RICE. Becoming The Fat Girl

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Becoming “the fat girl”: Acquisition of an unfit

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Article in Women s Studies International Forum · March 2007

DOI: 10.1016/j.wsif.2007.01.001
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CASWE 6th Biannual International Institute Institut de l’ACÉFÉ, 6e Conférence biannuelle
1
WOMEN, HEALTH, AND EDUCATION:
CASWE 6TH BI-ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE PROCEEDINGS
© Diana L. Gustafson 2006

ISBN 0-9780928
1. Women 2. Health 3. Education 4. Title

I .Gustafson, Diana L. II. Goodyear, Lesley
For more information contact:
Diana L. Gustafson, RN BA MEd PhD

Assistant Professor of Social Sciences and Health
Division of Community Health and Humanities
Faculty of Medicine
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John’s, NL A1B 3V6
Tel: (709) 777-6720

Fax: (709) 777-7382
Email: diana.gustafson@med.mun.ca
Proceedings are available to download at www.csse.ca/CASWE/Institute/Institute.htm
Proceedings published by:

Faculty of Medicine
Division of Community Health and Humanities
St. John’s, NL A1B 3V6
Production coordinator: Sandra Meadus, MUN

Translation: Mireille Thomas, Thomas Translations
Website design: Christa McGrath, MUN
Cover art: Braunda L. Gustafson, freelance artist
Cover page design: Diana L. Gustafson, MUN
CD cover design: Lesley Goodyear, MUN
1
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 8
Remerciements 9
Biographies / Biographies 10
CASWE organizing committee / CASWE organise le comité 12
Introduction / Introduction
Healthy girls; Healthy women: Promoting health and healthy educational communities 14
Filles en bonne santé; Femmes en bonne santé : la promotion de la santé et des 16
communautés éducatives saines
DIANA L. GUSTAFSON & LESLEY GOODYEAR
Keynote speakers / Conférencier invité
XS STRESS: Teens take control / XS STRESS : Les ados prennent le contrôle 18

PATRICIA KEARNS
Mothers and others: Promoting healthy living 19

Les mères et les autres : promotion d’un style de vie sain 26
GAYLE LETHERBY
Toward healthy educational communities for women and girls / 36

Des milieux d’éducation sains pour les filles et les femmes
The maternity factor: Implications for career advancements of young women in school
administration
SHARON ABBEY 37
Sugar and spice and not so nice: A conceptual framework for exploring use of violence by
girls
MARION BROWN 38
“This place makes me sick.” One lesbian’s experience of surveillance, hegemony, and
homophobia while teaching in Canadian Catholic high schools
TONYA D. CALLAGHAN 47
Good girls, bully girls: Gender, health and contemporary girlhoods in school settings
VIRGINIA CAPUTO 48
The production and mediation of stress among Atlantic Canadian undergraduate students:
The influence of gender
JOANNE CAREY 49
2
Together in the classroom: Addressing the spirituality of adolescent girls

KAREN CSOLI 50
Mothering in medicine: Parenting policies in medical education in Canada

ROETKA GRADSTEIN 57
Disabled women in India: Inability to access educational services due to social barriers
LIZETH GRANADOS 58
Embodied exclusion: The experiences of poor and working-class young women within the
formal and informal sexual health education curriculum in Scotland
SAARA GREENE 59
Representations of female scholars on university websites: Is women’s work “webworthy”?

CHER HILL .CATHERINE MCGREGOR & NICOLE RICHARD 60
Teachers claiming spiritual agency through the curriculum of life

ERIN IRISH 61
“I am my body”: Challenge and change in girls’ physical and health education

HELEN JEFFERSON LENSKYJ 68
Nurses as ‘artificial persons’: Health as expanding consciousness

GAIL M. LINDSAY 74
Fostering community health: Pocesses and practices of women’s politics

JUDITH MACDONNELL 80
Stress and the transition from university to career: Career development supports for
undergraduate women in Atlantic Canadian liberal arts
ADELE MUELLER & MARILEE REIMER 88
Life chances, choices, and identity: Single mothers in post-secondary education

JANICE E. PARSONS 89
Promoting health educational communities for South African girls and women: The
Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals
THIDZLAMBI PHENDLA, SHARON MAMPANE & CHRISTINA AMSTERDAM 90
Balancing school and family: Access to post-secondary education for student parents
TRUDY SMIT QUOSAI 91
Institutionalizing wellness: Women’s wellness days in an all-girls school

MARIA RADFORD, LINDA MCALLISTER & KRISHPA KOTECHA 92
Identity of spirit: Adult women learners and spirituality as an anchor for health
SABRINA REDWING SAUNDERS 93
3
Under the covers: The complexities of sex role stereotyping in the classroom practices of
three Ontario sexuality education teachers
ADINNE SCHWARTZ 102
Creating a healthy research space for women in the academy: A conversation about
expectations, tensions, and personal considerations
CARMEN SHIELDS & NANCY FENTON 103
Exploring women’s narratives of chronic pain and returning to learning

ANITA SINNER 112
Keeping girls healthy: A comprehensive analysis of legal mandates

SANDRA TONNSEN, ALVIN PROFFIT, JACQUE JACOBS & CHRISTINA AMSTERDAM 113
“How to be healthy”: Girls and health education - past, present and future
ANIKO VARPALOTAI & ELLEN SINGLETON 114
Taking women students seriously: Acknowledging the impact of violence on women

students in sites of higher education
ANNE E. WAGNER 123
Health through education for girls and women / 124

Une vie saine pour les femmes et les filles
HIV/AIDS and women in Africa: Education towards liberation

TSION DEMEKE ABATE 125
Representations of identity: Canadian girls and pop culture

CHRISTINA ADAMS 126
When schooling is not enough: The education of teen mothers within specialized multi-
service organizations
JANICE AHOLA-SIDAWAY & SANDRA FONSECA 128
Inuit women’s narratives about reproductive health

PHYLLIS ARTISS 134
Learning to be a woman : Body image, health and sex
NATALIE BEAUSOLEIL 135
Youth narratives on learning about health and fitness

NATALIE BEAUSOLEIL & GENEVIÉVE RAIL 136
‘Writing on the body’ as health rducation for girls

ELIZABETH REID BOYD & ABIGAIL BRAY 137
“Warning: This could happen to you” Young mothers as moral parables about the dangers
of sexually active young women
JEAN A. SHOVELLER, CATHY CHABOT & JOY JOHNSON 143
4
“Chillax”- a participatory action research approach to investigating violence in high-

school-aged girls’ lives in New Brunswick
LINDA EYRE, RINA ARSENAULT & CATHERINE ANN CAMPBELL 144
Girls’, ‘healthification’ and promises of nationhood: The complexities of PLace, Activity,

Youth (PLAY-ing) in the city
CAROLINE FUSCO 145
Lessons learned, lessons taught: Newfoundland women as mediators of reproductive health

DIANA L. GUSTAFSON 146
The feminist nude: A reflection on the presence and absence of scarred bodies of women in
the public domain
NANCY VIVA DAVIS HALIFAX 147
Women and health in Arab Muslim world: Saudi Arabia as a case study
AMANI ALGHAMDI HAMDAN 148
Problematization and marginalization: Language discordance and pediatric hospitalization

CATHERINE HARDIE 155
No ‘gravy train’ here: Women’s ecological leadership in two Newfoundland outport

communities
CAROL E. HARRIS 156
Citizens minus: Aboriginal women and children in contemporary Canadian society

DAWN MEME HARVARD 166
Storying the health catastrophe: Lifting the lid on the mastectomy experience
LEKKIE HOPKINS 167
Victimization and contraceptive self-efficacy: Illustration of the sexual vulnerability of

female adolescents under the supervision of the Child Protective Services
SARINE LORY HOVSEPIAN, HÉLÈNE MANSEAU, JOANNE OTIS, MARIE-EVE 168
GIRARD & MARTIN BLAIS
An historical analysis of HIV/AIDS awareness posters targeting women

LINDA HUNTER 169
Promoting women’s health through faith-based initiatives

FLORENCE HYMORE, DEBORAH CHILIMO & MITCHELLE ROBERTS 182
Tensions between sex education and life circumstances

of adolescent girls in Uganda
SHELLEY JONES, BONNY NORTON & HARRIET MUTONYI 183
Literacy health challenges for women in a rural Ugandan village

MAUREEN KENDRICK & JUDITH EIYO 184
5
Dressing the wounds

KATRINA KNAPPE KENNY 185
Songs of South Africa: Remembering stories of our mothers

KHULI KOAHO, MERRIL MATTHEWS & GAIL MATTHEWS 192
Healthy bodies, healthy minds and risky relations in knowledge engagement

MARGARET MACNEILL 193
Practicing with intuition: Moving with and from the bodysoul

INDRANI MARGOLIN 194
Spinning a northern web: Women using information and communication technology to

network for health and wellness
CHRISTINA MCLENNAN & DAWN HEMINGWAY 195
Incorporating breastfeeding education and promotion into school health curricula

AMY MIDDLETON 196
“But girls aren’t interested in physical education: Tales from the On the Move trenches
SYDNEY MILLAR 197
Interrupted, improvised, and empowered lives of seven women

ARPI PANOSSIAN-MUTTART 198
Body sight/site: A performance

PAM PATTERSON 211
Knowledge is power: An analysis of women’s constructions of menopause

MARY PATTON 216
Troubling empowerment and health discourses in Go Girls!: Healthy minds, healthy bodies
LEANNE PETHERICK 217
Teenagers’ experience of motherhood in a low income neighbourhood in Brazil

VERÔNICA DE SOUZA PINHEIRO & MARTHA TRAVERSO-YÉPEZ 218
On girls’ disembodiment: The complex tyranny of the ‘ideal girl’

NIVA PIRAN, MARIA ANTONIOU, ROBYN LEGGE, NICOLE MCCANCE, JANE 224
MIZEVICH, ELEASE PEASLEY & ERIN ROSS
It’s not that it’s bad, but could it be dangerous’? Risk, bodies and the Go Girls Program
JENNIFER POOLE 230
How three generations of Newfoundland women learned about menstruation

MARILYN PORTER 238
Promotion d’accès des jeunes filles aux droits, à la santé et à l’éducation

LUCIEN RAZANADRAKOTO , VIOLAINE LEVASSEUR & MARIE LOUISE LEFEBVRE 239
6
Becoming the fat girl

CARLA RICE 240
Examining how social supports assist adolescent girls to negotiate constraints to physical
activity
LINDSAY RICHARDSON 255
The Women & Health Project: Transformative learning in a women’s health activist group
JILL RITCHIE 261
Young farm women, risk taking behaviour, and promotion of health knowledge
LAURANNE SANDERSON, PATRICK MCGRATH, ANITA UNRUH, 267
DEBORAL STILES, KATRIONA MACNEIL & LOIS JACKSON
Safer sex through entertainment education: Realizing the entertainment education approach
with computer games about HIV/AIDS
YVONNE THIES-BRANDNER 268
VALIDITY♀ Project: Listening to the diverse voices of young women in health and
education
MARY QUARTARONE & CATHY THOMPSON 269
Health education or education for health? Lessons from low income Brazilian women
MARTHA TRAVERSO-YÉPEZ 270
Girls’ tattoos and body piercing: Why education should address these risk-taking practices
DEB VANSTON 271
Puberty education for girls and young women: Concepts and techniques to utilize when
addressing menstruation, body changes and sexuality education
SHANNON WHALEN
Program at a glance / Programmer d’un coup d’oeil 273
Index of institutional acronyms / Index des acronymes désignant les institutions 277
Author index / Index des noms d'auteur 278
Contact Information 281
List of sponsors / La liste de répondants 284
7
Acknowledgements
We have many people to thank:
We acknowledge with gratitude the support of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. We are
also grateful to Memorial University for their generous in-kind support of this event. Please recognize
with us the financial and in-kind support received from the sponsors and partners whose names and logos
are listed in these proceedings and on our website
The vision, creativity and technical skill of Christa McGrath enabled us to represent this event in virtual
space and sustain effective communication with delegates, participants and sponsors. Because of her
efforts, you can download a PDF copy of these proceedings from the website. Just go to
www.csse.ca/CASWE/Institute/Institute.htm and click on the CASWE 6th Biannual Institute proceedings
link.
We thank Sandra Meadus whose efficient and ever-patient administrative support helped us meet
deadlines and produce quality work. Mireille Thomas who provided all language translation services from
the inception of this project was meticulous, responsive and a joy to work with.
On those days when this task seemed daunting, we were thankful for those cheery e-messages from long-
time CASWE members and Institute delegates who offered their encouragement and enthusiastic support:
In particular, we thank Dawn Wallin, Janice Wallace, Si Transken, Carol Harris and Sharon Abbey.
We appreciate the efforts of the organizing committee comprised of faculty and students from coast to
coast. We offer our special thanks to Cheryl van Daalen-Smith who picked up the slack, organized a team
of student volunteers, and became the on-site face of the CASWE Institute.
Diana L Gustafson
Lesley Goodyear
8
Remerciements
Nous souhaitons remercier de nombreuses personnes:
Nous sommes reconnaissants au Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines pour son soutien. Nous
tenons à remercier Memorial University pour son généreux soutien en nature. Veuillez vous joindre à nous
pour reconnaître le soutien financier et en nature des commanditaires et partenaires dont les noms et les
logos sont inclus dans ces Actes et dans notre site web.
La vision, la créativité et le talent technique de Christa McGrath nous a permis de représenter cet
événement dans l’espace virtuel et de maintenir des communications efficaces avec les déléguées, les
participantes et les commanditaires. Grâce à ses efforts, vous pouvez télécharger une copie de ces Actes
en format PDF à partir du site web www.csse.ca/CASWE/Institute/Institute.htm et en cliquant sur le lien
des Actes du 6e Institut bi-annuel de l’ACÉFÉ.
Nous remercions Sandra Meadus pour son soutien administratif et sa patience et grâce à qui on a pu finir à
temps et produire un travail de qualité. Merci à Mireille Thomas dont le travail de traduction, du début à la
fin de ce projet, s’est révélé méticuleux, ponctuel et efficace.
Certains jours, quand la tâche nous paraissait insurmontable, nous avons reçu avec plaisir ces messages
électroniques des membres de longue date de l’ACÉFÉ et des déléguées de l’Institut qui nous offraient
leurs encouragements et leur soutien enthousiaste. Nous tenons à remercier en particulier Dawn Wallin,
Janice Wallace, Si Transken, Carol Harris et Sharon Abbey.
Nous apprécions les efforts du comité organisateur dont les membres sont éparpillés d’un océan à l’autre.
Nous remercions en particulier Cheryl van Daalen-Smith qui a pris les choses en mains, qui a organisé une
équipe d’étudiantes bénévoles et qui est devenue le visage de l’Institut de l’ACÉFÉ.
Diana L Gustafson
Lesley Goodyear
9
Biographies / Biographies
Co-Editor: CASWE 6th Biannual Institute Proceedings

Co-Rédacteur : Institut de l’ACÉFÉ, 6e Conférence biannuelle
Diana L. Gustafson is a feminist health sociologist interested in the

intersections of health and education among vulnerable and marginalized
populations. She is an Assistant Professor with the Division of Community
Health and Humanities in the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University.
She is blessed to have the love of her family, the warmth and generosity of
many friends and colleagues, the inspiration and enthusiasm of her students,
and the gift of good health.
Diana L. Gustafson est une sociologue féministe de la santé qui s’intéresse aux relations entre la santé et
l’éducation dans les populations vulnérables et marginalisées. Elle est professeure adjointe dans la
division de Santé communautaire et des humanités de la faculté de médecine de Memorial University. Elle
s’estime chanceuse d’être aimée de sa famille et d’être entourée de l’amitié et de la générosité de ses
nombreux amis et collègues, encouragée par l’inspiration et l’enthousiasme de ses étudiants et elle jouit
d’une bonne santé.
Co-Editor: CASWE 6th Biannual Institute Proceedings

Co-Rédacteur : Institut de l’ACÉFÉ, 6e Conférence biannuelle
Lesley Goodyear is a MSc candidate in Developmental Psychology at

Memorial University. She has a wide variety of interests which include
working with at-risk and socially isolated youth, parenting programs, meal
support therapy for eating disorders and qualitative research. Lesley is a
person who loves life, lives each day with a wholehearted enthusiasm and
believes in making the most of every opportunity. She credits this attitude to
her wonderful parents who taught her that there is no such thing as limits.
Lesley Goodyear est candidate en MSc en psychologie du développement à Memorial University. Elle
s’implique dans plusieurs choses, notamment le travail avec des jeunes à risque et socialement isolés, les
programmes de formation des parents, la thérapie de soutien à l’alimentation pour les troubles de
l’alimentation et la recherche qualitative. Lesley est une personne qui aime la vie, qui vit chaque jour avec
un enthousiasme débordant et qui est convaincue qu’elle doit tirer le maximum de chaque occasion. Elle
dit que c’est grâce à ses merveilleux parents qui lui ont appris que les limites n’existaient pas.
10
Biographies / Biographies (Cont’d)
Cover Artist / artiste de couverture
Braunda L. Gustafson is a teacher, volunteer, mother of five, grandmother

of four, and great-grandmother of two. Five years ago, she learned to paint as
a form of art therapy during her husband’s final illness. In March 2006, she
(along with other members of her art class) exhibited their water colours of
landscapes and floral arrangements at the Brentwood Bay Gallery. Her secret
to good health? Aerobics classes, crossword puzzles, and banging her gavel
as the president of the Central Saanich Seniors’ Association in Brentwood
Bay near Victoria, Canada.
Braunda L. Gustafson est une enseignante, bénévole, mère de cinq enfants, grand-mère de quatre petits-
enfants et arrière-grand-mère de deux. Il y a cinq ans, elle a appris à peindre comme forme de thérapie par
l’art, pendant la maladie qui allait emporter son mari. En mars 2006, avec d’autres membres de sa classe,
elle a exposé ses aquarelles représentant des paysages et des arrangements floraux à la galerie Brentwood
Bay. Son secret pour rester en bonne santé? Des classes de gymnastique aérobique, des mots croisés et son
maillet de présidente de l’association des Aînés de Central Saanich à Brentwood Bay, près de Victoria,
Canada.
11
CASWE Organizing Committee / CASWE Organise le Comité
Program Chair / Présidente du comité de programmation
Diana L. Gustafson, RN, BA, MEd, PhD

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University
Assistants to the Program Chair / Adjointes à la présidente du comité de programmation

(in alphabetical order / par ordre alphabétique)
Lesley Goodyear, BSc, MSc(c)

Department of Psychology, Memorial University
Nicole Kieley, BA
Women’s Studies Department, Memorial University
Amy Wall, undergraduate student

Department of Biology, Memorial University
Peer Review Coordinator / Coordinatrice du comité de révision par les collègues
Si Transken, BA, BSW, MA, PhD

Assistant Professor, Social Work Program, University of Northern British Columbia
Translation / La Traduction
Mireille Thomas
Thomas Translations
275 Empire Ave
St. John’s, NL A1C 3J1
mireille.thomas@nl.rogers.com
Grand Gossip Session and Book Sharing Coordinator / Coordinatrice de l’exposition de

livres et de la séance de potins
G. Sophie Harding-Walker, Administrative Assistant

Centre for the Support of Teaching, York University
Exhibitors and Partners Coordinator / Coordinatrice des exposants et partenaires
Mary Patton, PhD(c)

Theory and Policy Studies, OISE-IÉPO/UT
12
CASWE Organizing Committee / CASWE Organise le Comité (cont’d)
Website Development and Support / Conception du site web et appui technique
Christa McGrath, BEd

Graduate Program Coordinator, Faculty of Medicine
Memorial University
On-Site Coordinator / Coordinatrice pendant le congrès
Cheryl van Daalen-Smith, RN, PhD

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Nursing, York University
Dissemination Coordinator / Coordinatrice de la diffusion du programme
Janice Wallace, BA, MEd, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Policy Studies, University of Alberta
Peer Review Committee / Comité de Revue de Pair

(in alphabetical order/par ordre alphabétique)
Willow Brown, BEd, MEd, PhD

Assistant Professor, Education Program, University of Northern British Columbia
Monique Goguen Campbell, MSc, PhD (c)

Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University
Dawn Hemingway, BA, MSc, MSW

Jacqueline Holler, PhD

Assistant Professor, Departments of History and Women’s Studies,
Coordinator of Women’s and Gender Studies Programs, University of Northern British Columbia
Kelly Jorge, MSW Student

Social Work Program, University of Northern British Columbia
Christina McLennan, BSW, MSW, RSW

Catherine McGregor, MEd

Lecturer, Education Program, University of Northern British Columbia
Kelly Wintemute, MA(c)

Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Northern British Columbia
13
Introduction
Healthy girls; Healthy women:

Promoting health and healthy educational communities
DIANA L. GUSTAFSON
Memorial University
St. John’s, Canada
diana.gustafson@med.mun.ca
LESLEY GOODYEAR
Memorial University
lesleygoodyear@yahoo.ca
Health and education are arguably the two most important issues for international and local governments,
health and school authorities, community groups, health professionals, educators, and activists. Consider
the following indicators:
On the national stage, the Romanow Commission and the Kirby Report together with the feminist
critiques of both documents have raised awareness about women’s health. The Centres for Excellence in
Women’s Health, community-based women’s groups, and many NGOs across the country are taking up a
variety of health and education issues that focus on women and girls. On the international stage, Stephen
Lewis, the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, a commissioner of the World
Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health, and one of the keynote speakers at
the 2006 Congress is calling for greater attention to health and education issues faced by women and girls
around the globe.
As public interest in health and education grows and government, corporate, and agency budgets shrink,
there is greater need to find innovative and effective ways to promote health and awareness through
education, and improve conditions and facilities for healthy educational communities for girls and women
around the globe. Both timely and worthy of our attention, WOMEN, HEALTH AND EDUCATION was the
theme of the 6th Biannual Canadian Association for the Study of Women and Education (CASWE)
International Institute held at York University, Toronto, Canada from May 30th to June 1, 2006.
This 2-½ day gathering brought together social scientists, community activists, artists, educators, social
workers, and health professionals to explore the intersections of health and education in the lives of
diverse groups of girls and women from around the globe.
The 6th Biannual CASWE Institute Proceedings illustrate the depth and diversity of research scholarship
on women, health and education that crosses disciplinary and national boundaries. The proceedings also
demonstrate our association’s commitment to showcasing the voices of those actively engaged in
community-based work. As the Program-At-A-Glance shows, current debates, concerns, interventions,
and initiatives were addressed in traditional poster and paper presentations as well as in performance
events, film screenings, and interactive workshops.
The Proceedings lists all abstracts in both official Canadian languages with manuscripts in the language of
the presenting author. Contents are listed alphabetically by lead author and organized into two sections.
14
The abstracts in the first section entitled Toward healthy living through education for women and girls
reflect on the multi-dimensional ways women and girls learn, teach, produce, and transfer knowledge
about and perform, promote, and protect their health as individuals and collectives.
The abstracts in the second section entitled Healthy educational communities for girls and women explore
the complexities and multiplicities of gendered experiences in educational environments. Educational
environments were understood as formal and informal sites that shape, inform, regulate, and organize the
health and wellbeing of girls and women.
We begin this volume with the works of our keynote speakers whose presentations reflected the two sub-
themes of the Institute and our commitment to using different media for sharing information. Patricia
Kearns opened the Institute with a film screening and discussion of her National Film Board production,
XS Stress: Teens take control. This Montréal-based feminist filmmaker and social activist is enjoying
international acclaim for her gritty and uncompromising portrayals of women and youth. Gayle Letherby,
an internationally known feminist scholar and researcher who holds an appointment at the University of
Plymouth, UK gave our luncheon address entitled, Mothers and Others: Promoting healthy living. We
thank them both for sharing their perspectives and stimulating discussion and networking.
On behalf of the 6th Biannual CASWE Organizing Committee, we would also like to thank the CASWE
Executive and membership for their support of this event. It has been our privilege to continue the legacy
begun by the Institute founders who intended that this themed event advance the agenda of inclusive
education, serve as a catalyst for a wide range of educational endeavours, and generate a broad-based
discussion that forged links beyond the academy through alternative forms of information sharing. We
continued this commitment to inclusion, diversity, and networking by:
• Organizing a forum for exploring and disseminating multi-disciplinary perspectives on women,

health, and education;
• Stimulating and extending the development of new perspectives for research on the gender-based
intersections of health and education through multiple disciplinary lenses; and
• Building on existing links, and fostering new links, between Canadian researchers and
organizations and those working in other countries – especially Africa, Australia, Brazil, Europe,
United Kingdom, and the United States.
We are grateful to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for their support of
this event and publication of the Institute Proceedings. We are also pleased to acknowledge the support of
other sponsors and partners. Our thanks, also, to the members of the organizing team who contributed to
the success of this event. And finally, we want to express our sincere appreciation to all delegates whose
work appears on the following pages. We are honoured to share their work with you.
15
Introduction
Filles en bonne santé; Femmes en bonne santé :

la promotion de la santé et des communautés éducatives saines
DIANA L. GUSTAFSON
Memorial University
LESLEY GOODYEAR
Memorial University
lesleygoodyear@yahoo.ca
On pourrait dire que la santé et l’éducation sont les deux enjeux principaux des gouvernements
internationaux et locaux, des administrations de la santé et de l’éducation, des groupes communautaires,
des professionnels de la santé, des éducateurs et des activistes. Considérons les indicateurs suivants :
Au niveau national, la commission Romanow et le rapport Kirby ainsi que les critiques féministes des
deux documents ont favorisé la sensibilisation à propos de la santé des femmes. Les Centres d’excellence
pour la santé des femmes, les groupes communautaires de femmes et de nombreux organismes non
gouvernementaux dans tout le pays s’intéressent à diverses questions de santé et d’éducation qui sont
centrés sur les femmes et les jeunes filles. Sur la scène internationale, Stephen Lewis, envoyé spécial du
secrétaire général de l’ONU pour le VIH/SIDA en Afrique, membre de la Commission de l’Organisme
mondial de la santé sur les déterminants sociaux de la santé, et l’un des orateurs invités du Congrès 2006,
lance un appel pour qu’on prête une attention plus soutenue aux questions de santé et d’éducation
auxquelles les filles et les femmes sont confrontées dans le monde entier.
À mesure que l’intérêt public envers la santé et l’éducation grandit et que les budgets des gouvernements,
des entreprises et des agences diminuent, il devient de plus en plus urgent de trouver des façons
innovatrices et efficaces de promouvoir la santé et la prise de conscience au moyen de l’éducation, et
d’améliorer les conditions et les installations pour établir des communautés éducatives saines pour les
filles et les femmes du monde entier. Le thème du 6e Institut bi-annuel international de l’Association
canadienne pour l’étude sur les femmes et l’éducation (ACÉFÉ) : FEMMES, SANTÉ ET ÉDUCATION,
qui a eu lieu du 30 mai au 1er juin 2006 à York University, Toronto, Canada, s’est révélé digne de notre
attention et en temps opportun.
Cette rencontre de 2½ jours a rassemblé des experts en sciences sociales, des activistes des communautés,
des artistes, des éducateurs, des travailleurs sociaux et des professionnels de la santé pour explorer les
intersections entre la santé et l’éducation et la vie des filles et des femmes du monde entier.
Les Actes du 6e Institut bi-annuel de l’ACÉFÉ illustrent la profondeur et la diversité de la recherche sur
les femmes, la santé et l’éducation qui dépasse les limites disciplinaires et nationales. Les Actes
démontrent aussi l’engagement de notre association à mettre en vedette les voix de celles qui sont
engagées activement dans le travail communautaire. Comme on peut le voir sur le programme, les débats
actuels, les inquiétudes, les interventions et les initiatives ont été traitées de façon traditionnelle dans des
16
présentations d’affiches ou des communications ainsi que des spectacles, des visionnements de films et
des ateliers interactifs.
Dans les Actes, on inclut la liste de tous les résumés des présentations dans les deux langues officielles du
Canada ainsi que les textes dans la langue d’origine. La table des matières comprend la liste alphabétiques
des auteurs principaux et elle est organisée en deux sections.
Dans la première section intitulée Une vie saine par l’éducation des femmes et des filles, les résumés
présentent des réflexions sur les façons dont les femmes et les filles apprennent, enseignent, produisent et
transmettent le savoir et comment elles pratiquent, promeuvent et protègent leur santé de façon
individuelle et collective.
Dans la seconde section intitulée Des communautés éducatives saines pour les filles et les femmes les
résumés explorent les complexités et les multiplicités des expériences rattachées au sexe féminin dans les
environnement éducatifs. Par environnement éducatif, on comprend les sites formels et informels qui
façonnent, informent, règlementent et organisent la santé et le bien-être des filles et des femmes.
Dans ce volume, nous commençons par présenter les travaux de nos conférenciers principaux dont les
présentations reflètent les deux sous-thèmes de l’Institut et notre volonté de présenter différents médias
pour diffuser l’information. Patricia Kearns ouvre l’Institut par le visionnement suivi d’une discussion de
son film produit par l’Office national du film, XS Stress: Teens take control. Cette cinéaste féministe de
Montréal, activiste sociale, jouit d’une renommée internationale pour ses portraits rugueux et
intransigeants des femmes et des jeunes. Gayle Letherby, universitaire et chercheure féministe reconnue
internationalement, de l’université de Plymouth, G.-B. a fait la présentation de midi intitulée Les mères et
les autres : promouvoir une vie saine. Nous les remercions toutes les deux d’avoir partagé leurs points de
vue et stimulé la discussion et le réseautage.
Au nom du comité organisateur du 6e Institut bi-annuel de l’ACÉFÉ, nous aimerions aussi remercier le
bureau de direction et les membres de l’ACÉFÉ pour leur appui. Nous sommes très honorées d’avoir
continué dans la voie tracée par les fondatrices de l’Institut qui souhaitaient que cet événement à thème
fasse avancer la cause de l’éducation inclusive, serve de catalyseur à diverses activités éducatives et
génère des discussions générales qui forgeraient des liens dépassant le milieu universitaire, grâce à des
formes alternatives de partage de l’information. Nous avons poursuivi cet engagement envers l’inclusion,
la diversité et le réseautage de la façon suivante :
• Organisation d’un forum pour explorer et disséminer les perspectives multi-disciplinaires sur les
femmes, la santé et l’éducation;
• Stimuler et étendre le développement de nouvelles perspectives multi-disciplinaires pour la
recherche sur les intersections entre la santé et l’éducation dans le cadre du sexe féminin; et
• Consolider les liens existants et en établir de nouveaux, entre les chercheurs canadiens et les
organismes qui travaillent dans d’autres pays, en particulier l’Afrique, l’Australie, le Brésil,
l’Europe, le Royaume-Uni et les États-Unis.
Nous remercions le Conseil canadien de recherches en sciences humaines pour leur soutien et la
publication des Actes de l’Institut. Nous apprécions aussi le soutien d’autres commanditaires et
partenaires. Un grand merci aux membres du comité organisateur qui a contribué au succès de cet
événement. Et pour finir, j’aimerais exprimer ma gratitude à toutes les déléguées dont le travail est inclus
dans ces pages. C’est un honneur de partager leur travail avec vous.
17
Keynote Speaker / Conférencier Invité
XS STRESS: Teens take control
PATRICIA KEARNS
National Film Board of Canada
Montréal, Canada
p.kearns@onf.ca
Meet Sarah — the punk rocker with heart, smarts and more tattoos than you can count. They hide the
scars. Say hi to Jarrel. At school everyone calls him “faggot.” Then he fights back. And then there’s “bad
kid” Kira. Well, it turns out she has dyslexia and nobody knew it. Three youths tell their stories in this
esssential guide to staying afloat while navigating the choppy waters of adolescence. It’s a time when
youth undergo big changes and assume new responsibilities, juggling school, family and friends. Throw in
work, dating, exams, racist remarks and extracurricular activities, and it’s no wonder teens get knocked off
balance. Performing artist Kyra Shaughnessy and a diverse chorus of young voices provide running
commentary, making this insightful report from the teens of today fun and full of good advice. It’s
powerful and real. It’s teens taking control.
Written and Directed by Patricia Kearns. Produced by Tamara Lynch.
Director Patricia Kearns made XS Stress with the help of an 8 member Youth Advisory Council (YAC).
Incorporating a YAC into the making of the film was a new and challenging yet ultimately fruitful
process. Tonight Patricia will share her experiences of working with youth in the making of this teen
centered documentary.
XS STRESS : Les ados prennent le contrôle
Voici Sarah — la rockeuse punk au grand coeur, intelligente et couverte de tatouages. Pour cacher ses
cicatrices. Voici Jarrel. À l’école, tout le monde l’appelle « pédé » . Alors il se bagarre. Et Kira « l’enfant
terrible » . Elle souffre de dyslexie et personne ne le savait. Trois jeunes qui racontent leur histoire dans ce
guide de survie pour traverser les orages de l’adolescence. Pour les jeunes, c’est le temps des changements
majeurs, le temps d’assumer de nouvelles responsabilités, de s’organiser entre les études, la famille et les
amis. Si on y ajoute un emploi, la vie sociale, les examens, le racisme et les activités diverses, il ne faut
pas s’étonner qu’on y perde son équilibre. L’artiste de la scène Kyra Shaughnessy et diverses autres voix
nous font des commentaires et donnent à ce rapport intelligent sur les adolescents un certain humour, en
proposant de bons conseils qui valent la peine d’être entendus. Une présentation puissante et réelle. Les
ados prennent le contrôle.
Écrit et réalisé par Patricia Kearns. Produit par Tamara Lynch.
Patricia Kearns a réalisé XS Stress avec la collaboration des huit membres d’un Conseil consultatif de
jeunes. L’incorporation de ce conseil dans la réalisation du film posait un nouveau défi qui s’est révélé
porter des fruits. Ce soir, Patricia va partager son expérience de travail avec des jeunes pour la réalisation
de ce documentaire au sujet des ados.
18
Keynote Address / Conférencier Invité
Mothers and others: Promoting healthy living

GAYLE LETHERBY
University of Plymouth
Plymouth, UK
gayle.letherby@plymouth.ac.uk
In this keynote address, I draw on various projects to demonstrate how the experience of all women and
girls – whether they mother (biological related) children or not - are affected by the often contradictory
ideologies of motherhood and consider the relationship between non/motherhood and un/healthy living. In
addition, again drawing on my own research, and the development work that has sometimes accompanied
it, I explore ways to further promote healthy living for mothers and others.
Introduction
Anyone who knows my work will already be familiar with some of what follows. As a girl I fully
expected to fulfil my ‘feminine script’; grow up, get married and have babies. After leaving school at 18 I
trained and qualified as a Nursery Nurse. I saw this and my subsequent employment in the maternity ward
of a London hospital; at a pre-school nursery (six weeks to five years); and as a private nanny as
preparation for my role as mother. I married in 1979 and in 1984 after 15 months of ‘trying’ I became
pregnant. At 16 weeks I miscarried and to my knowledge I havePnot been pregnant since. After taking A
Level Sociology at night school, partly as something to take my mind of the fact that I did not get pregnant
again, I began a full time degree course in Sociology in 1987.
So, I came to sociology late as a non-standard, mature entrant, having failed my Maths O Level the first
time around and being told by the visiting careers advisor ‘Well that’s University out for you then’. I do
not regret coming to degree level study later; towards the end of my school education I was bored with
study but when I started my A level Sociology I couldn’t get enough of studying or of sociology and the
effect it had on the way that I felt about the world and my place within it. From the beginning sociology
made me feel differently about personal and public politics. This, then, was the start of the development of
my personal ‘sociological imagination’ (Mills 1970): a theoretically inquisitive approach relevant for all
social scientists and through this I ‘found feminism’.
The rest, as they say, is history. From the very beginning of my degree course I knew that my choice of
topic for the individual third year research project would be a study of the experience of miscarriage
(completed in 1990 see Letherby 1993). Following graduation I began doctoral research on the experience
(predominantly women’s) of ‘infertility’ (the inability to conceive a child after a year or more of
unprotected sex or the inability to carry a pregnancy to term) and ‘involuntary’ childlessness (the social
condition of nonmotherhood) which I write in single quotation marks to highlight problems of definition.
Although I had found a large amount of work on the political implications of the New Reproductive
Technologies (NRTs) (e.g. Corea et al 1985, Stanworth 1987, Birke et al 1990) I felt that there was not
enough academic work concerned directly with the status and experience of ‘infertility’ and ‘involuntary
childlessness’. Thus, in my PhD work my focus was on social, emotional and medical experience. Here, as
in my earlier research on miscarriage, my focus was predominantly (but not exclusively) with women’s
experience.
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Since completing my doctoral work I have continued to research and write about the complicated issue of
non/motherhood. Some of this work I have done alone (e.g. Letherby 1999, 2002, 2002a, 2003) and some
with others. With others (amongst other things) I have considered the similarities and differences in the
experiences of ‘voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’ childlessness (e.g. Letherby and Williams 1999); the
connections between motherhood and nonmotherhood (e.g. Earle and Letherby 2002, 2003); the
experience of motherhood and nonmotherhood in both the public and private spheres (e.g. Fontaine,
Letherby and Whatley 1999, Jewkes and Letherby 2002, Letherby et al 2002, Letherby and Ramsay 2006)
and (new) technology and non/motherhood (e.g. Letherby and Marchbank 2002). I have also – again with
others – been involved in a series of projects concerned with the experiences of pregnant teenagers and
young mothers (e.g. Letherby et al 2001, 2002a, 2003, Brady et al 2006, Brown et al 2006) and begun to
consider the experience of non/fatherhood (Letherby et al 2004, McAllister and Letherby forthcoming).
Here I draw on various aspects of my work to demonstrate how the experience of all women and girls –
whether they mother (biological related) children or not - are affected by the often contradictory
ideologies of motherhood and consider the relationship between non/motherhood and un/healthy living.
Following this, again drawing on my own research, and the development work that has sometimes
accompanied it, I consider some of the ways to further promote healthy living for mothers and others.
Ideologies of non/motherhood
In one of my earliest academic writings I began my consideration of non/motherhood by reflecting on

definitions and meanings of motherhood and nonmotherhood:
. . . all women live their lives against a background of personal and cultural
assumptions that all women are or want to be mothers and that for women
motherhood is proof of adulthood and a natural consequence of marriage or a
permanent relationship with a man. A great deal of social and psychological
research has focussed on women and the role of children in their lives and is thus
complicity in reproducing societal assumptions about women deriving their identity
from relationships in domestic situations and particularly from motherhood within
the family. Consequently, ‘and how many children have you got?’ is a ‘natural’
question. Social attitudes and institutions support the assumption that women’s
ultimate role is motherhood and women who do not mother children are still
expected to mother others; either vocationally as a teacher or a nurse or within the
family as a sister, aunt, daughter, or wife/partner (Letherby 1994: 525).
More than a decade on I am grateful for the opportunity to explore further the ways in which
non/motherhood defines and determines girls’ and women’s lives. I would suggest that motherhood is still
taken for granted, unquestioned and traditionally seen as ‘natural’, and central to the construction of
‘normal’ femininity’. In recent years there have been several significant changes – culturally and
scientifically – which has impacted on issues of non/motherhood. For example, in contemporary Western
society there are more women (and couples) choosing to remain ‘childless’, and higher numbers of
‘infertility’ cases than ever before. Those who do have children have them later and have less and
increasing numbers of babies are born following some form of ‘assistance’: from self-administered
donated sperm to medically sophisticated procedures such as egg donation. However, as Gillespie (2000)
notes, most women continue to become mothers at some time in their lives. Motherhood is still considered
to be a primary role for women and women who do not mother - either biologically or socially - are often
stereotyped as either desperate or selfish. So, women who do not mother are subject to the ideologies of
motherhood/dominant discourse of motherhood and are ‘other’ to this accepted/expected female norm.
However, although I agree with Stephanie Dowrick and Sibyl Grundberg (1980: 9) that, “Our lives are as
they are because some of us have children and some of us do not” I would caution against suggesting that
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our status as mother or other determines our life as completely different and that motherhood is an
inevitably positive experience and identity and nonmotherhood inevitably negative, not least because:
• Motherhood is lauded as inevitable and desirable and something that all women are expected to
do, but only in the ‘right’ social, economic and sexual circumstances. Thus, as Elaine DiLapi
(1989) argues there is a hierarchy of motherhood and lesbian mothers, older mothers, disabled
mothers, teenage mothers, non-biological mothers and so on are defined as ‘inappropriate’;
• For every definition of mother that infers connotations of love and respect there seems to be
another connoting fear, hatred or disrespect (Mills 1991);
• The experience of mothering is often more complicated than the promise and women are often
ambivalent about their lives as mothers;
• Mothering is portrayed as instinctual to women yet mothers are thought in need or education for
motherhood and are bombarded by ‘expert’ views and cautions;
• Although nonmothers – through choice on inability - are often stereotyped as one-dimensional –
as selfish or desperate – nonmotherhood is as ambivalent an experience as motherhood;
• All women – whether mother or not – are expected to display the feminine characteristics
associated with mothering: not least that of caring and nurturing.
Thus, the ideologies and expectations of ‘ideal’ motherhood affect all women, in our private and our
public lives, whether mother or not, and the ‘ideal’ image of woman – which is arguably synonymous with
the image of the ‘ideal’ mother – also affects us all, whether mother or not. It’s just so easy to get it
wrong! As Jane Bennett (1996: 2) notes:
Want to have a child? Well don’t do it too early. Don’t leave it too late. Don’t do it
before you’re nicely settled. Don’t have an abortion. Don’t have an unwanted child.
Don’t be a single parent. Don’t miss out on the joy of childbirth. Don’t think you can
do it alone. Don’t let your children be reared by strangers. Don’t sponge off the
State. Don’t have a child for selfish reasons. Don’t be childless for selfish reasons.
Don’t end up in barren solitude. Don’t expect fertility treatment to work.
External definitions impact on internal self-perception, yet we all have multiple identities and things can
change both in relation to our status and our sense of self. For example, at one and the same time a woman
can be a biological mother and a step-mother; a foster mother undergoing treatment for primary
‘infertility’ or a biological mother experiencing secondary ‘infertility’ (following the birth of one or more
children). As time passes a woman who originally defined herself as ‘involuntarily childless’ may re-
define her identity, whereas a biological mother whose children have been taken into care or died may feel
that her motherhood status has been taken away from her.
Non/motherhood and un/healthy living
Both motherhood and nonmotherhood can lead to physical, psychological and emotional unhealthiness for
women. Taking pregnancy and childbirth as an example, worldwide we know that:
• Every year 1,600 women die in pregnancy and childbirth;

• Every year over 50 million women suffer acute complications from pregnancy;
• Around 20 million women sustain debilitating lifelong injuries or infections in pregnancy;
• Complications of pregnancy and delivery are the leading cause of death among reproductive-age
women in developing countries;
• Every year, 1.4 million infants are stillborn and 1.5-2.5 million infants die in the first week of life
from complications related to their mothers’ pregnancy or experienced during pregnancy;
21
• 1 million or more children are left motherless each year by women who die from pregnancy-
related causes (Unicef 2004: 5).
Furthermore, being a ‘good’ mother (and wife) can actually make women sick. Evidence suggests that
women prioritise the needs of other family members allocating them more resources and caring for them
to the detriment of their own health, often because this is expected of them (for example Doyal 1995,
Abbott and Wallace, 1997).
So what of those mothers identified by others as ‘bad’? I look to my own research for an example here and
focus on the experience of young motherhood. Although teenage pregnancy in Britain is not a recent
phenomenon it is currently receiving more attention politically than ever before. Arguably (although there
are difficulties comparing statistics across countries) Britain has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in
Western Europe, with a rate double that of Germany, triple that of France and six times that of the
Netherlands (SEU 1999). Young mothers are not only stereotyped as a burden on the state but despite
evidence to the contrary teenage mothers are stereotyped as bad mothers and their children severely
disadvantaged (Phoenix 1991, Ussher 2000). Arguably though, it is not the age of the woman that is the
primary issue but the fact that younger pregnant girls/women are more likely to give birth outside
marriage. Additionally, there is concern that because most pregnancies of unmarried teenagers are
unplanned, this will have adverse social and health outcomes for both mother and child (e.g. Finlay 1996).
Political discourses then individualise the problems of teenage pregnancy and parenthood rather than
examine the structural factors that affect young people’s lives. From our research it seems that young
women internalise the negative discourses that surround their experience. Many of the young women we
spoke to told us of the pressure they feel to prove that they can cope with motherhood and become ‘good’
mothers:
People look at you more and criticise you more when you’re a younger mum that they
would if you were older. You get funny looks off some people when you’re pushing the
pram around, and if they [babies] start crying you have to do something really quick
because people will look at you and start criticising (Beverley).
I have been told I can keep the baby but I have to make a good effort . . . it scares me
‘cos if I can’t cope they [Social Services] can take the child. (Nadia).
Do you know what bothers me? It’s people being dead nosey. I don’t know why I am
scared I think they are going to get Social Services on to me for some reason. I don’t
know why . . . they just scare me that they are going to take your kids off you
(Tracey).
The government, the media, the general public, family and friends and professionals and practitioners
who care for pregnant teenagers, young mothers and their children are often concerned about the ‘risks’
that young women may put themselves and their children in; both during pregnancy and postnatally. Yet,
our research findings suggest that the greatest risk to pregnant teenagers, young mothers and their
children is NOT accessing the services that are available to them. This they sometimes do not do because
they expect to be, and sometimes are, negatively judged by others (Letherby et al 2002a).
With respect to the health and well-being of nonmothers again I refer to my own research. Sarah Franklin
(1990) argues that the public interest in ‘infertility’/’involuntary childlessness’ reflects individual’s real
loss of identity and control over their lives. For some of the respondents in my research this was true:
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For me, the lack of control . . . was a major cause of distress. Control of lifestyle, but
especially over my body (Vicky).
Emotionally infertility is crushing . . . . Something taken for granted is the production

of children. In a sense (to me) failure in this area becomes a failure in life. There is
anger, shame, confusion – a feeling of helplessness (Samantha).
Although I never mentioned the word first, some of my respondents talked and wrote to me about
‘despair’, acknowledging that they did feel a sense of desperation and/or obsession. Here the focus was
not just on the biological but also on the social experiences of motherhood and ‘involuntary childlessness’:
I do special things for myself to fill the gap . . . but in the end these feel like pathetic
attempts at compensation (Frannie).
Yet, as Naomi Pfeffer and Anne Woollett (1983) argue, caricaturing ‘infertile’/ ‘involuntarily childless’
individuals as ‘desperate’ people reduces a complex set of changing emotions and needs to a single
negative word and image. As I said earlier definitions of experience do change and shift and some of my
respondents referred to working through negative feelings and/or about experiencing positive and negative
feelings simultaneously. Others denied feelings of desperation:
I have read that some people feel despair when they come on. I have never felt like
that (Jane).
Well my mum used to say ‘if you’ve none to make you laugh, you’ve none to make you
cry (Molly).
Molly was one of the oldest women involved in the research and is representative of older respondents in
that her focus was on coming to terms with the social condition of ‘involuntary childlessness’ rather than
dealing with the biological and associated medical experience of ‘infertility’. Coping with the biological
and the medical was common for many younger respondents whose experience was affected by the
potential possibilities of the NRTs. The contemporary focus on medical solutions led some respondents to
focus on ‘fixing’ the biological problem of ‘infertility’ and this sometimes led to further distress (see also
Denny 1994, Franklin 1997, Pfeffer 1987).
It also appears that some women who achieve motherhood (either biologically or socially) with assistance,
like young mothers, feel the pressure to be ‘good enough’. My respondents attributed some of the pressure
to be ‘perfect’ to their previous status as ‘infertile’/’involuntarily childless’ stating that it is harder to be a
‘proper’ mother to ‘miracle babies” (medically assisted), much longed for babies and babies with genetic
histories that they did not share.
Some people think I’m a bad mother because I’m a working mother even before they
realise that I have two adopted children. . . . They think I should be grateful and stay
at home. (Annie).
Vicky who had twins following in-vitro fertilisation:
. . . they’re probably the only ones I’ll ever have and after all the effort to have them
shouldn’t I be spending every minute of my life delighting in them? I also feel
extremely inhibited about ever moaning about them.
23
And Samantha:
It worries me greatly that I might put . . . pressure on our children because of wanting
them so much.
The promotion of healthy living for non/mothers (through research)
So what is the point of all of this research and reflection? If we are to believe David Silverman (2000:
273) not much:
The idea that social research might influence public policy provides an inspiration
for many young social scientists. In most English-speaking countries the sad truth is
that things have never worked in this way.
Having spent more than five years researching and writing up the experience of individuals (particularly
women) who experience ‘infertility’ and ‘involuntary childlessness’ I hoped that the work that I did would
have some influence on the actual experience of the people I researched and others like them. Nearly ten
years on I have written several pieces connected to this research, which several people (mostly other
academics) have read. Hopefully my ideas have had successfully challenged some stereotypes I think that
the impact on ‘real world’ experience is insignificant. In contrast, five years after the first, three month
long, project on young parenthood, several more projects and more importantly a significant number of
policy initiatives have followed. Following the recommendations following the project (referred to earlier)
concerned with the health and well-being of young women antenatally, during birth and postnatally
(Letherby et al 2002) the Coventry Teenage Pregnancy Partnership Board (TPPB):
• Established a Young Parents Forum;

• Commissioned the original research team to design and deliver a training pack for health and
social care professionals who work with pregnant teenagers and young parents which was
produced and presented with the help of young mothers; and
• Secured financial and personnel resources for a specialist service aimed at addressing the ante and
postnatal needs of pregnant teenagers and young parents (aged 16-24) in Coventry.
Additional impact following the completion of other projects includes improved bespoke accommodation
for young parents; further support for young fathers and research training for young mothers involved in a
project focusing on young parents and lifelong learning. In addition, members of the original research
team sit on each of the two sub-committees of the TTPB (with the remit of championing research findings
and recommendations) and on the TTPB itself. We have also representing the TPPB at regional and
national meetings and events. Our ability to ‘influence public policy’ in this area is of course in large part
due to the response to our research from the commissioners of our work who were/are concerned to
consider the actual, rather than the stereotypical, experience of young parenthood and to try to find out
what young mothers and fathers need to make their and their children’s lives better.
Through this brief focus on some experiences of non/motherhood I have hopefully highlighted some of the
ways in which the status and experience of mother or other can have un/healthy consequences for
women’s lives. Although they may seem like very different experiences ‘infertile’ and ‘involuntarily
childlessness’ women who are stigmatised for the lack of children in their lives and pregnant teenagers
and young mothers who are stigmatised for having children at an inappropriate time in their lives are at
the two ends of the ideological tightrope of ‘ideal’ motherhood.
As I noted at the beginning of this piece my research interests and writings in the area of non/motherhood
are varied. Instead of focusing on ‘infertility’ and ‘involuntary childlessness’ and teenage pregnancy and
24
young motherhood I could have instead pointed out the un/healthy consequences of the caring
expectations of nonmothers in the academy; the impact of imprisonment on women’s possibility to
become mothers and on their experience of motherhood; the purchase of gametes and children via the
internet and so on. My central arguments though would have been the same:
• That whilst female identity is not homogeneous or unitary – and structured by the status of mother
or other as it is by age, ethnicity, sexuality, class etc. – it is important to pay attention to the
connections between us as well as the differences, not least in relation to the status and experience
of mothers and others;
• That the ideologies of ‘good’ motherhood affect all women, whether they mother or not, and
whilst it is important to support women’s experience of healthy motherhood it is also important to
challenge the unhealthy aspects of non/motherhood;
• That academics who engage in research and reflection on un/healthy non/motherhood should
recognise the complexity of both definition and experience and work with practitioners and policy
makers to promote healthy living for mothers and others whenever they can.
Ed. Note: References follow French version.
25
Les mères et les autres : promotion d’un style de vie sain
GAYLE LETHERBY
University of Plymouth
Plymouth, UK
gayle.letherby@plymouth.ac.uk
Dans cette présentation, je me sers de divers projets pour démontrer comment l’expérience de toutes les
femmes et jeunes filles – qu’elles soient mères (biologiques) d’un enfant ou non – sont affectées par les
idéologies souvent contradictoires sur la maternité et je considère la relation entre la maternité/non
maternité et la vie saine / vie pas saine. De plus, en me basant une fois de plus sur mes recherches et le
travail de développement qui en découle quelquefois, j’explore des façons de promouvoir une vie saine
pour les mères et les autres.
Introduction
Ceux d’entre vous qui connaissent mon travail auront déjà une idée de ce dont je vais parler. Quand j’étais
petite, je m’attendais à vivre ma vie selon un « scénario » traditionnel féminin : grandir, me marier et avoir
des enfants. Après mes études secondaires et à l’âge de 18 ans, je suis devenue infirmière dans un jardin
d’enfants. J’ai pensé que cet emploi ainsi que les suivants allaient me préparer pour mon rôle de mère :
dans la maternité d’un hôpital de Londres, ensuite dans une crèche-garderie (de 6 semaines à 5 ans), et
puis comme nourrice (dans le privé). Mariée en 1979 et après 15 mois d’essais, je suis tombée enceinte en
1984. J’ai fait une fausse-couche à 16 semaines et autant que je sache, je n’ai plus jamais été enceinte.
Après avoir suivi des cours du soir en sociologie (en partie pour me faire oublier que je n’étais toujours
pas enceinte), j’ai commencé un diplôme en sociologie en 1987.
J’ai donc commencé à étudier la sociologie sur le tard, étudiante mature ayant échoué aux examens de
maths (O Level) la première fois; un conseiller de carrière m’avait dit « l’université, ce n’est pas pour
vous ». Je ne regrette pas d’avoir entamé mes études assez tard. Vers la fin de mes études secondaires, je
m’ennuyais en classe, mais dès que j’ai commencé à étudier la sociologie (A Level), je l’ai adorée et je
voulais en apprendre toujours plus sur la sociologie et l’effet que cette discipline avait sur la façon que
j’avais de considérer le monde et ma place dans ce monde. Dès le début, la sociologie m’a donné un
sentiment différent sur mes idées politiques personnelles et publiques. Ceci marquait donc le
commencement de mon cheminement « d’imagination sociologique » (Mills 1970) : une approche
théorique de questionnement pouvant convenir à tous les chercheurs en sciences humaines et c’est de cette
façon que j’ai « découvert le féminisme ».
Le reste est facile à imaginer. Dès le début de mes études, je savais que je choisirais comme sujet de projet
de recherche en 3e année, d’étudier l’expérience de la fausse-couche (travail complété en 1990, voir
Letherby 1993). Après mon diplôme, j’ai commencé ma recherche de doctorat sur l’expérience (des
femmes, en particulier) de l’infertilité (l’impossibilité de concevoir après un an ou plus de relations
sexuelles sans protection ou l’impossibilité de mener une grossesse à terme) et l’absence
« involontaire » d’enfant (condition sociale de non-maternité) que je mets entre guillemets pour souligner
le problème de définition. Même si j’avais trouvé de nombreuses publications sur les implications
politiques des nouvelles technologies de reproduction (NTR) (Corea et al 1985, Stanworth 1987, Birke et
al 1990) je sentais qu’il n’y avait pas suffisamment de recherches académiques sur le statut et l’expérience
de « l’infertilité » et de « l’absence involontaire d’enfant ». Ainsi, ma recherche doctorale s’est concentrée
sur l’expérience sociale, émotionnelle et médicale. Une fois de plus, comme dans ma recherche précédente
sur la fausse-couche, je me suis penchée (mais pas exclusivement) sur les expériences des femmes.
26
Après mon doctorat, j’ai continué à faire de la recherche et à publier sur la question complexe d’absence
de maternité. J’ai effectué certaines recherches de façon autonome (Letherby 1999, 2002, 2002a, 2003) et
d’autres en collaboration. Dans ces recherches collaboratives, (parmi d’autres) j’ai considéré les
ressemblances et les différences entre l’absence de maternité « volontaire » et « involontaire » (Letherby
et Williams 1999); les relations entre maternité et absence de maternité (Earle et Letherby 2002, 2003);
l’expérience de la maternité et de l’absence de maternité dans les domaines public et privé (Fontaine,
Letherby et Whatley 1999, Jewkes et Letherby 2002, Letherby et al 2002, Letherby et Ramsay 2006) et
(nouveau) la technologie et la non-maternité (Letherby et Marchbank 2002). J’ai aussi été impliquée –
ainsi que d’autres – dans une série de projets touchant aux expériences des adolescentes enceintes et des
jeunes mères (Letherby et al 2001, 2002a, 2003, Brady et al 2006, Brown et al 2006) et j’ai alors
commencé à réfléchir à la question de non-paternité (Letherby et al 2004, McAllister et Letherby en
préparation).
Je fais appel ici à divers aspects de mon travail pour démontrer comment l’expérience de maternité de
toutes les femmes et jeunes filles, qu’elles soient mères biologiques ou non est affectée par les idéologies
souvent contradictoires de la maternité et je considère la relation entre l’absence de maternité et un mode
de vie mal/sain. Ensuite, partant une fois de plus de ma propre recherche et des développements qui l’ont
quelquefois accompagnée, je considère certaines façons de mieux promouvoir une vie saine pour les
mères et les autres.
Idéologies de non/maternité
Dans une de mes premières publications universitaires, j’ai commencé à réfléchir sur la question de
non/maternité en partant des définitions et des significations de maternité et de non-maternité :
. . . toutes les femmes vivent dans un contexte formé d’hypothèses personnelles et

culturelles où l’on présume que toutes les femmes sont mères ou veulent l’être et où
la maternité est la preuve qu’on a atteint l’âge adulte, la conséquence d’un mariage
ou d’une relation permanente avec un homme. Une bonne partie de la recherche
sociale et psychologique est faite sur les femmes et le rôle des enfants dans leur vie,
ce qui revient à se faire complice dans la transmission des hypothèses sociétales
voulant que les femmes établissent leur identité dans des relations domestiques, en
particulier par la maternité au sein de la famille. Par conséquent, la question
« combien d’enfants as, tu » est posée tout naturellement. Les attitudes sociales et les
institutions appuient l’hypothèse que la maternité constitue le rôle essentiel des
femmes et les femmes qui ne souhaitent pas avoir d’enfants devraient quand même
s’attendre à ce d’autres femmes maternent des enfants, que ce soi
professionnellement comme enseignante ou infirmière ou au sein de la famille
comme sœur, tante, fille ou femme/compagne (Letherby 1994: 525).
Plus d’une décennie plus tard, je suis reconnaissante d’avoir la possibilité d’explorer de façon plus
approfondie les façons dont la non/maternité définit et détermine la vie des jeunes filles et des femmes. Je
voudrais suggérer que la maternité est encore donnée pour acquis, sans questionnement et considérée
comme « naturelle » et au cœur de la construction d’une « féminité normale ». Récemment, il y a eu
plusieurs changements significatifs, aussi bien culturels que scientifiques, qui ont eu des répercussions sur
les questions de non/maternité. Par exemple, dans la société occidentale contemporaine, il y a de plus en
plus de femmes (et de couples) qui choisissent de ne pas avoir d’enfant et le taux d’infertilité ne cesse
d’augmenter. Ceux qui ont des enfants les ont plus tard et on constate que femmes sont plus nombreuses à
faire appel à certaines formes d’aide pour devenir enceinte : de l’autofécondation à partir de sperme donné
aux procédures médicales sophistiquées telle que le don d’ovules. Pourtant, comme Gillespie (2000) le fait
remarquer, la majorité des femmes continuent à donner naissance à un moment donné de leur vie. La
27
maternité est toujours considérée comme un rôle primordial des femmes et celles qui ne le sont pas –
biologiquement ou socialement – tombent souvent dans le stéréotype de désespérées ou égoïstes. Par
conséquent, les femmes qui ne sont pas mères sont soumises à des idéologies sur la maternité/aux discours
dominants sur la maternité et sont « autres » que cette norme féminine acceptée/attendue. Cependant,
même si je suis d’accord avec Stephanie Dowrick et Sibyl Grundberg (1980: 9) qui disent que « Nos vies
sont ce qu’elles sont parce que certaines d’entre nous ont des enfants et certaines non. », Je vous mets en
garde contre la suggestion que notre statut de mère ou autre détermine notre vie qui serait totalement
différente, et que la maternité est une expérience et une identité inévitablement positives alors que la non-
maternité est inévitablement négative, surtout parce que :
• On applaudit la maternité comme quelque chose d’inévitable et de désirable que toutes les
femmes devraient faire, mais seulement dans des circonstances sociales, économiques et sexuelles
« correctes ». Ainsi, comme Elaine DiLapi (1989) le démontre, il y a une hiérarchie de maternité
et les mères lesbiennes, plus âgées, adolescentes, non biologiques, etc. sont définies comme
« inappropriées »;
• Pour chaque définition du mot mère qui comporte une connotation d’amour et de respect, il
semble en exister une autre qui implique la peur, la haine ou le manque de respect (Mills 1991);
• L’expérience de la maternité est souvent plus compliquée que ne le laisserait penser l’idée qu’on
s’en fait et les femmes sont fréquemment ambivalentes sur la question de leur rôle de mère;
• On dépeint la maternité comme instinctive et pourtant on estime que les mères ont besoin de
formation pour apprendre à être mère et on les bombarde de points de vue « d’experts » et de
mises en garde;
• Même si celles qui ne sont pas mères – par choix ou incapacité de concevoir – sont souvent
stéréotypées comme unidimensionnelles, égoïstes ou désespérées, la non-maternité est une
expérience aussi ambivalente que la maternité;
• On s’attend à ce que toutes les femmes, qu’elles soient mères ou non, présentent des
caractéristiques de féminité associées à la maternité, en particulier la capacité de prendre soin et
de réconforter.
C’est ainsi que les idéologies et les attentes rattachées à la maternité « idéale » affectent toutes les
femmes, dans notre vie privée et publique, que nous soyons mères ou non, et l’image de la femme
« idéale » — qu’on pourrait donner comme synonyme de la mère « idéale » — nous affecte toutes, que
nous soyons mères ou non. Il est tellement facile de se tromper! Comme le fait remarquer Jane Bennett
(1996: 2) :
Vous voulez un enfant? Ne le faites pas trop tôt. Ne tardez pas trop. Attendez d’être
bien installés. Ne vous faites pas avorter. Ne mettez pas au monde un enfant non
désiré. Ne soyez pas un parent célibataire. Ne vous privez pas des joies de la
maternité. Vous n’êtes pas capable de le faire toute seule. Ne faites pas élever vos
enfants par des étrangers. Ne mettez pas un enfant au monde par égoïsme. Ne restez
pas sans enfant par égoïsme. Évitez la solitude sans enfant. Ne vous attendez pas à ce
que les traitements pour l’infertilité aient des résultats positifs.
Les définitions externes influencent l’autoperception interne, et pourtant nous avons des identités
multiples et les choses sont appelées à changer, à la fois par rapport à notre statut et au sentiment que nous
avons de nous-mêmes. Par exemple, une femme peut être à la fois une mère biologique et une belle-mère,
une mère nourricière qui suit un traitement pour l’infertilité primaire ou une mère biologique qui souffre
d’infertilité secondaire (à la suite de la naissance d’un ou plusieurs enfants). À mesure que le temps passe,
une femme qui se définissait comme « involontairement sans enfant » peut redéfinir son identité alors
qu’une mère biologique à qui on a enlevé ses enfants ou dont les enfants sont décédés peut avoir
l’impression que son statut de mère lui a été enlevé.
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Non/maternité et style de vie mal/sain
La maternité aussi bien que la non-maternité peut avoir des conséquences désastreuses pour la santé
physique, psychologique et émotionnelle des femmes. Si on prend par exemple la grossesse et
l’accouchement, nous savons que dans le monde :
• Chaque année 1600 femmes meurent pendant la grossesse ou l’accouchement;

• Chaque année, plus de 50 millions de femmes souffrent de complications causées par leur
grossesse;
• Environ 20 millions de femmes souffrent pendant leur grossesse d’accidents ou d’infections
sévères qui vont les affecter à vie;
• Les complications de la grossesse et de l’accouchement sont les causes majeures de décès chez les
femmes qui ont l’âge de porter des enfants dans les pays en voie de développement;
• Chaque année, il y a 1,4 million d’enfants morts nés et 1,5 à 2,5 millions de nourrissons meurent
dans la première semaine de leur vie à la suite de complications provoquées par la grossesse de
leur mère ou pendant la grossesse;
• Chaque année, 1 million ou plus d’enfants sont orphelins de mère, ces femmes décédées de causes
reliées à leur grossesse (Unicef 2004: 5).
En outre, être une « bonne » mère (et épouse) peut rendre certaines femmes malades. On a la preuve que
les femmes donnent la priorité aux besoins des membres de leur famille, leur allouant plus de ressources et
prenant soin d’eux au détriment de leur propre santé, souvent parce que c’est ce qu’on attend d’elles
(Doyal 1995, Abbott et Wallace, 1997).
Et que dire de ces mères qu’on appelle « mauvaises »? Je me sers ici d’un exemple tiré de ma propre
recherche et je me concentre sur l’expérience d’une jeune mère. Même si la grossesse des adolescentes
n’est pas un phénomène récent en Grande-Bretagne, on lui donne de nos jours plus de visibilité
qu’auparavant sur la scène politique. On pourrait dire que la Grande-Bretagne a le taux de grossesse chez
les adolescentes le plus élevé en Europe de l’Ouest (même s’il est difficile de comparer les statistiques des
divers pays), c’est le double du taux de l’Allemagne, le triple de celui de la France et six fois celui de la
Hollande (SEU 1999). Les jeunes mères sont non seulement identifiées comme un fardeau pour l’état,
elles sont aussi stéréotypées comme de mauvaises mères et leurs enfants sont considérés comme
défavorisés, malgré les preuves du contraire (Phoenix 1991, Ussher 2000). On pourrait dire que ce n’est
pas l’âge de la femme qui est en cause, mais plutôt le fait que plus les filles/femmes sont jeunes quand
elles tombent enceintes, plus il est probable qu’elles le sont en dehors du mariage. De plus, on s’inquiète
du fait que la majorité des grossesses chez les adolescentes étant accidentelles, il y aura des répercussions
négatives sociales et sur la santé de la mère et de l’enfant (Finlay 1996).
Le discours politique individualise alors les problèmes de la grossesse des adolescentes et de la condition
de parent plutôt que d’examiner les facteurs structurels qui affectent la vie des jeunes. Selon notre
recherche, il semblerait que les jeunes femmes internalisent les discours négatifs qui accompagnent leur
expérience. Nombreuses sont les jeunes femmes avec qui nous avons parlé et qui nous ont dit se sentir
obligées de prouver qu’elles étaient capables de se débrouiller et de devenir de « bonnes » mères :
Quand on est une jeune mère, les gens vous regardent plus et vous critiquent,
beaucoup plus que si on était plus vieille. On vous jette de drôles de regards quand
on promène son bébé, et s’il commence à pleurer, il faut vite s’en occuper sinon les
gens vous regardent et se mettent à vous critiquer (Beverley).
29
On m’a dit que je peux garder mon bébé, mais qu’il faut que je fasse un effort… Ça
me fait peur parce que si j’y arrive pas, ils (les services sociaux) peuvent me prendre
le bébé (Nadia).
Vous savez ce qui m’énerve? Ce sont les gens trop curieux. Je ne sais pas pourquoi
ça me fait peur. Je pense qu’ils vont aller chercher les Services sociaux pour
n’importe quelle raison. Je ne sais pas. . . ça me fait peur, ils peuvent vous enlever
vos enfants (Tracey).
Le gouvernement, les médias, le grand public, la famille et les amis, les professionnels et les
praticiens qui s’occupent des adolescentes enceintes, des jeunes mères et de leurs enfants
s’inquiètent souvent des « risques » qu’elles pourraient encourir ainsi que leurs enfants, pendant la
grossesse et la période postnatale. Pourtant, la recherche suggère que le plus grand risque qui
menace les adolescentes enceintes, les jeunes mères et leur enfant, c’est de NE PAS accéder aux
services dont elles ont besoin. Cela s’explique dans certain cas par le fait qu’elles s’attendent, et
quelquefois le sont, à être jugées négativement par les autres (Letherby et al 2002a).
En ce qui concerne la santé et le bien-être des non mères, je me réfère encore une fois à ma propre
recherche. Sarah Franklin (1990) avance que l’intérêt que porte le public à « l’infertilité/absence
volontaire d’enfant » reflète la perte réelle d’identité et de contrôle de la personne sur sa vie. C’était vrai
pour certaines répondantes de ma recherche :
Pour moi, l’absence de contrôle . . . était une cause majeure de souffrance. Le

contrôle sur mon style de vie, et surtout mon corps (Vicky).
L’infertilité émotive est dévastatrice. . . . On prend quelquefois pour acquise la mise

au monde des enfants. Dans un sens (pour moi), mon échec devient l’échec de ma vie.
Je suis en colère, j’ai honte, je suis confuse, je me sens incapable de rien faire
(Samantha).
Ce n’est pas moi qui ai employé le mot en premier, mais certaines de mes répondantes m’ont parlé et
m’ont écrit le mot « désespoir », reconnaissant de cette façon qu’elles étaient désespérées ou obsédées. Il
s’agissait alors non seulement de l’aspect biologique, mais aussi des expériences sociales de la maternité
et de « l’absence involontaire d’enfant » :
Je fais des choses pour moi, pour combler le vide… mais en réalité, je sens que ce
sont des tentatives pathétiques pour compenser (Frannie).
Pourtant, comme le disent Naomi Pfeffer et Anne Woollett (1983), faire la caricature des femmes
infertiles/involontairement sans enfant comme étant des femmes « désespérées » réduit un ensemble
complexe d’émotions et de besoins à un unique mot et une image négatifs. Comme je l’ai dit plus tôt, les
définitions de l’expérience évoluent et changent et certaines de mes répondantes ont parlé de leur façon de
changer ces sentiments négatifs, et de sentiments positifs et négatifs ressentis simultanément. D’autres ont
nié ressentir du désespoir :
J’ai lu que certaines personnes sont désespérées. Moi, jamais (Jane).
Comme le disait maman, « si tu n’en as pas pour te faire rire, tu n’en as pas pour te
faire pleurer (Molly).
30
Molly était une des femmes les plus âgées qui a pris part à la recherche et elle représente les répondantes
de cette catégorie d’âge dans le sens qu’elle se concentrait sur l’acceptation de cette condition sociale
« d’absence involontaire d’enfant » plutôt que de passer à travers l’expérience biologique et médicale de
« l’infertilité » . S’accommoder des circonstances biologiques et médicales était courant chez les jeunes
répondantes dont l’expérience était affectée par le potentiel offert par les nouvelles technologies de
reproduction. La tendance actuelle de se concentrer sur des solutions médicales a mené certaines
répondantes à « se fixer » sur le problème biologique de « l’infertilité » et, dans certains cas, ceci a
aggravé leur souffrance (voir Denny 1994, Franklin 1997, Pfeffer 1987).
Il semblerait que certaines femmes qui deviennent mère (biologiquement ou socialement) avec de l’aide,
ressentent de la pression de devenir « une bonne mère » , comme c’est le cas pour les jeunes mères. Mes
répondantes attribuaient cette pression de devenir “parfaite” à leur ancien statut de femme “infertile/sans
enfant”, déclarant qu’il est plus difficile d’être une “vraie” mère pour un « bébé miracle » (aide médicale),
un bébé longtemps désiré et un bébé qui ne partageait pas leur patrimoine génétique.
Certaines personnes pensent que je suis une mauvaise mère parce que je travaille,
avant même de s’apercevoir que j’ai deux enfants adoptés… elles pensent que je
devrais être reconnaissante et rester au foyer. (Annie)
Vicky qui avait des jumeaux après une fécondation in vitro :
. . . c’est sans doute les seuls que j’aurais jamais et après tous ces efforts pour les
avoir, sans doute devrais-je passer chaque instant de ma vie à me réjouir de leur
présence? De plus, je me sens très coupable quand je me plains d’eux.
Et Samantha :
Ça m’inquiète beaucoup… que je puisse mettre tant de pression sur nos enfants parce
que je les ai tellement désirés.
Promouvoir une vie saine chez les non mères (par la recherche)
Quel est le but de toute cette recherche et de cette réflexion? Si l’on croit David Silverman (2000: 273), ça
ne sert pas à grand-chose :
L’idée que la recherche sociale puisse influencer les politiques est une source
d’inspiration chez de nombreux chercheurs en sciences humaines. Malheureusement,
dans la majorité des pays anglophones, ce n’est pas ainsi que ça fonctionne.
Après avoir passé plus de cinq ans à rechercher et à écrire sur l’expérience des personnes (en particulier
des femmes) qui sont infertiles ou involontairement sans enfant, j’espérais que mes travaux auraient une
certaine influence sur la vie des personnes avec qui j’avais travaillé ainsi que d’autres semblables. Dix ans
plus tard, j’ai écrit plusieurs articles sur cette recherche et plusieurs personnes (surtout en milieu
universitaire) les ont lus. J’espère que mes idées ont réussi à remettre en question certains stéréotypes,
mais je suis d’avis qu’il n’y a pas eu d’impact sur le « monde réel ». Par contre, cinq ans après mon
premier projet (de trois mois) sur les jeunes parents, il y a eu plusieurs autres projets et, ce qui est plus
important, ils se sont concrétisés en un certain nombre d’initiatives politiques. Pour mettre en œuvre les
recommandations proposées à la fin du projet (mentionné plus haut) touchant à la santé et au bien-être des
jeunes femmes avant, pendant et après l’accouchement (Letherby et al 2002), le Coventry Teenage
Pregnancy Partnership Board (TPPB) a été établi :
31
• Établissement d’un Forum pour jeunes parents;

