United States of America

The Art of Being Unseen: A Phenomenological Study Exploring Alienation as Told through the Lived Experiences of LGBTQ U.S. Military Service Members Who Served before and during the DADT Repeal

Citation:

Walker, Shnecia Lenise. 2019. “The Art of Being Unseen: A Phenomenological Study Exploring Alienation as Told through the Lived Experiences of LGBTQ U.S. Military Service Members Who Served before and during the DADT Repeal.” EdD diss., Drexel University.

Author: Shnecia Lenise Walker

Abstract:

For many years, mastering the art of being unseen been a practice for countless LGBTQ military personnel in order to avoid harassment, violence, and expulsion from the U.S. Armed Forces. Prior research on LGBTQ military personnel who served both before and after the repeal of DADT has documented their multifaceted experiences (Alford & Lee, 2016; Allsep, 2013; Gatson, 2015; Goldbach & Castro, 2016; Mondragon, 2013; Parco, Levy, & Spears, 2014; Quam, 2015; Spinks, 2015; Vaughn, 2014). While several studies identified the participants’ experiences of alienation, these studies were largely exploratory and did not investigate or interrogate alienation with any depth or rigor. Drawing on Seeman’s (1975) six variants of alienation, this dissertation explores the phenomenon of alienation as experienced by LGBTQ military personnel. Understanding their experiences of alienation may help to inform and improve military policies and procedures intended to ensure their full integration into the U.S. Armed Forces. This research study utilized a phenomenological approach to explore alienation as lived and experienced by five LGBTQ military personnel during both the enactment and repeal of DADT. Participants were recruited from private and closed military and veteran LGBTQ partnering support groups and organizations located online. Of the five participants, three identified as lesbian, one identified as gay and/or homosexual and the fifth participant identified as queer. Analysis of the data resulted in three themes: 1) experiences with coming out; 2) a climate of oppression; and 3) alienation. This research study includes four major findings: 1) three of the five participants identified themselves as being in the identity acceptance stage the first time that they disclosed their sexual orientation; 2) participants described military culture as oppressive to LGBTQ military personnel both before and after the repeal of DADT; 3) of Seeman’s six variants of alienation, cultural estrangement was the most prominent variant described by the participants; and 4) in addition to Seeman’s six variants of alienation, participants exhibited a resilient variant of alienation in the form of self-preservation. Findings from this study inform both practice and future research. In addition, the study identifies the need for further exploration of the lived experiences of transgender military persons.

Keywords: alienation, diversity, Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT), isolation, LGBTQ, military

Topics: Gender, LGBTQ, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries, Sexuality, Violence Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2019

Investigating the Origins of the Gender Gap in Support for War

Citation:

Lizotte, Mary-Kate. 2019. "Investigating the Origins of the Gender Gap in Support for War." Political Studies Review 17 (2): 124-35.

Author: Mary-Kate Lizotte

Abstract:

Gender is an important source of influence on foreign policy attitudes but has received less research attention than it deserves. In the United States, gender differences on support for military interventions average around 8 percent, with women less likely than men to support the use of force. This gap has surfaced in many conflicts, including World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars, through to the Gulf War and the conflict in Iraq. The existence of a modest though persistent gender difference in support of the use of military force thus arouses considerable interest among political researchers. This piece critically discusses four explanations, the empirical evidence to date, and future directions for studying and testing the origins of this gender gap. The four explanations are economic/political marginalization, feminist identity, Social Role Theory, and value differences.

Keywords: gender gap, support for war, public opinion

Topics: Armed Conflict, Feminisms, Gender Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2019

The Not-So-Merry Wives of Windsor: The Taxation of Women in Same-Sex Marriages

Citation:

Kahng, Lily. 2016. “The Not-So-Merry Wives of Windsor: The Taxation of Women in Same-Sex Marriages.” Cornell Law Review 101 (2): 325-84.

Author: Lily Kahng

Abstract:

In United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court invalidated the Defense of Marriage Act definition of marriage as "between none man and one woman," heralding its subsequent recognition ,in Obergefell v. Hodges, of a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Windsor cleared the way for same-sex couples to be treated as married under federal tax laws, and the Obama administration promptly announced that it would recognize same-sex marriages for tax purposes. Academics, policymakers, and activists lauded these developments as finally achieving tax equality between same- and different-sex married couples. This Article argues that the claimed tax equality of Windsor is illusory and that the only way to achieve actual equality is to eliminate taxation on the basis of marital status.  Focusing on the taxation of women in same-sex marriages, the Article explores what lies beneath the putative equality gains that result from according same-sex married couples the same status as different-sex married couples. 

