scholarly journals The Ideal Indian Woman: Defined by Hindu Nationalism and Culture

Author(s):  
Sneha Singh ◽  

This paper discusses how the notion of “ideal femininity” is understood in the Indian context. I propose the term Sati Savitri aurat (woman) to describe this ideal image of an Indian woman. The paper argues that the modern Sati Savitri woman must embody three values that make her truly an ideal Indian woman in the eyes of society. Those values are modesty, marriageability and silence. The combination of these values makes an Indian woman socially respected and desirable. These themes reverberated when I asked my interview participants, 10 female journalists from diverse age groups, about the concept of an ideal Indian woman. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with these women journalists and their ideas about formulation of the concept of “ideal Indian woman” were recorded and analysed. In this paper, I categorise their responses into the three values (modesty, marriageability and silence) and thereby propose that the embodiment of all these values constitute the modern Sati Savitri, a prototype for middle-class Hindu women. By proposing this concept of Sati Savitri, a Hindu mythological idea, I argue that respectable norms for women’s sexuality are located within the discourse of Hindu nationalism and culture.

Author(s):  
Erika Fischer-Lichte

The introduction ‘Philhellenism and Theatromania’ retraces the emergence of these two phenomena in the German middle class. The year 1755 marks a watershed in this regard: it saw the publication of J. J. Winckelmann’s treatise Reflections on the Painting and Sculpture of the Greeks and the premiere of G. E. Lessing’s first domestic tragedy Miß Sara Sampson. Both share the common root and motivation once and for all to banish Frenchified German court culture. While Winckelmann’s treatise praised the ‘noble simplicity’ and ‘quiet greatness’ of the Greek masterpieces, Lessing’s play advocated new family values and the ideal of ‘naturalness’ as the true virtues of the middle class. The merging of Philhellenism as the cult of beauty with theatromania as the quest for identifying in a social group and as an individual provided the basic condition for staging Greek tragedies.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Anne Skevik Grødem ◽  
Ragni Hege Kitterød

Abstract Images of what retirement is and ought to be are changing. Older workers are being encouraged to work for longer, at the same time, older adults increasingly voice expectations of a ‘third age’ of active engagement and new life prospects. In this article, we draw on the literature on older workers’ work patterns and retirement transitions (noting push/pull/stay/stuck/jump factors), and on scholarship on the changing social meaning of old age, most importantly the notions of a ‘third’ and ‘fourth’ age. The analysis is based on qualitative interviews with 28 employees in the private sector in Norway, aged between 55 and 66 years. Based on the interviews, we propose three ideal-typical approaches to the work–retirement transition: ‘the logic of deadline’, ‘the logic of negotiation’ and ‘the logic of averting retirement’. The ideal-types are defined by the degree to which informants assume agency in the workplace, their orientation towards work versus retirement and the degree to which they expect to exercise agency in retirement. We emphasise how retirement decisions are informed by notions of the meaning of ageing, while also embedded in relationships with employers and partners.


Urban History ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Louis Grundlingh

Abstract In the 1920s and 1930s, the all-powerful Johannesburg Council, comprising English-speaking middle-class white males, realized the importance of providing leisure spaces and sport facilities for its white residents and prioritized the building of swimming baths in their suburbs. It was regarded as the ideal facility, supporting the growing demand for outdoor activity. The upswing in the economy in the 1920s and especially in the 1930s, expedited this endeavour, as it eased the financial expenditure. As a result, Johannesburg could boast 10 new swimming baths by the end of the 1930s. The council was adamant that the swimming baths should be on a par with international standards. This venture fitted comfortably into the larger project of transforming the economically vibrant Johannesburg into a modern city. In contrast, the first swimming bath for Johannesburg's black residents was only built in the mid-1930s, proving that racial considerations determined the council's provision of leisure facilities.


1968 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Bearison ◽  
Irving E. Sigel

120 middle-class white boys and girls of average IQ and ranging in age from 7 to 11 yr. served as Ss in a study dealing with the preference hierarchy of stimulus attributes employed in classification. Items varying in their color, form, and representation were used in a series of preference tasks designed to establish an attribute hierarchy among color, form, and representation. It was hypothesized that the response hierarchy would be color least frequent, form next, and representation most frequent when the three are juxtaposed, but when color and form are juxtaposed, form would be the more dominant. Results indicate that the hypothesis was verified in that form was the more significant preference shown among boys and girls at all ages when form and color were the only two choices offered. Preference for representation was evident for all age groups when the three choices were available.