• L’équipe originale de recherche a été chargée de concevoir et de livrer une formation pour les
professionnels de la santé et sociaux qui travaillent avec les adolescentes enceintes et les jeunes
parents, cette formation a été produite et présentée avec l’aide de jeunes mères et
• Garantie des ressources financières et humaines pour un service spécialisé destiné à pourvoir aux
besoins avant et après l’accouchement, pour les adolescentes enceintes et les jeunes parents (16 à
24 ans) à Coventry.
Parmi les retombées qui ont suivi la complétion d’autres projets, il faut mentionner de meilleurs logements
pour les jeunes parents, de l’aide aux jeunes pères et de l’aide à la recherche pour les jeunes mères
impliquées dans un projet sur les jeunes parents et l’éducation permanente. De plus, les membres de
l’équipe originale de recherche siègent sur les deux sous-comités du TTPB (chargés d’être les promoteurs
des résultats et des recommandations de la recherche) et sur le TTPB même. Nous représentons aussi le
TPPB à des rencontres et événements régionaux et nationaux. Notre capacité « d’influencer les
politiques » dans ce domaine est, bien sûr, largement due à la réaction de nos commanditaires à notre
recherche, ceux-ci étaient/sont plus intéressés par l’expérience réelle plutôt que stéréotypée des jeunes
parents et ils voulaient savoir ce dont les jeunes mères et les jeunes pères ont besoin pour améliorer leur
vie et celle de leurs enfants.
Dans ce bref exposé de quelques expériences de non/maternité, j’espère avoir mis en relief quelques
éléments qui montrent comment le statut et l’expérience de la mère ou de l’autre peuvent avoir des
conséquences mal/saines sur la vie des femmes. Même si ces exemples sont très différents : les femmes
infertiles et involontairement sans enfant qui sont stigmatisées pour cette absence d’enfant dans leur vie, et
les adolescentes enceintes et jeunes mères qui sont stigmatisées pour avoir des enfants à un moment
inapproprié de leur vie sont aux deux extrémités de la corde raide idéologique qui représente la « mère
idéale » .
Comme je l’ai fait remarquer au début de cette présentation, mes sujets de recherche et mes écrits sur la
non/maternité sont variés. Plutôt que de me concentrer sur « l’infertilité » et « l’absence involontaire
d’enfant » ainsi que sur la grossesse chez les adolescentes et les jeunes mères, j’aurais pu parler des
conséquences mal/saines des attentes par rapport aux femmes dans le milieu universitaire, de l’impact
d’un séjour en prison sur la capacité des femmes à devenir mère et sur leur expérience de la maternité, de
l’achat de gamètes et de bébés par Internet etc. Pourtant, mes arguments principaux auraient été les mêmes
• Alors que l’identité des femmes n’est ni homogène ni unitaire, structurée par le statut de mère ou
autre, ainsi que par l’âge, l’appartenance ethnique, la sexualité, la classe sociale etc., il est
important de prêter attention aux connexions interpersonnelles aussi bien qu’aux différences, en
particulier par rapport au statut et aux expériences des mères et autres femmes;
• Les idéologies de « bonne mère » affectent toutes les femmes, qu’elles soient mères ou non, et s’il
est important d’appuyer les femmes qui font l’expérience d’une maternité saine, il est également
important de remettre en question les aspects malsains de la non/maternité;
• Les universitaires qui entreprennent des recherches et réfléchissent sur la question de
non/maternité mal/saine devraient reconnaître la complexité des définitions et des expériences, et
collaborer avec les praticiens et les décideurs pour promouvoir une vie saine pour les mères et les
autres, dans la mesure du possible.
32
References / Références
Abbott, P. and Wallace, C. (1997) An Introduction to Sociology: feminist perspectives (second edition)
London: Routledge
Bennett, J. (1996) Leading Article The Guardian (28/02/1996: 2)
Birke, L. Himmelweit, S. and Vines, G. (1990) Tomorrow’s Child: reproductive technologies in the 90s
London: Virago
Brady, G. Brown, G. Letherby, G. Bailey, J. Wallace, L. (2006) Support Prior to and Following
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Toward healthy educational communities

for women and girls
Des milieux d’éducation sains

pour les femmes et les filles
36
The maternity factor:

Implications for career advancements of young women in school administration
SHARON ABBEY
Brock University
St. Catherines, Canada
sabbey@brocku.ca
Hiring women in their child-bearing years has created the need to re-examine policies and structures that
currently result in inequitable opportunities and hiring criteria, heightens levels of stress due to career
interruptions and double duty at home/work, child care options, financial disadvantages, misperceptions of
commitment, and consequences of being out of touch. Open ended interviews with administrators who
recently completed maternity leave illustrate the gendered experiences of young women who aspire to
principal positions. Conclusions call for a fundamental re-think and redesign of rigid binary dichotomies
and the perpetuation of masking realities of motherhood and misogyny to justify self-worth.
La maternité : facteur ayant des répercussions sur le développement de la carrière

des jeunes femmes travaillant en administration en milieu scolaire
Puisqu’on embauche des femmes en âge d’avoir des enfants, il faut examiner de nouveau les politiques et
les structures qui résultent actuellement en des critères inégaux d’opportunité et d’embauche, qui
intensifient le niveau de stress causé par l’interruption de la carrière et les doubles tâches à la maison et au
travail, les options de garde des enfants, les inconvénients financiers, les perceptions erronées de
responsabilité et les conséquences de la perte de contact. Des entrevues libres avec des administratrices
ayant récemment terminé leur congé de maternité illustrent les expériences rattachées à leur sexe, de ces
jeunes femmes qui aspirent à occuper le poste de direction. On en conclut qu’il faut repenser et redessiner
de façon fondamentale les dichotomies rigides et le fait qu’on continue à occulter les réalités de la
maternité et la misogynie pour justifier sa propre valeur.
37
Sugar and spice and not so nice:

A conceptual framework for exploring use of violence by girls
MARION BROWN
Dalhousie University
Halifax, Canada
Marion.Brown@dal.ca
Violent behaviour conflicts with conventional notions of femininity, and programs developed for girls
based upon them can compromise responsive intervention. Constructs for understanding violence have
been based on theoretical models and epistemological biases that privilege male experiences, leaving
those working with girls few tools for conceiving the issues and formulating responses. This presentation
offers a conceptual framework for deconstructing the context within which girls grow up, incorporating
analyses of dualistic thinking, gendered constructions of caring, heterosexism, and the subversion of
female anger into discussion regarding intervention strategies for girls who use violence.
“Tout sucre, tout miel” mais pas si gentilles que ça :

la violence chez les filles
Un comportement violent ne correspond pas aux notions conventionnelles de féminité et des programmes
qui ont été élaborés pour les filles basés sur ces notions, peuvent compromettre l’intervention de réaction.
L’élaboration de théories pour comprendre la violence étaient basées sur des modèles théoriques et des
préjugés épistémologiques qui privilégient l’expérience des hommes, ce qui laisse très peu d’outils aux
personnes qui travaillent avec les filles, pour cerner les problèmes et formuler des réponses. Cette
présentation offre un cadre de travail conceptuel pour déconstruire le contexte dans lequel les filles
grandissent, en incorporant des analyses de pensées dualistes, de constructions comportant la gentillesse,
l’hétérosexisme et la transformation de la colère féminine en discussion sur les stratégies d’intervention
auprès des filles qui font usage de la violence.
I remember Sarah distinctly. She was 16 and living in a residential program within
which I worked. She was tall and looked people in the eye when she spoke. She
described herself as a ‘fighter’, and indeed it she seemed she was ready to take
anyone on, verbally or physically, any time. I remember thinking she was a ‘hard’
person, often abrasive with her roommates, her social worker, her teachers, and the
youth care workers of the program. She was articulate and assertive in taking a stand
related to rules of the house, the control she felt we had over her life, her experience
within her relationships, even how the group home choir should practice for an
upcoming performance. She had a physically rough relationship with her male
partner, including wrestling and pushing of each other, which made us all quite
nervous, thinking that it might get ‘out of hand’ and Sarah might get hurt. She got in
fistfights at school with other girls. In the relationship Sarah and I shared, I felt as
though she tested me with almost every decision, in a manner I often found to be
confrontative and unpleasant to work with. I was also aware, in the back of my mind,
that what I saw in Sarah was an ability to speak for herself that should not be
squashed out of her; and that although I wanted her to be interested in a relationship
with me and more compliant with ‘the rules’, these attributes might not serve her as
well in the world as those I was witnessing. It was through thinking about how to
understand Sarah that I first started pulling apart conventional notions of femininity,
meanings of resistance, and the politics of caring.
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The dominant discourse of femininity is legitimized and perpetuated by societal structures and processes,
and disruptions to its stronghold are not typically welcome, given they destabilize the status quo. In
seeking to be responsive to girls who use violence in myriad ways, I begin by unpacking the following
foundations, which form the conceptual framework for this discussion:
Dualistic thinking
Gendered constructions of caring
The subversion of female anger
Heterosexism
Dualistic thinking
The notion that for most situations there are two distinct ways to categorize action, belief or identity, with
little attention to shared middle ground, is a cornerstone of Western thought, to the degree that, as with all
social constructions, binaries are taken as categorically conclusive and mutually exclusive. Examples of
dualistic or dichotomous thought that we use in popular speech include thinking a person is ‘good’ or
‘bad’, that there is a right way or a wrong way to approach something, that there is a winner and a loser in
a challenge, that if it is not my fault it must be your fault, and so on. Even asking a child ‘would you like
chicken or ham for dinner?’ begs for a classification of choice into an either/or category. In so doing, there
is potential that, having been provided with these boxes within which to supply an answer, the child may
not consider that choosing both may be an option, much less other possibilities and combinations that may
factor into what she may choose on any given day. Dichotomous categories order phenomena into polar,
independent opposites, and, in Western societies at least, these binaries are then hierarchialized according
to preference and worth, thus carrying a normative component to the choices we make in relation to them
(Fook, 2002). Dualistic thought encourages thinking along a one-dimensional, easily classified plane,
simplifying the complexities of thoughts, feelings and experiences that exist within each of us. Given that
we live in a societal context wherein efficiency and precision are highly valued, dualistic thought is often
prioritized and regarded as the hallmark standard (Fook, 2002).
Of interest here, for the purposes of how we come to understand use of violence by girls, is the impact on
young women of the social and cultural dualisms that underscore conventional femininity. These are
known so well that they often go without specific mention, yet they are at play when we evaluate and
judge the choices and behaviours, aggressive or otherwise, of females. Social constructions of traditional
femininity inform us that girls are interested in nurturing relationships, want to communicate feelings and
build mutual understanding, typically do not act out physically, are more emotional, enjoy physical
pampering, and are generally more invested in interdependent activities and roles than are boys, who are
seen to represent the opposite of these things. From the outset, then, we are provided with binary
categorizations: if you fit within in one camp, you do not fit within the other (Brown, 2003).
Girls who use violence, whether verbal or physical, throw a challenge to dualistic ways of thinking that
demand an either/or set of options. Here is a person who inhabits a female body yet engages in behaviours
we have come to associate with boys. How do we work with her? We may seek to engage her in quiet
conversation about her feelings, for we anticipate she will be interested in one-on-one time wherein we
can develop a trusting, nurturing relationship. Her response may be to tell us to “Fuck off!” and rip the
telephone out of the wall.
At once we have two competing tasks before us: we have to ‘manage’ the violence (a euphemism, often,
for controlling it) and, consciously or unconsciously, we are faced with a challenge to dominant
conceptions of female behaviour and feminine social norms. We may be struck by the experience that the
concept of caring we have come to associate with girls does not seem to be present here. Conditioned into
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dualistic thinking, this violence is beyond the ‘natural order of things’ and we do not know how to classify
her.
The perpetuation of seeing girls as either good or bad, nice or mean undermines a process toward self
knowledge, a sense of personal power and promise, and health in the broadest terms (Brown, 2003;
Pipher, 1996). Maintaining the dualisms of ‘this or that’ leaves out the in-between, gray areas of diverse
emotion, behaviour and identity, where most of us actually live. Further marginalizing girls who are
considered tough and outspoken, non-compliant and aggressive entrenches the idea that femininity looks
and behaves a certain way. The literature inclusive of the ‘first voices’ of young women (for example,
Brown & Gilligan, 1992; Crick, 1999; Lamb, 2001) asserts that the portrayal of the invincible persona and
the demonstration of strident, risky behaviours are most often expressions of their rejections of the
feminine ideal: “not only what it requires of them and their relationships, but also their anxiety and rage at
the ways it justifies unfairness and exclusion” (Brown, 1998: 143). They are trying to navigate between
and among the recognition of the call for compulsory femininity and resistance to it. To hear their
experiences demands that we not only reconfigure standards for femaleness but diversify corresponding
meanings of and scripts for femininity as well. And so it is that girls who use violence can be sugar and
spice and not so nice.
Gendered constructions of caring
In the early days of feminism, one of the rallying cries that mobilized solidarity was that women were
inherently more compassionate, nurturing and peaceful than men (Alsop, Fitzsimmons & Lennon, 2001).
Indeed, this was one of the foundational points made by Elizabeth Cady Stanton in the suffragette
movement for the women’s vote (Tronto, 1993). Should women be involved in public life, their intrinsic
virtuous attributes would tidy up the physical mess of the cities, the debauchery of public behaviour and
the corruption of politics. Remnants of this strand of maternal feminism linger today, and have been
operationalized in the important causes of the women’s peace movement and the women’s ecological
sustainability movements (Alsop, Fitzsimmons & Lennon, 2001). It is, however, a precarious precipice,
given that the same rationale (women’s essential characteristics as nurturing and maternal) can be called
on to justify the exclusion of women on these same grounds, correlating these characteristics with over-
emotionalism and lack of rational and objective thought. Others assert that the heralding of ‘women’s
ways’ as preferable, admirable and more virtuous needs to be abandoned on two fronts: it has not actually
advanced the political agendas of women; and its history has been that ‘women’s ways’ are those
articulated by privileged women, to the exclusion of women who are marginalized by colour, poverty,
class, ability and sexual orientation (Collins, 1990; Stack, 1986; Tronto, 1993). Superceding race and class
lines, it has been an enduring notion that the ways in which men and women feel care and provide care
differ, with these differences concretized through socially reinforced expectations and the dualisms of
masculinity and femininity.
In Western culture, women give more care and are the receivers of more care than men (Armstrong, 2003;
Baines, Evans & Neysmith, 1991). The definition of care in this sense is often taken to be the material,
practical care of loved ones, from infants through the lifespan to aged members of our families and
communities. Beyond this material care there are also discursive layers of care that are given meaning by
the cultural capital of media images, symbols, ways of interacting, and ways of privileging that perpetuate
the conception that to be female equates with interest and investment in caring for another, often over the
self. When young women behave in ways that challenge this understanding, they are challenging one of
the bases of how the interaction of human beings is meant to sustain itself (Reitsma-Street, 1991).
Tracing the origins of this gendered construction of caring is an endless task, complicated by the politics
of representation and recorded history. Many scholars point to the industrial revolution as fundamentally
altering the balance of care duties that was inherent in agrarian communities (Tronto, 1993; Wilson,
40
1977). Through a gradual process beginning with the onset of industry, the economic organization of
family life moved from the family farm to the new urban centers. Men, single and poor women, and
children went to the cities in search of employment and opportunity for upward mobility, though only the
men were welcomed into organizing the parameters of the new cities (Wilson, 1977). The division of
women as focussed on private life and men as focussed in public life began to develop. The nature of
social construction - that dominant discourse privileges selections of what initially began as ‘adjustments’
and exalts them as social fact - means that it is difficult to trace, and sometimes even inconceivable to
consider, a time before such a construction (Berger & Luckman, 1967). The challenge to trace the roots of
the association of women with caring exemplifies this phenomenon.
To take the stance that there is a social construction underlying the role of girls and women in caring is to
oppose the argument that ‘by nature’, or essentially, girls and women are interested and invested in caring.
This paper positions caring as a distinctly political concept, meaning that there are layers of power
surrounding the understanding of caring, its practice, meanings and constituents. Reitsma-Street (1991)
politicizes the issue yet further, noting that girls and women are ‘policed to care’ and there are dire
consequences for stepping outside the requirement. Her analysis is underscored by the theme of this
treatise: that we do not know how to respond to girls who do not invoke the caring response, thus the
material as well as discursive duress to uphold it is weighty. Use of the term ‘policing’ is symbolic of the
lengths toward which society, through its material and discursive means, will go to ensure that females
remain the care providers, demonstrating love and affection for others and offering labour and help for
others. The ancient notion that to be woman equals to care for and about others has reached ‘enforcement’
levels.
The subversion of female anger
Tied closely to the gendered construction of caring and patterns of dualistic thought, the subversion of
female anger is another prevalent and normative practice in Western society (Brown, 1998; Pepler, 1999;
Wiseman, 2002, Wurtzel, 1998). We are surrounded by the reinforcement that ‘nice girls’ don’t feel rage,
much less verbalize or physically demonstrate it. Early studies on aggression made a link with
testosterone, concluding that, categorically (essentially), boys and men were predisposed toward
competition and aggression as means for survival and women were not (Mackie, 1987). Women were
similarly categorized (essentialized) to be nurturing and caring, as noted above (Mackie, 1987).
Regardless of evidence across cultures to the contrary, there has been, in the Western world at least, an
enduring perceived congruence among concepts of girlhood, caring and an absence of anger as a deeply
felt and expressed emotion.
Within the last decade there has been a challenge to the definitional boundaries of girlhood aggression,
with the term ‘relational aggression’ being coined to refer specifically to non-physical and less overt
aggression utilized in intimate friendships (Crick, 1999; Simmons, 2001). Some studies have asserted that
generic ‘aggression’ has been under-studied and under-reported in populations of young women because
the concept was dichotomized to equate aggression with physical violence and the absence of physical
violence with the absence of aggression (Leshied, Cummings, Brunschot, Cunnigham & Saunders, 2001).
Relational aggression slices the concept more finely, denoting subtle innuendo, inclusion/exclusion
criteria and covert intimidation (Crick, 1999, Simmons, 2001, Wiseman, 2002). Crick & Grotpeter (1995)
isolated the notion of the use of relationships as the vehicle for the intended harm to another in their
development on a framework for relational aggression. Their work began in response to the assumption
promoted by the study of physical violence among boys that girls were not engaging in any form of
aggression. The initial study was based on a peer-nomination instrument used with a sample of 491 girls
in grades three through six, which assessed use of the relationship as the means through which to inflict
harm on others, in comparison to overt aggression. Congruent with their hypothesis, this study and several
41
subsequent ones led by Crick (for example, Crick, 1996; Crick, 1999), assert that relational aggression is
the form found most often in girls and at a higher rate of prevalence than found used by boys.
Framed in these terms, research involving young women has proliferated and has added richness to our
understandings about how girls aggress. At the same time, I concur with Brown (2003) who warns that we
ought not focus on relational, non-physical aggression to the exclusion of the extroverted forms of anger
that research and clinical practice has typically associated with boys. To do so is to deny, once more, the
full range of emotional expression that exists within girls, yet may be silenced under the societal mantle of
dualistic thought, gendered constructions of caring, and subversion of female anger. While detailed
explorations of girls’ voices relative to their experiences in their relationships with their peers is helpful to
the process of fully understanding the breadth and depth of constructions of femininity, at the same time
we cannot afford to focus on one thread at the expense of another, lest we continue to essentialize female
experience and create false dichotomies in the process.
Both the social context and internalized expectations beneath the societal umbrella demand that girls be
interested and invested in caring, and we are shocked when they are not. In my experience, just when we
are thinking that this young woman has opted out entirely of the caring contract and are considering ways
to recall and reinforce it, one person emerges toward whom the caring expectation is manifested: the
boyfriend.
Sasha was in a rage, and it seemed she had been for days. Where at one time she
would come to the staff and share the hurts she had encountered through the day,
often weeping and struggling to find solutions and ways to feel confident in her role
among her peers, for the past weeks it seemed she was not interested in
communicating with us at all. We thought we had witnessed signs of deepening trust
and relationship building, being positive and encouraging of more of the same.
Recently, however, she seemed snide and rude to the staff and the other youth and
was questioning everything. It seemed she was rejecting all of us.
One night, in the middle of a verbal tirade toward a staff member, the phone rang. It
was for Sasha. She approached the phone yelling over her shoulder and spitting curse
words as she went. She turned away with the phone in her hand, and her voice
dropped. We thought that she had just received bad news, so sudden and dramatic
seemed the change in energy. When she got off the phone a few moments later, she
said with great delight and a skip in her step that it was Randy, who was on his way
to get her, and that she had to go get ready. “Oh” she said, “Sorry guys.”
Herein lies the compliance we were seeking...but at what cost? It may be that in relationship with a
boyfriend is where a young heterosexual woman is most vulnerable to isolation, exploitation, and violence
(Tolman, Spencer, Rosen-Reynoso, & Porche, 2003). Orchestrating compliance in a societal context
where girls are ‘policed to care’ (Reitsma-Street, 1991) demands close scrutiny. One of the anchors of the
caring contract is the onus of compulsory heterosexuality, perpetuated in both micro (school, community)
settings and macro mainstream cultures.
Heterosexism
At a family BBQ, an uncle approaches my five-year-old daughter and says with an

admiring smile and outstretched arms: “Look at this beautiful girl, my heavens. You
must be driving all the boys crazy at school. How many boyfriends do you have?”
42
At once, several messages are conveyed to this child: that to be beautiful is an appearance reflection; that
she is to be prized for how she looks; that male attention can be experienced as ‘crazy’ (with intuited
associations of primitive, wild and/or frightening behaviour on the parts of males), and that the more male
affection and attention, the better.
Heterosexism is the predominant and pervasive preferencing of heterosexual relationships and lifestyles
over all other alternatives (Appleby & Anastas, 1998). It is rooted in the belief that heterosexual unions
and norms are healthier, safer, more sustainable, and more desirable than other unions and norms, and thus
there are no legitimized alternatives. It is reinforced through the social institutions of education, medicine,
popular culture and many family customs and practices. It is codified overtly through health insurance
plans, pension plans, the legal definition of marriage, and covertly throughout messages regarding cultural
values and mores, such as those reinforced above (Blumenfeld, 1992; Herek, 2000; Pharr, 1988).
In Western societies at a minimum, girls and boys are raised under the shroud of assumed and preferred
heterosexuality. Even if these are counterbalanced in their families of origin, the overwhelming
advertisement throughout Western culture is of heterosexual desire and romance. Countless storybooks,
regardless of the peripheral details, centre on the notion of a girl/woman defining her worth relative to the
amount and degree of attention and affection she receives from a boy/man. The surrounding trappings
may be variously colourful, interesting, or provocative, and the storylines may change, yet the persistent
intention behind them is to reinforce the heterosexual ideal. Moving into the teenaged years, although
adolescent sexuality is a challenging topic generally, those who experiment within heterosexual
parameters are afforded some latitude, while those who seek or are drawn to experiences outside this
prescription do so in the knowledge that they are defying cultural and popular expectations. They also run
the risk of increased social isolation and rejection, verbal and physical harassment, and legitimized
violence.
The heterosexual ideal has more to it than simply the pairing of a male with a female. There is generally
(at a minimum) an assumption of marriage (the legal manifestation of social approval); the bearing of
children (the reproductive imperative); the designation of roles according to sex (the operationalization of
sexism) and the reiteration of expected behaviours and choices based on that sex (gender role typing). On
a parallel track, there is the perpetuation of misinformation and stigma, the encouraged denigration of
same sex affection, and the systemic exclusion of lesbian, gay, and bisexual orientations as well as
transgender identities. As the child grows from storybooks to movies, to music and music videos, these
messages are replayed continuously, built upon the foundation of societal structures noted above, and
supported by the scaffolding of media advertising and most popular icons.
Sexism and the objectification of women, mainstays in the panorama of patriarchy, are central to ensuring
this configuration. In a context where dualisms prevent broader definitions of femininities, and through
which access to personal power is sublimated, young women learn to objectify themselves as a tool to
locate and exert their power (Brown, 2003). This recipe is laid out all around them: within magazines,
through branding of material goods, in often throughout schools, churches, communities, and family
homes. As human subjects, we both influence and are influenced by the world around us, thus it is little
wonder that the objectification and (hetero)sexualization of young women become inculcated techniques
for managing the demands of growing up.
Conclusion
As this conceptual framework has sought to outline, use of violence by girls is embedded within the
above-defined cultural context of girlhood today. It is worth considering that girls quite possibly engage in
violent behaviour as a means of experiencing personal power and resisting hegemonic the femininity that
is upheld by dualistic thinking, gendered constructions of caring, subversion of female anger and
43
heterosexism and sexism. An explicit and ongoing critique of these anchors may prevent us from
punishing them for locating and actualizing this resource and help us balance the tensions along the
continuum from minimizing to over-emphasizing our responses. Rather than micro-managing the
relationships and lives of young women, our energy is more effective in analysis of the cultural context so
that we do not perpetuate and reinforce these cultural conditions. We need to facilitate the carving of safe
spaces within which girls can try on new identities, expand and negotiate gender definitions and
expressions, and embrace a range of emotions, reactions and physical expressions that exist within all us
but get squeezed out through the sieve of social conformity. We need to acknowledge that girls can be
made of sugar and spice, and also be not so nice. These directions are supported by research on the social
construction of resilience, which asserts that youth at risk deliberately try on various identities (including
often the very identities that professionals want to redirect) as they seek to negotiate personal power and
self-definitions of health (Ungar, 2001). Brown (2003) states,
The answer to reducing girlfighting and girl bullying is less about tightening control
over girls than about appreciating girls’ need to have control in their own lives, to
feel important, to be visible, to be taken seriously, to have an effect (23).
The conceptual framework outlined here calls on us to shift our understandings and definitions of caring,
power and acceptable self expression beyond the parameters that are well established in contemporary
society, recognizing that through these identities young women are negotiating self definitions which
correspond with their notions of health and personal power. There is possibility that some girls activate
agency and experience discursive power through locating their strengths as being bold, brazen, non-
compliant and violent. At a loss for means through which to experience significant personal power, and
although running counter to the prescriptions she knows are held by others, being the ‘bad-ass girl’ may
be preferable to the other alternatives offered to her under conventional femininity.
This paper has offered an exploration of the complex context within which girls may choose to use
violence. Deconstruction of dualistic thinking, gendered constructions of caring, the subversion of female
anger, and heterosexism is considered central to forming community and educational responses that are
informed, relevant and empathic and can offer girls new stories, sharpened tools and the critical
consciousness necessary to interrupt the current social scripts and bring the social change that promises
enhanced personal agency.
References
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Appleby, G.A. & Anastas, J.W. (1998). Not just a passing phase: Social work with gay, lesbian and
bisexual people. New York: Columbia University Press.
Armstrong, P. (2002). Privatization as health-care reform and its impact on women. In W. Samuelson,
Power and resistance. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, pp. 315 – 336.
Baines, C. T., Evans, P. M., & Neysmith, S. M. (1991). Caring: Its impact on women. In C. T. Baines, P.
M. Evans & S. M. Neysmith (Eds.), Women’s caring: Feminist perspectives on social welfare (2nd ed.)
(pp. 11-35). Toronto, Ontario: McClelland & Stewart Inc.
Berger, P.L. and Luckman, T. (1967). The social construction of reality. New York: Anchor Books.
Brown, Lyn Mikel. (1998). Raising their voices: The politics of girls’ anger. Cambridge MA: Harvard U
Press.
44
Brown, Lyn M and Gilligan, Carol. (1992). Meeting at the crossroads: Women’s psychology and girls’
development. New York: Ballantine Books.
Brown, L.M. (2003). Girlfighting: Betrayal and rejection among girls. New York City: New York
University Press.
Collins, P.H. (1990). Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of
Empowerment. Boston: Unwin Hyman.
Crick, N. R. (1999). Childhood aggression and gender: A new look at an old problem. In D. Bernstein
(Ed.), Gender and motivation. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.
Crick, N. R., & Grotpeter, J. K. (1995). Relational aggression, gender, and social-psychological
adjustment. Child Development, 66, 710-722.
Fook, J. (2002). Social work: Critical theory and practice. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
Herek, G.M. (2000). The psychology of sexual prejudice. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9
(1), 19 – 22.
Lamb, Sharon. (2001). The secret lives of girls: What good girls really do. New York: The Free Press.
Leshied, A., Cummings, A.L., VanBrunschot, M., Cunningham, A. & Saunders, A. (2001). Aggression in
adolescent girls: Implications for policy, prevention and treatment. Canadian Psychological Association.
Pepler, D. (1999). Aggressive girls: Development of disorder and outcomes. Report #57, La Marsh
Research Centre Report. Toronto: York University.
Pharr, S. (1988). Homophobia: A weapon of sexism. Inverness, CA: Chardon Press.
Pipher, Mary. (1996). Reviving Ophelia: Saving the selves of adolescent girls. New York: Ballantine
Books.
Reitsma-Street, M. (1991). Girls learn to care, girls policed to care. In C. Baines, P. Evans and S.
Neysmith (Eds.), Women’s caring: feminist perspectives on social welfare, pp. 106-137. Toronto:
McClelland & Stewart, Inc.
Simmons, R. (2001). Odd girl out: The hidden culture of aggression in girls. Chicago: Harcourt Books,
Inc.
Stack, C. (1986). The culture of gender: women and men of color. Reprinted in M. Larrabee (Ed.), An
ethic of care: feminist interdisciplinary perspectives, pp. 108-111. New York: Routledge.
Taylor, J.M., Gilligan, C. & Sullivan, A.M. (1995). Between voice and silence: Women and girls, race and
relationship. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Tolman, D.L., Spencer, R., Rosen-Reynoso, M. & Porche, M.V. (2003). Sowing the seeds of violence in
heterosexual relationships: Early adolescents narrate compulsory heterosexuality. Journal of Social Issues,
59(1), 159-178.
45
Tronto, Joan. (1993). Moral boundaries: A political argument for an ethic of care. New York: Routledge.
Ungar, M. (2001). The social construction of resilience among “problem” youth in out-of-home
placement: A study of health-enhancing deviance. Child and Youth Care Forum, 30(3), 137-154.
Wilson, E. (1977). Women and the welfare state. Lodon: Tavistock Publications
Wiseman, R. (2002). Queen Bees and wannabes: Helping your daughter survive cliques, gossip,
boyfriends and realities of adolescence. New York: Three Rivers Press.
Wurtzel, Elizabeth. (1998). Bitch: In praise of difficult women. New York: Doubleday.
46
“This place makes me sick.” One lesbian’s experience of surveillance, hegemony, and
homophobia while teaching in Canadian Catholic high schools
TONYA D. CALLAGHAN
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Canada
tonya.callaghan@ualberta.ca
This paper opens with a vignette of a homophobic incident, as experienced by the author, herself a lesbian,
when she was teaching in a Canadian Catholic high school. It shows how some Catholic high schools in
Canada, via institutional practices, maintain and perpetuate heterosexism. The author defines homophobia
and describes how it functions as a structure within the deeply hierarchical system of Catholic schools.
Michel Foucault’s notion of surveillance and Antonio Gramsci’s concept of hegemony are applied to the
problem of homophobia in Catholic schools in order to illuminate the ways in which homophobia as a
structure functions.
« Cet endroit me rend malade » Une lesbienne parle de surveillance, d’hégémonie et

d’homophobie alors qu’elle enseignait dans des écoles secondaires canadiennes.
Esquisse d’un incident d’homophobie vécu par l’auteur, qui est elle-même lesbienne, alors qu’elle
enseignait dans une école secondaire canadienne ; c’est un exemple concret de la façon dont les pratiques
institutionnelles maintiennent et perpétuent l’hétérosexisme par rapport aux enseignantes lesbiennes et à la
sexualité des lesbiennes. Le concept de surveillance de Foucault et le concept d’hégémonie de Gramsci
illustrent comment l’homophobie fonctionne comme une structure dans le système hiérarchique des écoles
catholiques. Cette analyse explique les défis psychologiques et émotionnels qu’une enseignante lesbienne
peut éprouver et qui affectent sa santé.
47
Good girls, bully girls:

Gender, health and contemporary girlhoods in school settings
VIRGINIA CAPUTO
Carleton University
Ottawa, Canada
vcaputo@ccs.carleton.ca
Contemporary Canadian and American media analyses of girls and bullying often level the complexity of
girl violence and relational aggression by casting girls into a “good girl/bad girl” dichotomy. This
dichotomy focuses on narrow and tightly circumscribed definitions of girlhood and femininity. These
restrictive definitions outside the classroom intersect with gender representations inside the classroom to
impact on the healthy development of girls growing up in Canada. The analysis argues for the importance
of moving beyond simplified explanations anchored by individualizing discourses and situating the study
of girls and bullying in broader socio-political and cultural contexts.
Filles gentilles ou petites brutes :

sexe, santé et comportements actuels des filles en milieu scolaire
Dans les analyses que les médias canadiens et américains actuels font des filles face à l’intimidation
(bullying), il n’est pas rare qu’on fasse disparaître la complexité de la violence et des relations agressives
des filles en invoquant simplement la dichotomie « gentilles / vilaines filles ». Cette dichotomie est
centrée sur des définitions étroites et strictement circonscrites entre le statut de jeune fille et la féminité.
Ces définitions restrictives utilisées en dehors de la salle de classe se recoupent avec les représentations du
sexe à l’intérieur de la salle de classe pour influencer le développement sain des filles vivant au Canada.
Cette analyse avance l’importance de dépasser les explications simples ancrées dans des discours
individualisants et de situer l’étude des filles au comportement brutal et intimidant dans les contextes
socio-politiques et culturels plus larges.
48
The production and mediation of stress among Atlantic Canadian undergraduate students:
The influence of gender
JOANNE CAREY
Memorial University
jcarey@nursing.ubc.ca
Educational attainment is linked to positive health and socio-economic outcomes; however, the actual
process of pursuing a post-secondary education is relatively unexamined. A qualitative standpoint
methodology informed the data collection for this project which used demographic questionnaires and
semi-structured interviews with 16 students and 3 semi-structured interviews with key informants.
Students’ interviews show that they experience stress physically and emotionally; that the social meanings
surrounding stress mediate how they interpret and deal with it; and that the social context in which
students pursue their education can both produce and mediate stress for students.
Production et gestion du stress chez les étudiants de premier cycle du Canada atlantique :
variations selon le sexe
La réussite académique est reliée à la bonne santé et aux résultats socio-économiques positifs; pourtant, on
n’examine pas vraiment ce que la poursuite des études postsecondaires implique. La méthodologie
qualitative utilisée a fourni les données recueillies pour ce projet au moyen de questionnaires et
d’entrevues semi-structurées avec 16 étudiants et 3 informants clés. Les entrevues des étudiants ont
démontré qu’ils éprouvaient du stress physique et mental; que la signification sociale du stress modifie la
façon qu’ils ont de l’interpréter et de le gérer; que le contexte social dans lequel les étudiants poursuivent
leurs études peut à la fois produire et modifier le stress des étudiants.
49
Together in the classroom:

Addressing the spirituality of adolescent girls
KAREN CSOLI
OISE-IÉPO/UT
Toronto, Canada
kcsoli@oise.utoronto.ca
Spirituality is an intrinsic, fundamental part of what it is and means to be human. Holistic educators know
that nurturing spirituality is essential for the growth and wellbeing of all students and has promoted the
fostering of spirituality in all classrooms. If we wish to understand the unique needs and experiences of
adolescent girls, however, we must look to feminism and the research on female spirituality. By
combining our knowledge of female spirituality and holistic education, I will present steps for educators to
ensure they are enhancing the spiritual wellbeing of adolescent girls.
Ensemble dans la salle de classe :

à propos de la spiritualité chez les adolescentes
La spiritualité est une partie intégrante et fondamentale de ce qui fait de nous des êtres humains. Des
éducateurs holistiques savent qu’il est essentiel de nourrir la spiritualité pour assurer la croissance et le
bien-être de tous les élèves et ils suggèrent de donner une place à la spiritualité dans toutes les salles de
classe. Si nous voulons comprendre les besoins uniques et les expériences des adolescentes, il faut
toutefois nous tourner vers le féminisme et la recherche sur la spiritualité féminine. En combinant nos
connaissances sur la spiritualité féminine et l’éducation holistique, je vais présenter les étapes que les
éducateurs peuvent emprunter pour s’assurer qu’ils ou elles rehaussent le bien-être des adolescentes.
Introduction
Teetering on the threshold of adulthood, the lives of adolescent girls are full of excitement, joy, creativity
and exploration. There is a richness of experience that often includes spiritual insights and discoveries.
However, educators have not focused much attention on the growth and development of spirituality of
girls in their mid-to-late teens. Learning and the promotion of positive health and wellbeing during this
period needs be linked to the whole girl – physically, intellectually, emotionally, socially and spirituality.
When holistic education and feminist theory merge, the result is an approach that both honours and
encourages the spiritual lives of our adolescent girls.
Research exists that links spirituality to other aspects of wellbeing in adolescence. There appears to be a
positive relationship between spirituality and thriving (Dowling, Gestsdottir, Anderson, Eye, Almerigi &
Lerner, 2004), a inverse relationship between spirituality and the likelihood of sexual activity (Holder,
Durant, Harris, Daniel, Obeidallah & Goodman, 2000), and an inverse relationship between the existential
wellbeing score (a subset of spiritual wellbeing scale) and anxiety in at-risk females (Davis, Kerr &
Robinson Kurpius, 2003). Some research suggests a positive relationship between spirituality and identity
formation in general (King, 2003) and specifically in girls, a positive relationship between spirituality and
dimensions of social recognition, commitment, purposefulness and meaningfulness (Fisherman, 2004).
These results suggest that a healthy spirituality helps girls navigate the murky waters of adolescence.
50
Definition of spirituality
Spirituality is a difficult concept to define. For the purposes of this paper, I define spirituality as an innate,
fundamental part of nature that connects us to our selves, Self, others, communities, animals, environment
and the sacred. It is an underlying unity that inspires awe, wonder, joy and creativity, and allows for
transcendence. Spirituality is also an awareness that our lives have purpose, direction and meaning. I
recognize spirituality as separate from religion, which is a system of faith or worship that is structured
within an organized doctrine.
The spiritual aspects of being human connect us to the numinous, the transcendent and ultimately to the
life forces of the universe. This connection teaches students to respect life in all forms and gives meaning
to their own lives. Kessler (2000) states that the “yearning for deep connection describes a quality of
relationship that is profoundly caring, is resonant with meaning, and involves feelings of belonging, or of
being truly seen and known. Students may experience deep connection to themselves, to others, to nature
or to a higher power” (p.17). Holistic educators understand that this deep connection is also part of the
learning process.
There is even an attempt to make spiritual intelligence part of Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple
intelligences. While Gardner has not recognized this as a unique intelligence, in part because of its
association with religion, Gardner has entertained the notion of an existential intelligence, which is a
concern with ‘ultimate’ issues (Smith, 2002).
This focus on spirituality has drawn me to study holistic education, plus my reflections on my adolescence
have led me to study feminist theory. My family was very spiritual and religious, and I always attended
Catholic schools. Unfortunately, I remember secondary school as a hoop to jump through on my way to
university. My classes should have been infused with a spiritual approach to the curriculum, teaching
methods and assessment. My classes were instead tedious and mechanical. When I tried to speak about the
ways I experienced reality (which of course, was difficult as a teen), I was misunderstood or dismissed. I
realize now that understand the world in spiritual terms and I need to be connected to what I am learning.
This has inspired me to learn more about educating adolescent girls in a way that is in tune with their
whole selves, part of which includes a spiritual self.
Holistic education
Holistic education offers a way of thinking about education, students and the world that focuses on the
student’s intellectual, physical, emotional, social and spiritual development. John Miller (1996) states that
holistic education “attempts to bring education into alignment with the fundamental realities of nature”
(p.1), which must include spirituality. Holistic educators integrate the curriculum to reduce the
fragmentation of subjects and use teaching methods that foster connections and the development of
meaning and purpose. Ron Miller (1993) states that holistic education “does not focus on determining
which facts or skills adults should teach children, but on creating a learning community which will
stimulate the growing person’s creative and inquisitive engagement with the world” (p.78).
The focus on spirituality is one aspect that separates holistic education from other theories of education. In
fact, the knowledge that education is a profoundly spiritual experience is a return to earlier forms of
education. “It is no accident that in many cultures the word for priest and teacher is the same, or that
initially the sole purpose of higher education was training for the clergy. Education is inherently moral,
teaching a profoundly religious act” (Kagan, 1993, p.227). Recognizing the inherent spirituality of
learning is not a new idea, but it is an idea that educators have forgotten.
51
Holistic education can be understood through four principles (Miller, R., 1993). First, the whole child is
nurtured – intellectual, emotional, social, physical, creative/intuitive, aesthetic and spiritual. John Miller
(1996) has suggested that educators as a whole have not been concerned with this balance, which can be
seen in how the curriculum is generally split into subjects, units and lessons. Rarely is there an overall
vision determining what these lessons will be, beyond the cognitive skills to be developed. Often, the
student must demonstrate a knowledge of content, an ability to problem solve, and an ability to produce
for assessments and tests. Holistic education uses an overall vision to link units and lessons; this vision is
interdependent and fosters wholeness. Although at different times in a child’s development the focus will
be on certain aspects (especially in the philosophy of Rudolph Steiner), the whole child is always
considered.
Second, holistic education fosters relationships and a sense of community. Although Ron Miller
concentrates on the relationship between the teacher and the student, John Miller (1996) expands the list to
include relationships between linear thinking and intuition, mind and body, domains of knowledge, self
and community, self and the earth and between self and Self. Here, the focus is on making connections,
not on fragmenting beliefs and knowledge. The negative effects of this fragmentation can easily be seen in
the effects society has had on the environment. Many people do not understand that what happens to the
environment affects the food, water and air that are necessary for survival. Pollution that affects wildlife
will in turn affect people. Holistic education helps children to understand that they are not and cannot be
isolated from the surroundings.
Third, the focus in education must be on life experience and not simply defined basic skills. Holistic
education strives for understanding and meaning, not just the acquisition of knowledge. Many educators
are critical of knowledge for its own sake, separate from the lives we live and the world we live in. For
example, Palmer (1993) suggests that science separated from the knowledge of our selves allowed for the
development of the atomic bomb.
The fourth and final characteristic of holistic education described by Ron Miller is to enable learners to
“critically approach the cultural, moral, and political contexts of their lives. It [holistic education]
recognizes that cultures are created by people and can be changed by people if they fail to serve important
human needs” (p.79). The goal of holistic education is not to replicate current society or maintain the
status quo. By teaching children to think critically about their worlds, they are empowered to positively
affect it.
Feminism and holistic education
Feminist research into education tells us that our education system has had difficulty fostering the growth
and development of girls (Gaskell, McLaren & Novogrodsky, 1989; Gilligan, 1982; hooks, 2003; Sadker
& Sadker, 1994). Some topics that have received attention have included academic subjects and invitation
to those subjects, teaching methods, teachers’ attitudes, socioeconomic differences, and race/ethnicity (of
course, this is not a complete list). But with my interest in spirituality, I wish to explore how girls are
included in holistic education’s focus on spirituality.
Holistic education and feminist theory have already been combined in the work of Nel Noddings and her
emphasis on caring. Noddings (1984) believes that the feminine is rooted in relatedness, responsiveness
and receptivity, and so the traditional value hierarchy no longer fits. As educators, we need to teach with
an eye to interdependence, connectedness and caring when we explore topics in the classroom. When
making moral decisions, Noddings (1984) suggests that women need different types of information; “they
need to talk to the participants, to see their eyes and facial expressions, to size up the whole situation”
(p.96). This suggests teaching based on lived experiences, not simply information from a textbook. Caring
is the primary aim of education, and that caring extends beyond the individual to include community,
52
animals and nature. Also, Noddings (1984) believes that no subject should be excluded from the
classroom. She believes that it is vitally important for students to study the teachings of various religions,
religious art, and religious music in an effort to experience the beauty, faith and devotion of others.
Learning spiritual responsiveness allows us to reconnect through caring.
Since there is very little research to help us understand the spirituality of adolescent girls (Benson,
Roehlkepartain & Rude, 2003, Hay & Nye, 1998), we can extrapolate from what we know of adult
women’s spirituality (although future research will be needed to support this translation). There are three
main issues to consider: relationships, valid sources of knowledge and the physical body.
First, research suggests that women’s spirituality is not always a solitary endeavour. The image of the
spiritual man sitting alone on a mountaintop is the not appropriate image to represent female spirituality.
The image of a web has been put forward as more representative of female understanding of relatedness,
connection and caring (Gilligan, 1982; Noddings, 1984; Ray & McFadden, 2001). The solo quest for
spiritual knowledge is not the way women define themselves, as it requires separation and individuation
before re-integration into the community, something uncharacteristic of women (Ray & McFadden, 2001).
This is a particular struggle for adolescent girls, who are given the message that to be an adult is to be
independent, yet they often see their dependence on the world around them.
Second, the source of a woman’s knowledge of spirituality is not limited to objective, intellectual facts.
Women will rely on intuition, dreams, visions, prayers and somatic experiences, and these will be as
valuable as more objective sources of knowledge (Chambers-Gordon, 2001; Foltz, 2000; Hume, 1998;
Kanis, 2002; Mattis, 2002; Mercer & Durham, 1999; Slee, 2000). Women may rely on significant females,
living or dead, to provide protection and comfort (Mattis, 2002). Chambers-Gordon (2001) discusses
reports of angels in the religious experiences of women in a Jamaican Pentecostal Church, and Hume
(1998) explains that in Wicca, the believers attempt to alter the energies around them through magik.
Third, women also seem to report transcendent experiences in a physical way. Kanis (2002) believes that
women’s bodies have everything to do with the way they interpret religious experiences. The women that
she spoke with give two very good examples of physical transcendence that are unique to women –
childbirth and breastfeeding. Kanis (2002) suggests that these women interpreted the experiences as
spiritual even though their religions told them that women’s bodies were evil, and therefore could not be
the source of the divine. The media also gives us the message that women’s bodies are objects to be used
viewed by others. Adolescent girls are often confused about how to understand themselves as physical and
sexual beings, and they would benefit from understanding their physical bodies spiritually.
Together in the classroom
Through the integration of holistic education and feminist theory, I have come to better understand the
role spirituality plays in learning and education. There are several things that educators can bring to their
classrooms to foster the spiritual health of adolescent girls.
1. Value alternative forms of knowledge such as intuition, dreams, visions, somatic experiences.
Women and girls use this knowledge and trust it just as we use and trust objective knowledge.
Unfortunately, this subjective knowledge does not have a role in our schools. By nurturing non-
traditional forms of knowledge, girls may learn to trust their own feelings, experiences and
physical bodies.
2. Value caring. Women and girls use caring in their moral decision-making and in their meaning-
making. When classrooms are cold and clinical, or if only partial information is given about an
53
issue, girls strengths are not valued. Thus, girls learn not to trust their own beliefs, but instead they
learn to question those beliefs.
3. Value connections. These connections cross the lines of self, Self, community, society, animals,
nature and the sacred. Deep understanding comes when we learn the interrelations and
interdependence of reality. Educators can learn to think outside of their subject areas and
encourage students to explore these relationships.
4. Value various forms of expression such as writing, poems, drawing, dance, and drama. Spiritual
understandings and experiences are difficult to place into words. Other forms of expressions allow
girls to truly explore and express themselves.
5. Value voice. Adolescents often do not have a voice, sometimes because no one is listening or their
voices are not valued. Students may ask the big philosophical questions, such as “why are we
here?”, “what is my purpose on earth?” and “what happens to us when we die?”. Instead of
turning away, educators can embrace and provide an opportunity for their students to explore
these questions.
6. Value silence. Schools are full of noise and activity, and there is very little time for girls to reflect
and live with their own thoughts. Silence allows space for spiritual reflection, but often students
are accused of ‘daydreaming’, and therefore being nonproductive. Educators should instead
respect this productive silence.
7. Value social justice. Key to both holistic education and feminism is the belief that education
should not just produce the status quo, but that schools have the responsibility to promote social
justice. As they find their way to adulthood, teenagers want to move beyond talking about issues
in class, and become agents of change. Educators should strive to take projects outside of the
classroom and promote interactions between the students and the community.
8. Foster alternative forms of understanding and learning (metaphors, guided imagery,

visualization). Teaching methods need to expand beyond our knowledge of the intellect. If we are
to value intuition and visions, we must use different methods when we teach.
9. Foster your own spirituality. If an educator wishes to enhance the spiritual wellbeing of their
students, she must bring her own spirit to the classroom. Educators who wish to foster the spiritual
growth in their students should engage in their own contemplative practices, such as meditation.
References
Benson, P. L., Roehlkepartain, E. C. & Rude, S. P. (2003). Spiritual development in childhood and
adolescence: toward a field of inquiry. Applied Developmental Science, 7(3), 205-213.
Chambers-Gordon, S. (2001). “Liberated in the spirit”: telling the lives of Jamaican women in a
Pentecostal/Revivalist church. Women and Language, 24(2), 52-57.
Davis, T. L., Kerr, B. A. & Robinson Kurpius, S. E. (2003). Meaning, purpose, and religiosity in at-risk
youth: the relationship between anxiety and spirituality. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 31(4), 356-
365.
54
Dowling, E. M., Gestsdottir, S., Anderson, P. M., Eye, A. Von, Almerigi, J. & Lerner, R. M.
(2004).structural relations among spirituality, religiosity and thriving in adolescence. Applied
Developmental Science, 8(1), 7-16.
Fisherman, S. (2004). Ego identity and spiritual identity in religiously observant adolescents in Israel.
Religious Education, 99(4), 371-384.
Foltz, T. G. (2000). Women’s spirituality research: doing feminism. Sociology of Religion, 61(4),
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Gaskell, J. McLaren, A. & Novogrodsky, N. (1989). Claiming an Education: Feminism and Canadian
Schools. Toronto: Garamond Press.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development. Cambridge:
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Hay, D. & Nye, R. (1998). The Spirit of the Child. London: Harper Collins.
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(2000).The association between adolescent spirituality and voluntary sexual activity. Journal of
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Hooks, b. (2003). Teaching Community: A pedagogy of hope. New York: Routledge.
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Perspectives and Practices. (p.227-228). Brandon, VT: Holistic Education Press.
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Character at School. Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD.
King, U. (1993). Women and Spirituality: Voices of protest and promise (2nd ed.). Pennsylvania:
Pennsylvania State University Press.
Mattis, J. S. (2002). Religion and spirituality in the meaning-making and coping experiences of African
American women: a qualitative analysis. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26, 309-321.
Mercer, C. & Durham, T. W. (1999). Religious mysticism and gender orientation. Journal for the
Scientific Study of Religion, 38(1), 175-182.
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55
Noddings, N. (1984). Caring: A feminine approach to ethics and moral education. Berkeley:
University of California Press.
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& Whiteside, Limited.
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56
Mothering in medicine:
Parenting policies in medical education in Canada
ROETKA GRADSTEIN
Halifax, Canada
roetka@dal.ca
The percentage of female medical students in Canada has steadily increased from 17% in 1970 to 59% in
2005. As more women chose medicine, the reality of parenting in medical school is increasing and
impacting on the traditional institutional policies and expectations of medical education. This research is
focused on the particularly gendered areas of parenting in medical education. It celebrates what has
already been accomplished in fostering family-friendly educational policy for women in medicine in
Canada, identifies gaps, and engages the ongoing process of developing a truly welcoming atmosphere for
women in medical education.
Être mère dans le milieu médical :

les politiques familiales dans les écoles de médecine au Canada
Le pourcentage des femmes qui entreprennent des études de médecine au Canada augmente
régulièrement, de 17% en 1970 à 59% en 2005. Puisque les femmes sont plus nombreuses à suivre des
programmes de médecine, la réalité de la vie familiale prend de plus en plus d’importance en milieu
médical et finit par influencer les politiques institutionnelles traditionnelles ainsi que les attentes dans les
écoles de médecine. Cette recherche se concentre sur les domaines des études de médecine qui sont
particulièrement affectés par le sexe (féminin/masculin). Elle souligne ce qui a déjà été accompli :
l’élaboration de politiques favorables à la famille pour les étudiantes en médecine au Canada; elle identifie
les lacunes et promeut le développement d’une atmosphère véritablement accueillante pour les étudiantes
en médecine.
57
Disabled women in India:

Inability to access educational services due to social barriers
LIZETH GRANADOS
Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, USA
lgranad2@fau.edu
The disabled population is marginalized from almost all institutions including the labor market. Education
is seen as an avenue for women who are disabled to gain autonomy. Disabled women in India face three
main sources of discrimination in accessing educational services: cultural norms, social norms and
economic factors. This paper examines the rapid expansion of the disabled and women’s rights
movements in India that has provided a platform for domestic and international agencies to become aware
of and involved in the struggle against oppressive conditions in general and disabled women’s access to
education in particular.
L’accès à l’éducation en Inde est interdit aux femmes handicapées

à cause des barrières sociales
La population handicapée est marginalisée dans presque toutes les institutions, y compris le marché du
travail. Pour les femmes handicapées, l’éducation est perçue comme une façon de devenir autonome. Les
Indiennes handicapées font face à trois sources principales de discrimination pour l’accès aux services
éducatifs : les normes culturelles, les normes sociales et les facteurs économiques. Dans cette
communication, on examine l’expansion rapide des mouvements des femmes et des handicapés en Inde,
ces mouvements servant de plateforme pour faire connaître aux agences nationales et internationales la
lutte contre les conditions d’oppression des femmes handicapées en général et leur accès à l’éducation en
particulier.
58
Embodied exclusion: The experiences of poor and working-class young women

within the formal and informal sexual health education curriculum in Scotland
SAARA GREENE
York University
Toronto, Canada
saaragreene@hotmail.com
Drawing on in-depth interviews with young mothers from Edinburgh, Scotland, this paper will present
three arguments: First, that the sexual health curriculum in both formal and informal educational settings
fails to reflect the experiences of poor, working-class and racialized young women; second, that the
absence of meaningful aspects of sexual, gender, class and race relations in sexual health education may
result in ‘embodied exclusion’; and third, in order to develop a relevant, effective and appropriate sexual
health education curriculum, there is a call for including marginalized young women in the process of
developing future sexual health education programmes.
L’exclusion incarnée : l’expérience des jeunes femmes pauvres et des milieux ouvriers
dans le programme d’éducation sexuelle formel et informel en Écosse
Cette communication est tirée d’entrevues approfondies auprès de jeunes mères à Edimburgh (Écosse) et
trois arguments y sont présentés : le premier est que le programme d’éducation sexuelle formel et
qu’informel dans un milieu scolaire ne réussit pas à refléter les expériences des jeunes femmes pauvres, en
milieu ouvrier et de races différentes; le second est que l’absence des aspects significatifs des relations
hommes/femmes, entre les classes et entre les races dans l’éducation sexuelle pourrait résulter en
« exclusion incarnée »; et le troisième est que pour établir un programme d’éducation sexuelle pertinent,
efficace et approprié, il faudrait inclure les jeunes femmes marginalisées dans le processus d’élaboration
des programmes futurs.
59
Representations of female scholars on university websites:

Is women’s work “webworthy”?
CHER HILL
SFU
Burnaby, Canada
chill@sfu.ca
CATHERINE MCGREGOR
UNBC
Prince George, Canada
NICOLE RICHARD
Freelance Photographer
Toronto, Canada
This research involves a feminist analysis of the depictions of women on university websites, assessing
the frequency and type of representation, and how the various elements of the photos work together to
communicate particular meanings. Women were under represented, more likely to be attractive, and less
likely to be depicted as authoritative compared to their male counterparts. The lack of representations of
female professors perpetuates the perception that the majority of women’s work is not worthy of
recognition. Further, these types of representations serve to naturalize academic women as objects of
desire, and to normalize the trivialization of women’s scholarship.
Représentation des spécialistes/érudites dans les sites web universitaires :

est-ce que le travail de recherche des femmes est « digne du web » ?
Cette recherche porte sur l’analyse féministe de la représentation des femmes dans les sites web
universitaires, mesurant la fréquence et le type des représentations et comment les divers éléments des
photos fonctionnent pour communiquer une signification particulière. Les femmes sont sous-représentées,
en majorité agréables à voir et moins souvent décrites comme faisant autorité que leurs collègues
masculins. Le manque de représentation des femmes dans l’enseignement supérieur sert à perpétuer la
perception que la majorité du travail des femmes ne vaut pas la peine d’être reconnu. De plus, ces types de
représentation servent à naturaliser les femmes comme objets de désir et à banaliser l’érudition des
femmes.
60
Teachers claiming spiritual agency through the curriculum of life
ERIN IRISH
OISE-IÉPO/UT
Toronto, Canada
eirish@utoronto.ca
The activity of engaging in spiritual recovery in educational settings is both a daunting and an exciting
proposition. We must, as Maxine Greene suggests, “commit to our freedom and then decide what is to be
done”. This paper will outline a personal and holistic vision of what teacher spiritual agency is and how a
curriculum of life promotes health and well-being for girls and women. In particular, teachers with such
spiritual agency might use the curriculum of life to introduce girls to practices which acknowledge
different dimensions of human experience, including emotions, feelings and intuitive insight.
Les enseignants se servent des leçons de la vie pour promouvoir la spiritualité
S’engager dans la voie de la guérison spirituelle en milieu éducatif est une tâche à la fois monumentale et
passionnante. Comme nous le suggère Maxine Greene nous devons « engager notre liberté et ensuite
décider ce qu’on doit faire ». Dans cette communication, on présente une vision personnelle et holistique
de ce qu’on entend par enseignant d’agence spirituelle et comment un programme scolaire de vie sert à
promouvoir la santé et le bien-être des filles et des femmes. En particulier, les enseignants qui croient en
cette agence spirituelle peuvent utiliser le programme de vie pour faire connaître aux jeunes filles des
pratiques qui reconnaissent d’autres dimensions de l’expérience humaine, y compris les émotions, les
sentiments et l’intuition.
Introduction
The rebellious teacher, the reflective practitioner, is asked to tamp down dissonant conceptions of what
education might, and perhaps ought to be in a chaotic uncertain time. We do not know how many
educators see present demands and prescriptions as obstacles to their own development, or how many find
it difficult to breathe (Greene, 1988, p.14).
Society’s proclivity for narrow notions of self as the instrument of social norms can lead to what the
modernist philosopher Charles Taylor calls personal “disenchantment” (1989, p.4). Taylor expresses
considerable concern for the spiritual malaise filtering though public and private spaces in modern
society1. When individuals resort to rationalizing their own ends, accumulating material goods, and
working as instruments of institutions, they can lose sight of the possibility for spirituality. Physical illness
and spiritual exhaustion can occur much like Sartre’s reference to existential “nausea”, as a spiritual
alienation in our working lives (1964). Performativity seems to replace relationship-centred ways of being,
and the emphasis on objectivity and rationality as the lenses for making sense of experience can indeed
create disconnection and dissonance to communities of learners, to spiritual seekers and to self. Maxine
1
Taylor’s (1989) work on self as constituted by society repositions (among other explorations) the
individual at the center into values inquiry. Such a shift in individual agency opens channels for critique of
the status quo and debates regarding the distinction between the individual good and the notion of a public
good, the development of virtue ethics as dispositions and practices towards the creation of personal
meaning and a contribution towards this common good. Affirming life through practices and choices
becomes a spiritual matter in both institutional settings and private spaces.
61
Greene believes our modern society’s penchant for “technicism” robs our lives of magic, spirit and
creativity (1988, p.14). Both philosophers seem to suggest that we exercise a negative conception of
freedom when we deny our agency, and when we fail to confront the possibility of finding health and
healing through our choices of actions and practices.
For women teaching in schools, there are many sources of dissonance in their quest for spiritually
fulfilling work with girls. The subject matter passing between women and girls-teacher and student- is
inherited knowledge and conceptualized along masculine notions of reason and value (Martin, 2003).
Women’s work and ways of knowing through lived experiences fall through the cracks of conventional,
historical and normative notions of standards, public life and what it means to be educated (Martin, 2003,
p.193). Thus, what gives value and adds a sense of well-being to the narratives of women’s lives gets put
on the margins of life’s text. In my own story, I have experienced, at times, a kind of cognitive vertigo in
living with subject matter that dichotomizes the mind and body, alienates, individualizes and subjugates
the female voice, and denies spirituality as a ways of knowing and being in the world. My claiming
autonomy to exercise spiritual teaching represents a move towards a conception of agency as a wider
discourse of knowledge related to women, girls, health and spirit. Such a dialectical notion of agency for
health and well-being offers many opportunities; however, there are equally some risks as we explore
spiritual terrain. If we decline or defer the opportunity to explore spiritual issues in education, we may
sustain alienation, but there are certainly some risks to this act of theorizing about spirit to claim teacher
agency.
One possible risk is the fear of personal disclosure for girls and for women teachers in education settings.
It seems easier to speak out against collective concerns than it is to identify our own individual spiritual
struggles as ideological, harmful to our well-being, and entirely personal. Secondly, in education contexts,
pervasive policies on standardization and accountability may suggest that practices and concerns for
spiritual well-being could be construed as less productive than education for skill development or
knowledge transmission2. There are political and historical risks as well. One may fear treading on
politically incorrect terrain; confronting competing conceptions of religious beliefs, or reliving memories
of religion in oppressive hierarchical terms. Some theorists contend institutions exert powerful control
over women’s bodies throughout history and the spiritual conversation must understand its place in
relation to the religious one (Fernandes, 2003). But conversations about spirituality within institutions are
important. Dillard, Abdur-Rashid and Tyson (2000) argue in their study that denial of spiritual expression
for Black women for whom spirituality was central to their worldview constitutes a kind of violence. As a
foundation for knowing and judging, decision-making and affirming identity, spiritual work claims a place
of agency in education settings. Fernandes (2003) reminds us, “the language of spirituality is as power-
laden as any other traditional, secular or material language of power. To assume otherwise is to make
spirituality an esoteric abstraction devoid of material implications” (p.102). Using spiritual practices,
creating spiritual spaces for the benefit of girls in education is a courageous undertaking.
The activity of engaging in spiritual recovery in education is an exciting proposition. We must, as Greene
suggests, commit to our freedom and then decide what is to be done3. What is a spiritual education in
relation to girls and women, spirituality or freedom? As a feminist educator, I make a claim to use teacher
agency to locate space for the girls I teach so that they may find health in what I find to be an unhealthy
context. As Greene observes, “a teacher in search of her own freedom may be the only kind of teacher
2
I do not intend to explore the constraints of what Freire called the “baking concept of education” which
views learning as concept transmission/ outcomes-based education in a paper of this length. However, it is
important to note the complexity of spirituality in education; it is multidimensional and difficult to reduce
to something such as ‘moral education’.
3
Greene argues “teachers like their students have to learn to love the questions, as they come to realize
there can be no final agreements or answers, no final commensurability” (1988, p.134).
62
who can arouse young persons to go in search of their own” (1988, p.14). In order for teacher agency to
assist girls towards wellness defined as living with meaning and overcoming alienation, agency must first
be perceived as possible. I believe offering girls a means of exploring feelings, perceptions, sensations-
other ways of knowing which assist them in carving out spiritual health and wholeness in educational
settings- develops emotional well-being and knowledge within a more holistic curricula.
Understanding our own lives is never an easy task, and envisioning or questing for more spaces and
possibilities for teachers and girls in schooling contexts is an ethical as well as spiritual journey. The first
section of this paper will outline a personal vision of teacher spiritual agency. Using the “curriculum of
life” (Portelli & Vibert, 2001), I will argue that women teachers must claim agency to work in ways that
bring meaning to their work and that girls deserve to be educated as more than rational minds. I argue girls
are bodies with feelings and emotions and furthermore, that this project is an act of spiritual recovery to
recognize that women and girls require holistic knowledge and relationships in educational contexts. I will
then extend this notion of agency with a brief reference to Martin Buber’s idea of regard as a spiritual
relationship where feelings and acceptance of the student as other may flourish. The thesis of this paper is
that to live spiritually as a teacher is to be in a dialectical relationship with the student with the open-
mindedness and disposition to explore perceptions, feelings and emotions for spiritual health and
wellbeing.
Holistic spiritual recovery and the educator
My journey in spiritual recovery through teacher agency is in the context of teaching world religions,
philosophy and women’s literature classes to high school students. I make no claim to universal spiritual
knowledge, rather I speak of spirituality in terms of my daily life; it is neither transcendence nor repose
from activity. Spirituality for me is not only the project of making meaning and deriving purpose
consistent with my ethical values, it is enacted through life. My individual spiritual expression is
concerned will finding values which honour personal development and ethics of environmental care,
concern for others as part of being in class together, seamless weaving of life issues with curricula. For
me, health issues and well-being are central to learning. I address sleep, eating, balance, study habits and
stress and such health issues are spiritual. I do not dichotomize mind and body. Clearly, spirituality can
exist quite apart from formal religious expressions.
I do not wish to essentialize spirituality, however, one important aspect of spirituality for me in education
is the dialectical relation between self and other- teacher and student- as they form relationship.
Understanding relationship as the connection of spirituality to practice as engagement conveys one of my
premises in this paper; that spirituality is capable of transformation. It can support political and social
change, it can restore relationship and health, and it forms a curriculum of living and emotional healing in
equal measures. Spiritual recovery can work in multiple ways; it is simultaneously capable of developing
aims of social justice to restoring health as a holistic aim education for individual health and well-being.
Teacher agency then, becomes the act of claiming these spaces as “curriculum” for teachers and girls to
engage in more spiritual pedagogies and forge positive relationships.
Broken in spirit
There is much evidence to suggest that girls in education settings are in need of healing. DeBlase (2003)
speaks about the lost opportunity for Black, Latina and Native American girls disengaged and dispirited
from literacy curricula which alienates them. Because the texts fail to speak to their experiences, these
girls are demoralized and experience greater failure rates in literacy work because their transactions with
texts made no connection to their race, ethnicity, or gender. DeBlase’s research finds that Black girls learn
to ‘turn on’ and ‘turn off’ their emotions in response to school; they learn to be dispirited. So disengaged
are they, the girls split their lives into ‘school’ and ‘non-school’ modes to avoid continual failure and
63
spiritual demoralization. The girls create a protective vacuum where school failure becomes seemingly
irrelevant. Disregard for students’ well-being in its diversity is harmful to students’ understanding of
themselves (Pransky & Bailey, 2002), and as such it does violence to these girls by denying who they are
as human beings (Freire, 1998). To overcome this darkened spiritual space, teachers must be agents of
spirit and healing to the whole girl. A different notion of being in school is necessary. I would also suggest
this picture of girls struggling in spirit, clearly shows us the connection between spiritual malaise and
social inequality.
Curriculum of life
In contrast to views of teaching as a technical act which is a source of alienation and malaise, teaching as
part of the “curriculum of life” (Portelli & Vibert, 2001) infuses educational activity with the ideals of full
participation, full engagement and agency in learning. The curriculum of life collapses the false
dichotomy between educating and living; it “breaks down the walls between the school and the world”
(2001, p.78). Though clearly conceptualized as an approach to pedagogy, the approach is intended to
prepare students for life. Attention to the substance of students’ living forms the central core of the
curriculum building content with students- “the actual, immediate and urgent experiences, issues and
questions of children in schools” (Portelli & Vibert, 2001, p.79). In contrast to approaches which
conceptualize individuals as homogenous, a curriculum of life does not blur the fact of individuality- the
possibility that students are different. Such recognition is indeed working towards spiritual ends in that
students may overcome assumptions of sameness, the tyranny of the status quo and the demand for
conformity. Students become motivated to develop individuality- their spiritedness. Reproduction of
knowledge to suggest authentic, meaningful learning in education is replaced by perception of education
as transformative and broader in its acceptance of values, virtues and dispositions of a spiritual nature.
Equally important, there is no singular teacher role. The teacher –student relationship as unique, vital and
sacred is central to my understanding of the curriculum of life, though it is fluid and responsive. It cannot
be subverted by other aims. It is an end in itself. For curriculum of life to work, teachers must model the
values and dispositions they wish to cultivate in their students. The relationship requires open-mindedness
and caring in teacher and student. Spiritual matters are not always agreeable to everyone and seeking
wellness may require the discussion of difficult subject matter. Open-mindedness to different ideas is both
a moral ideal and a spiritual value. Though the curriculum of life is not prescriptive, it is not teleological,
let me set out what I believe to be some health and spirit benefits to this approach.
In rejecting hierarchical norms for achievement standards which control and objectify both the women
teachers and the girls, a curriculum of life opens up space for discussion of values and the cultivation of
dispositions true to one’s spirit. Being true to oneself is not to suggest the relativism of knowledge.
Rather, I want to emphasize the emotions, perceptions and sensations which make up what we know but
which we have come to disregard as ‘non-evidence’ in our enculturation process. We have learned to cut
out these parts of our knowing under various headings; ‘non-rational’, ‘illogical’, ‘girly’, ‘unscientific’ or
‘irrelevant’. A curriculum of life approach works against alienation because it opens up space for the
possibility of well-being by reducing the risk of alienation through learning. Reason is not to be
disregarded as a valuable tool for learning and being; it is simply not the only tool. Through the
curriculum of life there is the possibility for knowledge to be recognized in the fullest sense of its
connection to being. Developing knowledge in relationship and contexts of meaning and value to the
participants shows us how our spirits and our active agency negotiate our understanding, permit inquiry
into suppression of perception, sensations, feelings and emotions central to a more holistic conception of
knowing.
Noddings (1988) argues that the day-to-day interactions of teachers and students are essentially moral
ones and that these interactions ‘teach’ as much as formal curricula. Alder (2002) suggests that Noddings’
64
four components of caring; modeling, confirmation, dialogue and practice build relationships which
develop a sense of community. Spiritual and ethical approaches to teaching do not follow a script (Blizek,
2002). Teachers supporting the well-being of girls must be responsive and sincere. They too must use their
intuition, emotions in carrying out activities and curricula. Caring can be conceptualized in a variety of
ways. According to Alder (2002), caring entailed activities such as phoning home, talking together and
setting high standards for student achievement. It involved positive regard, attentiveness, and respect for
student and teacher (p.261). Caring may also be demonstrated in instances of conflict and difference. How
to deal respectfully and responsibly with controversy and retain one’s integrity remains a challenge in
emotionally charged discussions and it reflects an important aspect of one’s spiritual beliefs. It remains a
sign of our commitment to spirituality to stay engaged and connected.
Accounting for the body to stay connected is also a spiritual practice in the curriculum of life. Care of the
body can be modeled by the teacher as an ongoing spiritual practice. Seemingly mundane issues matter;
whether food should be permitted in the class, how to deal with a girl who is tired and needs sleep is
another issue of well-being. In conclusion, the ‘way’ an individual is treated is as much a consideration as
‘what’ an individual is taught. Experiences grounded in the connections to daily life are indeed spiritual. A
curriculum of life is thus a more expansive view that considers feelings and regard for the student. Though
these practices appear mundane, the aim of breaking dichotomies and living a curriculum entails building
the capacity to think profoundly about simple matters as part of the whole.
Teacher and regard: “I-Thou”
The spiritual dimension of regard is well-developed in the work of Martin Buber (1958). Regard brings
the spiritual into practice. It is neither systematic nor content-based in education. Regard is the ethical
disposition and responsibility of the teacher towards the student; it is intensely spiritual and personal.
Regard is neither affection nor affectation. In opposition to the standard human attitude “I-It” which
characterizes the pragmatic mode of everyday living, “I-Thou” is shaped by an opposition to materialism.
Buber insists that spirituality exists in the dialectical union of beings; in our openness to the other. Regard
insists that spirituality enter into relationships in contrast to the “I-it” construction of the material world.
Though “I-it” is a necessary relation in education, Buber argues overemphasis on this configuration leads
to alienation and feelings of objectification in the student. The teacher replicates the sacred I-Thou
dialectic with each student in the class to respect the identity of the other:
[she] must not know him as the mere sum of qualities, strivings and inhibitions, she
must be aware of [her] as a whole being and affirm this wholeness…And in order
that this effect upon [her] may be a unified and significant one [she] must also live
this situation, again and again, in all its moments not merely from his own end but
also that of his partner: [she] must practice the kind of realization which I call
inclusion (1958, p.122).
The notion of inclusion is a dialogical relation to overcome objectification of the student. The identity of
the student matters as she is a whole being. The task for the teacher is to replay the dialectic of “I-Thou”
with each student in authentic engagement. Good teaching is being spontaneously spiritually aware to the
possibility of truth and wholeness. Dialogue plays a central role in spiritual education. He contends, “all
real living is meeting” (1958, p.25). Thus a community of practice is central to Buber’s spirituality in
education. Objectification or dispirited by education mandates, systematic knowing, pragmatism is
unworthy compared to education which supports building character and well-being. Education should
serve the purposes of the community. The tension between subject-object- a false dichotomy can be
mediated by Buber’s conception and lead to improved school health- a more holistic vision of dialogue
and relationship-focused schooling. Practices influenced by this approach are sensitive material for
educating, discussion of matters which are overtly spiritual and possibly conflicting, inclusion of students
65
in decision-making processes to work explicitly against educational hierarchy and transmission models of
educating where the teacher assumes she provides all the knowledge to the student. Humanization,
overcoming alienation is an affirming and spiritual act of renewing ourselves. As teachers claim agency as
the “subjects of decisions” (Freire, 1970, p.28), they overcome objectification by an educational system.
Conclusion: Practice as workable utopia
Critics may argue strong connections to daily living and connections to practices and pedagogy make the
curriculum of life appear too temporal to be spiritual. However, I believe spirituality can be developed and
revealed through our modes of practice as educators working with girls. Teachers who use their agency to
claim spaces for such practices are just and deserved in education. Daily living as spiritual renewal
envisions ideals which Fernandes (2003) calls “workable utopias”:
Utopia exists at the moment when suffering is transformed into love. Utopia is the
labour itself which enables such transformation, not, as mistakenly assumed, the
outcome that results from this labour (p. 120).
For me, Fernandes argues for important values such as connection, practice and engagement and labour
for others. Spiritual transformation is possible and at the same time, myriad in expression. I have argued in
this paper that teacher agency can claim practices for freedom to create breathing room for girls and
women in education. The curriculum of life develops a broader conception of what it means to be a
thinking individual and what it means to have regard for each other. It is a meaningful approach to spirit-
building, particularly in reconstituting our spiritual selves by collapsing the mind-body, subject-object,
life-school binaries. Such false dichotomies serve only to create alienation and spiritual malaise. Fostering
humanness in the fullest sense as engagement for teacher and student is possible in approaches to
education such as the curriculum of life.
References
Alder, N. (2002). Interpretations of the meaning of care. Creating caring relationships in urban middle
school classrooms. Urban Education, 37(2), 241-266.
Blizek, W. L. (2000). Ethics and the educational community. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 19(3),
241-251.
Buber, Martin, (1958). I and thou. Trans. R. Gregory Smith. New York: T & T Clark.
DeBlase, G. (2003). Missing stories, missing lives. Urban girls (re)constructing race and gender in the
literacy classroom. Urban Education, 38 (3), 279-329.
Dillard, C.B. Abdur-Rashid, D., & Tyson, C. (2000). My soul is a witness: Affirming pedagogies of the
spirit. Qualitative Studies in Education 13(5) 447-462.
Dupper, D.R., & Meyer-Adams, N. (2002). Low-level violence. A neglected aspect of school culture.
Urban Education, 37, (3), 350-364.
Fernandes, L. (2003). Transforming feminist practice. Non-violence, social justice and the possibilities of
a spiritualized feminism. San Francisco, CA: Ann Lutes Books.
Freire, P. (1998). Pedagogy of freedom. Ethics, democracy, and civic courage. Trans. Patrick Clarke.
Oxford, England: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
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Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Trans. Myra Bergman Ramos. New York: Herder and
Herder.
Greene, M. (1998). The dialectic of freedom. New York: Teachers College Press.
Martin, J. R. (2001). Feminism. In R. Curren. A companion to the philosophy of education. Oxford, UK:
Blackwell.
Noddings, N. (1988). An ethic of care and its implications for instructional arrangements. American
Journal of Education, 96(2), 215-230.
Portelli, J. P. & Vibert, A. B. (2001). Beyond common educational standards: Towards a curriculum of
life. In J. P. Portelli & R. P. Solomon (Eds.), The erosion of democracy in education. Calgary, AB:
Detselig.
Pransky, K. & Bailey, F. (2002).To meet your students where they are, first you have to find them:
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“I am my body”:
Challenge and change in girls’ physical and health education
HELEN JEFFERSON LENSKYJ