The Article predicts, based on demographic statistics and other sociological and economic research relating to income levels, wealth holdings, child rearing, and employment patterns, that women in same-sex marriages will be less likely than other married people to reap the benefits, and more likely to suffer the detriments, of marriage taxation. In analyzing why wo- men in same-sex marriages are likely to suffer adverse consequences from their new tax status as married, the Article builds on prior critical and feminist tax literature showing how the tax law-though purportedly neutral in its treatment of married couples-privileges traditional marriages in which men are the primary income earners and wealth holders, and adversely affects married women's incentives and abilities to be workers, income producers, and wealth holders. The Article argues that the tax law, through the fictitious construction of the married couple as an irreducible economic unit, continues to reward this anachronistic model of marriage and to penalize other, more egalitarian models of marriage. The Article proposes that taxation on the basis of marital status be curtailed through the abolition of the joint return and through other reforms. More broadly, the Article demonstrates how taxation is a powerful tool by which the state regulates intimate relationships, and it highlights the need for a careful and critical evaluation of other marriage laws as they extend their reach to same-sex relationships. 

Topics: Economies, Public Finance, Gender, Women, LGBTQ Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2016

Labour Force Participation of Women: Empirical Evidence on the Role of Policy and other Determinants in OCED Countries

Citation:

Jaumotte, Florence. 2003. “Labour Force Participation of Women: Empirical Evidence on the Role of Policy and other Determinants in OCED Countries.” OECD Economic Studies 2 (37): 51- 108.

Author: Florence Jaumotte

Annotation:

Summary:
“Female labour force participation has increased strongly in most OECD countries over the last few decades (Figure 1). The timing of the increase has varied across countries, with some countries starting earlier (e.g. the Nordics and the United States), and in the last two decades the largest increases have been observed in lower income countries (Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain) as well as in some northern European countries (Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands). However, large cross-country differences in the levels of female participation persist. Focusing on prime-age women (aged 25-54), their participation rate ranges from values close to or below 60 per cent in Turkey, Korea, Mexico, and southern European countries (with the exception of Portugal) to values well above 80 per cent in the Nordic countries and some eastern European countries. Female labour force participation is the most important factor in explaining increases in aggregate participation rates as well as the current cross-country variation of aggregate participation rates…
 
 
 
“This paper assesses the role of various factors in determining the pattern of female participation rates in OECD countries. The main focus of the policy analysis is on married women with children, for whom actual participation is well below preferences. A number of policy instruments are included in the analysis, such as the tax treatment of second earners (relative to single individuals), childcare subsidies, child benefits, paid parental leave, and tax incentives to share market work between spouses. The role of other determinants, such as female education and labour market conditions, is also considered. The originality of the econometric study lies in the broad country coverage (17 OECD countries over the period 1985- 1999), in contrast with the single-country focus of most studies. OECD countries present a wide range of policies and experiences in the area of female participation, thereby providing a valuable source of information on the relative effectiveness of various policies. The analysis is based on macroeconomic data which allows estimating the aggregate impact of policy instruments rather than the responsiveness of individuals to microeconomic incentives. One other advantage of the use of macro- economic data is that the estimated coefficients incorporate to some extent general equilibrium effects (at least those on women themselves)” (Jaumotte 2003, 52-3).

Topics: Economies, Public Finance, Gender, Women, Livelihoods Countries: Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, United States of America

Year: 2003

Taxation and Labor Supply of Married Women: The Tax Reform Act of 1986 as a Natural Experiment

Citation:

Eissa, Nada. 1995. “Taxation and Labor Supply of Married Women: The Tax Reform Act of 1986 as a Natural Experiment.” NBRE Working Paper 5023, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA. 

Author: Nada Eissa

Abstract:

This paper uses the Tax Reform Act of 1986 as a natural experiment to identify the labor supply responsiveness of married women to changes in the tax rate. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 reduced the top marginal tax rate by 44 percent (from 50 percent to 28 percent), but changed less the marginal tax rate for those further down the income distribution. I analyze the response of married women at or above the 99th percentile of the income distribution, using as a control group of women from the 75th percentile of the income distribution. I therefore identity the tax affect as the difference between the change in labor supply of women with large tax rate reductions and the change in labor supply of women with small tax rate reductions. 

I find evidence that the labor supply of high-income, married women increased due to the Tax Reform Act of 1986. The increase in total labor supply of married women at the top of the income distribution (relative to married women at the 75th percentile of the income distribution) implies an elasticity with respect to the after-tax wage of approximately 0.8. At least half of this elasticity is due to labor force participation. Use of a second control group supports the participation response but is inconclusive on the hours of work response

Topics: Economies, Public Finance, Gender, Women, Livelihoods Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 1995

Cumulative Disaster Exposure, Gender and the Protective Action Decision Model

Citation:

Liddell, Jessica L., Leia Y. Saltzman, Regardt J. Ferreira, and Amy E. Lesen. 2020. "Cumulative Disaster Exposure, Gender and the Protective Action Decision Model." Progress in Disaster Science 5.

