Un -equal opportunity: Sex and school among first and second generation Mexican immigrant adolescent girls

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the interactions of sexuality and education among low socioeconomic status first and second generation Mexican immigrant adolescent girls. Much of the existing research differentiates between immigrant generations with little examination of the differences within a particular immigrant generation. This study utilized qualitative methods to examine how various social institutions intersected to influence the young women's decisions about education and sexuality. The methodology included more than three years of participant observation in a South Florida high school and surrounding community; structured and unstructured interviews with twenty young women, their family members, school personnel, and community activists; and surveys conducted with the young women and their parent or guardian. ^ Moving beyond the limits of essentialist immigration theories, this project revealed within group (i.e. immigrant generation) complexities as well as between group similarities. The data included in this dissertation delineate how relationships of power and control permeated the lives of first and second generation Mexican immigrant adolescent girls. The lens of this dissertation is focused on the salient issues of sexuality and education: two dominant forces in many adolescent lives. ^ I found the young women represented a variety of positions on the academic orientation and sexuality continuums and engaged in activities that both reinforced and countered their stated positions on each of these issues. Specifically, first and second generation immigrants are often viewed as maintaining opposing viewpoints about both education and female sexuality however, for these young women the within group variation was larger than the between group variation. While all the young women in this study expressed a belief in the value of education, they engaged in activities that both fortified and contradicted that expressed position. Additionally, although acculturation can lead to increased sexual activity and decreased engagement with education, the first generation immigrant young women in this study became pregnant and/or withdrew from school in equal proportions to their second generation counterparts. In summary, structural forces combined, often inadvertently, and contributed to these young women's spiraling negative academic orientation and/or rational choice of motherhood. Finally, the findings are linked to policy implications. ^

Two young women protest against Long Island Press for discriminating against women and female paper carrier positions

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Irish American women on St. Patrick's Day

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Gymnasts at the Colgate women sports exhibition

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Young women demonstrate at Long Island Press because they want jobs as newspaper distributors and are refused because of their sex

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Editor Gloria Steinem with astronaut Sally Ride and a group from Girls Club of America at a party given for her by Ms. Magazine

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Astronaut Sally Ride receives freedom torch from members of Girls Club of America at Ms. Magazine party

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Teenage girls smoking in front of high school

Inscriptions: Verso: [stamped] Photograph by Freda Leinwand. [463 West Street, Studio 229G, New York, NY 10014].

Girl scouts attending International Women's Day march

Inscription: Verso: International Women's Day march, ERA demonstration, New York.

It’s about bits of machines & stuff:why girls don’t ‘do’ engineering

This paper draws upon part of the findings of an ethnographic study in which two seventeen year old girls were employed to interview their peer about engineering as a study and career choice. It argues that whilst girls do view engineering as being generally masculine in nature, other factors such as a lack of female role models and an emphasis on physics and maths act as barriers to young women entering the discipline. The paper concludes by noting that engineering has much to offer young women, the problem is, they simply don’t know this is the case!

Latina Super-heroines: Hot Tamales in Tights vs. Women Warriors, Wrestlers and Guerrilla Fighters of La Raza

The year 1977 saw the making of the first Latino superhero by a Latino artist. From the 1980s onwards it is also possible to find Latina super-heroines, whose number and complexity has kept increasing ever since. Yet, the representations of spandexed Latinas are still few. For that reason, the goal of this paper is, firstly, to gather a great number of Latina super-heroines and, secondly, to analyze the role that they have played in the history of American literature and art. More specifically, it aims at comparing the spandexed Latinas created by non-Latino/a artists and mainstream comic enterprises with the Latina super-heroines devised by Latino/a artists. The conclusion is that whereas the former tend to conceive heroines within the constraints of the logic of Girl Power, the latter choose to imbue their works with a more daring political content and to align their heroines with the ideologies of Feminism and Postcolonialism.