OISE-IÉPO/UT
Toronto, Canada
hlenskyj@oise.utoronto.ca
Complex questions about girls’ physical education, the recent moral panic about childhood obesity rates,
and the overlap between females’ body mage and their self-image (“I am my body”) need to examine the
barriers and facilitators to physical health education taking into account social class, race/ethnicity,
sexuality and ability. Girls need specific guidance in deconstructing what it means to have identities that
are so embedded in physical appearance. Some innovative programs in Toronto schools in the 1990s –
‘body equity workshops’ – successfully addressed this issue, with important implications for all physical
educators and health professionals.
« Mon corps, c’est moi » :

Défis et changements dans l’éducation physique et la santé des filles
Étant donné les questions complexes qui se posent au sujet de l’éducation physique et la santé des filles, la
panique morale récente au sujet des taux d’obésité des enfants et le chevauchement entre l’image
corporelle des femmes et l’image qu’elles ont d’elles-mêmes (« Mon corps, c’est moi »), il faut examiner
les obstacles et les facilitateurs dans le cadre de l’éducation physique et de la santé et tenir compte de la
classe sociale, de la race/ethnicité, sexualité et compétences. Les filles ont besoin de directives spécifiques
pour déconstruire la signification de leur identité lorsqu’elle est tellement enchâssée dans leur apparence
physique. Certains programmes innovateurs donnés dans des écoles de Toronto dans les années 90 –
“ateliers sur l’égalité corporelle” – ont répondu avec succès à ces questions et ont eu des résultats
significatifs pour toutes les personnes impliquées en éducation physique et les professionnels de la santé.
Much of the recent moral panic over reported peaks in childhood obesity rates evoked longstanding
arguments for compulsory physical education in Canadian schools, particularly for female students.
Despite evidence to the contrary, most notably nation-wide surveys reporting that, despite their higher
rates of physical activity, males of all ages have higher obesity rates than females (Healthy Weights,
Healthy Lives, 2004), girls and women continued to be identified as “the problem.”
This is not to suggest that physical and health educators should ignore declining female participation
rates. Recent Canadian surveys (CFLRI, 1999; Deacon, 2001; Sport Participation in Canada, 1998)
confirm these trends:
• between 1992 and 1998, among youth aged 15+, a decline of about 11% in regular sport
participation; the gender gap increased by 3%
• 38% of females reported sport involvement in 1992, and only 26% in 1998, compared to 43%
of males
• female involvement in regular physical activity was lower than male across all ages; in the 15-
18 age group, for example, 80% of males and 55% of females were physically active
• 39% of girls, compared to 52% of boys, were active enough for optimal health benefits;
among girls aged 13-17, only 32% exercised at this level
• among 5-14 year-olds, 61% of boys and 48% of girls reported regular sporting participation
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Proponents of compulsory PE tend to rely on economic arguments, citing the health costs of obesity
on publicly funded health services. Perhaps not wanting to be seen as too progressive, or even too
feminist, they generally avoid social justice arguments. These guardians of public health dollars rarely
suggest that females have the right to enjoy the physical, social and emotional benefits of regular
physical activity, and to have access to a wide range of recreational options outside of traditionally
male-defined team sports. But among the Toronto Star’s letters to the editor on the issue, a minority of
voices, usually women, argued that compulsory PE was not the answer. Speaking from (negative)
personal experience, they advocated changing the entire nature of the PE curriculum so that it was
welcoming to children of both genders who were overweight, unathletic, uncoordinated, or just
uninterested.
At the same time, it is important to consider decades of research demonstrating the significant overlap
between females’ body image and their self-image – “I am my body”. Girls need specific guidance in
deconstructing why and how their identities are so deeply embedded in physical appearance, what this
means for females as a gender group, and how this situation might change. And, for their part,
physical and health educators, I argue, need to adopt a more radical approach: uncovering the roots of
girls’ body oppression and challenging the taken-for-granted “body image = self-image” equation.
In 1890, in contrast to the prevailing body-mind dualism – “I think, therefore I am” –American
psychologist William James proposed that “having or being a body” constituted the most basic
conceptualization of the self. (It is interesting to note that the pioneering Boston Women’s Health
Collective called their 1971 self-help book Our Bodies, Ourselves.) But James went on to suggest that
the body is at various times treated “as part of me … [as] simply mine, and then again as if I had
nothing to do with it at all” (cited in Goldenberg and Shackelford, 2005, 227); in other words, body-
integration is fluid.
Paradoxically, outside of women’s self-help movements, feminists have tended to neglect the body
and physicality. Sport, recreation, physical activity and leisure are all areas that historically have been
neglected and marginalized by feminists in general, and by women’s studies scholars in particular. In
the 1980s, I was firmly told by the women’s studies librarian at my university that there were almost
no books on sport because I was “the only one who ever asked for them.” I remain the only professor
in my department, Sociology and Equity Studies in Education, to offer a course on physical education,
recreation and sport.
On the topic of body-integration and self-conceptualization, Goldenberg and Shackelford (2005)

hypothesized that “the extent to which one integrates one’s body into one’s self-concept would be
affected not only by global self-esteem and not only by body-esteem, but by an interaction of the two”
(230). Their research showed that, when individuals had both high global self-esteem and high body-
esteem, there was a high level of body integration. In contrast, those with low body-esteem saw the
self as separate from the body. The researchers explained these patterns as an adaptive (“self-serving”)
response to maintain self-esteem. Similarly, Tiggemann (2005) discussed protective strategies that
would increase the salience of alternative (non-appearance) sources of self-esteem for overweight
girls, including school achievement, sporting ability or a pleasant personality. In both studies,
however, the authors noted that these kinds of self-protective strategies were not available to
everyone. In western societies saturated with images of the ideal, ultra-thin female body, girls’ and
women’s capacity to maintain high self-esteem and high body-esteem is threatened on a daily basis.A
search of the social psychology literature produced extensive studies – one might even call it “weight
preoccupation” – on female body image (including a new journal, Body Image, in 2004). Many
overlapping and sometimes blurry concepts appeared in this literature: self-esteem, global self-esteem,
body-esteem, self-worth, physical self-worth, self-image, self-concept, body image, body
dissatisfaction, and weight dissatisfaction. There was ample evidence from several meta-analyses that
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girls’ self-esteem dropped during adolescence, and that women’s self-esteem was moderately but
significantly lower than men’s (Groesz, Levine and Murnen, 2001; Kling, Hyde, Showers and
Buswell, 1999). Moreover, for both male and female adolescents, appearance was consistently found
to be the strongest single indicator of self-esteem. While this relationship was strong in a number of
western countries, the United States showed the highest correlation (Clay, Vignoles and Dittmar,
2005; 451-2; see also Stowers and Durm, 1996).
In a recent Ontario study of preadolescent girls (aged 10-14), at least one in four expressed the desire
to be thinner, feared being fat, and was currently attempting to lose weight; by age 14, these numbers
had increased to about 1 in 2 (McVey, Tweed and Blackmore, 2004). On a more positive note, several
US studies reported that Black females had higher levels of body satisfaction and experienced less
pressure toward thinness than White females (Kling, Hyde, Showers and Buswell, 1999).
Overall, research studies from western countries revealed lower self-esteem and higher body
dissatisfaction among females than males, as well as a significant relationship between females’ self-
esteem and body image, and but its exact nature remained unclear. Investigations of causal
relationships between females’ low self-esteem and body dissatisfaction left many researchers
questioning which came first; the possibility of a mutually reinforcing, dynamic relationship between
the two was rarely explored (McCabe, Ricciardelli and Hold, 2005; Tiggemann, 2005).
For a feminist sociologist looking for answers in these research studies, there was the serious problem
of exclusively quantitative methodology – usually paper and pencil tests – and no investigation of
lived experience (although this was, of course, an expected limitation of my search of social
psychology databases.) Although Likert scales produced statistically reliable and significant data on
self-esteem and body-esteem among large groups of female participants, none of these studies
explored if and to what extent test results were reflected in and reinforced by real-life social relations.
For example, an adolescent girl who strongly agreed with the statement “I often worry about how I
look to other people” (an item in the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale) might experience
feelings ranging from low-level of anxiety at a school dance to a constant state of stress and shame
whenever other people were around her. Moreover, historically, many of these scales have been
critiqued for their blatant heterosexist bias: for example, items on perceived attractiveness to the
opposite sex.
Mass media propaganda serves the interests of the multinational fashion and entertainment industries
by sending out an unequivocal message to young female consumers of popular culture: “You are your
body; your entire worth lies in your appearance.” As Tiggemann (2005, 129-30) noted in her research
on body dissatisfaction and adolescent self-esteem, there was a much greater impact for women than
for men “who can more readily receive self-esteem from other sources, e.g., money, status” and, I
would add, power.
Acknowledging this reality, researchers often recommended media literacy interventions and health
education initiatives (Clay, Vignoles and Dittmar, 2005); Groesz, Livine and Murnen, 2001). There is
obvious value to media literacy; raising young female consumers’ ability to identify media distortions
and to separate myth from reality is a worthwhile project in itself. However, decontextualized
classroom discussions of the beauty myth do not necessarily guarantee immunity to peer pressure or to
the fashion industry’s thinness imperative. Lowery et al. (2005, 620) found that even women who
worked out regularly exhibited negative body images. On the issue of weight loss, they noted the basic
contradiction of female body oppression: “women are trying to make themselves smaller and less
noticeable (in order to be noticed).”
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Others recommended interventions included Body Pride Week for older students, and a program
called Everybody’s Different, which aimed at positive self-appraisals of weight and body image issues
among elementary students. McCabe et al. (2005) proposed targetting overweight children at a young
age to improve their self-esteem, mood, and physical activity level. However, I would argue that
“positive self-appraisal” is a vague and individualistic concept. I’m reminded of the probably well-
intentioned but misguided Toronto teachers who opted for a “girls-only day” at a local spa as a way of
promoting their self-esteem, and the equally misguided mothers who organized preadolescent girls’
birthday parties at spas. Even proponents of the current aerobic striptease fad (for adult women) talk
about confidence-building and self-expression; in the words of Teri Hatcher of Desperate Housewives
fame, “It’s about empowerment, it’s about finding this place of comfort and confidence in your own
body” (Laura Furtado web site, 2006). To say that these initiatives coopt feminist discourse and
reinforce the status quo is an understatement.
Even when a strategy is successful in motivating girls and women to exercise regularly, the low body-
esteem/self-esteem problem is not necessarily solved. Within a group of active women studied by
Lowery et al. (2005; 620), it was found that “instead of congratulating themselves for working to stay
physically healthy, [they] often think that they should still be thinner… regular exercise did not
correlate with higher self-esteem in this sample of women.” The body surveillance project for women
is never-ending, and the rules keep changing: big breasts, small breasts, toned muscles, no muscles….
Against this sociocultural backdrop, physical educators and health professionals ask “What can we do
to get more girls involved in sport?” rather than asking, “What are the systemic barriers that keep
certain groups of girls out? What changes are needed to promote girl-friendly sport?” Popular liberal
feminist approaches tend to focus on individual solutions, and to conceptualize a universal Canadian
girl who simply needs the opportunity, encouragement and inspiration to become physically active.
For example, the “role model approach” – Olympic sportswomen giving motivational speeches to
schoolchildren – is touted as a popular answer to the problem of girls’ lack of interest.
The generic Canadian girl, according to this liberal way of thinking, is able-bodied, white,
heterosexual, and middle-class. She has sufficient discretionary income to purchase clothing and
equipment, and to pay the extra costs associated with school sport. She has a family that will support,
and not undermine or prevent her efforts to become physically active. She does not experience
harassment because of her gender, skin colour, ethnicity, body size, sexual orientation, disability, age,
physical ability, or any other characteristic. Finally, it is assumed that there is compatibility between
her sociocultural background and the values of mainstream Canadian sport and recreation.
A more nuanced approach to the complex question of girls and physical education needs to examine
the barriers as well as the facilitating factors, by taking into account social class, race/ethnicity,
sexuality and ability. This approach would generate more effective recommendations for multi-faceted
curriculum and climate change, including the option of girls-only PE programs that make a genuine
attempt to being with girls’ current abilities and interests, and, equally important, to find out what
kinds of activities they find pleasurable. Dance is an obvious starting point, but the fact that the Dance
Committee of the Canadian Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (CAHPER)
tried for 15 years before dance was officially recognized and the name changed to CAHPERD reflects
the traditional marginalization of dance within PE (Rutledge, 2006). Dance forms that appeal to
diverse groups of girls and young women include aerobics, belly dancing, line dancing, folk dancing
and hip-hop.
In 2002, after ten years’ experience working with Toronto Board of Education, Carla Rice and
Vanessa Russell produced EmBodying Equity, an invaluable manual for teachers and service
providers. Through their involvement in the Embodying Equity Project, they saw “how racism,
71
sexism, classism, homophobia and ableism affect who we are, how we feel and what we do in our
bodies” (Rice and Russell, 2002; 10). The manual explains the connections between the “isms” and
the body, including sexual harassment and body image; racism and beauty, disability and sexuality,
and “class, clothing and labels.” It transcends the individualistic “body image workshop” that is the
pedagogical tool of choice among most educators when they address female students’ body and size
concerns.
Most of the manual is devoted to actual programs and activities, including feminist outdoor education
initiatives and lesson plans for body equity interactive activities in the classroom. Based on principles
of feminist pedagogy, the EmBodying Equity retreat respected the environment, recognized young
women’s strengths and respected their choices regarding level of involvement in outdoor activities.
Like all progressive education, the retreat operated on the principle that the participants did not need
to be changed (the female deficit model), but that the program needed to be changed to optimize their
enjoyment, learning and empowerment.
Overall, the EmBodying Equity program exemplified best practice in terms of situating body image
issues in real-life sociocultural contexts, with an emphasis on interlocking systems of oppression.
Based on equity and social justice principles, the program effectively addressed the needs of diverse
groups of girls and young women, and offered opportunities for genuine bodily empowerment.
Unfortunately, in the conservative climate of education in general, and physical and health education
in particular, such a radical initiative is unlikely to generate widespread support and implementation.
However, on the positive side, the availability of resources like this one at least enables progressive
physical and health educators to initiate positive social change, with the hope that from these small
beginnings a wider transformation will take place.
References
Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute (CFLRI). 1999 Physical Activity Monitor.
Clay, D., Vignoles, V. and Dittmar, H. (2005). Body image and self-esteem among adolescent girls:
testing the influence of sociocultural factors. Journal of Research on Adolescence 15:4, 451-77.
Deacon, B. (2001, November). Physical Education Curriculum Review Report. British Columbia Ministry
of Education, Curriculum Branch.
Goldenberg, J. and Shackelford, T. (2005). Is it me or is it mine? Body-self integration as a function of

self-esteem, body-esteem and mortality salience. Self and Identity 4, 227-41.
Groesz, L, Levine, M., and Murnen, S. (2001). The effect of experimental presentation of thin media
images on body satisfaction: a meta-analytic review. International Journal of Eating Disorders 31, 1-16.
Healthy Weights, Healthy Lives (2004). Chief Medical Officer of Health Report, Government of Ontario.
Kling, K., Hyde, J., Showers, C. and Buswell, B (1999). Gender differences in self-esteem: a meta-
analysis. Psychological Bulletin 125:4, 470-500
Laura Furtado’s Strip to Fit web site <www.laurafurtado.com/strip.html> (accessed April 2, 2006).
Lowery, S., Robinson, S., Kurplus, C., Blanks, E., Sollenerger, S., Nicpon, M. and Huser, L (2005).
Journal of College Student Development 46:6, 612-22.
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McCabe, M., Ricciardelli, L. and Holt, K. (2005). A longitudinal study to explain strategies to change
weight and muscles among normal weight and overweight children. Appetite 45, 225-34.
Rice, C. and Russell, V. (2002). Embodying Equity. Toronto: Green Dragon Press.
<www3.sympatico.ca/equity.greendragonpress>
Sport Participation in Canada (1998). Report prepared by Statistics Canada for Sport Canada. Ottawa:
Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada.
Stowers, D. and Durm, M. (1996). Does self-concept depend on body image? A gender analysis.
Psychological Reports 78, 643-646.
Tiggemann, M. (2005). Body dissatisfaction and adolescent self-esteem: prospective findings. Body Image
2, 129-35.
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Nurses as ‘artificial persons’:

Health as expanding consciousness
GAIL M. LINDSAY
York University
Toronto, Canada
glindsay@yorku.ca
If healthcare and education reform is, at least in part, inside-out work, how does a nurse navigate the
tension of becoming an artificial person and how does this matter to people who are patients and
colleagues in the continuity of their life patterns? How are students and teachers involved in the tensions
of doing what they are told/what is expected and thinking situations through? I show how thinking
narratively about health (as expanding consciousness) matters to nurses’ and students’ identities,
knowledge and actions.
Infirmiers et infirmières comme “personnes artificielles”:

la santé est la conscience en expansion
Si la réforme de l’éducation et des soins de santé est – au moins en partie – un travail interne - externe,
comment un infirmier ou une infirmière gère la tension associée à cette transformation en personne
artificielle et comment est-ce que cela affecte les patients et les collègues dans la continuité de leur mode
de vie? Quelle est l’implication des étudiants et des enseignants dans les tensions qui découlent du travail
où l’on fait ce qu’on vous dit/ce qu’on attend de vous et en ayant à résoudre certaines situations? Je
démontre qu’il est important pour l’identité, le savoir et les actions des infirmiers et des étudiants, de
réfléchir narrativement à la santé (la conscience en expansion).
As a nurse-teacher whose guiding principle is that ‘who you are as a person, is who you are as a nurse’, I
was drawn into my own experience (Lindsay, 2006) and into reconstructing my inquiry with other nurses
(Lindsay, 2001) when I encountered Arthur Frank’s (2004a) The renewal of generosity and Elizabeth
Wolgast’s (1992) Ethics of an artificial person. For the purpose of drawing women, health and education
together in this paper, I also work with Margaret Newman’s (1994) definition of health as expanding
consciousness.
Wolgast (1992) draws on Hobbes notion of ‘feigned’ or ‘fictional persons’ who exist within the
relationships of government and citizens or masters and servants. She defines ‘artificial persons’ as those
who “speak and act in the name of others, (who) can commit and obligate them” (p.1) and who “do not
remain unaffected by institutional structure” (p. 5). Thinking about professions and organizations, Wolgast
suggests that “contexts are important, not only as they affect the significance of actions, but as they
influence the more fundamental idea of what a person is” (p. 4).
Frank (2004a) borrows the concept of ‘artificial person’ in relation to healthcare in Canada. He worries
that practitioners are at risk of “committing symbolic violence” if we “speak with an authority deriving
from both (our) expertise and (our) claim to be acting in the client’s best interests” (p. 116). Frank further
develops the concept by equating ‘artificial persons’ with bureaucrats, who speak “on behalf of
organizational rules and procedures” and who no longer feel personal responsibility for their actions
toward others” (p. 127).
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Nursing theorist, Margaret Newman (1997, 2002) conceptualizes health as expanding consciousness,
characterized by “ a) a unity, dynamic view, b) pattern, as the identifier of wholeness, and c)
transformative unfolding as the process of change” (2005, p. 4). Newman’s research as praxis paradigm
includes the nurse and the person being cared for in a mutual process of pattern recognition; of enlarged
awareness and discernment of choices. Based in co-operative inquiry (Heron, 1981, 1988), pattern
recognition can also be undertaken through considering the narrative unity of a life (Connelly &
Clandinin, 1987; MacIntyre, 1981). Nurse-teachers and students consider stories of experience; and, by
thinking narratively, discern plotlines and consequences of actions.
What does it mean to think narratively as a way to make sense of experience? It means I have to pay
attention to what is happening inside of me personally, outside of me socially, over time and in different
places (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). I understand that we all have stories we tell ourselves to live by that
constitutes our identity and informs our knowledge and actions. The puzzle of how to be aware of my own
autobiography at the same time that I listen for another’s biography underpins my relationships. My
concern is that ‘knowing’ each other can become set in narrative cement – that if I think I know your
story, I do not take in what may give me, in a contemporary situation, a new understanding or reworking
of that story. Likewise, organizational roles, policies and procedures can be narrative cement – directing
practitioners in task completion without regard for context, creating us as ‘artificial persons’.
One of the tensions I hold as a nurse-teacher is described by Tanner (1990) as a fundamental conflict “as
we attempt to prepare nurses for the marketplace where the jobs are, and to educate nurses for a practice
that might be more responsive to health care needs” (p. 71). Being responsive assumes a practitioner who
is wide-awake in situations, aware of self and others as events unfold over time. For me, this way of being
is learned in the context of my continuing education and ongoing research. I draw on my co-participant
Sasha’s experience to illuminate how a nurse comes to live health as expanded consciousness through
awareness of patterns or life plotlines that directly impinges on her actions and relationships.
Sasha and I met in the late 1990s while she was in the middle of completing her BScN and also in full-
time practice as a critical care nurse. I noticed at the time that we revisited certain topics, each
conversation revealing more layers of Sasha’s experience and thinking. I then designed a composite
narrative that captured our stories, written and shaped by us as if they were spoken with a beginning,
middle, and end. Reconstructing her experience now, I find stories that exemplify the concept ‘artificial
person’ and that show the exquisite tension between being an institutional agent and being in relationship
with patients and colleagues.
Sasha tells us,
Recently, I was the resource nurse, which means I don’t have assigned patients but
oversee the functioning of the unit. There was a man who decided this was the day he
was going to die. He was waiting for the rest of his family to arrive. I remember
thinking, he is a DNR [do not resuscitate], he’s going to die soon, are we going to
stop caring for him like that nurse in my ethics class said? He is a human being and I
want to treat him the way I would want to be treated. Another nurse and I went in and
rubbed his back, pulled him up in bed on pillows, and gave him a drink.
He had been on dialysis for years and was admitted with extremely low blood
pressure and he was so weak he could hardly move. He talked it over with his family
and treatment isn’t tolerable anymore. He said he had gone on for so many years and
he appreciated what the doctors had done for him but they could play golf and travel.
He said he had had enough. I thought he made sense. His family was phenomenal;
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they were wonderful with him. They were teasing and gentle and the father said to his
son, “I just want to tell you that I love you.” He was just an amazing man and I was
in that room so often just wanting to be with him, too. I was also freaking out because
this man was smiling and was happy about being able to choose to die. He had peace
with himself and I thought he was so brave. I learned a lot from him. It was a
privilege to have known him in that short period of time.
Another family was going through a similar thing but very differently that same day.
A man with a transplant and a short illness was dying. He was swearing and his
family was pleading with him not to die. There was a lot of heartbreaking commotion
going on. There was a desperate cling-on, cling-on, I love you Dad as if they hadn’t
had a chance to say that all their lives. They were walking all over the unit, going
where they shouldn’t, and not calling ahead before entering the unit. The nurses felt
that they lost control of their space, I think. They wanted me to tell the family where
they could be and I said, “Come on, this family is in terrible grief. They don’t deserve
some person flipping out about what room they are in. Their father is dying.” And I
was proud of myself because in the past I would think it was my duty to tell them the
rules and I wonder if I’m wimping out but let’s be compassionate for this family. Why
should I treat the first family nicer than the second? This second family ran out of
time and the man was past hearing them. I know people have different ways of
grieving. But I did avoid them. I didn’t talk with the second family as much as the
first.
In this process of telling of experience and retelling to make meaning, a person’s identity as narratively
constructed in stories we tell ourselves to live by emerges (Connelly & Clandinin, 1999; Lindsay, 2005).
How nurses story their identities and knowledge to engage in meaningful practice with others is one way
to illustrate coming to terms with our health as practitioners; and, with how we are involved in the well-
being of those in our care. In diverse environments, nurses encounter hierarchy, competing ‘bottom-lines’
and a view of nurses as interchangeable. Encouraged to follow policy and procedure, routinized by daily
custom, a nurse can perform tasks and finalize check lists and say her day is complete. Thinking
narratively, Sasha and I explore that embodied moment of choice to pay attention, to split awareness from
being in-the-moment to being detached from the moment. Co-constructing curriculum means identity and
knowledge are constructed in relationship and through reflection on life experience. Awareness is
heightened about choices to be made. Sasha continues:
When I read this composite, I thought it was pretty good, I thought wow, it’s my life.
Self-reflection forces you to bring to the surface things that are dormant, and if you
address them, you grow as a person. You recognize things that need to change, things
that are right for you, even why your actions are the way they are. Depending on
where you are in your life, that can be the best thing to do. By putting it in writing, it
makes you think about how everything is connected. It brings to surface what is inside
of you, question “why do I do what I do?”. It makes you evaluate and when you see it
happening in front of you, it makes you think about it, not just dismiss it.
My friend who went and had back surgery, she was telling me she asked to go home a
day early because of the nursing care. She called on the call bell to go to the
bathroom and she was left for half an hour. She’s tough and she said to the nurse,
“What took you so long? I have to go to the bathroom.” And the nurse said, “You are
not the most important person here. There are other people on this unit and their
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problems are more important.” So, I said, “She actually said that?” She said, “I
could have fainted and I don’t want you as my nurse anymore, I want a new nurse.”
But they never changed nurses or dealt with the problem and that’s pretty typical
because we’ve had families where they want another nurse and they don’t want the
family to have that control, so they’d rather resolve the matter and just let them know
that the patient assignment won’t be changed. I just think there has to be a better
way. Why should this woman have to go through this? This is sad. That’s why I don’t
want to tell people I’m a nurse, but if you know me you’d probably think I wouldn’t
be like that.
People feel like a factory item, they are out the door, there’s no caring and no one
listens, why is that happening? People shouldn’t have to deal with how my friend was
talked to. She’s not the easiest person to talk to, but why did she have to wait half an
hour -- and then being told she wasn’t important!! Being honest about why you are
late is so much better. It goes so much farther. They talk in articles about how patient
care delivery impacts on recovery -- did my friend’s nurse miss that lesson at school?
What happened there? And if she is an older nurse, she would have missed it because
I never heard about it until I read these papers in the last four months. How people
are cared for and listened to impacts on how well they progress. They feel better
sooner. Remember, patients bring their lives with them into the hospital and the nurse
brings her life with her.
If you bring this knowledge to the surface, then it opens up the idea that things could
be different. We can only fit a form if we know who we are, not the other way around.
If you expect nursing to give your life form, you will always be let down. With all the
restructuring that is going on with people in the wrong places, if you are not happy or
knowledgeable about yourself, there is no way you won’t be disappointed. There will
be change, things you have no control over, so you have to know who you are as a
person in your life. So I am reforming my life, surfing the wave of healthcare reform
at work. Is this all falling into place because there was always reform going on or did
it fall into place because now I am paying attention to it? I changed jobs because I
had money problems but at the same time this changing the job mimics changes in
nursing and changes in my life. Now I see the connections and I think about it.
How significant is it that a person matters to a healthcare practitioner; that a practitioner is self-aware and
capable of encountering people in their specifics? Re-reading this research text, I notice Sasha is speaking
about particular individuals in particular situations. Everything is personal and this is what narrative
inquiry recognizes, that patterns in relationships with events, people, and places are narrative signs with
situated meaning. “Our first task is to see the corporation … as a collection of human beings working
together” (Wolgast, 1992, p. 154). Asking students to tell their stories of what is meaningful is a way of
being in relationship that hopefully continues with people who are in their care. Not knowing a person
restricts the relationship that underpins safe, connected nursing care and can result in “thinly disguised
contempt” (Stewart, 1987, p. 22) for people who are patients. Recognizing patterns allows us to undertake
the scrupulous thinking that Dewey (1929) distinguishes from ordinary thinking:
The natural man is impatient with doubt and suspense; he impatiently hurries to be
shut of it. A disciplined mind takes delight in the problematic, and cherishes it until a
way out is found that approves itself upon examination. One question is disposed of;
another offers itself and thought is kept alive (p. 228).
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One purpose of education, therefore, is to facilitate students and teachers taking a stance of inquiry in their
lives, taking up the notion that by expanding consciousness, we are in an evolving process of health.
The dialectic nature of thinking narratively, of expanding consciousness, is a continuous process and is
never concluded once and for all. “We must find a way to live in the continuing conversation” (Palmer,
2004, p. 127) because “this provisional ending may be as close to goodness as we are able to get. (Frank,
2004 b, p. 223). This has implications for nursing education – for curriculum to include reflection on and
reconstruction of experience, to consider life stories for the patterns revealed; and, for practitioners to
respond to others in the context of self-awareness, of intersecting plotlines, and of what is meaningful to
people in their care. In the context of Dewey’s (1938) philosophy that experience is education, I conclude
this paper asking you to consider Frank’s question (2004a, p. 140) that invites relationship, expanding
consciousness and, therefore, health:
What am I to do here, in this space between (me and an other); how does my most
important work depend on being here?
References
Clandinin, D. J. & Connelly, F. M. (2000). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative
research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Connelly, F.M. & Clandinin, D. J. (1987). On Narrative method, biography and narrative unities in the
study of teaching. The Journal of Educational Thought 21(3), p. 130 – 138.
Connelly, F. M. & Clandinin, D. J. (Eds.). (1999). Shaping a professional identity: Stories of educational
practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
Dewey, J. (1929). The quest for certainty: A study of the relation of knowledge and action. New York:
Minton, Balch & Co.
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Macmillan.
Frank, A. (2004a). The renewal of generosity: Illness, medicine, and how to live. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
Frank, A. (2004b) Asking the right question about pain: Narrative and Phronesis, In R. Charon & M.
Spiegel (Eds.).Literature and Medicine 23(3). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. (p. 209-
255).
Heron, J. (1981). Philosophical basis for a new paradigm. In P. Reason & J. Rowan (Eds.). Human
inquiry: A sourcebook of new paradigm research. New York: Wiley. (p. 19-35).
Heron, J. (1988). Validity in co-operative inquiry. In P. Reason (Ed.). Human inquiry in action:
Developments in new paradigm research. London: Sage. (p. 40-59).
Lindsay, G. (2001). Nothing Personal? Narrative Reconstruction of Registered Nurses’ Experience in

Healthcare Reform, unpublished dissertation. OISE/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario.
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Lindsay, G. in collaboration with J. W. D. Bjarnason. (2005). Pioneers past and present: Curriculum
insights from stories that link through generations. McGill Journal of Education: Narrative Perspectives
in Education, 40(1), p. 189-199.
Lindsay, G. (2006). Constructing a nursing identity: Reflecting on and reconstructing experience.

Reflective Practice, 7(1), p. 59-72.
MacIntyre, A. (1981). After virtue. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press.
Newman, M. (1994). Health as expanding consciousness. (2nd ed.). Boston: Jones & Bartlett.
Newman, M. (1997). Experiencing the whole. Advances in Nursing Science, 20(1), 34-39.
Newman, M. (2002). The pattern that connects. Advances in Nursing Science, 24(3), 1-7.
Newman, M. (2005). Caring in the human health experience. In C. Picard & D. Jones (Eds.). Giving voice
to what we know: Margaret Newman’s theory of health as expanding consciousness in nursing practice,
research and education. Boston: Jones & Bartlett. (p. 3-10).
Palmer, P. (2004). A hidden wholeness. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Stewart, P. (1987). Thinly disguised contempt: A barrier to excellence. Journal of Nursing Administration,
17(4), 22-27.
Tanner, C. (1990). Caring as a value in nursing education. Nursing Outlook, 38(2), 70-72.
Wolgast, E. (1992). Ethics of an artificial person: Lost responsibility in professions and organizations.
Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Resource
www.healthasexpandingconsciousness.org
79
Fostering community health: Pocesses and practices of women’s politics
JUDITH MACDONNELL
University of Toronto
Toronto, Canada
judith.macdonnell@utoronto.ca
This paper considers how female nurses, as policy actors across sites of practice, enhance the health and
well-being of a variety of communities relevant to women’s lives. As members of a female-dominated
profession focused on health, their activities are also informed by advocacy experiences that foster
inclusive professional and community education, as well as formal education processes that shape their
political socialization. The findings emerge from a comparative life history study of ten diversely located
female nurses across Ontario and illustrate how complex relations of power are implicated in women’s
experiences and understandings of their involvement with policy and politics.
Favoriser la santé communautaire :

processus et pratiques des politiques concernant les femmes
Dans cette communication, on considère comment les infirmières – qui mettent en oeuvre les politiques
dans leur pratique professionnelle – améliorent la santé et le bien-être des communautés concernant la
santé des femmes. Étant donné qu’elles sont membres d’une profession dominée par les femmes et qui
s’occupe de la santé, leurs activités sont aussi influencées par des expériences qui parlent en faveur
d’éducation inclusive professionnelle et communautaire, ainsi que des processus éducatifs qui façonnent
leur socialisation politique. Les résultats sont obtenus à partir de l’étude de l’histoire personnelle de dix
infirmières situées dans diverses régions de l’Ontario et ils illustrent la complexité des relations de pouvoir
qui font partie des expériences des femmes et la compréhension de leur implication dans l’établissement
des politiques ou en politique.
Diversely situated women have been involved in political activism over time in many ways to improve
conditions that enhance the health and well-being of people in their communities (Boston Women’s
Collective, 1992). Nurses’ participation in political activism and policy-making has been identified as
crucial for health care reform that is responsive to the multiple and complex needs of people across
communities (Canadian Nurses Association, 2000; Stevens & Hall, 1992). While nurses have historically
been involved in advocacy, both individually and collectively, the extent of their political and policy
contributions have not consistently been recognized in dominant spheres (Mallik, 1997; Rafael, 1999).
Even within nursing, graduate preparation, the practice setting, and membership in a professional
organization are deemed to increase the political participation of nurses; however, this is often measured
by state level political engagement (Gott, 2000; Rafael, 1998).
According to Jill Vickers (1997), traditional ways of considering political change overlook the gender
dynamics that frame how politics and political change occur. When institutional and state politics are
considered the norm by which all political activity is measured, it also ignores the scope and sites of
women’s political action. It overlooks the significant involvement and range of their political activities in
local community activities and non-government organizations, differential opportunities available to
women within existing political parties and state-level activities, and different ways in which women
experience political life in comparison to men.
80
At the same time, deeply embedded gender dynamics have shaped nursing and the other female-
dominated caring professions (McPherson, 1996). An implicit heterosexual norm underpins nursing
practice, with implications for nursing practice and politics. In a Canadian context, nurses representing
professional bodies and unions have been front and centre in media discourses on policy related to a range
of issues such as universal health care and support for vulnerable groups. Yet, with few exceptions, sexual
minority4 health has been an invisible issue in these policy activities and nursing research despite
professional commitments to diversity, culturally competent practice, and universal access to high quality
care (Walpin, 1997). Similarly, little is known about the lives of nurses who advocate publicly for lesbian
health, although my own experience indicates that many, those identified as sexual minorities and those
working as heterosexual allies have been involved in the course of their everyday practice.
In this paper, I consider how the concepts of women, health and education intersect through a lens of
policy and politics using the particular case of female5 nurses who advocate for lesbian health. The
findings emerge from a comparative life history study of ten diversely situated female nurses across
Ontario who are known for their political activism in relation to lesbian health (MacDonnell, 2005). In
order to address the processes and practices of these women’s politics, I will briefly describe the
methodology, participants, their advocacy activities and two factors, formal education processes and
advocacy experiences, with a particular focus on educational initiatives that inform their political
socialization. I consider how complex power dynamics, including gender, shape their experiences and
understanding of their politics.
Methodology
This is reflexive research that uses critical feminist analysis (Casey, 1993; Vickers, 1997) to address how
complex relations of power are implicated in women’s experiences and understandings of their
involvement with policy and politics. It emerged from critical reflection on my own experiences as a
public health nurse involved with lesbian health activism as an ally in education, research and policy
development (MacDonnell, 2001). Thematic analysis of career histories was undertaken with a view to
exploring the ways in which policy and other factors shape nurses’ capacity to advocate and the impacts of
this everyday political work on communities, the profession and nurses themselves. I employed a critical
view of policy (Ozga, 2000) that moves beyond the traditional sites of policy-making in the legislative and
electoral sphere to recognize the everyday activities of practitioners in both public and private worlds as
relevant to policy processes.
Participants
Ten nurses participated. They represented diverse geographic locations across Ontario and a range of
professional experiences and sexual identities. Four self-identified as lesbian, one as bisexual, one
questioning her sexual orientation (LBQ) and four as heterosexual. This was a well-educated and
credentialed group of nurses. Their formal education ranged from a diploma in nursing to a doctoral
degree. Several also had either clinical nurse specialist or nurse practitioner certification. They represented
nurses with clinical and leadership experience in managing programs and nursing units, research
coordinators and union presidents, nurse educators and graduate students. Almost all were currently
working full-time in nursing and several juggled part-time nursing positions concurrently with their full-
time work which had ranged over time from intensive care nursing to public health and working with
incarcerated populations in urban, suburban, rural and remote regions in Canada and internationally.
4
I use the terms sexual minority and LBQ to describe the female nurses who self-identify as lesbian,
bisexual and questioning their sexual orientation.
5
I recognize that both female and male nurses are involved in lesbian health advocacy. This study focused
on women’s political activism.
81
Advocacy practices
Clinical practice at the bedside in hospital and clinic roles often focuses on biomedical aspects of care
(Mallik, 1997). These nurses, however, often describe their engagement with clients and communities in
the context of larger health issues, noting that they are well-situated to advocate for clients beyond
conventional notions of nurse-physician contexts. Throughout these narratives, they refer to the trust
relationship integral to nurses and their clients that demands that nurses use their accountability to clients
and their professional credibility to follow up on the injustices experienced by the vulnerable people with
whom they interact. While their work at times has an explicit lesbian health focus, these nurses bring their
knowledge of sexual minority health to all other aspects of their practice. Given their advocacy experience
with a range of clients and communities, they are well-equipped to advocate on behalf of lesbians.
These career histories illustrated the diversity and range of nurses’ advocacy practices in different times
and places. Their advocacy spans all domains of nursing practice: clinical, education, research and
administration. Working as advocates for clients on an individual level, these nurses collaborate with
interdisciplinary colleagues to locate culturally appropriate treatment and services for clients across the
age spectrum, (e.g., staffing the AIDS hotline, working with immigrant families). For example, Wendy6 is
well aware that sexual minorities may be over-represented in the homeless and those dealing with
substance use and mental health issues. As a case manager with homeless, she worked with clients on the
street who had mental illness, addictions, and/or developmental delays in a program to prevent
incarceration. Advocacy requires clinical judgment and knowledge of community resources, along with
skills in working with and educating diversely situated clients, families, and professionals within larger
systems. Nurse educators, such Renée, develop culturally-sensitive curriculum. She addresses relations of
power as with a focus on the intersections of race, class, gender, ability, and sexual orientation in class
discussions.
Participants’ political action on a collective level includes links with Native organizations, street outreach,
LGBT issues, and woman abuse and participation in local Pride events (LGBT community celebrations),
conferences, committees, and as board members of social agencies; some activities are part of official
work time, others are done on a volunteer basis. Their advocacy networks are diverse and broad in scope,
both within health sectors and across sectors of education, law enforcement, and judicial systems. They
interact with board of education officials, police, politicians, academics, physicians, crown attorneys, and
social service workers.
These nurses participate in both mixed gender and women-only contexts. All nurses have advocated in
coalitions or other spaces in which female and male sexual minorities and heterosexuals work together,
bridging community and professional locations. They note how group participation changes over time;
some have recently been comprised mainly of females. They have also been politically involved in
feminist or lesbian-focused women-only spaces such as thesis support groups and supportive community
spaces. While the latter may be deemed “elective” and irrelevant to nursing practice, these nurses
emphasize that they are integral to emotional and physical survival, given the social barriers for lesbians.
Role of nursing education
Formal education was one factor that catalyzed several nurses’ political involvement. Participants’ nursing
background varied. The majority of these nurses initially completed four-year university nursing education
courses or college diplomas that had liberal arts requirements. However, several became nurses through
the more traditional hospital training model that preceded both the college diploma and the baccalaureate
nursing degree that has just recently become the minimum for entry to practice in Ontario.
6
Pseudonyms used throughout.
82
While two participants dismissed their undergraduate nursing education in the early 80s as awakening any
political orientation, two others who completed nursing studies the decade before, identified that both the
theory of nursing and courses on professional issues were major influences in their understanding of
nurses’ roles as activists. Nora, already politically active, made these connections within a few weeks of
beginning her program. “We started with nursing theory right away. I just liked what the theorists had to
say about what nurses do and what nursing is…. the whole caring piece…I found it really connected for
me.”
For Meg, this political awareness occurred towards the end of her program in the 1970s, a time in which
women’s issues “were starting to hit the press.” She identifies that the philosophy of the school of nursing,
along with a course encouraging nurses to take leadership and to raise the profile of nursing, raised her
awareness of nursing politics and prompted her to attend the professional association conferences every
year. She draws links between this process and her current activism. “I got very much hooked on issues in
nursing and women’s issues. …It’s not so far from women’s issues…to go to other minority issues.”
However, one nursing educator attributed her nursing training outside of Canada in the 60s as having a
pervasive negative influence on her capacity to act within nursing because of the significant sanctions
against nursing students related to any non-conformity to the normative expectations that framed nurses’
whole lives at that time. Not only were nurses to be chaste and dress according to modest professional
guidelines, nurses had to leave nursing when they married. As Maura remarks, “…to tell them in that kind
of atmosphere that I was a lesbian …. I knew that I always had to keep my mouth shut about being a
lesbian.” This silencing about same-sex identity had far-reaching consequences, since it set limits to her
understanding of what was considered legitimate nursing work in which any reference to lesbian health
was erased—a dynamic she also encountered until very recently in Canada.
Both heterosexually-identified and LBQ nurses found graduate studies important places to engage with
ideas and connect with others interested in social activism. Even as they continued to work in nursing and
teach nurses, and some acquired a master’s degree in nursing, others sought interdisciplinary stimulation.
This engagement in a graduate studies context reinforced their understanding of the potential for activism
inherent in their nursing practice. As Nora explains, she encountered other activists who also had little left
of the “passion in our twenties we had for social justice.”
Nurses also referred to education through coursework and workplace training as integral to their lesbian
advocacy. Wendy worked in varied settings and isolated regions, but was unable to disclose as lesbian
until much later in her career. She names her participation in women’s studies courses as significant in her
politicization process in her 30s—the readings, the people she connected with, and space to affirm her
sexual identity. These same-sex identified nurses encountered variable support in their academic
environments, ranging from those with a highly engaged and inclusive politics to those that did not
acknowledge the issues.
Experiences of advocating in educational contexts
These nurses describe their engagement with education as students and teachers in formal sites of
education (e.g., colleges, universities). They also take on these roles as employees within their
organizations and in community contexts. In fact, these narratives indicate how nurses in all practice
settings devote considerable energy as educators working on committees and positive space initiatives to
facilitate students’ and colleagues’ understanding of minority issues.
Several participants indicated that they encounter challenges teaching nursing, given the limited support
for critical and anti-oppression approaches. However, they emphasize how community nursing, with its
primary health care philosophies that are based on social theory and equity, permits nurses to use both
83
nursing and critical social theories when relevant to enhance practices that challenge the status quo. Meg
notes that public health, with its focus on “commitments to determinants of health,” offers a very different
scope of nursing health promotion practice. She contrasts this with “the people-blaming approach” of
medical and psychiatric models focused on changing clients’ lifestyles. However, they find few nursing
colleagues who are comfortable with the anti-oppression model that facilitates the antiracist and
antihomophobia approach to their practice. Challenging dominant nursing models also has political
implications: their work is both inside and outside of normative nursing practice.
In another vein, Maura described how she and her colleagues in her nursing faculty have set curriculum
and classroom resources that have an explicit focus on lesbian health. However, she is aware that not all of
her colleagues directly address these issues in their class settings. Even though sexual minority issues fall
under nursing standards of cultural competency, Maura indicates that these nurse educators implicitly
challenge the legitimacy of sexual minority health by virtue of their decision to avoid directly teaching the
topic. Their discretionary power in the classroom sends significant messages to students about the
profession’s commitment to including LGBT issues in nursing policies and practice.
Organizational dynamics vary markedly for nursing educators. Several spoke of highly supportive
organizational climates that not just permit them to engage with lesbian health issues through involvement
with the development of curriculum and courses focused on sexual minority issues, but recognize their
contributions to enhancing positive space across the organization. Risa speaks of her capacity to generate
and act on ideas that explicitly address lesbian health in collaboration with others within her workplace,
noting, “I can create what I need to create.”
These participants stress that workplace support systems are integral to their capacity to be visible with
respect to sexual minority issues. One educator notes that her capacity to write inclusive curriculum and
create queer-positive teaching environments is facilitated by incredible personal and political support from
a heterosexual colleague and nursing administration. These dynamics had not been consistently available
in previous nursing organizations. Nurses identify that developing or locating collegial support from
professional and agency allies is politically relevant.
All of these nurses are often called upon to share their solid clinical expertise acquired through education
and professional experience. As a highly educated and experienced group of nurses, their credentials and
professional credibility potentially enhance their current capacity to advocate publicly and professionally
for lesbian health. Yet, nurse advocates also encounter another gendered process related to professional
hierarchies. Although for the most part, these nurses described good collegial relationships with
physicians, also relevant were the more well-documented gendered dynamics embedded in nursing
practice in which medical knowledges are legitimated over nursing. As Nora explains, this was evident
when a she was part of a group involved with a hospital workshop on teen sexuality aimed mainly at
physicians. “I was a nurse and that was an issue. The way we got into the workshop was my Masters in
Adult Education. That convinced the planning committee that maybe, you know, that I could actually
inform physicians about something!”
Nursing leadership on agency inservices addressing homophobia and heterosexism can influence not just
client services, but also professional development, and working conditions. As Nora notes, after an agency
inservice on heterosexism, “All of a sudden, school nurses were having kids come up to them and that had
never happened before…just because nurses had more information and were more comfortable.” These
sessions prompted employees, including administrators, to “come out all over the place—and that was
way more accepted.” Maura’s visibility as an out lesbian and presence on workplace committees has
enhanced colleagues’ awareness of the need for inclusion of LGBT issues and resources in curriculum.
84
Workplace training was integral to heterosexual allies’ processes of understanding sexual minority health
issues. Hearing about the lived experiences of growing up lesbian in rural regions prompted Toni to reflect
on dynamics during her own adolescence in which several gay males in her peer group postponed
disclosure of their same-sex orientation to her until after high school graduation. Meg explained that a
conference session first triggered her interest in counseling lesbian and gay youth. Nora felt that she had a
good understanding of oppression as a long-time activist. However, it was only in the early 90s, when she
took part in training explicitly focused on homophobia and heterosexism, that she began to consider the
intersections of race and sexuality in an anti-oppression context. “I had my eyes opened around oppression
a lot more than I had thought…You always think of in terms of racism, and not so much other
oppressions.”
These nurses describe education and training that affirmed lesbians and political activism by creating
spaces to name the issues and enhancing supportive networks of peers. Allies’ empathetic understandings
of loss of social privilege may open doors for their participation in politically supportive activities.
Education as a social practice in this context with its explicit attention to political knowledges related to
lesbian health enhances advocacy practices because it has as its potential impact the development of
lesbian positive-communities and institutions.
Participants described both positive and negative critical incidents and influences in their communities,
workplaces and personal spheres that affected their capacity and decisions to advocate openly at any
particular time. While these heterosexual allies were highly visible as public health nurses working in
sexual health programs that explicitly focused on creating programs and services to support sexual
minorities, this was not consistently the case for those who identified as lesbian, bisexual or questioning.
The latter cited factors such as their perceptions of personal and professional safety related to their same-
sex orientation that included potentially negative impacts on career mobility as features of their
lives.These sexual minority nurses gauged their environments for validation of their same-sex identities,
tuned to discriminatory dynamics and institutional messages about diversity that moved beyond
ethnoracial difference.7 Some opted to avoid being open about their sexuality in a particular workplace,
distancing themselves from any connections to lesbian health programs or activities and taking steps to
dress in ways that were gender conforming. A few participated in activism only during their personal time
in lesbian social and/or political activities. Others found opportunities to disclose their same-sex
orientation to supportive colleagues and administrators and in participate openly as same-sex identified in
professional activities.
However, often having lived decades as women whose sexual identities and lives were despised and
erased, given the prevailing heterosexist environments and unpredictable workplace dynamics, even with
greater public and institutional support, these lesbian, bisexual and questioning nurses often continued to
struggle with disclosure decisions and personal involvement in professional strategies to challenge
heterosexism.8 As a result, sexual minority nurses’ visibility as lesbian health advocates within the
profession varied.
7
Both sexual minority and heterosexual nurses encountered discrimination, although the emotional and
material impacts were greater for sexual minorities. See MacDonnell (in press).
8
There was some evidence that racialized sexual minorities and those on the margins of the LGBT
communities, bisexual or questioning women, encountered more challenges to advocate openly given their
marginalized status and career/workplace discrimination. This is beyond the scope of this paper. See
MacDonnell (in press)
85
Summary and implications
These participants describe activist work on individual and collective levels and as paid workers and in a
volunteer capacity. Their narratives demonstrate how their activism is consistent with a focus on health
that entails a commitment to enhancing social justice. The interdisciplinary or intersectoral nature of many
nurses’ networks and coalition work offers the potential for long-term institutional change (Stevens &
Hall, 1992).
As these findings demonstrate, educational experiences as students or educators in formal programs and
organizational or community advocacy contexts, offer opportunities for these nurses to acquire political
knowledge about professional norms in relation to leadership, politics and gender or sexuality. This
knowledge provides a reference point for their social practices that include joining professional
organizations, as well those related to disclosing as lesbian in a nursing context. However, particular
community and workplace contexts factor into their political development.
This well-educated and highly credentialed group of nurses addresses educational experiences that move
beyond formal sites of education. Critical incidents and influences prompt critical self-reflection on
dynamics of power within social institutions and workplace incidents that influence their politicization and
capacity to act within a particular context. Their own positive and negative lived experiences as advocates
that include career costs or labelling create particular dynamics for nurses to contextualize their own
knowledges and experiences in relation to dominant professional discourses that promote nursing
activism.
Nurses acquire political knowledges about their communities and institutions over time that offer them
insight into the historical context in which health and other institutional authorities have regulated
women’s lives. They consider how social difference related to race/ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality
informs institutional and community norms and professional dynamics. They question how these play a
part in legitimating nurses’ capacity to participate in knowledge-making processes such as professional
education or to speak out about current nursing and agency practices. When possible they choose
politically savvy advocacy practices that take into account their past political experiences in order to
enhance positive support from their communities and agencies.
This group of female nurses’ political activism has impacts on multiple sectors of institutions and
communities. By increasing the visibility of sexual minority issues, contributing to curriculum and
organizational and policy development and community support, their advocacy work has a broad reach.
Their practices bridge public and private domains, challenge dominant notions of nursing advocacy at the
individual level, as well as the prevailing heterosexism within the profession. However, their narratives
reflect the multiple ways in which gender and other power dynamics shape embodied tensions of engaging
in political practices. There are implications for creating spaces within communities, organizations and
formal sites of nursing education that validate diversely situated sexual minorities’ lives, as well as
facilitating workplace and professional support for both sexual minority nurses and their allies.
References
Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. (1992). The new our bodies, ourselves: A book by and for
women (Rev. ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster.
Casey, K. (1993). I answer with my life: Life histories of women teachers working for social change. NY:
Routledge.
86
Canadian Nurses Association. (2000). Nursing is a political act—The bigger picture. Nursing NOW:
Issues and Trends in Canadian Nursing, 8. Retrieved August 2, 2004, from
http://www.cna.nurses.ca/_frames/issuestrendsframe.htm
Gott, M. (Ed.). (2000). Nursing practice, policy and change. Abingdon, GB.: Radcliffe Medical Press.
MacDonnell, J. A. (in press). Comparative life histories of lesbian health advocates in a Canadian context:
Sexual orientation discrimination as a factor in career and workplace dynamics. In J. Frank & L. Badgett,
Bias without borders : International evidence of sexual orientation discrimination. Routledge.
MacDonnell, J. (2001). Facilitating support for expectant lesbians in a public health context: Encountering
resistance in the research process. Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering, 3(1), 109-120.
MacDonnell, J. A. (2005). Situating the political in nurses’ lives: The intersection of policy, practice and
career for lesbian health advocates. Doctoral dissertation, University of Toronto.
Mallik, M. (1997). Advocacy in nursing—a review of the literature. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25,
130-138.
McPherson, K. (1996). Bedside matters: The transformation of Canadian nursing, 1900-1990. NY:
Oxford University Press.
Ozga, J. (2000). Policy research in educational settings: Contested terrain. Buckingham, GB: Open
University Press.
Rafael, A. R. F. (1998). Nurses who run with the wolves; The power and caring dialectic revisited.
Advances in Nursing Science, 21(1), 29-42.
Rafael, A. R. F. (1999). The politics of health promotion: Influences on public health promoting nursing
practice in Ontario, Canada from Nightingale to the nineties. Advances in Nursing Science, 22(1), 23-39.
Stevens, P. E., & Hall, J. (1992). Applying critical theories to nursing in communities. Public Health
Nursing, 9(1), 2-9.
Vickers, J. (1997). Reinventing political science: A feminist approach. Halifax, Canada: Fernwood
Publishing.
Walpin, L. (1997). Combating heterosexism: Implications for nursing. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 11(3),
126-132.
87
Stress and the transition from university to career:

Career development supports for undergraduate women in Atlantic Canadian liberal arts
ADELE MUELLER and MARILEE REIMER

St. Thomas University
Fredericton, Canada
mueller@stu.ca
While rates of stress for women university students increased greatly over the past twenty years, research
and practice continues to focus on individual responses. This paper re-locates “stress” on social
grounding. Pressures such as increased demand for post-graduate degrees and persistent labour force
disadvantage for women are ignored in the institutional practices that organize students’ university
experience. For women from families with little experience of universities or professional careers, there
are few career development supports to provide positive transition experiences.
Le stress et la transition entre université et carrière : appuis au développement de carrière

pour les étudiantes de premier cycle dans les programmes de Lettres du Canada atlantique
Alors que le niveau de stress des étudiantes universitaires a fortement augmenté au cours des vingt
dernières années, la recherche comme les pratiques continuent à s’intéresser uniquement aux réponses
individuelles. Cette communication recentre le stress dans un contexte social. Les pratiques
institutionnelles qui organisent l’expérience universitaire des étudiants ne tiennent pas du tout compte des
pressions telles que la nécessité d’obtenir un diplôme de deuxième cycle post-doctoral ou des
désavantages persistants qui affectent les femmes en milieu de travail. Quant aux femmes issues d’une
famille sans expérience universitaire ou carrière professionnelle, il existe peu d’appui au développement
de carrière visant à offrir des expériences de transition positives.
88
Life chances, choices, and identity:

Single mothers in post-secondary education
JANICE E. PARSONS
Memorial University
jparsons@mun.ca
The combined effects of social class, race/ethnicity, and gender upon single mothers’ identities, life
choices and chances, is a matter of social justice. Some single mothers on welfare have chosen to pursue
university education to overcome the financial insecurity and marginalization associated with life on
welfare. Findings of a qualitative study that explored single mother students’ trajectories and dispositions
toward the present and the future are reported. The study utilizes habitus to explore their experiences of
identity. The women=s negotiation of these complex and competing identities are germane to their
educational and economic success, health and well-being.
Les opportunités et les choix de la vie, l’identité :

les mères célibataires dans l’éducation postsecondaire
Les effets combinés de l’origine sociale, de la race, de l’ethnicité et du sexe sur l’identité des mères
célibataires, les choix et les opportunités de vie, sont des questions de justice sociale. Certaines mères
célibataires recevant des prestations sociales ont choisi de poursuivre des études universitaires pour se
sortir de l’insécurité financière et de la marginalisation associées au statut d’assistée sociale. On présente
les résultats d’une étude qualitative qui a exploré les trajectoires et les dispositions des mères célibataires
envers le présent et l’avenir. L’étude utilise “habitus” (Bourdieu, 1984) pour explorer leurs expériences
d’identité. La façon de négocier ces identités complexes et compétitives est reliée au succès économique
et dans leurs études, à la santé et au bien-être de ces femmes.
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Promoting health educational communities for South African girls and women:
The Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals
THIDZLAMBI PHENDLA
UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa
Ethiopia, AFRICA
thidziambi.phendla@up.ac.za
SHARON MAMPANE and CHRISTINA AMSTERDAM

University of Pretoria,
Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA
This paper explores the promotion of healthy educational communities for South African girls and women
against the backdrop of the Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development goals. We start
with a brief overview of the goals as they relate to the promotion of healthy educational communities for
girls and women, give an account of the progress made by South Africa towards achieving these goals,
and identify the remaining challenges. Finally, the paper will propose ways in which to address remaining
challenges.
Promotion de communautés éducatives saines pour les filles et les femmes d’Afrique du Sud
: les objectifs « Education for All » (EFA) et Développement du Millennium
Dans cette communication, on explore la promotion de communautés éducatives saines pour les filles et
les femmes d’Afrique du Sud dans le contexte des objectifs de « Education for All » (EFA) et du
Développement du Millennium. Nous commençons par un bref survol de ces objectifs par rapport à la
promotion de la santé dans les communautés éducatives ouvertes aux filles et aux femmes, nous
rapportons les progrès effectués par l’Afrique du Sud pour atteindre ces objectifs et nous identifions les
défis qui restent. Finalement, nous proposons des façons de relever ces défis.
90
Balancing school and family:

Access to post-secondary education for student parents
TRUDY SMIT QUOSAI

Guelph, Canada
trudys@uoguelph.ca
This poster presentation explores the relationship between education, income and health with respect to
post-secondary students who have children. The goal of the poster and accompanying information is to
explore how public policy, personal strategies and institutional practices can enhance access and success
for student parents in post-secondary programs. The poster provides a profile of student parents in Canada
using data from the 2001/02 Canadian Undergraduate Survey Consortium and from the 2001/02 and
2003/04 Canadian College Student Survey Project.
Trouver l’équilibre entre les études et la famille :

l’accès des étudiants-parents à l’éducation postsecondaire
Par cette affiche, on explore les relations entre l’éducation, les revenus et la santé des étudiants des
institutions postsecondaires qui ont des enfants. L’objectif de l’affiche ainsi que des informations qui
l’accompagnent, est d’explorer comment les politiques gouvernementales, les stratégies personnelles et les
pratiques institutionnelles peuvent améliorer l’accès et la réussite des étudiants-parents des programmes
postsecondaires. L’affiche présente le profil d’étudiants-parents au Canada selon des données recueillies en
2001/02 par le Consortium de Sondage des étudiants canadiens et en 2001/02 ainsi que 2003/04 dans le
cadre du Projet de Sondage des étudiants des collèges canadiens.
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Institutionalizing wellness:
Women’s wellness days in an all-girls school
MARIA RADFORD, LINDA MCALLISTER, and KRISHPA KOTECHA

The Bishop Strachan School
Toronto, Canada
mradford@bss.on.ca
As we enter the final year of a strategic plan we are concerned to institutionalize women’s wellness as an
integral part of our school culture. In addition to a community Wellness Committee, a Daily Physical
Activity Committee and a Wellness Club, we recently held our second annual Women’s Wellness Day
(WWD) for 900 students and their parents. This paper will discuss the role of WWD in community-
building; the logistics involved in preparing for the day and the highlights of the experience of students,
faculty and parents. We offer a template for other organizations interested in integrating women’s
wellness into their organizational culture.
Intégration de la notion de bien-être dans une école de filles :

Journées de bien-être des femmes
Au début de la dernière année d’un plan stratégique, nous songeons à institutionnaliser le bien-être des
femmes pour qu’il fasse partie intégrante de notre culture en milieu scolaire. En plus d’un comité
communautaire de Bien-Être, d’un comité d’Activité physique journalière et d’un Club de Bien-Être, nous
avons récemment organisé notre seconde Women’s Wellness Day (WWD) (Journée de Bien-Être des
femmes) pour 900 élèves et leurs parents. Dans cette communication, nous discutons du rôle de cette
journée pour la communauté, de la logistique nécessaire à la préparation des activités et des moments forts
de cette journée pour les élèves, les enseignants et les parents. Nous offrons notre modèle aux autres
organismes qui souhaiteraient intégrer le bien-être des femmes dans leur culture organisationnelle.
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Identity of spirit:
Adult women learners and spirituality as an anchor for health
SABRINA REDWING SAUNDERS

OISE-IÉPO/UT
Toronto, Canada
sabrina.saunders@sympatico.ca
Educational andragogy is designed around the understanding of how to best service, train and respect the
unique adult learner. Even so, fear, apprehension and loss of self works against the learner and their
educators. Assisting the learner to find themselves in the learning environment via self-exploration of
mind, body and spirit aids in identity creation and transitioning to lifelong learner. This paper identifies
spirituality and acceptance of the individual beliefs as an anchor for women to build identity of self in
space; where one learns to balance education, work and personal responsibilities, become a lifelong
learner, self-mentor and role model.
Identité de l’esprit :
les apprenantes adultes et la spiritualité qui sert d’ancre à la santé
L’andragogie éducative est conçue à partir de la façon de comprendre la prestation des services, la
formation et le respect de l’apprenant adulte qui est une personne unique. Malgré tout, la peur,
l’appréhension et la perte de soi-même constituent des obstacles à l’apprenant et aux formateurs. Pour
aider l’apprenante à se trouver dans l’environnement d’apprentissage au moyen de l’auto-exploration de
son esprit, de son corps et de son âme et à créer son identité et faire la transition à l’apprentissage durant
toute la vie. Dans cette communication on identifie la spiritualité et l’acceptation des croyances
personnelles comme une ancre permettant aux femmes de construire leur propre identité dans l’espace; où
on apprend à équilibrer l’éducation, le travail et les responsabilités personnelles et on devient un apprenant
à vie, mentor pour soi-même et modèle de rôle.
Background of the author
As an educator who has worked with students from aged four to sixty-three, I would say that the most
challenging and rewarding group I have encountered is that of the adult learner; while at the same time
being the most rewarding group of students I had the privilege of working with as a teacher. In my craft I
believe in treating students with respect, allowing them to have an authentic voice in the content and path
of education and to maintain a reciprocal learning environment where both student and teacher are
categorized as learner. In my time as a university counsellor I witnessed numerous students fall out of
balance, and as such have utilized reflective self-practice as a means of maintaining balance of the mind,
body and spirit.
A proponent of nurture over nature, I believe that the journey shapes our future actions and inactions. My
own educational experience was mined with poor attendance as a youth and subsequent drop-out from
high school. Although I was capable of the content materials I never felt engaged in my studies and
therefore had little stake in the experience. It was not until my early twenties that I returned to gain a GED
and move into a college setting—with much apprehension of returning to a college that may be just
another tentacle of the high school setting. As a young woman going through divorce, under-employed,
and general life upheaval, I registered for courses out of desperation for change. I was lucky to have taken
my first semester in night school and had instructors who were use to working with adult learners
93
returning to school for upgrades (as apposed to those right out of secondary school who may have taught
in a more authoritive nature). As a young woman going through divorce, under-employed, uneducated,
and general live upheaval, I registered for courses that were available and not necessarily in my interest
areas. Dr. Zan Dale Robinson, my first night professor of American Literature was truly responsible for
“saving me”—no different than if he had been a firefighter pulling me from a burning building. I don’t
know what he saw that first night of class— a scared, stressed woman; someone who was capable or not;
someone who needed support or a welcome. Did he know that I had forced myself to walk clear across the
room to the far side so that I couldn’t get up and leave class, because I considered sitting by the door and
leaving if it “wasn’t for me.”
Adult educational theory
Adult education is a field that has a seemingly endless number of publications and theoretical stances. In
this paper I ascribe to experiential learning (EL) grounded in a student development model of “students
support what they help create”.
Experiential learning
Experiential learning is a main tenant and theoretical approach to adult education and is often separated
into two categories of formal and informal education. Formal education or that which takes place in a
formal setting is structured by others and involves a series of planned experiences. The second form, and
most appropriate to adult education, is the informal or self-directed experiential learning that takes place
through participation and reflection in daily life. One of the most popular models used in this field is
Kolb’s 1984 EL model where he demonstrates how the learner works in a continuous cycle of four steps:
concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, active experimentation, and then
back again to concrete experience to renegotiate the sphere. When an experience, problem or situation
(concrete experience) presents itself to a person, (formal or informal) that person has to find a way to
solve or resolve it. Through reflective observation, the individual envisions what the environment is that
surrounds the problem, as well as what may have to be brought to the experience. In the third phase,
abstract conceptualization or the determining of a course of action, potential barriers, or an overall game
plan, the person may begin to put into action the plan to solve the problem. The final phase, active
experimentation, is the action phase or the testing and experimenting of the game plan. Whether the plan
reached a full success, the individual may end the experience or fine-tune it through a repetition of the
cycle.
Freire’s Critical Inquiry Theory (CIT) (2003), an expansion on EL, discusses a means to improving the
relationships between students and teacher. Freire’s three-step process begins with the teacher speaking
with the students about any concerns the student may have, “allowing” the students to voice their
concerns. In doing this, the curriculum is opened to criticism. With this process underway, the students
can fulfill the second step, offering feedback or voice to the curriculum. Through completion of the final
step, articulate a final curricular relationship and content, both parties “buy in” to the instruction and
become co-authors who are vested in the curriculum (Freire, 2003). Freire states that,
the identity of the subjects [cuts across social classes, the subjects of education, and
educational practice] has to do with the fundamental issues of curriculum, as much
what is hidden as what is explicit and, obviously, with questions of teaching and
learning (Freire, 1998, p. 69).
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Holistic models of learning
Arthur W. Chickering, involved in developmental or holistic learning, began his career with a major
action research study on college student development in the late 1950’s and 60’s. Chickering and Reisser
(1993) discussed the recognition that the impact of the individual’s experiences are often more important
than that of the actual curriculum. Chickering also discussed the lack of ability that the experience
provider or instructor may have in knowing the ultimate effect an experience or action may have on the
life direction of the learner when he wrote,
We may not know for years that a single lecture or conversation or experience started
a chain reaction that transformed some aspect of ourselves. We cannot easily discern
what subtle mix of people, books, settings, or events promotes growth (p. 43).
Chickering’s belief that an experience may not be felt by the learner for years to come is a binding concept
of experiential learning. If the instructor, professor, service provider or administrator cannot envision the
long-term effect of their actions or words, the effects can be permanent and continuous on the creation of
the identity of the individual.
Chickering’s (Chickering & Reisser, 1993) Seven Vectors of Student Development9 illuminate a student’s
need to move through the learning experience to attain a full, holistic, and balanced self. Although his
vectors are designed for the adolescent and young adult, even Chickering himself has generalized the
vectors to include a variety of age groups. The fifth vector, the establishment of identity, may be the most
important vector related to the new adult learner since it defines how people see themselves in relation to
others, history, cultural/ethnic and sociological contexts. Chickering & Reisser (1993) state that
“Development of identity is the process of discovering what kinds of experience, at what levels of
intensity and frequency, we resonate in satisfying, in safe, or in self-destructive fashion” (p. 49). Although
this vector is a priority component of adult education, it can not stand alone, each of the other seven
vectors make up the foundation for the creation of one’s identity.
Griffin (in Barer-Stein & Kompf, 2001) also created a model of Holistic Learning based on an analogy of
a six-string guitar. As learners, each person has experienced the formal established method of attacking
learning from one direction, or playing a guitar with just one string. In Griffin’s chapter “Holistic
Learning” (in Barer-Stein & Kompf, 2001) she discusses how, when all six strings of the guitar are used,
the music produced is limited only by the individuals knowledge of how to use the strings and make
chords. Although each of Griffin’s six string capacities10 are necessary in the experience of the holistic
environment, it is the spiritual string that is most relevant to this discussion. The spirituality string is
described as,
…an awareness, wonder, deep sense of awe of the present, and the potential of
persons or nature. It is an awareness and awe of connectedness of what is and could
be. It includes your vision of what could be for yourself—your purpose in life—for
others, for nature (p. 125).
9
The seven vectors include competence, managing emotions, autonomy, interpersonal relationships,
identity, purpose, and integrity.
10
The six strings or capacities are emotional, relational, physical, metaphoric or intuitive,
rational/logical/intellectual mind, and spiritual. Playing all six together or groups at a time allow us to
create a deeper meaning or chord of capacity as apposed to the single unidirectional thinking that one
string at a time can yield (Griffin in Barer-Stein & Kompf, 2001).
95
Griffin goes on to further outline that spirituality goes beyond the metaphoric, and holds the individual
responsible for expanding their understandings beyond what they know, feel, believe or can prove. The
sixth string of spirituality is not limited to religiosity or what people know and asks each person to
transcend their comfort zones to dare to touch another level of thought and awareness. As will be seen
later in this paper, the connection to this string will be a grounding effect for the individual throughout the
process and can be a strong connection to personal values when working with new thought, content and
towards future goals.
Issues concerning adult education
Adult education is big business with 28% of Canadians enrolled11 (Statistics Canada, 2001) with women
aged 36-45 having a 38% rate of participation, significantly higher than the national average (Tuijnman &
Boudard, 2001). Although still the lowest group in attendance, those 55-64 have shown the most growth
with more than 50% increase in attendance between 1997 and 2002 (Statistics Canada, 2004). Many
Canadian women in adult education are mothers, often recently divorced or recent immigrants. These
women may be in need of childcare or some assistance in order to leave her home for training. It is no
wonder that two of the top five barriers to education women claim are family responsibilities and lack of
childcare (Statistics Canada, 2001).
Lifelong learning and impostor syndrome
Lifelong learning has become a very popular buzz word, especially in adult education. The lifelong learner
may be someone who has always engaged in higher education, or she may have no formal education, yet
believe that learning new concepts and information each day is imperative for their own health and
wellbeing. Bandura (1977) speaks of social learning theory and lifelong learning as the major component
of human adaptation. Bandura states, “It occurs in all human settings, from schools to the workplace, from
the research laboratory to the management board room, in personal relationships and the aisle of the local
grocery. It encompasses all life stages, from childhood to adolescence, to middle and older age” (p. 32).
My interpretation is that every person has the potential to be a lifelong learner; they must only accept this
role and open themselves to the opportunities that come their way if learning (and adaptation) is to occur.
Becoming a lifelong learner offers the individual an opportunity to validate the work that is done on a
daily basis. In doing this, a shift from an impostor syndrome image (ISI) can occur (Brookfield, 1990).
Becoming a lifelong learner offers the individual the opportunity to validate the work that is done on a
daily basis. In doing this, a shift from an impostor syndrome image can occur (Brookfield, 1990). The a
self-actualized fear of impostor syndrome is and can be quite debilitating to educational attainment.
Initially, the impostor learner believes they do not belong in the learning experience due to their
“unworthiness”. Secondary, is the constant fear that others will eventually discover this “truth”.
Perpetual drop-out
If we accept that a new student, (especially someone coming from a difficult situation such as poverty,
second language acquisition or divorce), may be dealing with identity issues, then we can see how ISI
could create a self-fulfilling prophecy resulting in dropout. Just as an alcoholic is more likely to drink
again, a person abused is more likely to abuse, and a reformed smoker is more likely to smoke than
someone who has never smoked before; a person who has previously dropped out is more likely to seek
the door as an option if the program is not going well, does not seem to fit, is too difficult, or forces them
to reconsider their own preconceived notions and/or values. As an adult educator it is important to have a
means for the individual to immediately find a place within the content—an identity in the classroom
which are described later in the Action Planning section.
11
Statistics are based on samples taken in 1997 and reported in the 2001 report.
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Unhealthy state of learners
As a populous, the adult learner is sandwiched between responsibilities. On a stress index (CoachU, 2001)
these women can be ranked at an incidence of overall unhealthy and highly stressed living. We all live
with stress in our lives, but it is long-term chronic stress that is most damaging to the body (Cardinal,
2006). Long-term effects of stress such as: school related, ISI, or guilt for not being present for children
and family manifest in different ways. The female body in a perpetual state of dis-ease increases
occurrences of cancer, heart disease, asthmatic conditions and suppressed immune system (Cardinal,
2006), as well as produces cortisol which increases risk of breast and uterine cancer. Although not directly
related to individual health, I would argue that social condition is also related to health and positive
identity. Tuijnman and Boudard (2001) offered findings of a direct correlation between participation in
adult education and the involvement in community activities/service. Therefore it could be interpreted that
a lack of education equates to unattainable social capital if the learner drops-out due to stress, perpetual
dropout or impostor image.
Health and wellbeing
As previously outlined, the health of women in education is an issue that service providers and educators
need to be aware of. Although educational attainment is a key determinant of the health and wellbeing in
women, we must not ignore that health and wellbeing may also be a key determinant of the individual’s
ability to achieve in education. The health of the learner has not been an issue that service providers and
educators have concerned themselves with, but should as the output and retention of that client are
affected by their state of being. Even more difficult for the educator than the physical health, is that the
emotional and spiritual health can determine if she will be successful in her program.
So what does that mean to the practitioner? Health can be identified with relative ease; it is medically
defined and can be tested in order to determine if an individual is healthy. Wellbeing, however, is another
matter—how do we define wellbeing, attain it, and support others attainment of it. In my teaching and
counselling of students I have defined wellbeing as incorporating two regions—mind and spirit; whereas
health is a bodily domain. There are times that one will overlap onto the other, but factors of imbalance
often perpetuate those events. An example could be an individual who is eating well, getting enough sleep
but living with an abuser. Their health is cared for but their physical body may be in danger. In these cases
I argue that there is an overriding issue or life choice that needs to be addressed. Further, when each of
these three regions are cared for, a person may attain a state of health and wellbeing regardless of the
stressors life throws our way12.
Wellness models
Native counsellors and researchers have created a number of wellness models. The “Wellness Movement”
has grown from Native AA/NA healing and those working with cultural revitalization via formal
education (Kompf & Hodson, 2000). Wellness models and movements are usually grassroots oriented and
formulated specifically for the population they serve. An example would be a medicine wheel presentation
given at RETAIN 2000 (Redwing Saunders, 2000) attended predominately by Native people of Western
12
In previous discussions of this topic I have been accused of perpetrating a disservice to women in
general by stating that they are suffering from a lack of identity, or over generalizing that women in
education are unhealthy. By no means is this interpretation correct. Further, I would go on to state that a
small portion of women (and men) are faced with this dilemma. That said, all people, but especially
those who have multiple responsibilities pulling them in different directions can benefit from a process
such as self-reflection and evaluation of mind, body and spirit conditions.
97
Coast, South West U.S. and Northern Ontario decent whose predominant symbol is the wheel. Currently, I
work within my own community of Six Nations, a Haudenosaunee community that does not ascribe to
medicine wheel teachings. Although we do not discredit these teachings, we refer to the mental, emotion,
physical and spiritual realms of the medicine wheel as mind, body, and spirit. As a transferable theme13, I
find this triad to be more palatable for mainstream, since it is not graphically representative of a Native
symbol and most people can accept these regions accounting for the predominant aspects of a persons
being.
Figure 1 Haudenosaunee student development model
Note. This model is read counter clockwise: Mind, Body, Spirit.
Balancing the three regions
In Figure 1 the Haudenosaunee Triad of Mind, Body and Spirit are present so that the learner and
instructor will be ever mindful of the need to live and learn holistically. An experience must incorporate
the three aspects of the whole person if it is to truly be a holistic experience. Furthermore, when balance in
life is present, the person will not need to put extra pressures into their day to reach this end. Let us think
of the way in which so many people live. Into an average day we pack 8-10 hours of work, taxing our
energies and time; while family, health and personal/spiritual wellbeing is not given equal attention. As a
result, families have family nights, schedule evenings at a health club, etc. Spirituality is often the least
addressed area of individual life, only fitting in on scheduled days during the year or during times of
crisis. If learning can be balanced, always looking to these three areas of life when working, thinking and
playing, then less manipulated opportunities are needed.
Of the three, balancing the spirit is the most difficult/controversial to accomplish through formal
education, yet is the most beneficial to the outcome of the learner. As mentioned earlier, my first professor
was responsible, in my eyes, for “saving me”. Not because he taught me how to write or think or express
myself academically, but rather because he showed me how to take my own identity as a woman,
divorcee, Native person, Catholic, etc… and embrace that in my learning. When interpreting literature of
the previous century he would ask me to take the risk to be in the reading. No matter what my evaluations
were of the material he never corrected me (or any of us) he would gently lead us in a place that brought
13
It should be noted that although I am a Native writer speaking of a process used with Native students,
this paper is not addressing Native clientele. The process of working to balance the energies of the
mind, body and spirit is a need of all living human beings and not just those of Native decent, nor that of
the woman adult education student. This health and wellness model is offered to the readers and
participants, offering mechanisms for teacher learners of all races and incorporation examples for goal
setting and physical wellness and balance.
98
the work full circle.
As an instructor of adult learners I have often witnessed students who have not yet developed a learner
identity. They often come with their identities in flux as a result of traumatic changes such as recent
divorce, widowing or altered spouse/partner identity. If they have returned to the classroom for retooling
because of a loss of job or inability to gain employment, their identity as an employee or expert in a field
may be damaged. The guilt of returning to school when small children are at home may also be putting a
negative image or identity on their ability to parent. For a person who is spiritual, the only intact identity
present may be that of a spiritual person.
Action planning
All this said, how can the curriculum assist in identity building and success in education? And what role
does spirituality play within that process? In my work I have used four techniques in all levels of
schooling14 to maintaining balance, health and wellness. In each of the cases the method was the same,
only the means of transmission were changed to make the language skills appropriate to the client. I find
they assist in building identity and educational success and aid in fostering a whole person. They are:
Personal Mission Statements, Goal Planning Wheels, Balance Wheels, and Portfolio Development.
Borrowing from the business sector, I regularly have students write their own Personal Mission Statement
examining what they wanted to be and what they wanted to do (Mercer & Seybold in Schugurensky,
2004). As a tool, this process should be repeated a number of times during the workshop/course and
recommended in subsequent months and years. The relevance to spirituality as an anchor for school
success and identity building can be found throughout the initiative, but especially in the “what I want to
be” or internal changes and values that the student sees as. Whereas, the “what I want to do” should be
viewed as the external changes, skills and actions that are needed in order to conduct the overall goals for
the future. Although no empirical data supports this comment, I have experienced a difference in the way
men and women process this task. Men, predominantly, have worked on a more linear product of timeline,
checklist oriented desires, with little considerations for familial responsibility as effecting options.
Women, on the other hand, were more open to addressing their home responsibilities in this statement,
often to the point of limiting their potential by the extenuating circumstances of home life that they saw as
“holding them back”.
Goal Planning Wheels can be created for any length of time and should be appropriate to the advancement
of the learner. As a new student who is a mature learner I start the process with immediate and short term
goals. If the course/workshop is several months, I would start the process with goals at 2 weeks, 1 month,
mid-point, and upon completion. At a later date the wheel should be reviewed/updated and depending on
the clients, add annual goals. Students should be encouraged to goal-storm15 on as many fronts as
possible, including home, school, personal, etc. A benefit of this process is that the student will begin to
bridge past the class for their short and long-term goals while melding education as a part of those goals.
Balance Wheels can be designed to introduce any quadrants of thought, but for this purpose they are
designed as a pie cut into thirds for the mind, body and spirit. The greater circle is then divided into an
inner and outer circle in order to identify what students feel they are doing well and where they would like
14
This technique has been used in my teaching career in the intermediate grades of 6-8, secondary school
career guidance and goal setting, university/college coursework, community based skill building, and
academic non-credit skill building workshops.
15
I refer to goal-storming as the brainstorming of goals in order to create a web of possible ideas and how
they connect and/or build off of each other.
99
to increase their efforts (never “fix something done poorly”). Such content should include time spent
daily/weekly in each region, what tasks fit into the development of each region, and later, what goals will
be enhanced by the regions and what regions can be used to strengthen or recharge the individual
(Redwing Saunders, 1999).
Finally there is the Development of a Portfolio. Portfolio development is a daunting process and if done as
a test or as a means of identifying the missing skills/experience for a resume it is a highly negative
experience for the new student. However, when it is completed as a means of personal self-evaluation and
in tandem with the prior three aspects, the tools coalesce into a comprehensive means of self-reflection
and introspection grounded in the identity of who they are and what they hope to become. Both Michelson
(1997) and Hill (1996; 1995; in Johnny, 2002) argue that portfolio development is enriching and offers
students a tool for growth from their own personal stories and self-awareness. Michelson (1997) writes,
“students experience themselves as competent learners, they investigate academic expectations and norms,
they explore the relationship between their own prior learning and the contours of academic inquiry, and
they take control of their own educational needs” (p. 42). This tool is appropriate as a sole activity, but is
extremely productive in fostering identity growth when combined with some or all of the other three
techniques.
Conclusion
Spirituality is an anchor which holds fast while traversing the turbulent educational waters. As with any
good anchor it runs deep and grounds the position of the vessel when forces push against it. However,
when the captain chooses to journey to new waters, it can be brought on board and transported for later
release. Spirituality is a constant; a foundation by which to interpret new experiences. As readers, I hope
my attempts were reached to enlighten practitioners of spirituality as an aspect of all curricula, utilized by
educators as a practical tool of student development.
References
Brookfield, S.D. (1990). The skillful teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Barer-Stein, T. & Kompf, M. (Eds.). (2001). The craft of teaching adults. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Irwin
Publishing.
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Under the covers: The complexities of sex role stereotyping

in the classroom practices of three Ontario sexuality education teachers
ADINNE SCHWARTZ
York University
Toronto, Canada
adinne_schwartz@hotmail.com
Studies on sex role stereotyping and sexuality education (sex-ed) are outdated. Canadian literature on this
topic is even more sparse. The sex-ed unit of three grade nine “Physical and Health Education” classes
were examined to see how teaching aligns with literature on sex role stereotyping in three areas: sexual
responsibility, sexual orientation, and sexual purpose. Findings suggest that sex role stereotyping in sex-ed
is more complex than the literature suggests. Several obstacles complicate the teaching of gender equitable
sex-ed. Recommendations will be made for research, practice, and policy to help teachers challenge sex
role stereotyping and promote healthy sexuality for girls and women.
Sous les couvertures : la complexité des stéréotypes sur le rôle des sexes dans les pratiques
en salle de classe de trois enseignants de l’éducation sexuelle en Ontario
Les études qui portent sur les stéréotypes sur le rôle des sexes et l’éducation sexuelle sont dépassées. La
documentation canadienne sur ce sujet est encore plus rare. L’unité d’éducation sexuelle de trois classes
de neuvième année « Éducation physique et santé » ont été examinées pour voir comment l’enseignement
correspond à la littérature concernant les stéréotypes sur le rôle des sexes dans trois domaines :
responsabilité sexuelle, orientation sexuelle et objectif sexuel. Les résultats suggèrent que les stéréotypes
sur le rôle des sexes dans l’éducation sexuelle sont plus complexes qu’on pourrait le penser. Plusieurs
obstacles compliquent l’enseignement des cours d’éducation sexuelle équitable. On présentera des
recommandations pour la recherche, les pratiques et les politiques dans le but d’aider les enseignants à
questionner les stéréotypes sur le rôle des sexes et à promouvoir une sexualité saine pour les filles et les
femmes.
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Creating a healthy research space for women in the academy:

