Affilia current issue

Gentle, Angry Women Creating Change

Roche, S. E. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:08 PST

Feminists in Social Work: Where Have All the Leaders Gone?

Lazzari, M. M., Colarossi, L., Collins, K. S. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:08 PST

The purpose of this article is to reignite a discourse about feminist principles and their application to leadership in the social work profession that will extend beyond the theoretical to actions that are guided by these principles, leading overtime to concrete change. Mainstream theories of leadership are reviewed, as are developments in feminist approaches to leadership. Specifying principles and suggesting practices in relation to leadership result in an integrated feminist perspective of leadership. The intent is to encourage a dialogue about the challenges of social change in both processes and outcomes across multiple contexts by diverse women and men.

The Search for Wonder Woman: An Autoethnography of Feminist Identity

Averett, P. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:08 PST

This article presents an autoethnographic account of a feminist who created an art project about her connection to men and, as a result, engaged in a search for Wonder Woman, whom she views as a role model who encourages both masculinity and femininity in women. As a result of the search for Wonder Woman, a small social movement began as friends, family members, and social work students became aware of the role of patriarchy in shaping young women and became determined also to find Wonder Woman. Engaging in a narrative account, self-reflection, and a critique of culture, this feminist autoethnography also attempts to resist patriarchal standards that enforce male-dominant expectations of writing and research. Implications for social work education and practice are discussed.

From the Streets to Institutions: Female Adolescent Drug Sellers' Perceptions of Their Power

Aguilar, J. P., Jackson, A. K. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:08 PST

This article seeks to build on prior research and knowledge about young female drug sellers’ social power by answering the following research question: What are the behavioral manifestations of young female drug sellers’ social power as these young women move through their native environments and social institutions? How do these behavioral manifestations influence their perception of the professionals with whom these young women interact in treatment and alternative education programs? The results indicate that young women develop requisite skills for surviving on the streets of their neighborhoods and that some bring these skills into the social institutions they enter for education or treatment. Moreover, the transfer of street-based skills into social institutions influences how young women respond to staff in these social institutions.

Making Gender Visible: Social Work Responses to Homelessness

Zufferey, C. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:08 PST

Social workers’ bodies and identities are gendered. This article examines gender relations in social workers’ accounts of their practices using data from a qualitative study that focused on social workers’ responses to homelessness in three Australian cities. Themes in the data relate to essentialist notions of gender; gender functioning as an invisible form of oppression; heterosexual assumptions in client—worker relationships; and the preferability of feminist approaches, particularly when working with women’s homelessness that is a result of domestic violence.

Social Capital and Employment: South Asian Women's Experiences

George, U., Chaze, F. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:09 PST

This article reports the findings of in-depth interviews with 50 South Asian newcomer women in Toronto regarding the role of social capital in obtaining employment. Two kinds of social capital emerged from the data: preexisting social capital and self-created social capital. Preexisting informal and formal social capital facilitated the newcomers’ settlement by providing information, orientation, resources, or actual employment. Self-created social capital offered opportunities for the newcomers to find more appropriate jobs that were in line with their areas of expertise.

Lesbians Surviving Culture: Relational-Cultural Theory Applied to Lesbian Connection

Russell, A. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:09 PST

Because mainstream society privileges and assumes heterosexuality, nonheterosexual persons experience isolation and disconnection, especially lesbian women who may also in turn strategize a corrective form of disconnection. Relational-cultural theory (RCT) is applied to enhance the understanding of how lesbian women cope through connection and disconnection, explained generally and then applied specifically to unique lesbian issues in the creation of relationship, political advocacy, and spirituality. Although RCT is a powerful tool to inform practice, social workers must be mindful of the interpretation of connection. Lesbian strategies of disconnection may be the goal for an enhanced quality of life and a quest for connection.

From Private Demons to Public Problems: The Work of Mary Cromwell Jarrett

Rubin, D. B. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:09 PST

Although Mary Jarrett is an unfamiliar name to most social workers, she was a pioneer in the profession. Her contributions to the fields of social work, social work education, and public health exemplify the challenges of professional women in the early 20th century and illustrate the tensions between gendered and professional interests. Her writing exerted a major influence on social work thinking, while her career exemplified a breadth of practice that foreshadowed the generalist and ecosystems approaches to social work. Credited with inventing the term psychiatric social work, Jarrett articulated a broad approach to the needs of the mentally ill. An advocate for the professionalization of social work, she was one of the original founders of the Smith College School of Social Work. After Smith, Jarrett began a second career in public health. An original thinker in all professional fields, her ideas were farsighted and sound fresh today, more than 60 years after her retirement.

Poetry

Sherman, S. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:09 PST

Branwen

Ridout, E. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:09 PST

Book Review: Freedberg, S. (2009) Relational Theory for Social Work Practice: A Feminist Perspective. New York: Routledge, 128 pp., $150 (hardbound), $39.95 (paper)

Deanow, C. G. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:09 PST

Book Review: DeVault, M. L. (Ed.). (2008). People at Work: Life, Power, and Social Inclusion in the New Economy. New York: New York University Press, 352 pp., $25 (paper)

Jones, J. B. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:09 PST

Book Review: Sokoloff, N., & Pratt, C. (Eds.). (2005) Domestic Violence at the Margins: Readings on Race, Class, Gender and Culture. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press

Needle, E. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:09 PST

Book Review: Bird, C. E., & Rieker, P. P. (2008) Gender and Health: The Effects of Constrained Choices and Social Policies. New York: Cambridge University Press

Kelly, L. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:09 PST

Book Review: Staudt, K. (2008) Violence and Activism at the Border: Gender, Fear, and Everyday Life in Ciudad Juarez. Austin: University of Texas Press, 212 pp., $55 (hardbound), $24.95 (paper)

Mendez-Shannon, E. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:09 PST

Book Review: Golden, R. (2005). War on the Family: Mothers in Prison and the Families They Leave Behind. New York: Routledge, 216 pp., $85 (hardbound), $22.95 (paper)

O'Brien, P. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:35:09 PST