Authors: Jessica L. Liddell, Leia Y. Saltzman, Regardt J. Ferreira, Amy E. Lesen

Abstract:

The relationship between gender, disaster exposure, and the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) is explored through a survey administered to 326 Gulf Coast residents following the Deep-Water Horizon oil spill. Structural Equation Modeling was used to find that disaster exposure demonstrated a significant negative effect on PADM, such that greater exposure was associated with lower scores (g = −3.09, p < .001). Similarly, gender was a significant covariate in the model, such that being female was associated with an increase in scores (g = 0.33, p < .05). This work highlights the relationships between gender, cumulative disaster exposure, and the PADM.

Keywords: protective action decision model, technological disaster, disaster recovery

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2020

Women's Experiences across Disasters: A Study of Two Towns in Texas, United States

Citation:

Villarreal, Melissa, and Michelle A. Meyer. 2020. "Women's Experiences across Disasters: A Study of Two Towns in Texas, United States." Disasters 44 (2): 285-306.

Authors: Melissa Villarreal, Michelle A. Meyer

Abstract:

Gender, although gaining attention, remains under‐researched in disaster risk reduction protocols and response and recovery efforts. This study examines women's experiences of two disasters in small towns in the United States, utilising qualitative interviews with residents of Granbury and West, Texas, during the first year of disaster recovery. Granbury was struck by an EF‐4 tornado on 15 May 2013, whereas an explosion occurred at a local fertiliser facility in West on 17 April 2013. The paper explores how women's experiences of inter‐gender power dynamics in decision‐making, the prioritisation of childcare, and women's participation in the community affect their post‐disaster recovery. Previous research highlights different forms of human response and recovery vis‐à‐vis ‘natural’ and technological disasters, with less attention paid to gender differences. The results point to the persistent, and similar, effect of gender stratification on women's experiences across different types of disasters in the US and the continued importance of gender‐sensitive disaster policies and programmes.

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Gendered Power Relations Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2020

Climate Change and Perceived Vulnerability: Gender, Heritage, and Religion Predict Risk Perception and Knowledge of Climate Change in Hawaii

Citation:

Showalter, Kevin, David López-Carr, Daniel Ervin. 2019. "Climate Change and Perceived Vulnerability: Gender, Heritage, and Religion Predict Risk Perception and Knowledge of Climate Change in Hawaii." Geographical Bulletin 60: 49-71.

Authors: Kevin Showalter, David López-Carr, Daniel Ervin

Abstract:

This study explores climate change related risk perception among residents of the ‘Big Island’ of Hawaii, an environmentally vulnerable region. Adapting established instruments, we investigated potential links among socio-demographic variables, risk perception, and perceived preparedness and knowledge, as they relate to climate change. Results reveal relationships between risk perceptions for climate change and gender, with females significantly more aware of the risks posed by climate change, but less prepared than men. Additionally, indigenous and native respondents felt that climate change events posed more risk and felt less prepared compared to non-indigenous. Results suggest that an understanding of how risk perceptions vary by gender, knowledge, and other lesser explored demographic factors may enable decision makers to plan and implement more effective mitigation and adaptation measures in the region.

Keywords: climate change, vulnerability, Risk perception, adaptation preparedness, island nations

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Indigenous Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2019

Black Feminism and Radical Planning: New Directions for Disaster Planning Research

Citation:

Jacobs, Fayola. 2019. "Black Feminism and Radical Planning: New Directions for Disaster Planning Research." Planning Theory 18 (1): 24-39.

Author: Fayola Jacobs

Abstract:

After Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of the United States’ Gulf Coast, conversations about flooding became focused on the interconnections between so-called “natural” disasters, poverty, gender and race. Although research has long shown that women, people of color and low-income communities are more vulnerable to natural hazards, the disproportionate effects of Hurricane Katrina and subsequent federal and state disaster response efforts forced the national spotlight on the institutional and systemic nature of racism, classism and sexism. Using Black feminism and radical planning theory, two lenses that provides a comprehensive framework for understanding racism, classism and sexism, this article examines the concept and literature of social vulnerability. I argue while social vulnerability research has made significant contributions to planners’ understandings of disasters and inequity, it fails to center community knowledge, identify intersectional oppressions and name them as such and encourage community activism, all of which are keys to making meaningful change.

Keywords: Black feminism, disasters, environmental justice, feminism, social vulnerability, urban planning

Topics: Class, Economies, Poverty, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Infrastructure, Urban Planning, Intersectionality, Race Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2019

Engendering Cities: Designing Sustainable Urban Spaces for All

Citation:

Sánchez de Madariaga, Inés, and Michael Neuman, eds. 2020. Engendering Cities: Designing Sustainable Urban Spaces for All. New York: Routledge.