A conversation about expectations, tensions, and personal considerations
CARMEN SHIELDS
Faculty of Education, Nipissing University
North Bay, Canada
caremens@nipissingu.ca
NANCY FENTON
Faculty of Education, Brock University
St. Catharines, Canada
In this interactive session, we engage in a shared dialogue about some of the tensions women presently
encounter in their researcher roles and we imagine a supportive, healthy research climate that embraces
issues of importance to women such as time for family, personal voice and connection, divergent methods,
styles and formats, and accessing funding for such work. Using text, audio-tape clips and images, we
invite participants into a research space that we are in the midst of constructing together, where the
presence of women is a central and guiding force.
Création d’un espace de recherche sain pour les femmes en milieu académique:
Conversation sur les attentes, les tensions et les considérations personnelles
Dans cette séance interactive, nous ouvrons le dialogue sur certaines des tensions que les femmes
ressentent aujourd’hui dans leur rôle de chercheures et nous imaginons un climat de soutien et sain dans
lequel nous effectuons nos recherches, un climat qui tient compte des questions importantes pour les
femmes, telles que le temps à consacrer à la famille, la voix personnelle et les relations, les méthodes
divergentes, les styles et les formats et l’accès au financement pour ce travail de recherches. À l’aide de
textes, d’enregistrements audio et d’images, nous invitons les participants dans un espace de recherches
que nous sommes en train de construire ensemble, où la présence des femmes est une force centrale et
motrice.
If I had the opportunity, I would insist that every teacher [researcher] (like every
student) should have an opportunity to work with at least one medium to mold, to
carve, to detail, to embody feeling somehow. No matter what the degree of
insufficiency, the very effort to say how it was, how it is, by means of words, to
transmute a startling perception into an image…somehow brings us into the heart of
the artistic-aesthetic. We may not succeed. We may not complete what we want to
complete. But we know in some measure; we rediscover what it is to move beyond, to
question, to learn (Greene, 2004).
Introduction
In the creative space that follows, we use auto-ethnographic representations in the form of images and data
poems (Savage, 2004) that speak to our experiences in academic research. In doing so, we hope to share a
little of our journey toward embracing research methods that hold meaning for us as we work to co-
construct our present understanding of our own research topics or issues. We use conversation, drawings,
images, poetry and narrative writing (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000), to bring us into a research dialogue,
where together, we provide each other with a healthy and enriching personal and professional environment
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where we can engage one another using our own lived experience to make new meaning together. As
women in the academy, we want to consciously model different ways of gathering data and representing
knowing in our research and teaching; we want to share how we work together and utilize the research
writing of other women who have influenced our thinking.
One grounding notion that has helped us further our own research understanding is taken from Laurel
Richardson’s work (2000), where she describes the prism or crystal as a way of conceiving research data
that is post-modern in nature. She writes that as a central image “…the crystal…combines symmetry and
substance with an infinite variety of shapes, substances, transmutations, multidimensionalities, and angles
of approach” (p. 934). She says that without losing structure, “crystallization provides us with a deepened,
complex, thoroughly partial, understanding of the topic” (p. 934). This wonderful research perspective has
provided us with images and language that help us explain how we want to conduct research and interpret
it using multiple modalities, methods, and texts so that we might gain a deeper understanding of our own
changing epistemological viewpoints.
Many researchers have written about enlarging the research realm using aesthetic experience and
representation (Greene, 1995; Diamond & Mullen, 1999; Diaz &McKenna, 2004) to name a few. In our
view, this post-modern direction can support important openings for the complex and multifaceted voices
of women researchers like ourselves who want to write and speak their emotional, creative and knowing
selves in their research work.
In what follows here, we use paintings and data poems as we write about research expectations that
surround us as women academics and the awakening to that reality that exists for many women who enter
academe naively, unaware of the critical importance of getting started sooner rather than later as active
researchers. We also try to represent some of the tensions that become part of an academic life, where
competition for research funds is a reality, and the search for colleagues who offer emotional and real
collegial support and engagement becomes a necessity for personal health as time goes by. Lastly, we end
on a hopeful note with the notion of ‘new beginnings,’ that we believe exist in the writing of post-modern
texts where one truth no longer holds sway, and where relationship and dialogue form the necessary basis
of coming to know in new ways.
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Expectations
Data Poem 1
(Carmen)
Hired to join
a faculty
an expectation
of belonging
lingers from the interview.
Thoughts of
overlapping interests,
collegiality, community,
sharing research, conversation -
all the work of years
coming together
under one roof.
The anticipation of
finding friends who understand
how you have decided to live your life
Belonging & Community

Copyright @2000 by Mark Wagner
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Tensions
Shadow of Darkness
(Nancy)
Light
Appears in front of me
Revealing movement and uncertainty
Casting a shadow of darkness
I am afraid of the dark.

I wonder what is invisible to me
I wonder who sees me
Struggling in the dark

To know
Where I am?
Who I am?
Standing still
Between Silence
Copyright @2001 by Hajni Yosifov
Silent
In a Crowd
Waiting, watching, listening,
In a shadow of darkness
Data Poem 2
(Carmen)
In this learning place
silences fall.
The work,
so lovingly done,
is not shared, discussed,
or even mentioned -
unless it is to be examined for promotion,
tenure, by co-workers (not necessarily collegial)
who judge you worthy to remain
between the silences,
complicit in the academic game.
With any luck, such tension can be eased
by one friend/colleague with whom you
can speak from the heart
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Data Poem 3
(Carmen)
A time comes
when you must consider yourself:
do I belong here?
What will belonging cost me?
Will the price be my identity?
My real Self, who does not seek
power, but connection,
must find relevance
in my choices; how I work
with others as teacher,
choose (re)search
that uncovers and fulfils.
I find that my students
are the ones who become
my colleagues and share in my Belonging
uncovering Copyright@2001 by HajniYosifov
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EscapeGOAT
(Nancy)
One person separate

Stands alone
From the hostility of those
Huddled together in unison
Resisting diversity
Excluding … blaming one
Solitary person … a target, easy to find

Someone who stands in silence, apart from the others
Holding their hostilities, taking their blame, and feeling their pain
An EscapeGOAT
In service to others
Who escape themselves
Who cover their fears beneath a cloak
To hide the confusion
To avoid being excluded
To hang onto
The turmoil of exclusion

The tentative, fragile courage that binds
As the winds of circumstance swirl strongly around those who exclude
Threatening
The huddle
Blowing seeds of doubt upon newly cultivated fodder
Shifting
Inside and outside … in and out
In an ever evolving rhythm
Of inclusion and exclusion, seeking to belong
They find a new escape
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Personal Considerations
Data Poem 4
(Carmen)
In the last few years,

I have learned that
there is personal power
on the sidelines
rather than in the centre.
For me,
the margins turn out
to be a place to see afar,
dream different dreams
of what might be.
In research, I seek the margins
to open possibilities Where is your place in the margins?
for voices only recently heard,
to maintain my health and attitude
that my personal power -
the power of one - is
a power after allThe Edge
(Nancy)
At times harbors double identities
A public one,
Visible in the light, fully present
Pleasing, neatly arranged, sitting still
On display
As if in a storefront window
For others to see
A private one,
Invisible in the light, absent from others,
Chaotic, in disarray, in motion
Out of sight
In the back room
Hiding from others to see
On the edge
Struggling with a disconnected self
Holding the power to shine light on those things in disarray
To create extraordinary meaning
To find courage, to speak, and to ask
Where am I?
On the edge
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New Beginnings
Data Poem 5
(Carmen)
A realization of my 50’s –
I have control of the
work I will and will not do.
Such a power in saying NO
to what is not fulfilling,
to what I don’t believe in.
I will dig deep, seek knowledge that
helps me live my life
in the work I choose to do.
Light shines for me
when I meet another as I
teach and (re)search.
I have discovered there is
always someone to share with,
always someone willing to take a chance
and enter unknown territory alongside
me
New Beginnings
Copyright@2000 by Robert Walker
Discernment
(Nancy)
As the sights and sounds of new ventures stand before me

Stirrings of history echo in the present
As I contemplate
This new space
Differently
Without fear, trusting, and whole
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Conclusion
Images, poetry, and conversation bring us closer emotionally to our work. These forms and shapes are
ways that illuminate rays of light bringing into view new aspects of our work and our relationships to it. In
this work, we chose images as a prism to bring to life the aesthetic experiences of our work. Through
poetry rich, embodied meanings emerged bringing us closer to a place where we gain new insights into the
complexities that face us as women researchers. As Laurel Richardson (2000) writes, “poetry … lets us
hear, see, and feel the world in new dimension” (933). Visualizing these images together and sharing
through conversation what was brought to life in our individual imaginations brings new meanings and
understanding together.
In our work, we find we must take time for such understanding to develop in the back and forth of our
conversations and believe we could not construct the new meaning we seek in our inquiry without
providing the necessary space for this depth of sharing first. We work together eager to create new
meaning, shining a light for one another to illuminate corners we could not easily see alone or could easily
miss visiting entirely. At this time, we borrow Maxine Greene’s (1995) plea to eagerly invite others ‘into
the heart of the artistic-aesthetic’ to awaken expectations, touch tensions, anticipate new beginnings, and
engage in dialogue that will move us towards a healthy research space for women in the academy.
References
Clandinin, D.J. & Connelly, F.M. (2000). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative research.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Diamond, C.T.P. & Mullen, C.A. (1999). The post-modern educator: Arts-based inquiries and teacher
development. New York: Peter Lang.
Diaz, G. & McKenna, M.B. (2004). Teaching for aesthetic experience: The art of learning. New York:
Peter Lang.
Greene, M. (1995). Releasing the imagination: Essays on education, the arts and social change. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Richardson, L. (2000). Writing as method. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative
research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Savage, J. (2004). Telling tales outside of school: Coconstructions of self. In G. Diaz & M. McKenna
(Eds.), Teaching for aesthetic experience: The art of learning. New York: Peter Lang.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported in part by Standard Research Grant # 410-2002-0630 from the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council of Canada. We thank our colleagues Michelle K. McGinn, Michael
Manley-Casimir, and Annabelle Grundy for their ongoing contributions to our collaborative efforts.
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Exploring women’s narratives of chronic pain and returning to learning
ANITA SINNER
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, Canada
asinner@telus.net
An in-depth analysis of the post-secondary learning experiences of three women - Christina, Tina,
and Giustina - revealed that their decisions to participate in college and university courses in
Canada were interconnected with lived experiences of chronic pain. A link between chronic pain
and returning to learning was an unexpected outcome of a study focusing on women’s learning
experiences in post-secondary institutions. Each woman in this study learned to cope with and
adapted to her chronic pain, and over time, returned to learning to undertake new areas of study to
accommodate a redefinition of self based on chronic pain.
Récits de femmes sur la douleur chronique et le retour aux études
Une analyse approfondie des expériences d’études post-secondaires de trois femmes - Christina, Tina et
Giustina – a révélé que leur décision de participer à des cours collégiaux et universitaires au Canada était
interconnectée à leur expérience vécue de douleur chronique. Le lien entre la douleur chronique et le
retour aux études était un résultat inattendu d’une étude centrée sur les expériences d’apprentissage des
femmes dans des institutions postsecondaires. Chacune des femmes de cette étude a appris à vivre avec sa
douleur chronique et à s’y adapter et avec le temps, elle est retournée étudier de nouveaux sujets pour se
redéfinir elle-même sur une base de douleur chronique.
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Keeping girls healthy:

A comprehensive analysis of legal mandates
SANDRA TONNSEN, ALVIN PROFFIT, and JACQUE JACOBS

Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, USA
tonnsen@email.wcu.edu
CHRISTINA AMSTERDAM
University of Pretoria
Pretoria, South Africa
This presentation is an analysis of recent legislation and other initiatives at the national and local levels
which impact the health of school-age girls. It is descriptive and comparative in nature, focusing on the
similarities and differences of these initiatives in Canada, the United States, and South Africa. The
findings have implications for future laws, policies, and programming. The findings also have
implications for educators who frequently must implement the laws and work with girls who encounter
various health and life style issues.
Maintien de la santé chez les filles :

analyse complète des obligations légales
Dans cette communication, on présente l’analyse des récentes législations ainsi que d’autres initiatives
nationales et locales, qui ont des conséquences sur la santé des filles d’âge scolaire. Cette analyse est
descriptive et comparative, et se concentre sur les ressemblances et les différences entre ces initiatives, au
Canada, aux États-Unis et en Afrique du Sud. Les résultats de l’étude comportent aussi des implications
pour les lois, les politiques et les programmes futurs. Ces résultats sont significatifs pour les éducateurs
qui, souvent, doivent appliquer la loi et travailler avec des filles qui ont des problèmes de santé et de style
de vie.
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“How to be healthy”:
Girls and health education - past, present and future
ANIKO VARPALOTAI and ELLEN SINGLETON

University of Western Ontario
London, Canada
aniko@uwo.ca
Text books, and other educational materials, are written for particular purposes – to inform, to instruct,
and to extend student learning. In our presentation we will focus on these three purposes by conducting an
analysis of the curricular expectations and the pedagogical issues and objectives of school health texts
over a time period of approximately 150 years. We will closely examine discourses of science, health,
physical activity, and morality that influenced and guided textbook authors, many of them medical
doctors, as they constructed female hygiene and the female body physiologically, morally, and culturally
on the pages of these books.
“Être en bonne santé” :

les filles et l’hygiène – passé, présent et futur
Les manuels scolaires et d’autres matériels éducatifs, sont écrits dans un but bien précis – pour informer,
instruire et augmenter ce que les élèves apprennent. Dans notre présentation, on s’attache à ces trois
objectifs en effectuant une analyse des attentes en ce qui concerne les programmes et les questions
pédagogiques et objectifs des manuels scolaires qui traitent de la santé depuis environ 150 ans. Nous
examinons de près les discours sur les sciences, la santé et l’activité physique ainsi que la moralité qui a
influencé et guidé les auteurs de ces manuels, dont plusieurs étaient des médecins, car dans les pages de
ces livres, ils construisaient l’hygiène féminine et le corps de la femme physiologiquement, moralement et
culturellement.
Introduction
For almost as long as readin’, ‘writin’ and ‘rithmatic have been identified with Education, health classes
have been an integral part of the scholar’s school day. Health textbooks dating back to1848 provide lively
and engaging evidence that the Victorians’ awakening fascination with science had found an ideal vehicle
for promotion and distribution through the rapidly expanding public school system, in classes focused on
health and healthful living (Mitchinson, 1991; Wilson, 2004). Moreover, the paradoxical struggle
undertaken by many Victorians to reconcile the religious and moralistic strictures of the day with the
somewhat more amoral demands of business, politics, and science is clearly carried out in the pages of
these texts. Early textbook authors, armed as they were with the sure and certain knowledge that they were
imparting immutable scientific “fact” to students, fashioned their books around certain recurring themes
that provide interesting and important glimpses into the complex and sometimes contradictory antecedents
of knowledge that guide the study of health in schools today.
As feminist researchers in health and physical education, we have long been interested in the gender issues
and historical antecedents to the subject areas we teach. One of the ways in which we have each
maintained this interest has been through personal collections of vintage textbooks focused on school
physical and health education. These are also valuable tools in the classroom, where preservice students
are given the opportunity in their first health education class to compare and contrast the materials within
these old books with their own education and the current curriculum expectations. Students are interested,
114
and sometimes amused, to find that curriculum content has changed considerably over the years, leading
to further discussion of the effects of society and culture, science and medicine, and pedagogical practice
in health and related curriculum areas. These would include family studies (formerly home economics),
physical education, as well as specific areas of adolescent counselling, rural and urban contexts, diversity
issues, and school leadership. The students are also struck by the highly gendered nature of the textbooks.
As one [male] student remarked “I would say that the feminist movement has played the most substantial
role in determining our knowledge of what is healthy and what is not.”
We are interested in the ways in which health education and issues of gender intersect and interact with
each other in the preparation and presentation of health information for high school students. In early
textbooks, the way gender and health, generally, are treated appears again and again in such recurring
“themes” as: the topics, (and thus the knowledge) chosen for inclusion, the particularly moralistic and
prescriptive attitudes expressed by authors on the physicality and sexuality of females and males, how
models of human bodies are depicted in photos and illustrations, and the nature of the illustrations used to
depict healthful activity among girls and boys.
Some of the titles we have examined include: First Book of Anatomy, Physiology, and Hygiene for
Grammar Schools and Families (Cutter, 1850); Manual of Health and Hygiene for use by Normal and
Model Schools (Province of Ontario, 1886); Public School Physiology and Temperance (Nattress, 1893);
Health Reader No. 1 (with special reference to the effects of alcohol, tobacco, etc. on the human system),
(Progressive School Series, 1893); (Principles and Methods of Physical Education and Hygiene (Welpton,
1908); Helpful Talks with Girls (Ketling, 1910); Hygiene for Young People (Ontario, 1918); Physical
Education in Rural Schools (Ontario, circa 1950); Public School Temperance (Richardson, 1887); as well
as a collection of booklets written for teenage girls and produced by ‘feminine hygiene’ companies and in
some cases Dairy Councils, with titles including: The miracle of you: What it means to be a girl; As others
see me....; A girl and her figure; It’s wonderful being a girl, to name a few. In total, we reviewed 75 books
and related materials in our combined collections.
In this presentation we will explore two of the themes arising from the pages of school health textbooks
covering a time frame of almost 150 years. First, we will examine how changes, over time, in
conventional medical attitudes and beliefs about health, gender, and child development are reflected in the
topics chosen for inclusion in health textbooks, that is, the epistemology of health education. Following
that, we will discuss the particular issue of how sex education and sexuality were regulated for women
through notions of moral “purity”. A content analysis of 150 years of health education textbooks,
juxtaposed with a theoretical analysis of contemporary views on these topics provides insights into the
social construction of curriculum in public schools.
In summary, we will talk about the pedagogical value of exploring health curriculum in a historical
context, and the substantial role played by the feminist movement in better understanding the gender
implications of health and health education. The evolving meanings and understandings of health have
implications for current teachers and also point to the need to continually reflect on and take into account
the changing norms, expectations and experiences of health facing adolescent students. These historical
textbooks rarely touch on issues of sexuality in overt ways, yet a subtext is discernible throughout. Eating
disorders, depression, cosmetic surgery, and sexually transmitted infections are additional areas which are
not found explicitly in health curricula until very recently, and there is continued discomfort in addressing
some of these topics in the classroom. The proliferation of information technology, particularly with
respect to health issues, amplifies the need to educate students as critical and careful consumers of health
care products and services, as well as making sense of the ever-changing and sometimes contradictory
messages about our health. Feminist pedagogy has a place in health education, as it does in other
curriculum areas.
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Part I: The epistemology of health education
Health textbooks written before 1900, while approaching the content of health curriculum from different
perspectives, were united in the message they intended to send to their readers. That is, while the focus of
the text may have been on improving one’s nutritional practices, or on teaching the functions of selected
physical systems such as the bones, muscles and nervous systems, the emphasis in these texts was almost
always on the effects alcohol and tobacco would have on one’s physical development and on one’s quality
of life. And the effects, needless to say, were not good.
The man who is in the habit of using alcoholic drinks can not touch, taste, see, smell,
or hear so well as he ought. His hands tremble, his speech is sometimes thick, and
often he can not walk straight. Sometimes, he thinks he sees things when he does not,
because his poor nerves are so confused by alcohol that they can not do their work
(Health Reader No.1; 1893; pg. 111)
Tobacco discolors the teeth, makes bad sores in the mouth and often causes a disease
of the throat. …You can tell where the tobacco user has been, by the dirty floor and
street, and the air made unfit to breathe, because of the smoke and the strong, bad,
smell of old tobacco from his pipe and cigar and from his breath and clothes (Health
Reader No.1; 1893; pg. 76)
These opprobrious opinions of alcohol and tobacco, universally shared by textbook authors, are all the
more significant when it is remembered that while negative associations between health and excessive
drinking had been known for some time, no clear link between cancer and smoking was established for
another half a century. In fact, many of the medical “facts” (or perhaps, opinions) mentioned in these texts
are at best, vague and inaccurate, and worse, false and misleading.
Formerly, every precaution was used to prevent persons sick of the small-pox from
breathing fresh air. When Mrs. Ramsay had this disease in Charleston, S.C., her
friends, supposing that life was extinct, caused her body to be removed from the
house to the open shed. The pure air revived the vital spark, and she lived to be an
ornament to her sex (Cutter, 1850, pg. 163).
While it is evident that these texts strove to be informed by the most up-to-date knowledge available to the
writers, and that, in the tradition of scientific writing of the time, vignettes describing how science affected
the lives of ‘common people’ were routinely included in popular health literature, these sensational stories
also served another purpose in textbooks intended for school-aged readers. However lurid these
testimonials, stories, and examples of the evil effects of tobacco and alcohol consumption might have
seemed, the intent of these stories was not really focused on teaching children about the detrimental health
effects of these products at all. It was, of course, about the moral quagmire into which a young person
would tumble if he (usually) or she proved unable, or worse, unwilling, to develop and exercise a vigilant
self control.
As the nineteenth century careened into the twentieth, health texts continued to provide clear moral
guidance in the form of healthful living to young students. In the early decades of the new century, the
ingestion of tobacco and alcohol as well as narcotics of all kinds continued to form the basis of concern
for educators (Knight, 1909).
Tea, coffee, and cocoa are all drunk, chiefly because they make people feel better by
causing the machinery of the body to work faster. For this reason they are spoken of
as stimulants. Alcohol also seems to be a stimulant when taken in small quantities;
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but in reality it is not. It is more like a poison, and the sleep of the drunken man is
almost like the sleep caused by a narcotic poison (Knight, 1909).
The rise of capitalist work practices and increased immigration as a result of local wars in Europe and
other parts of the world resulted in longer and more strenuous hours of work for many men (and women),
longer and more structured school days for children, and living conditions for many that were crowded
and unsanitary. In response, many health texts in the first decades of the twentieth century began to
include prescriptions for the early development of healthful living habits. Young readers were encouraged
to stand up straight, breathe fresh air, get plenty of sleep (with the window open), bathe often, eat simple,
well prepared foods, eschew narcotics of all kinds, and exercise regularly (Welpton, 1908; Knight, 1909;
Fraser & Porter, 1923).
As the century progressed, improved medical knowledge about the spread of disease by germs and human
contact, as well as new sociological theories about the well being of societies living in large and complex
groups contributed to the knowledge found in school health texts. The heavy handed moralistic
condemnation of alcohol and tobacco was replaced by “the spirit of science in relation to healthful living”
(Andress & Brown, 1929). With a traumatic and terrifying World War safely behind them, educators
echoed the optimistic mood of the general society by developing health texts that, “…should be
wholesome and inspiring, with definite emphasis on positive health – on living in such a way that one’s
energy may be conserved and spent with the greatest satisfaction and efficiency, both for himself and the
community” (Andress & Brown, 1929, p.v).
At mid twentieth century, health texts had moved entirely away from the prescriptive moralistic tomes of
earlier times, and in many cases into text books that reflected the influence of progressivist strategies of
instruction – information was organized and presented in a “child-centred” manner that invited young
readers to find out all about that most interesting of topics – themselves. Chapters with such titles as,
“John’s Health Verses”, “Are you like Mary?”, and “More and More of Fred” (Andress, Goldberger,
Dolch and Hallock, 1949, p. vii/viii) attracted students with stories of children “just like them” – as long
as they were White and middle class. Personal appearance, well-being, personality, community welfare
and safety were all lenses through which personal health was explored (Crisp & Wendorf, 1948).
As subsequent health texts were developed for the later decades of the century, some attention to the
notion of the child’s development of a social conscience began to be evident, and chapters devoted to
“Your Feelings” or “Helping Those Who Cannot Hear Well” (Hallock & Allen c.1965); and “How Can
You Make Friends?”, and “Who Can Help With Mistakes?” (Richmond, Pounds & Corbin, 1987)
illustrate the lengths to which authors went to engage students in these topics. It is perhaps interesting to
reflect as well that although the topics may have changed over time, the fundamental questions to which
most health books respond are, “Who knows best about how to be healthy? How should one be a
responsible, healthy, human being?” The following section will examine more closely these two
questions.
Part II: Sexual health and female morality
There is a clear ‘hidden curriculum’ in many of the health textbooks about achieving good health through
“right methods of living” and by “living a sensible, normal life” (Halpenny and Ireland, 1911:v). This
stress on developing good habits for good health included a textbook devoted to the topic of Temperance
(Richardson, 1887) produced in compliance “with a well understood public opinion [and] an Act to
provide for the teaching of Temperance in the Public Schools introduced at the last session of the
Legislature of Ontario and received the unanimous approval of the House” (p. iii). The Preface (iv) states
that “the fact that many contract the habit of using intoxicating liquors through ignorance, and that even
the best education imparted in our Public Schools is not an offset to the ruin which frequently results, may
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be accepted as ample justification for the course which our legislators have now taken.... this new
subject... will have an important moral effect on the lives of the coming men and women of our country.”
Chapters on ‘Death from Alcohol’ (p.91) and ‘Insanity from Alcohol’ (p. 93) are intended to ‘arm’
students with the knowledge against alcohol’s ‘evil influences’ (95) which “many, very many” will
continue to ignore (Ibid.). And while the turn of the century (early 1900s) saw a move away from simple
physiology and disease prevention in the study of health to the environmental dimensions associated with
healthy living, these continued to be limited to such things as: Hygiene for Young People (Knight: 1909),
“sunshine, fresh air and good food properly prepared” advocated by Halpenny and Ireland (1911) and a
series of stickers accompanying a 1925 Ontario Public School Health Book (Fraser and Porter):
Rules of the Health Game:

A full bath more than once a week
Brushing Teeth at least once every day
Sleeping long hours with the windows open
Drinking milk but no tea or coffee
Eating some vegetables or fruit every day
Drinking at least four glasses of water every day
Playing part of every day out of doors
A bowel movement every morning
In this post-WWI period, both boys and girls were encouraged to participate in outdoor play and regular
exercise, and a full chapter is devoted to “Cheerfulness” as a key to good health. And disease prevention is
described in militaritic terms: “building forts against the unseen enemy” and “fighting an enemy with
fresh air and sunshine” (Ibid.:v-vi). In addition to the evils of alcohol, tobacco, other ‘habit forming drugs’
such as opium are addressed in health books by 1925.
A 1932 book: Building Better Bodies (Hay) continues the theme of “Health is natural and it is contagious,
for it follows as the sun follows the night, on the heels of right living - normal thinking and acting - and a
self-control that gives the greatest physical and mental efficiency” (quoted from Tilden, MD in Hay:29).
And finally a mention of sex, in answer to the question: “Should children be taught sex facts? How [sic]
go about it?” (Hay, p. 92). The response given, in its entirety: “As soon as children understand physiology,
as they do in the third to fifth grade in most schools, they are old enough to be taught the facts of sex,
which can always be done in an impersonal way without allowing the least suspicion to enter the mind
that there is anything disagreeable or secret about the subject. If taught in this way this whole sex question
will soon be one of the incidents of the day, not necessary to discuss, because not hidden.”
By the middle of the 20th Century, health books had become more like readers, with cheerful stories and
illustrations. While the pictures convey stereotypical images of male and female activities, sexuality is
confined to a discussion of ‘glands’ at the end of the book (Baruch, Montgomery & Bauer, circa 1950s).
The discussion begins: “Some of these glands help you grow up to be a man or a woman. These glands
cause boys, as they grow, to become men, ready to be husbands and fathers; and they cause girls, as they
grow, to become women, ready to be wives or mothers.” (p. 256). Sexual diversity is confined to a
discussion of circus midgets and bearded ‘ladies’ (pp. 254-255). Puberty is discussed in terms of sudden
weight gain for girls and growth spurts for boys. “Sex” does not appear in the vocabulary list at the back
of the book, and the teachers’ guide in the appendix suggests that ‘Personal Development..... changes
should be discussed and anticipated in a wholesome, matter-of-fact way” (Ibid. p.285). Other books
appearing at this time continue the theme developing a relationship between ‘health habits’ and ‘the
realization of adolescent ideals’, with a growing emphasis on mental health or mental hygiene (Phair &
Speirs, circa 1950s). Safety appears as a concern: “Youth is the age of adventure; it courts danger and
scorns negative admonitions as the insipid product of timid minds....” (Ibid., p.vi), however ‘The Problem
of Danger” is confined to safety in the school, home, highway, at play and at work - no mention of
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sexuality here either. A section on the Importance of Self-Control looked promising, however the
discussion here centres on ‘mental efficiency’, periods of distress, good sportsmanship, ‘right attitudes’,
and some blatant dogma about race superiority:
Rudyard Kipling has been called “a great imperialist” because he believed sincerely
in the right of the Anglo-Saxon race to rule over the earth. Kipling believed that self-
control was the outstanding quality which gave the Anglo-Saxons this right. He
believed that it was the Britisher’s ability to subdue his emotions and keep rash
impulses under control that made him a natural ruler. Most of his experience was in
India, where the natives regarded with awe the Englishman’s ability to withstand
incredible hardships without complaint, to smile in the face of torture, and to conceal
fear. In the midst of oriental luxury, the Englishman disciplined himself with the same
sparing diet, vigorous exercise and daily bath to which he was accustomed in
England. What a contrast to the dissipated lives of some of the native princes....... No
wonder the native population regarded him as a superior breed, to be looked up to
for guidance and loyally obeyed! (p. 316).
There is no mention of sex in this relatively sophistcated book of almost 350 pages, either, but femininity
makes an appearance through sections on the use of cosmetics, and the care of hair and finger-nails (all
illustrations are female).
Health for you (Crisp, 1948: 318-327) approaches these issues through genetics, hereditary traits and
eugenics. The chapter introduces the subject with a rather scientific discussion of ‘development’ involving
sperm cells and egg cells and subsequent cell divisions. Eugenics is introduced as the
science of improving the human stock by applying the known laws of heredity.... How
effective this can be made for man, and whether eugenics is the solution to the
problem of race improvement, are both much debated questions. Eugenics may be the
way of getting rid of a certain proportion of feeble-mindedness and other undesirable
characteristics associated with hereditary physical defects. Criminality, pauperism,
and immorality of various sorts may have hereditary causes.... Exclusion from
marriage of the obviously unfit, such as idiots and low-grade feeble-minded persons
should slowly reduce the number of defective genes to be expected in future
generations..... Through education we may hope to break down harmful tradition,
modify undesirable practices, and establish higher ideals. (pp327-328)
Family takes on a more prominent role in later textbooks (1960s and early 1970s). Teamwork for Health
(Hallock and Allen), for the junior grades, and Teen-Agers (Jenkins, Bauer, and Shacter) written explicitly
for ‘14, 15, and 16 year-olds’ both place a heavy emphasis on the role of a wholesome, nuclear family life,
through both words and colourful pictures of stereotypical family life. While the latter book tries to
address diversity in a section titled ‘Every family is different’ (p. 210), the differences lie in numbers of
children and whether or not grandparents or other members of the extended family live in the same
household - and introduces the idea that in some families mothers work! “We know there are homes where
both the father and mother work - and perhaps cannot spend as much time as some parents with their
children - yet these are ‘good homes’ because the feeling among the family members is a warm and loving
one” (p.211).
An updated version of Phair & Speirs’ text, re-titled “Good Health Today” (circa 1960s), talks about the
impact of health education as ‘rapidly changing the human animal’, and ‘The health education that mother
received at school has begun to show results’ (p.v) given that the average teenager is taller, heavier and
obviously better nourished than previous generations. The curriculum moves from a scientific approach to
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a ‘problem-solving approach’. The blending of physical education with health education leads to chapters
such as: ‘Football Appreciation for Girls’ (p. 108) and ‘Boys Dance, Too’ (p. 110). Sport is promoted
throughout as the conduit to good health. The book is obviously geared to grade 9 students, and the
illustrations and examples continue to perpetuate sex-role stereotypes. While examples abound about what
girls and boys think of one another, the issue of intimate relationships is not discussed, neither is sexuality.
And there is no mention of puberty, menstruation or reproduction. A section titled: “Of Special Interest to
Girls” relates to weight reduction through exercise, and the question of whether ‘strenuous sports are
harmful or unfeminine’. The response includes the example of swimmer Marilyn Bell, and a female
teacher’s advice that:
As long as there are no medical reasons for restricting her exercise, a girl can
participate in vigorous physical activities quite safely. In fact, a properly supervised
program such as she gets at school should improve her physical fitness. And now
about this question of femininity. Does the fact that a girl takes part in active sport
cause her to lose this quality?......To begin with, our idea of what is ‘feminine’ seems
to change over the years. However, let us say that grace and charm are considered
feminine qualities. One girl while playing a game may seem very tough and
‘unladylike’, while a team mate playing with equal spirit and vigour may do so
without losing any of her grace and charm.... (pp. 54-56).
The discussion questions at the end of this section introduce the concept of ‘stereotypes’ for the first time!
So when and where is sexuality introduced into the health curriculum in any overt way? It appears that
this is the domain of the menstruation booklets produced by such varied agencies as: The Associated Milk
Foundations of Canada; Planned Parenthood; Johnson & Johnson; Tampax; The Life Cycle Library
(Kotex); The National Dairy Council (USA); and an intriguing little booklet Strictly Feminine (Hefley,
1971) which combines ‘Women’s Lib’ and biblical quotations in advice for teenage girls. The fact that
both physical and health education have a history of being taught in sex segregated settings, and continue
this tradition even in the most current Ontario curriculum documents, creates an opening for these kinds of
supplementary materials to be introduced into girls’ health classes. And the onset of puberty and
menstruation opens the door for discussions about changes to the maturing female body, personal
appearance, anatomy and physiology of reproductive organs, and relationships with boys.
Part III: Discussion
These are but a few examples of the overt and hidden curricula evident in health education textbooks from
the dawn of public education in Canadian schools during the mid- to late- 19th century, to the present.
With respect to the health of girls and women, and more specifically the moral and sexual teachings of the
schools during this time, the omissions are as glaring as are the overt messages of chastity, purity, and
‘right living’. We continue to grapple with the complexities of sex and gender in public schools today -
and we look forward to a fruitful and ongoing conversation about the ideologies and practices of health
education at the CASWE Institute and beyond.
References
Andress, J.M. & Brown, M.A. (1929). Science and the Way to Health. Boston, MA: Ginn and Company.
Andress, J.M.; Goldberger, I.H.; Dolch, M. & Hallock, G.T. (1949). Growing Big and Strong.Boston,
MA: Ginn and Company.
The Associated Milk Foundations of Canada. (c. 1970s) As others see me...
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Baruch, D.; Montgomery, E. & Bauer, W.W. (c1950). You. Toronto, ON: W.J. Gage and Company
Limited.
Charters, W.W., Smiley, D.F. & Strang, (1935). R.M. Living Healthfully. New York, NY: The Macmillan
Company.
Crisp, K.B. & Wendorf, V.H. (1948). Health for You. Toronto: Longmans, Green & Company.
Cutter, C. (1850). First Book on Anatomy, Physiology, and Hygiene, for Grammar Schools and Families.
Boston, MA: Benjamin B. Mussey and Co.
Fraser, D.T. & Porter, G.D. (1923) Canadian Health Book. Toronto, ON: The Copp Clark Company,
Limited.
Fraser, D.T. & Porter, G.D. (1925) Ontario Public School Health Book. Toronto, On: The Copp Clark
Company Limited.
Hallock,G.T. & Allen, R.L. (c.1950) Growing your Way. Toronto, ON: Ginn and Company.
Hallock, G.T. & Allen, R.L. (c. 1950) Teamwork for Health. Toronto, ON: Ginn and Company.
Halpenny, M.A. & Ireland, L.B. (1911). How to be Healthy. Toronto, ON: W.J. Gage & Company,
Limited.
Hay, Wm. (1932) Building Better Bodies. Toronto: Health Service.
Hefley, M. (1971) Strictly Feminine. Wheaton, Illinois: Vector Books.
Jenkins, G.G., Bauer, W.W., Shacter, H.S. (c1960s) Teen-Agers: A health and personal development text
for all teen-agers.Toronto: W.J. Gage and Company Limited.
Johnson & Johnson (1969) It’s wonderful being a girl. Montreal.
Knight, A.P. (1915) Hygiene for Young People. Toronto, ON: The Copp, Clark Company, Ltd.
The Life Cycle Centre. (c 1970) The Miracle of You: What it means to be a girl. Kotex Products,
Kimberley-Clark of Canada Limited.
Michinson, W. (1991). The Nature of their Bodies. Women and Their Doctors in Victorian Canada.
Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
Nattress, W. (1893). Public School Physiology and Temperance. Toronto, ON: William Briggs.
Pathfinder Physiology No.2. (1889). Hygiene for Young People. New York: A.S. Barnes & Company.
Phair, J.T., and Speirs, N.R. (c late1940s) Good Health. Toronto: Ginn and Company.
Phair, J.T., and Speirs, N.R. (c1960s) Good Health Today. Toronto: Ginn and Company.
Planned Parenthood. (1999) Having your period. Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Progressive School Series (1893). Health Reader No.1. Halifax, NS: T.C. Allen & Company.
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Provincial Board of Health (1886). Manual of Hygiene for Schools and Colleges. Toronto, ON: William
Briggs.
Richardson, B.W. (1887) Public School Temperance: Lessons on Alcohol and Its Action on the Body.
Toronto, ON: The Grip Printing and Publishing Company.
Richmond, J.B., Pounds, E.T. & Corbin, C.B. (1987). Health for Life. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and
Company.
Tampax. (1966) it’s time you knew.... Tampax Incorporated USA.
Welpton, W.P. (1908). Physical Education and Hygiene. London, UK: W.B. Clive. University Tutorial
Press Ltd.
Wilson, A.N. (2002) The Victorians. London, UK: The Random House Group Limited.
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Taking women students seriously:

Acknowledging the impact of violence on women students in sites of higher education
ANNE E. WAGNER
OISE-IÉPO/UT
Toronto, Canada
awagner@oise.utoronto.ca
This paper will explore the extent to which universities are perceived to be cognizant of some of the
challenges faced by women students who have experienced violence. The research will specifically focus
on faculty members who identify as teaching from a feminist perspective, as well as students who have
participated in feminist classes. Employing an intersectional approach to analysis, this paper will examine
the accountability of sites of higher education with respect to such learners and seek to initiate a dialogue
on this topic which has received little critical attention.
Prendre les étudiantes au sérieux : reconnaître les conséquences de la violence subie

par les femmes dans les institutions d’éducation postsecondaire
Dans cette communication, on explore la question de savoir jusqu’à quel point les universités sont au
courant de certains des défis qui se posent aux étudiantes victimes de violence. Cette recherche se
concentre surtout sur les enseignants qui disent enseigner d’un point de vue féministe ainsi que des
étudiants qui ont participé à des classes féministes. Par une approche intersectionnelle de l’analyse, cette
présentation examine la responsabilité des institutions d’enseignement postsecondaire en ce qui concerne
ces étudiants et on cherche à lancer le dialogue sur ce sujet qui n’a guère reçu d’attention critique.
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Health through education for girls and women
Une vie saine pour les femmes et les filles
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HIV/AIDS and women in Africa:

Education towards liberation
TSION DEMEKE ABATE

Edmonton, Canada
tdemeke@ualberta.ca
Traditional gender roles in most sub-Saharan Africa enhance the vulnerability to HIV of women in
particular. The gender power differential is compounded by the economic dependence of women on men,
and the decline of health, education, and other social services implies a loss of opportunities for HIV
prevention. To lower infection rates, culturally sensitive education must address the social construction of
gender and gender hierarchies. My research looks at how educational interventions to control HIV might
target individual behaviours and those aspects of socioeconomic context and cultural impositions that
increase women’s vulnerability to HIV.
Le VIH/SIDA et les femmes en Afrique :

L’éducation comme moyen de libération
Les rôles traditionnels de l’homme et de la femme dans la majeure partie de l’Afrique sub-saharienne
intensifient la vulnérabilité des femmes au VIH en particulier. La différence de la balance du pouvoir entre
les sexes est renforcée par la dépendance économique des femmes envers les hommes et le déclin de la
santé, de l’éducation et des services sociaux signifie que des opportunités de faire de la prévention du VIH
se perdent. Pour faire baisser le taux des infections, il faut qu’une éducation culturellement sensible tienne
compte de la structure sociale des sexes féminin et masculin et des hiérarchies qui relèvent des sexes. Ma
recherche considère comment les interventions éducatives visant à contrôler le VIH pourraient cibler les
comportements individuels et les aspects du contexte socioéconomique ainsi que les obligations
culturelles qui rendent les femmes beaucoup plus vulnérables au VIH.
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Representations of identity:
Canadian girls and pop culture
CHRISTINA ADAMS
Women’s Studies Department, Memorial University
multimedia@christinaadams.com
For a master’s degree in Women’s Studies I have created a documentary film, which consists of
interviews with four girls from across Canada sharing ways that they construct, reproduce, and challenge
identity categories represented in dominant forms of media. Explorations into body image, stereotypes and
gender are common themes throughout the interviews, revealing that a positive self-esteem and a sense of
empowerment are inextricably linked to girls’ health.
Représentations de l’identité :
Les jeunes Canadiennes et la culture populaire
J’ai réalisé pour ma maîtrise en Études féministes un documentaire qui consiste à interroger quatre jeunes
Canadiennes qui partagent leurs façons de construire, de reproduire et de remettre en question des
catégories d’identité représentées dans les formes dominantes des médias. Des thèmes communs à toutes
les entrevues sont : l’image corporelle, les stéréotypes et le sexe (féminin), révélant que l’estime de soi
positive et un sens de responsabilisation sont inextricablement liés à la santé des jeunes filles.
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When schooling is not enough:

The education of teen mothers within specialized multi-service organizations
JANICE AHOLA-SIDAWAY and SANDRA FONSECA

Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa
Ottawa, Canada
asidaway@uottawa.ca
This paper considers the intersection of gender, education and wellness within the context of one
specialized community-based organization that is designed to help the teen mother earn her high school
diploma by offering a comprehensive day support system for her and her child. The analysis, which
focuses on the organization’s multiple links to its external environment as well as its own multiple goals,
is informed by social systems theory, feminist scholarship on classed maternal identities, and neoliberal
welfare policies impacting young women’s school-work transitions.
Quand l’école ne suffit pas : l’éducation des mères adolescentes

dans des services spécialisés offrant de multiples services
Dans cette communication, on considère l’intersection du sexe, de l’éducation et du bien-être dans un

organisme communautaire spécialisé destiné à aider la mère adolescente à obtenir son diplôme d’études
secondaires, en lui offrant un service de soutien complet de jour pour elle et pour son enfant. L’analyse
qui se concentre sur les nombreux liens de l’organisme avec son environnement externe ainsi que ses
propres objectifs multiples, s’appuie sur la théorie des systèmes sociaux, la recherche féministe sur les
identités maternelles classées et sur les politiques néolibérales de bien-être qui impactent la transition des
jeunes femmes de l’école au milieu de travail.
Introduction
Canadian teen mothers today face many complex challenges. They are often poor and parenting alone; and
they are also expected to be working toward completion of their high school education. High school
programs that aim to support teen mothers to complete their education recognize the importance of
offering multidisciplinary support to help them be successful in school; and some teen mothers are
continuing their education by accessing specialized community-based organizations offering broad-based
support that is designed to serve their varied needs. This paper takes a brief look at some of the everyday
struggles taking place within one such organization, from the point of view of those who serve the teen
mom population.
This research is part of a larger ongoing research program, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada, exploring the everyday worlds of several welfare state organizations
implicated in the lives of young mothers.
The present paper considers the intersection of gender, education and wellness within the context of one
specialized community-based organization whose primary mission is to help the teen mother to earn her
high school diploma by offering a comprehensive (educational, social, clinical, childcare) day support
system for her and her child. The analysis is based on a qualitative case study of one community-based
organization in Ontario Canada that provides full-time schooling to approximately 50 eligible young
mothers from 16-21 years of age. Over a three-month period data were collected via semi-structured
interviews with a range of organizational participants (director; a majority of the teachers and student
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support workers; mental health counselors, and a small sample of students), strategic participant
observation, and organizational documents made available to us by the organization. In this paper we
focus on two important examples of everyday challenges that illustrate the “work” of service providers
that goes on behind-the-scenes to support formal schooling. Our discussion draws from the perspectives of
a range of service providers working at the centre who were most closely involved in the two examples
provided.
In this paper we draw from three literature threads: social systems theory, feminist scholarship on classed
maternal identities, and neoliberal welfare policies impacting teen mothers’ access to social assistance.
Social systems theory helps us to pay attention to how life inside the organization is simultaneously
separated from, linked to, and an integral part of the larger social environment. Such a perspective also
draws attention to how organizational policies and practices construct and manage an organization’s
multiple links to its external environment as well as its own multiple goals, diverse services, and core
shared values (Hoy & Miskel, 2005).
The analysis is also informed by feminist scholarship on classed maternal identities. In particular, we draw
on current scholars who expand the work of French social theorist Pierre Bourdieu (Bourdieu, 1992;
Webb, Schirato, & Danaher, 2002) by incorporating a more textured gender lens into his treatise on social
class as a generative, lived, embodied construct. In the paper we highlight how staff worked to help the
young mothers cope with, participate in, and at times be protected from and regulated by, a larger culture
and social regime that oftentimes operated from a different social location from their own.
The paper is also informed by current Canadian work-centred and means-tested social policy that attempts
to address poverty among young mothers through welfare-to-work strategies that are intended to help
them complete their high school education and become economically self-sufficient. In 1999 the province
of Ontario launched the “Learning, Earning, and Parenting” (LEAP) program, a targeted strategy within
Ontario Works (Ontario’s employment assistance initiative) that is intended “to help young parents aged
16-21 years old complete their [high school] education and to help them and their children become self-
reliant” (Government of Ontario, 2001). As implied by its title, the program supports three broad types of
activities: schooling activities, activities that support the development of employment-related skills, and
activities that foster successful parenting skills. Although some LEAP funding is deployed to provide
stable institutional supports that have been negotiated at the broader municipal or organizational level,
some funding is available to individual caseworkers to help the young mother client succeed with her
individual service plan and fulfill her obligations to the State.
The two examples presented below highlight some of the “work” involved by the Centre to help the teen
moms cope with competing urgencies linked to their maternal role and student/worker role under
conditions of poverty. Our first example provides a specific schooling example —the co-operative
education course; and the second example provides a look at how the Centre helped mediate the
relationship between the teen mom and LEAP caseworkers.
Co-operative education courses
A very popular form of academic credit at the Centre was the co-operative education course. It provided
firsthand employment-related experience out in the workplace. Unlike other academic courses, co-op
courses require Ontario students to be out in the workplace and for an extended time (approximately 200
hours) in addition to class time spent preparing for and debriefing about their placement (Ahola-Sidaway,
McKinnon, Simser, & Spletzer, 1996). Ontario co-op students receive no pay during their placement; and
in many ways, the co-op course serves as a kind of gendered and middle-class apprenticeship into the role
of “worker citizen”.
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During their in-school time at the Centre, their co-op teacher would support students in completing a range
of employment-related activities designed to help them reflect on possible career options more generally,
obtain necessary work credentials, create written documents about their capabilities and past
accomplishments, and practice interpersonal skills. They helped the students to access and explore career
options websites; they brought in speakers working in specific occupations; and they helped the students
to obtain their age of majority card and a police record check (for some jobs), and to prepare for a health
and safety test. They also helped them develop personal resumes and portfolios, complete placement log
sheets about their work, practice writing thank you notes, and prepare for their job placement interview
through role-playing exercises.
The students tended to choose placements located in the service industry, for example, in offices, schools,
retail stores, daycare centres, hospitals, and within public or third-sector services. They looked forward to
being out in the workforce; and they were also always quite “excited” and “enthusiastic” about their
upcoming job and the idea of getting dressed up for work. They “exude an aura, they are bright and
shiny” as they get ready for their interview, one staff member remarked.
But once the placement became part of the day’s work, tensions could easily start to creep in. Mornings
that were already demanding became even more so. Prior to co-op, “just the day-to-day routine is a lot for
these women,” a counselor observed. She went on to explain: “ a lot of [the moms] have to get up really
early to get themselves together, get their child together, get themselves [and their child] on the bus and
get to school... doing what needs to be done every day... So that’s not an easy thing to do. I can barely get
here on time and I only have myself to take care of.” With co-op, students had to pay greater attention to
their dress and grooming, drop their child off at the Centre, spend additional time traveling to the job, and
get to work on time. Also, when they or their baby were ill, they were expected to phone the daycare, the
teacher, and the placement. “With the co-op, missing a few days of work without calling in is a big thing;
you’re fired,” a counselor explained. Staff tried to “ teach them not just to follow through with the school
expectations but [also] the work expectations. That’s a heavy load. And that’s difficult for students.”
What’s more, being out on co-op meant they were cut off from daily Centre support, for example informal
contact with the student support workers, supportive peers, and subsidized lunch. Hamilton (2005), among
others, argues that there is a “fundamental incompatibility between reproductive labour and childcare, on
the one hand, and paid work on the other… [and there are] profound consequences of this incompatibility”
(p. 134). In many ways, the teen moms who were working to complete their co-op credits, and the Centre
staff who tirelessly supported them, lived this fundamental incompatibility and its consequences on a daily
basis.
Over the years the Centre had also worked hard to reduce co-op planning uncertainties by establishing
favourable linkages (Hoy & Miskel, 2005) with cooperating organizations. Students could more easily be
placed and the receiving workers were familiar with and more tolerant of the demanding circumstances of
the students. For example, if a student had a problem with body odor or dental hygiene, employers were
kind and tolerant. Nonetheless, the co-op placement itself could sometimes still become a source of
tension. Some students found themselves in a situation they felt was unfair and unjust and they would quit.
Service jobs requiring them to work with the public, for example in a retail store or interacting with the
larger community, could create tension. A counselor explained:
When you go to work you’re expected to dress in a certain way. And when you go to a
store, you’re expected to dress in…the clothes [that] the stores sell. They don’t have a
lot of money to go out shopping for a wardrobe. So that creates problems in the
workplace, coming inappropriately dressed. Another problem is a job where they
have to interact with the community; so social skills…may create a problem for them.
Their lack of social skills. If their co-op is in a store, their problem [might be] dealing
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with clients…. So those sorts of things…they have difficulty with, and that’s why
they’re here; to be able to learn what the expectations are.
Over the last 20 years, feminist scholars have been paying greater attention to the gendered division of
labour in the workplace, the prevalence of women in the service industry, and the hidden “emotional
labour” challenges they face in frontline service jobs (e.g., Paules, 1991; Wharton, 1999). Specific to
young women, a recent study involving middle-class teen women working in frontline service jobs found
that those jobs required a range of coping strategies to maintain their sense of authenticity and respond to
attacks on their sense of self (Ahola-Sidaway & McKinnon, 2003). In the present study, it is likely that the
differing social locations of the young workers and those of the public they served may have sometimes
increased worker-customer tension. Lawler (2005), drawing from Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, makes
this point more generally when she argues that classed femininities become socially embodied within
individuals through our manner of speaking, the way we dress and carry ourselves, our attitudes, and so
on, which in turn help confer or deny authority.
For the co-op students, perhaps one of the most cathartic group activities taking place at the Centre was
the weekly co-op debriefing session. A staff member described the time as an opportunity to reflect on
“the good, the bad, and the ugly.” The tone of the sessions seemed particularly conducive to building trust
and sharing challenges. Discussions unfolded alongside relaxing nonacademic activities such as rug
making, sewing, doll-making and the like.
Relations with Ontario Works (social assistance)
One of the major stressors for Centre students was the ongoing struggle of living far below the poverty
line while trying to complete their high school education. “They’re not making enough money to be able
to come to school and live their life…the holistic approach is very important… It’s not just about
education here”, explained a staff member. Most students were on social assistance, a meager monthly
allowance made worse by high rental costs and a 10-year waiting list for social housing. Centre students,
because they were young parents enrolled in a high school program, qualified for some very limited
additional support (through the province’s Learning, Earning, and Parenting Program) to help defray
personal schooling-related costs (e.g., additional school supplies, transportation). At the same time, this
supplement was not a fixed entitlement. It was instead parceled out at the discretion of the student’s
Ontario Works caseworker generally on an ad hoc case-by-case month-by-month basis for a specific
purpose that could be interpreted by the caseworker as a necessary positive incentive to foster schooling
persistence and successful parenting. This ambiguity made it difficult for the client to know what services
the program might support, a finding also reported by Jenkins (2003) involving other young mothers
participating in the LEAP program in another Ontario city.
Each student on social assistance had her own Ontario Works caseworker. For its part, however, the
Centre had long recognized the importance for its success of intervening in the caseworker-client
relationship. It went to great lengths to cultivate a trusting working relationship with the local offices and
specific caseworkers; and new students were encouraged to get reassigned to one of these caseworkers.
One staff member, who had worked at the Centre for several years, was permanently assigned as liaison.
Each week the students were encouraged to prepare their questions for their caseworker prior to her
weekly visit to the Centre. Although the student remained the primary contact, this batch-processing
strategy meant that Centre staff came to know the caseworkers; it helped local staff stay more aware of
tensions; it reduced the number of phone calls by clients to their caseworker; and it reduced the amount of
time students would have otherwise spent away from the Centre meeting with their caseworker.
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The staff liaison’s role involved much more than the time and place coordination, however. The following
excerpt highlights the pivotal and complex role she played within this client-caseworker relationship that
relied so much on an informal means-tested model:
We have a partnership with [the LEAP caseworkers]. They trust us; I trust them. It’s
based on individual need, so it’s not…cut and dry… it’s based on request. There’s
still things that I’m not 100% aware of, but there’s still things that we can be
questioning and asking for our moms. When a girl…asks ‘Do you think LEAP will
cover it?’ ‘ I always say, ‘Just ask your worker; don’t be shy; always ask.’ They will
get on the phone and bug and bug and bug. It’s a great advocacy skill, [and] if
they’re asking every month for the same thing, it’s going to be permanently put on [as
a legitimate form of support]…. It can be difficult sometimes [to convince the LEAP
worker there is a need], especially since a lot of these mums are so poor…can’t make
ends meet. So when they ask and they’re denied and I really feel it’s a cause I could
advocate for them, I don’t mind picking up the phone and saying, ‘really, anything
you could do for this mum…’ Again it’s making sure they don’t take advantage of the
system; but if I know they’re not coming to school because they spent their bus pass
money on food that month, and they’re going to lose their spot here because they’re
not in school, I don’t mind picking up the phone and saying, ‘Okay, for this month,
let’s try and help her out a bit more.’ And I think that’s what [the caseworkers] need,
another professional working closely with them to make them feel like ‘Okay, sure,
we’ll give them the little bit extra this month.’
As illustrated above, the staff member cultivated a social location that made it possible for her to bridge
the class and age divide by serving as a knowledge broker between the government bureaucracy and the
young client, as a compelling client advocate, as an active coach, and even as a potential agent of policy
change on behalf of the local client population. She encouraged persistent lobbying among her students,
and she developed compelling arguments for ad hoc client support. Notably, she felt that her privileged
social location as a professional was authoritative enough to sometimes reverse a claim made by a student
that had been disqualified by the caseworker, implying that she was able to find common linguistic and
social ground with the caseworker as a discussion among professionals. Lawler (2005) makes this point
more generally when she writes:
Speech (authoritative or otherwise) goes on between the speaker and the listener. It is
in this relationship… that authority either inheres or fails to inhere. Authority cannot
simply be claimed by the speaker; it must also be granted by the listener. This is not a
question of individual choice, but of doxic rules (shared core values, beliefs,
discourses]; there must be sufficient legitimation granted to the speaker. (p. 123)
The excerpt also highlights how the staff member served as a kind of monitor and regulator of the LEAP
policy by sorting out in her own mind what she believed was a “real” need among clients whom she knew
were living in persistent poverty and “can’t make ends meet.” In other words, she cultivated what
Bourdieu calls a “feel for the game” (Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992) or “‘the practical sense—the ability to
function effectively within a given social field” (Lovell, 2000, p. 12). What’s more, she learned to
participate in a field of action that operated according to its own sense of inner logic which can oftentimes
be quite arbitrary and contingent (McNay, 2000).
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Concluding comments
This paper has considered the intersection of gender, education, and wellness by focusing on some of the
everyday challenges facing teen mothers and their service providers within one specialized multi-service
community-based centre designed to help the teens complete their high school education. We have
considered two examples, one directly linked to their academic work and the other directly linked to their
social location as individuals receiving social assistance. Through these examples we have attempted to
highlight some of the ways that the Centre and its staff managed important tensions and contradictions as
it worked to serve its clientele.
Contemporary Canadian society rests on a work-centric ideology, which in large measure defines good
citizenship and social contribution in terms of one’s ability to be financially self-sufficient. This ideology
is reflected in high school co-operative education programs that provide students with firsthand workplace
experience. It is also reflected in State welfare policies that attempt to manage poverty through means-
tested welfare-to-work programs. For teen mothers, and the professionals who serve them, this prevailing
ideology introduces numerous tensions that require persistent effort, struggle, and courage. This paper has
attempted to offer glimpses into how one centre serving teen mothers undertook this very challenging
mission.
References
Ahola-Sidaway, J. & McKinnon, M. (2003, Fall). Keeping a happy face: Managing emotions in teen jobs.
Atlantis, 28(1), 36-47.
Ahola-Sidaway, J., McKinnon, M., Simser, C., & Spletzer, P. (1996). Learning about women’s work:
Canadian thoughts on critical practice in secondary school co-op education. Journal of Cooperative
Education, 32(1), 52-65
Bourdieu, P., & Wacquant, L. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.
Government of Ontario. (September 2001 Draft). Learning, Earning and Parenting (LEAP) Directive
39.0. Ontario Works. Ministry of Community, Family and Children’s Services.
Hamilton, R. (2005). Gendering the vertical mosaic: Feminist perspectives on Canadian society (2nd ed.).
Toronto: Pearson-Prentice Hall.
Hoy, W. K., & Miskel, C. G. (2005). Educational administration: Theory, research, and practice (7th ed.).
Boston: McGraw Hill.
Jenkins, M. A. (2003). Young single mothers and welfare reform. Journal of Child and Youth Care Work,
18, 163-173.
Lawler, S. (2005). Rules of engagement: Habitus, power and resistance. The Sociological Review,
52(S2),110-128.
Lovell, T. (2000). Thinking feminism with and against Bourdieu. Feminist Theory, 1(1), 11-32.
McNay, L. (2000). Gender and agency: Reconfiguring the subject in feminist and social theory.
Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
132
Paules, G. F. (1991). Dishing it out: Power and resistance among waitresses in a New Jersey restaurant.
Philadelphia: Temple University.
Wharton, A. S. (1999). The psychosocial consequences of emotional labor”, Emotional labor in the
service economy. R. J. Steinberg and D. M. Figart, eds. Annals of the American Academy of Political and
Social Science. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1999.
Webb, J., Schirato, T., & Danaher, G. (2002). Understanding Bourdieu. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
133
Inuit women’s narratives about reproductive health
PHYLLIS ARTISS
Memorial University
partiss@mun.ca
I will present insights gained from interviewing three generations of women in an Inuit family in Northern
Labrador about their reproductive health. This paper focuses on how these Inuit women construct
narratives about their first experiences of menstruation, about their own bodies, and about how they
learned to be mothers. Some surprising patterns emerge from these narratives when compared with
women in other parts of the province and across three generations.
Récits d’Inuites sur leur santé reproductive
Je présente des témoignages recueillis au cours d’entrevues effectuées auprès de trois générations de
femmes dans une famille Inuite du nord du Labrador, quand elles parlent de leur santé reproductive. Cette
communication se concentre sur la façon dont ces femmes parlent de leurs premières menstruations, de
leur corps et comment elles ont appris leur rôle de mère. Des thèmes surprenants émergent de ces récits
lorsqu’on les compare à ceux des femmes d’autres régions de la province et d’une génération à l’autre.
134
Learning to be a woman :
Body image, health and sex
NATALIE BEAUSOLEIL
Memorial University
nbeausol@mun.ca
An important part of learning to be a woman is learning to conform to an ideal feminine body. This
panellist discusses how Newfoundland women in this study learned to view and shape their own bodies
according to interpersonal relations and dominant discourses of the time. I also examine how women we
talked with link body image, health and sex in their everyday lives.
Apprendre à être femme :

image corporelle, santé et sexualité
Pour apprendre à devenir une femme, il est important de se conformer à un idéal de beauté féminine. Cette
panéliste discute de la façon dont les Terre-Neuviennes apprennent à voir et à façonner leur propre corps
selon leurs relations interpersonnelles et les discours dominant de l’époque. J’examine aussi comment les
femmes avec qui nous avons parlé font le lien entre leur image corporelle, leur santé et leur sexualité dans
leur vie quotidienne.
135
Youth narratives on learning about health and fitness
NATALIE BEAUSOLEIL
Memorial University
nbeausol@mun.ca
GENEVIÉVE RAIL
University of Ottawa
Ottawa, Canada
This paper focuses on the results of a qualitative study that aims to understand how young Canadians
discursively construct their notions of fitness and health. Based on interviews and focus groups conducted
with a range of young Canadians, this presentation will examine how youths learn about the gendered
fields of health and fitness and which obstacles they encounter in their everyday lives in achieving “good
health.” We use a feminist poststructuralist framework to explore how different youths negotiate and
perform the prescriptions of dominant discourses in health and fitness.
Récits de jeunes sur l’apprentissage de la santé et de la bonne condition physique
Dans cette communication, on parle des résultats d’une étude qualitative dont l’objectif est de comprendre
comment les jeunes Canadiens construisent dans leurs discours les notions de condition physique et de
santé. En partant de données recueillies au cours d’entrevues et auprès de groupes ciblés de jeunes
Canadiens, cette présentation examine comment les jeunes s’informent sur les domaines de la santé et de
la condition physique selon les sexes et quels obstacles se dressent dans leur vie quotidienne lorsqu’ils
cherchent à être « en bonne santé ». Nous utilisons un cadre de travail féministe poststructuraliste pour
explorer comment les jeunes négocient et appliquent les discours normatifs de la santé et de la condition
physique.
136
‘Writing on the body’ as health rducation for girls
ELIZABETH REID BOYD and ABIGAIL BRAY

Edith Cowan University
Perth, Australia
e.boyd@ecu.edu.au
Body Talk: A Power Guide for Girls is a self help guide for teen girls that addresses a number of core
issues such as self-harm, eating disorders and sexual abuse from a feminist perspective. This paper
explores the process of translating feminist theoretical and mental health education strategies into a
mainstream self-help book and associated writing/self development workshops for teen and pre-teen girls.
It explores the way feminist ‘writing on the body’ may be utilised. Discussed are four strategies from the
book, used in workshops: Tabula rasa; I wish I’d said; Tell it; and Ever after/
« Écriture à propos du corps » :

outil d’éducation sur la santé pour les filles
Body Talk: A Power Guide for Girls est un guide destiné aux adolescentes, qui traite d’un certain nombre
de questions importantes dans une perspective féministe, en particulier se faire du mal, les troubles de
l’alimentation et les abus sexuels. Dans cette communication, on explore le processus de traduction de la
théorie féministe et des stratégies de l’éducation sur la santé mentale en un manuel général ainsi que des
ateliers sur l’écriture et le développement de soi, pour les adolescentes et les pré-adolescentes. On y
explore comment on pourrait utiliser “l’écriture à propos du corps » des féministes On discute de quatre
stratégies tirées du guide et utilisées dans les ateliers intitulés : Tabula rasa; « J’aurais aimé dire… » ; Dis-
le et Pour toujours.
Introduction
Power means holding your head high no matter what you look like. It means speaking
out when you’ve been told you have nothing to say. It means having the courage to
celebrate your difference, your uniqueness, believing your own story and not
someone else’s vision of who you should be. It’s about cherishing your unique self,
taking delight in your eccentricity and wildness, being proud and kicking the shame
habit. Real power, the sort you use every day, isn’t about conforming to an image.
It’s about creating a space for yourself and writing your own script, your own
story….
Body talk
Feminist thinkers, writes Barbara Brooks, “have always been interested in the ways female bodies are
talked about, classified, disciplined, invaded, destroyed, altered, decorated, pleasured…and more… In a
way, all feminist thinking might be described as an engagement of one sort or another, with what it means
to be and to be perceived to be, a female body” (1999:2).
Body Talk: A Power Guide for Girls is no exception to this feminist interest. The point of difference for
this feminist text, though, is where it is to be found, with its flower motif, rose pink cover and fun, wavy
font: “sitting neatly amongst the brightly coloured books aimed at the teenage market” (Keel, 2005).
137
In writing Body Talk and utilising the hot pink language of girl power, our aim was to gain a space within
the public sphere to talk about feminist issues. While the result has limitations as an activist/theoretical
text operating within current teen/media discourses and practices on the female body, we saw it as a
necessary tactic or strategy in the ongoing conversation between feminism and popular culture,
introducing a positive language of body politics into popular culture and, we hope, aspects of girls’
everyday life.
In the book, we introduce our readers to the new girl power rules and give them tools to combat the body
police whose weapons are bullying and gossip. We provide ideas on ways for them not be a casualty or
fashion victim in the beauty wars. We work with idea of surveillance in ‘watching’ our weight and how
we try to speak through skin graffiti as well as the dealing with the skin deep of racism. We suggest ways
girls can write their own sex script. We explore drugs and mental health issues. We provide methods for
talking back to the media. Emphasising solidarity and friendship, we interviewed girls and included their
voices in the text to honour girls’ voices and subjectivity.
We also provide writing and self development activities throughout the book. This is crucial to our health
education approach. Body Talk locates ‘body talking’ and ‘writing from the body’ as a form of narrative
therapy, of ‘writing cure’ - in direct opposition to the 19th century non-writing cure that was proscribed for
hysterical or depressed creative women in the 19th century, so awfully narrated in Charlotte Perkins
Gilman’s short story The Yellow Wallpaper16. Body Talk is not end product, but a starting point for girls’
many versioned – physical, emotional, social, imaginary, metaphysical as well as digital and paper –
stories of their own.17
Body Talking is about finding a voice – storying – and learning to re-story as a life strategy. Hopkins
(2005) writes of concept of re-storying the self: the notion that to find a voice one gives life to a story and
story to a life. She argues that it is possible to story oneself so that one celebrates and foregrounds the
having of voice and the feeling of strength that this implies (Hopkins, 2005).
Tabula rasa
One of the first strategies in Body Talk for finding voice is using a Tabula rasa:
When you were born you were a tabula rasa, which means a blank
slate or a clean page. You were innocent. You didn’t know
anything. Over time you were told many things about the world and
the people around you, and about yourself. You were told how you
fitted in to the world, you were told who you are, who you are not,
and who you are meant to be. Gradually, the blank page of your
body-self started to become covered in writing. This writing has
created your body image.
If you feel the body-image that has been written onto your body
isn’t really who you are, then it’s time for a rewrite. You can
rewrite who you are and the rules about who you are not and who
you want to be. You can change your body-image and the stories
16
In Gilman’s story, the narrator is driven mad by being kept to a room with no activity. The story is
based upon Gilman’s life.
17
In fact, in one workshops series, a group of girls provided their own pink version of Body Talk, filling it
with their own stories and poems. As an author, if books feel like children, perhaps this is how a
grandchild feels.
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that make up who you are with a bit of courage and creativity and a
Tabula Rasa.
Find yourself a notebook, exercise book or scrapbook, a big one,

lined or blank, it doesn’t matter, with a cover you like. Decorate it,
disguise it, customise it, make it your own. Or make a file on your
computer. This is your Tabula Rasa.
… Think of it as a long letter to yourself, a private history of all the

things that matter to you. It will be a diary, a journal, an adventure,
a body plan, a creative space where you can experiment with
different ways of being. A place to create some new body rules. You
can use images from the mass media, your own photos (maybe a
baby photo for page one) poems, inspiring quotes, cuttings from all
over the place. You can scribble, babble, blurt, get it all out of your
system; put it all down. Start creating a new language, a language
that works for you….. (Body Talk: 5-6)
As Grosz has pointed out “the body cannot be understood as a neutral screen, a biological tabula rasa”
(Grosz (1994:18) in Brooks 1999:13). We encourage girls to use a Tabula Rasa to move beyond the idea
of identity being a given, but rather, created. In workshops, participants are invited to use a Tabula Rasa
as ‘a journal, a notebook, a place where you brainstorm, make lists, jot down ideas, conversations or
dialogue, or where you write down quotes, writing or illustrations – drawing, or cuttings, poetry or prose’.
The Tabula Rasa may serve as “the very possibility of change, the space than can serve as a springboard
for subversive thought, the precursory movement of a transformation of social cultural standards”
(Cixous, in Tong 1998:200).
I wish I’d said….
The possible is also explored in the strategy “I wish I’d said”.
Have you ever walked away from a put-down or being teased and said to yourself ‘I
wish I’d said…?’ You’re not alone. But it’s time to start putting those day dreams to
good use because figuring out what you might say the next time is one of your lines of
defense against the Body Police. You have to learn some new lines and how to deliver
them with style and power.
So you’ve been in a bit of a spat … someone has walked away from you instead of
towards you, someone has made a loud, obnoxious comment about the way you look
or something you’ve said or done.
But you said nothing back! Or perhaps you said something a bit lame. You were
burning up inside as you walked away and thought to yourself Why didn’t I...???!!, I
should have...!!!!!, I wish I had said ....! There is still something you can do.
Rehearse. (Body Talk: 22)
“I wish I’d said” teaches about dialogue and setting scenes but on a more personal level, it teaches girls
how to be more assertive and gain self-confidence when they are confronted with adverse situations in
everyday life. These are some examples from a primary school workshop with 12 year olds:
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“My friend and I were going to the shop. I was waiting at the back while she went in.
I was waiting alone well at least I thought I was alone then a strange person came
out of nowhere. They said to me ha ha, you have dark skin! All their friends
surrounded me. I couldn’t think of a reply so I pushed out of the circle. The next
minute, I was running for my life trying to hold back my tears. I wish I’d said “Well,
dark skin doesn’t hurt as much when I get sunburnt.”(Danisha, 12)
One bright beautiful day, all was going well until I saw a girl called Lisa getting
teased because she was not allowed to wear short skirts to school. I walked closer to
the basketball court so I could see and hear what was going on. The three bullies,
Jamie, Emma and Anna were saying things like “your mum and dad are so stupid,
they don’t ever let you wear what looks good.” “You will never be popular”. “You
look ugly with that long skirt!” I held my breath and walked towards the bullies, I
had it all worked out I knew exactly what to say. Then I suddenly stopped. I couldn’t
do it. I mean what if they started to tease me, I do have red hair and I’m not wearing
anything that the popular people would wear. I looked at Lisa crying as the three
bullies walked away. I wish I’d said to the bullies “Stop that and leave her alone!”
Then they might have gone away. They might have also started teasing me but at least
I would be with the person that is being teased so I could help them and give them
confidence to tell someone (Annie, 12.)
In a smaller writing club, girls wrote a story over a period of weeks, writing and refining. A section in one
girl’s story was entitled: “We can beat them”
We went up to them [the bullies] and we had our Come Back in our heads ready to
go. We said “Can’t you leave people alone?”
“Um. No!!” They screamed together.
“You know, you would make great actors,” I laughed.
“Why is that shortie?” questioned Mica.
“Oh, Mean Girls 2!” I giggled, while they stared in disgust. (Amanda, 12)
I wish I’d said is a version of the empty chair technique, as well as re-storying of experiences. It doesn’t
offer an opportunity to rewind or replay, but it does show a way forward to reframe, rehearse and re-
imagine. The imaginary language of wishes “is language that does not contain, it carries, it does not hold
back, it makes possible” (Cixous, in Tong, 1998:201). The reading of these stories in class was also
powerful to observe – in itself a re-storying.
Tell it
Another strategy in Body Talk “Tell it” was adapted from one hundred and fifty seven ways to tell my
incest story by Emily Levy.
Tell your story as:

• graffiti
• as a song
• as a poem
• as a play
• as a letter to the Prime Minister
• as a letter to your favourite celebrity
• as a gossip column
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• as a letter to Dolly
• as a website
• as a newspaper article
• as a rescue tale
• as fairy tale
• as a horror story (Body Talk: 136)
In the book, “Tell It” is placed in the Sex Symbols chapter in a section on sexual abuse, where we
carefully work through disclosure. In writing and self development workshops, “Tell It” is also used
towards a great understanding of context and location - that in another time or place experiences may be
different, that there is potential for activism, for making change. Participants are encouraged to experiment
with genre and endings, in their imaginary and real life stories: “There are so many different ways we can
tell a story. Think about your story. Can you tell it another way? What would be the same? What would be
different? What would you need to change? Take one of your stories and try telling it differently. Try a
different genre. Try a twist. What happens?”
Ever after
“Ever after” is another technique that makes re-storying explicit. We suggest to girls:
Perhaps it feels like if you have made mistakes, or if you have been hurt by others,
that what has happened can’t be changed. It’s hopeless. Everything’s ruined. And
what’s done is done.
That’s not quite true. It is true that whatever you have done, or has been done to you,
can’t be undone. No matter how much you might like to, you can’t go back in time.
No, you can’t change the beginning of the story. But you can change the ending.
Think of all the of the fairy tales you were read when you were little. Was it over
when the heroine faced her darkest hour? When she was lost in the woods? When she
was trapped in a tower?
We are not going to tell you that some knight or prince is about to come and rescue
you – that idea might have lead to some of your troubles in the first place. As you
probably guessed – there’s rather a knight shortage these days. It ain’t going to
happen.
But you can rescue yourself. Get up on that horse and grab your sword. Because
what happens next in the story is up to you. (Body Talk: 187-188)
In Body Talk, through these and other re-storying and narrative therapy strategies, we ask girls to think
about the politics of body image; that the personal is political. We try to help them recognise that ‘normal’
is a fiction which changes over time.
Body Talk is also our, the authors’ re-story. Also personal-political, it is a self-reflexive analysis of the
process of writing while also drawing attention to the issues we perceive to be confronting the next
generation of women. Writing Body Talk was challenging for us both, raising issues from our own teens,
many of which were covered in the book. Being able to write from experience enabled us to honour the
courage which enabled us to survive our own teen struggles with self-destruction and also the courage of
141
teen girls today who face similar, even more pervasive, challenges. In this way we were able to
acknowledge (and mourn) the reality of oppression in the teen years without falling into reactionary
victimhood. If we had suffered parental abandonment, eating disorders, sexual abuse, self-harm,
depression and an assorted range of other challenges and gone onto create a voice and a position from
which we could speak, then so too, we trust, can girls today. By addressing the commercial representation
of girl power, we acknowledge that girls have a complex, and powerful media literacy and personal/public
voice. We guide them towards solidarity, and being agents of social change. As we state in the final
sentences of the book: stop trying to change yourself, go change the world.
Body Talk was, for us, perhaps, a writing cure. Along with girls today, we are participative agents in a
gendered social world, but our bodies are also vehicles for enacting our desires, reaching out in the world
and, hopefully, creating change
Don’t let other people tell you how your story ends. … No matter what has happened,
no matter what has been done to you, or what you have done, it isn’t too late to
change the ending, to make things different, to make things better … no matter how
bad it is, no matter if you feel you can’t go on, that you can’t change anything, don’t
give in. Don’t make it the end of your story. It’s never too late for a happy ending.
Never. (Body Talk: 188.)
References
Brooks, Barbara. (1999). Feminist Perspectives on the Body. London and New York: Longman.
Hopkins, L. (2006). Guide to Sex, Bodies, Narratives and Self. Western Australia: Edith Cowan
University.
Hopkins, L. (2005). ‘Sandy’s Story: Restorying the Self’ in Gustafson, Diana L. (Ed.) Unbecoming
Mothers: The Social Production of Maternal Absence. Binghamton NY: The Haworth Clinical Practice
Press.
Keel, Monique. (2005, November). Review of Body Talk in Aware: The Australian Centre for the Study
of Sexual Assault Newsletter No. 9. Sydney: Australian Institute of Family Studies ISSN 1448-8140
(Print); ISSN 1448-8167 (Online).
Levy, Emily (1994). ‘One Hundred and Fifty Seven Ways to Tell My Incest Story’ in Davies, Laura and
Bass, Ellen The Courage to Heal New York: Harper Perennial.
Reid Boyd, Elizabeth and Bray, Abigail. (2005). Body Talk: A Power Guide for Girls. Hodder Headline:
Sydney Australia.
Tong, Rosemary. (1998). Feminist Thought: A More Contemporary Introduction. Australia: Allen and
Unwin.
142
“Warning: This could happen to you”

Young mothers as moral parables about the dangers of sexually active young women
JEAN A. SHOVELLER, CATHY CHABOT, and JOY JOHNSON

Vancouver, Canada
chabot@interchange.ubc.ca
We describe the impacts of gender and place on the process of learning from the sexual “mistakes” of
others – what we call “moral parables” about the dangers of sexual activity for young women. Data for
this paper were gathered primarily during an ethnographic study which attempted to deconstruct the
“problem” of early child bearing in an urban and remote city in Northern British Columbia. Using
illustrations from our current study, as well as supplemental data from previous studies in other smaller,
rural Canadian communities, we provide new evidence that shows how myths about the instructive value
of “moral parables” are perpetuated, particularly in rural and remote settings.
« ATTENTION : ça pourrait t’arriver » De jeunes mères servent de parabole morale

sur les dangers encourus par des jeunes femmes sexuellement actives
Nous décrivons l’impact que le sexe et le lieu peuvent avoir dans le processus d’apprentissage à partir des
« erreurs » sexuelles des autres – ce que nous appelons « paraboles morales » sur les dangers de l’activité
sexuelle des jeunes femmes. Les données ont été recueillies principalement dans le cadre d’une étude
ethnographique qui tentait de déconstruire le « problème » de la grossesse précoce dans le contexte d’une
ville isolée du nord de la Colombie-Britannique. Au moyen d’illustrations provenant de notre étude
actuelle ainsi que des données supplémentaires provenant d’études antérieures effectuées dans d’autres
communautés rurales canadiennes de taille inférieure, nous montrons comment des mythes sur la valeur
éducative des « paraboles morales » sont perpétués, en particulier dans des environnements ruraux et
isolés.
143
“Chillax”- a participatory action research approach to investigating violence

in high-school-aged girls’ lives in New Brunswick
LINDA EYRE, RINA ARSENAULT, and CATHERINE ANN CAMPBELL

University of New Brunswick
Saint John, Canada
leyre@unb.ca
This research is part of a national research initiative investigating intersecting sites of violence in the lives
of girls, funded by Status of Women Canada. The research aims to identify the discourses and practices
that contribute to violence in girls’ lives, from the perspectives of girls themselves. The presentation
outlines the participatory action research approach, i.e., Chillax, developed by the New Brunswick
research team, and raises questions about ethics and process in researching girls’ lives. Initial findings
from the research will be presented but emphasis will be placed on the framing of the research project.
“Chillax”- recherche action pour étudier la violence

chez les étudiantes des écoles secondaires au Nouveau-Brunswick
Cette recherche fait partie d’un projet de recherche national pour étudier les avenues qui mènent à la
violence dans la vie des filles, et elle est financée par la Condition féminine Canada. Cette recherche vise
à identifier les discours et les pratiques qui contribuent à la violence dans la vie des jeunes filles, comme
elles les perçoivent elles-mêmes. La présentation préconise la recherche action participatoire, par ex.
Chillax, développée par l’équipe de recherche du Nouveau-Brunswick et on soulève des questions
d’éthique et de processus dans la recherche sur la vie des jeunes filles. Les résultats préliminaires de la
recherche sont présentés mais on parle surtout du cadre du projet de recherche.
144
Girls’, ‘healthification’ and promises of nationhood:

The complexities of PLace, Activity, Youth (PLAY-ing) in the city
Caroline Fusco
Toronto, Canada
cfusco@utoronto.ca
In this paper, I examine discourses of healthy living, subjectivity and nationhood in relation to the
geographies of young women’s ‘active living’ practices. Taking Michel Foucault’s concept of
governmentality as a departure point, I consider the ways in which ‘healthification’ (technologies of
domination) and discourses of self-responsibility for well-being (technologies of the self) operate on
female youths’ subjectivities in ‘active’ urban spaces. Additionally, I consider whether current neo-liberal
imperatives of healthy living call on female youth (future ‘mothers’ of/for the nation) to actively
participate in productions of space and identity that promise salvation in the concept of a ‘healthified’
citizenry.
Contrôle par la santé et promesses de statut de nation chez les filles :

les complexités du lieu, de l’activité, de la jeunesse (jeu-nesse) dans la ville
Dans cette communication, j’examine les discours sur la vie saine, la subjectivité et le contrôle par la santé
par rapport aux géographies des pratiques de vie active des jeunes femmes. En prenant le concept de
Michel Foucault comme point de départ - gouvernementalité – je considère la façon dont le contrôle par la
santé (technologies de la domination) et les discours sur sa propre responsabilité en ce qui concerne son
bien-être (technologies du soi) affectent la subjectivité des jeunes femmes dans les espaces urbains
« actifs ». De plus, je me demande si les impératifs actuels néolibéraux de vie saine s’adressent aux jeunes
femmes – futures « mères » de ou pour la nation – à participer activement à la production d’espace et
d’identité qui promet le salut dans le concept des citoyens « en santé ».
145
Lessons learned, lessons taught:

Newfoundland women as mediators of reproductive health
DIANA L. GUSTAFSON
Memorial University
One way to think about women’s caring work in the family is as mediators of health. This paper traces the
process of how women learn about, translate, and pass along the broader cultural beliefs and practices of
reproductive health. Specifically, this discussion examines health lessons some NL women learned from
their mothers and how they translated that learning into lessons they passed on to their daughters.
Leçons apprises ; leçons enseignées.

Les Terre-Neuviennes médiatrices de la santé reproductive
On pourrait dire que les soins que les femmes apportent dans leur famille en font des médiatrices de la
santé. Dans cette communication, on retrace les processus utilisées par les femmes pour apprendre,
traduire et transférer les croyances et pratiques de la reproduction. Plus spécialement, on examine les
leçons de santé que certaines Terre-Neuviennes et Labradoriennes ont apprises de leur mère et comment
elles ont transformé cet apprentissage en leçons qu’elles enseignent à leurs filles.
146
The feminist nude: A reflection on the presence and absence of

scarred bodies of women in the public domain
NANCY VIVA DAVIS HALIFAX

York University
Toronto, Canada
nhalifax@gmail.com
I will present photographic self-portraits of two women with cancer, one being my own, who want to tell
their own stories of embodiment. These women/photographs exist liminally, in a place not in accord with
the dominant discourses of medicine or culture. Unable to find experientially resonant representations,
these photographs reassure us of our presence and stake a cultural claim. Through them shadows are cast
over medicine’s clinical body, and popular media and art’s idealized body. I’ll present our sense-making
practices as we meander across those of medical discourse, theories of embodiment and our own personal
and imaginative narratives.
Le nu féministe : réflexion sur l’absence ou la présence de

corps de femmes marqués de cicatrices dans le domaine public
Je présente des autoportraits en photos de deux femmes atteintes du cancer, dont moi-même, pour raconter
notre propre histoire de représentation corporelle. Ces femmes/photographies existent liminalement, et ne
correspondent pas aux discours dominants de la médecine ou de la culture. Sans pouvoir trouver des
représentations d’expériences résonnantes, ces photos nous rassurent sur notre présence et servent de
revendication culturelle. Par ces photos, on perçoit l’ombre jetée sur le corps clinique du domaine
médical, celui des médias populaires et celui qui est idéalisé à travers les arts. Je présente des pratiques
raisonnables en parcourant le discours médical, les théories de l’incarnation et nos propres histoires vécues
et imaginées.
147
Women and health in Arab Muslim world:

Saudi Arabia as a case study
AMANI ALGHAMDI HAMDAN

London, Canada
amani_hamdan2004@yahoo.com
Limited information exists concerning the health issues of Saudi women, partly because of socio-cultural
restrictions that limit research of women’s issues. The prevalence and increase of smoking among Saudi
women, particularly high school students and teachers, is worth investigating because of the link to lung
cancer and other health hazards. Also notable is the growing incidence of obesity among Saudi women.
This paper sheds light on the alarming statistics of the growing rates of smoking and obesity among the
most educated women in Saudi Arabia. This research may open future research and scientific discussions
comparing Saudi and Canadian women.
Femmes et santé dans les pays arabes musulmans :

l’Arabie Saoudite comme étude de cas
L’information concernant la santé des Saoudiennes reste peu connue, en partie à cause des restrictions
socio-culturelles qui limitent la recherche sur les questions qui concernent les femmes. La prévalence et
l’augmentation du tabagisme chez les Saoudiennes, en particulier les élèves du secondaire et les
enseignantes, vaut la peine d’être étudiée car il y a un lien avec le cancer des poumons. Il vaut aussi la
peine de noter que l’obésité est en croissance parmi les Saoudiennes. Dans cette communication, nous
étudions la croissance des taux de tabagisme et d’obésité parmi les femmes qui ont un niveau d’éducation
supérieur. Cette recherche permet d’ouvrir la discussion sur les comparaisons possibles entre les
Saoudiennes et les Canadiennes.
Context and background
Limited information exists concerning the health issues of Saudi women (Daly, 1995; Jarallah, Al-
Rubeaan, Al-Nuaim, Al-Ruhaily, & Kalantan, 1999). In fact, it is difficult to obtain any information
regarding Saudi women’s health because of socio-cultural restrictions that limit any endeavours of
researching women’s issues. Therefore, little seems to have been done to explore the prevalence of
smoking among Saudi women (Siddiqui, Ogbeide, & Al Khalifa, 2000).
A recent study shows that the number of smokers in Saudi Arabia has increased by 30 percent during the
past five years (Siddiqui et al., 2000). In these past five years, the sight of groups of Saudi women
smoking waterpipes18 has become quite common in coffee shops in Jeddah19 (Akeel, 2003). The
prevalence and increase of smoking among Saudi women, particularly high school students and teachers,
is worth investigating as some studies indicate it is the leading cause of lung cancer, and many other
preventable smoking-related diseases. Lung cancer is also a leading cause of cancer deaths among Saudi
males, suggesting that cigarette smoking is becoming an important public health concern among the
nation’s males. Despite this trend, there are no statistics available on the current prevalence of cigarette
smoking in Saudi Arabia particularly among women (Jarallah et al., 1999). In fact, almost all the studies
conducted on the prevalence of smoking are small-scale community based studies (Jarallah et al., 1999).
Moreover, most of the available literature on the prevalence of smoking in Saudi Arabia is focusing on
18
Waterpipes are also called hubbly bubbly with different flavors (i.e., different fruit flavors)
19
Jeddah is a city on the West coast of Saudi Arabia and is one of the most populated city in the country.
148
male smoking, which is raising questions with respect to women’s issues in Saudi Arabia.
Based on the available literature on Saudi women’s health, this paper sheds light on the alarming statistics
with regards to obesity among women in Saudi Arabia. However, the prevalence of smoking among the
educated population of Saudi women is paradoxical and it would make any anti-smoking educational plan
controversial. In what follows I will explore this controversy.
Women’s smoking in Saudi: Exploring the paradox
This paradox of why most educated, Saudi women, as studies have indicated, are smoking and to what
extent an anti-smoking educational plan would help them to quit smoking warrant exploration. This also
raises the following question: why are these “educated” women smoking in the first place? Surely, they
understand the risks. Are there other factors at work? If so, what are they? To answer some of these
questions, I am inclined to support Dr. Abdeljawwd’s conclusion (2005) in which he argues that women
have feelings of less worth because the Middle Eastern, male-dominated culture considers woman as a
second class citizen and supports women’s inferiority. Such feelings might play a significant role in
women’s decisions to smoke, even for those with educational and/or professional backgrounds. The
prevalence of male domination in Saudi society is translated into polices and regulations that restrict
women’s freedom20.
In addition to elaborating on the health risks associated with smoking, I contend that conducting studies
and collecting statistics about smoking in girls schools would help in proposing anti-smoking educational
programmes. In addition, through open discussion with female teenage smokers in Saudi Arabia, we might
be able to eradicate this phenomenon or lead them to reconsider their decisions to smoke. Helping young
smokers to see alternatives ways of spending their free time by opening recreation centers where they
could be involved in various activities, would also help prevent and address the growing problem of
obesity. This necessitates crystallizing policies and regulations that limit the spread of smoking among
young women. Such regulations could include publicly discussing the issue of women’s smoking,
increasing the tax on tobacco products, reducing the available places where people can sit and smoke, and
expanding the resources devoted to warning females about the perils of smoking at local schools. A more
effective measure would be to ban the sale of cigarettes to minors under the age of 21 and to ban those
minors from entering smoking houses and cafés.
The second health issue highlighted in this paper is obesity, which is also jeopardizing Saudi women’s
health. A study in 1997 showed a prevalence ratio for obesity of 304 per 1000 (Al-Nuaim, Bamgboye, Al-
Rubeaan, & Al-Mazrou, 1997). A more recent study showed that there is a %27 increase in Saudi
women’s obesity from 2004 to 2005 (Bilal, 2006; Qari & Al-Ghamdi, 2005)). I argue that the fact that
physical education is prohibited in girls’ schools on all levels is a major concern. There is a need to
advocate for an increase in educational programs promoting physical activity and better nutrition to reduce
the extent of obesity and to prevent serious health consequences, especially amongst middle-aged, Saudi
women. I contend that instituting good public health education programs on nutrition should help to
reduce the level of obesity among women in Saudi Arabia. Other factors may be a cause and at play here
are: disposable income21, influence of western food, and less active life style than in the past. Considering
these factors would entail further research about Saudi women’s obesity. Also this entails the need for
further education in order to explore these contributing factors in addition to nutrition and physical
activity.
20
For example, women in Saudi Arabia need male guardian approval for obtaining identification cards or
for traveling.
21
A direct result of this is that almost all Saudi families have maids and servants, which is also the reason
for having less active lifestyle.
149
Theoretical framework
In this section I will situate Saudi women’s health and education within a theoretical framework that will
allow scholars from other contexts to make full use of this paper’s insights.
The literature on women’s health is limited, especially information related to Arab Muslim women and in
particular Saudi women. Research endeavours that are focusing mainly on women’s health issues are
scarce, specifically, in Saudi Arabia where little seems to be done in this area of research. The reasons for
this scarcity are multifaceted and mainly sociocultural. Thus, I support the argument that
The efforts of Saudi Arabia to produce and distribute wealth, health, and education
have not been particularly successful, partly because of inexperience, and partly
because of apathy, since the majority of the people have been excluded from the
decision-making process. Thus, those who argue that the opportunity for education
and work in the modern sector will of itself liberate women’s capacities ignore the
fact that the capacity of Saudi society as a whole is largely unliberated. (Bakhurji,
2003 as cited in Alarifi & Pharaon, 2004, p.253)
This argument is also supportive of my perspective that the status of Saudi women could be leading to
women’s smoking decisions. This point will be discussed shortly.
Women’s health and education
Smoking
Smoking is rapidly increasing in developing countries among their youth, especially females of all ages.
Saudi Arabia is a developing country with the highest recognized world oil reserves and with a youth
population, constituting sixty percent of the country’s entire population.
While it is widely believed that education helps people to understand how health risks increase with
obesity and smoking, evidence indicates that ironically, prevalence ratios for obesity and smoking among
Saudi women increases with the level of education. For instance, a recent survey indicates that 17% of
Saudi female physicians in Riyadh smoke. Advertisements, films, and other media images show smoking
as a mark of glory and professionalism and a “mark of a guaranteed future of social, business, and sexual
success” (El Saadawi, 1997, p.62). This is another reason why many females may find smoking attractive.
Still, however, women’s smoking in Saudi is not socially accepted and is considered “shameful” (Jarallah,
1992, p.9). This could explain the scarcity of literature available on the subject.
As mentioned above, Dr. Abdeljawaad’s recent study (as mentioned in Bilal, 2006) highlights what might
be a significant reason behind the increasing number of smoking women in the Arab world. He argues that
women’s smoking has increased because of the oppression women endure in male dominated Arab
societies, referring to the majority of societies in the Arab world. Moreover, Abdeljawaad22 continues that
on some occasions, based on a study he conducted in Cairo, a woman who smokes believes that when she
smokes she is compensating for not being male by associating with a historically male habit in societies
that regard males and consider them superior to females, which entail more freedom and control.
Although the number of smoking female teenagers is increasing alarmingly, according to a survey with
high school teachers published in Saudi newspapers reports (ArabNEWS, Almadinah, Asharqalawsat),
there are no official studies available for the public through national education boards or the Ministry of
22
Dr. Esam Abdeljawwad is an Egyptian psychiatrist at Cairo University, Egypt.
150
Health about the statistics and reasons behind such an alarming numbers. Recent workshops23 conducted
to highlight the smoking phenomenon between female teachers and students were not openly discussed on
the local or the national level. Saudi news reporters are shying away from highlighting this issue because
any issues related to women remain undisclosed. The scarce Saudi studies that discussed smoking in Saudi
Arabia showed a high level of knowledge about the hazards of smoking, yet that knowledge did not hinder
smoking (Jarallah et al., 1999). With the lack of information related to Saudi women’s smoking
population, it is difficult to understand the situation. Obscuring information about Saudi women’s issues,
such as smoking statistics, is going to intensify the problem.
The insufficient attention given to women’s smoking and obesity and the lack of campaigns dedicated
towards health hazards, indicate that the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health are not
performing their duties well. Furthermore, I argue that recommending educational programs in a context
where the greatest prevalence of smoking and obesity is among the most educated women stands in
contrast to the situation in developed societies. This contrast is worthy of exploration and might warrant
further discussions the increase of women’s smoking and other women’s issues. Also, women’s focus
groups might be helpful in exploring new ideas for different anti-smoking educational programmes.
However, I contend with Nawal El Saadawi (1997) that, “in response to the curtailing of smoking in the
industrial countries, the multinationals have increased their effort to sell more cigarettes in the developing
countries where people below twenty five years old constitute half of the population” (p.62).
Smoking in Saudi is still inexpensive compared to other countries so the cost is not an obstacle for many
young people and women (Felimban, 1993). Thus, the significant increase of female smokers in the Arab
world particularly in Saudi, could be cause by the policies and regulations of importing tobacco cigarettes.
Although Saudi local media (i.e., printed and viewed) is prohibited from promoting smoking, people in the
regions are subjected to fierce smoking advertisements through global channels and international
magazines.
Saying this, I will not overlook sociological factors such as the grassroots problem of smoking among
women such as male domination (as mentioned earlier in Abdeljawaad’s recent study). These factors are
mentioned not to justify smoking among Saudi women but to consider reasons why smoking prevails
amongst the educated circles of Saudi women.
Obesity
Obesity is also reaching alarming proportions in Saudi Arabia. Some comprehensive investigation on the
Saudi population has shown that obesity can be regarded a major problem in Saudi for both males and
females, with an alarming increase amongst females. The prevalence of obesity in Saudi Arabia is higher
than that reported in the USA, Australia, the UK, and Italy (Khalid & Ali, 1994). A study of obesity
amongst the Saudi population showed that of the sample of the research subjects “20.26% of the total
female population was obese compared to 13.05% of the total males’ population”(El-Hazmi & Warsy,
1997, para. 4). Recently, the Ministry of Health launched “the second phase of the national anti-obesity
campaign” (Bilal, 2005) in respect to its strategic plan to inform people of various preventative aspects to
eradicate obesity. This multiphased campaign emphasizes the diseases that are considered a direct cause of
obesity such as high cholesterol, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cerebral and peripheral vascular
disease, cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, uterus and ovary, and diseases of the female reproductive
tract (El-Hazmi & Warsy, 1997), as well as other health hazards as side effects of obesity.
|
23
One recent campaign initiated by a private girls’ college in Jeddah (Akeel, 2004a).
151
Although recently the Ministry of Health is leading many serious campaigns to educate the public about
the high risk of being obese, I argue that prohibiting24 physical education from being part of the school
curricula in all female schooling is hindering the campaign’s impact on women’s health. Maha Akeel
(2004b) an ArabNews reporter suggests that for years, obesity was an unspoken, hidden issue. Not now. It
is out in the open. Recent discussions in the Shoura Council25 on introducing physical education in girls’
schools have prompted a debate on exercise in Saudi women’s lives.
I conclude that the disturbing increase of obesity and smoking among schoolgirls would be helped by
education campaigns. Yet, more need to be done. Therefore, the increasing number of highly educated
Saudi women who are smoking is a complicated phenomenon and worthy of more study. I emphasize that
it is significantly related to women’s social status. Women’s issues in Saudi Arabia are greatly influenced
by social and cultural factors. Thus, any study of obesity and smoking should consider the complexity of
researching sociological and cultural issues related to Saudi women.
Conclusion
In this paper, I highlighted two significant health hazards facing Saudi women in this era. I argue that the
alarming statistics of obesity and smoking among women will continue to rise until serious policies are
implemented. Also, Saudi women’s health would continue to be jeopardised as long as serious moves (i.e.,
physical education as a curriculum for girls and openly discussion and research about the prevalence of
women’s smoking) from the government are under the control of conservatives. The pervasiveness of
smoking amongst the educated population of Saudi women necessitates open discussion and different
interventions strategies. Serious moves should be considered to lessen the prevalence of smoking among
women all ages. Implementing policies and regulations such as health promotion activities, media
advocacy, increase in tobacco taxation, and accessibility to anti-smoking clinics in all cities for women,
would not encourage smoking cessation unless women’s status in Saudi is dealt with seriously. Issues
such as social control and pressure on women, male domination, the prohibition of women’s driving,26 and
the glass ceiling preventing women from attaining powerful government leadership positions are all some
of the issues affecting women’ status. And I further argue that stress may indirectly be a leading cause of
smoking and obesity.
The Saudi Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health should collaborate to lead formal and informal
education campaigns to instruct young schoolgirls about the consequences of smoking, introduce healthy
lifestyles, and educate about obesity’s long and short-term side effects. The Ministry of Education should
take serious moves to open up the doors of libraries for women, since women have limited access to
library and information facilities (i.e., lack of full time hours for women in public libraries27 is one of
many examples). All Saudi ministries should be more open-mind, critical, and flexible in encouraging,
funding, and supporting Saudi scientists and sociologists to lead studies around issues affecting women’s
lives.
24
The majority of Saudi religious conservatives still argue today that physical education for schoolgirls as a
curriculum would contradict Islamic teaching to women. Saudi males receive physical education. However, I argue
as well as many Saudi Muslim women and men that this decree has no connection to Islamic teaching. In fact, it
contradicts a healthy lifestyle in eating and living advocated by many Quranic verses and the Prophet
Mohammed’s narrations.
25
Saudi Shoura Council consists exclusively male members, assigned by the government.
26
To this date, Saudi women are not allowed to drive their cars. This fact has undergone much debate
locally and international to no avail.
27
(Shaikh, 2005)
152
The General Presidency for Youth Welfare, which is only directed towards males, shall introduce a
women’s branch and provide immediate plans for initiating women’s only clubs28 across the country and
ease the access to recreation facilities. In sum, Saudi women’s status and rights should be considered
seriously if we want to eradicate smoking and obesity among Saudi women in educated circles.
Furthermore, it would be of academic interest to me and other researchers to conduct studies that compare
the prevalence of smoking amongst Saudi women and Canadian women where the trend is for the more
educated not to smoke. Such studies would help to underscore what is happening in Saudi Arabia.
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Problematization and marginalization:

Language discordance and pediatric hospitalization
CATHERINE HARDIE
Toronto, Canada
c.hardie@utoronto.ca
The focus on language abilities as an explanatory model for the marginalization of immigrant
women may, in fact, function as a way of obscuring the underlying racism of Canadian society
and serve as a convenient way to avoid addressing inequity based on ethno-racial minority status.
This qualitative research examines the major gaps in our understanding of how lack of English
facility structures the pediatric hospitalization experience for mothers who were newcomers to
Canada and members of ethno-racialized minority groups. The dominant response to a language
barrier in health care setting is to problematize it. Preparing a proactive response is ripe arena for
education in political action skills of health professionals.
Problématisation et marginalisation :
discordance du langage et hospitalisation pédiatrique
Lorsqu’on cite les capacités langagières comme modèle pour expliquer pour la marginalisation des
immigrantes, il s’agit en fait d’une façon d’occulter le racisme sous-jacent dans la société canadienne et
c’est un moyen pratique d’éviter de résoudre la question d’inégalité fondée sur le statut de minorité
ethnoraciale. Cette recherche qualitative examine les lacunes flagrantes dans notre capacité de comprendre
comment l’impossibilité de s’exprimer facilement en anglais façonne l’expérience d’hospitalisation
pédiatrique pour les mères faisant partie d’un groupe minoritaire ethnoracial et nouvellement arrivées au
Canada. La réponse dominante à l’obstacle langagier dans les soins de santé est de le considérer comme
un problème. Le moment est venu de préparer une réponse proactive comme moyen de faire l’éducation
en activisme politique des professionnels de la santé.
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No ‘gravy train’ here:

Women’s ecological leadership in two Newfoundland outport communities
CAROL E. HARRIS
University of Victoria
Victoria, Canada
Email: harrisce@uvic.ca
This paper explores contributions of women toward the health, broadly conceived, of communities. Their
initiative and leadership, in the face of declining fish stocks, is traced in environmental responsibility,
community activism, food provision and harvesting, continuing education, and concern for animal
welfare. The work of these women, who reject government dependence, is framed as an ethic of
ecological responsibility. The policy implication, addressed to all those who strive for the resilience of
coastal communities, parallels that of developing nations in general: women provide the key to healthy
children, families, and economies.
Le leadership environnemental et communautaire des femmes

dans deux villages côtiers de Terre-Neuve : ce n’est pas si facile
Dans cette communication, on explore la contribution des femmes dans leur communauté, dans le
domaine de la santé prise au sens large. Leur sens de l’initiative et du leaderhip face à la disparition des
stocks de poisson est étudié en termes de responsabilité environnementale, d’activisme communautaire, de
production et de gestion de l’alimentation, de formation continue et de souci pour le bien-être des
animaux. Le travail de ces femmes, qui refusent d’être dépendantes du gouvernement, se situe dans
l’éthique de la responsabilité écologique. Ce que ça implique en termes de politiques, et qui s’adresse à
tous ceux qui aspirent à la survie des villages côtiers, présente des parallèles avec les nations en
développement : les femmes sont indispensables à la santé des enfants, des familles et de l’économie.
Introduction
The cod moratorium of the early 1990s, and the near collapse of this primary resource marked a dramatic
decline in the fortunes of many coastal communities of Canada’s Atlantic provinces. This situation was
exacerbated by a ‘restructuring’ of the global economy and the growth of a market mindset that allowed
foreign and corporate over-fishing in the face of local plant closures. Over the next decade, Newfoundland
and Labrador (NL) populations in some villages declined by as much as 50% as men and women relocated
to other parts of the country in search of work. For the most part, this work was seasonal, poorly paid and
without benefits. Nevertheless, seasonal work permitted people to return to their homes for the winter
months and draw employment insurance. There they worked the “informal economy” (Ommer & Turner,
2004), engaged in community activities, laid in provisions and braced themselves for the coming formal
work period on the mainland. Those who stayed year-round in their communities, and qualified as fishery
workers, collected monetary compensation from the federal government in the form of NCARP (the
northern cod adjustment and recovery program, 1992-94) and TAGS (the Atlantic groundfish strategy,
1994-99), took part in re-training programs (though often for non-existent jobs), and engaged in make-
work projects (waged labour for community enhancement).
Some Canadians, while sympathetic with the plight of coastal people, bemoan their increased dependency
on government assistance. Even people affected by the moratorium see themselves as waiting for the
fishery to rebound or return, as one man expressed it, on the “gravy train” of prosperity (McDonald,
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2005). This paper is about women in two Newfoundland coastal communities who refused to wait for this
metaphoric train but, instead, became the catalyst of resilient action within their respective communities.
A description of their efforts provides an empirical reminder of the pivotal role of women in effecting
community health, well-being and resilience; it carries, as well, policy implications surrounding these
same issues.
The communities of this study, Rattling Falls (population 36 in winter, 70 plus in summer) and Snug
Harbour (pop. 150; both pseudonyms), are located on the southwest coast of Newfoundland where people
have eked a living from their single resource for several hundred years. The decline of the cod and other
species in the food chain discourages young people today from entering the fishery. With youth leaving,
the communities face depopulation and, according to Davidson (2006), eventual closure. But, as one
woman said, “if we go, we go down fighting.”
Theoretical enframing of the problem
The communities examined here are symbolic of health and resilience on a larger scale. They are among
the survivors of Newfoundland’s widespread resettlement policies of the 1950s and 60s which saw the
extinction of some 300 coastal communities. What can we learn from these survivors into the 21st century
that can further stimulate economic and social resilience, and what lessons have application elsewhere?
This examination places the fishery within the wider network of eco-system responsibility. Not only do
the people depend upon an oceanic environment, but also – as their economies diversify – on a wide range
of human stewardship and technological applications. I refer to this holistic lens on the natural and
humanly affected environment as one of ecological “enframing” (Heidegger, 1977) that encompasses
education, environmental protection, and health defined broadly both as individual and community well-
being. I believe, with Brunk and Dunham (2000) that the “preoccupation with single resources and their
distribution among a few competing groups” must be replaced by attention to the manner in which the
natural habitats and life forms “interact and impinge on one another in ways that affect the flourishing of
them all” (pp. 12/3).
Issues of personal and community health occupy a central place in considering any rural setting, but
particularly that of outport NL. Apart from the depopulation and under-employment alluded to above,
inactivity, obesity and diabetes are more prevalent in NL than in Canada as a whole and, for the most part,
in the other Atlantic provinces (Government of NL, 2004). Issues of health care and education, obviously,
deserve the attention of policy makers.
Another assumption I hold, now based on empirical evidence as well as development theory (e.g., Walters
& Manicom, 1996), is that any effective, positive and lasting change in coastal and other rural contexts,
involves the leadership of women. Women, particularly in developing countries or communities in crisis,
because of “their central role in food growing, food preparation, and care-giving in general,” occupy a
pivotal role in the kind of transformative learning that leads to lasting change (Hall, 2003). Hall contends,
in reference to environmental action campaigns in different countries, that understanding women’s
response to the impact of environmental degradation is “critical to being able to find a solution” (p. 184).
Finally, I address policy issues, recognizing with Bakker (2006) the significance of finding “a new way of
thinking about government finances that examines the real situation of women’s and men’s lives, and
includes a majority of citizens – especially women who are often at the periphery of economic debates—
in the decisions which shape policies, set priorities, and meet the social and economic needs of all
citizens” (p. 2). In this time of generalized social and environmental crisis, all levels of government would
do well to prioritize attention to the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) generated and preserved by
those who live in rural and coastal communities.
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Design, methods and purpose
This paper is drawn from a larger study (www.educ.uvic.ca/newtechcc.ca) that has taken place over the
past four years in five communities. In this project, the author and a team of academics, graduate students
and community activists conducted a participatory evaluation of the impact of new information and
communication technologies (ICT) – specifically video conferencing and broadband internet services – on
education, health care and small businesses. Our participation involved standard and ever-evolving
research methods including inter and intra community workshops, audio and video-taped interviews,
observations, and a wide range of outreach strategies to involve partner organizations and the public
(Harris, submitted). Our objectives were to learn about the communities and to work, specifically with
women, in the application of technologies that serve their purposes and dreams for the future.
Elsewhere we describe the feminist and participatory lens through which we conducted our research
(Clover & Harris, 2005), and the framework that illuminated the technical rationalities surrounding
broadband internet access and video conferencing (Harris & Clover, 2004). One of our findings points to
marked differences along gendered lines in the administration and management of the five communities.
Two sites we saw as “patriarchies,” with very few women participating in town councils and businesses,
one as fairly evenly divided in leadership by gender, and the two of this paper as “matriarchies.” In the
latter communities, women tend to govern school and health care affairs as well as village councils and
their sub-committees. Here, I explore features of environmental ethics to illuminate the manner in which
women promote health and community well-being among individuals and the collective. Because of
limitations of space, interview data come almost exclusively from two women, Carrie and Kristy, who
exemplify a much larger sphere of community activism. In my discussion, I suggest ways in which ‘good
news stories’ of environmental responsibility and of business acumen embedded in TEK can find a wide
audience and, in so doing, encourage inter-community resilience of national significance.
Communities, women’s work and TEK
Rattling Falls
In approaching Rattling Falls (RF) by the M.V. Marine Coaster that manoeuvers among the outer islands
and projections of land, one first catches sight of a wide spectrum of brightly coloured buildings--homes
of green, red, yellow, and blue and a few white public buildings--all framed by a distant ridge of blue
mountains. Boats bob in front of fishing stages and slipways and, above them, a prominently poised white
and red church commands the highest point of land. A turbulent waterfall, which gives the village its
name, divides the community and drains a large pond into the sea. The ferry docks at the government
wharf and is met by men, women, children and dogs. The people move purposefully for they have only a
few minutes to unload supplies, say their farewells to those leaving, and greet returning villagers before
the ropes are tossed back on board and the ferry moves out.
On my first visit, I was surprised by the village environment. Lawns were mowed, and all homes and
boats were freshly painted, as were the warehouses, health clinic, church, school and fire hall. Small
gardens grew in unusual places: in rain and oil barrels halved for the purpose, between rocks, and even in
old-fashioned (large and deep) satellite dishes, in fact, in any spot where soil could be deposited. I spotted
small outlying buildings, identifying some as functioning greenhouses and others as finely finished
doghouses. White buckets, for the collection of garbage, were suspended from the fence posts that lined
the public “road,” each bucket spaced about 15 meters from the next. The roads themselves were paved
and 12 feet wide, providing just enough room for two four-wheeler bikes to pass. The houses were
immaculately painted or sided, roofed and landscaped. There was no sign of paper or food debris, or of the
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rusting oil barrels which litter some villages along the southwest coast. I soon learned all of this was part
of a grand plan that encompasses a return to the land, re-cycling, learning through the internet, and a deep
concern for animal welfare.
Re-cycling as a way of life. The mystery for me, of seeing no garbage (as commonly strewn about in other
NL communities), was solved by Carrie who described a four-pronged system of disposal and re-cycling.
First, there are the disused barrels in which people burn their papers and other burnable items. Several
people may use one barrel and, for the visitors, “some on the wharf that anybody can use.” In addition, the
school at RF, like others along the coast, has a “recycling program [as a fundraising project] for all bottles,
juice containers, plastics, cans, and glass bottles.” Third, all vegetable scraps are composted, along with
the few meat scraps not consumed by the dogs. Finally, the local council contracts a man who comes by
boat twice yearly to collect large items, such as stoves and fridges. As the “fellow from the Environment”
told Carrie, “I’ve had to fill out more columns [indicating requests for action] for your community of 35
than for large towns. You have recycling and you burn garbage; you ship garbage to a dump and then you
compost; and then you’ve got the dogs [who eat the scraps], but there’s not a column for the dogs!”
I was impressed, however, not so much by individual acts of re-cycling, but rather by a generalized ethos
of environmental care in which the approach to refuse was linked with maintaining attractive grounds and
homes and re-visiting almost-forgotten food habits.
Return to the Land. The women of RF, aware of the damage inflicted by Newfoundlanders on their own
health over the past few decades by a diet rich in starches, sugars and fats, have re-designed their eating
habits to reflect the more positive aspects of traditional life. Many now [re]turn to growing their
vegetables (in all available spaces, as noted above), and to eliminating as much as possible saturated fats,
and sugared sauces from their diets, and to harvesting berries in season. The women’s decisions, not
surprisingly, affect all family and community members. The first experiments in tomato growing, for
instance, instigated by women has accelerated until a veritable competition exists today among the men. I
counted six greenhouses and was warmly invited inside several to inspect their harvest. One man has
cultivated a wide range of root vegetables in his garden in the hills, about ½ km. inland from the village.
To this site, he hauls kelp from the shore and the best soil he can find.
Women, helped by children, are the main gatherers during the berry season. They begin with bakeapples
at the end of July, then move on in August to blueberries and groundhearts, raspberries and English
blackberries. Carrie delights in the “partridgeberry [which] comes ripe at the end of September,” as does
the “mountain tea-berry that resembles ant larvae – same size, creamy white and oblong—but tastes like
mint.” These grow under trees in soft moss, well shaded and damp areas.” For Carrie, the “marshberry,”
that grows along the rocky coasts and cliffs, takes precedence. These berries, though they come in every
colour –red, wine, purple, brown speckled and tan- turn bright red when frozen. Carrie, born in Nova
Scotia, told me about introducing cracker berries (or tea berries) to her husband and children who, like the
others of RF, thought the berries to be poisonous:
I had fun with the kids here by eating them. My husband would say they were
poisonous and I would stand in front of him and eat a large handful. Then I would
say “I guess you’re wrong. Not dead yet!” He would just shake his head at me.
In a similar manner of learning mixed with humour, Carrie explores her surroundings with family and
friends in RF, and takes note of the village pets.
Sensitivity to other Sentient Beings. One of the remarkable features of Rattling Falls concerns the people’s
treatment of animals. The remarkable aspect lies in the fact that many Newfoundlanders consider the
value of dogs to be in their service as hunters. It is not uncommon to see a dog chained during its lifetime,
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except for the autumn hunting season. First, at RF, the number of dogs is controlled by consensual
agreement. At any one time, approximately seven Labrador dogs run freely in the village though females,
usually after producing one litter, are spayed. These dogs live out their years in freedom from roads and
cars, and in unlimited freedom to visit their four-legged and human friends, swim in the ponds, and roam
the barrens. Dogs assist their owners, and provide companionship, on hunting and fishing trips, although
all are in the care of the entire community. That is, each person takes responsibility for ensuring the dogs’
‘good’ behaviour around gardens, and that any litter is promptly disposed of. I was told that any building
material considered suitable for one’s own home, such as aluminium siding or quality roofing, would be
provided for the dog house. People seem to compete for elegance in doghouse design, as well as comfort
for their dogs.
At RF, with people coming and going for seasonal work, two have jointly owned dogs and cats. When
Carrie first came to RF, she assumed there were two Benjies, one dog with one household and the other, at
another house. She thought these dogs were cousins or twins, but then “figured out it was the same dog
going back and forth!” Each male dog, moreover, lays claim to a particular piece of land. For instance,
Ben, a large black Lab, “now owns the rock” up by the tourist cabins, for “this is his turf.” Villagers get
letters from people who visited years ago, asking “first over anything else, how is Buddy?” [the former
caretaker of the rock]. From Carrie and the dogs of RF, I move now to the topic of women’s generalized
leadership in the application of technology.
Learning through the internet. Much of our ICT research took place around the Community Access
Program (CAP) sites, located in the schools of all five communities. Each is well-stocked with 5 to 10
computers, 2 or 3 printers, a scanner and a digital camera--equipment provided by the public Library
system and funded in large part by the Gates Foundation. In RF, as in the other communities, women are
the main users; they research the web, prepare resumes, seek medical information, photograph their
villages and events and circulate these electronically to friends and relatives on the mainland. The CAP
site at RF provides a social function as well as a work station. Because of its public location, people trade
and share information gained through internet searches. At these sites, thus, both individual and collective
learning take place. People, mainly women, use the net to conduct research about health issues—
symptoms, treatments and drugs—so that, when they visit their health stations, the visits are fruitful. They
tend to know a great deal about their condition and move, with their health care worker, directly to action
plans.
The computer provides instant communication, especially important for semi-isolated communities, to
government agents and school board personnel. Until recently, these communities were able to gain a
response to their school and administrative requests. I say “until recently,” in light of massive
amalgamations of education and health care institutions that have been enacted by the recently elected
provincial government. The efficacy of such consolidation of services, extending in this case from coastal
Labrador to the south coast of this study, has yet to be proven. My initial observations are of bloated,
ineffective and chaotic bureaucracies where well-meaning employees face impossible tasks.
Wireless video conferencing (VC) equipment, as well as the internet, has been placed in each of the
communities. With mixed reports of success, the VC has been used for school classes, church services,
and public meetings (Clover & Harris, 2005).Only on three occasions has it been used for health care, and
each came about as an emergency call between a community and the doctor at the nearest hospital. An
objective of our research is to expand the uses of VC, especially in education about health issues, and
treatment of minor symptoms and accidents.
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Snug Harbour
Some fifty miles east of RF and situated on a rocky hillside at the base of an inlet, lies Snug Harbour (SH)
with a population of 150. Like RF, the youth here tend to leave after completing high school. Only a few
stay, to work the power lines, shops and ferry (which docks at SH), or return as schoolteachers after
completing their post-secondary training. Nevertheless, the school maintains a stable teaching force of 4 to
meet its student population of about 30.
For several reasons, SH provides an anomaly among coastal communities. First, the community boasts
98% employment. In a province where the unemployment level hovers at about 45%, this is no mean
accomplishment. Second, SH, now and in times past, has been administered in large part by women. The
present woman “mayor” is Kristy, who follows in the footsteps of the last council leader, also a woman.
Third, women play a dominant role in business; they prepare for the tourist cruise ships that dock at SH,
make up the crews for construction projects, and run the stores and post office. With all the men at sea,
there simply is no male to do this work so, asks Kristy, “why can’t we?” The example given here is about
Kristy’s successful tourist venture.
At our first community workshop, Kristy talked about her vision of eco-tourism and extreme hiking. She
felt that is was possible to combine the rich historical knowledge about her section of the coast with the
desire of visitors for boat tours and physically robust mountain walks. Two years later, Kristy and her
husband have realized necessary funding, purchased the “perfect pleasure boat,” and established a family
business whereby visitors can personally design, from several attractive options, the scope and context of
their tour. Some features of each tour are constant, Kristy insists, including a boat trip of historical
significance, a “boil up,” hiking, singing and, generally, “a good ol’ Newfie time.”
Not surprisingly, Kristy met obstacles along the way. Initially, for instance, she knew little about websites
but proceeded to learn their mysteries from Marilyn, the young woman who had produced a community
website. “I didn’t have a clue when I started” Kristy recalls, “Marilyn showed me the initial steps. I knew
how to lay out a page because I had already started with the brochures that we were using. You know, it’s
not this big professional job, but it does the trick.” Second, Kristy had to convince funding agencies that
her plan was “not your typical 2-hour-out-to-see a-whale-and-come-back-tour. We wanted to offer a mini
cruise and the culture and the heritage, the history, genealogy, geology; you name, we could give it.” She
realized that the funding agents did not “want to put money into something that, two months down the
road, was ‘I got my stamps [for purposes of employment insurance] and that’s it.’ We don’t want stamps;
we want a full-time business.” To convince the funders, Kristy and her family took a party out to
demonstrate their potential. “When they realized we were serious about what we were doing,” Kristy
recalls, “and seeing the effort and time that we put into it ourselves, they came on board.” Today, with
“business booming,” Kristy tells me that she is fully booked up until 2007. Yet this tourist venture is
secondary to Kristy who also operates the post office while her husband fishes. In the discussion below, I
outline Kristy’s ecological leadership in this, her secondary pursuit.
Discussion
Carrie and Kristy would stand out for their exceptionally strong leadership in any community. They are,
however, two among many women leaders. Of the five communities in our larger study, RF and SH are
the sites where women, for the most part, chair the local service councils, instigate environmental and
organizational change, stimulate the tourist economy and, in SH, construct the fishing stages, road
systems, and public buildings. Carrie and Kristy join others in running the health clinics and stores, tourist
homes and post offices, volunteering at the CAP sites, establishing craft businesses,2 designing and
distributing CDs of local coastal history, and organizing community museums.
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These two communities stand out among the five of our research for their innovation. Two features of this
prominence have been explored here—a finely developed ecological ethic in one case, and a business
ethic that includes history, culture and physical activity in the other. While we avoid claims of causal
relationship between gendered leadership and community health, we note a definite difference in the five
communities. In two other communities, for instance, people focus on a re-generated fishery. At one time,
they had fish plants and, so, are ever hopeful that the fish will rebound and the plants operate once again.
RH and SH, on the other hand, “missed hardly a beat” when the cod fishery closed; instead, they moved
all their energies to fishing other species, and to diversifying their economic base. We do not know
whether or not these two communities will survive indefinitely, for they are among the three smallest in
population, but we feel certain that the people of RH and SH will continue to do well in any setting.
The view presented here of women’s participation reflects in some ways a gendered division of labour
whereby men, traditionally, were “responsible for the dangerous work on the sea … [and] women were
responsible for a demanding array of tasks on shore” (Glavine & Wernerheim, 2002, p. 8; see also Neis et
al, 2005). And, like traditional women everywhere, their labour is largely—though far from exclusively--
volunteer. The agency of women in these examples, however, differs from traditional patterns in that they,
with considerable confidence, have managed to breathe vibrancy into their surroundings. They include in
their immediate sphere of action family, friends, visitors, and animals, while their far reaching efforts
extend to administrative structures in the wider environment.
Not all the women we met, of course, long for greater learning opportunities; many are satisfied with their
communities and their lives as they are. They realize the tension between “progress” and traditional ways,
and know that the outsiders--the tourists--do not visit “in order to see another McWorld.” But the majority
of women indicate that, given the opportunity, they would welcome further education. While the two
women featured here do not have extensive formal education, they demonstrate a love of learning, a wish
to share their discoveries with others, and an ability to achieve the goals they set for themselves.
The reach of the women is at the same time practical and ecological. They remain open, and encourage
others to become open, to knowledge available through new technologies. As well, they work to recapture
the traditional knowledge of their people about the land and sea and blend this with what they perceive
will help them negotiate their present world. The women in these communities exemplify the complexity
or working within an ecosystem marked by declining fish stocks and social out-migration, but also one
that calls for an exploration of indigenous foods, the physical environment and its sentient creatures,
community interactions, and collective learning. Turner et al. (in press) speak in broad terms of
knowledge as distinct from information, and as embodying perceptions, observations, actions, analyses,
conceptual constructs, attitudes, and worldviews. In reference to these two coastal communities of NL, I
would define the women’s ecological leadership as one that embraces exploration, openness to new ideas,
respect for traditions (social and of the physical and natural environment), and a desire for learning.
The learning perhaps of greatest importance, and most intricately interwoven in the fate of these semi-
isolated communities, surrounds health care. Noting that medical and educational provisions to outlying
communities are sporadic at best, and that new technologies are under-utilized, our research team paid
special attention to health issues. The citizens of RH and SH know that their health care is endangered.
Although each village has a clinic, well stocked with drugs, none is as well served as it was a decade
earlier. As Vickie from RF notes, “it’s been years since we saw a regular doctor round here.” Instead,
health practitioners visit, weather permitting, for 2 or 3 hours every fortnight. They come by helicopter
and leave at the pilot’s discretion. Because of this less than stable service, we researchers have contacted
the provincial government, making the case that these communities —already leaders in ICT—ought to be
included in plans for the newly devised telehealth scheme. We argue the case, in terms of feasibility, cost
savings, and the needs of the five communities, for the government to expand its currently targeted sites of
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experimentation (Battcock, 2005). What we have not done so far, is to emphasize the lessons people in
these communities can offer urban centres. Kristy’s story exemplifies this aspect of knowledge transfer.3
Kristy is conducting her tour business because she believes the history and cultural of her shore must be
preserved. This way of life is under threat from global forces that valorize urban pursuits and marginalize
those of rural communities. Her tours take tourists to now-abandoned communities along the coast where
people have left their homes, fishing stages and cemeteries behind, and have resettled far away in what the
government refers to as “growth centres.” Many of the resettled people, because of the pain of revisiting
their former homes, do not choose to come back. Kristy wishes to have her children know of this history,
walk the mountains and barrens between their community and the old settlements, and learn the songs of
their people. This wish, I believe, is more than nostalgia; rather, it signifies a deep-seated recognition of an
important link between the modern world and the sea, sun, storms and earth that give it strength. Kristy’s
part-time work can be seen not only as contributing to the economic survival of her family and community
in the present day system of capitalism, but also as reviving the TEK accumulated during her 400 year
heritage on NL’s southwest coast.
Summary conclusion
Coastal communities have been described as “frontier societies,” and “peripheral areas on the fringes of
the world economy where ongoing events such as resource degradation, in- and out-migration,
administrative neglect, and other processes are further contributing to their marginalization and
vulnerability” (Lutz & Neis, chapter 1). As such, Lutz and Neis contend, they act as a bellwether for
society as a whole for, in these communities, we see the immediate effects of globalization be they on
trade, labour relations, regulatory control, or governmental rules and guidelines. Ommer and Turner
(2004) argue that coastal communities, such as RF and SH, provide invaluable lessons—through their
social values as well as economic actions--for those of us who are questioning the wisdom of market logic
and the governments’ unremitting policies of urbanization.
Our task, as participatory researchers, has been to share the stories of these communities widely so that the
people can realize more fully their own futures. Through workshops and a professionally produced DVD
of individual perspectives and community activity, we plan to bring to the attention of people at each site
their own successes and those of neighbours. On a wider scale, our role has been to meet with the media
(especially the popular press), give public lectures, and talk with government policy makers (VanderPlatt
et al., 2005).
In each stage of this task, we have been cognizant of the lessons women in these outport communities can
bring to people in rural and urban settings. They have shown us a sensitivity to their environment that is
missing from many other places as demonstrated, for instance, in their cultivation of fresh produce and
rejection of frozen and “fast” foods, in their comprehensive recycling (something I have yet to experience
in my own community located in the middle of a National Park and 65 kilometres distant from NL’s
second city), their concern and care for animals that is respectful rather than overly sentimental, and their
ability to blend the advantages of new technologies with the realistic appraisal of its more damaging
effects. We, the university-based actors in this research, every step of the way, have traded knowledge
with the women of the communities. This has not been a one-way journey.
163
Endnotes
1.
The author gratefully acknowledges funding from SSHRCC for this INE project (2001-03) and for a
subsequent year dedicated to outreach activities. Many of the approaches followed by our INE team, as
well, emanated through a partnership with the bi-coastal and multi-disciplinary project, Coasts under
Stress, funded jointly by SSHRCC and NSERC.
2.
One woman at RF, though visually impaired, cards, dyes and spins her own wool for place mats,
scarves, mittens, socks and other utilitarian articles. Bridget does this consciously, intent with her husband
on rediscovering skills of the recent past. It is Bridget, as well, who planned the museum to collect, in a
traditional salt box house, artifacts symbolic of a way of life valued by her people.
3.
Lutz and Neis (in press), in speaking about knowledge transfer in matters of health, point to the
challenges inherent in understanding the “complex interconnectedness of humans, human health, and
knowledge production with the natural and social world we inhabit.”
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(Eds.), Making and moving knowledge. Kingston: McGill/Queens University Press.
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165
Citizens minus:
Aboriginal women and children in contemporary Canadian society
DAWN MEME LAVALL HARVARD

London, Canada
dharvard@uwo.ca
In 1978, Kathleen Jamieson stated that “to be born poor, an Indian and a female is to be a member of the
most disadvantaged minority in Canada today, a citizen minus.” Thirty years later, Aboriginal people
generally, and Aboriginal women specifically, continue to be excluded from the basic human rights
protections that other Canadians take for granted. Section 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act
effectively creates human rights free zones detrimental to the wellbeing of Native women living on
reserves. As a leader in the Aboriginal women’s political movement, I will discuss the impact of this
legislation on the lives of Aboriginal women struggling toward a better healthier future.
Citoyenneté inférieure:
femmes et enfants autochtones dans la société contemporaine
En 1978, Kathleen Jamieson a déclaré que « naître femme indienne et pauvre, c’est être membre de la
minorité la plus désavantagée du Canada aujourd’hui, une citoyenne de statut inférieur ». Trente ans plus
tard, les autochtones en général et les femmes en particulier, continuent à être exclus des protections des
droits basiques de la personne, droits que les autres Canadiens prennent pour acquis. La section 67 de la
loi sur les Droits de la personne crée des zones libres de ces droits au détriment du bien-être des femmes
autochtones qui vivent dans des réserves. En ma qualité de chef de file du mouvement politique des
femmes autochtones, je discute de l’impact de cette législation sur la vie des femmes autochtones qui
luttent pour s’assurer une bonne santé à l’avenir.
166
Storying the health catastrophe:

Lifting the lid on the mastectomy experience
LEKKIE HOPKINS
Edith Cowan University
Perth, Australia
l.hopkins@ecu.edu.au
We know that although there is much research into the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer,
researchers are still unclear about why women develop breast cancer, and which women are most at risk
of doing so. What we cannot know until we are ourselves immersed in this experience, is how each of us
will story our personal version of the social drama. How do we tell our stories? What storylines are
available to us? What are the politics of storying the health catastrophe? This paper draws on interviews
with eight Western Australian women to attempt to answer some of these questions.
L’histoire d’une catastrophe de la santé:

révéler l’expérience de la mastectomie
Même si nous savons qu’on fait beaucoup de recherche pour diagnostiquer et traiter le cancer du sein, les
chercheurs ne savent pas encore pourquoi les femmes sont atteintes du cancer du sein et quelles femmes
sont susceptibles de l’être. Et avant d’en faire l’expérience personnelle, il ne nous est pas possible de
savoir comment chacune d’entre nous va raconter sa version personnelle de ce drame social. Comment
raconter nos histoires? Quels scénarios? Quelle est la politique qui gouverne la narration de cette
catastrophe de notre santé? Dans cette communication, on présente des entrevues avec huit femmes de
l’ouest de l’Australie pour tenter de répondre à certaines de ces questions
167
Victimization and contraceptive self-efficacy: Illustration of the sexual vulnerability of

female adolescents under the supervision of the Child Protective Services
SARINE LORY HOVSEPIAN, HÉLÈNE MANSEAU, JOANNE OTIS, MARIE-EVE GIRARD, and MARTIN BLAIS
Université de Québec à Montréal
Montréal, Canada
sarinelory@hotmail.com
This study assessed the associations between victimization and both overall and dimensions of
contraceptive self-efficacy (CSE) among adolescent girls in Child Protection Services in Quebec.328 girls
completed a questionnaire measuring sexual abuse, parental and dating violence, and overall and subscale
measures of CSE (communication about sexuality and contraception; control over sexual activity; control
over contraception in passionate situations; contraception purchase and use). In multivariate regression
analyses, only prevalence of severe sexual coercion in relationships was associated with lower overall
CSE, but varying associations were found for CSE subscales, highlighting associations that may have
gone unnoticed if the aggregate measure was used alone.
Victimisation et auto-efficacité contraceptive : illustration de la vulnérabilité

des adolescentes confiées aux Services de protection de l’enfance
Dans cette étude on évalue les associations entre la victimisation et l’auto-efficacité contraceptive générale
et individuelle (CSE) chez les adolescentes confiées aux Services de Protection de l’Enfance du Québec.
328 adolescentes ont complété un questionnaire pour mesurer les abus sexuels, la violence parentale et des
partenaires sexuels et, les mesures générales et particulières de la CSE (communications sur la sexualité et
la contraception, contrôle de l’activité sexuelle, contrôle de la contraception dans les situations
passionnées, achat et utilisation de moyens contraceptifs). Dans les analyses de régression à multiples
variables, seule la prédominance de fortes contraintes sexuelles dans les relations a été associée à un taux
inférieur de CSE, mais on a trouvé des associations variées dans les sous-catégories, ce qui souligne que
les associations auraient pu passer inaperçues si on utilisait seulement des mesures générales.
168
An historical analysis of HIV/AIDS awareness posters targeting women
LINDA HUNTER
Guelph, Canada
lehunter@uoguelph.ca
One of the more common instruments of educational expression utilized by HIV/AIDS organizations has
been poster campaigns. For many, this is the most accessible source of prevention messages. Despite an
alarming increase in cases of HIV and AIDS in women and the controversial sexual politics surrounding
HIV/AIDS, there has been little analysis of HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness poster campaigns
targeting women. This paper compares gender representation in HIV/AIDS awareness posters produced
between 1986 and 2005 by Health Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Health, and by the community-based
AIDS Committee of Toronto.
Affiches de sensibilisation au VIH/SIDA destinées aux femmes
Un des instruments les plus courants d’éducation utilisé par les organismes de VIH/SIDA est la campagne
d’affichage. Pour beaucoup, c’est la source la plus accessible des messages de prévention. Malgré une
augmentation alarmante des cas de VIH et de SIDA chez les femmes et les politiques controversées
entourant les politiques envers le VIH/SIDA, il n’existe pratiquement pas d’analyse des campagnes de
prévention et de sensibilisation du VIH/SIDA par les affiches destinées aux femmes. Dans cette
communication on compare la représentation des sexes dans les affiches de sensibilisation au VIH/SIDA
entre 1986 et 2005, produites par Santé Canada, le ministère de la Santé de l’Ontario et par le Comité
communautaire du SIDA de Toronto.
Introduction
HIV/AIDS continues to be one of the most urgent public health issues today. Women account for nearly
50% of all people living with HIV worldwide (UNAIDS 2004). According to the Canadian Centre for
Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, from 1985-2004, 75% of the positive HIV test reports among
adult women were between the ages of 15 to 39 (Health Canada, May 2005:39). As well, it is reported that
of all of the cumulative reported AIDS cases among women up until June 2004, 68% were attributed to
heterosexual contact (Health Canada, May 2005:25). This has great implications for education, prevention
and health care.
In the absence of any intervention, an estimated 15-30% of women with HIV infection will transmit HIV
during pregnancy and delivery and 10-20% through breast milk to their baby (WHO 2005). The Centre for
Disease Prevention and Control has estimated that approxiamately 17,000 Canadians are HIV infected but
unaware of their infection. As the rates of HIV infection in women rise, the risk of perinatal transmission
also increases (Health Canada, May 2005).
HIV has challenged our ability to communicate about sexuality, the body, drug use, disease and treatment,
as well as our attitudes toward a variety of lifestyles. In the absence of a medical cure or vaccine for HIV,
a central means available for prevention is public information and education. One of the more common
instruments of educational expression utilized by HIV/AIDS organizations has been poster campaigns. For
many, this is the most accessible source of prevention and educational messages. Recent controversy
around the newest HIV/AIDS awareness campaign targeting men who have sex with men (the
169
Assumptions campaign launched in July 2004 by AIDS Community Service Organizations), has brought
the whole issue of sexual representation in HIV/AIDS awareness posters back to the forefront of sexual
health politics, just as it was in earlier days of HIV/AIDS poster production. While the debate has been
revisited about what is or is not appropriate for campaigns targeting men, the obvious and unaddressed
question lingers, as it has for far too long, - “what about women?” Despite an alarming increase in cases of
HIV and AIDS in women and the controversial sexual politics surrounding HIV/AIDS, there has been
little analysis of HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness poster campaigns targeting women.
This paper compares the representation of gender, sexuality and to a limited extent, the representation and
lack of representation of motherhood in HIV/AIDS awareness posters produced between 1986 and 2005
by Health Canada (HC), the Canadian Public Health Association, the Ontario Ministry of Health
(OMOH), and by the community-based AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT). While representation of
gender in these posters has changed over time and has varied according to the individual sponsoring
organizations, the representation of males and females depicted by governmental and community-based
organizations are strikingly different. Governmental posters targeting women focus less on sexuality and
less on communication around safer sex than posters produced by the AIDS Committee of Toronto
targeting men and women.
Theoretical focus
One of the goals of this research was to understand HIV/AIDS awareness posters as texts, as social
process, and to understand how visual representations of gender and sexuality are socially constructed.
Sexist assumptions and lack of agency around female sexuality have been major areas of focus for
feminists historically. Feminist approaches which challenge the power relations in society and focus on
equality of opportunity will guide this analysis. Social structural differences in gender, power, sexual
orientation, race and class prevent equal opportunities for women. By exposing differences and
engendered inequalities in the way HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns target and represent women
compared to the way they represent men, inequalities of opportunity become evident in the posters. Unlike
the positive approach of safer sexuality in community-based posters targeting men, female sexuality for
the most part has been oppressed and denied in the poster campaigns. There is, for the most part, an
avoidance of positive models of sexuality or models of communication about safer sexuality in the visual
and textual representation of the posters targeting women.
A critical area of consideration surrounding issues of gender, sexuality, hierarchy, power, and authority is
the contradictions regarding women’s sexuality. While female sexuality has been marketed profusely for
commercial ends, it is denied and repressed in most Canadian HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns, where
such messages around sexuality and safer sexuality are essential. Over the past twenty years, the great
majority of HIV/AIDS posters targeting women do not evoke a sense of self assurance or self confidence
in women around safer sex issues, leaving a sterile and vague message about sexuality for women. As in
the wider cultural context, women are not empowered in their communication and negotiation efforts
around safer sex, their decisions to use condoms, or in their decisions to explore other sexual experiences
and options. In the more recent posters developed by ACT and the most recent poster produced by the
Canadian Public Health Association (2005) , there have been some positive, new developments with
regard to condom use, decision making, and empowerment for women, however one could argue that the
element of communication about safer sexuality is still lacking in these depictions.
The influence of posters and their role in helping to shape perceptions about HIV/AIDS, gender, sexuality,
sexual orientation, and perceptions about those who are infected with HIV is important to investigate.
HIV/AIDS posters display a complex ideological declaration of the concerns of the sponsoring
organizations in both visual and textual form. As James Miller argues, HIV/AIDS awareness posters are
laden with “cultural expressions reflecting the divergent political interests, social agendas, and sexual
170
concerns of their producers” (1989:1). Critically assessing how HIV/AIDS is symbolically constructed
through a poster is an essential part of understanding the ways in which this medium can manufacture,
legitimate, and perpetuates particular meanings and relations.
Methodology
The framework developed for the analysis of differences in gender representation included contextual
analysis, interviews, and content analysis including concepts borrowed from semiotics. Contextual
analysis situates the posters in terms of their historical chronology. For the most part posters have been
produced as a response to specific issues, medical concerns, or news events that were considered relevant
at the time of their production.
Information gathered from interviews conducted with key informants from twenty-two different
governmental and community-based HIV/AIDS organizations in the Toronto area during the years 1993,
1994, 1995, 1997 and some follow up interviews during 2003, 2004 and 2006 were an important part of
this research. Interviewees included representatives from the federal government (Health Canada,
Canadian Public Health Association, Canadian AIDS Society), the provincial government (the Ontario
Ministry of Health), provincial organizations (Haemophilia Ontario), health departments (Toronto Public
Health Department) medical clinics (HIV Clinic, Addiction Research Foundation), and educational leaders
from fifteen community-based HIV/AIDS organizations, including the AIDS Committee of Toronto,
Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention, Prostitutes’ Safer Sex Project, Youthlink Inner City, 2 Spirited
People of the First Nations, and Voices of Positive Women. The information gathered from the interviews
contributed useful information on poster production and meaning, enabling more thoroughness in the
development of themes within the analysis.
The application of content analysis and the incorporation of some concepts from semiotics assisted in
uncovering the structure and underlying assumptions of the posters. Visual content analysis was used to
create a systematic, observational method for categorizing the way HIV posters represent women and
men. Manifest coding was utilized to determine visible, identifiable characteristics of each poster while
latent content revealed the meanings embedded within the poster images and text. Semiotics, often used in
the examination of textual material, provided a structure for analyzing the way in which signs in texts
function within a particular environment. Concepts borrowed from semiotics such as signifier, signified,
content, form, frame, discourse, intertextuality, oppositions, associations, denotation and connotation were
used to provide a framework for evaluating and interpreting the images, texts, and the broader underlying
values represented in the posters. Within this framework, the following questions guided the analysis:
What do these posters symbolize and signify? Who produces the posters? Who is the assumed audience or
target population? What are the meanings behind the posters? How do these posters represent gender and
sexuality?
Out of the twenty-two organizations represented in the interviews, it was three organizations that provided
enough posters for full contextual analysis. Of the sixty-five posters included in this analysis, thirty-five
came from ACT and a total of thirty came from Health Canada, the Canadian Public Health Association,
and the Ontario Ministry of Health. This number of posters allowed for a qualitative evaluation about the
messages delivered as “the signification of the posters becomes clearer when they are seen in the context
of other similar works” (Morris 1991:233). This concept of intertextuality, which involves the analysis of
the relation within texts and between texts (Berger 1987a; 1987b; Morris 1991; Smith 1984; 1990), was
applied to the poster analysis. The denotative and connotative meanings through which posters
communicate, as well as several oppositions will be highlighted in reference to the social construction of
gender in the posters.
171
Discussion: The use of fear and avoidance of sexuality compared to

an approach of safer sexuality in HIV/AIDS awareness posters
Basic findings of this research revealed main themes structured around pairs of oppositions; specifically,
the use of fear and avoidance of sexuality in governmental HIV/AIDS awareness posters compared to an
approach of safer sexuality in community-based HIV/AIDS awareness posters. These themes are used in
part as a means of classifying men and women, classifying masculinity and femininity as social
constructions, and classifying matters of sexuality in relation to HIV/AIDS education. The themes and
oppositions associated with sexuality or avoidance of sexuality in HIV/AIDS awareness posters are
explored 29.
Clear contrasts
There are many contrasts in the representation of gender and sexuality in the posters
produced by governmental organizations compared to those produced by
community-based organizations such as ACT. While all three organizations strive to
reduce the transmission of HIV through education, they deliver their messages in
distinctly different ways reflecting their divergent ideological positions. In earlier
years the HIV/AIDS prevention posters targeting women produced by Health
Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Health relied primarily on the use of fear and
moralizing. The Ministry and Health Canada used the risks and dangers associated
with sexuality as a fear mechanism for social control. For example, the “Can You
Get AIDS From….?” campaign (OMOH 1988) used photographic images that
presented cautious and fearful teenagers contemplating the risks associated with
their everyday activities such as sharing food, using a public toilet, drinking from a fountain, or kissing.
This theme of fear often supplanted accuracy and truth. This is evidenced by the use of the acronym
“AIDS”, rather than the more accurate “HIV”, which hovers boldly over the photograph in each poster.
The question raised in these posters was so overwhelming that the informative value of the photographic
image was lost; the viewer may have interpreted the image as showcasing risky behaviour rather than risk-
free behaviour. The images in these posters contradict and work against the intention of the campaign. For
example, one of the posters in the series depicts a young Asian woman, standing outside the door of one of
a chain of washroom stalls. With the foreboding question, ‘Can You Get
AIDS From …?’ looming above the photograph, the viewer may think
that entering a public washroom is risky business: pick a stall and take
your chances.
The posters, still displayed today, “You’re sleeping with every partner
your partner ever had” (a simple photograph of a sterile white packaged
condom, disassociated from any individual, set against a sombre black
background, OMOH 1990) and “If Mr. Right refuses to wear a condom
…he’s Wrong” 30 (a yellow stylized heart, set against a red background,
HC 1990), raise doubt and anxiety in visual and textual form, without
offering practical suggestions about ways to communicate with one’s
partner(s) about safer sex. This utilization of fear delivers a heightened
sense of panic, suspicion and helplessness. As a result of the content of
29
Themes associated with culture, race, ethnicity, poverty, HIV testing, drug use, harm reduction,
and sex workers, although interesting and relevant are beyond the scope of this paper, which
specifically focuses on HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns and women’s health issues in general.
30, 3,
Reprinted with the permission of the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA).
172
such messages, people may become overwhelmed with the magnitude of HIV, and the way in which it is
spreading, without receiving any practical advice about how to avoid HIV. 2
In more recent years the Canadian Public Health Association continued with this theme of caution and
uncertainty by asking “Could you recognize the face of AIDS? Are you Sure?” (2003). The Canadian
Public Health Association also expressed concern with issues of stigma, discrimination, and isolation
affecting those with HIV. In a 2003 campaign the association depicted images of people who experience
daily isolation and discrimination because of their HIV positive status. The text alongside the image of a
young woman states, “Because of HIV, Sara’s friends don’t talk to her anymore. Don’t add to her
isolation.”. 31 3
In two of the four posters of the 2004 campaign headlined “It’s