2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elfriede Penz ◽  
Erich Kirchler

Vietnam is undergoing a rapid transformation to a more prosperous society. This article analyzes household decision making in a transforming economy that has undergone modification of the traditional view of the family, from being an autonomous unit to an object of state policy. This is relevant because policy interventions shape household consumption through gender equality programs and thus have an impact on sex-role specialization. The aim of this study is to advance understanding of Vietnamese household consumption decisions and spouses’ current influence patterns by investigating sex-role specialization in Vietnamese middle-class families’ decision making. Overall, no significant sex-role changes were observed. It seems that traditional Vietnamese sex-role specialization does not (yet) differ among age groups. Instead, traditional sex-role segmentation remains predominant across all investigated age groups. While economic and consumption habits change rapidly, middle-class families appear to preserve their traditional influence patterns in purchase decisions.


Author(s):  
M.V. SAFONOVA ◽  
◽  
M.A. KOSINOVA ◽  
E.A. ROMANOVA ◽  
◽  
...  

Statement of the problem. Solving the problem of psychological and pedagogical support for parents requires studying the request for psychological assistance from their side. In our opinion, this can be done by studying social ideas of modern parents about various aspects of the parenthood phenomenon. The purpose of the article is to present a comparative analysis of semantic cores of ideas about parenthood in adults with and without children. Materials and methods. The research methodology is represented by the concept of social representations by S. Moscovici, as well as generalized studies in the field of social representations by Russian and foreign scientists (K. A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, G. M. Andreeva, E. Yu. Artemyeva, O. E. Baskansky, I. B. Bovina, M. I. Volovikova, T. P. Emelyanova, I. Markova, L. G. Pochebut, P. N. Shikhirev, E. V. Yakimova, J. K. Abrik, P. Verges, D. Jodle). Research results. The core of ideas about parenting in adults with and without children are concepts that reflect emotional and behavioral components of parenthood. According to Russian adults who do not have children, parenthood is a responsible and very complex phenomenon, and this can make them postpone child birth. In the minds of potential parents, there is a fairly idealized image of a parent who has remarkable personal qualities, is understanding, caring, and knows how to raise a model child. This largely explains their references to “not being ready” to be a parent, as well as subsequent dissatisfaction with the experience of parenthood, when the ideal image does not correspond to reality. Conclusion. Differences in understanding the concept of parenting in people who have and do not have children clearly describe the crisis experienced by parents when their expectations of parenthood do not meet the reality in which the parental role is performed. In this regard, programs of psychological preparation for parenthood are important, as well as psychological and pedagogical support for young parents in the process of developing their parental competence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 473-503
Author(s):  
Korinna Schönhärl

Abstract From the 1880s scientists developed methods to measure (dishonest) tax payment behaviour. The first part of this article provides an overview of these methods and their development. The second part enquires into the function of measuring methods in the societal discourse about (honest) tax payments. The tax morale research of Günter Schmölders, carried out in the 1950s and 1960s, is then examined as a case study. The focus of interest is on the political advice that Schmölders gave, as based on his empirical results, and on the ideal image of the citizen and society which underlay the scientific method.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 269
Author(s):  
Shilpa Sarkar

Shashi Deshpande is the most prolific writer among her contemporaries. Her writing reflects her image of middle class Indian woman. In most of her novels her protagonists are modern, well‑educated and financially independent women. The main theme of her novels are problems of middle class women who were trapped between tradition and modernity. The protagonists always try to maintain their marriage in spite of the fact that they are mentally and physically tortured by their husbands. The objective of this study is to show the feminist perspective of Shashi Deshpande's women characters in her two novels Roots and Shadows and The Binding Vine. This study also aim to figure out how the women characters of these novels assert themselves.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (Number 2) ◽  
pp. 6-10
Author(s):  
Monowar Ahmad Tarafdar ◽  
Nadia Begum ◽  
Shila Rani Das ◽  
Sultana Begum ◽  
Mehruba Afrin ◽  
...  

This is a cross sectional study conducted among Currently Married Women of Reproductive Age (CMWRA) with a sample size of 476 selected purposively using a semi-structured questionnaire in 2018 at Moulvibazar Sadar to explore the factors affecting fertility. The result shows that 55.26% respondents were within 35 years age whereas only 4.28% from age group 46-49 years age group, 33% of the respondents got married at <16 years of age and 18.70% were illiterate, 47.90% had primary education. It is evident that 76% of the respondents were from rural area; 88% were Muslims, 29.41% from lower middle class followed by upper middle class (25.42%) and poorest comprised only 7.56%. The result explored that 73.91% of the respondents were from age group 41-45 got married before 16 years of age followed by 36-40 years (68.24%), 46-49 years (66%), 20-25 and 26-30 years age groups 52.38% and 52.75% respectively; 73.33% of respondents from rural area got married at <16 years of age, 68.42% of the Muslim at <16 years. The study explored that 96.39% from poorer section and 83.33% from poorest section got married at <16 years of age. Current study revealed that 82.91% of the respondents having secondary education got married before 16 years of age followed by illiterate (82.02%). It is explored that the age at marriage is statistically associated with residence, education, wealth index and religion (p= 0.001, 0.03, 0.001, 0.001 respectively). We conclude that the sociodemographic condition contributes mostly to fertility differentials in Bangladesh.


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