Towards a psychosocial and cultural definition of Mexican homeless girls: a qualitative approach

Homeless women are one of the most vulnerable groups worldwide since they are victims of labor and sexual exploitation, abuse, discrimination and marginalization at a higher rate than the rest of the population. However, currently, Mexico lacks of an accurate definition of such social group, and their characteristics as well as the magnitude and dimensions of the phenomenon are only partially and superficially known. The purpose of this research was to develop and validate a typology of homeless women living in Mexico City. To fulfill this purpose, 300 indepth interviews were conducted and examined thoroughly with a systematic analysis of the content. The main results indicate that homeless women constitute a social group immersed predominantly in circumstances of violence, marginalization, poverty and social exclusion. Also, this collective includes two subgroups: women at risk of homelessness and women emergency sheltered, unsheltered or absolutely homeless and living in places not intended for human habitation. With this typology it is possible to define, characterize and distinguish homeless women. In addition, the phenomenon can be known with more certainty and accuracy enabling, thus, the design of effective treatment strategies.

The Dyad School Success/Failure in the Academic Development of the Working Class Women from Mendoza

The notion of academic performance renders account of the results achieved by the students during their school education.  Internally, there are two opposed phenomena:  school success and school failure.  Sociology of education has contributed to the discussion of both notions revealing their social nature closely related to the institutional and socio-cultural contexts in which education is developed.  This paper is the result of a research project conducted for our doctoral thesis.  Its purpose is to contribute to enlighten the scopes of this discussion, by analyzing the school development of a group of working class women from Mendoza. We were interested, in the first place, in knowing the reasons why they quit school when they were young girls or adolescents.  Subsequently, we have approached the opportunities they had to access the system again during their adulthood, the obstacles they had to face and the resources to be able to complete the medium level.

The Effect Of Pelvic Floor Muscle Training Alone Or In Combination With Electrostimulation In The Treatment Of Sexual Dysfunction In Women With Multiple Sclerosis.

Sexual dysfunction (SD) affects up to 80% of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) play an important role in the sexual function of these patients. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of a rehabilitation program to treat lower urinary tract symptoms on SD of women with MS. Thirty MS women were randomly allocated to one of three groups: pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) with electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback and sham neuromuscular electrostimulation (NMES) (Group I), PFMT with EMG biofeedback and intravaginal NMES (Group II), and PFMT with EMG biofeedback and transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) (Group III). Assessments, before and after the treatment, included: PFM function, PFM tone, flexibility of the vaginal opening and ability to relax the PFMs, and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire. After treatment, all groups showed improvements in all domains of the PERFECT scheme. PFM tone and flexibility of the vaginal opening was lower after the intervention only for Group II. All groups improved in arousal, lubrication, satisfaction and total score domains of the FSFI questionnaire. This study indicates that PFMT alone or in combination with intravaginal NMES or TTNS contributes to the improvement of SD.

Reasons For Brazilian Women To Switch From Different Contraceptives To Long-acting Reversible Contraceptives.

Long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) include the copper-releasing intrauterine device (IUD), the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) and implants. Despite the high contraceptive efficacy of LARCs, their prevalence of use remains low in many countries. The objective of this study was to assess the main reasons for switching from contraceptive methods requiring daily or monthly compliance to LARC methods within a Brazilian cohort. Women of 18-50 years of age using different contraceptives and wishing to switch to a LARC method answered a questionnaire regarding their motivations for switching from their current contraceptive. Continuation rates were evaluated 1 year after method initiation. Sample size was calculated at 1040 women. Clinical performance was evaluated by life table analysis. The cutoff date for analysis was May 23, 2013. Overall, 1167 women were interviewed; however, after 1 year of use, the medical records of only 1154 women were available for review. The main personal reason for switching, as reported by the women, was fear of becoming pregnant while the main medical reasons were nausea and vomiting and unscheduled bleeding. No pregnancies occurred during LARC use, and the main reasons for discontinuation were expulsion (in the case of the IUD and LNG-IUS) and a decision to undergo surgical sterilization (in the case of the etonogestrel-releasing implant). Continuation rate was ~95.0/100 women/year for the three methods. Most women chose a LARC method for its safety and for practical reasons, and after 1 year of use, most women continued with the method.