Finding hy-Brazil : eugenics and modernism in the Pacific

In the 1930s a number of Australian women writers took issue with material and symbolic aspects of public health discourse and in particular challenged institutional endorsement of eugenicist movements. This paper discusses the response of inter-war women writers to the national discussion of science and medicine and, in particular, eugenics.

POOR ICARUS CHARMIAN : Review of The Life and Myth of Charmian Clift by Nadia Wheatley (2001) online

Online Review

La Boite The Story of an Australian Theatre Company

Since its genesis in 1925, La Boite has never been afraid of change. Despite controversies, crises and crippling set-backs that should have closed its stage doors many times, La Boite - which began life as the Brisbane Repertory Theatre Society - has proved itself an extraordinary survivor. When the opportunity came to build its own theatre, its inspired choice of theatre-in-the-round gave Brisbane an iconic performance space that attracted a whole new generation of actors, directors and designers and placed La Boite at the forefront of contemporary theatre practice. The place, in Katharine Brisbane’s words, “to see the red meat of theatre”. Always enterprising, with gritty determination it became a professional theatre company of national significance; and early in the new millennium triumphantly re-located to its new home at The Roundhouse Theatre. La Boite –The Story of an Australian Theatre Company both interrogates and celebrates the history of Queensland’s oldest theatre company. Highlighting the roles key people played in its evolution – particularly four remarkable women – Christine Comans explores La Boite’s colourful past, its cultural significance to Brisbane, and its vibrant and enduring role in the nation’s theatrical history.

Sustainability of a multimodal intervention to promote lifestyle factors associated with the prevention of cardiovascular disease in midlife Australian women : a 5-year follow-up

We evaluated sustainability of an intervention to reduce women’s cardiovascular risk factors, determined the influence of self-efficacy, and described women’s current health. We used a mixed method approach that utilized forced choice and open-ended questionnaire items about health status, habits, and self-efficacy. Sixty women, average age 61, returned questionnaires. Women in the original intervention group continued health behaviors intended to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) at a higher rate than the control group, supporting the feasibility of a targeted intervention built around women’s individual goals. The role of self-efficacy in behavior change is unclear. The original intervention group reported higher self-reported health.

Associations among body size dissatisfaction, perceived dietary control, and diet history in African American and European American women

European American (EA) women report greater body dissatisfaction and less dietary control than do African American (AA) women. This study investigated whether ethnic differences in dieting history contributed to differences in body dissatisfaction and dietary control, or to differential changes that may occur during weight loss and regain. Eighty-nine EA and AA women underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to measure body composition and completed questionnaires to assess body dissatisfaction and dietary control before, after, and one year following, a controlled weight-loss intervention. While EA women reported a more extensive dieting history than AA women, this difference did not contribute to ethnic differences in body dissatisfaction and perceived dietary control. During weight loss, body satisfaction improved more for AA women, and during weight regain, dietary self-efficacy worsened to a greater degree for EA women. Ethnic differences in dieting history did not contribute significantly to these differential changes. Although ethnic differences in body image and dietary control are evident prior to weight loss, and some change differentially by ethnic group during weight loss and regain, differences in dieting history do not contribute significantly to ethnic differences in body image and dietary control.

Comparison of multiple and novel measures of dietary glycemic carbohydrate with insulin resistant status in older women

BACKGROUND:Previous epidemiological investigations of associations between dietary glycemic intake and insulin resistance have used average daily measures of glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL). We explored multiple and novel measures of dietary glycemic intake to determine which was most predictive of an association with insulin resistance.METHODS:Usual dietary intakes were assessed by diet history interview in women aged 42-81 years participating in the Longitudinal Assessment of Ageing in Women. Daily measures of dietary glycemic intake (n = 329) were carbohydrate, GI, GL, and GL per megacalorie (GL/Mcal), while meal based measures (n = 200) were breakfast, lunch and dinner GL; and a new measure, GL peak score, to represent meal peaks. Insulin resistant status was defined as a homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) value of >3.99; HOMA as a continuous variable was also investigated.RESULTS:GL, GL/Mcal, carbohydrate (all P < 0.01), GL peak score (P = 0.04) and lunch GL (P = 0.04) were positively and independently associated with insulin resistant status. Daily measures were more predictive than meal-based measures, with minimal difference between GL/Mcal, GL and carbohydrate. No significant associations were observed with HOMA as a continuous variable.CONCLUSION:A dietary pattern with high peaks of GL above the individual's average intake was a significant independent predictor of insulin resistance in this population, however the contribution was less than daily GL and carbohydrate variables. Accounting for energy intake slightly increased the predictive ability of GL, which is potentially important when examining disease risk in more diverse populations with wider variations in energy requirements.

