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Online sex work refers to sexual services that are provided via the internet for compensation. Views of sex work range from empowering to oppressive. Various frameworks examine the balance between these extremes, but how these viewpoints operate in online sex work is underexplored. We examined the experiences of female and nonbinary online sex workers, using a feminist lens. Zoom interviews were conducted with 15 participants ranging from 18 to 33 years old. We describe results identified through thematic analysis within two groups—participants' experiences with misogyny and with managing misogyny. We further identified major themes and subthemes within each. Findings were framed using a micro/macro theoretical framework in which experiences with misogyny were complex and involved both individual and structural consideration. Micro or individual factors such as empowerment, validation, and agency operate under larger macro systems such as misogyny, patriarchy, and capitalism. This study expands on current literature, illuminating how empowerment and oppression operate simultaneously in online sex work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic environments can feel unwelcoming for women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Two studies examined academic environments of female undergraduates majoring in STEM fields at a university in the United States. In Study 1, we compared women in STEM who are in a welcoming environment to those in a traditional STEM environment in order to identify factors that may make environments seem welcoming to women. Women in the welcoming environment received more messages about women in STEM, were more likely to wear or carry markers of their major, and had more peer role models in STEM. In Study 2, we developed an intervention based on these factors to improve women's implicit beliefs about their participation in STEM. In a sample of women in traditional STEM environments, we manipulated exposure to the intervention and the self-relevance of the intervention. The intervention decreased stereotyping concerns and indirect STEM stereotyping, and it increased implicit STEM identification when the intervention was made self-relevant. This research demonstrates the importance of a welcoming academic environment for women in STEM, and it also provides a model for how key elements of intensive university programs targeting women can be translated into a more general approach that reaches a wider audience.

Women are visually depicted with lower facial prominence than men, with consequences for perceptions of their competence. The current study examines the relationship between the size of this "face-ism" bias (i.e., individual or micro-level sexism) and a number of gender inequality indicators (i.e., institutional or macro-level sexism) at the cross-cultural level. In one of the largest known face-ism databases to date, the authors used politicians' official online photographs as stimuli (N = 6,610) to explore how face-ism (as an example of individual-level sexism) covaries with institutional sexism across 25 cultures. The authors found that the face-ism bias was greater in cultures with lower levels of institutional gender inequality, demonstrating that institutional equality does not necessarily imply equality on the individual level. The authors offer a number of potential speculations for this mismatch. For example, it may be due to "postfeminist" backlash that occurs in response to decreases in level of institutional sexism or it may be due to different comparative processes that occur in more versus less gender-equal cultures. Implications for female politicians cross-culturally are discussed. The findings of our study provide empirical evidence to demonstrate how macro-level structural equalities could be related to individual and micro-level sexism, and how different levels of sexism might not necessarily be indicative of each other. "Additional online materials for this article are available to PWQ subscribers on PWQ's website at http://pwq.sagepub.com/supplemental." (Contains 3 tables.)

Our research aimed to systematically investigate how women and men are portrayed in magazine advertisements, deriving hypotheses from Jean Kilbourne's observed media analysis presented in her "Killing Us Softly" film series. A total of 790 advertisements in 19 magazines were coded. Results revealed support for many of Kilbourne's hypotheses. For example, compared to men, women were portrayed as more flawless, passive, and dismembered, particularly in women's fashion and men's magazines. Other hypotheses from Kilbourne's analysis were not supported; for example, there were no differences in the portrayal of female versus male models in defensive stances, as childlike, in bondage, or transforming into an object. These findings have implications for the readers of these magazines as well as instructors who use the "Killing Us Softly" film series in their courses. " Additional online materials for this article are available to PWQ subscribers on PWQ's website at http://pwq.sagepub.com/supplemental." (Contains 3 tables.)

Previous research has illuminated an important connection between stereotypes and the performance of those targeted by a stereotype. This body of work suggests that even implicit (i.e., nonconscious and unintended) math-gender stereotyping is related to poor math performance among women. Our longitudinal study sought to measure students' math-gender stereotyping during a college math course and examine the relationship between changes in implicit stereotyping and course performance. Results showed that, for both male and female students, stereotypes increased during the course. Importantly, there was a significant interaction between gender and changes in implicit stereotyping when predicting course performance. Female students showed a negative relationship between changes in implicit stereotypes and course performance, while male students showed no relationship between changes in implicit stereotyping and course performance. This suggests that only for women, who are stereotyped as poor math performers, did the observed increases in stereotyping over time predict poorer math performance.