Not HIV That Isolates Me, It’s You! HIV Does Not
Discriminate. Do You?”, 32 a young black or young white
woman is set apart from a group of classmates. The personal
handwritten text of one of these posters states “When people
close to me found out about my infection, no one wanted to
share anything with me anymore …not even the bathroom.”.
Although the point of these posters is to reduce the
discrimination and isolation faced by Canadians living with
HIV/AIDS, or in this case women, it is that very discrimination
which is portrayed in the images, along with a fear based mentality which was exemplified in the first
wave of governmental poster campaigns. In keeping with the theme of the campaign, acceptance and
support by family and friends may be a more suitable and positive way to depict these women living with
HIV 4 and AIDS rather than reinforcing fear and discrimination.
The only recent Ontario Ministry of Health poster centres on a contemplative photograph of a pregnant
woman and states “HIV testing is important for you and your baby” and asks “Have you been
tested?”(2003). Pregnant women and mothers are often present in HIV/AIDS discourse due to concerns
about infection to their babies. Many prevention programs and services have been more concerned with
women’s reproductive function and health than with focusing on women’s sexuality and communication
around safer sexuality (Booth 2000; Connell 2001; Loppie and Gahagan 2001). Women are seen as
“vectors of disease and sources of infection” (Connell 2001:69) or to put it more
bluntly, “when women are not vaginas waiting to infect men, they are uteruses,
waiting to infect fetuses” (Patton 1994:109). This tendency to blame women for
HIV transmission is especially apparent in the case of sex workers who, although
scapegoated in AIDS discourses, are primary advocates of safer sex (Meaghan
2001; Sacks 1996).
One poster produced in 2002 by Health Canada and the Canadian Public Health
Association did address some concerns of mothers in the poster “How Could
Someone Like Me be HIV Positive?” 33, which depicts a quizzical young woman
looking up toward the viewer. We are not aware from the image that the woman
is a mother but the text states: “sends emails to her sister, eats yoghurt for
breakfast, single mother, loves throwing surprise parties, wants to be a
grandmother, worries about her family’s future, likes to take her kids camping in
4, 5
173
the backyard, always knows how far away a washroom is, enjoys reading to her kids, gets angry when she
hears people say that HIV/AIDS isn’t a big deal anymore”. Although the poster makes clear that HIV
affects women with children, there is no information presented on support resources for mothers and their
children. 5
The majority of women living with HIV are in their childbearing years (Health Canada, 2005) and many
do have children. There is a noticeable absence of HIV awareness posters which target mothers in
HIV/AIDS posters produced in Canada. Research shows that increased risk for HIV for female
adolescents may be related to exposure to the same factors that placed their parents at risk. The social
context of many families affected by HIV involves numerous stress factors which include, among other
things, poverty, substance abuse, disability, histories of victimization and family loss (Armistead et. al
2001; Brown et. al 2000). Furthermore, issues of concern to mothers such as finances, housing, health
issues, concern for their children and their partners, the future, and guilt if mothers are too ill to care for
their children are largely ignored in HIV/AIDS campaigns.
Recent research reveals that there are numerous factors which prevent mother’s disclosure of their HIV
status to their children. Some of these factors include, the fear of psychological harm to children, concern
that their children may inform others of their positive HIV status, concerns about their children’s ability to
understand this difficult news, and concern about the impact of the news on the family in general (Murphy
et. al 2003;Van Loon 2000). Stigma is still a main reason for secrecy around HIV and AIDS for many
women (Hough et. al 2003; Murphy et. al 2003; O’Sullivan 2005; Van Loon 2000). Although disclosure
of HIV status carries the possibility of negative consequences in the family and society in general,
withholding information of this nature can be problematic for families. Some research reveals that keeping
a chronic illness a secret in the family can lead to divisiveness and confusion in the family, and even
anxiety in children who may be aware that something is not right (Murphy et. al 2003). Posters targeting
HIV positive mothers could offer information on support services. Furthermore, in general, a heightened
awareness about the prevalence of HIV among mothers would be possible with posters that focus on the
issue of motherhood and HIV.
Further dissemination of information around the many issues that face HIV positive mothers would be
beneficial as HIV positive mothers could see themselves in the images and texts of posters. They may be
encouraged to participate in support programs. Greater availability of social support is associated with
fewer depressive symptoms in HIV positive women. Also, because many children do not cope well with
the news of a mother’s HIV diagnosis, support groups could be (and have been found to be) quite
beneficial for children as well. In a more general sense, posters depicting mothers with HIV or posters
which target mothers around HIV bring awareness to the public about the need for education and support
for this population (O’Sullivan 2005; Van Loon 2000).
In earlier years, even ACT, an organization which prides itself on its positive
sexual imagery, denied women positive sexual representation and depicted
women behind closed doors. The poster ‘Lesbians are talking about AIDS’
(ACT 1990) 34 depicts two females against a brick wall, out of public view.
They are wearing jeans, tee shirts and sunglasses. This poster intensifies a
relatively hidden and less vocal presence of lesbians, in comparison to the
posters targeting gay men. The private, almost secretive image of the women
is also in keeping with the typical way we see female gender, and
particularly lesbian women who face multiple oppression because of their
gender and sexual orientation. The poster 6 ‘The Woman with AIDS...’ (ACT
6,7
Reprinted with the permission of the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT).
174
1990) and the remake, 7’The Woman with HIV…’ (ACT 2000)35 echoes this secretiveness and keeps
women in a private domain, represented indirectly by the closed or slightly open doorways to six different
residential homes. The intention of the poster is to remind the viewer that even ‘the girl next door’ could
have HIV or AIDS or could be participating in risky behaviours that could lead to HIV transmission.
Apart from these earlier posters targeting women, ACT’s posters portray
sexual partners as openly acknowledging and incorporating safer sex, in a sex
positive and gay positive context. In contrast to governmental HIV/AIDS
posters, ACT’s posters explicitly and implicitly promote condom use and
safer sex with a ‘take control’ attitude, practical text and explicit images. In
addition to informing men about ways to take control of their own sexual
lives, some ACT posters targeting men also simultaneously deliver
congratulatory messages to their viewers, such as in the posters “Nobody does
it better ….or safer” and “Safer sex: Keep it Up!”. These headlines help to
promote, encourage and support safer sex between men.
Although ACT uses healthy and sex positive expressions such as

“Safer Sex” in the captions of the posters targeting the male population,
the more fear inducing word “AIDS” was historically a component of
the captions and text of the posters produced by ACT which targeted
women – “The Woman with AIDS ….”(1990), “Lesbians are Talking
about AIDS” (1990) and “Love is a Serious Thing…what’s happening
with you and AIDS?” (1990). ACT’s posters produced in later years
however which specifically target lesbian and bisexual women use
captions such as “Latex. The Risks! The Rules!” (1994), “Grrls on
Grrls” (1996), “Women Lovin’ Women” (2003), “Getting High n’
Hot” (2003)36, “Doin’ Boys” (2003) (image of two women and a man).
The use of the word AIDS is avoided in the text of these posters for the
more empowering expressions “Healthy-Sex-Life”, “Know Your
Risks!”, “Know the Choices!” These are similar to the type of ‘take
control’ and sexually explicit posters targeting men with respect to making choices and taking
responsibility for one’s sexual health. 8
There have been dramatic increases in HIV and AIDS rates among Black and
Aboriginal women in Canada and yet educational materials and posters targeting
Black, Aboriginal and Asian women are very limited or culturally inappropriate
(Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention 2001; Tharao and Massaquoi 2001).
One poster in this sample which approaches a positive representation of sexuality
is “Love is a Serious Thing…what’s happening with you and AIDS?” (1990)37,
produced by ACT in conjunction with BlackCAP (Black Coalition for AIDS
Prevention). The close up image of a black woman’s face depicts a serious and
solemn expression. Although this may be an appropriate emotion to convey, no
suggestions are given in image or text about how to negotiate safer sex. Instead
the viewer is left pondering the question, “what’s happening with you and
AIDS?” and told to “Take no risks”. 9
8, 9
Reprinted with the permission of the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT).
175
Very recently, the Canadian Public Health Association produced a very atypical, progressive and
empowering poster for women and HIV prevention, “Change the World.” (2005). 38 The poster depicts a
young woman lying beside a young man in bed. In this photograph, the woman is holding a transparently
wrapped, bright yellow condom in her hand. It is apparent, from the photograph, that it is she who has
taken the condom out of her purse which is sitting next to her in the forefront of the photograph. Although
there is no sense of communication depicted between the couple photographed, the implication is clear -
the young woman intends to use the condom. This image empowers
women at a time when research reveals that for some men (and some
women) there is still a strong stigma associated with the idea of a
woman keeping condoms available and ready for use and further, that if
a woman insists on condom use by her male partner, then she must be
sexually assertive and sexually experienced; even promiscuous (De
Oliveria in Kumar 2001:36).For some men, condom use threatens their
sense of masculinity. This recent poster depicts the woman taking
charge with condom in hand. 10
Still overall, few posters portray women’s sexuality and agency. With the exception of the recent posters
targeting women from ACT and the most recent progressive poster produced by the Canadian Public
Health Association, posters targeting women do not provide room to explore a positive model of female
sexuality, where a woman is presented on her own behalf, making demands and taking control of her own
life. This is a very different approach from the posters targeting men who have sex with men, where the
‘taking control’ aspect of men’s sexual lives and sexual health is reinforced. Neither Health Canada nor
the Ministry have addressed the absence of the portrayal of women’s sexuality or the absence of
communication strategies with partners about prevention and safer sex options, and posters produced by
ACT simply do not target or portray heterosexual women.
Safer sex: Partner or opponent
ACT positions itself as a partner with the viewer of the posters targeting men (and in later years the
posters targeting women) offering inviting slogans such as “Get the Facts, Take Control”, “Know Your
Risks!”, and presenting safer sex options with slogans such as “Discover the Options”, “Make Choices”,
and “Know Your Choices!”. ACT does not dictate, as do several governmental posters, what the viewer
must or must not do to stay healthy. In the posters produced by ACT, men are represented as comrades and
allies around sexuality and condom use. Conversely, governmental posters which target the ‘general
heterosexual population’ present men and women as opponents around safer sex negotiation and the use of
condoms. For example, in the poster “If Mr. Right refuses to wear a condom ...he’s Wrong.” (1990),
condoms appear to be an inconvenience for a resistant partner. The male of the implied couple in the
poster presumably wants to have sex without a condom; otherwise the woman wouldn’t be trying to
convince the viewer that he’s “Wrong” if he refuses safer sex. The male is implicitly presented as the
carrier of the virus and the woman’s role is to coerce him and to take care of both of them. There are no
examples or models of effective communication strategies offered to the viewer. Although the text “if you
care for one another, take care of one another” addresses both men and women, the male in the poster was
invited to tune out long before this point, diminishing his responsibility for caring.
Although women may be the main educative force in promoting safer sex in heterosexual relationships,
patriarchal social relations hinder the adoption of safer sex practices for many women. Heterosexual
women are still in the situation of negotiating sexual relationships with men in a society where sex is
largely defined in terms of men’s needs (Holland et al. 1992). As Holland contends:
38
176
The control that men exert over women in the private sphere and in private matters of
sexuality cannot be separated from the overall legitimation of male dominance, the
greater value placed on men in Western cultures, and the dominance of patriarchal
political and economic institutions in the public sphere (1992:650).
The many issues surrounding HIV and AIDS cannot be examined in isolation. Markers of identity such as
gender, culture, race, power, and sexuality are intimately connected with negotiations around safer sex
(Bain 2001; Dowsett 2003; Gavey et al. 2001; Kumar et al. 2001; Mane and Aggleton 2001; Tharao and
Massaquoi 2001). These issues are vital to explore because the rates of infection among heterosexual
women are rapidly increasing. Between 1985 and 1997, fewer than 40% of women in Canada with HIV
positive test results were infected through sexual intercourse with men. This increased to 82.4% by 2003
(Health Canada 2004a). As of June 2003, of all cumulative AIDS cases in women in Canada, 68% were
attributed to heterosexual transmission (Health Canada 2004b). Throughout the world, “more than four-
fifths of all HIV-infected women have contracted the virus through heterosexual transmission” (Health
Canada 2001, Larkin 2000, Wingood and DiClemente 2000).
There are many complex social structural, political, and systematic economic inequalities that lead to risk
factors for women and inhibit opportunities for safer sex negotiation and agency. Women who face sexual
oppression, sexual abuse, racism, diminished educational and occupational opportunities, poverty, and
culturally sanctioned gender roles have little power. Those who have unequal access to social and
economic resources, who lack power and knowledge to negotiate safer sex have the least control over their
sexual decision making and are most vulnerable to HIV infection. Some women and their children may be
financially dependent on a partner who is engaging in high risk behaviours, but they would be abandoned
or abused if they insisted on the use of condoms during sexual activity. For many women, empowerment
is only a word and the threat of abandonment and/or violence is more immediate than the reality or HIV
transmission (De Oliveria 2000; Dowsett 2003; Godin and Lambert 2003; Gómez and Marín 1996; Kumar
et al. 2001; Loppie and Gahagan 2001; Sacks 1996; Tharao and Massaquoi 2001; Wingood and
DiClemente 2000).
In order for women to negotiate safer sex options with men, it is necessary to promote communication
between partners around safer sex rather than presenting men and women as opponents. A positive model
of female sexuality and communication about sexuality is needed to ensure that women have a greater
chance of safer sexual encounters (Bird et al.2001; Connell 2001; Fenaughty and Namyniuk 2004; Goméz
and Marín1996; Holland et al.1992; Miles1993; Triese et al.1999). Posters targeting men who have sex
with men emphasize safer sexuality and communication about safer sex. Overall, there is reluctance to
present heterosexual women as empowered in their communication with friends, lovers, and partners.
Conclusions
This examination of HIV/AIDS awareness posters targeting women produced by Health Canada, the
Canadian Public Health Association, the Ontario Ministry of Health and the AIDS Committee of Toronto
has been useful as a means of understanding the ways through which HIV, AIDS, gender, sexuality and
related social, political, and cultural issues are constructed and represented in public discourse. The
conflicting discourses of gender and HIV/AIDS have serious implications for public attitudes, personal
beliefs systems, sexual health, the formation of public policies around HIV/AIDS educational programs
and treatment, and most importantly, reducing the rate of HIV transmission.
ACT has attempted to empower and depict sexually positive representations of safer sex for men. In more
recent years ACT has expanded its focus to include positive representations of safer sexuality for lesbian
and bisexual women. The posters addressing women produced by governments (and until recently by
ACT) are much less sexually explicit and show women as less confident and more private about sexual
177
issues. Posters targeting women have also utilized themes of authority, fear and morality more often than
those produced by ACT targeting men. Clearly, differences in gender representation exist between the
HIV/AIDS posters produced by governmental organizations and those produced by community based
agencies. Future research will explore the reasons behind such divergent constructions of gender.
Strengthening and reinforcing the abilities of women and their partners to protect themselves from
HIV/AIDS is a priority. HIV/AIDS infection rates are rising among women in Canada and throughout the
world. Past and present HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns may have reached part of the population, but
clearly a more effective strategy in addressing women and safer sex is needed if there is any hope of
reversing this trend. A more positive portrayal of women’s sexuality and communication strategies around
safer sexuality must be incorporated into the HIV/AIDS awareness posters produced in Canada. It is
hoped that with more awareness of women and HIV further educational initiatives and political resources
will be provided to support women in the many issues they face surrounding HIV and AIDS.
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181
Promoting women’s health through faith-based initiatives
FLORENCE HYMORE, DEBORAH CHILIMO, and MITCHELLE ROBERTS

Ammi-Ruach Resource Management Self-Helps Programme
Canada
flhy.arrmc@rogers.com
Premenstrual Syndrome is estimated to affect 40-80% of women, with about 5% of women experiencing
severe mental and reproductive impairment, which if unregulated could produce inequities in their
development and productivity. Surveys were undertaken to investigate the use of faith-based initiatives in
addressing women’s health problems because of their potential cost effectiveness. About 50% of
respondents with university education showed that they utilize all possible sources of information for
health enhancement, while 70% of overall population depended mainly on family and friends. Both age
and level of education could be important factors for innovative repackaging of women’s health
information.
Promotion de la santé des femmes par des initiatives basées sur la foi
On estime que le syndrome prémenstruel affecte de 40 à 80% des femmes, certaines d’entre elles (5%)
souffrant de troubles mentaux et reproductifs sévères qui, s’ils ne sont pas corrigés, pourraient produire
des inégalités dans leur développement et leur productivité. On a entrepris d’étudier les initiatives basées
sur la foi qui visent à régler les problèmes de santé des femmes à cause de leur potentiel de bénéfices par
rapport aux coûts. Environ 50% des femmes ayant un diplôme universitaire ont démontré qu’elles
utilisaient toutes les sources possibles d’information pour améliorer leur santé alors que 70% de la
population en général dépendait de la famille et des amis. L’âge et le niveau d’éducation pourraient être
des facteurs importants pour présenter de façon innovatrice les informations concernant la santé des
femmes.
182
Tensions between sex education and life circumstances

of adolescent girls in Uganda
SHELLEY JONES, BONNY NORTON, and HARRIET MUTONYI

Vancouver, Canada
shelley@youlead.org
Uganda is considered to be a leader in sex and HIV/AIDS education, and although important messages
penetrate most strata of Ugandan society, they have met with limited success in positively influencing
actual sexual health practices, especially those of adolescent girls. This is largely because adolescent girls’
life circumstances often prevent them from living in accord with these messages. Our paper focuses on the
tensions between understandings of healthy sexual practices and concepts and the challenges adolescent
girls face in adhering to these, as expressed by two groups of secondary school girls in different areas of
Uganda.
Tensions entre l’éducation sexuelle et les circonstances de la vie

chez les adolescentes en Uganda
L’Uganda est considéré comme le chef de file en ce qui concerne l’éducation sexuelle et la prévention du
VIH/SIDA et même si les messages importants pénètrent la majorité des couches de la société
ugandienne, le succès de ces programmes est limité dans sa capacité d’influencer positivement les
pratiques actuelles de santé sexuelle, surtout celles des adolescentes. Ceci est dû en grande partie aux
circonstances qui empêchent souvent les filles d’appliquer ces messages dans leur vie. Dans notre
communication, on parle des tensions entre le fait de comprendre les concepts de pratiques sexuelles
saines et les défis qui se posent aux adolescentes lorsqu’il s’agit de les appliquer. Deux groupes d’élèves
du secondaire de deux régions de l’Uganda nous font part de ces difficultés.
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Literacy health challenges for women in a rural Ugandan village
MAUREEN KENDRICK
Vancouver, Canada
maureen.kendrick@ubc.ca
JUDITH EIYO
Uganda Martyrs University,
Uganda East Africa
Our research seeks to better understand the relationship between literacy practices and family and
community health within the context of a rural Ugandan community. Drawing on literature associated
with literacy as a social practice and gender and development, we use a qualitative multiple-case study to
investigate how and why literacy practices are integral to the provision of health care; how literacy
programmes can best respond to the literacy demands of the health care system; and what contribution
women and girls can make to such programmes.
Défis de la santé face à l’alphabétisation chez les femmes dans un village rural de l’Uganda
Notre recherche a pour objet une meilleure compréhension des relations entre les pratiques
d’alphabétisation et la santé familiale et communautaire dans le contexte d’un village rural de l’Uganda.
En nous appuyant sur la littérature concernant l’alphabétisation comme pratique sociale ainsi que le sexe
(masculin ou féminin) et le développement, on prend une étude de cas multiples qualitative pour examiner
comment et pourquoi les pratiques d’alphabétisation font partie intégrante des soins de santé, comment les
programmes d’alphabétisation peuvent répondre de façon optimale aux exigences du système de soins de
santé et comment les femmes et les jeunes filles peuvent contribuer à ces programmes.
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Dressing the wounds
KATRINA KNAPPE KENNY

OISE-IÉPO/UT
Toronto, Canada
kakenny@oise.utoronto.ca
This seminar will provide a brief overview of self-injury and some of the motivating factors which lie
beneath the behaviours. By invoking some of the literature on adolescent females, this seminar will begin
to address possible reasons why a mounting number of young girls are choosing to self-injure. Education
based prevention and intervention strategies will be discussed, which challenge gender based stereotypes,
promote media literacy and aim to illuminate the voices within adolescent girls.
Panser les blessures
Dans ce séminaire, on fait un survol des blessures auto-infligées et de certains des facteurs qui motivent ce
genre de comportement. En s’appuyant sur des publications concernant les adolescentes, ce séminaire
révèle certaines raisons qui pourraient expliquer pourquoi un nombre croissant de jeunes filles choisissent
de se faire du mal. On discute des stratégies de prévention et d’intervention fondées sur l’éducation, en
remettant en question les stéréotypes basées sur le sexe, en promouvant la littératie des médias et en
essayant de faire entendre les voix des adolescentes.
Introduction
Body modification is not a new phenomenon in Western culture. Tattoos, body piercing and the new wave
of plastic surgery are all socially sanctioned forms of body modification and are even encouraged in some
social circles. However, when body modification is employed in response to a psychological crisis and is
motivated by the pain the crisis causes, it crosses the line from socially sanctioned to socially deviant. This
form of body modification, predominantly employed by females, has been referred to as deliberate self-
harm, self-mutilation, cutting and self-injury. The act of defining the behaviours is as elusive as naming
them.
A commonly employed definition by North American researchers is based on Simeon and Favazza’s
(2001) work on self-injury which defines it as the deliberate harm of one’s own body or body parts
without the intent to commit suicide. The latter portion of this definition is a critical component as self-
injuring behaviours can be confused with suicide attempts particularly if the wound is directed toward the
wrists. However, suicide is a means to escape whereas self-injury is a means to cope and survive. Ignoring
the distinction between the two acts can lead to inappropriate treatment of individuals engaging in either
behaviour as well as inaccurate research results (Ross & Heath, 2002).
One of the most common forms of self-injury is cutting with approximately 72% of self-injurers choosing
it as their primary method to harm themselves. Acts of self-cutting are followed in prevalence by burning,
self-hitting , picking, pulling at skin and hair and hair pulling. Self-injury is most commonly directed
towards the arms (74%), then the legs (44%), the abdomen (25%), the head (23%), the chest (18%), and
the genitals (8%) (Favazza, 1996).
185
While many discover self-injury through accidents, the behaviours can become like an addiction,
escalating in frequency and intensity. Some self-injurers can even require medical assistance by
accidentally injuring themselves too severely. While the average age of hospitalization for adolescents
who self-injure is 16 (Simpson & Porter, 1981), this does not appear to be when adolescents first begin to
experiment with the behaviours.
…in terms of age of onset, 11.5% described starting to self-mutilate during Grade 9,
59% of the sample began self-mutilating in Grade 7 and/or 8, 24.6% stated they
started in Grade 6 or younger and 4.9% could not remember when they started
engaging in the behaviour (Ross & Heath, 2002, P. 74).
The prevalence rates of adolescents engaging in self-injuring behaviours are considered conservative and
can vary drastically between studies due to three main factors. The first is the secrecy associated with the
behaviours, the second is the lack of consistent definition applied to the behaviours and the third relates to
the population under study. For example, self-report survey results demonstrated that up to 4% of the
American general population engaged in self-injuring behaviours (Briere & Gil, 1998) while 12% of
American college students were identified as self-injuring (Favazza, DeRosear & Conterio, 1989).
One of the few Canadian studies available was undertaken by Ross and Heath (2002). It found startling
prevalence rates in both urban and suburban students in Grades 7 - 10. Through self-report questionnaires
and interviews Ross and Heath (2002) identified that on average, 13.9% of students in Grades 7 - 10 had
engaged in self-injuring behaviours at least once. Based on these results it can be estimated that in an
average middle or high school class of 30, at least 4 students have self-injured.
The combination of the startling prevalence rates, the early age of onset and the chilling nature of the
behaviours themselves demonstrates the need for education to become engaged in combating this growing
phenomenon. This paper will address three phases of intervention and prevention. The first phase will deal
with how educators can effectively respond to youth who are already self-injuring. The second phase will
discuss the self-injury cycle indicating where and how educators can intervene. Finally, the third phase
will invoke a feminist epistemology to highlight how the reinvigoration of a critical pedagogy can
challenge the behaviours associated with self-injury.
Dealing with disclosures
How can an educator effectively support a student who is suspected to be self-injuring or who discloses
that they are self-injuring? The first step in responding to a disclosure is to react without judgment, disgust
or fear. Listening to the student and responding empathically will assist in establishing a trusting alliance
with the student (Conterio & Lader, 2002). Providing a safe space where the student is comfortable to
open up and talk without fear of reprisal is crucial. In addition, educators who understand the phenomenon
will be better able to remain conscious of their reactions and of the impact they will have on the self-
injurer both in the moment and thereafter.
To address students who are or who may be at-risk of self-injuring it is best to take an upfront and honest
approach. Kress (2004) suggests some non-threatening questions that can be helpful in eliciting
information about injuries: “What is this from?”; “Could you say more about this?”; “Have you had
accidents like this before?”; “What were you thinking or feeling prior to the accident?”; “Have you found
a pattern to these accidents?”; and, “How did you feel after the accident?” These questions should be
phrased to avoid implicitly communicating blame, guilt or anger (Bowman & Randall, 2004). Providing
other mediums for communication, such as writing or art, may also be of assistance in eliciting responses,
as students who self-injure may have difficulty verbalizing their experiences (Bowman & Randall, 2004).
186
Educators cannot make promises to keep the information secret and will need to make judgments on the
severity of the behaviours to determine the next course of action. Students cannot be allowed to continue
to harm themselves however, educators are not a position to counsel them to recovery. Although there are
no policies or procedures in place which address self-injury, educators are encouraged to work closely
with colleagues and community support agencies. As self-injury has been seen to be associated with
physical and sexual abuse (Levenkron, 1999), professional judgment must be employed when deciding to
involve family members. While the student may at first be upset, angry and hurt by the breach of
confidentiality, educators must take solace in the fact that the self-injuring behaviours will escalate and
can lead to accidental death or suicidal ideation without effective counselling and extensive support
(Hawton et al, 1998).
Enlisting alternatives
One of the most common personality characteristics of self-injurers is the inability to cope with or express
intense emotions (Nixon, 2002). As self-injurers dislike being alone with their own feelings they aim to
expunge themselves of intense emotions rather than to examine and deal with them (Conterio, Lader &
Bloom 1998). Thus, in an attempt to remove the unwanted feelings, acts of self-injury become the means
to rid oneself of emotions and experiences that can no longer be hidden or processed (Miller, 1994).
In order to combat the deficit of healthy coping mechanisms, educators can teach alternative methods to
relieve stress and express difficult emotions. In assisting students at risk of engaging in self-injury it is
important to understand the cycle of self-injury (Bowman & Randall, 2004). The cycle is initiated by a
trigger which may be real or perceived, such as a conflict, stress or failure. The trigger then elicits
negative thoughts which are followed by feelings such as anger, tension, fear and panic which build
(Bowman & Randall, 2004; Favazza, 1996). These feelings remain internalized and locked within as self-
injurers lack healthy strategies to externalize them (Levenkron, 1998; Alderman, 1997). Eventually these
feelings build up and become overwhelming.
In order to diffuse the pent-up emotions, self-injury becomes the chosen means to express and release the
feelings of pain and confusion. The pain provides a temporary release from the emotional turmoil and the
endorphins released cause a false sense of emotional enlightenment (Bowman & Randall, 2004; Conterio,
Lader & Bloom, 1998). After the euphoric high has passed, the marks and scars left on the flesh then elicit
feelings of guilt and shame which further compound the cycle and the need for emotional release again
(Strong, 1998).
Enlisting a dialectal behavioral model, which has found moderate success in decreasing self-injuring
behaviours, students can learn to cope with overwhelming emotions (Linehan, 1993). The first step in this
approach is to identify common triggers of the self-injury cycle. This skill may not be easily accomplished
by self-injurers and can require practice to identify emotional states and their antecedents. Personal
timelines, feeling charades and art are some methods which can be employed to assist in the development
of this skill (Bowman & Randall, 2004).
The second step is to displace the self-injuring behaviours with alternate means of expression to safely
release emotions. “Using a variety of creative approaches can help young people to externalize their
feelings in a non-threatening manner, since self-injury involves internal processes that are difficult to
express” (Bowman & Randall, 2004, P. 8) Healthy coping mechanisms such as journaling, art, drama,
music, exercise and meditation can be offered to students and practiced in groups.
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By employing these strategies with individuals, small groups or full classes educators can help youth
interrupt or avoid the cycle of self-injury. However, it should be noted, that although these practices
support the prevention of self-injury and assist in the recovery of someone who self-injures, professional
counselling is always advised.
The gender gap
Education can also play an integral role in the prevention of self-injuring behaviours on a wide scale. In
orchestrating the direction of these efforts we can learn from early eating disorder prevention programs,
many of which were counterproductive because they focused on the behaviours rather than the underlying
issues which prompted them (Stice, et al., 2000). Thus, rather than educating students about the
behaviours themselves, efforts to prevent the employment of self-injury should be directed at the
underlying factors which drive the behaviours. One of the main risk factors appears to be gender.
While some conflicting results have been found, it has been predominantly observed that females are
increasingly liable to engage in self-injuring behaviours in comparison to their male counterparts. In a
study completed in England by Hawton, Rodham, Evans & Weather all (2002) it was found that only
3.2% of males aged 15 - 16 had reported engaging in self-injuring behaviours while 11.2 % of females in
the same age group had done so. Of the participants in a study undertaken by Ross and Heath in Canada
(2002) 64% of the self-injurers were female while only 36% were male.
From a sociological perspective, some researchers theorize that the role gender plays in maintaining self-
injury is related to the perpetuation of socially acceptable behaviors expected from girls. Carol Gilligan
(1982) purports how the implicit and explicit expectation, which is established and perpetuated in society,
that women are ‘nice’ is one of the catalysts in the silencing of young women during adolescence. This
silencing can lead women to push personal feelings aside and mask them with a false self, one which is
more socially acceptable. Miller (1994) discusses society’s expectations which dissuade women from
expressing aggressive tendencies externally, which may result in a redirection of their anger towards
themselves. The expectation that young women perpetually suppress negative emotions places them at a
greater risk for developing internalizing disorders, which can manifest in behaviours such as self-injury
(Zahn-Waxler et al., 2000).
Ross and Heath’s (2002) hypothesis explaining the gender imbalance in self-injury is reflective of these
feminist philosophies. It connects the societal expectation that females should hide aggressive tendencies
along with the understanding that self-injury is a tool to express overwhelming emotions such as anger
which have become self-directed. “Given that the outward expression of anger may be less socially
acceptable for girls than it is for boys, girls may become more likely to direct their anger inwards onto
themselves, which results in a pattern of SM [self-mutilative] behaviour” (P. 75). Herpertz et al (1995)
also found that self-injurers exhibited a high level of suppressed anger and self-directed hostility.
We may surmise that self-mutilators usually disapprove of aggressive feelings and

impulses. If they fail to suppress these, our findings indicate that they direct them
inwardly. . . . This is in agreement with patients’ reports, where they often regard
their self-mutilative acts as ways of relieving intolerable tension resulting from
interpersonal stressors. (p.70).
In addition to the gender based expectations, which motivate the need for young women to find other
means to express themselves, is society’s obsession with the female body (Nichols, 2000). Media
exposure and exploitation of women’s bodies has become increasingly heightened as our access to multi-
media spreads. The great gains women have made, through the feminist movement, to penetrate the power
hierarchy are in stark contrast to our ever increasing scrutiny of the female body and the elusive fight for
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the perfect woman. As Naomi Wolf states,
… inside the majority of the West’s controlled, attractive, successful working women,
there is a secret “underlife” poisoning our freedom; infused with notions of beauty, it
is a dark vein of self-hatred, physical obsessions, terror of aging, and dread of lost
control” (Wolf, 1991, P. 10)
That young women are using their bodies to externalize their affective states should therefore come as no
surprise. Women’s bodies have been instruments of communication for centuries. For example, eating
disorders have been identified as a common means to gain control over one’s life circumstances and to
give voice to emotional pain. While the means is different, self-injuring behaviours are employed to meet
the same end: give voice and maintain control. “The person who chooses [to self-injure] is someone who
experiences herself as powerless…Like the anorexic, she may feel that she has no one to depend upon or
to trust with her emotions” (Levenkron, 1999, P. 10). In many ways, self-injury can be viewed as the ‘new
and improved’ eating disorder.
The ongoing fight for gender equity is often overlooked because of the great strides women have taken in
Western society and the negative image feminism has developed. However many young women are
continuing to lose their voices as they mature, which demonstrates that although the instruments of
silencing are more covert, our journey to gender equity is not over. “For girls, the passage into
adolescence is marked by a loss of confidence in themselves and their abilities, a developing critical
attitude toward their bodies, along with a growing sense of personal inadequacy” (Gallagher, 2001, P. 35).
While self-injury is not new, it is becoming an increasingly prevalent phenomenon observed in youth.
Encouraging students to (re)activate their voice is one of the primary objectives educators can aim for in
the prevention and intervention of self-injury. Through the enactment of a feminist pedagogy, which
addresses gender-based stereotypes and power hierarchies, educators can challenge how school and
community cultures silence young women and other marginalized groups. Unfortunately, while education
works towards the goal of achieving equity many adolescents will begin to or continue to employ self-
injuring behaviours. In light of this understanding, current educators are also charged with the
responsibility of ensuring they are prepared to address student disclosures while concurrently teaching
students safe and healthy coping mechanisms.
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Songs of South Africa:

Remembering stories of our mothers
KHULI KOAHO
Freelance, Canada
MERRIL MATTHEWS
Children’s Peace Theatre, Toronto, Canada
GAIL MATTHEWS
University of New Brunswick
Saint John, Canada
matthews@unbsj.ca
In South Africa people currently live and die from HIV/AIDS. Many children will never learn the stories
of their mothers. Women have a key role in building and sharing knowledge, transmitting narratives of
belonging that forge identities of the next generation. Women are the keepers of stories. We explore an
understanding of South African women’s narratives in this 60-minute performance.
Chants d’Afrique du Sud :

souvenirs des histoires racontées par nos mères
En Afrique du Sud, la vie et la mort sont inexorablement liées au VIH/SIDA. Nombreux sont les enfants
qui n’apprendront jamais les histoires de leur mère. Les femmes ont un rôle-clé à jouer pour construire et
partager le savoir, pour transmettre les histoires d’appartenance qui forgent l’identité de la future
génération. Les femmes sont les gardiennes des histoires. Nous explorons ce que signifient les histoires de
femmes en Afrique du Sud au moyen de ce spectacle de 60 minutes.
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Healthy bodies, healthy minds and risky relations in knowledge engagement
MARGARET MACNEILL
Toronto, Canada
margaret.macneill@utoronto.ca
Go Girls is widely proclaimed to foster girls’ self-efficacy in adopting nutritious eating patterns and
encouraging physical activity. However, neither the processes of health knowledge engagement, nor the
social relations of power between girls, mentors and trainers have received critical attention by
administrators. Margaret offers suggestions to transform this top-down mentoring program into an
experience that focuses on pleasure, equity and social justice.
Un esprit sain dans un corps sain :

relations à risque quand on s’engage dans ce qui touche à la santé
On proclame largement que le programme “Go Girls” encourage les jeunes filles à adopter des habitudes
alimentaires saines et à être actives physiquement. Pourtant, les administrateurs ne reconnaissent pas la
valeur de l’engagement dans ce qui touche à la santé ou des relations sociales de pouvoir entre les filles,
les mentors et les formateurs. Margaret offre des suggestions pour transformer ce programme de monitorat
du sommet vers le bas en une expérience centrée sur le plaisir, l’égalité et la justice sociale.
193
Practicing with intuition:

Moving with and from the bodysoul
INDRANI MARGOLIN
OISE-IÉPO/UT
Toronto, Canada
imargolin@oise.utoronto.ca
In this movement workshop, I explore a curriculum of imagination with the body. Dancing From Within
invites girls and women to create with their inner feelings, their outer forms, and the spaces around them.
Based on a belief that everyone can dance, the self is trusted as an inner authority to guide movement.
This dance form can act as a vehicle for embodiment, self-awareness, and joy by inviting girls/women to
deepen their consciousness from body appearance to body experience…Moving from the inside out allows
her to sense and feel her way into more authentic relation: with self, other and dance
Danser de l’intérieur
Dans cet atelier sur le mouvement, j’explore un programme d’imagination au moyen du corps. Dancing
From Within invite les jeunes filles et les femmes à donner libre cours à leur créativité au moyen de leurs
sentiments profonds, de leur apparence extérieure et de l’espace où elles évoluent. En partant du principe
que tout le monde est capable de danser, le moi profond devient la source interne qui guide le ouvement.
Cette forme de danse peut servir de véhicule à l’incarnation, à la prise de conscience et à la joie car elle
invite les filles/femmes à approfondir leur façon de transformer la conscience qu’elles ont de leur
apparence corporelle en expérience corporelle… Passer de l’intérieur à l’extérieur permet à la femme de
ressentir ses relations avec elle-même, avec les autres et avec la danse de façon plus authentique.
194
Spinning a northern web: Women using information and communication technology

to network for health and wellness
CHRISTINA MCLENNAN and DAWN HEMINGWAY

University of Northern British Columbia
Prince George, Canada
mclennac@unbc.ca
This project explores women’s experiences using information and communication technology (ICT) to
address women’s health concerns in northern, rural and remote communities in BC. Incorporating features
of collaborative, action research, an online focus group was created to explore an internet-based network
that supports information sharing, education, action and the development of social and health-related
research and policy initiatives. We will highlight the process of northern women using ICT to create a
gendered approach to developing online community that underscores education as a critical determinant of
women’s health and ICT as a mechanism for making education and collective action more accessible.
Tisser une toile dans le Nord: Établissement d’une communauté d’action et d’éducation
en ligne pour les femmes du Nord
Dans ce projet, on explore les expériences vécues par des femmes utilisant les technologies de
l’information et de communication (TIC) pour résoudre des problèmes touchant à la santé dans des
communautés du nord, rurales ou isolées de C.-B. Un groupe de discussion en ligne incorporant des
caractéristiques de recherche action collaborative a été créé pour étudier ce que signifie un réseau internet
capable de partager des informations, de faire de l’éducation, de l’action et du développement d’initiatives
de recherche et de politiques sociales et reliées à la santé. Nous allons montrer comment les femmes du
Nord utilisant les TIC réussissent à créer une approche féminine pour développer une communauté en
ligne qui souligne l’importance de l’éducation comme déterminant majeur de la santé des femmes et les
TIC comme un mécanisme qui rend l’éducation et l’action collective plus accessibles.
195
Incorporating breastfeeding education and promotion into school health curricula
AMY MIDDLETON
Edmonton, Canada
middleton@phen.ab.ca
The benefits that breastfeeding provides to the infant and mother are well documented. Yet despite
attempts to educate women about these benefits and to provide support to breastfeeding women, many are
still choosing not to breastfeed their infants. In addition to community-based support and educational
breastfeeding programmes aimed at the specific needs of pregnant and breastfeeding women, four barriers
to breastfeeding may be addressed by incorporating breastfeeding education and promotion into school
health curricula. Educating youth to view breastfeeding as normal, healthy, manageable and acceptable
has the potential to positively affect breastfeeding rates.
Éducation et promotion de l’allaitement au sein dans le programme scolaire sur la santé
Il existe une excellente documentation sur les avantages de l’allaitement au sein pour le nourrisson et sa
mère. Malgré toutes les tentatives pour informer les femmes sur ces avantages et pour apporter un soutien
aux femmes qui allaitent, nombreuses sont celles qui choisissent encore de ne pas allaiter leur bébé au
sein. En ajoutant une composante de promotion et d’éducation sur l’allaitement maternel au programme
scolaire, on peut renforcer les effets du soutien communautaire et éducatifs destinés spécialement aux
besoins des femmes enceintes et de celles qui allaitent et ainsi éliminer quatre obstacles à l’allaitement au
sein. Montrer aux jeunes que l’allaitement au sein est normal, sain, faisable et acceptable devrait
influencer positivement le taux d’allaitement au sein.
196
“But girls aren’t interested in physical education:

Tales from the On the Move trenches
SYDNEY MILLAR
CAAWS-ACAFS
Vancouver, Canada
snmillar@caaws.ca
On the Move is a national initiative designed to increase opportunities for inactive girls and young women
(ages 9-18) to participate in sport and physical activity. This presentation will share key lessons,
promising practices, and successes and challenges relating to providing positive physical education and
school-based physical activity programs for girls and young women. Comments will be based on
reflections, national project outcomes, evaluation findings from workshops and consultations with
educators across the country. The presentation will encourage discussion and debate about healthy
educational communities, feminist action, and collaboration between sectors and jurisdictions to influence
change.
« Les filles ne s’intéressent pas à l’éducation physique » :

histoires tirées de On the Move
On the Move est une initiative nationale conçue pour augmenter les occasions de participer dans les sports
et l’activité physique des filles et des jeunes femmes (9 à 18 ans). Dans cette présentation, on partage des
leçons-clés, des pratiques prometteuses et des réussites ainsi que les défis reliés à la nécessité de présenter
des programmes positifs d’éducation physique et d’activité physique scolaire pour les filles et les jeunes
femmes. Les commentaires s’appuient sur des réflexions, sur les résultats de projets nationaux, sur les
évaluations des ateliers et des consultations avec les éducateurs dans tout le pays. Cette présentation
devrait encourager la discussion et le débat sur les communautés éducatives saines, sur l’action féministe
et la collaboration entre les secteurs et les juridictions afin de promouvoir le changement.
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Interrupted, improvised, and empowered lives of seven women
ARPI PANOSSIAN-MUTTART
Brock University
St. Catharines, Canada
arpi@ca.inter.net
This paper unravels the challenges and implications of learning English from within the personal stories of
seven immigrant women. This narrative phenomenology reveals that higher education enables us to
identify the learned and imposed silences that oppress our souls and limit our achievements. We learn to
improvise, to find comfort in discomforts, and to persist with courage. As Linda Alcoff and Elizabeth
Potter (1993) suggest, we “unmake the web of oppression and reweave the web of life”–a healthy life
actualized through life-long learning. We are empowered with well-tuned minds and healthy bodies.
Vie de sept femmes : interrompues, improvisées et responsabilisées
Dans cette communication on démêle les défis et les conséquences de l’apprentissage de l’anglais par des
histoires vécues de sept immigrantes. Cette phénoménologie narrative révèle qu’un niveau supérieur
d’éducation nous permet d’identifier les silences appris et imposés qui oppriment notre âme et limitent ce
que nous faisons. Nous apprenons à improviser, à nous sentir confortables dans des situations
inconfortables et à persévérer avec courage. Comme Linda Alcoff et Elizabeth Potter (1993) le suggèrent,
nous « défaisons la toile de l’oppression et retissons le tissu de la vie » – une vie saine renouvelée par
l’apprentissage de toute une vie. Nous avons le pouvoir que nous donne une intelligence bien entretenue et
un corps sain.
Introduction
This paper unravels the challenges and implications of learning English from within the personal stories of
7 immigrant women. It is about learning and adapting, learning and gaining self-confidence, learning and
finding comfort in discomforts, living and learning. Stories of our life achievements may encourage other
women to strive to reach their goals instead of giving up their dreams. Linda Alcoff and Elizabeth Potter
(1993) encourage women to “unmake the web of oppression and reweave the web of life” (p. 4).
Our lives as women are joined together with stories and everyday experiences. As social beings, we
exchange stories at every interaction. Mary Catherine Bateson (1994) reminds us that “our species …
learns through stories” (p. 9). It is in our nature to exchange experiences because that is how we
accumulate knowledge. Accordingly, this paper stories lives that are silenced yet roused, dependent yet
independent, intimidated yet courageous, vulnerable yet empowered, interrupted yet improvised.
Unexpected interruptions, such as civil war, arranged marriage, childbirth, immigration, divorce, and
remarriage derailed and left us doubting our abilities to persist. Finally, at mid-life, when we entered
universities, we found that it was persistence that carried us through and helped us earn a few degrees.
Education enabled us to identify the learned and imposed silences that oppressed our souls and limited our
achievements. We finally gained self-confidence and redirected our footsteps into the path of life-long
learning. We finally heard “a new voice / which [we] slowly / recognized as our own” (Oliver, 1992, p.
114).
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Positionality, methodology, and method
Fascination for women’s stories of learning provided the incentive to begin this research. I found that
learning English has been a long, arduous, but exhilarating journey for many of us. My interest
concentrated on the motivations of learning and what sustained these compelling forces. I was curious to
understand why some of us have a need to learn English that goes beyond mere functional necessity.
I grounded my inquiry within adult learning models such as learning for empowerment (Fetterman, 2001),
need of lifelong learning (Chappell, Rhodes, Solomon, Tennant, & Yates, 2003), self-directed learning
(Merriam, 2001), and narrative learning (Clandinin & Connelly, 1994, 2000). My field text supported new
models such as persistence in learning, learning through interruptions, and learning from silences. My
epistemology, nurtured by feminist theory, guided me to respect individual differences of women (Hayes
& Flannery, 2000), to seek multiple truths (Richardson, 1990, 1994), to be attentive to the dignity of both
genders (Thompson, 2001; Weedon, 1991), to struggle against all oppressions while refusing to
compromise (Abbey, 1999), to conduct research with my heart, mind, and soul (Neilsen, 1998), and to
promote the empowerment of women through education (Tisdell, 1998).
I employ narrative phenomenology to collect as well as to unravel field text. I use different writing styles
to discover meanings and at the same time to construct interpretations. My stories intersect with those of
my participants, and we express ourselves: we journal, we draw, we paint, we act, we teach, we garden,
we tell stories. Through narrative, I am able to give voice to the silences and the untold stories.
I unravel personal stories of learning that otherwise were forgotten or perhaps considered unimportant or
insignificant. Kathleen Weiler (1988) suggests: “Feminist scholarship, by revealing the everyday lives of
women, opens up the other half of social reality which has been ignored in studies of public life” (p. 62).
My participants’ and my voices contribute to the collective knowledge of women–a knowledge that may
guide us through life’s challenges and may afford us well-tuned minds and healthy bodies.
This study reaffirms that past events guide present actions (Witherell & Noddings, 1991). It also
substantiates assumptions that adult women often are independent learners, have passion for learning, and
guide their paths according to their personal needs and ambitions (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1998;
Merriam, 2001; Mezirow, 1991). The voices of 7 women add new learning characteristics to the
knowledge bank of adult education. My participants and I, motivated by desires to learn, dreams to fulfill,
and inner voices to follow, persist and learn even when we are under tremendous stress, contrary to the
assumption that adults do not learn when over stimulated and under time constraints (MacKeracher,
1996). We improvise and persist through everyday life interruptions.
The told stories: Motivated learners
Not only my participants and I are motivated by our need to learn in order to secure a better paying job or
a comfortable social standing but also by our intrinsic enjoyment of learning new things. Sharan Merriam
(2001) reminds us that adult learners are “motivated to learn by internal rather than external factors” (p.
5).
The stories in this section elucidate the passion, the dreams, the improvisations, the silences, the
interruptions, and the rewards that Arminé, Kaori, Lea Na, Nora, Pat, Vera39, and I experienced while we
learned a new language and relearned our roles as multitasked women.
39
Participants’ names are pseudonyms. The stories cited are from my transcribed interviews and
email correspondence from July 2004 to May 2005. I use italics to emphasis participants’ voices.
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Passion for learning
Nora is an artist, an actor, and an elementary school teacher. She lives the drama of her life as she asserts
that drama is her life. She recalls:
Dance, drama, visual arts, singing, and acting are my strength. Through the arts, I
gained self-confidence in dealing with day-to-day problems of growing up. At age ten,
I coordinated the school’s yearly concerts and directed a play.
Nora was motivated to direct her learning even as a child. In 1987, her life took a turn because of political
unrest in the Middle East, and she found herself in Canada, where once again she had to redirect her
footsteps. Bateson (1989) reminds us that life is full of surprises and that interruptions are “part of a life
whose theme is response rather than purpose, response that makes us more broadly attentive, rather than
purpose that might narrow our view” (p. 237). Nora responded to her new situation. She writes:
I asked myself many times the same questions: what kind of job would pay me decent
money when I hardly spoke the language and how would Canadians react to my
broken English or accent? I decided to go back to school and get to know the system
better.
It was necessary for Nora to learn English in order to earn money. But earning money was not her only
motivation. She could not bear the intimidation of not knowing English. Just knowing English at the level
of finding any job was not enough. She wanted a reputable job. She acknowledges now that the necessity
of learning English was not her only motivation to go back to school but also that her “passion for
learning new things” compelled her to attain higher education.
Pat, now a teacher at a college, came to Canada from Eastern Europe at the age of 18. She immediately
enrolled in government-sponsored English-as-a-Second-Language classes. Pat did not continue her
education until she was confident with her English, which took about 6 years. She reminisces:
Had I stayed in Europe, I would have gone to university. I couldn’t when I just
arrived because of the language. Eventually, I returned, but not until I was married
and had my daughter. It was a bit tough. I knew that I had to go; I needed to go.
Without higher education you cannot get ahead.
Like Nora, Pat felt the need to attain higher education for financial gain as well as for personal growth and
satisfaction. She says:
I always need a challenge. … I am always trying to learn new things to better myself.
… I like to learn. It gives me a sense of accomplishment.
Parallel to Nora’s and Pat’s experience, I too had both an immediate need to learn English and an inner
desire to continue my education when I immigrated to Canada in 1976, just before my 25th birthday. Years
later, I still remember:
In Toronto’s airport, I was very angry at not having learned the “right” language or
coming to the “right” city, as I observed that my French was not useful in Ontario
because not all Canadians spoke their two official languages: English and French.
I do not know if it was chance or destiny that dropped me in Toronto. But I do know
that I felt as if I was indeed dropped on an alien, flat land. I did not understand the
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language, the culture, and the relentless talk about the weather. I did not like the
bulky winter clothes, the greasy food, nor did I care to listen to the music that was
played wherever I went: stores, offices, clinics. However, I greatly appreciated the
personal safety and freedom I now had and therefore decided that I was going to
make the best of my new situation. The first step was to learn English. If I understood
the language, I would understand the culture of the city; if I understood the culture, I
would understand its music, perhaps even its sports; if I learned more about the
sports, I would hopefully like the weather. Not only was learning English necessary,
but it was essential.
Before immigrating to Canada, I had aspirations to continue my education, but these

were unexpectedly interrupted by wars in the Middle East. I envied those who were in
school, and I dreamed of going back one day. Learning new things was always my
passion, and now, in Canada, I had the opportunity to pursue higher education. But
first, I absolutely had to learn English.
Nora’s, Pat’s, and my pursuit of learning English was in response to our new situation in a new country.
The shifting global sociopolitical and economic changes forced us to emigrate and adopt a new language
and a foreign culture. Necessities, such as shelter, food, and physical freedom, urged us to acquire basic
needs of learning English, but it is our passion for learning that pushed us to attain higher education. The
question I ask here is: What compelled that passion?
Dreams and inner voices
Why do some of us persist in mastering the English language against many challenges and interruptions?
When I asked Nora this question, she took a few days to reflect, and then she replied, telling a story of a
childhood experience:
One day, my brother, my elder sister, and I were sent home early from school. The
tuition was not paid. It was the first time I saw my mother crying. She was crying and
sighing, ‘You must continue your education no matter what. You must.’ These words
haunted me forever.
I was reminded of Clark Moustakas’s (1994) remark that when “the looking and noticing and looking
again is complete, a more definitely reflective process occurs, aimed at grasping the full nature of a
phenomenon. … Things become clearer as they are considered again and again” (pp. 92, 93). As Nora
probed deeper into her experiences in adulthood, she uncovered new layers of knowledge and wrote the
following:
As I look back, there were moments when I thought I could no longer take my
husband’s words: “You can’t handle the stress. I know you.” I had never doubted my
abilities of handling the stress of going back to school. The irony was that my
husband unintentionally was creating all the stress to a point that I began to believe
him. I vividly remember once, I was on my way to leave the house to go to school; I
noticed there was dust over the movable vegetable rack. I stopped for a moment and
tried to convince myself that indeed, going to school was preventing me from taking
good care of my house. Then I quickly decided, that was a silly thought and such little
things should not matter. So, I locked the door and went to school.
Unfortunately, these sort of things were pressuring me to an extent that I thought I
could no longer focus on school. Many times, I stopped and thought about dropping
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out of school but my mother’s words “Education is the key to success” kept me going.
I owe it to you MOM!
Nora’s drive to attain higher education was rooted in her mother’s attitude towards education. When I
asked why her mother believed that education was the key to success, Nora explained that her mother and
father did not have the chance to receive formal education, and as a result, they were not able to earn a
comfortable living for their family. Nora lived both her mother’s and her own dream of attaining higher
education.
Still intrigued by the notion of inner voices and lifelong dreams, I asked Lea Na, a high school teacher, if
she had an inner voice guiding her. She explained that what guided her to pursue higher education was to
follow her dream of going to university in an English-speaking country. Lea Na’s father encouraged her to
study English but did not allow her to travel abroad. She obeyed her father but never stopped dreaming
about going overseas to learn English. Twenty years later, on her way home from work and thinking about
the prospect of coming to Canada to study, her car radio was playing Elvis Presley’s It’s Now or Never.
She knew what to do next.
I was now more determined to find out whether I too had a voice, as I remembered Magda Gere Lewis’s
(1993) words that the “stories of other women are often the precipitating moments that force us to
acknowledge our own” (p. x). That evening, I looked through my old photo albums, hoping that the old
pictures would trigger past and forgotten memories. There it was, a picture of my Aunt and me on the
balcony of our home in the Middle East.
Spring of 1972. I was not happy with my Aunt. Just before my wedding, she was
suggesting that I explore the world. She said, pointing to the Mediterranean Sea, a
few hundred meters ahead: “Look ahead. There is a world out there. Go and
explore.” Soon after, my Aunt left for Canada and four years later, I joined her with
my husband and daughter. In Canada, my Aunt enrolled me in an English-for-
Beginners class and while driving me there, she said that education would help me
explore a new world. As my memory of events untangled, I remembered standing in
the Central Public Library and thinking that the library was a world worth exploring
and that I could stay there forever.
Nora, Pat, Lea Na, and I are problem-centred learners and are motivated by both external and internal
factors. We persist and continue our education to master the English language because we have a passion
for learning and inner voices that urge us to make learning a priority. We dream of playing in the
intellectual playground.
The told stories: Self-directed learners
Motivation is not enough to fulfill a dream. We must have a mission, a plan, and
means to materialize the dream (Fetterman, 2001). In other words, we must be self-
directed (Knowles, 1986, 1998; Merriam, 2001).
Guiding our own steps
My participants’ mission paralleled mine to enter an academic institution. To materialize this, we had to
ensure the care-taking of our children, we had to work and save money for tuition fees, we had to improve
our mental capacities and linguistic skills, and we had to attain the support of our respective spouses. Once
in school, we also had to direct our learning by devising strategies to study, research, and write effectively.
This was all clear and would have been straightforward if life were predictable and we were men. But,
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each of us is a daughter, a wife, a mother, and a student–all at the same time. Bateson (1989) reminds us:
“Women are torn by multiple commitments; men become capable of true dedication when they … have
families organized to provide support but not distraction. ... The fact that many women work a second
shift while their husbands work only one is deeply unfair” (pp. 166-168).
My participants and I are among the millions of women who manage multitasking quite efficiently. We
accept our multiple roles, and with a smile (most of the time), walk forward while guiding our footsteps
with our inner voices in mind and dreams in our hearts. Kaori, a young mother of two, says:
I became very strong. It’s not easy to live, study, and take care of two children. I do
everything here. In [the Far East], many people around me helped me: my parents,
my in-laws, people helping me with housework. Here I have to do everything.
Pat also has mentioned that it was “tough” to go to school when at the same time she had a family to take
care of. Nora writes:
My struggles were “ALMIGHTY.” I had to be in charge of my children, husband, and

the house. In addition, I had to go back to school. For me, going back to school was
not an issue, but it created a big problem in our marriage. Unfortunately, he was
getting upset each-and-every time he saw me studying. I had to sneak out of bed in
the middle of the night and study until 5:00 am. I cooked, cleaned, and made sure that
everything was in order. I worked very hard so he won’t have any excuses of blaming
me for falling behind in my duties.
Similar to Nora’s experience, I had to conceal my learning activities from my first husband. I left my
books at school and, when at home, I avoided talking about anything related to school. Schooling would
not have been possible without my mother’s help as she lovingly took care of my daughter during the day
when I was at school. I remember that at 3 o’clock, I rushed to pick up my daughter, went home, quickly
cleaned the apartment, and started cooking. Like a child who was promised to be taken to the playground
if she picked up her toys, I looked after all my household responsibilities. I chose to “use silence to please,
to comply or to avoid confrontation” (Abbey, 1999, p. 52). I learned to improvise.
Improvisations
Improvisation in women’s lives most often is covert to the point that it becomes second nature. We let
children, husband, and parents take precedence and sometimes even run our lives. But when self-directed,
we address the problem creatively, seize the opportunity, make a detour, and pursue our aspirations.
Bateson (1989) calls this flexibility “the art of improvisation”–the combining of “familiar and unfamiliar
components in response to new situations” like the “improvised meal” that a woman prepares for
unexpected guests (pp. 3, 4). For example, in 1984, when I could not handle my multiple roles–I had just
met my now second husband who was starting a law practice and greatly appreciated my support–I
shelved my plan to study full time at university. This time, I took night courses at college and learned
computing and graphic arts. When my second child arrived, I stayed home to raise him, established a
home-based business, and published children’s books. Eight years later, when at university, I took courses
at times that did not interfere with fulfilling my spousal and maternal responsibilities–I learned to be a
night owl. It is only now that I am able to recognize my life as a chain of improvisations–a self-directed
and reshaped life.
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The untold stories: Persistent learners
The echo I hear from my participants’ stories and from mine is: We do not give up. None of us actually
articulated persistence but rather we illustrated the characteristic in our life-stories. Ardra Cole and Gary
Knowles (2001) remind me that “the stories we remember and tell about our lives reflect who we are, how
we see ourselves, and perhaps, how we wish to be seen” (p. 119). Our storied lives reveal persistence at
every junction, stop, turn, and detour. Persistence is present in our passion for learning, in the pursuit of our
dreams, in our self-directedness, in our improvised lives, and in the endurance of constant interruptions.
Interruptions
Here, interruptions are not the discontinuities that disrupt our lives such as emigration to another country or
having to choose working instead of going to university. I now refer to the interruptions that we often do not
recognize, are very painful, or conversely too miniscule to discuss openly–interruptions that we conceal or
disregard.
My participants and I mentioned being married, but we did not talk about the interruption that followed.
We mentioned raising children, but we did not talk about how having children interrupted our lives. We
mentioned second husbands, but we did not discuss divorce or its painful interruption. We mentioned
getting up in the middle of the night to catch up on work, but we did not talk about the many interruptions
from family members that distracted us during the day and drained our energy.
The every day interruptions may be very taxing, but we attend to them and often forget that they even
happened. Do we remember how many times we interrupted our work and rushed to pick up our child
from school, or ran into the kitchen to make dinner, or took the day off just to nurse a loved one back to
health. Bateson (1989) reminds me that “intimacy and nurturance are woven into [my] achievements” (p.
50). This means that my care-giving must not be disregarded as trivial, but rather should be appreciated as
part of my life achievement. However, the reality is that women’s work at home continues to hold
connotations of inferiority.
Interruptions, large or small, dramatic or insignificant, life changing or mood changing, they are
challenges that redirect the flow of our lives or the flow of great ideas–which sometimes escape our
memory and never make it onto paper. Interruptions may derail a career or disturb a much-needed
afternoon relaxation. On the other hand, interruptions also force us to pause and to reflect, to assess our
path and our goals, and to redirect our footsteps. It is only through persistence that my participants and I
take control of life’s constant interruptions, use them as learning opportunities, and benefit from their
dynamic forces.
Silences
I am grateful to my participants for trusting me with their stories, which I believe reveal candour and
sincerity. However, I am convinced that within each story there is another untold, for memories are
selective and the context of telling stories always changes. Jean Clandinin and Michael Connelly (2000)
believe that untold stories are “narrative secrets,” and thus they advise researchers to listen to both their
own and their participants’ silences: “Our silences, both those we choose and those we are unaware of, are
also considerations of voice in our research texts” (pp. 147, 182). Our stories may conceal private
moments, opinions, or personal tragedies that may be embarrassing and painful to share with others. We
may think that our experiences are not relevant to the context of the storytelling. Or perhaps we may want
to spare the listener’s feelings. Often, we tell what our audience wants to hear. Clandinin and Connelly
confirm that we tell “safe stories” and conceal the “lived stories” (pp. 177, 182). This discourse of silence
is both socially learned and imposed.
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Silences I discuss here are those that are concealed not only from our safe stories but also from our lived
stories. I talk about the learned silences within our silent stories. Women learn to keep silent at an early
age. We are advised to obey our parents, not to contradict our husbands. We are reminded of proverbs
such as “The word is silver and silence is gold,” “God gave two ears but one tongue.” I remember
advising my daughter numerous times not to have the last word when she is amongst her seniors and not
to argue with her brother. Here, I join Sharon Abbey (1999) in admitting that “our sons had learned to use
silence as a form of resistance or rebellion whereas our daughters, modelling their mothers perhaps, had
used silence to please, to comply or to avoid confrontation” (p. 52). For example, when Nora did her
homework in the middle of the night and when she ensured that all her house-managing responsibilities
were fulfilled, she was silent to ensure a more comfortable role as wife, mother, and student. She was not
fearing her husband but rather persistently reacting creatively to a new situation whereby she had found a
way to please both her husband and her desire to continue learning.
Imposed silences are somewhat different than learned silences as they are systemic
and often covert. Lewis (1993) asserts that “there is an active discourse of silence
which is politically grounded as well as politically contained” (p. 31). Silence is
political when used for resistance and emancipation. In the same instance, that
silence can be contained for political reasons. It is a political strategy to obtain
knowledge from remaining silent and then using that knowledge to liberate the
oppressed (Hurtado, 1996). Aida Hurtado observes: “White women have learned a
great deal about White men by silently observing them. … Knowledge obtained by
remaining silent is like a reconnaissance flight into enemy territory that allows for
individual and group survival” (p. 382). The feminist movement works against
patriarchal oppressions and for the emancipation of women. But at the same time, the
movement is contained by that force because severing male/female relationships
would cause irreparable damage to the delicate balance between genders. Lewis
points out that “women’s social/economic survival is structurally connected to our
relations with men” and men’s with women (p. 31).
Women’s unappreciated work as home managers is a systemic silencing. My participants and I, at one
point or another, have faced the reality that “men still do rather consistently undervalue or devalue
women’s powers as serious contributors to civilization” (Sarton, 1973, p. 122). Unfortunately, in our
society, a working mother’s flexible characteristic is not considered an asset but rather a disadvantage, for
she is labelled “undependable” in the job market.
With lesser bargaining power, most women accept the reality of being paid less than their male
counterparts for the same work. For example, I worked full time over 15 years knowing that my salary
was considerably less than my male associates’. Arminé, who is an Art Director in a large corporation,
reveals:
Where I came from, women would get paid equally. So, it was odd that men were paid
more than women in Canada. That was shocking. It was strange to see that happen in
a civilized country like this. At the beginning, I thought because I was from another
country, so I didn’t say anything. … Actually, I was very happy that I had a job.”
Arminé and I were silenced by the systemic inequity. We did not raise our voices because we thought we
had no right to do so. Both the imposed silence upon an immigrant and a learned silence of a female
prevented Arminé and me from speaking out. At my first workplace, I was not encouraged to go to the
machine shop even though I helped design tools and dies. My manager insisted that the shop was not a
place for a lady–he would send one of the young boys on my behalf. Was that not an act of silencing my
equal rights for equal opportunity to gain work experience, which was crucial for future promotions?
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Learned and imposed silences are covert ways of discouraging personal development and good health,
social progress, and economic growth. Silences perpetuate inequities between and within genders, give
rise to socioeconomic imbalance, and thus promote discriminations.
Our stories teach us how to learn and how to persist. Even though, “I–and many women–go about our
daily work repressing our pain and hiding our open wounds even (or perhaps especially) for ourselves,” I
am grateful that my participants discussed some of their silenced moments with me because while
“ignoring or covering up the raw scars of oppression, we manage to achieve a level of active engagement
most of the time. We raise children, work both inside and outside our homes, go to school, and engage in
social [activities]” (Lewis, 1993, p. ix). Perhaps, because we are now strong and courageous, our
collective voice may be heard.
The untold stories: Independent learners
It takes courage to leave a birth home, a mother tongue, and kin support. It takes courage to come to a new
country to build a new life, to adapt to a new culture, to find new friends, and to learn a new language.
Innate survival skills help us along the way when we possess motivations such as passion, dreams, and
inner voices; when we improvise and self-direct our learning; when we persist through interruptions,
silences, and discriminations. Finally, we become independent learners: courageous, empowered, and
comfortable with our new self and even our insecurities.
Courage
My participants and I have never described ourselves as courageous women. Perhaps we were conditioned
to minimize our accomplishments just as May Sarton (1973) observes that often women “devalue their
own powers” (p. 122). Or perhaps as immigrants, it was given that we would work hard and be
undervalued. Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber (1987) writes: “Courage is necessary … to simply exist” (pp. 2,
136). I heard my participants’ untold stories of courage when I reflected on our experiences with this new
insight. For example, Nora ignored her husband’s discouragement to pursue higher education. Proudly yet
humbly she says:
I ave self-confidence now. Before, when my husband said no, it had to stop right
there. There was no room for discussion. Now, I raise my voice and I discuss things
openly … and it works.
Kaori, regardless of discouragement received from colleagues, decided to move to Canada with her two
young children to fulfill her lifelong dream of studying English. She says:
In the [Far East], people do not go to university after graduation, especially women.
I am taking a risk. But, it is hard for us because my family is separated now. I miss
my husband and I worry about my children that they don’t have their father as a role
model. It is hard for all of us.
The anxiety of going to school at mid-life added extra stress to our already stressful lives. I believe that it
was courage that accompanied my participants and me on our journey of learning a new language and a
new culture. It was courage that helped us through marriage, motherhood, divorce, working with men,
confronting spouses, and going to university. It was courage that put words in our mouth in family rooms,
boardrooms, and classrooms. It was courage that made us independent thinkers and independent learners.
We were empowered with courage.
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Empowerment
Empowerment is attained when people learn to help themselves. David Fetterman (2001) defines this
characteristic as the capability of identifying one’s needs, establishing goals, action plans, and
contingency plans, evaluating ongoing progress, taking necessary detours, and persisting in the pursuit of
long- or short-term goals (pp. 34-38). I observed all of these qualities in my participants and in myself. We
had a mission as well as a contingency plan to cleverly materialize our goals. Through education, we built
our capacities to become self-directed and independent learners. With the help of mentors, role models,
peers, and family members, we achieved our objectives. Through self-reflections and self-evaluations, we
seized opportunities for new knowledge. We were empowered.
Pat is empowered through books–books that she learned from and now teaches from. She elaborates:
I read books, lots of books. I always challenged myself and got the really hard books.
I looked up the words in the dictionary. … I was reluctant to use these new words, not
knowing how to pronounce them correctly, but then slowly, I started using them and
realized that I could. That’s how one gets confidence. I came here 35 years ago. I’ve
accomplished a lot. I teach here. Hats off for me, I say.
I met Lea Na at university to have our last interview in January 2005. She humbly guided me through the
maze of the library stacks to her study room. It was a small room, but I sensed that that space was the
foundation of her empowerment–finally she was living out her dream in her own personal space amongst
the intellectuals of the world. Her desire to learn English carved a small, yet comfortable space for her in
the English-speaking academe.
Comfort within discomfort
I had just completed a joint anthropology/education graduate course that was taught
by a professor from whom I had taken an undergraduate course years ago and still
remembered that he had confused me greatly. When I was informed that he was
teaching a new graduate seminar, I seized the opportunity and enrolled in the course
as a visiting student to give us both a second chance, so to speak. It was déjà vu. He
confused me all over again. However, at the very last class, he asked us to reveal how
we benefited from the course. I chose to speak last because I could not think of
anything to say. When it was finally my turn, I still remained silent for a moment and
then said: “When I took a course with you 6 years ago, you confused me greatly, and
I was very uncomfortable. This time around, you still confused me but I am
comfortable with being uncomfortable.” On my way home that day, I reflected on my
sentence and was surprised to realize how much I had learned from my professor and
how I was beginning to think critically. I was aware of my awareness.
Education has opened my mind to new thoughts and ideologies. I am no longer intimidated by
philosophical concepts, nor do I fear reading Michel Foucault, Edward Said, Donna Haraway, or Antonio
Gramsci. I do not profess to comprehend all that they write and all the ambiguities that surround complex
theories, but I am comfortable saying: “I do not understand.” I am comfortable being confused, because
that stimulates me to probe deeper and as a result, gain another perspective.
Vera observes the change in herself: “I became very strong. I don’t care about my accent anymore, I just
speak. I think I am different now. I take risks. I will learn until I die.” Pat reveals that she is no longer
bothered when asked where she is from. She says: “I am at a position now that I will not fall apart.”
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Arminé states: “When you reach that comfort zone, when you have the license to make it up as you go
along, it’s great.”
It was the English language learning and the pursuit of higher education that empowered us to become
comfortable with our insecurities, doubts, and uncomfortable learning moments. Nora’s words, “ducation
gives me power as if it’s a weapon, … I can protect and defend myself. I have more confidence now,”
resonate from the picture that hangs over my desk: Alfred-Pierre Agache’s (1896) The Sword, which
illustrates a woman sitting erect, left hand on her waist and with the right holding a sword that rests on her
lap. Arminé, Kaori, Lea Na, Nora, Pat, Vera, and I are comfortable within our discomforts because we
hold in our hands the powerful “sword” of education.
Conclusion
My participants’ and my lived, told, revisited, reconstructed, and interpreted stories elucidate our passion
for learning, the dreams we followed, the improvisations we crafted, the silences we endured, the
interruptions we sustained, and the rewards we reaped. Empowered with language, knowledge,
experience, and voice, we are motivated learners because our hearts are filled with the passion of learning
new things and our spirits are driven by our inner voices and dreams. We are self-directed learners
because, while faced with multiple commitments, we learned to improvise and compose our lives, guiding
our own steps in our own time frame. We are persistent learners because interruptions did not discourage
us and, even though silenced as young girls, as wives, as homemakers, as female employees, and as older
students, we gained a voice through new knowledge. We are independent learners because with courage
we have learned to help ourselves to become comfortable in our choices even when others did not
condone the alternative paths we took and “kept shouting their bad advice” (Oliver, 1992, p.114).
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PAM PATTERSON
OISE-IÉPO/UT
Toronto, Canada
ppatterson@oise.utoronto.ca
The performance, Body sight/site addresses self-as-woman with disability/cancer situated within various
frames: as educator for an art museum and through issues relative to disability and institutional policies,
procedures and practices. How can I, become subject, rename my identity(ies), environment(s) and
practices and shift from feeling caught within internal and external constraints to create new and
potentially healthier associations? Content borrows from personal teaching experiences and interpretive
strategies of presentation and uses text -- spoken and projected -- images, recorded sound and the
performing artist. The focus is on self in sight, as site, seeing, being seen.
Un spectacle intitulé “Body sight/site”
Dans le spectacle intitulé “Body sight/site” il s’agit de la femme-elle-même, affectée d’un handicap/cancer
et qui se situe dans des cadres variés : comme éducatrice dans un musée d’art et par des questions touchant
au handicaps et aux politiques, procédures et pratiques institutionnelles. Comment puis-je devenir un
sujet, donner un autre nom à mon (mes) identité(s) mon (mes) environnement(s) et pratiques et me libérer
des contraintes internes et externes pour créer de nouvelles associations potentiellement plus saines? Le
contenu provient de mon expérience personnelle d’enseignement et des stratégies d’interprétation, à l’aide
de textes – parlés et projetés – d’images, de sons enregistrés et de la performance de l’artiste. La personne
telle qu’on la perçoit, telle qu’elle se situe, qu’elle voit et qu’elle est vue, voilà le point focal de cette
présentation.
[Rubens] learnt what a severe form of discipline the

naked body must undergo if it is to survive as art.
(P.133).... [Nudes] seem to push their way forward till
they are embarrassingly close to us, and we recognise
how necessary it is for the naked body to be clothed in a
consistent state. (P.320)
Kenneth Clark, The Nude: A Study of Ideal Art (London: John

Murray, 1956).
Disable: v.t. 1. incapacitate from doing, for work, etc.;

cripple, deprive of the power of acting. 2. Disqualify
legally, pronounce incapable; hinder. Oxford Illustrated
Dictionary ,1962.
211
Welcome to the Gallery ---
It is here that we look, are taught how to see, to interpret what we see in a very specific way and then to
teach it, to reinstitute it.
It is seeing which fixes our place in the surrounding world.

The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled.
Our vision is continually active, continually moving, continually holding things in a circle around itself,
constituting what is present to us as we are.
My body confronts not just as an immediate sight, but as experience, my experience.