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women's health strategy

The Strategy presented in this report was developed through the Australian Women’s Health Network Talking Circle in 2009-2010. Over 400 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women were involved in the consultations. The Action Areas and Recommendations presented in this Strategy were raised and discussed by the women who contributed to the Talking Circle. This Strategy is not intended to replace any other national or state/territory identified priorities or needs. Instead, this Strategy supplements other work. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experience extremely poor health outcomes. They have a right to determine for themselves what their health system will look like. This Strategy is part of that process. If Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women continue to have their sense of identity marginalised and eroded, they will continue to have the poorest health of any group of women in Australian society.

Preventing sexual violence?

This article critically assesses the main social policy responses to preventing rape following much feminist struggle to make sexual violence a public matter of legitimate concern. It considers the preventative potential of legal measures, anti-violence campaigns waged by feminist and men's groups in the US and Australia, public education campaigns in Schools and Universities, and public awareness campaigns sponsored by the state.We argue that sexual violence is not amenable to quick fix strategies that place responsibility for prevention entirely on individual men or women. While we recognise that responsibilising victims and individualising offenders is consistent with wider global shifts in social policy calling upon individuals to manage their own risk, we argue that the increasing reliance on such neo-liberal social policy is especially problematic in preventing rape. The paper suggests ways to resist this which place greater emphasis on the promotion of sexual ethics; the eroticisation of consent; the reinvention of the norms of romance to include both these, and the complete separation of the psycho-social-symbolic connections between sex and violence, and ultimately the re-evaluation of the cultural expectations of masculinity and femininity.

Does feminism spoil girls? Explanations for official rises in female delinquency

Official rates of female delinquency have been rising steadily in countries such as Australia, England, Canada and the United States since the 1960s. They have also generally been rising at a rate faster than that for boys. As yet there is little consensus about the reasons for these rises or even whether such rate rises reflect any real increase in female delinquency at all. Against this backdrop of rising official crimes rates for young women, this article revisits the various criminological explanations for these trends.

Sex trafficking : the global market in women and children

This book is one of a series on contemporary social issues. It provides a painstakingly researched analysis of the contemporary phenomenon of sex trafficking. As the author Kathryn Farr points out, the phenomenon is not all that contemporary, as women and children have historically been trafficked and enslaved for the purposes of prostitution, particularly during war: in World War II on the southern islands of Okinawa, the Philippines, Hawaii, Liberia, Japan, the Korean war, the Vietnam war, and more recently in Bosnia and Rwanda. Farr links the phenomenon to military socialization, especially to its patriarchal culture which celebrates hyper-masculinity, eroticizes violence, desensitizes soldiers to suffering and brutality and treats women as sex objects.

The meaning of cancer for Australian Aboriginal women : changing the focus of cancer nursing

Aim: The purpose of the study was to explore why Aboriginal women participate in cancer screening programs but appear reluctant to following-up results, or accept medical advice about treatment. Methods: Interpretive ethnography, a qualitative methodology, was used to explore Aboriginal women’s perception of cancer, and the cultural context in which meaning was constructed and influenced treatment decision. Data collection, which occurred over two years, involved fieldwork, participant-observation, face-to-face interviews and focus groups, in two rural Aboriginal communities. Forty eight interviews were recorded from a cross section of the communities, including cancer survivors and patients, family members, health care providers and other women from the community. Results: Key findings were that Aboriginal women’s had a fearful and fatalistic attitude toward cancer, doubted the efficacy of treatment and carried an enduring ambivalence toward the authority of whiteman’s medicine. The women faced a dilemma of wanting access to cancer treatment options but feared entering hospital or clinics not attuned to their cultural needs. Conclusion: The findings highlight the need for a culture-centred approach that decentres the authority of conventional services and instead gives prominence to Aboriginal cultural values as a focal point in cancer control. It should be the responsibility of cancer nurses and others to engage with their local Aboriginal communities to build relationships that foster an exchange of learning about cultural differences that make a difference to how cancer control is practiced.

Red clover (Trifolium pratense) isoflavones and serum homocysteine in premenopausal women : a pilot study

Background: There is limited information on the effect of isoflavones on homocysteine concentrations, a risk factor for a number of chronic diseases. Methods: Twenty-three premenopausal women participated in a double-blind, randomized, parallel study for four menstrual cycles. Subjects consumed either placebo or purified red clover (Trifolium pratense) isoflavone (86mg/day) tablets. Blood samples were collected weekly during cycles 1, 3, and 4 for determination of serum folate and total homocysteine concentrations. Dietary intake was monitored monthly. Results: Concentrations of folate and homocysteine in serum did not change significantly in either group, and there were no significant differences observed between the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. The participants' dietary records indicated that nutrient intake was constant, and compliance was confirmed by analysis of urinary isoflavone concentrations and tablet counts in returned containers. Conclusions: These results suggest that in the absence of any dietary modification, supplementation with purified isoflavones that are predominantly methoxylated has no effect on serum homocysteine or folate in premenopausal women.