What does it mean to be a feminist MP? A comparative analysis of the Swedish and Danish parliaments

2020 ◽  
pp. 135406882094269
Author(s):  
Drude Dahlerup ◽  
David Karlsson ◽  
Helena Olofsdotter Stensöta
Keyword(s):  
Parental Leave ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Central Concept ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
Male Feminist ◽  
Male Feminists ◽  
High Representation ◽  
Recurrent Theme

The issue of whether political interests are gendered, and if so, how, has been a recurrent theme in research. While there have been several attempts recently to address gendered political interests theoretically, the central concept of feminism has not been explored in any depth in this context. This article uses unique data pertaining to self-identification as a “feminist” MP, and explores how it relates to gender, party and certain policy issues previously connected to women in Sweden and Denmark. The two neighboring countries both have a high representation of women, but while the Swedish government called itself “feminist,” this was unthinkable in the Danish case. Our main finding is that in both countries male feminist MPs deviate from their female counterparts by not supporting “acting for women” which indicates a separate and gendered understanding of what being a male feminist implies. However, no strong association addressing intrinsic feminists male concerns such as parental leave, was found. Another possibility could be that male feminists refrain from taking agency from females, what the “acting for” option could imply. We conclude that the concept of “acting for women” needs to be abducted from its central stance in feminism as a category of representation to mirror the multifaceted contemporary landscape.

Does Care Experience Affect Policy Interests? Male Legislators, Parental Leave, and Political Priorities in Sweden

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Olofsdotter Stensota
Keyword(s):  
Family Policy ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Care Experience ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
Sexual Division Of Labor ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
Central Argument

A central argument in theories on women's political interests has been that the sexual division of labor, inter alia, gives women greater experience of responsibility for the care of others, especially children, which in turn influences their political attitudes. However, the specifics of this claim have not been sufficiently examined in prior literature. By applying unique data on Swedish legislators’ subjective policy preferences and use of their parental leave over time, this article explores empirically whether the personal roles of members of parliament (MPs) in reproduction affect their political preferences, regardless of their sex. The analysis reveals that men's interest in social policy tends to increase after being on parental leave while in office, whereas women's interest in social and family policy remains strong, regardless. This finding might indicate a care experience mechanism at work, pertinent also to men, but with a possibly shallower content. The analysis raises the question: are care issues, previously seen as women's issues, now becoming human issues? It further contributes to the discussion on ways to measure gender other than using sex as proxy.

scholarly journals The gender gap in political interest revisited

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Ferrín ◽  
Marta Fraile ◽  
Gema M García-Albacete ◽  
Raul Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Gender Gap ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Political Interest ◽  
The Political ◽  
Dominant Male ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
Specific Interests

To what extent does conventional survey measurement capture the political interest of men and women equally well? We aim to answer this question by relying on unique data from a national online survey in Spain, where we used various questions unpacking the standard indicator of political interest. The findings show that men and women nominate different personal political interests. We also find that the gender gap in political interest vanishes once these specific interests are taken into account. This suggests that at least part of the documented gender gap in general political interest might be due to the fact that, when prompted to think about politics, women disregard their own specific political interests and instead focus on the dominant, male-oriented understanding of politics.

The Obsessive Compulsive Syndrome as a Neurotic Device for the Reduction of Self-uncertainty

1973 ◽  
Vol 122 (568) ◽  
pp. 277-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fawzeya Makhlouf-Norris ◽  
Hugh Norris
Keyword(s):  
Strong Association ◽  
Character Traits ◽  
Supportive Evidence ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Recurrent Theme

In 1957, Lewis, writing about obsessional neurotic illness, stated: ‘There has been no marked increase in our state of knowledge of it in recent years, and indeed much of what can be found on the subject in current textbooks had already been fully stated and closely discussed in the first two decades of this century ….’ A recurrent theme in the literature is the supposed relationship between obsessional neurotic illness and ‘obsessional’ character traits. The psychoanalytic view that there is a strong association between obsessional symptoms and the ‘anal’ character traits was disputed by Lewis (1935). He found little evidence to support the existence of a well-marked constellation of character traits, or of a relationship between ‘obsessional’ traits and obsessional neurotic illness. Sandler and Hazari (1960) gave supportive evidence for the psychoanalytic view, but Reed (1970) doubted whether their conclusions were justified by the findings. Makhlouf-Norris (1968) summarized the literature in fourteen points, two of which are outlined below.