In the looking we/you see woman-in-wheelchair-with-cane interpreting woman-as-painted. Where is the
language for this? How is this Asettled@?
Dürer believed that the ideal nude ought to be constructed by taking the face of one body, the breasts of
another, the legs of a third, the shoulders of a fourth, the hands of a fifth - and so on. Where did he put the
wheelchair?
212
impossibility
genius
line
content
male
form
status
taste
desire
divine
texture
shape
bare
Every day, she poured her questions as you pour water from one vessel into another.
I will not give you a pose, she said. Draw on the floor. Draw without looking at the paper. Follow the
lines.
213
A student of hers said, “I have a friend that when she was born her mother was told that her daughter
could either walk or talk, but not both. Her mother had to choose. She had to choose for her.”
She woke just in time to see matter stumble out of its frame.
She dreamed of being able to keep with her all objects lined up on shelves under her control.
She learnt what a severe form of discipline the naked body must undergo if it is to survive as art.
When I feel myself being observed, everything changes. I constitute myself in the process of “posing”. I
instantaneously make another body for myself. I transform myself, in advance, into an image. I pose, I
know I am posing; I want you to know that I am posing, but this in no way alters who I am. If only I could
be given a neutral, anatomic body, a body which signified nothing!
I am supported and maintained in my passage to immobility. To become an object made, I am

at the same time: the one I think I am, the one I want others to think I am, and the one others think I am.
But I -- already an object -- I do not struggle. I foresee that I shall have to wake from this bad
dream even more uncomfortably. I am turned, ferociously, into an object, put at their mercy,
at their disposal, classified in a file, ready for their subtlest deceptions.
But, I refuse to inherit anything from another eye other than my own.
Absolute subjectivity is achieved only in a state, an effort, of silence, sitting in silence.
In Sept. 2003, I returned to work as an educator at a major art museum after months of negotiating
accommodations for a disability. I had been able to hide this disability for years but that was no longer
possible.
The reality of my situation jarred with my interpretive teaching role in the gallery.
In July 2003, the gallery laid off approximately 29 of their 100 employees. The majority of those laid off
were in education – many of these were interpretive teachers who instructed in the galleries. In 2004, I
was diagnosed with breast cancer. I now teach only one evening studio course at the gallery.
214
Acknowledgements
I have received the information from the Ontario Arts Council for my performance, Body sight/site for the
CASWE session this spring.
215
Knowledge is power:
An analysis of women’s constructions of menopause
MARY PATTON
OISE-IEPO/UT
Toronto, Canada
mpatton@oise.utoronto.ca
My doctoral research focuses on women’s accounts of menopause as a ‘way in’ to analyze the power
relations and practices that are part and parcel of their experiences. D. E. Smith’s critical feminist theory,
and anticolonial and postcolonial perspectives provide a framework for exploring how ‘expert’ biomedical
knowledge about women’s menopausal bodies moves beyond pharmaceutical and biomedical laboratories
to gain institutional hegemony to inform societal knowledge about women and political decisions about
women’s health. I discuss the historical class, race and gender-structured nature of authoritative
biomedical knowledge and the ways that women interact with it, actively ‘buying into’, rejecting, and/or
modifying menopause discourses.
Savoir c’est pouvoir:

analyse de l’élaboration des discours sur la ménopause
Mes recherches doctorales traitent principalement des récits de femmes sur la ménopause comme
« moyen » d’analyser les relations de pouvoir et les pratiques qui font partie de leur vécu. La théorie
féministe critique de D. E. Smith et les perspectives anticoloniales et postcoloniales offrent un cadre
permettant d’explorer comment les connaissances biomédicales “des experts” en ce qui concerne le corps
des femmes à la ménopause dépassent les laboratoires pharmaceutiques et biomédicaux pour atteindre une
hégémonie institutionnelle fondée sur les connaissances de la société et qui alimente les décisions
politiques et les questions touchant à la santé des femmes. Je discute de la nature de classe historique, de
race et de structure basée sur le sexe, des connaissances expertes biomédicales et des façons qu’ont les
femmes d’interagir avec celles-ci, en les « adoptant » activement, en les rejetant et/ou en modifiant leurs
discours sur la ménopause.
216
Troubling empowerment and health discourses in Go Girls!:

Healthy minds, healthy bodies
LEANNE PETHRICK
Toronto, Canada
leanne.pethrick@uotoronto.ca
LeAnne questions how adolescent girls are taught to perceive and relate to their bodies, become active,
and make healthy choices in Go Girls. Concepts of the ‘new health consciousness’, social regulation and
empowerment are used to analyze girls’ personal responses to program activities. Adolescent desires,
personal needs and interests related to health issues are not found to be homogeneous.
Responsabilisation dérangeante et discours sur la santé dans Go Girls
LeAnne se demande comment on apprend aux adolescentes à percevoir et à établir un rapport avec leur
corps, à être actives et à faire des choix de bonne santé dans le programme Go Girls. On utilise les
concepts de « nouvelle prise de conscience de la santé », des règlementations sociales et de la
responsabilisation pour analyser les réponses personnelles aux activités du programme. On trouve que les
désirs des adolescentes, les besoins et les intérêts personnels reliés aux questions de santé ne sont
homogènes.
217
Teenagers’ experience of motherhood in

a low income neighbourhood in Brazil
VERÔNICA DE SOUZA PINHEIRO

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, BRAZIL
vspinheiro@vernet.br
MARTHA TRAVERSO-YÉPEZ
Professor - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, BRAZIL
Teenage motherhood arose as a public health problem in the context of upward medicalization of sexuality
and reproduction. However, opposed to the dominant discourses, a research developed with 26 adolescent
mothers in a low income neighborhood in Natal, Brazil showed that the pregnancy was desired in 73% of
the cases and that the main problems of this young mothers arose from the lack of social opportunities,
inequalities in gender relationships, and the precariousness of the available public services, especially
daycare. To face the phenomenon, we propose a dialogical approach, enabling professionals and teenagers
to build together new perspectives and possibilities.
La maternité chez des adolescentes dans

un quartier d’habitants à revenus modestes au Brésil
La maternité des adolescentes s’est révélée être un problème de santé public dans le contexte de la
médicalisation accrue de la sexualité et de la reproduction. Pourtant, contrairement au discours dominant,
une recherche élaborée grâce à la participation de 26 adolescentes mères dans un quartier pauvre de Natal,
au Brésil, a démontré que la grossesse était désirée dans 73% des cas et que les problèmes majeurs
auxquels ces jeunes mères se heurtaient étaient le manque d’opportunités au niveau social, les inégalités
dans les relations entre les sexes et la précarité des services publics, en particulier la garde des enfants.
Pour faire face à ce phénomène, nous proposons une approche fondée sur le dialogue, pour permettre aux
professionnels et aux adolescentes d’élaborer ensemble de nouvelles perspectives et possibilités.
Introduction
It was just after the 1970’s that pregnancy and maternity among women younger than 20 years of age
became a social and/or public health problem, although young girls have been having babies since time
immemorial.
It happened in the context of decreasing birth rates in all other age groups. As a related phenomenon, we
need to consider the important changes in the labour market and the increasing entry of women into it
during and after the Second World War. It is also necessary to consider the increasingly broader
interference of health professionals in different aspects of individual and social life, in a process that has
been called “medicalization of life.” This process, especially when involving interventions over
reproductive practices, has important repercussions in women’s lives and health.
The current dominant discourse includes biomedical, psychological and social concerns, making evident
an assumption that pregnancy and maternity in adolescence are always undesirable, and asking for a
solution. What we want to highlight here is that the decision around having or not having a baby, and also
about the better time to do it, is not just a health matter, nor a decision in isolation from other people. In
this way, teenage motherhood is not exactly a problem to be prevented, but can be understood as process
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in order to highlight the multiple complex issues involved. In this way, it will be possible to denaturalize
assumptions and theories and to enable the different social actors involved to construct strategies to better
handle the questions.
Sexuality, reproduction and motherhood
Despite their anatomical and physiological bases, sexuality and reproduction are cultural and politically
regulated. Each society, at each specific historical moment, has its own patterns, rules and/or laws
concerning sexuality/reproduction regulation.
For women, the process of gender socialization is dominated by the fact that women’s bodies are
potentially capable of reproduction. By this way, motherhood, even if just a possibility, represents an
important element in the construction of feminine identity. It is important to highlight that this capacity is
attached to different meanings, values and interests, as part of specific social and economic contexts.
Badinter (1981), approaching maternity in modern western societies, points out political and economical
interests contributing to important changes in a mother’s social role during the consolidation of the nation
state. Discussing this phenomenon, Chase & Rogers (2001) argue that motherhood is an institution and
that in our patriarchal capitalist society it is fundamental to social reproduction. In order to guarantee the
maintenance of the status quo, different discourses are produced to support the ideal of “good mother”,
one that better appeals to the interests of dominant social groups. The model of the “good mother”
pervades media and official discourses, shaping our ideas and feelings about femininity.
The “good mother” personally takes care of her children, paying primary attention to their material,
emotional and cognitive necessities, and providing the means to attend to them. This implies that someone
else decides who, and also when, and under what conditions, is to become a mother or, as Earle &
Letherby (2003) say: “… although motherhood is an expected primary role for women, it is often only
given the ultimate positive sanction when achieved and practised in the ‘right’ economic, social and
sexual circumstances” (Pg 4).
Physicians, nurses, professors and psychologists have been playing an important role in the surveillance of
the correct adoption of this model, which means they are important agents of social control through the
management of reproduction and child-raising under their expertise. They are supposed to support and
spread the official discourse and its ideal patterns and to prevent those who are perceived as not deserving
to become mothers from getting pregnant. The medicalization of sexuality and reproduction has been
pointed as a pivotal aspect in patriarchal dominance of women (Doyal, 1996; Annandale, 1998; Pollock,
1998; Gustafson, 2005).
As part of the social regulation of sexuality and reproduction, age is a crucial issue, even if linked to
different social and economic aspects of life such as gender, ethnicity and class. It is in this environment
that the idea of early motherhood needs to be placed in order to be understood.
“Early motherhood” as a social construction
The supposition that there is an adequate age to become a mother is related, on one hand, with some
presumed conditions to be met before being qualified to have children. On the other hand, it can also be
related to the idea that some roles are supposed to be taken after the time needed to have children and
taking care of them during a longer or shorter period of time, or at least after recovering from delivery.
This can be easily related with the diverging spread of adolescent motherhood across various socio-
economic contexts: different expectancies and opportunities in the labour market can make motherhood
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more or less attractive according to social class (Pinheiro, 2000; Chase & Rogers, 2001; Heilborn, Salem,
Rohden, Brandão, Knauth, Víctora et al., 2002; Scheiwe, 2004; Cherrington & Breheny, 2005).
The notion of yearly motherhood started to be enunciated in the second half of the 20th century, in the
context of crescent insertion of women in the labour market and, consequently, the increasing
postponement of marriage. The moral discourse against unwed mothers, coming from the 19th century, is
gradually replaced by the theory of mothers and babies at risk in consequence of the mother’s age
(Scheiwe, 2004; Cherrington & Breheny, 2005).
Studying adolescent motherhood in the beginning of the 21st century, it was possible to identify three main
approaches explaining the occurrence of the phenomenon: cognitive, psychodynamic and socio-cultural
(Pinheiro, 2000). The first two ones, cognitive and psychodynamic, have an individualistic focus. In the
medical discourse, these approaches are frequently immersed in the rhetoric of risk, an important strategy
of regulatory power used to manage and control individuals and populations (Lupton, 1999). Statements
of obstetric, psychological and/or social risk are used to justify the urgent necessity of interventions to
reduce what is pointed as the origin of all kinds of problems, from low birth weight to social exclusion.
The third approach sees the phenomenon as connected with a complex network of meanings permeating
such experience, situating adolescent motherhood as part of a life project or, at least, a life trajectory in a
specific socio-cultural context. In this way, it is considered the possible choice of the teenager to become a
mother. If this approach doesn’t prevent an authoritarian position, at least it makes it possible to relate the
phenomenon with the socio-economic and political context in which it takes place, highlighting its
connections with questions of citizenship, public policies and social rights.
Approaching adolescent motherhood in Felipe Camarão, Natal, Brasil
This information comes from a qualitative study developed in Felipe Camarão, a poor neighbourhood of
50 thousand of inhabitants at the western outskirts of the city of Natal, northeast Brazil. Between 1995 and
2004, from 22% to 31% of births were from women less than twenty years of age while this rate had been
below 15% in the wealthiest districts of the city during the same period. Thus, adolescent motherhood had
been pinpointed as a crucial problem by health and education professionals working there.
Attempting to address the phenomenon, a focus group was held with the Community Health Agents
working in the area. As they are mainly young adults living in the same neighbourhood, and therefore
knowing their background well, it was a very rich source of information for structuring the final data
collection instrument.
Then 26 adolescent mothers, with offspring aged between 8 and 12 months, were interviewed through an
open-ended questionnaire and in focus groups developed to discover arguments and justifications around
their experience. Transcriptions of interviews and focus groups were then systematically studied through
the method of discourse analysis, in order to apprehend how the young mothers make sense of their
experience.
Socio-demographic data worked through SPSS Software provides some descriptive statistics. All the
participants were over 15 years old while just 26.9% of their partners were less than 20 years old. There
was great poverty, with 42.3% of the participants reporting income under 20 dollars per capita a month.
Half of the young mothers were living only with their offspring and partner, who was the main sponsor,
while 38.5% of the girls interviewed were living with their original family, having parents or another
family member as sponsors. Although 11.5% of participants were living with the partner’s family, in only
220
3.8% (one case) is the couple supported by the partner’s family. In the other cases, the partner was the
main provider of the whole family income.
With respect to school life, 42.3% had dropped out of school before pregnancy and the same percentage
after pregnancy. Only 15.4% had continued studying after childbirth. It is observed that in this group, only
7.7% had finished elementary school and 15.4 % had started secondary school. Only one girl had
graduated secondary school. With respect to work, 84.6% of participants had never worked for pay, and
the remainder had a history of very low income jobs, such as baby sitters, maids or shop attendants.
Although only 30.7% of the girls had used some contraceptive method under professional guidance before
pregnancy, the percentage goes up to 54.5% after childbirth. It is to be considered that all the new mothers
are referred to a family planning service when discharged from hospital. Both before and after pregnancy,
most used is the contraceptive pill, followed by condoms.
Previous contacts with pregnant adolescents living in the neighbourhood had showed a strong desire for
pregnancy, in most cases. Some even spoke of worries about infertility when conception had not occurred
during the first months of sexual activity. Discourses relate to values strongly rooted in the popular
imagination, where femininity, fertility and health are closely associated. Interviews with the participants
confirmed the empirical observations. Pregnancy was wanted in 73% of the cases, even if just the mother
(26.9%), the father (11.5%) or both (34.6%) desired the baby.
I thought of motherhood as something wonderful (…) For me everything was going

to be fine, you know? (…) I did not know very much about anything…Now, I know
that we have to go through a lot of new things… I have learned a great deal with this
baby. (R, 19, 1 child)
“The most important thing is to be a mother…Everybody likes a mother taking care

of her baby child… (J,18, 1 child)
In half the cases, the child’s arrival did not bring any change in the plans and projects of the young
mother, as 46.2% of the girls were already living with the partner when the pregnancy happened. Life
changes most mentioned were having to give up most social and leisure activities (26.9%) and giving up
studies (15.4%), while 26.9% mentioned multiple restrictions, including studies, repose, leisure activities
and eventually work.
No, I never had any plans for me. I used to work selling things in the street, but I was
not intending to continue with that my whole life… I was also studying at that time
but I did not have any plans to continue taking courses… (G, 16, 2 children)
Ah, I wanted to work, but I can’t… I would like to go back to study but I have nobody
to take care of them (the children) at night. (D, 19, 3 children)
It is interesting to highlight that 92.3% of the girls interviewed would recommend that other adolescents
postpone motherhood, some of them placing conditions such as finishing education or insertion in the
labour market to guarantee better living conditions for the children.
I would advise other adolescents to postpone childbearing for a more adequate

moment…after finishing studying, having fun, having a job, because it would be a lot
better then… (L, 15, 1 child)
It is good to think about it because it is a lot of responsibility. It is not playing dolls…
(S, 19, 1 child)
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It is only illusion. I like my child, but I would not want it now. It is a lot of
responsibility. I would recommend other girls to think more about it… (P, 19, 1 child)
Information obtained from the focus groups also showed young mothers happy with their lives, positively
evaluating their motherhood experiences, and considering difficulties with childcare inherent to that
situation, thus revealing inconsistencies and ambiguities. The group discussion provided better insights for
this sort of contradiction. Despite the annoyance related to their socio-economic context, the idealization
of motherhood was observed as a source of a positive identity. Critical sense about their living conditions
and the poor support available was almost never perceived in their discussions.
Childbearing and a rigid division of sexual roles, which determines women’s responsibility for all
domestic activities together with a highly idealized motherhood model, seemed to produce excessive
physical and emotional demands. Oppressive situations and even physical violence against the women
were also detected. Deficiencies or total lack of support, as in health services and nurseries, associated
with the poor living conditions, ends up generating an overload of work and stress.
Conclusion
Gender socialization tends to idealize maternity and childbearing thus generating high expectations among
these adolescents: for them, to be a woman means to be a mother. In addition, the low educational
attainment and limited working prospects greatly favours the non-critical adoption of the traditional roles:
housewife and caregiver mother, frequently supported by an equally poor partner.
Certainly, adolescent motherhood revealed itself as a very complex social phenomenon. The relevance of
our research rests in the realization of this complexity and the consequent need for involved professionals
to work with a more dialogical approach. Instead of adopting a prescriptive discourse, it is important to
recognize the economic, social and cultural context influencing adolescent behaviour. A broader
conception of education, beyond the ideas of health or sexual education, can make possible the discussion
of the different issues involved in the phenomenon.
This change can enable all the social actors involved to challenge their assumptions about gender, age and
class roles and get a deeper awareness about them and their influence in determining actions. This
collective and dialogical process of consciousness can enable both professionals and teens to look for
alternatives that can support more conscious choices and devise viable strategies to deal with their
consequences.
Acknowledgement
Verônica de Souza Pinheiro, a visiting student at the University of Toronto, would like to acknowledge
funding granted by CAPES Foundation/Brazil.
References
Annandale, E. (1998). The sociology of health & medicine: a critical introduction. Cambridge: Polity
Press.
Badinter, E. (1981). The myth of motherhood: an historical view of the maternal instinct. London:
Souvenir Press.
222
Chase, S. E. & Rogers, M. F. (2001). Mothers and children: feminist analyses and personal narratives.
New Brunswich, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Cherrington, J., & Breheny, M. (2005). Politicizing dominant discursive constructions about teenage
pregnancy: Re-locating the subject as social. Health.(London, England : 1997), 9(1), 89-111.
Doyal, L. (1996). The politics of women’s health: setting a global agenda. International Journal of Health
Services, 26(1), 47-65.
Earle, S. & Letherby, G., (2003). Introducing gender, identity and reproduction. In S. Earle & G. Letheby
(Eds), Gender, identity and reproduction (pp 01-11). Houdmills, Basinkstore, Hampshire, New York:
Palgrave Macmillan.
Earle, S., & Letherby, G. (2003). Reflecting on reproduction. In S. Earle, & G. Letherby (Eds.), Gender,
identity and reproduction (pp. 225-230). Houdmills, Basinkstoke, Hampshire, New York: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Gustafson, D. (2005). Framing the discussion. In Gustafson, D. (Edt), Unbecoming mothers: the social
production of maternal absence (pp 01-20). Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Clinical Practice Press.
Heilborn, M. L., Salem, T., Rohden, F., Brandão, E., Knauth, D., & Víctora, C. et al. (2002).
Aproximações socioantropológicas sobre a gravidez na adolescência. Horizontes Antropológicos, 8 (17),
13-45.
Lupton, D. (1999). Risk. London: Routledge.
Pinheiro, V. S. (2000). Repensando a maternidade na adolescência. Estudos de Psicologia, 5, 1, 243-251.
Pollock, S. (1998). Feminism and reproduction. In S. Bolaria & H. D. Dickson (Eds), Sociology of health
care in Canada (pp. 167-182). Toronto: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Scheiwe, K. (2004). Between autonomy and dependency: minor’s rights to decide on matters of sexuality,
reproduction, marriage, and parenthood. Problems and the state of the debate – an introduction.
International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 18(3), 262-282.
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On girls’ disembodiment:
The complex tyranny of the ‘ideal girl’
NIVA PIRAN, MARIA ANTONIOU, ROBYN LEGGE, NICOLE MCCANCE,

JANE MIZEVICH, ELEASE PEASLEY and ERIN ROSS
OISE-IÉPO/UT
Toronto, Canada
npiran@oise.utoronto.ca
Pre- and post- pubertal diverse girls’ own constructions of the ‘ideal girl’ and the ‘self’ expressed through
drawings and associated narratives revealed unbridgeable gaps between the representations of the ‘ideal
girl’ and the ‘self’, gaps that were wider for girls of lower social class and of different ethnocultural
groups membership. Yet, the narratives also included discourse of resistance indicating awareness into the
constricted nature of the ‘ideal girl’ constructions. Forums in educational settings that aim to un-silence
this critical awareness, can lead to a shared critical stance, which will enhance girls’ positive self
embodiment and hence health
À propos de jeunes filles désincarnées :

la tyrannie complexe de la « fille idéale »
Des représentations diverses pré- et post-puberté par les jeunes filles elles-mêmes de la « fille idéale » et
de « soi-même » exprimées dans des dessins et des récits associatifs ont révélé des gouffres
infranchissables entre les représentations de « fille idéale » et de « soi-même », gouffres qui étaient plus
importants chez les filles des classes sociales inférieures et des différents groupes ethnoculturels. Malgré
tout, les récits révélaient aussi des volontés de résistance qui indiquaient que ces jeunes filles étaient
conscientes de la nature restrictive des représentations de la « fille idéale ». Des forums en milieu éducatif
qui tentent de révéler cette conscientisation critique peuvent amener les jeunes filles à prendre une
position critique partagée, ce qui devrait rehausser leur perception corporelle positive et par conséquent
avoir des retombées bénéfiques sur leur santé.
Introduction
Research literature regarding girls’ body image and the media has focused on the internalization of
pressures for thinness and the negative impact of such internalization (Levine, Piran, & Stoddard, 1999).
In particular, the internalization of thinness has been found to be related to negative body image and
disordered eating patterns (Levine & Harrison, 2003). Girls often engage in social comparisons related to
thinness (Schutz, Paxton, & Wertheim, 2002).
Social critics have emphasized the importance to go beyond thinness when examining idealized images of
girls and women. In particular, they emphasized the social privilege within which the idealized image of a
girl is couched: White, blond, blue-eyed, and fashionably dressed (Thompson, 1994; Wolf, 1991). Social
discourses, embedded in systems of power and privilege, are often expressed in visual images (e.g.,
Bordo, 1993). Hence, visual images comprise a concrete and condense expression of multi-layered
systems of oppression.
Research with girls’ and young women to date that has utilized visual images, has typically required girls
to respond to pre-made visual images, for example, rate the thinness of varied figure drawings (Thompson
& Gray, 1995). The present investigation aimed to invite girls of diverse backgrounds to generate their
own drawings of the ‘Self’ and the ‘Ideal Girl’. Girls’ drawings of the ‘Self’ and the ‘Ideal Girl’ are one
224
venue through which to explore the internalization of multilayered oppressive systems and ideologies,
resistance to oppressive messages, and the expression of the struggle between collusion and resistance on
the embodied self. This study examined the themes derived from diverse girls’ drawings of the ‘Self’ and
the ‘Ideal Girl’ and of the narratives associated with the drawings.
Method
Participants included 23 girls of those 11 were 9-11 yrs old (pre-puberty), and 12 were 13-14 (post-
puberty). Ten were from a low, 10 from middle, and 3 from middle-upper social class. Eleven were from a
rural geographical site and 12 from a middle sized urban center. Twenty one girls were born in Canada, 3
were of aboriginal heritage, 4 of East European heritage, 2 of Hispanic heritage, and 14 of Anglo-
European heritage. Parents of 9 of the girls have separated: 3 were living with their mom and her lesbian
partner, 3 with mother and siblings, 3 with mother and stepfather, and 14 were living with their mother
and father. The study is limited in not including Canadian girls with African or Caribbean heritage or with
Asian heritage. The study is also limited in not including girls with physical disabilities.
The interview: The interview followed a 2-interview format with each participant, leading to 45 interviews
(one girl could only be interviews once). The second interview occurred 6 months to one year following
the first interview. The interviews followed a life history approach (as described by Cole & Knowles,
2001) focusing on the experience of embodiment chronologically throughout these girls’ lives, as well as
on significant points of change or transition.
Data analyses: The analyses involved theme extractions (Miles & Huberman, 1994). High inter-rater
reliability on the major coding categories was established.
Results
The four main themes that emerged from the analyses of the drawings of the ‘Self’ in relation to the ‘Ideal
Girl’, as well as the analyses of associated narratives, included: ‘Idealized Appearance Characteristics’,
‘Movement and Agency’, ‘Body Ownership’, and ‘Relation to Self and Others’.
Idealized appearance characteristics
The participating girls drew a fairly consistent image of the ‘Ideal Girl’: thin, blond, blue eyed, wearing
fashionable clothes. Their narratives were in line with the visual representations, as Alice, a 10 year girl
residing in an urban setting, of aboriginal heritage and adopted to parents of European heritage, described:
Head of a cheerleading squad. A skirt and a tight top. Long hair and really pretty
shoes. (Body) Like long and thin so with pom-poms. I: her hair? Kind of like in
pigtails, long eyelashes. Great smile…And blond hair. Pretty blue eyes. White sparkly
teeth.
Or, as Sarah, a 13 year old girl, residing with her parents in a rural setting described,
She is really skinny, she wears designer clothes and everything and she has got like
the long blonde hair and like she and there is always makeup like everywhere… It
just kind of looks perfect and has perfect body shape.
Being voluptuous, especially in terms of breast size, yet skinny overall, was an added characteristic for
Ideal Girls, as Brady, a 14 year old girl of European heritage living with her parents in a working class
neighbourhood of an urban center, explained,
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Like, people don’t - guys go for the girls that have the biggest boobs…Girls with no
boobs get made fun of.
Interestingly, neither among the pre-pubertal nor among the post-pubertal girls were there clear narratives
of resistance to these oppressive images that left most girls, especially those who deviated from these
visual representation of the ‘Ideal Girl’ due to ethnic/racial heritage, financial status or weight/other
appearance characteristics, feeling deficient and often lacking in popularity and social power. Girls clearly
communicated their awareness of the social value placed upon European-heritage appearance features of
blond hair and blue eyes, material standing, and thinness. Girls therefore inhabit their bodies while aware
of the distance between their own social location and the social mold of privilege, a tenuous way to inhabit
their bodies.
Movement and agency
Images of the ‘Ideal Girl’ involved constriction in movement and agency in relation to the images of the
‘Self’. This ‘physical corseting’ was enforced through tight and exposing clothing, and through controlling
girls’ movement in public spaces. Interestingly, images of the ‘Ideal Girl’ were most often, not only
thinner than drawing of the ‘Self’, but smaller all around, so that ‘Ideal Girls’ took less physical space.
Discrepancies in movement and agency between the ‘Ideal Girl’ and the ‘Self’ were more pronounced
among the pre-pubertal girls. For example, Alice who described the ‘Ideal Girl’ as a cheerleader,
described herself as,
I’m going to draw me playing soccer. ..I am kicking it into the net. [I play] Defense,
forward and midfield… And I play goal. I’m the best on my team. I’m the only one
who can jump up high enough to block a goal like this…
She further commented,
This [Ideal] girl’s more popular and she doesn’t play sports. All she would do is
cheerleading and be popular. [The ‘Self’ girl] gets to actually do something instead
of cheering for other people… Instead of just jumping around in the sideline going
“Yay, yay, yay! Go!”
Like Alice, Erica, a 9 year old girl of European heritage of low social class, living with her mother and
siblings in an urban setting voiced a similar theme, drawing herself in T-shirt and jeans, and the ‘Ideal
Girl’ in a “halter top, a short skirt, red and pink lips…wearing high heels”. Erica commented,
[The ‘Self’ girl can] climb high without people looking…Yeah, and you can go on the
monkey bars and you can slide down with out having to put your legs together, you
could sit more comfortably…I: What does this [Ideal] girl get to do at recess? E: Not
much, she can walk around… She could sit on a bench.
Girls addressed the role ‘physical corseting’ of the Ideal Girl, enforced through tight and exposing
clothing and through social dictations such as “Well, most of the popular girls like when they stand in the
hallway, and they’ve got their arms behind their back” [Brady], had in controlling her movement in public
spaces. The limited physical freedom, physical competence, and agency accorded to the Ideal Girl: a
smile, a jump at the sidelines, cheering for others, walking around, sitting on the bench, or standing with
their arms behind their back, contrasted with pre-pubertal girls’ joyful immersion in free physical play.
Pre-pubertal girls often voiced a position of resistance in relation to their physical confinement. The
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clarity of their position of resistance, often not heard or only heard in a muted way by post-pubertal girls,
signified strength and, at the same time, positioned them away from the socially idealized image of a girl.
Body Ownership
Images of the ‘Ideal Girl’ involved images of compromised body ownership through expected body
exposure and its sexualized objectification in both the pre- and post-pubertal girls. In the pre-pubertal
girls, the exposure involved wearing tight clothing, exposing shirts, and short skirts or shorts, leading to
discomfort in the body and forced restriction on agency in order to avoid additional exposure of the body,
as 9 year old Erica commented,
And that [‘Self’] girl I first drew is more comfortable… she doesn’t have her skin
showing.
In the post-pubertal girls, the overt sexualization of the exposed body in the Ideal Girl became more
pronounced, as Brady described,
The girl has more skin showing than the guys do…And then the girls wear the slutty
clothes, strapless tops, shirts that have no writing and then if it gets wet they can see
through it… I don’t know, like they want guys to see what’s under it and everything.
Like, girls go to school wearing shirts that have holes in them.
An additional element creating tension in inhabiting the body in these girls was the presence of the
intrusive gaze of the other, positioning these girls to either accept it as the Ideal Girl would through
wearing tight and exposing clothes with the associated social benefits, or resisting the gaze and facing
social penalty. Both the pre-pubertal and post-pubertal girls were aware of the discomfort and possible
complications involved with the exposed body presentation of the ‘Ideal Girl’. The younger girls,
however, expressed more resistance to this forced exposure, as Erica described her likely response to
pressures to dress like the Ideal Girl,
If I were her [the ‘Self’ drawing], which I am, I would say “no, I’m comfortable the
way I am.
In addition to exposing themselves to the gaze of the other, the older girls were also running the risk of
being labeled a ‘slut’ a label which carried adverse social outcomes. The difference in skin exposure
between the ‘Ideal Girl’ and the ‘slut’ was sometimes down to an inch difference in how low-cut were the
tight jeans in the hip. The forced exposure to an intrusive gaze necessary for social acceptability was
therefore associated with physical and psychological discomfort, and with possible social complications,
and required ongoing monitoring.
Relation to self and others
Girls’ narratives suggested that striving to adhere to the ‘Ideal Girl’ mold in appearance, posture, and
movement characteristics involved reaping social benefits such as getting a boyfriend and getting
admittance to more popular groups. Nonetheless, the social rewards given for adhering to the external
‘Ideal Girl’ mold lacked the validation inherent in social relatedness that involves acceptance of who one
is. As Alice described it,
being liked for what she [‘Ideal Girl’] does and not being liked for what one is.
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In addition, the ‘Ideal Girl’ was at risk of incurring potentially negative social labels, such as a ‘girlie girl’
(pre-puberty), or a ‘slut’ (post-puberty).
In terms of the experience of the self, the girls described adverse consequences to the forced tyranny of the
‘Ideal Girl’ mold in terms of their sense of identity, sense of worth, and mood. As Sarah expresses
confusion about who her embodied self is, it is the clarity of her sadness and of her awareness of the
‘politics of the body’ that documents the losses involved with the greater internalization of the ideal mold,
I don’t know I kinda drew partially me, but partially not me cause I don’t know
what’s not me…But yeah that should be like me slash my image of other people
whatever, like my ideal image of other girls or whatever…I don’t know myself I think
like that I don’t know like some stuff that girls wear and stuff like that is really
demoralizing whatever…it’s kinda like selling yourself… and it’s sexist as
well…Cause I mean I don’t know, I think like you know how way back like the
feminism movement or whatever I think it’s really sad how you know we have got a
right to vote, we have got everything, but we don’t use it.
Conclusions
The study suggests the dimensional complexity of the oppressive visual representation of the ‘Ideal Girl’
beyond that of thinness. The representation embodies social privilege, restricted movement and agency,
and a compromised ownership of the body through sexualization and exposure. The body as an embodied
symbol of unattainable privilege and as a physically corseted and exposed domain becomes a problematic
site to inhabit with a sense of worth, agency, and freedom. As the image of the ‘Ideal Girl’ becomes
internalized, not only does the body become oppressed, but girls’ voices of protest become mute. It is
therefore important to change the disruptive impact of these controlling visual representations in multiple
ways in educational settings. Positive body embodiment is a key factor in health maintenance. Providing
counteracting experiences in the body domain, such as wilderness trips or team-based noncompetitive
sports, can help free girls from the constraining images of the ‘Ideal Girl’. Creating relational spaces
where girls’ critical awareness of oppressive images and their voices of protest can be amplified, and
where girls can work to establish alternative peer norms, can be another aspect of providing a constructive
educational experience. Increasing girls’ relational connections with to diverse and strong women role
models in the school settings and in the curriculum is another way to counteract constraining images.
Direct work with girls in educational setting should go hand in hand with transformations in the school
setting as a whole (Piran, 2001) and in their community.
References
Bordo, S. (1993). Unbearable weight: Feminism, Western culture, and the body.Berkeley: University of
California Press.
Levine, MP, & Harrison, K. (2004). The role of mass media in the perpetuation and prevention of negative
body. image and disordered eating. In J. K. Thompson (Ed.), Handbook of eating disorders and obesity
(695-717) . New York: John Wiley.
Levine, M., & Piran, N., & Stoddard, C. (1999). Mission more probable: Media literacy, activism, and
Advocacy as primary prevention. In N. Piran, M. P. Levine & C. Steiner-Adair (Eds.), Preventing eating
disorders: A handbook of interventions and special challenges (pp. 1-25). Philadelphia: Brunner/Mazel
(Taylor & Francis Group).
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Piran, N. (2001). Re-inhabiting the body from the inside out: Girls transform their school environment. In
D. L. Tolman & M. Brydon-Miller (Eds.), From subjects to subjectivities: A handbook of interpretive and
participatory methods (pp. 218-238). New York: New York University Press.
Schutz, H.K., Paxton, S.J., & Wertheim, E.H. (2002). Investigation of body comparison among adolescent
girls. Journal of Applied Social Psychology.Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32, 1906-1937
Thompson, B. (1994). Food, bodies, and growing up female: Childhood lessons about culture, race, and
class. In F. Fallon, M. Katzman, & S.C. Wooley (Eds.), Feminist perspectives on eating disorders
(pp.355-378). New York: Guilford Press.
Thompson, M., & Gray, J. J. (1995). Development and validation of a new body-image assessment
scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 64, 258-269.
Wolf, N. (1991). The beauty myth: How images of beauty are used against women. New York: Morrow.
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It’s not that it’s bad, but could it be dangerous’?

Risk, bodies and the Go Girls Program
JENNIFER POOLE
Toronto, Canada
jen.poole@utoronto.ca
Early research findings suggest this is a viable and innovative model for cost-effective peer education and
promotion of healthier bodies and attitudes. Although schooled in social work and health promotion to
believe that this type of project is inherently ‘good’, Jennifer, the trainer of mentors, reflects on the
process, products and education Go Girls provides. She argues it creates invaluable possibilities for deeper
engagement with, and dialogue around, the ‘health’ and education of girls and women.
« Ce n’est pas que c’est mauvais mais ça pourrait être dangereux ».

Le risque, les corps et Go Girls
Les premiers résultats de la recherche suggèrent que c’est un modèle viable et innovateur pour une
éducation par les pairs rentable et pour la promotion des attitudes et des corps plus sains. Quoiqu’elle ait
été formée en travail social et en promotion de la santé et donc qu’elle croie que ce type de projet est
« bon » en soi, Jennifer (formatrice des mentors) réfléchit sur le processus, les produits et l’éducation qui
résultent du programme Go Girls. Elle avance qu’il crée des possibilités inestimables pour s’engager plus
profondément dans les questions et le dialogue sur la « santé » et l’éducation des filles et des femmes.
Introduction
Initiated in 2001 by the Ontario Physical and Health Education Association (OPHEA), Go Girls! Healthy
Bodies, Healthy Minds (Go Girls) is a program that promises to increase girls’ activity levels while
improving their nutrition and self-esteem. Organized around a unique mentoring relationship that pairs
university-aged women volunteers with small groups of 12 year old girls, the program has reached close to
2000 participants in 31 communities across Ontario. Research findings and evaluation feedback from
participants suggest that this is a viable, innovative model for cost-effective peer education, prevention
and promotion. However, critical, nagging questions arose for me after being hired as the program’s
‘master trainer’ and subsequently charged with the task of educating participating professionals on how to
locally practice and ‘preach’ the Go Girls’ messages. Although many, like me, are schooled in community
social work and health promotion to believe that this type of empowering project is inherently ‘good’, the
sociological literature around risk and the body suggests otherwise. Taking up key texts by authors such as
Beck (1992) and Petersen (1997), in this short paper I begin to interrogate the process, products and
education Go Girls provides. Following Foucault and reflecting on my experience, I suggest that with
respect to these kinds of health promotion programs for girls and women, “the point is not that everything
is bad, but that everything is dangerous” (Foucault, 1984, p. 343), and when things are dangerous in
education, caution must always be ‘exercised’.
Background
Go Girls started as a two-year demonstration project designed to provide primary research findings on
issues for young women making ‘healthy’ lifestyle choices and to determine the impact of mentoring on
that process. A partnership between the Centre for Girls and Women’s Health and Physical Activity (at the
University of Toronto), the Nutrition Resource Centre and the Ontario Physical and Health Education
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Association (OPHEA), it was housed (and staffed) by OPHEA and initially supported by the Ontario
Women’s Health Council. In 2003, OPHEA received funding from the Trillium Foundation to continue
Go Girls with Big Brothers/Big Sisters (BBBSC), Parks and Recreation (PRO) and the Canadian
Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) joining the team
as key partners. Plans are now underway for one of those partners to take over the program at the end of
the funding cycle and launch it nationally in 2007.
Despite collaborative changes, the program objectives have always been to provide girls with the
information and tools they need to choose a healthy lifestyle, to support girls in maintaining a healthy
active lifestyle, to enhance girls’ competence, self-confidence and self-esteem and to help both girls and
their mentors build leadership and life skills. To meet these objectives, groups of ‘interested’ 12 year old
girls meet after (and sometimes during) school for 7 weeks/sessions. These groups are led by university
aged mentors who guide girls through a structured program of physical activity, snack time, group
discussion and journaling. According to OPHEA, these sessions are meant to “incorporate fun,
educational games and activities to stimulate mentor/participant relationship-building as well as self-
reflection and group discussions about healthy living and emotional, social and cultural issues.” (Ontario
Physical Health and Education Association, n.d.).
At last official count, (2004-5), the project depended on approximately 21 local BBBSC and PRO
agencies, 100 schools, 200 university-aged mentors, 700 12 year old girls from “diverse” backgrounds
across Ontario, one and half staff at OPHEA, a 12-person advisory committee and 35 ‘expert’ trainers
culled from public health, nutrition, health promotion, nursing, social work, adult education and physical
education backgrounds. According to training documents, the rationale behind all of this enthusiastic
participation was;
Studies have shown that when girls reach adolescence, their aerobic capacity begins
to decline and adolescent girls are less likely than boys to be physically active.
They are also three times more likely to have a negative body image, engage in
unhealthy eating behaviors that leave many of them malnourished, and engage
in unhealthy weight loss practices like dieting. (Go Girls Mentor Manual, 2003, p. 8)
In short, when girls reach adolescence, they are a group at ‘risk’, sorely in need of health promotion,
prevention and education around issues relating to the ‘body’. Clearly, a good many organizations agreed
that something needed to be done.
Training the trainers
I too was motivated to ‘do’ something ‘good’ for this ‘population’, and so in 2001 I responded to an
invitation to join the inaugural advisory committee. It was a diverse group, with membership from the
official partners as well as high schools, universities and agencies who were, like OPHEA, involved in the
Ontario Health Promotion Resource System and receiving funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health
and Long Term Care. As an OHPRS member, my agency promoted the use of peer support, mutual aid
and mentoring for a variety of different issues and conditions including, but not limited to, eating
disorders. With a recently published manual on how to develop peer led groups for the cluster of
conditions that sit under the ‘ED’ umbrella, I held the peer support flag high in those advisory committee
sessions, sure of what it could bring to the ‘table’. Responsible for providing up to 40 ‘hands-on’
educational sessions a year around group work, facilitation, peer support and leadership, I held the health
promotion ‘education and training’ flag high too. Both seemed to catch the attention of the organizers and
I was asked to take on the role of “master trainer” for the program.
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Being the ‘master trainer’ for Go Girls meant that twice a year, I would plan and facilitate a two day
training session with all the ‘professionals’ who had volunteered to work with the university aged
mentors. As mentioned, these professionals included nurses, social workers, activity specialists and
dieticians, anyone who had agreed (or been told to) take the ‘lead’ with Go Girls in their local partner
agency. Once trained by me, these individuals would then train university-aged mentors in their home
towns, young women who were to take on the task of mentoring the 12 year old girls and running the
group sessions in the participating schools. In short, it was a classic train the trainer (and mentor)
arrangement. I had the responsibility of making sure predetermined Go Girls methods and messages were
communicated correctly. I had the responsibility for crafting templates of what the local training sessions
looked like, and working closely with OPHEA staff, I set the tone, direction and ‘rules’ for those sessions.
The trainers (and mentors) then had to model those messages, sessions and ‘rules’ accordingly.
A familiar set up for any adult educator, the master training sessions were held at central locations in
Toronto, with (predominantly women) participants traveling in from across the province and housed at
local hotels. The room was always very well lit, with tables and chairs set up in a U position so
participants could see each other and of course, the ubiquitous power point slides. These slides were
developed with the Go Girls co-ordinator at OPHEA and as evidenced below, especially notable for their
‘prettiness’. Always very colourful, always emblazoned with the Go Girls logo, these slides were carefully
connected to the extensive Go Girls training manuals that had been crafted by consultants hired long
before I was. Following sessions outlined in those manuals, the seminars would always start with ‘healthy’
food, then some kind of physical warm up usually followed by a facilitated discussion and ‘reflection’
around topics such as balanced eating, physical activity and the lives of pre-teen girls.
Go Girls! Healthy
Bodies, Healthy Minds
Welcome Local Agencies and
Master Trainers!
Monday, August 22, 2005 Speak
Up!
Get
Up!
Take
Charge!
(Poole, 2005)
Before I start to trouble this training, I must admit how enthusiastic I was to do this ‘good’ work.
Dovetailing nicely with my background in health promotion and community social work, I was there
because I found in this program not only a strong team but a great good will towards girls and their ‘body
issues’, an ingredient sadly lacking in many other supposedly ‘empowering’ programs with which I had
been associated. OPHEA staff and managers had also proven themselves open to suggestions, willing to
embrace what I call the ‘grey’ in terms of their messages and suggestions for ‘healthy eating’ and activity.
From where I sat, there were no hard and fast rules around ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods or admonitions that
girls had to participate in the pre-planned physical activities. In addition, I was relieved to see space for
cultural, sexual, disability and faith based considerations around food, movement and discussion. I was
also encouraged by research findings at the end of the demonstration phase.
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Research Fndings
At the two year mark, OPHEA-designed pre and post questionnaires suggested that girls’ knowledge of
healthy living and physical activity (or the lack of it) had increased, they realized the importance of
breakfast, they were able to grasp the ‘influence of media’ and were beginning to discuss the ‘futility of
dieting’. In addition, a survey of journals kept by the girls demonstrated they were gaining confidence,
learning how to relate to others and establishing healthier goals (Go Girls Research Findings, 2003). For
instance, girls wrote;
I have learned that I can be more outgoing than I thought I could be.
I have learnt that I can be whatever I can be and do whatever I want to do.
The program helps me feel good about my body. (Go Girls Research Findings, 2003, p.9).
Evaluations for the 2004-2005 Go Girls year were even better. According to this data, a good portion of
participating girls thought the program was “excellent”. They also reported that they would;
1.
1. Eat more healthier
2. Be more active
3. Be nice to people
4. Be more confident
5. Think before they act (Ontario Physical and Health Education Association, n.d)
Putting the issue of “being nice to people” aside temporarily, these kinds of findings suggest that Go Girls
is a ‘successful’ program, a program that has had a ‘positive’ and ‘empowering’ affect on participants. It
has also afforded participating girls the opportunity for more physical activity (45 minutes/session), more
health education, a healthy snack after school and time to vent/talk during a particularly difficult time in
their lives (if my memory serves me correctly). For health promoters and health educators everywhere, Go
Girls is also that rare opportunity to reduce risk factors for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, depression,
eating disorders and obesity in one program.
Similarly, funders appear to be particularly taken with the low cost, low staff complement and strong
collaborative nature of the program. They are also smitten with the voluntary peer support and mentoring
component which promises more ‘bang’ (or change) for the ‘buck’ (or intervention). Yet, there have also
been criticisms of Go Girls and more than a few queries about its claims.
Critique
Shortly after the demonstration phase ended, the preliminary research findings document (2003) made
reference to a number of issues that had been raised during the work. For instance, given that self-esteem
does not occur in a vacuum, some felt it was still not clear just who/what else was influencing girls. Others
wanted to know why the program excluded boys. Similarly, there were concerns around the program’s
lack of attention to individual differences in SES, sexuality, ability and ethnicity, an issue which
eventually resulted in a change to some of the visual art used to adorn Go Girls documents. Additionally,
many queried the focus on 12 year old girls given that body/weight/activity issues are a problem at any
age.
Being so intimately connected to the program, I also developed what I call, additional nagging anxieties
about this kind of work. In the advisory committee meetings, I was disturbed to hear of the seemingly
haphazard way in which girls were approached and ‘selected’ for the program. Instead of clear criteria, it
appeared these kinds of decisions were being made by worried teachers and harried principals. It was they
who decided which girl was ‘at risk’, yet it was unclear what those decisions were based on and what
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affect they might have had on the girls (both included and excluded). I also queried how OPHEA was
collecting their data. Long have I been uncomfortable with the use of pre and post questionnaires to
demonstrate ‘change’. The method may saves time and dollars, but this kind of tool rarely passes muster
for me and other colleagues who seek more qualitative information. What were those questionnaires
leaving out? How were they administered? What ‘answers’, stories and troubles had been left to slip down
the sides of the neat check boxes? Similarly, with respect to the journaling component, however
‘confidential’ that process is supposed to be, I tend to assume that many girls (and women) will write what
they believe we experts would prefer to see. They will use the words we want and the questions we teach.
They will adopt our discourse, observe our rules for what is allowed and denied and seek out rewards for
compliance, for being and, as the 2004 evaluation suggests, planning to be ‘nice’. I also wonder, quite
simply, what are we experts actually teaching in programs like this?
Although well-attended and apparently successful, ‘my’ Go Girls training sessions were also what I call
‘festivals of surveillance and social control’. With Foucault’s notion of the panopticon never far from my
thoughts (1995), our ‘U’ shaped seating arrangement and well lit locales not only enabled each participant
to watch me but also to watch each other fastidiously. We could see what women were wearing, what they
were eating (or not) during the ‘healthy’ refreshment breaks and if and how they were participating during
the ‘physical’ activity sessions. Noises were made about women being able to opt out of those sessions if
they were not comfortable but rare was the person who defied the unspoken rule that demanded
‘participaction’. Equally rare was the person brave enough to eat and drink with anything other than
studied ambivalence. Even though we spent two days discussing the importance of teaching mentors and
girls about choice, the futility of dieting, the influence of the media and the importance of being active as
opposed to ‘small’, as is the way at many ‘health’ sessions I have attended, ‘meeting’ food was something
to be ignored, picked at or made excuses for.
As their ‘master’ trainer, I was not so very different. I talked about taking up more space and then crossed
my legs. I preached the importance of food ‘fun’ and then doused myself in salad and fruit and when it
came time to do the physical ‘work’, I did not model how to opt out or question the exercises. If this was
the way in which supposedly informed health professionals were acting in the Go Girls master training
events, how would these same ‘healthy’ minds be when out of the spotlight, when not being publicly
taught, tested, educated and ‘encouraged’?
Reflecting on this, I felt complicit, troubled. I wondered, are we health educators teaching women (and by
association girls) how to be the right kind of person who practices the right kind of self-care? Are we
teaching them how to be ‘nice’ and ‘good’? How much damage do I do as I encourage the supposedly
‘healthy’ monitoring of self and body in these kinds of group situations? Am I teaching women and girls
that this kind of monitoring is as ‘valuable’ a use of their time as volunteering or planting a community
garden, and how can I be sure that this kind of health promotion is actually ‘good’? Most worrying of all, I
wondered, are girls really benefiting from the program or is this kind of body-teaching somehow more
about costs, returns and productivity than self-esteem and empowerment? In this market-driven world,
could it be that the latter is conveniently feeding into the former?
Risk, bodies and the dangers of health promotion/education
Before I go on, I want to explain from where this line of questioning comes. Many will already be only
too aware that the notions of risk and ‘the body’ have been thought through extensively by sociologists
concerned with health and illness. Lupton (1999) has theorized that this thinking can be organized into
weak constructionist, strong constructionist and realist positions on risk. She also points to the seminal
work of Ulrich Beck (1992). In what Lupton calls a weak (but ironically powerful) constructionist
position, Beck argues that our society is indeed a risk society, and we, as its members, have developed an
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‘insatiable appetite’ for worry and information. We want to know what is out there, what the risks are and
how we can protect ourselves and our children.
Yet, risk is often unclear, abstract and ever-changing (Lauritzen and Sachs, 2001). It demands our
attention, for no matter how confusing the information, as DeSwann (1990) notes, there is always “a small
chance of great misfortune” (cited in Lauritzen and Sachs, 2001, p.498). In fact, some argue risk has
become the great organizer of our time, “a central cultural and political concept by which individuals,
social groups and institutions are organized, monitored and regulated” (Lupton, 1999, p.25), replacing
other, long familiar ‘categories’ such as class. Accordingly, my risk for such ‘dangers’ as breast cancer,
heart disease, diabetes and pandemic become paramount in my mind, affecting how I am in the world,
where I travel, what I eat and how I teach. In the face of so much that can go wrong both in the body and
outside it, some sociologists suggest that self-control and self surveillance become our only viable option
(Annandale, 1998).
I like to call this kind of risk-induced late modern style of self-monitoring the personal ‘lock down’. It is
the ‘code orange’ of the self, the moment(s) when one reads a headline, picks up a worrying research
report, joins a peer group (or education session) and shifts into a heightened state of control, behaving
oneself, being ‘nice’ or turning to a host of experts to look and feel better, calmer, healthier and less at
risk. Yet for Robert Crawford (1984) these kinds of ‘lock downs’ are inevitably short, leading us into a
dance between what he calls control and release, ‘good’ behaviour and ‘bad’, ‘healthy’ acts and ‘risky’
practices. So after the healthy breakfast comes the private bag of late afternoon chips, after months of
exercise come weeks of inertia and inactivity and for my post doctoral supervisor, after a lifetime of
neatness come inexplicable moments when he chooses to litter randomly in public spaces. In short, control
cannot continue without periods of release and the repressed will always return. However, we continue to
minimize these forms of release and encouraging others to follow suit in the pursuit of ‘health’.
Sassatelli (2002) calls this ‘reflexive risk management training’ and something which she sees as
increasingly common in health promotion programs aimed at women and children. Others see this trend
towards body surveillance and risk management as tied up in neo-liberalism, the modus operandi of
western society which values the individual, ‘fitness’, productivity and entrepreneurial thinking over
welfare and community (Annandale, 1998). So the ‘I’ is put before the ‘we’ and the preservation of
capital, in bodily or monetary form, is all important.
Petersen (1996) and Cruikshank (1993) agree, adding that the promotion of self-control and risk
management is reflected in the proliferation of mentoring, health promotion and activity programs like Go
Girls. What disturbs these writers most about these programs is that there is always a point at which the
participant is held accountable and has to reflect, then ‘own up’ about his or her activities’ related to
‘healthy’ eating or activity. Ideally this ‘confession’ is done in the presence of an expert or written down
in a journal format (in keeping with the Go Girls program). Also like Go Girls, the participant is expected
to demonstrate this accountability to others, most often in small groups. If the participant is following the
guidelines, measuring inputs and outputs and running a successful entrepreneurial self, she will receive a
stamp of approval, be given her own group of mentors to train or perhaps have her journal quotes
published in evaluations and research reports. If not, she may be penalized either through exclusion,
intervention, peer group embarrassment or some kind of label of deviance. We are all familiar with labels
such as ‘obese’, ‘depressed’, ‘bulimic’, or simply, ‘at risk’. For those who chose to ‘misbehave’ during
training sessions, I also heard labels such as ‘difficult’, ‘disorganized’ and ‘lazy’. Still worse than a label
is the possibility that an individual may come, through our health education programs, to embrace what
Dutton (1993) calls bodyism. Adopting a lifestyle preoccupied with practices aimed at the appearance of
health, fitness and youthfulness, she may learn that more important than working limbs, a ‘good’ resting
heart rate and a healthy body, is the façade of one. As one girl wrote in her journal, “I try to make myself
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look good so I feel good.” I believe this statement, also echoed by many of the women in my ‘adult’
sessions, worries me most of all.
Now clearly there are many merits to a program like Go Girls. However, I agree with Robertson’s (2000)
charge that we health promoters, educators and others invested in the management of risky bodies have to
careful that we are not “inadvertently frightening a large number of women” (p. 220). Because of this, it
becomes necessary to look at things through different lenses, to do the work and then reflect on it, going
beyond neat and tidy pre and post test questionnaires. Because, as Castel (1991) notes, there has been very
little reflection on the social and human costs of teaching individuals how to self-monitor in this way or
what the calls the iatrogenic aspects of prevention. Because, I wonder what does a lifetime of controls and
releases do to a person, to her children and to her society? Because of this ‘bodyist’ idea of look good- feel
better, and lastly, because I worry about what is neglected when we invest more and more in programs
like Go Girls. In this age of neoliberal entrepreneurism, what are we not funding? Could it be investment
in affordable housing, subsidies for parents or free child care? Could it be books, computers, teachers and
the reinstatement of gym and art at schools in Ontario? Could it be campaigns that take the coke machines
out of high schools?
Conclusion
In reading through this collection of reflections, I cannot claim to be making fresh arguments, for many
have questioned the ‘healthiness’ of health promotion programs like Go Girls. With greater clarity than I,
long have theorists been raising the alarm about who actually benefits from the kind of project with which
I have been involved. Yet, as an insider, as a professional schooled to see the benefit of such a program
and one so intimately tied up in how ‘empowering’ messages/ practices come to disseminated, I felt
speaking to some of the complexities in this work was timely and necessary. It is not that the Go Girls
program is ‘bad’, but it is a little dangerous, for with the health flag held high, I have played a role in
perpetuating Beck’s risk society, I have played a role in encouraging self-surveillance and concern with
the body and I have benefited both financially and professionally. For me, ‘health’ is the new religion, a
cause so great it escapes most critique, creating a market so profitable, it defies comprehension. To teach
women, as I have done with the Go Girls program, is to teach girls (and boys and men). To reflect on that
process is to make the teaching better and perhaps ‘healthier’.
I was once reminded by an academic mentor, shortly after starting my doctorate that my role, as a
sociologist of health was to point out ‘how things could be otherwise’. It was not to destroy necessarily,
nor to rebuke but to think out loud about what is valued or neglected in health. It might make people
uncomfortable, she said, it might not be popular, but it was necessary for how we see and come to
promote ‘health’ for women and girls. My hope is that I have succeeded in that task.
References
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Beck, U. (1992). Risk society: Towards a new modernity. London: Sage.
Bunton, Robin. (1997). Popular health, advanced liberalism and Good Housekeeping magazine. In A.
Petersen & R. Bunton (Eds.). Foucault, health and medicine. London: Routledge.
Castel, R. (1991). From dangerousness to risk. In G. Burchell, C. Gordon & P. Miller (Eds.) The Foucault
effect: Studies in governmentality (pp. 281-298). Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf: 281-98.
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Crawford, R. (1984). A cultural account of ‘health’: Control, release and the social body. In J.B.
McKinlay (Ed.), Issues in the political economy of health care. London: Tavistock.
Cruikshank, B. (1993). Revolutions within: Self-government and self-esteem. Economy and Society,
22(3), 327-44.
Dutton, K. R. (1995). The perfectible body: The western ideal of physical development. London: Cassell.
Foucault, M. (1984). On the genealogy of ethics: An overview of work in progress. In Paul Rabinow
(Ed.). The Foucault reader. New York: Pantheon.
Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Translated from the French by Alan
Sheridan. New York: Vintage.
Go Girls Mentor Manual. (2003). Toronto, Ontario: Ontario Physical and Health Education Association.
Go Girls Research Findings. (2003). Toronto, Ontario: Ontario Physical and Health Education
Association.
Lauritzen, O. S. & Sachs, L. (2001). Normality, risk and the future: Implicit communication of threat in
health surveillance. Sociology of Health and Illness, 23(4), 497-516.
Lupton, D. (1999). Risk. Routledge: London.
Ontario Physical Health and Education Association (n.d.). Ophea’s programs: Go Girls! evaluation
findings. Go Girls participant questionnaire. Retrieved April 1, 2006, from http://www.ophea.net/
Ontario Physical Health and Education Association (n.d.). Ophea’s programs: Go Girls! overview.
Retrieved April 1, 2006, from http://www.ophea.net/
Petersen, A. (1996). Risk and the regulated self: The discourse of health promotion as politics of
uncertainty. ANZJS, 32(1), 44- 57.
Petersen, A. (1997). Risk, governance and the new public health. In A. Petersen & R. Bunton (Eds.).
Foucault, Health and Medicine. Routledge: London.
Poole, J. (2005). Go Girls! master training slides.
Robertson, A. (2000). Embodying risk, embodying political rationality: Women’s accounts of risk for
breast cancer. Health, Risk and Society, 2(2), 219-235.
Sassatelli, R. (2002). Bodies in practice: ‘Habitus’, interaction and discipline. Rassegna Italiana di
Sociologia, 43 (3), 429-457.
237
How three generations of Newfoundland women learned

about menstruation
MARILYN PORTER
Memorial University
mporter@mun.ca
This presentation focuses on how and in what contexts girls learn about and experience their first
menstruation. It is very clear, that even in a relatively homogeneous society, such as Newfoundland, there
are considerable (and interesting differences), especially over time, in how much information is available
how the event is experienced and interpreted, with consequences for women’s sexual health later in her
life.
Comment trois générations de Terre-Neuviennes ont appris

ce que c’était que la menstruation.
Dans cette présentation, on parle de la façon dont les filles apprennent ce qu’est la menstruation et le
contexte dans lequel elle se passe pour la première fois. Il est évident que même dans une société
relativement homogène, comme celle de Terre-Neuve, il existe des différences considérables (et
intéressantes), surtout dans la durée, sur la quantité d’informations disponibles, comment l’expérience est
vécue et interprétée, et ceci entraîne des conséquences pour la vie sexuelle future des femmes.
238
Promotion d’accès des jeunes filles aux droits, à la santé et à l’éducation
LUCIEN RAZANADRAKOTO
Université d’Anatananarivo
Anatananarivo, MADAGASCAR
Lucien@wandaoo.mg
VIOLAINE LEVASSEUR and MARIE LOUISE LEFEBVRE

Université de Québec à Montréal
Montréal, Canada
Informer les jeunes filles sur leurs droits constitue un facteur de développement. Le bas niveau
d’instruction et l’ignorance des problèmes de santé expliquent les grossesses précoces. Le niveau
d’instruction de la mère conditionne la réussite scolaire de la jeune fille. Il y a inégalités sexuelles dans la
réussite scolaire cependant les jeunes filles ont plus de volonté que les garçons de poursuivre des études et
formations. La majorité des jeunes filles affrontent les difficultés de la vie en exerçant des
activités rémunératrices et réussissent plus que les garçons car elles prennent conscience de leurs droits et
de la nécessité de lutter pour une meilleure répartition des revenus.
Promoting access to rights, health and education for young women
Informing young girls about their rights is a factor of their development. Early pregnancies can be
explained by a low education level and ignorance of health issues. The mother’s education level
influences the daughter’s academic achievement. Although there are gender inequalities in academic
success, young girls are more willing to complete their education and training. The majority of young
women face life problems by working and have a better rate of success than young men because there are
more aware of their rights and the need to fight for a better revenue sharing.
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Becoming the fat girl
CARLA RICE
Trent University
Peterborough, Canada
carlarice@trentu.ca
This paper offers a feminist theory of fat based on diverse women’s narratives of becoming the “fat girl”
within a Canadian context. Through examining cultural messages concerning fatness and fitness conveyed
in women’s childhood worlds, it analyzes intersections of personal histories with broader social histories.
It documents how devaluing perceptions frame participants as “unfit” and how disparaging attributions
disqualify their gender. Size stereotypes surface throughout accounts as a key contributor to problem
eating and physical inactivity. Persistent negative perceptions also create a double bind by obstructing
efforts at establishing credible feminine or tomboy identities. While anti-fat messages compromise
identities, women show creativity at self-making, mediating devalued differences with improvisational
identities as a constant, dynamic process.
Comment on devient la grosse fille
Dans cette communication, on présente une théorie féministe basée sur le surpoids à partir de plusieurs
récits de femmes qui racontent comment elles sont devenues « grosses » dans le contexte canadien. En
examinant les messages culturels concernant le surpoids et la bonne forme durant l’enfance de ces
femmes, on analyse les recoupements entre les histoires personnelles et les histoires sociales en général.
On documente comment des perceptions dévalorisantes catégorisent les participantes comme « en
mauvaise forme » et comment des attributions peu flatteuses dévalorisent le sexe féminin. À travers leurs
récits, on voit que des stéréotypes sur la taille contribuent fortement au problème de suralimentation et de
manque d’activité physique. Des perceptions négatives qui perdurent servent aussi à créer un double
problème en faisant obstacle aux efforts pour établir son identité féminine ou celle de garçon manqué.
Même si les messages anti-surpoids compromettent leur identité, les femmes démontrent qu’elles sont
capables de créativité pour se construire, pour remédier aux différences dévalorisantes par le processus
dynamique et constant d’improvisation de son identité.
Introduction
Leila: I want my point made public. Sometimes I just want to hold a press conference
and tell everybody off. [laughs] I’ve always been lonely, the odd person out… I’m a
fantastic person, but nobody could see past the fat. It angers me more than it hurts
me. But it hurts.
In North American society, there are many disparaging depictions and few positive portrayals of girls and
women perceived as fat. Despite growing dialogue about body acceptance, overweight and obesity
increasingly are interpreted as unattractive, downwardly mobile, not physically or emotionally healthy,
and lacking in body and self-control (LeBesco, 2004). Within global and national public health discourses,
obesity is conceptualized as an epidemic as well as an illness or disease (Raine, 2004). Amid escalating
anti-fat attitudes over the past thirty years, weight has emerged as major marker of social status in western
countries. Consequences of body size standards and stereotypes are especially exacting and far-reaching
for girls and women, who encounter frequent evaluation of physical appearance and difference as part of
their social experience of gender.
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Poststructuralist and feminist perspectives emphasize how bodies and identities are shaped and
experienced through cultural representations and social relations. Unfinished at birth, bodies are molded
and modified over the course of a life through the intermingling of biology with culture and society. For
some contemporary theorists, physiology, psyche, and society all play a part in the body’s dynamic
process of “becoming” (Birke, 2000; Fausto-Sterling, 2000; Grosz, 1994). From a feminist
poststructuralist vantage point, cultural meanings given to body differences also become a basis of identity
within social relations (Brah 2001; Woodward, 1997). People construct a sense of their bodily self from
messages, spoken and unspoken, that they receive from popular images and other people throughout their
lives (Jenkins, 1996). This occurs when they grasp how others see their bodies and understand the
personal and social significance of these perceptions to their sense of identity and possibility (Rice, et al.,
2005). In our society, one location that may be more generative of identity than other social spaces is
school, a place where perceptions of appearance and difference shape children’s sense of belonging and
standing. Organization of student bodies by age and grade heightens kids’ consciousness of physical
differences and encourages body conformity as a condition of belonging (Rice, 2003). For girls especially,
association of idealized face and body features with popularity and social power teaches them that an
attractive appearance is a cultural requirement of gender (Currie, 1999; Thorne, 1997). Those who diverge
from cultural standards often experience devaluation of physical differences as a result of stereotyping and
stigma. This includes fat girls, who may be marginalized by cultural messages about the abject fat female
body interwoven throughout their everyday interactions.
Sylvie: I wasn’t what a girl should be. I was going to be a big kid. I wasn’t
necessarily going to be fat, though. It became a self-perpetuating cycle of eating to
feed myself emotionally because I didn’t fit. I think I became fat because of
circumstance. Cultural environment shaped my size.
Origins of anti-fat attitudes are found in the cultural and social milieu. Anxieties about fat also are
intensified through dominant health discourses concerning concepts, causes, and consequences of obesity
and overweight. Yet within social theory, implications of cultural and medical assumptions with regards to
overweight are being critically examined. For example, research in social psychology is starting to
investigate consequences of size stereotypes for the body and self-images of people perceived as fat,
especially kids (Eisenberg, et al., 2003; Neumark-Sztainer, et al., 1998; O’Dea & Caputi, 2001; Vessey, et
al., 2003; Young-Hyman, et al., 2003). Critical studies in sociology and health also are questioning the
impetus and implications of current conceptualizations of obesity as a disease epidemic caused by
overeating and physical inactivity (Campos, 2002; Cogan & Ernsberger, 1999; Gard & Wright, 2005;
Sobal & Maurer, 1999a, 1999b). Yet the ways in which cultural and medical assertions about weight,
activity, and appetite might affect girls’ eating and exercise remain unexplored. Also unknown are
consequences of messages for fat girls’ emerging social identities, especially their acquisition of gender.
In response to these gaps, this paper offers a feminist theory of fat based on body narratives of diverse
women who recount experiences of becoming the “fat girl” within a Canadian context. Drawing from a
broader body history research project involving 81 participants aged 20 to 45, from different social
classes, diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, and with and without disabilities, I examine consequences
of cultural messages concerning fatness and fitness conveyed to 20 contributors within their childhood
social worlds. Through analyzing narratives of events that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s when women
were under twelve years old, I document how devaluing perceptions of fat frame them as “unfit” and how
disparaging attributions also disqualify their gender. Participants’ stories trace how harmful consequences
of weight stereotyping crystallize in fat girls’ greater susceptibility to engage in problem eating and to
avoid physical activity. Furthermore, persistent negative perceptions of fatness create a difficult double
bind for women by blocking opportunities at claiming credible feminine or tomboy identities. While anti-
fat attitudes compromise their physical abilities and identity choices, contributors also show creativity at
self-making, mediating attributions of difference with improvisational identities as a constant and dynamic
241
process. In light of recent warnings raised throughout media coverage, epidemiological research, and
government reports about the obesity epidemic among kids, I conclude with a discussion of study
implications for feminist research and praxis.
Acquiring an unfit identity
Salima: My mom would ask me to go down the store. I had so much anxiety about
that… I think it was because of being overweight and people commenting even though
that’s not what I thought consciously. All I knew then was that it was uncomfortable
to go outside.
Women with differences in size recount how they were rendered as physically and also as socially unfit
through the on-going dialogue of their social relations. This included the symbolic systems, physical
environments, spatial arrangements, and visual, verbal, and even physically violent exchanges, which
taught them they transgressed the culturally normal body. For most contributors, negative perceptions of
fatness became increasingly commonplace as they moved through childhood, occurring at home, on the
street, and especially at school. Stereotypes concerning size also were cumulative, recurring in
relationships with parents, peers, teachers, health providers, strangers, and others. According to women’s
narratives, memorable anti-fat attitudes received through cultural representations gained meaning and
momentum in everyday interactions. When images and messages resonated across situations, they had
significant implications for participants’ developing sense of body and self.
Learning size differences
Participants tell how critical comparisons and comments were the most memorable sources of cultural
knowledge about body size binaries. For most women, including Aurora, parents and family members first
imparted significance of size differences through body-based comparisons with sisters, cousins, and
female friends.
Aurora: My sister is chubbier. They’d always make that distinction. I was ‘la flaca’,
and she was ‘la gorda’. Together, we make the perfect ten. It was terrible. They’re
lavishing on me and disregarding her…
As a result of body-based comparisons, a majority of women acquired consciousness of unequal values

given to different sizes. Stories of Catherine, Gayle, and many others further suggest that gendered power
relations operating in encounters with fathers, brothers, and other boys frequently opened up big girl
bodies to a particularly critical gaze.
Catherine: My brother started to give me the nickname Moose or Cow. Those names
hurt. But I wasn’t aware of it and that it wasn’t negative until people started to
comment.
Gayle: In Grade 4, Thomas Lum, yelled out at me, “Fat.” I tried to run after him and
catch him, but I’m not built to run. I thought, “My God, I am fat.” That was the first
time I can remember it really impacting on me. From that point on, things went
downhill with my attitude with my body.
Through greater power given to their harsh and harassing comments, boys and men dictated anti-fat
attitudes that informed women’s body and self-perceptions. For many, designation of their bodies as “fat”
laid the foundation for their forced accommodation to an unfit identity, imbued with incapacities
associated with female fatness that negatively affected and shaped their embodied being in the world.
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State-sponsored fatness prevention/fitness promotion heightens consciousness of size
Since the 1970s, the Canadian state, like other western nations, has initiated
education campaigns intended to improve the health and fitness of citizens
through promotion of physical activity (Rootman & Edwards, 2004).
Memorable messages for many women interviewed were state-sponsored
fitness tests delivered through school physical education curricula and public
service announcements (PSAs) disseminated through television and print
media. In one PSA entitled “FitFat” that ran throughout major Canadian
media in the late 1970s, for example, an ungainly, chubby “a” cartoon
character was contrasted with an able, slimmed down “i” figure (Lagarde,
2004). By visually and vocally linking thinness with fitness and by
positioning fit as opposite to fat, this clip conveyed that fatness and fitness
could not coincide in the same body. Importantly, few women in this study
could vaguely recall contents of messages. Yet as Maude’s story illustrates,
they vividly recount consequences of them, which included instilling a
nascent sense that their bodies were in some way bad or wrong.
Maude: I remember this feeling of dread when the ads came on TV. Once my father
and I were watching, I remember a man’s voice saying, “This year fat’s not where
it’s at.” This made me so self-conscious because I was already feeling bad about my
body…
Negative perceptions of fatness produce physical unfitness
For women in this study, body standards and stereotypes were communicated everywhere at school. These
were conveyed through school furniture and dress codes, playground and classroom interactions, popular
physical education pedagogies such as fitness tests and team selection, as well as classroom organizing
practices of seating arrangements, line ups, and student placement in class pictures. Entering school
environments for the first time, women-as-girls recall being grouped together by age, grade, and physical
traits under the authoritative presence of adults (James, 1995; 2000). As a result, all developed increased
consciousness of their own and other kids’ proximity to norms in height, weight, and physical ability.
Contributors tell how being positioned around certain ideas of standard bodies was a commonplace
symbolic practice that began before school age. Yet institutional practices of organizing students
according to perceived similarities and differences in age, size, height, gender, and athletic abilities
significantly shaped participants’ sense of physical identity and possibility throughout the school years.
A majority of women in this study enjoyed participation in physical education. Once identified as “the fat
girl”, however, many describe how their continual framing according to the attribution of fat rather than
by their actual and potential range of abilities eroded their physical agency. When teachers and students
rooted assessments of fat girls’ abilities in stereotypical notions concerning their size, as Iris explains, they
produced girls’ presumed lack of strength, coordination, and skill.
Iris: Once I was a fat kid, there’s limitations on your abilities. You’re unfit
basically… NO, I lost confidence in that. I didn’t like sports or gym. Not because I
couldn’t actually perform the sports. It’s because I didn’t like being taunted.
Within recent feminist research, experiences of gender, race, and weight-related harassment emerge as a
major obstacle to girls’ participation in physical activity at school (Bauer, et al., 2004; Cockburn &
Clarke, 2002; Larkin & Rice, 2005). For many respondents in this study, routines and requirements of
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physical education such as fitness testing, public performance, weight measurements, and revealing
clothes also increased their exposure to the evaluative gaze of others.
Isobel: My teacher commented on how I was gaining weight, when I was about 10.
He said that I had poor eating habits. When we had to run in the gym, he said I had
problems running... It didn’t feel very good. I felt upset in front of everybody.
Gayle: My body became a source of torment. This is why I

HATE my grade 5 teacher: he had the practice of letting kids
divide up teams for sports. My best friend and I were always
picked last.
For participants of diverse sizes, stresses of size and gender differences resulted from compulsory
participation in a state-sponsored physical education curriculum called the “Canada Fitness Awards.”
Designed to improve Canadian children’s fitness levels, the program awarded gold, silver, or bronze
“medals” based on student completion of chin-up, push-up, and long jump competitions. Weighted in
favour of children with long-legs and upper body strength and against those who lacked height or well-
developed arm muscles, women describe how fitness tests tended to privilege boy over girl bodies as well
as tall over short ones. Yolanda further describes how compulsory fitness tests heightened consciousness
of her size differences, and diminished confidence in her physical abilities:
Yolanda: I wasn’t doing very well in ParticipACTION or

