusions: This study highlights that, from the perspective of HCPs, self-stigmatization and hesitation to raise issues concerning sexuality with HCPs may pose risks for young women with ADHD. It provides insight into sexual risk-taking behaviors, showing the link to regretted sex and sexual victimization. The study concludes that there is a need for HCPs to understand the influence of stigma concerning ADHD and female sexuality as well as how symptoms and outcomes of living with ADHD may impact SRH in order to promote healthy behaviors and relationships in young women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greta Gerwig (BBC 2023) pointed out on the BBC Radio 4 arts review programme Front Row Barbie’s retelling of the John Milton poem Paradise Lost. She argues Barbie and Ken’s expulsion from Barbie Land to the “real-world” LA echoes Adam and Eve’s exile from Eden. While Gerwig delivered this reading of her film with a self-deprecating laugh, my analysis of the film takes it seriously as an intervention into feminist theology. The film reverses the Creation myth, with Ken/Adam as Barbie/Eve’s helpmeet. We are thus invited to consider the relationship between feminism and religion, a concern also explored in other films by Gerwig and representing her authorial presence. Barbie works toward, in a popular form, the “fully realised alterity” of a female imaginary and a female divine as philosophised by Luce Irigaray (Lucy Bolton 2011, 2). At the end of the film, Barbie’s visit to her gynaecologist is part of the process by which she acquires a soul. Irigaray helps us understand the connection between these events as she insists that the realm of the body, female genitalia and sexuality provide a way for women to think themselves other than phallocratically, including in their relation to the divine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, we aimed to understand bisexual women's lived experiences and meaning-making with regard to same-sex performativity (SSP)– that is, heterosexual women's engagement in public same-sex behavior such as kissing. Cisgender bisexual women (N = 187) provided qualitative descriptions of their perceptions of SSP. Two research questions guided this feminist phenomenological study: (a) How do bisexual women perceive and make sense of SSP, including women who engage in SSP? and (b) What factors influence bisexual women's perceptions and meaning making of SSP? We found that bisexual women made sense of SSP by situating their perceptions and experiences of SSP in a heteropatriarchal context. Bisexual women perceived the link between SSP and the male gaze as challenging bisexual legitimacy and reinforcing negative stereotypes about bisexuality; nevertheless, many bisexual women were resistant to decrying SSP. Our findings reveal bisexual women's complex interpretive work and negotiation with tensions that underpin their sense of SSP— they perceive heterosexual women's engagement in male-oriented SSP behavior as potentially harmful, yet are reluctant to condemn this behavior and limit women's opportunities for sexual expression. These findings highlight the need to recognize the impact of heteronormativity and gendered power dynamics on bisexual and heterosexual women's experiences, embodiment, and expressions of sexuality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarship in British film history has tended to suggest that the female characters in New Wave films are marginalised, dismissively associated with the trappings of consumer culture and responsible for the ultimate containment of their 'Angry Young Men' protagonists. In Sex, Class and Realism, which was published in 1986, John Hill situates the New Wave in relation to broader socio-economic and cultural changes in post-war Britain, including women's shifting relationships with work, motherhood, family life and patterns of consumption. However, he concludes that the cycle failed to register women's changing lives in the late 1950s and identifies the 'dramatic and thematic subordination of female characters' and a 'streak of misogyny' running through the cycle. Revisiting the treatment of women in the British New Wave, this article focuses on the characters Brenda and Doreen in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, and instead explores how Rachel Roberts and Shirley Anne Field's performances offer potent expressions of women's changing lives in this period. Poised between representing individual desires, confidence and autonomy, and feelings of frustration, reserve and uncertainty, their performances vividly convey their characters' experiences and expectations in ways that chimed with mobilities and new constructions of selfhood that were increasingly being practised by a 'transition' generation of young women in post-war Britain. I argue that Roberts's and Field's performances evoke the feelings of two different, working-class women, for whom expressions of assertiveness, sexuality and aspiration are shaped by contradictions, anxieties and feelings of vulnerability. In doing so, the article foregrounds and re-contextualises Roberts's and Field's contributions to the New Wave, recognising their representation of contemporary femininities in flux; and explores the promotion and critical reception of their roles, highlighting the tensions between social realism and glamour that shaped their New Wave stardom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to analyze female existentialism in Helen Garner's "Monkey Grip" using a descriptive qualitative method. In this context, the data obtained were carefully reviewed, presented, and analyzed through stylistic analysis. The results showed that female existentialism was expressed in two patterns. Firstly, the female speech was similar to the male, accompanied by the open expression of sexual desires and male circle words. Secondly, female actions contained the feminine movement to overcome discrimination problems and interact with many males. The results showed that the female character was considered a feminist representative against male stereotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sex workers, particularly those involved in prostitution, face elevated risks of violence and psychological distress. While existing research has focused on harm reduction strategies, limited attention has been given to the psychological protection of sex workers. Aim: This study explores the concept of a "manufactured identity," a persona constructed exclusively for the workplace, which serves as a defence mechanism for sex workers. The manufactured identity enables them to distance themselves from the intimate nature of their work and shield their true selves from work-related distress. Additionally, it may facilitate better emotional management, a sense of control, and empowerment. Employing an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach, this research aims to gain insights into the objectives and effects of maintaining a manufactured identity among female Greek sex workers and to explore the perspectives of those who reject its presence in their work. Materila and Methods: Five women who work as sex workers voluntarily participated in the study excluding women who were victims of trafficking. Participants were recruited through professional networks, online forums and advertisements. Three subthemes emerged from the analysis: "Better Control of the Inner World," "The Negative Aspects of a Manufactured Identity," and "The Rewards of a Manufactured Identity." Results: The findings suggest that a manufactured identity may serve many purposes such as an opportunity for self-expression and not just as a protection strategy. The participants' narratives also revealed that their work identity, which is empowered and autonomous, enhances their true selves outside of their workplace. Conclusions: The above findings could challenge common societal interpretations of sex workers as victims. Further research is suggested focusing on the self-expression aspect of sex work, which appears to be a growing phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]