scholarly journals The Grit in the Oyster? Women’s Parliamentary Organizations and the Substantive Representation of Women

2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 618-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Allen ◽  
Sarah Childs
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

This article addresses a foundational question of political representation: how do representatives act for those they represent? In a shift away from analyses of individual representatives’ attitudes and behaviour, we identify Women’s Parliamentary Organizations as potential critical sites and critical actors for women’s substantive representation. Offering one of the most in-depth studies to date, our illustrative case is the long-standing UK Parliamentary Labour Party’s Women’s Committee. With a unique data set, and using both quantitative and qualitative methods, we systematically examine the Parliamentary Labour Party’s Women’s Committee efforts to substantively represent women over more than a decade. We find that the Committee sustains its focus on a small number of women’s issues and interacts with party leadership to advance women’s interests in a feminist direction. Our findings capture processes of political change, a frequently under-explored stage in studies of substantive representation. We close by identifying the potential for comparative research in this area.

scholarly journals Gender parity in the foreign services of African countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 44-55
Author(s):  
Lubov Prokopenko ◽  
Tatiana Denisova
Keyword(s):  
African Women ◽  
Cultural Relations ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Foreign Ministers ◽  
Foreign Ministries ◽  
High Representation

The paper considers the gender situation in foreign ministries of African states. The authors investigate the history of gender changes in diplomacy in post-colonial Africa and the reasons for the high representation of women in foreign ministries and embassies of certain states, as well as policies for the recruitment of diplomatic personnel. The present paper pays special attention to the activities of foreign ministers and examines biographies and political careers of individual African women diplomats. The authors note the typical challenges the latter face in their work. Furthermore, the article broadens the understanding of the contribution of African women diplomats to the development of political, economic and cultural relations with Russia.

scholarly journals Investigating the Link between Transport Sustainability and the Representation of Women in Swedish Local Committees

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 4728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winslott Hiselius ◽  
Kronsell ◽  
Dymén ◽  
Rosqvist
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Sustainable Transport ◽  
Travel Patterns ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
The Subject

Abstract: There are large discrepancies in the transport sector along gender lines in travel patterns and means of transportation used, but also in attitudes and norms among citizens, planners and decision-makers, with women generally more positive towards measures involving the lowering CO2 emissions. At the same time, the number of women involved in transport-related decisions is low. This is a problem for gender equality but possibly also for sustainability. A careful review of previous studies indicated a lack of analyses on the subject based on quantitative data at the local level. We investigated a possible link between women’s presence in local policymaking and more sustainable transport policies, and whether it is possible to capture such an effect. The main contribution of this paper is a methodological approach in which, besides generating unique data on representation in municipalities (confirming men’s dominance, specifically in transport policymaking), possibilities for quantitatively measuring gender and the level of sustainability in transport planning are discussed and tested. Challenges in collecting relevant data and analyzing possible covariances in the data set are discussed and presented as well as suggestions for further investigations into the possible link between gender and sustainable transport performance.

Estimating the Magnitude of the Relation Between Bullying, E-Bullying, and Suicidal Behaviors Among United States Youth, 2015

Crisis ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin S. Kuehn ◽  
Annelise Wagner ◽  
Jennifer Velloza
Keyword(s):  
Adolescent Suicide ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Average Causal Effect ◽  
Effects Of Bullying ◽  
Pc Algorithm ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Significant Covariates

Abstract. Background: Suicide is the second leading cause of death among US adolescents aged 12–19 years. Researchers would benefit from a better understanding of the direct effects of bullying and e-bullying on adolescent suicide to inform intervention work. Aims: To explore the direct and indirect effects of bullying and e-bullying on adolescent suicide attempts (SAs) and to estimate the magnitude of these effects controlling for significant covariates. Method: This study uses data from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBS), a nationally representative sample of US high school youth. We quantified the association between bullying and the likelihood of SA, after adjusting for covariates (i.e., sexual orientation, obesity, sleep, etc.) identified with the PC algorithm. Results: Bullying and e-bullying were significantly associated with SA in logistic regression analyses. Bullying had an estimated average causal effect (ACE) of 2.46%, while e-bullying had an ACE of 4.16%. Limitations: Data are cross-sectional and temporal precedence is not known. Conclusion: These findings highlight the strong association between bullying, e-bullying, and SA.

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