Fitness Canada. I didn’t like running around in shorts and
I always wore track pants… But I was active in my own
way. I biked to school, I walked to school. I was active
everyday…
Because masculine ability norms required in sport contradict feminine appearance ideals obliged by
culture (Cockburn & Clarke, 2002; Kirk & Tinning, 1994; Krane et al., 2004), interviewees encountered
critical looks and comments for failing to meet standards of the athletic boy or measure up to images of
the attractive girl. Participants of all sizes and shapes avoided physical activity to evade others’ judgments.
Yet the consequences of such marginalization were especially marked for fat girls. Seen as commensurate
with cultural standards of passive femininity, physical inability also is viewed as productive of fatness. As
a result, fat women tell how they frequently faced exclusion for having a body that failed to qualify as fit
and confronted social disapproval for their ensuing disengagement from physical activities.
As many feminist sociologists have noted, girls and women in sport commonly confront the cultural
contradiction of an active female body (Krane et al., 2004; Lenskyj, 1994; Malcolm, 2003). Because
female athletes often are evaluated according to skillful execution of sport as much as convincing
performance of femininity, they may have to meet and manage conflicting expectations of athleticism and
attractiveness to be successful in sport. For participants perceived as fat, this contradiction was especially
difficult to navigate. Seen as contravening a male athletic and female attractive body, fat athletes tell how
they encountered in sport deeply disparaging assessments of their physical performance despite their
display of skill.
Iris: I rode and I show-jumped. In my first big horse show… I remember being given
a fifth place ribbon and the judge walking up to me and saying, “Actually you
should’ve been first. But your job was to sit there and look pretty and frankly you
need to lose weight.” First, I remember feeling mad because... It wasn’t my horse’s
fault the way I looked, she’d done her job beautifully. I should by all rights have been
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first. And he was denying it to me on my appearance. That’s when things really sort
of hit home that these things were very important.
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Fatness signifies personal and social unfitness
In a culture that equates merit and morality with body size conformity, women’s narratives imply that
fatness becomes a physical marker of personal disorder as well as a bodily sign of social unfitness. This is
especially evident in narratives of women who attended segregated schools for kids with disabilities. At
Gina’s school, for example, officials separated and regulated the eating of students perceived as fat.
Segregation of fat kids with disabilities created an identifiable group of “others,” who were doubly
disabled by the perception that they were incapable of maintaining control over their eating and weight.
Gina: They had definite ideas about kids with disabilities, it was this institutional
attitude. They stuck any kids that they perceived to be too big or too fat on the diet
table in the cafeteria, right? For years, myself and a number of my friends were on
this diet table. Nothing reinforces that more because then your peers are on this side
of the wall, you’re on that side of the wall and they’re telling you that that you are
being segregated… That was very damaging because it was at public school and
everybody was young and peer pressure…
For women with disabilities, cultural messages about the disabled body, such as bodily fragility,
vulnerability, and dependency (Rogers & Swadener, 2001), intersected with messages about the fat form,
including incapacity, overindulgence, and lack of restraint or will power (Bordo, 1993; LeBesco, 2004).
Although both bodily differences were interpreted as impairments that needed fixing, cultural treatment of
disability as an inherent attribute contrasted sharply with framing of fatness as an intentional act. Fat
disabled kids were regulated because their fatness was seen as a deliberate action that further impaired an
unfit form. Fatness signified surrender of the disabled child’s self to excessive appetites that could be
restrained only through greater control of the already incapacitated body.
According to contributors, being a big girl was not the equivalent of being a fat girl. Significantly,
women’s bigness became fatness within environments that produced girls’ social and physical unfitness
and lead to exercise habits typically associated with fat. Fat became a problem for participants because it
emerged out of a disordered relationship between big girls and social relations that refused to see female
physical and social fitness as anything but a thin and able form.
Other-gendering fat girls
Erum: The boys would say “you’re fat” and the girls would say “that fat girl.” Guys
would call girls fat more than girls would call girls fat. “You’re fat. Get away from
me.”
Fat becomes a dominating identity:
For most participants, fat became a major marker of place and power in girlhood and, for many, a
dominating identity they have carried throughout their lives. Framed first as ‘unfit’ fat kids and only
secondarily as girls with other identities, characteristics, abilities, and aspirations they learned, like
Marianne, “to collapse people’s negative reactions into my size.” Gina, too, describes how she was
haunted by negative perceptions of her physical differences, which caused her to become confused about
whether “I’m unattractive because I’m overweight, disabled, or because I’m disabled and overweight.”
Throughout their accounts, size intermingled with and/or overrode other devalued differences inscribed on
women’s bodies, becoming a defining characteristic thought to express something essentially faulty or
flawed about them (Degher & Hughes, 1999). For example, combined racial, disability, and weight-
related harassment made it difficult for racialized women and those with disabilities to distinguish which
physical differences were being devalued within interactions. Yet when fatness was framed as a personal
246
flaw or moral failure at home and school, as Leigh testifies, it became a recurring source of shame.
Leigh: I was the only Chinese kid in class. So I didn’t know: “Are they picking on
because I’m Chinese or are they picking on me because I’m bigger than they are?”
Of course it’s obvious by the name they are calling you when they are picking on you
but sometimes it is not that easy to differentiate… More from my family that I was
given all these comments and made to feel bad about myself. People talk about
overweight people being shamed into losing the weight. I don’t know how they ever
thought that shame would work. But I guess that’s what my mom thought that she
would do. What my mom taunted me with was also heard by my siblings. I guess
that’s what bothered me the most, that they learned this from my mother.
Fat obstructs effects at establishing credible feminine and tomboy identities
Women’s narratives illustrate how gender became a core definition of the self in childhood. Rather than
being a cohesive identity, salience of gender shifted in social situations and in intermingling with other
identities (Thorne, 1999). While gender fluidity was a significant feature of their childhood accounts,
gender identities frequently became fixed in a negative direction by devaluation of women’s size
differences. Fat women tell how they were perceived to possess a body that “other-gendered” them within
interactions as “improper”, “odd”, or “not” girls. Gayle, for instance, describes how peer perceptions of fat
positioned her as other than feminine girl:
Gayle: I was made to feel like an improper female. If I showed any signs of
femininity. In grade 3, I liked a boy. There was nothing remotely sexual. He had the
best sense of humour and I really liked him. “Look, he’s your boyfriend!” “Oooh,
you like him!” That was a total shock to me, having to watch your actions so that they
can’t be construed as you like someone… I was having enough dealings with being
“fat ol’ Gayle, fat stupid Gayle.” My “fat, ugly” label stuck and I was pretty much a
loser, weird Gayle.
For women in this study, failing at becoming a feminine girl often opened up other possibilities for
gender. The in-between status of tomboy enabled many to express attributes that the feminine girl
discourse disallowed, such as athleticism, competitiveness, curiosity, and strength (Davies, 2002; Thorne,
1997). Once given the attribution of ‘fat’, however, women found their status as tomboy was difficult to
sustain. When cultural meanings of boy bodies as wiry, gutsy, and strong conflicted with interpretations of
fat bodies as inert, inept, and weak, participants perceived as fat frequently faced disqualification from
tomboy identities through exclusion from tomboy pursuits. While many continued to participate in male-
coded activities, designation of tomboy meant these now belonged to the male domain. As a result,
women of all sizes encountered increased social pressure to relinquish tomboy identities as they
approached adolescence to avoid renouncing femaleness and heterosexuality (Barden, 2001).
Size intermingling with other differences disqualifies gender
Black and other racialised women indicate that images of an attractive female body spanned a broader
range of sizes and shapes in their communities than in mainstream contexts. However, those in this cohort
grew up during a time when communities of colour comprised less than 5% of the Canadian population
(Statistics Canada, 2003).1 For this reason, most contributors recall being one of only a few children
within their communities and schools identified as an ethno-racial minority. Coming of age at a time prior
to the existence of segmented television channels, Black and other racialized women in this study also had
little access to an alternative cultural imaginary in which to revision beauty. Subjected to racial othering
and to racial isolation within social and cultural landscapes of childhood, many lacked a cultural or
247
community context in which to develop a critical consciousness about racist beauty ideals or to imagine an
alternative body aesthetic (Poran, 2004). As a result, many, including Sharon, tell how negative
perceptions of their colour combined with negative perceptions of their size to disqualify their gender:
Sharon: I didn’t feel like a girl. Do girl things. I was not a girl, not a boy, just
someone existing. Then compound that with being a black female. It’s even worse
‘cause you feel, Jesus, I’m nowhere. ‘Cause it’s bad enough being a white little girl
and you’re fat. But when you’re fat and you’re black, it’s like holy fuck. That’s like
the lowest. The worst thing you could ever be.
Black feminists have analyzed how black women are seen as more masculine, aggressive, and athletic
within dominant discourses of femininity (Hammonds, 1999; Hill Collins, 2004). African-Caribbean
Canadian women suggest that meanings of female blackness as more masculine may intermingle
meanings of fatness as less vital, active, and able to position them as other than boy or girl.
Compliance with culturally feminine bodies is secured through surveillance and violence
Women further reveal how surveillance and control of big girls’ bodies caused many to develop problem
eating practices, including dieting, bingeing, and starving. When those perceived as fat failed to “qualify”
as girls, doctors, mothers, and others encouraged and enforced dieting routines as a strategy for re-making
their bodies to fit gendered size norms. While others justified dieting using discourses of healthy weights,
concern over health masked deeper anxieties regarding girls’ adherence to a culturally feminine body.
Pressures to comply with cultural constructions of the feminine girl were closely connected to pressures to
adapt to cultural weight norms (McKinley, 1999). As Sharon illustrates, messages about healthy weights
augmented messages about femininity to enforce adherence to both imperatives.
Sharon: I was 8 or 9, and my doctor said, “You should try and lose some weight.
Don’t you want to go to your high school prom?” He said that boys don’t go out with
fat girls. So I fucked off with that doctor. I told my mother I’m not going to him.
Cause my mother was there when he said this. She sat there quietly. She had brought
me to him to try and help me to lose weight. …They put me on pills. They just made
me sleep. I didn’t lose weight... I liked food, too. So don’t tell a kid, okay she’s a little
big, but Jesus Christ, she wants to eat. That was when I started to hide the food…
For most participants in this study, regulation of weight through enforced dieting routines resulted in life
long struggles with food and eating. Some women developed compulsive, binge, and secretive eating
practices as a direct response to adult interventions. Others took up extreme dieting, anorexic, and bulimic
practices in the transition to womanhood when they faced increased pressure to look and appear as
desirable. Because it was considered a failure, default, or rebellion against cultural notions of female
attractiveness, fatness in girls—as Katerina vividly illustrates—was treated as a very significant, symbolic,
and threatening state of embodied being (Millman, 1980).
Katerina: I’ll never forget this, she was walking home… A bunch of boys got together
and they spit all over her. Her jacket was covered in spit. That’s when her mother
complained. Cause that was…abuse. To this day I can’t believe that they did that to
her. Her mother brought the jacket to school and said, “Look at this. This is what
they did to my daughter.”
Many social commentators starting with Foucault have argued that power in modern society operates
indirectly through creating desire within people for conformity to a normal body (Foucault, 1980, 2003).
248
Women in this study testify that girls’ compliance with gendered size norms also is secured through direct,
repressive, and often violent control of their bodies and appetites.
Contesting negative meanings
Iris: Before I was overweight I was a fairly confident kid. But once I was overweight,
the children’s chants… I got beaten up quite often. …It took a long time for my
confidence to be beaten down, I still fairly outgoing and trying to do well in school. I
was very creative...
Mediating attributions of difference to improvise identities
Women’s stories reveal that they possessed limited power and resources in girlhood to challenge the
intense emotions of contempt and fear that female fatness aroused. Yet they still found creative strategies
to contest received meanings and improvise unique identities. Some took on a comedic role to ameliorate
peers’ disparaging perceptions. Many focused on developing intellectually or artistically as a method of
divesting themselves from the devalued trait. A few, including Leila, asserted their physical abilities
despite stereotypic perceptions of unfitness, by reversing the cliché of the fat girl being chosen last:
Leila: If I wasn’t the team captain, I was chosen last. Most of the time I was the team
captain, I made sure of that. My momma didn’t raise no fool. [laughs] But I always
tried to be the team captain so I wouldn’t have the rejection of being last….
Exploiting cultural associations of size with aggression and masculinity, some fat women resorted to
violence to resist negative attributions. Boys responded to fat girls’ aggression with vengeance because
girls’ use of physical violence flaunted the power of fat female bodies, challenging the lowly place of fat
girls on the social landscape as they understood it.
Sylvie: I was fighting this boy, who I knew I could beat up. But he was one of the
popular boys and the other kids knew that, and so all the boys got in a circle. We’re
having a fight in the schoolyard and I started winning and the boy started to get
really angry. He stopped fighting and another boy took his place. Then when the
other boy got tired, another boy took his place. So all of them fought me and after a
while, you’re going to get tired, because you can’t fight everybody, and I got
exhausted. Then they all started pounding me. So they were putting me in my place.
The narratives show that women perceived as fat creatively and continually resisted forced reconciliation
to an unfit identity. All in this study attempted to preserve a positive sense of themselves despite
devaluation of body differences. Yet they also describe how others’ regulation and retaliation eventually
undermined their capacities for action. Negative consequences of others’ perceptions of fatness were
especially marked in the transition to womanhood, when participants faced greater pressure to assert
credible gender and sexual identities to “qualify” as women. Women’s stories indicate that fat has become
a major marker of difference for girls growing up in the west. Size has joined sex, disability, and race as a
powerful visual symbol of devalued identity that positions girls as deficiently different and undermines
their sense of identity and possibility as they make their way in our increasingly body-centred world.
Conclusion
Over the past three decades, obesity and overweight have been reframed. Once seen as an uncertain
condition that increased individuals’ susceptibility to future chronic illness, obesity now is interpreted as a
dangerous disease of epidemic proportions. Yet designation of obesity as a contagious disease may have
249
serious costs and consequences for the bodies and lives of people perceived as fat, especially kids.
According to women in this study, anti-fat attitudes make possible and permissible combined gender, race,
and weight-related harassment that undermines fat girls’ bodily self-images. Such attitudes also are
supported by pedagogical practices of weight measures, fitness tests, revealing clothes, and team selection
in physical education that encourage and enforce body hierarchies at school. From perspectives of
participants, negative perceptions and practices likely do little to promote physical fitness in girls. Instead,
by framing them as unfit, anti-fat discourses may produce fat girls’ presumed lack of physical ability,
strength, and skill. Finally, fear of bodily difference that fuels adult imposition of dieting routines
typically results in big girls’ development of problem eating, including bingeing, yo-yo dieting, bulimia,
and anorexia. Ironically, women’s experiences indicate that anti-fat perceptions and practices may be
productive of the very behaviours and bodies that they are attempting to prevent.
Within contemporary discourses, causes and cures of obesity span from the individual realm of biology
and behaviour to the social realm of the environment (Lawrence, 2004). Individualized frameworks that
limit causes of obesity to bodies and behaviours confine solutions to information or interventions intended
to alter people’s weights through changing eating and/or exercise. In shifting burden and blame for fat
from unhealthy individuals to unhealthy environments, systemic frameworks emphasize changing social
conditions that cause fat (Fairburn & Brownell, 2002; Lawrence, 2004). Yet women’s body histories
reveal how size is a social form produced at the intersection of biology and culture, where the unfit fat
body is made from interactions of large bodies, cultural representations, and social practices that shape
bodies of size. Broadening the focus beyond personal to social responsibility is an important step in
identifying social factors that may be productive of health problems associated with fat. However, in re-
framing obesity as a disturbance or disease of the social body (Lovejoy, 2001), systemic approaches do
little to disrupt cultural devaluation of fat. Instead, fatness remains a powerful cultural signifier of body
otherness through conflation of body size with health status.
Women in this study suggest that fatness prevention/fitness promotion discourses commonplace in 1970s
and 1980s contributed to problem eating and exercise practices. According to contributors’ accounts,
messages that fixed fat as unhealthy and unfit also fueled anti-fat attitudes circulating throughout social
spaces and relationships, which caused them to avoid physical activities, engage in secretive eating, and
eventually gain weight. Their narratives show how designating obesity as a dangerous disease supports
morally-laden health discourses and pedagogical practices that fix fat bodies as unfit. With a renewed
focus on fatness prevention through greater dietary restraint and physical education, today’s obesity
epidemic proponents likewise may lead a current cohort of large kids to adopt eating problems and to
avoid physical activities, possibility contributing to their increased overweight. Rather than endorsing
perspectives with potentially harmful effects, a preferred approach may be to intervene in aspects of
physical, social, and cultural environments that obstruct girls’ efforts at developing or maintaining good
eating and exercise habits. For example, a “body equity” approach that advocates greater acceptance and
inclusion of diverse bodies would enhance girls’ body images, opportunities to explore enjoyable physical
activities, and capacities to make good food choices (Rice & Russell, 2002).
The present study is an opening conversation about the ways in which cultural messages adversely affect
the bodies and lives of girls and women perceived as fat. More research is needed to understand
implications of size stereotypes and stigma for diverse groups, especially fat girls coming of age in a
cultural milieu that is ever more rejecting of fat. Insights that emerge from contributors’ accounts suggest
that feminist and poststructuralist perspectives may illuminate the role of cultural meanings in making fat
bodies. To expand lines of inquiry into fat from medical and scientific domains to the social and cultural
terrain, a critical fat studies may be needed. Critical fat studies would explore emergence and operations
of size differences within cultural representations and social relations. It would investigate how fat
intersects with gender, disability, class, race, and nation to affect the bodies and lives of diverse
individuals and groups. Such scholarship also could engage critically with medical and scientific
250
knowledges and encourage more respectful responses to fat bodies. Finally, critical fat studies would open
up space for thinking about other ways to approach the relationship of fatness to fitness and health. This
might involve moving away from cultural practices of enforcing body norms and toward more creative
endeavors of exploring physical abilities and possibilities unique to different bodies. In a social world that
is as generative as it is dismissive of fat, such a stance might go a long way in remaking devalued size
differences into inhabitable identities.
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1
The “visible minority” population in Canada has grown in the past twenty five years from an estimated 5
percent of the population in 1981 to 13.4 percent in 2001, mainly due to changes in racist immigration
policies (Chard and Renaud, 1999; Boyd and Vickers, 2000; Statistics Canada, 2003). In 2001, South
Asian, Asian, and African Canadians comprised the largest racialized groups in Canada, and were
concentrated in metropolitan areas of Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal (Chard and Renaud, 1999;
Statistics Canada, 2003). While most racialized women in this study grew up in major urban centres, many
came of age before the cultural and racial landscapes of cities changed. As with those who inhabited small
254
cities or towns, they recall being one of only a few children within their communities and schools
identified as an ethno-racial minority.
255
Examining how social supports assist adolescent girls to negotiate

constraints to physical activity
LINDSAY RICHARDSON
Halifax, Canada
lrichardson@dal.ca
Physical inactivity is a common trend among Canadian girls. Currently, 64% of Canadian females are
considered inactive (CFLRI-2002). There is a need to identify what promotes or prevents girls from being
active. The purpose of this mixed methods research project was to examine how social supports assist
adolescent girls to negotiate constraints to physical activity. Data collection consisted of semi-structured
in depth interviews examining what form (parent, peer, sibling) and mode (informational, emotional,
instrumental) of social support assisted participants to negotiate constraints to activity. Initial results
reveal that social supports play a vital role in adolescents’ ability to negotiate constraints.
Comment le soutien social aide les adolescentes à négocier

les contraintes faisant obstacle à l’activité physique
Le manque d’activité physique est une tendance courante parmi les jeunes Canadiennes. Actuellement,
64% des Canadiennes sont considérées comme inactives (CFLRI-2002). Il faut identifier ce qui encourage
ou empêche les filles d’être actives physiquement. L’objectif de ces méthodes de recherche mixtes était
d’examiner comment les appuis sociaux aident les adolescentes à négocier les contraintes qui les
empêchent d’être actives physiquement. Les données recueillies consistaient en des entrevues de fond
assez bien structurées pour examiner quelle forme (parent, camarade, frère ou sœur) et quel mode
(informationnel, émotionnel, instrumental) de soutien social était mis à la disposition des participantes
pour négocier les obstacles à l’activité. Les premiers résultats révèlent que le soutien social joue un rôle
essentiel dans la capacité des adolescentes à négocier les contraintes.
Introduction
Increasing inactivity is becoming an alarming trend among Canadian youth. According to the Canadian
Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute (CFLRI, 2000), 57% of Canadians between the ages of 5-17 are
not active enough to receive health benefits. This is especially true of adolescent females who are less
active than their male peers. Currently, 64% of Canadian females are considered inactive compared with
only 48% of males (CFLRI, 2002). This puts females at a higher risk of developing a number of negative
health concerns later in life. Examples of these health concerns include obesity, coronary heart disease,
type II diabetes, and osteoporosis (DiLorenzo, Stucky-Ropp, Vander Wal, & Gotham, 1998). Promoting
physically active leisure during adolescence and educating girls on the importance of physical activity
may decrease the risk of developing a variety of these health concerns (Duncan, Duncan & Strycker,
2005). As a result, a need exists to understand what promotes or prevents physical activity in adolescent
females.
Much of the current research on physical activity and youth has focused on quantifying physical activity
levels. For example, many studies have examined the types of activities youth are engaged in, how
strenuous the activities are, how often they are engaging in them, and for how long they engage in them
(Kriska & Caspersen, 1997). This research has established how active youth are and in what types of
activities they choose to engage. Yet, large gaps remain in understanding youth physical activity. Why are
256
some adolescent girls more active than others? What can be done to promote physical activity among
adolescent girls? Do girls experience more constraints to physical activity? The purpose of this paper is to
outline a mixed methods research project that examined how social supports assisted adolescent girls to
negotiate constraints to physical activity. Social support is defined as information received from others
that one is loved, cared for, respected, valued and part of a network of communication and obligations
(Taylor, 1999). Furthermore, it has been identified as a key correlate of physical activity and may help
adolescent females cope with constraints to being active (Sallis, Prochaska, & Taylor, 2000). Constraints
are defined as factors perceived by an individual that inhibit or prohibit their participation or enjoyment in
leisure (Jackson, 1991). Negotiation strategies may allow an individual to participate despite the presence
of constraints. However, there is little information outlining how individuals negotiate constraints
(Jackson, Crawford, & Godbey, 1993).
Method
Data collection was conducted using semi-structured in depth interviews with eight females in grade
seven. Interviews examined what form (parent, peer, sibling) and mode (informational, emotional,
instrumental) of social support best assisted them to negotiate constraints to physical activity. Interview
questions were used to gain insight into; support from parents, peers and siblings, negotiation techniques,
perceived constraints, and modes of support. Examples of questions included: who assists you to be
active, what makes it easy/hard to do physical activity, and can you tell me about a time when you thought
you could not participate in an activity but you were actually able to? All interviews were audiotaped,
transcribed and thematically analyzed.
Accelerometers were also worn for seven days to determine how active participants were and if there was
a difference between modes and types of social support between adolescent girls who were active, versus
those who were inactive. An accelerometer is a small measurement tool worn on the hip and designed to
detect vertical accelerations ranging from 0.05 to 2.00 G’s with a frequency response of 0.25 to 2.50 Hertz
(Trost, Pate, Freedson, Sallis & Taylor, 2000). The accelerometer signal is digitized, summed over a
specific period of time, and stored in memory (Trost, et al., 2000). As a result, accelerometers provide
information on total minutes and intensity of physical activity or inactivity. Accelerometer’s also provided
information on activity data from different time periods (e.g. after school, before school, during school,
weekends). The validity, reliability, and accuracy of this tool has previously been established for use with
children and youth (Janz, 1994).
Initial findings
Initial findings from the interviews indicate that all participants experienced some form of interpersonal,
intrapersonal, and structural constraints within the activities they participated in: both within school
(Physical Education, teams, and clubs) and outside of school. Constraints encountered, and the role of
social supports in assisting participants to negotiate those constraints, will now be discussed.
Constraints
Participants identified a number of constraints that impacted their physical activity. Specific constraints
that emerged throughout the interviews included; time constraints (e.g. conflicting schedules, homework),
social constraints (e.g. lacking friends to participate with, experiencing negative situations with male
peers, coaches, and teammates ), skill constraints (e.g. not feeling confident with skill levels, feeling
pressure to perform) and fear (e.g. getting hurt, pain). These constraints produced different outcomes and
were divided into three categories: those that influenced enjoyment, those that impacted the ability to
participate and those that prevented physical activity. The latter constraints were most often associated
with social constraints such as isolation and not having someone to participate with. These constraints
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were of particular concern since they prevented participation in activities all together. As one participant
commented, “If I wanna go to like the skate and none of my friends go then…I like wanna go, but then
none of my friends go, so I don’t know anybody, so I just don’t go.”
Participants also appeared to encounter both real and perceived constraints to physical activity. Real
constraints were constraints experienced by the participants (e.g. no transportation, no companion).
Meanwhile perceived constraints were not necessarily encountered, but merely anticipated. This was
especially true of fear constraints. Many participants said that they did not want to participate in physical
activity if they thought that they would get hurt, if they knew someone who was hurt or if they had been
hurt previously while attempting an activity. This was evident in the following dialogue:
Interviewer: And is there a reason why you haven’t tried some of those activities yet?
Participant: Cause [name of sister] got like, like one time she got tackled in one of
them. So I’m like “I don’t know if I want to try this.”
Interviewer: Oh wow. What sport was that?
Participant: Rugby.
Interviewer: Oh wow. Um, so, I’m sensing that you don’t do a lot of sports or things
like that. Is it just that you don’t like them? Or like what, what prevents you from
doing them.
Participant: Well some of them, my friends have got hurt playing it and like, I don’t
want to get hurt. Cause I already broke my arm before playing soccer.
Participants also stated that the fear of getting emotionally hurt and the fear of not performing up to
“expectation” impacted their physical activity. It appeared that participants were afraid of being ridiculed
or embarrassed. Finally, participants felt constrained if they felt that they did not have the skill or ability to
perform the desired activity.
Social supports
Parents, peers, siblings and coaches were identified as key influences in promoting or preventing physical
activity among the adolescent girls. Although all types of support influenced physical activity, parents and
peers were identified as the most important individuals in promoting physical activity among the
participants. Furthermore, social supports assisted participants to negotiate constraints in emotional
(positively encouraging participation, watching and cheering), informational (providing information about
activities, times and locations) and instrumental (participating with, providing instruction and providing
transportation) ways. Of the three types of support, instrumental support made the biggest impact on the
participant’s desire and ability to be active. Instrumental support was provided by all types of supports;
parents, peers, siblings, and coaches. Participants also identified receiving emotional support from parents,
coaches, and siblings and informational support from parents and girlfriends. Male peers were also a topic
of discussion among the participants. For the most part participants stated that participating with boys did
not impact their physical activity. Many participants commented that they felt comfortable and enjoyed
participating with the boys. However, some boys negatively influenced physical activity by “stacking”
teams, misbehaving or screaming negative comments.
Accelerometers
Of the eight participants, only three met physical activity guidelines. These guidelines require that an
individual accumulates at least 60 minutes of moderate to hard physical activity on five or more days of
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the week. The three participants who met guidelines did so on six days of the week and averaged
approximately 96 minutes per day. The participants who did not meet physical activity guidelines only
achieved 60 minutes of physical activity between 0-3 days of the week and averaged approximately 43
minutes per day. After reviewing the accelerometer data and the transcripts there did not appear to be a
difference in the types and modes of social support received among participants who met guidelines and
those who did not. Both groups identified receiving emotional, informational, and instrumental support
from a variety of sources. Interestingly, the participant who appeared to receive the least amount of social
support accumulated the highest amount of physical activity. Meanwhile, a participant who identified
receiving a lot of social support did not meet recommended guidelines.
Discussion
Findings from this study revealed that social supports play a key role in assisting adolescent girls to
negotiate constraints to physical activity. Similar to findings by Kay and Jackson (1991) participants
within this study experienced both constraints to enjoyment and constraints to participation. Of interest
was the fact that several participants identified encountering constraints that prevented their participation
in activities all together. These constraints tended to be intrapersonal in nature and included lacking a
companion, feeling isolated and not knowing anyone at an activity. This type of constraint also prevented
participants from trying new activities. As one participant commented, “I really wanted to go fencing but
then when I found out that you had to do it with people I didn’t know, I didn’t, I just didn’t feel
comfortable doing that so I decided not to.” Jackson, Crawford and Godbey (1993) highlighted the
importance of intrapersonal constraints, however for participants in this study, these constraints were
extremely pressing. It is necessary to further examine intrapersonal constraints in order to minimize the
impact they have on physically active leisure.
Findings also support research conducted by Jackson and Rucks (1995) which showed that individuals use
both behavioral and cognitive strategies to negotiate constraints. In the case of the adolescent participants,
social supports played a key role (emotionally, instrumentally, and informationally) in assisting them to
employ both of these negotiation strategies. Specific techniques that social supports assisted the
participants to use included obtaining transportation, finding someone else to participate with, gaining or
improving skills, increasing self esteem and taking risks. Participants also used their own negotiate
techniques such as altering schedules or companions. Findings also support research conducted by James
(2000), which examined how girls’ physical activity were impacted by feelings of embarrassment and
self-consciousness. Within this study, participants discussed being constrained by fears of being ridiculed
(from opposing teams or teammates), and fears of not performing up to expectation (in front of parents
and coaches).
An interesting finding that emerged from the interviews was participants’ views on their male peers. For
the most part, participants stated that engaging in physical activity with male peers was fun, motivated
them to try harder and was just another social group to be active with. One participant even stated that
having PE with the boys was “actually better for the girls.” She felt this way because “[the boys] help out
the girls more… they are good at chucking balls and stuff… so that helps.” This contradicts research
conducted by James (2000) which stated that girls often don’t enjoy sharing leisure space with boys and
fear negative appraisal by them. As a result, findings from this study may suggest that there is a need to
revisit girl’s attitudes towards physical activity and boys.
Finally, this study contributes to the large amount of quantitative research that has examined physical
activity and social support (Leslie, Owen, Salmon, Bauman, Sallis, & Kai Lo, 1999; Prochaska, Rodgers,
& Sallis, 2002; Sallis, Prochaska, & Taylor, 2000). To date, much quantitative research has lead to
inconsistent findings in regards to the impact that social supports have on physical activity. As a result,
this study contributes to the larger body of quantitative data by providing a deeper understanding of the
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context and effects of supports and constraints on adolescent physical activity. However, similar to the
aforementioned quantitative research, findings from this study revealed the complex and intertwined
nature of factors influencing physical activity in adolescent populations. For example, constraints revealed
by participants were diverse and extended beyond interpersonal and intrapersonal factors into the broader
environment (e.g. location of facilities, seasonality, and availability of programs). This supports the use of
social ecological models in understanding the broad relationship between individuals, physical activity
and their surrounding social and physical environments.
In conclusion, further examination of the interpersonal, intrapersonal, and environmental factors

influencing adolescent physical activity is needed to broaden our understanding of this phenomenon.
Future research questions could examine how sharing physically active environments impacts the leisure
of both adolescent males and females, how environment’s can be structured to minimize constraints for
adolescent girls, what prevents girls from joining or participating alone and what can be done to promote
participation regardless of having a companion.
References
Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute. (2000). Increasing physical activity: Supporting
children’s participation. Retrieved January 15, 2005, from http://www.cflri.ca/pdf/e/2000.pdf.
Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute. (2002). Physical activity monitor. Retrieved February
6, 2005, from www.cflri.ca.
DiLorenzo, T. M., Stucky-Ropp, R. C., Vander Wal, J. S., & Gotham, H. J. (1998). Determinants of
exercise among children. II. A longitudinal analysis. Preventive Medicine, 27, 470-477.
Duncan, S. C., Duncan, T. E., & Strycker, L. A. (2005). Sources and types of social support in youth
physical activity. Health Psychology, 24 (1), 3-10.
Jackson, E. L. (1991). Leisure constraints/ constrained leisure: Special issue introduction. Leisure
Sciences, 23, 279-285.
Jackson, E. L., Crawford, D. W. & Godbey, G. (1993). Negotiation of leisure constraints. Leisure
Sciences, 15 (1), 1-11.
Jackson, E. L., & Rucks, V. C. (1995). Negotiation of leisure constraints by junior-high and high-school
students: An exploratory study. Journal of Leisure Research, 27 (1), 85-105.
James, K. (2000). “You can feel them looking at you”: The experiences of adolescent girls at swimming
pools. Journal of Leisure Research, 32, 262-280.
Janz, K. F. (1994). Validation of the CSA accelerometer for assessing children’s physical activity.
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 26, 369-375.
Kay, T., & Jackson, G. (1991). Leisure despite constraint: The impact of leisure constraints on leisure
participation. Journal of Leisure Research, 23, 301-313.
Kriska, A. M., & Caspersen, C. J. (Eds.). (1997). A collection of physical activity questionnaires for
health-related research. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 29 (6).
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Leslie, E., Owen, N., Salmon, J., Bauman, A., Sallis, J. F., Kai Lo, S. (1999). Insufficiency in active
Australian college students: Perceived personal, social, and environmental influences. Preventive
Medicine, 28, 20-27.
Prochaska, J. J., Rodgers, M. W., Sallis, J. F. (2002). Association of parent and peers support with
adolescent physical activity. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 73, 206-210.
Sallis, J. F., Prochaska, J. J., & Taylor, W. C. (2000). A review of correlates of physical activity of
children and adolescents. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 32, 963-975.
Taylor, S. E. (1999). Health Psychology 4th Edition.Toronto: McGraw Hill.
Trost, S. G., Pate, R. R., Freedson, P. S., Sallis, J. F., & Taylor, W. C. (2000). Using objective physical
activity measures with youth: How many days of monitoring are needed? Medicine and Science in Sports
and Medicine, 32, 426-431.
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The Women & Health Project:

Transformative learning in a women’s health activist group
JILL RITCHIE
St. Francis Xavier University
Peterborough, Canada
jill.ritchie@sympatico.ca
The Women and Health Project (WHP) was a feminist health collective active in a mid-sized Ontario
community from 1993 until approximately 2002. This research study examined whether the members of
the WHP experienced transformative learning and whether this transformation was ongoing. The research
project participants indicated that being involved in the group resulted in transformative learning in four
areas. These are: their view of women’s health issues, their understanding of the lives young women in
high school, their own ability to contribute to community development, and their ability to be critical
consumers of media and products.
Apprentissage transformatif dans un groupe d’activisme pour la santé des femmes
Le projet Femmes et Santé (WHP) était un collectif féministe de santé organisé dans une communauté de
taille moyenne de l’Ontario de 1993 à 2002. Cette recherche a cherché à savoir si les membres du WHP
faisaient l’expérience de l’apprentissage transformatif et si cette transformation se poursuivait. Les
participantes au projet de recherche ont indiqué que leur implication dans le groupe avait eu des résultats
en apprentissage transformatif dans quatre domaines : leur point de vue sur les questions de santé des
femmes, leur compréhension de la vie des jeunes filles des écoles secondaires, leur propre capacité à
contribuer au développement de leur communauté et leur aptitude à devenir des consommatrices critiques
des médias et des produits.
Introduction
On a wintry evening in 1993, in a cluttered basement office, a group of young women gathers around a
pile of fashion magazines and research articles about women’s health. One woman tears an advertisement
for sanitary pads out of a magazine and passes it around for other members of the group to see. Another
woman reads aloud from an article in a medical journal on women’s health issues. Yet, another woman
sends around a list of local retailers that offer alternative menstrual products. The group discusses a
workshop they will be sharing with local high school students. The room is buzzing with activity and
laughter. Each member seems enthusiastic about her plans. It is a meeting of the Women and Health
Project (WHP).
The Women and Health Project was a group of young women who created a women’s health education
program in a mid-sized Ontario community. The group was primarily student volunteers from a wide
range of academic disciplines who were interested and passionate about creating feminist health education
resources for young women in the community. The groups’ activities included presentations to local high
school health classes on health and environmental issues, education events, media campaigns, community
workshops, and ‘teach-in’ pot lucks. The group created a variety of resources including a volunteer
training manual.
I was a member of the WHP from 1993 until 1996. It was my first exposure to a feminist community
activist group. During my involvement with the WHP, I gained skills, knowledge, and experience that had
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a significant impact on my personal and professional development. It led me to become deeply involved in
local environmental and social justice activism.
The question posed for this inquiry was: To what extent would the participatory activities and experiences
of a small group of women who engaged in an activist project prove to be transformative and long lasting
for the participants? Cranton (2003) defines transformative learning as a process of examining,
questioning, validating, and revising one’s perceptions of one’s experiences. I wanted to learn to what
extent their involvement in the group lead them to examine and revise their perspectives. I also wanted to
gain a better understanding of how this group created an environment that fostered transformative
learning. I wanted to know more about the extent to which members had been changed by the experience.
In addition, I wanted to learn more about the long term impact of this transformative learning. Did the
effects of the transformed perspectives last beyond the group experience? And, if so, in what way did it
change the lives of the participants? I was also interested in this group because all of the members were
women. Finally, I wanted to reflect upon my own experience during and since the WHP.
Theoretical framework
Cranton (1996) suggests that when emancipatory learning is the goal, the educator may facilitate the
development of a transformative learning group. She notes that “individual and social change may both be
goals of transformative group learning” (p. 32). In a transformative learning group, Cranton suggests that
“group members engage in critical reflection in order to examine their expectations, assumptions, and
perspectives about the world around them” (p. 32). She notes that, in a transformative learning group, “the
process is collaborative, but it goes beyond mutual understanding and has as a goal to effect change, either
individually or socially” (p. 30).
Carr (2003) notes that group learning is evident in Freire’s (1970/2004, 1973/1994)) discussion of
processes that promote critical consciousness. Similarly, Rindner (2004) suggests that Freire believed
personal freedom and development of the individual should occur through supported interaction with
others. She observes that Freire valued group learning over individual learning. Her article on using
empowerment for health education describes Freire’s use of culture circles to engage in dialogue and in
problem-posing education. Each culture circle consisted of a teacher and several students interacting in a
small group. The culture circles were structured so they were participant centred, not teacher centred.
Imel (1999) notes that the adult education literature on group learning, however, tends to focus on helping
learners work effectively together rather than helping them understand the learning processes that may be
occurring in the group.
Group learning has also been considered within women-centred models of adult education. Carr (2003)
suggests that Freire’s (1970/2004, 1973/1994) critical consciousness is shared by feminists consciousness
raising groups “in which one begins to see one’s position and move toward other possible positions” (p.
15).
Hayes (2000b) proposes that much of women’s learning takes place in contexts other than formal
education (p. 34). According to Hayes, there are few formal studies of women’s learning in community
groups. Hayes notes , “What is most obvious is that women can acquire skills and knowledge in any kind
of community group, usually through actual ‘doing,’ but also through more organized learning activities”
(Hayes 2000b, p. 43). Hayes (2000b) draws upon the learning activities that occur in the women’s health
movement and self-help groups. She notes that “these groups tend to be participatory and nonhierarchical,
with women learning about their bodies in a first hand manner and using their personal experience to
critique the information they located and the health care they received” (p. 45). Hayes (2000b) describes
the elements of community groups that foster transformative learning. These include sharing experiences,
identifying common concerns, and developing an awareness of social structures (p.44). Within these
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groups, Hayes proposes that “taking action to improve their collective situation is typically an essential
part of the learning experience” (p. 44). However, community-based group learning is not always a
pleasant experience for women. Cain’s (1998) study of the learning experiences of the members of two
environmental action groups found that women ultimately dropped out of one group because of the
overbearing and competitive working style of the male members.
Daykin and Naidoo (1995) suggest that “the strength of women’s health groups is often in their autonomy
and in the fact that they provide an alternative, sometimes, critical perspective on women’s health issues”
(p. 68). The literature also raises concerns about health education activities involving community-based
group learning aimed at women. Hayes (2000b) notes that self-help groups “risk the possibility of
reinforcing a ‘blame the victim’ mentality” (p.45). Daykin and Naidoo (1995) state that “informal health
promotion activities are assumed to belong to women because of their ‘caring’ nature, an assumption
reflected in community care policies which reinforce women’s role as informal carers” (p. 64).
From her study of the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, Birden (2004) developed a model of
group learning in activist groups she calls coalition-engendered education. Birden describes how the
women began to meet and talk about the issues that affected them. She suggests that “dialogue elicited
experiential knowledge that affected the meaning of medical facts. In this ‘body education,’ as they called
it, just as with Freire’s literacy project, intellectualized content became contextualized through dialogue,
making their learning grounded, specific, and concrete” (Birden, 2004, “Adult curriculum” section ¶ 6) In
her study, she describes how the women had no educator in charge of selecting the topic of study or
developing learning activities. Birden proposes that “the teaching role in these coalition-engendered
projects does not rest upon any one individual or group of individuals, but diffuses into the group as a
whole” (“Implications for adult educators and researchers” section, ¶ 4).
Birden’s (2004) study of the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective provides an example of the
learning that takes place in activist groups. In their study of environmental activists, Kovan and Dirkx
(2003) also suggest that “people who participate in social movements often learn new information and
skills; further clarify their values, beliefs, and attitudes; and deepen their sense of self-identity” (p. 101).
Their study, however, observes that “very little is known about how passion, vocation and commitment
are sustained” (p. 101). Courtenay, Merriam, Reeves and Baumgartner (2000) did a two year study of
HIV-positive adults and perspective transformation over time that supported the notion that “it is not
possible to regress to less developed perspectives”(p. 105). Once an individual has experienced
transformative learning, they cannot return to being or thinking like the person that they were before that
experience occurred. Baumgartner (2001) conducted a third round of interviews which “confirms the
stability of the perspective transformation and recognizes that previous meaning schemes remain stable
and are acted upon” (Conclusion, ¶ 2). Both studies found, however, that meaning schemes do change
which raises “ethical issues regarding the right of the adult educator to intentionally plan for perspective
transformation which effect change in the lives of adult learners” (Courtenay et al., p. 117). Baumgartner
poses the question “What right does the adult educator have to plan the transformation” (Conclusion, ¶ 4).
Taylor (1998) suggests that not all learners are predisposed to engaging in transformative learning and
proposes that the role of the learner warrants further research.
This literature provides the framework for an examination of the transformative learning that occurred in a
women’s health activist group.
Research methods
During the spring and summer of 2005, I carried out unstructured in-depth interviews with 5 women about
their involvement in the group, any perspective transformation that they experienced as a result of this
involvement, and any long-term impacts from this experience.
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The data collection technique was unstructured in-depth interviews. Ironstone-Caterall (2003) notes that
this is the preferred method in feminist research. I chose this method for this study and began each
interview with an open-ended question. This method allowed the participants to have greater control over
the process and to address issues of significance to them.
The feminist method suggested itself to me because it places the research participant and their own
understanding of their experience at the core of the process. It also allows the research participants to tell
their own stories in their own words. In addition, using that approach, the familiarity between me as
researcher and the research subjects became an asset that facilitated the establishment of a non-
hierarchical relationship.
Findings
The outcomes of this study suggested that the participants experience individual as well as group
transformative learning. And, this transformation was sustained over time. In addition, the results describe
how the teaching role was shared among the group members.
The participants in this study describe the extent to which they experienced individual transformation as a
result of their involvement in the WHP. These outcomes provide insight into ways of assessing learner
transformation and of creating environments that support transformative learning. For example, one
participant described the group members as “community developers.” This changed perception of
themselves and their role in the community enabled them to see themselves as capable of reaching the
project goals. It also led them to reflect critically upon their choices as consumers of products and media
advertising. The choices they made in these areas were affected by their transformed perspectives.
The WHP also adopted the three elements that Cranton suggests are conditions for transformative group
learning. First, Cranton states that individuals should take responsibility for their own learning. The WHP
members organized their own educational activities. For example, at “teach-in” potlucks “each person
agreed to research and prepare a summary about one aspect of the issue.” Second, Cranton proposes that
individuals should seek out new perspectives. In her interview, Megan noted the WHP “got people to
research things that they might not have done on their own.” And, third, Cranton describes how members
of groups that foster transformative learning often work toward change outside the group. The WHP
members took their passion for their project beyond the boundaries of the group. The group went to
schools and, as one participant described a resource she prepared for a WHP teach-in, “I gave it to all my
friends. Brought it to school. Handed it out at the women’s centre.”
In the transformative learning group described by Cranton (1996), the role of the facilitator is to foster
learner participation. The WHP, however, did not have a designated group leader or teacher. As one
participant observed, “everyone kind of shared teaching.” Birden (2004) refers to group learning that has
emancipatory goals and in which learners share the teaching role as coalition-engendered education. In
coalition-engendered education, Birden suggests, “the whole group is the peer-leader of the individuals
within the group” (“The Teaching-Learning and Learning-Teaching” section, ¶ 1).
In addition to describing the transformative learning that occurred in the WHP, the study participants
indicated ways in which this transformative learning affected their personal and professional lives over the
9 years since they were involved in the project. These findings indicated the stability of their transformed
perspectives and raised ethical questions for practitioners.
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Conclusion
Participation in a women’s health activist group lead the study participants to experience individual
transformation as well as transformative group learning. This experience also had a long term impact that
influenced their personal and professional lives. These outcomes suggest that the nonformal learning
experiences of women involved in activist groups warrants further examination.
References
Baumgartner, L. (2001). The incorporation of HIV/AIDS into identity over time: Transformational tales
continued [Electronic version]. Proceedings of the 2001 Adult Education Research Conference, East
Lansing, Michigan. Retrieved February 15, 2005 from www.edst.educ.ubc.ca/aerc.
Birden, S. (2004). Theorizing a coalition-engendered education: The case of the Boston Women’s Health
Book Collective’s body education [Electronic version]. Adult Education Quarterly, 54(4), 257. Retrieved
September 22, 2004 from Proquest Database.
Cain, M. L. (1998). A critical ethnography of adult learning in the context of a social movement group
[Electronic version]. Proceedings of the 1998 Adult Education Research Conference, San Antonio, Texas.
Retrieved August 23, 2005 from www.edst.educ.ubc.ca/aerc.
Carr, E.S. (2003). Rethinking empowerment theory using a feminist lens: The importance of process.
Affilia, 18(1), 8-20.
Courtenay, B. C., Merriam, S., Reeves, P., & Baumgartner, L. (2000). Perspective transformation over
time: A 2-year follow-up study of HI-positive adults. Adult Education Quarterly, 50(2), 102-119.
Cranton, P. (1996). Types of group learning. In S. Imel (Ed.), Learning in groups: Exploring fundamental
principles, new uses, and emerging opportunities (pp. 25-32). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Cranton, P. (2003). Finding our way: A guide for adult educators. Toronto: Wall & Emmerson.
Daykin, D. & Naidoo, J. (1995). Feminist critiques of health promotion. In R. Bunton, S. Nettleton, & R.
Burrows (Eds.), The sociology of health promotion: Critical analyses of consumption, lifestyle and risk
(pp. 59-69). London: Routledge.
Freire, P. (1994). Education for critical consciousness. New York: Continuum (originally published in
1973).
Freire, P. (2004). Pedagogy of the oppressed. 30th anniversary edition. New York: Continuum. (originally
published in 1970).
Hayes, E. (2000b). Social Contexts. In E. Hayes, & D. D. Flannery (Eds.), Women as learners: The
significance of gender in adult learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Imel, S. (1999). Using groups in adult learning: Theory and practice [Electronic version]. Journal of
Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 19(1): 54. Retrieved January 31, 2005 from Proquest
Database.
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Rindner, E. C. (2004). Using freirean empowerment for health education with adolescents in primary,
secondary, and tertiary psychiatric settings. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 17(2),
78. Retrieved August 24, 2005 from Proquest Database.
Taylor, E. W. (1998). The theory and practice of transformative learning: A critical review. ERIC
Information Series No. 374. Retrieved October 21, 2005 from Eric Online.
267
Young farm women, risk taking behaviour, and promotion of health knowledge
LAURANNE SANDERSON, PATRICK MCGRATH, ANITA UNRUH,

DEBORAL STILES, and KATRIONA MACNEIL
Nova Scotia Agricultural College
Truro, Canada
lsanderson@nsac.ca
LOIS JACKSON
Halifax, Canada
The results of a survey of young farm women attending the Nova Scotia Agricultural College regarding
the role of attitudes and beliefs in risk-taking behaviour will be presented. One of the objectives of this
study is to develop a web-based credit course designed to produce positive health outcomes for farm
women and their families. Like many other agricultural institutions, formal training for agricultural
students in farm health and safety has been limited, a lost opportunity to influence future farmers and their
families.
Prendre des risques et promouvoir la santé chez les jeunes agricultrices
On présente les résultats d’une étude effectuée auprès de jeunes agricultrices inscrites au collège agricole
de Nouvelle-Écosse, sur le rôle, les attitudes et les croyances concernant la prise de risques. Un des
objectifs de cette étude est de développer un cours crédité donné par le web pour produire des résultats
positifs pour la santé des agricultrices et de leur famille. Comme c’est le cas pour d’autres institutions
agricoles, la formation des étudiantes en santé et sécurité à la ferme est limitée, ce qui est une occasion
manquée d’influencer les futurs agriculteurs et leur famille.
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Safer sex through entertainment education:

Realizing the entertainment education approach with computer games about HIV/AIDS
YVONNE THIES-BRANDNER
International University of Bremen
Bremen, GERMANY
y.thies@iu-bremen.de
I will present a study for testing the effect of a computer game with embedded information about HIV /
AIDS prevention on female adolescents’ HIV-related knowledge about and attitudes towards AIDS. The
focus of the presentation will be on the design of the computer game according to the guidelines
developed within the entertainment education approach and taking into account prior research on
computer games and gender. If computer games can indeed be used as an entertainment education
medium, we would have a new potential for education about safer sex that could be included in large-scale
prevention campaigns for women.
Le sexe sans risques :

éduquer en s’amusant? Éducation ludique par des jeux informatiques sur le VIH/SIDA
Je présente une étude visant à évaluer les effets d’un jeu informatique contenant des informations sur la
prévention du VIH/SIDA chez les jeunes adolescentes par rapport à leurs connaissances et leurs attitudes
envers le SIDA. Le point central de la présentation porte sur la conception du jeu selon les lignes
directrices élaborées dans la perspective du jeu éducatif et en tenant compte des recherches déjà effectuées
sur les jeux informatiques et les sexes. Si on peut réellement utiliser les jeux informatiques comme moyen
ludique d’éducation, on possède alors un nouveau moyen potentiel d’éducation sur le sexe sans risques qui
pourrait être intégré aux vastes campagnes de prévention visant les femmes.
269
VALIDITY♀ Project:
Listening to the diverse voices of young women in health and education
MARY QUARTARONE and CATHY THOMPSON

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Hamilton, Canada
cathy_thompson@camh.net
The VALIDITY ♀ (Vibrant Action Looking Into Depression In Today’s Young Women) project
empowers young women to move beyond traditional biological and medical models and share their stories
and recommendations related to preventing depression. Over the past 5 years, over 200 young women
have shared the emotions of their lived experiences and provided leadership to the VALIDITY♀ project.
They are the experts in knowing the best ways for them to learn and exchange knowledge with their peers
and with professionals. In the words of one young woman, “We don’t want to be treated, we want to be
heard”, VALIDITY♀ Participant
VALIDITY♀:
Écouter les voix des jeunes femmes
Le projet VALIDITY (Vibrant Action Looking Into Depression In Today’s Young Women)
donne aux jeunes femmes la possibilité de dépasser les modèles traditionnels biologiques et
médicaux et de partager leurs histoires et recommandations au sujet de la prévention de la
dépression. Depuis 5 ans, plus de 200 jeunes femmes partagent les émotions de leur vécu et
contribuent leur leadership au projet VALIDITY♀. Ce sont des expertes sur la façon d’apprendre
et d’échanger avec les autres femmes et avec les professionnels. Pour citer une des jeunes
femmes participante de VALIDITY♀ : « Nous ne voulons pas être traitées, nous voulons être
entendues ».
270
Health education or education for health?

Lessons from low income Brazilian women
MARTHA TRAVERSO-YÉPEZ
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
Natal, BRASIL
traverso@ufrnet.br
In Brazil, uneven distribution of material and cultural assets generates multiple deleterious health effects,
among them, the aggravation of prevailing unequal gender relations. To be aware of these facts does not
mean that they are easy to address. This paper illustrates this complexity with two research-action
experiences in Northeastern Brazil, one with female workers at a fishing community, and the other in a
community project at a deprived neighborhood of Natal. However, the central contribution of my
presentation will be the reflexive process developed emphasizing the relevance of a caring and dialogic
attitude in dealing with this complexity.
Féminisme et l’attitude féministe :

Des leçons données par des Brésiliennes à revenus modestes
Au Brésil, la distribution inégale des avoirs matériels et culturels génère de multiples effets nocifs sur la
santé, et principalement l’aggravation des inégalités profondes entre les sexes. Être au courant de ces faits
ne signifie pas qu’il est facile d’y remédier. Dans cette communication nous faisons état de cette
complexité au moyen de deux expériences de recherche-action dans le nord-est du Brésil, la première avec
des travailleuses d’une communauté de pêche et la deuxième dans un projet communautaire dans un
quartier défavorisé du Natal. Pourtant, la contribution principale de ma présentation est le processus de
réflexion développé pour souligner la pertinence d’une attitude de dialogue et d’écoute pour comprendre
cette complexité.
271
Girls’ tattoos and body piercing:

Why education should address these risk-taking practices
DEB VANSTON
Vancouver, Canada
ozlo@telus.net
JAMES M. SCOTT
University of Saskatchewan
Adolescents use numerous social practices to assert their presence and identity/ies within communities.
Although most of these are positive self-assertions, some involve risk-taking behaviors. Risks related to
alcohol, drugs, smoking, and sexual relations are presently addressed through education. However
adolescents, especially girls, are increasingly identifying themselves through body art. Tattoos and body
piercing are forms of risk-taking practices in which there can be health risks, medical complications, and
social implications that specifically effect girls. We believe girls need to understand risks involved with
these practices. In our presentation, we will review medical research associated with tattoos and piercing.
Tatouages et perçage corporel des filles :

pourquoi l’éducation devrait s’occuper de ces pratiques dangereuses
Les adolescents utilisent de nombreuses pratiques sociales pour affirmer leur présence et leur/s
identité/identités dans leurs communautés. Même si la majorité de ces pratiques d’affirmation de soi sont
positives, certaines impliquent des comportements qui sont à risque. Les risques associés à l’alcool, la
cigarette et les relations sexuelles sont actuellement traités dans les programmes scolaires. Pourtant, les
adolescents, et surtout les adolescentes, s’identifient de plus en plus souvent au moyen de l’art corporel.
Les tatouages et le perçage corporel sont des formes de pratiques qui comportent des risques pour la santé,
des complications médicales et sociales qui affectent spécialement les filles. Nous croyons que les filles
doivent comprendre les risques associés à ces pratiques. Dans notre présentation, nous passons en revue la
recherche médicale au sujet des tatouages et du perçage corporel.
272
Puberty education for girls and young women: Concepts and techniques
to utilize when addressing menstruation, body changes and sexuality education
SHANNON WHALEN
Springfield College
Springfield, USA
shannon_l_whalen@spfldol.edu
Puberty is an overwhelming and confusing time in a young girl’s life - physical, social, and emotional
changes occur at unprecedented speed. This workshop will allow participants the opportunity to review
the causes and issues associated with puberty. The influence of culture, media, technology, and
environmental factors will be examined. Suggestions for empowering youth will be discussed. This
interactive session will utilize PowerPoint, handouts, and discussion to illustrate learning experiences for
girls and their families. Participants will leave the session with the knowledge and skills to implement
puberty education workshops. Handouts and lessons ideas will be distributed.
Éducation sur la puberté chez les filles et les jeunes femmes : concepts et techniques à
utiliser quand on parle de menstruations, de changements corporels et d’éducation sexuelle
La puberté est une période difficile et qui prête à confusion dans la vie d’une jeune fille – les changements
physiques, sociaux et émotionnels s’effectuent à une vitesse fulgurante. Dans cet atelier, les participants
ont la possibilité de passer en revue les causes et les problèmes associés à la puberté. On examine
l’influence des facteurs culturels, médiatiques, technologiques et environnementaux associés à la puberté.
On discutera des suggestions pour habiliter les jeunes. C’est une séance interactive qui comprend une
présentation PowerPoint, des documents et des discussions pour illustrer les expériences d’apprentissage
des filles et de leur famille. Les participants sortiront de cet atelier en ayant acquis des connaissances et
des compétences qu’ils pourront à leur tour utiliser dans des ateliers d’éducation sur la puberté. On
distribuera des documents et des exemples de leçon.
273
Program at a Glance / Programmer d’un coup d’oeil
Day 1 / Le jour 1 Tuesday/Mardi, May 30 mai 2006
Slot Time Room Type of Session
1A 1900 - 2015 CSE Bldg Film Screening – XS Stress

Theatre C Post-Screening Discussion
with Patricia Kearns

Award-winning Canadian Feminist Film-maker
2A 2015 - 2100 CSE Atrium Post-Film Reception
Day 2 / Le jour 2 Wednesday / Mercredi, May 31 mai 2006
Slot Time Room Type of Session
3A 216 Improving girls’ physical activity /

Amélioration de l’activité physique des filles
3B 0900 - 1015 212 Creative movement workshop /

Atelier sur le mouvement créatif
3C 218 The maternity factor in educational settings /

La maternité dans un contexte éducatif
3D 222 Health and human rights: Looking across legal mandates /

Santé et droits de la personne : au-delà des mandats légaux
Central
1015 - 1045 Common Refreshment / Nature Break
Venue
274
Program at a Glance / Programmer d’un coup d’œil (cont’d)
Day 2 / Le jour 2 Wednesday / Mercredi, May 31 mai 2006
Slot / Time/ Room / Session /

L’entaille L’heure Salle Séance
4A 216 Education as liberation: Schools and beyond /

Éducation signifie libération : l’école et au-delà
4B 1045 -12 00 212 Performance drama / Atelier interactif
4C 218 Mental health issues in educational settings /

Les questions de santé mentale dans le contexte de l’éducation
5A 12 00-1330 Bethune Lunch and Keynote Address / Déjeuner et conférencier invité

Dining
Hall with Gayle Letherby
Noted International Feminist Scholar, Researcher and Author
6A 216 Text messages: Writing women and girls’ health /

Messages écrits : femmes qui écrivent et santé des jeunes filles
6B 1330 - 1445 218 Narratives of exclusion: Exploring unhealthy institutional

practices / Histoires d’exclusion : exploration des pratiques
institutionnelles malsaines
6C Olga Rm Poster display / Exposition d’affiches
6D 224 Panel / Table Ronde
1445 - 1515 Olga Rm Refreshment / Nature Break
7A 216 Promoting health knowledge and practices /

Promotion des connaissances et des pratiques qui concernent la
santé
7B 1515 - 1630 224 Learning about their reproductive lives for three generations of
women in Newfoundland and Labrador /
Trois générations de femmes deTerre-Neuve-et-Labrador
apprennent à connaître leur système reproductif
7C 222 Go Girls! But where? /

Allez-y, les filles : mais où aller?
275
Day 3 / Le jour 3 Thursday / jeudi, June 1 juin 2006

8A 216 Fitness, fatness and the ideal body /

Bonne forme physique, surpoids et le corps idéal
8B 0900 - 1015 TBA Sound and visual art performance /

Spectacles de son et d’art visuel
8C 218 Spirituality for health: The life journey of women in education /

Spiritualité pour la santé : femmes en éducation, le
cheminement d’une vie
1015 - 1045 Ogla Rm Refreshment/Nature Break
9A 218 Teen mothers: Transnational stories /

Adolescentes-mères : histoires transnationales
9B 222 Workshop / Atelier

1045 - 1200
9C 216 Bodies, beauty, and sport / Corps, beauté et sport
9D 224 Stories of inclusion: Exploring healthy institutional practices

Histoires d’inclusion : exploration des pratiques
institutionnelles saines
10A 1200 - 1300 TBA Pix and Bites: Box Lunch and Film Short /
Images et grignotage : déjeuner sur le pouce et court-métrage
276
Day 3 / Le jour 3 Thursday/jeudi, June 1 juin 2006

11A 218 Traditional and technological ways of communicating health

information / Façons traditionnelles et technologiques de
communiquer les informations sur la santé
11B 222 Healthy practitioners and healthy spaces /

1300 - 1415 Praticiens sains, espaces sains
11C 216 Health promotion as feminist activism /

Promotion de la santé comme activisme féministe
11D 224 Violence and bullying / Violence et intimidation
1415 - 1445 Olga Rm Refreshment / Nature Break
12A 224 Risk-taking behaviours and health promotion /

Comportements à risques et promotion de la santé
12B 212 Interactive workshop / Atelier interactif

1445 - 1600
12C 218 Body stories / Histoires de corps
12D 222 Sex education / Éducation sexuelle
13A 1600 - 1700 Olga Rm Grand Gossip Session and Book Sharing /
Séances de potins et placotages et exposition des livres
277
Index of Institutional Acronyms /

Index des acronymes désignant les institutions
Canadian universities are normally referred to simply by their common name, omitting the word
“University.” Universities outside Canada are normally referred to in full. The following acronyms are
also used.
Les universités canadiennes sont désignées par leurs noms communs, sans le mot “université.” Les
universités en dehors du Canada sont désignées par leur nom complet. En outre, les acronyms suivants
sont utilisés.
Acronym / Name of Institution /

Acronymes Le nom d’institutions
CAAWS - Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women, Sports and Physical
ACAFS Activity / Association canadienne pour l’avancement des femmes du sport et de
l’activité physique
CAMH Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
CRIAW-ICREF Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women /

Institut canadien de reserches sur les femmes
MUN Memorial University of Newfoundland
OISE-IÉPO/UT Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto/

Institut d’édude pédagogiques de l’Ontario de l’Université de Toronto
SFU Simon Fraser University
SFX St. Francis Xavier University
STU St. Thomas University
UBC University of British Columbia
UNB University of New Brunswick
UNBC University of Northern British Columbia
UQAM Université de Québec à Montréal
UWO University of Western Ontario
278
Author index / Index des noms d'auteur
Last name First name Page

Abate Tsion Demeke 125
Abbey Sharon 8, 9, 37, 199, 203, 205, 208
Adams Christina 126
Ahola-Sidaway Janice 127, 128, 130, 132
Amsterdam Christina 90, 113
Antoniou Maria 224
Arsenault Rina 144
Artiss Phyllis 134
Beausoleil Natalie 135, 136
Blais Martin 168
Boyd Elizabeth Reid 137, 142
Brown Marion 38
Callaghan Tonya D. 47
Campbell Catherine Ann 144
Caputo Virginia 48
Carey Joanne 49
Chabot Cathy 143
Chilimo Deborah 182
Csoli Karen 50
Eiyo Judith 184
Eyre Linda 144
Fenton Nancy 103
Fonseca Sandra 127
Fusco Caroline 145
Girard Marie-Eve 168
Goodyear Lesley 1, 10, 12, 14, 16
Gradstein Roetka 57
Granados Lizeth 58
Greene Saara 59
Gustafson Braunda L. 1, 11
Gustafson Diana L. 1, 10, 12, 14, 16, 142, 146, 219, 223
Halifax Nancy Viva Davis 147
Hamdan Amani Alghamdi 148
Hardie Catherine 155
Harding-Walker Sophie 12
Harris Carol E. 8, 9, 156, 158, 160, 164
Harvard Dawn Meme 166
Hemingway Dawn 13, 195
Hill Cher 60
Hopkins Lekkie 138, 142, 167
Hovsepian Sarine Lory 168
Hunter Linda 169, 179
Hymore Florence 182
Irish Erin 61
Jackson Lois 267
Jacobs Jacque 113
Johnson Joy 143
Jones Shelley 183
279
Index of Participants / Liste des participants (cont’d)

Kearns Patricia 15, 17, 18, 273
Kendrick Maureen 184
Kenny Katrina Knappe 185
Koaho Khuli 192
Kotecha Krishpa 92
Lenskyj Helen Jefferson 68, 244, 252
Letherby Gayle 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 219, 223, 274
Lindsay Gail M. 74, 76, 78, 79
MacDonnell Judith 80, 81, 87
MacNeil Katriona 267
MacNeill Margaret 193
Mampane Sharon 90
Manseau Hélène 168
Margolin Indrani 194
Matthews Merril 192
Matthews Gail 192
McAllister Linda 92
McCance Nicole 224
McGrath Patrick 267
McGregor Catherine 13, 60
McLennan Christina 13, 195
Middleton Amy 196
Millar Sydney 197
Mizevich Jane 224
Mueller Adele 88
Mutonyi Harriet 183
Norton Bonny 183
Otis Joanne 168
Panossian-Muttart Arpi 198
Parsons Janice E. 89
Patterson Pam 211
Patton Mary 12, 216
Peasley Elease 224
Petherick LeAnne 217
Phendla Thidzlambi 90
Pinheiro Veronica de Souza 218, 220, 223
Piran Niva 224, 228,229
Poole Jennifer 230, 232, 237
Porter Marilyn 238
Proffit Alvin 113
Quartarone Mary 269
Quosai Trudy Smit 91
Radford Maria 92
Rail Geneviéve 136
Razanadrakoto Lucien 239
Reimer Marilee 88
Rice Carla 71, 72, 73, 240, 241, 243, 249, 252, 253
Richard Nicole 60
280
Index of Participants / Liste des participants (cont’d)

Richardson Lindsay 255
Ritchie Jill 261
Roberts Mitchelle 182
Ross Erin 224
Sanderson Lauranne 267
Saunders Sabrina Redwing 93, 97, 100, 101
Schwartz Adinne 102
Shields Carmen 103
Singleton Ellen 114
Sinner Anita 112
Stiles Deborah 267
Thies-Brandner Yvonne 268
Thompson Cathy 269
Tonnsen Sandra 113
Transken Si 8, 9, 12
Traverso-Yépez Martha 218, 270
Unruh Anita 267
van Daalen-Smith Cheryl 8, 9, 13
Vanston Deb 271
Varpalotai Aniko 114
Wagner Anne E. 123
Wallin Dawn C. 8, 9
Whalen Shannon 272
281
Contact Information
Last name First name Affiliation Contact

Abate Tsion Demeke Alberta tdemeke@ualberta.ca
Abbey Sharon Brock sabbey@brocku.ca
Adams Christina MUN multimedia@christinadams.com
Ahola-Sidaway Janice Ottawa asidaway@uottawa.ca
Amsterdam Christina Univ of Pretoria, S. Africa christina.amsterdam@up.ac.za
Artiss Phyllis MUN partiss@mun.ca
Beausoleil Natalie MUN nbeausol@mun.ca
Boyd Elizabeth Reid Edith Cowan University, AU e.boyd@ecu.edu.au
Brown Marion Dalhousie marion.brown@dal.ca
Callaghan Tonya Alberta tonya.callaghan@ualberta.ca
Caputo Virginia Carleton vcaputo@ccs.carleton.ca
Carey Joanne MUN jcarey@nursing.ubc.ca
Chabot Cathy UBC chabot@interchange.ubc.ca
Csoli Karen OISE-IÉPO/UT kcsoli@oise.utoronto.ca
Eyre Linda UNB leyre@unb.ca
Fenton Nancy Brock nancy.fenton@sympatico.ca
Fonseca Sandra Ottawa sfons073@uottawa.ca
Fusco Caroline Toronto cfusco@utoronto.ca
Goodyear Lesley MUN lesleygoodyear@yahoo.ca
Gradstein Roetka Dalhousie roetka@dal.ca
Granados Lizeth Florida Atlantic University lgranad2@fau.edu
Greene Saara York saaragreene@hotmail.com
Gustafson Diana L. MUN diana.gustafson@med.mun.ca
Halifax Nancy Viva Davis York nhalifax@gmail.com
Hamdan Amani Alghamdi UWO amanihamdan2004@yahoo.ca
Hardie Catherine Toronto c.hardie@utoronto.ca
Harding-Walker Sophie York sharding@yorku.ca
Harris Carol E. Victoria harrisce@uvic.ca
Harvard Dawn Meme UWO dharvard@uwo.ca
Hill Cher SFU chill@sfu.ca
Hopkins Lekkie Edith Cowan University, AU l.hopkins@ecu.edu.au
Hovsepian Sarine Lory Montreal sarinelory@hotmail.com
Hunter Linda Guelph lehunter@uoguelph.ca
Hymore Florence Ammi-Ruach Resource flhy.arrmc@rogers.com
Management Self-Helps
Programme, Canada
Irish Erin OISE-IÉPO/UT erish@oise.utoronto.ca
Jones Shelley UBC shelley@youlead.org
Kearns Patricia Freelance filmmaker, Canada p.kearns@onf.ca
Kendrick Maureen UBC maureen.kendrick@ubc.ca
Kenny Katrina Knappe OISE-IÉPO/UT k_kenny@rogers.com
Koaho Khuli Freelance, Canada
Kotecha Krishpa Bishop Strachan School, TO kkotecha@bss.on.ca
Lefebvre Marie Louise UQAM
Lenskyj Helen Jefferson OISE-IÉPO/UT hlenskyj@oise.utoronto.ca
Letherby Gayle University of Plymouth, UK gayle.letherby@plymouth.ac.uk
282
Contact Information / l'information de contact (cont’d)

Lindsay Gail M. York glindsay@yorku.ca
MacDonnell Judith Toronto judith.macdonnell@utoronto.ca
MacNeill Margaret Toronto margaret.macneill@utoronto.ca
Mampane Sharon Univ of Pretoria, S. Africa sharon.mampane@up.ac.za
Margolin Indrani OISE-IÉPO/UT imargolin@oise.utoronto.ca
Matthews Merril Children’s Peace Theatre, TO
Matthews Gail UNB matthews@unbsj.ca
McAllister Linda Bishop Strachan School, TO pmcallister@bss.on.ca
McGregor Catherine UNBC mcgregor@unbc.ca
McLennan Christina UNBC mclennac@unbc.ca
Middleton Amy Alberta middleton@phen.ab.ca
Millar Sydney CAAWS-ACAFS snmillar@caaws.ca
Mueller Adele St. Thomas mueller@stu.ca
Mutonyi Harriet UBC hmutonyi@yahoo.com
Panossian-Muttart Arpi Brock arpi@ca.inter.net
Parsons Janice E. MUN jparsons@mun.ca
Patterson Pam OISE-IÉPO/UT ppatterson@oise.utoronto.ca
Patton Mary OISE-IÉPO/UT mpatton@oise.utoronto.ca
Petherick LeAnne Toronto leanne.petherick@uotoronto.ca
Phendla Thidzlambi UNESCO, Ethiopia thidziambi.phendla@up.ac.za
Pinheiro Veronica de Universidade Federal do Rio vspinheiro@vernet.br
Souza Grande do Norte, Brasil
Piran Niva OISE-IÉPO/UT npiran@oise.utoronto.ca
Poole Jennifer Toronto jen.poole@utoronto.ca
Porter Marilyn MUN mporter@mun.ca
Quosai Trudy Guelph trudys@uoguelph.ca
Radford Maria Bishop Strachan School, TO mradford@bss.on.ca
Razanadrakoto Lucien Université d’Anatananarivo, Lucien@wandaoo.mg
Madagascar
Reimer Marilee St. Thomas mreimer@stu.ca
Rice Carla Trent carlarice@trentu.ca
Richard Nicole Freelance photographer, TO
Richardson Lindsay Dalhousie lrichardson@dal.ca
Ritchie Jill SFX and Peterborough jill.ritchie@sympatico.ca
County/City Health Unit
Sanderson Lauranne Nova Scotia Agricultural lsanderson@nsac.ca
College
Saunders Sabrina OISE-IÉPO/UT sabrina.saunders@sympatico.ca
Schwartz Adinne Ottawa adinne_schwartz@hotmail.com
Shields Carmen Nippissing carmens@nipissingu.ca
Singleton Ellen UWO elsingle@uwo.ca
Sinner Anita UBC asinner@telus.net
Thies-Brandner Yvonne International University of y.thies@iu-bremen.de
Bremen, Germany
Thompson Cathy CAMH, Canada cathy_thompson@camh.net
283
Contact Information / l'information de contact (cont’d)

Tonnsen Sandra Western Carolina University tonnsen@email.wcu.edu
Transken Si UNBC si@unbc.ca
Traverso-Yépez Martha Universidade Federal do Rio traverso@ufrnet.br
Grande do Norte, Brasil
van Daalen-Smith Cheryl York cheryl.vandaalen@mail.atkinson.yorku.ca
Vanston Deb UBC ozlo@telus.net
Varpalotai Aniko UWO aniko@uwo.ca
Wagner Anne E. OISE-IÉPO/UT awagner@oise.utoronto.ca
Wallin Dawn C. Manitoba wallind@ms.umanitoba.ca
Whalen Shannon Springfield College, USA shannon_l_whalen@spfldol.edu
284
List of Sponsors / La liste de Répondants
We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the following funders and exhibitors:
SSHRC www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
www.mun.ca www.med.mun.ca/comhealth
Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre
www.sunnybrook.ca www.womenscollegehospital.ca
Women’s Health Matters

www.womenshealthmatters.ca is your Canadian source for reliable, evidence-based and up-to-
date information on women’s health and lifestyle issues. Most of the information on available on
www.womenshealthmatters.ca.
Information is also available in French on our sister site, www.femmesensante.ca. If there is any
further information you require, the questions will be answered at
www.womenshealthmatters.ca/about/index.html
285
List of Sponsors / La liste de Répondants (cont’d)
We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the following funders and exhibitors:
The Canadian Health Network, www.canadian-health-network.ca

Women Affiliate
The Canadian Health Network is a national, non-profit website that covers a wide range of health
topics and groups, including women's health. It is brought to you by the Public Health Agency of
Canada (PHAC) and major health organizations across the country, called Affiliates, that act as
content specialists for the CHN. www.womenshealthmatters.ca at The Women's College Hospital
is proud to be the Women Affiliate for the CHN.
Ontario Arts Council www.arts.on.ca
Canadian Association for the Advancement of www.caaws.ca

Women and Sports and Physical Activity
286
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Becoming “the fat girl”: Acquisition of an unfit

Article in Women s Studies International Forum · March 2007

Project Re*Vision View project

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

© Diana L. Gustafson 2006

1. Women 2. Health 3. Education 4. Title

For more information contact:

Diana L. Gustafson, RN BA MEd PhD

Tel: (709) 777-6720

Proceedings are available to download at www.csse.ca/CASWE/Institute/Institute.htm

Proceedings published by:

Production coordinator: Sandra Meadus, MUN

CASWE organizing committee / CASWE organise le comité 12

Keynote speakers / Conférencier invité

XS STRESS: Teens take control / XS STRESS : Les ados prennent le contrôle 18

Mothers and others: Promoting healthy living 19

Toward healthy educational communities for women and girls / 36

Together in the classroom: Addressing the spirituality of adolescent girls

Mothering in medicine: Parenting policies in medical education in Canada

Representations of female scholars on university websites: Is women’s work “webworthy”?

Teachers claiming spiritual agency through the curriculum of life

“I am my body”: Challenge and change in girls’ physical and health education

Nurses as ‘artificial persons’: Health as expanding consciousness

Fostering community health: Pocesses and practices of women’s politics

Life chances, choices, and identity: Single mothers in post-secondary education

Institutionalizing wellness: Women’s wellness days in an all-girls school

Exploring women’s narratives of chronic pain and returning to learning

Keeping girls healthy: A comprehensive analysis of legal mandates

Taking women students seriously: Acknowledging the impact of violence on women

Health through education for girls and women / 124

HIV/AIDS and women in Africa: Education towards liberation

Representations of identity: Canadian girls and pop culture

Inuit women’s narratives about reproductive health

Youth narratives on learning about health and fitness

‘Writing on the body’ as health rducation for girls

“Chillax”- a participatory action research approach to investigating violence in high-

Girls’, ‘healthification’ and promises of nationhood: The complexities of PLace, Activity,

Lessons learned, lessons taught: Newfoundland women as mediators of reproductive health

Problematization and marginalization: Language discordance and pediatric hospitalization

No ‘gravy train’ here: Women’s ecological leadership in two Newfoundland outport

Citizens minus: Aboriginal women and children in contemporary Canadian society

Victimization and contraceptive self-efficacy: Illustration of the sexual vulnerability of

An historical analysis of HIV/AIDS awareness posters targeting women

Promoting women’s health through faith-based initiatives

Tensions between sex education and life circumstances

Literacy health challenges for women in a rural Ugandan village

Dressing the wounds

Songs of South Africa: Remembering stories of our mothers

Healthy bodies, healthy minds and risky relations in knowledge engagement

Practicing with intuition: Moving with and from the bodysoul

Spinning a northern web: Women using information and communication technology to

Incorporating breastfeeding education and promotion into school health curricula

Interrupted, improvised, and empowered lives of seven women

Body sight/site: A performance

Knowledge is power: An analysis of women’s constructions of menopause

Teenagers’ experience of motherhood in a low income neighbourhood in Brazil

On girls’ disembodiment: The complex tyranny of the ‘ideal girl’

How three generations of Newfoundland women learned about menstruation

Promotion d’accès des jeunes filles aux droits, à la santé et à l’éducation

Becoming the fat girl

Program at a glance / Programmer d’un coup d’oeil 273

Author index / Index des noms d'auteur 278