Authors: Inés Sánchez de Madariaga, Michael Neuman

Annotation:

Summary: 
Engendering Cities examines the contemporary research, policy, and practice of designing for gender in urban spaces. Gender matters in city design, yet despite legislative mandates across the globe to provide equal access to services for men and women alike, these issues are still often overlooked or inadequately addressed. This book looks at critical aspects of contemporary cities regarding gender, including topics such as transport, housing, public health, education, caring, infrastructure, as well as issues which are rarely addressed in planning, design, and policy, such as the importance of toilets for education and clothes washers for freeing-up time. In the first section, a number of chapters in the book assess past, current, and projected conditions in cities vis-à-vis gender issues and needs. In the second section, the book assesses existing policy, planning, and design efforts to improve women’s and men’s concerns in urban living. Finally, the book proposes changes to existing policies and practices in urban planning and design, including its thinking (theory) and norms (ethics).
 
The book applies the current scholarship on theory and practice related to gender in a planning context, elaborating on some critical community-focused reflections on gender and design. It will be key reading for scholars and students of planning, architecture, design, gender studies, sociology, anthropology, geography, and political science. It will also be of interest to practitioners and policy makers, providing discussion of emerging topics in the field. (Summary from Routledge)

Table of Contents:
1.Planning the Gendered City
Inés Sánchez de Madariaga and Michael Neuman

2.A Gendered View of Mobility and Transport: Next Steps and Future Directions
Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris

3.Gendered Mobility Patterns of Carers in Austria
Bente Knoll and Teresa Schwaninge

4.Violence Against Women in Moving Transportation in Indian Cities: Reconceptualising Gendered Transport Policy
Yamini Narayanan

5.Planning Mobility in Portugal with a Gender Perspective
Margarida Queirós and Nuno Marques da Costa

6.Implementation of Gender and Diversity Perspectives in Transport Development Plans in Germany
Elena von den Driesch, Linda Steuer, Tobias Berg, and Carmen Leicht-Scholten

7.Why Low-Income Women in the U.S. Need Automobiles
Evelyn Blumenberg

8.Public Toilets: The Missing Component in Designing Sustainable Urban Spaces for Women
Clara Greed

9.Are Safe Cities Just Cities? A Perspective from France
Lucile Biarrotte and Claire Hancock

10.Everyday Life Experiences of Afghan Immigrant Women as Representation of their Place of Belonging in Auckland
Roja Tafaroji

11.Gender Mainstreaming in the Regional Discourse over the Future of the Ruhr Metropolitan Area: Implementation of Gender Mainstreaming in Planning Processes
Jeanette Sebrantke, Mechtild Stiewe, Sibylle Kelp-Siekmann, and Gudrun Kemmler-Lehr

12.An Analysis of EU Urban Policy from the Perspective of Gender
Sonia De Gregorio Hurtado

13.Gender Mainstreaming Urban Planning and Design Processes in Greece
Charis Christodoulou

14.Gendering the Design of Cities in Aotearoa New Zealand: Are We There Yet?
Dory Reeves, Julie Fairey, Jade Kake, Emma McInnes, and Eva Zombori

15.Gender Impact Assessments, a Tool for the Implementation of the New Urban Agenda: The Case of Madrid Nuevo Norte
Ines Novella Abril

16.Gender and the Urban in the 21st Century: Paving Way to ‘Another’ Gender Mainstreaming
Camilla Perrone

17.Epilogue: Unifying Difference and Equality Concepts to Buttress Policy
Inés Sánchez de Madariaga

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Migration, Urban Displacement, Development, Economies, Care Economies, Economic Inequality, Gender, Gender-Based Violence, Gender Mainstreaming, Health, Infrastructure, Transportation, Urban Planning, Water & Sanitation Regions: Americas, North America, Asia, South Asia, Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Western Europe, Oceania Countries: Austria, Germany, Greece, India, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, United States of America

Year: 2020

Pages

© 2024 CONSORTIUM ON GENDER, SECURITY & HUMAN RIGHTSLEGAL STATEMENT All photographs used on this site, and any materials posted on it, are the property of their respective owners, and are used by permission. Photographs: The images used on the site may not be downloaded, used, or reproduced in any way without the permission of the owner of the image. Materials: Visitors to the site are welcome to peruse the materials posted for their own research or for educational purposes. These materials, whether the property of the Consortium or of another, may only be reproduced with the permission of the owner of the material. This website contains copyrighted materials. The Consortium believes that any use of copyrighted material on this site is both permissive and in accordance with the Fair Use doctrine of 17 U.S.C. § 107. If, however, you believe that your intellectual property rights have been violated, please contact the Consortium at info@genderandsecurity.org.

Subscribe to RSS - United States of America