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2008.00422.x Byline: Megan E. Haines (1), Mindy J. Erchull (1), Miriam Liss (1), Dixie L. Turner (1), Jaclyn A. Nelson (1), Laura R. Ramsey (1), Molly M. Hurt (1) Abstract: The majority of research on self-objectification has focused on heterosexual women's experiences. This study sought to examine experiences of self-objectification in lesbian women. A path model was developed to examine the relationships between participants' feminist self-identification, levels of internalized heterosexism, objectified body consciousness, and the clinically relevant variables of negative eating attitudes and depression. As has been found with heterosexual women, body surveillance led to shame, which led to negative clinical outcomes. A direct path was also found between levels of surveillance and negative eating attitudes, consistent with previous research on self-objectification among lesbians. Feminist self-identification was not significantly related to the other variables, in contrast to previous research with heterosexual women. Internalized heterosexism was related to negative clinical outcomes, both indirectly through objectification variables and directly to depressive symptomatology. These results provide evidence that self-objectification and internalized heterosexism have negative impacts on the mental health of lesbian women. Author Affiliation: (1)University of Mary Washington Article History: Initial submission: June 27, 2007Initial acceptance: November 12, 2007Final acceptance: December 18, 2007 Article note: Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Mindy J. Erchull, Department of Psychology, University of Mary Washington, 1301 College Avenue, Fredericksburg, VA 22401-5300. E-mail: merchull@umw.edu

Mutual understanding is at the heart of teaching and learning, especially for writing. This study investigated the extent to which faculty and students at one university shared understanding about the writing process. Qualitative analysis revealed that students and faculty similarly understood observable attributes of written work (e.g., organization, mechanics). Interestingly, while students and faculty both discussed grades, the use of feedback, and time spent writing, they attached different connotations to these terms. A third set of factors was cited by each group of respondents separately: faculty cited concerns with K-12 writing instruction and students' lack of disciplinary knowledge, whereas students discussed challenges with getting started, the role of personal connections to their writing, and the benefits of class discussion. These findings highlight the importance of transparency in talking with students about writing as a way to improve writing pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of this research was to explore the unique body image concerns of women receiving services at a day center for individuals experiencing homeless, an understudied population in body image research. The study also explored a number of factors relevant to homelessness that could relate to body image, including access to hygiene products or facilities, inconsistent access to food, sexual victimization, and self-esteem. A sample of 60 women from a nonprofit homeless service center in Boston, MA, were administered a written questionnaire. Results indicated that participants had moderately high body esteem on average across all three subscales of the Body Esteem Scale, and body esteem was positively correlated with self-esteem. A multiple regression analysis revealed that 54% of the variance in body esteem was explained by self-esteem, access to hygiene products, inconsistent access to food, and sexual victimization, as well as race, age, and BMI as covariates. Importantly, both self-esteem and access to hygiene products were significant predictors of body esteem, such that women with higher self-esteem and more access to hygiene products reported higher levels of body esteem. Because this is the first study to examine body image among women who have experienced homelessness, these results may influence the direction of future research on this diverse, underrepresented group of women, as well as inform the work of shelters and other organizations that provide services and resources to women affected by homelessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the objectification of women is pervasive, it has not been studied extensively in the context of romantic relationships. This is a curious oversight, given that physical appearance is considered a prominent factor in romantic attraction and conceptualizations of objectification tend to involve an exaggerated emphasis on physical appearance. Thus, objectification theory may have interesting implications for romantic relationships. Women who enjoy sexualization may be more likely to have a partner who objectifies them, which could have negative implications for the relationship, as objectification research has generally found that the experience of objectification has negative consequences for women. Across three studies of heterosexual women in relationships (N = 114, N = 196, and N = 208), results showed that those who enjoyed sexualization tended to feel more objectified by their partner, which in turn related to lowered relationship satisfaction. These findings persisted even when controlling for perceptions of partner’s sexual desire, self-objectification, and objectification from strangers. Furthermore, Study 3 provides preliminary evidence that self-objectification may be a precursor to this mediation in that self-objectification was associated with higher enjoyment of sexualization, which was associated with higher partner-objectification, which in turn was associated with lower relationship satisfaction. This research sheds light on how the objectification of women operates within the context of a heterosexual romantic relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the objectification of women is widespread, there is relatively little research on objectification in romantic relationships. The purpose of our research was to explore how partner-objectification might be related to sexual pressure and coercion in heterosexual relationships. Two studies were conducted, one with heterosexual men and one with heterosexual women as participants. An online survey of 119 heterosexual men in the United States demonstrated that men who frequently survey their partners’ bodies are more likely to sexually pressure and coerce their partners—primarily because partner-surveillance is related to feelings of shame regarding one’s partner’s body, which in turn is related to increased sexual pressure and coercion. An online survey of 162 heterosexual women in the United States demonstrated feeling objectified by a partner is related to several (but not all) measures of sexual pressure and coercion. Furthermore, women who felt that their partners frequently surveyed their bodies were more likely to experience self-surveillance, which in turn predicted increased body shame and lowered sexual agency. Our research can inform interventions aimed at reducing sexual coercion and spark future research on the distinction between physical attraction and objectification in the context of romantic relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sexualization of girls and women in America is rampant and has many negative consequences. Women, however, often report enjoying being sexually admired by men. Given this paradox, it is unclear whether such enjoyment represents an authentic empowerment of women’s sexuality or is related to traditional feminine norms and sexist beliefs. In Studies 1 and 2, the authors developed and tested the eight-item Enjoyment of Sexualization Scale (ESS). It had good reliability and was differentiated from related constructs including body surveillance, body shame, self-sexualizing behaviors, and appearance-contingent self-esteem. In Study 3, endorsement of traditional gender norms, endorsement of benevolent sexism, and endorsement of hostile sexism were all positively related to the ESS. Moreover, women who both enjoyed sexualization and engaged in self-objectification reported more negative eating attitudes. Overall, there was little support for positive effects of enjoying sexualization. The extent to which enjoying sexualization actually empowers women or contributes to their oppression is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]