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This is the first long-term analysis of the development of Japanese martial arts, connecting ancient martial traditions with the martial arts practised today. The Historical Sociology of Japanese Martial Arts captures the complexity of the emergence and development of martial traditions within the broader Japanese Civilising Process. The book traces the structured process in which warriors' practices became systematised and expanded to the Japanese population and the world. Using the theoretical framework of Norbert Elias's process-sociology and drawing on rich empirical data, the book also compares the development of combat practices in Japan, England, France and Germany, making a new contribution to our understanding of the socio-cultural dynamics of state formation. Throughout this analysis light is shed onto a gender blind spot, taking into account the neglected role of women in martial arts. The Historical Sociology of Japanese Martial Arts is important reading for students of Socio-Cultural Perspectives in Sport, Sociology of Physical Activity, Historical Development of Sport in Society, Asian Studies, Sociology and Philosophy of Sport, and Sports History and Culture. It is also a fascinating resource for scholars, researchers and practitioners interested in the historical and socio-cultural aspects of combat sport and martial arts.

We present findings from a critical discourse analysis of commentary from World Wrestling Entertainment's pay-per-view Evolution, an all-female wrestling competition. Approximately 10 minutes of match commentary were analysed, attending to the discourses operating within the text; the subject positions offered by them; and the implications these may have for subjectivity, action, and practice. Two discourses are presented: female wrestlers as "real athletes in a real combat sport" and "female wrestlers as conventionally feminine." The operation of these discourses through the text was interpreted as offering opportunities for women wrestlers to construct identities as serious sportspeople while at the same time limiting those opportunities through the requirement that they also demonstrate heteronormative femininity. We discuss these findings within the framework of neoliberal feminism and a postfeminist sensibility. We conclude that, contrary to its superficially feminist agenda, Evolution offers a narrow and contradictory space for women to construct legitimate identities as professional wrestlers, where discursive positions may be simultaneously offered and undermined by commentators.

The Indian government has presented itself as a champion of gender mainstreaming in UN peacekeeping. At the same time, the domestic security sector in India continues to create a gender-segregated environment and experiences of uniformed women in the field show remaining barriers for gender equity. Given this contradiction, the article examines the ambivalence inherent to Indian gender mainstreaming of peacekeeping units. We argue that transnational norms, such as gender mainstreaming, are embedded in larger norm bundles, and we combine the literature of norm localization and norm contestation in our conceptual framework to illustrate how India localizes parts of the gender mainstreaming norm bundle whilst contesting others. We find that India's localization of the gender mainstreaming norm has meant to pursue an asymmetric gender-parity approach between different branches of the Indian security forces and that it has fomented a division of labour within the police corps. Moreover, we illustrate how India contests the idea of placing women in security-sensitive areas, in combat roles, and gender-integrated police units.

Waves of American women's movements for reaching changes in their economic, social, and political lives started two centuries ago and were full of turbulences. The role of women in the military has a long history as well. Although the great majority of the U.S. military personnel have always been male, the military has needed and continues to need women's support and participation in many capacities. Starting from the Revolutionary War, the American women actively got involved in all the wars, but historically women's saliency in all XVIII-XX wars, would be substituted by their quiescence in the post-war periods, as a result of men's stereotypical attitude towards women's role which relegated them to the household chores. Alternatively, women's participation and contribution to the wars changed their self-images, and led them to expect equal treatment after the war as well. Men's patriarchal bias towards women's role was so strong, that it took several centuries, several wars to reach progress in the military and peace.Keywords: equal, post-war, military, combat

AbstractThe ever‐increasing prevalence of negative shocks experienced by poor, vulnerable households often induces extreme measures as ways to recover from the negative effects on income. Child marriage is one of the coping mechanisms households may use. This study examines whether young people in households that experience a negative shock are more likely to marry than those not experiencing a shock, and whether this effect differs by lineage system. I show that marrying off daughters is, in fact, a coping mechanism used by patrilineal households after experiencing a shock and that these effects are potentially strongest for young women who are already out of school. Conversely, I find no significant effect for young men. Additionally, I find suggestive evidence of an increased likelihood of young women engaging in transactional sexual relationships after a shock as an individual‐level coping mechanism. Understanding the mechanisms leading to the increased incidence of these phenomena provides valuable information that can help combat such practices.

Adopting a transnational feminist lens and using a political economy approach, this article addresses both the direct and indirect consequences of the 2003 war in Iraq, specifically the impact on civilian women. Pre-war security and gender relations in Iraq will be compared with the situation post-invasion/occupation. The article examines the globalised processes of capitalism, neoliberalism and neo-colonialism and their impact on the political, social and economic infrastructure in Iraq. Particular attention will be paid to illicit and informal economies: coping, combat and criminal. The 2003 Iraq war was fought using masculinities of empire, post-colonialism and neoliberalism. Using the example of forced prostitution, the article will argue that these globalisation masculinities – specifically the privatisation agenda of the West and its illegal economic occupation – have resulted in women either being forced into the illicit (coping) economy as a means of survival, or trafficked for sexual slavery by profit-seeking criminal networks who exploit the informal economy in a post-invasion/occupation Iraq.

AbstractIn this essay, I make the case that the intersectionality framework is useful to explain the high level of obesity among Black women. I describe how the intersectionality framework reformulates the examination of racial and gender disparities in health by deconstructing traditional frames of Whiteness and maleness. Next, I discuss key barriers that operate as mechanisms to reduce Black women's level of physical activity. Then, I provide ways to potentially combat these barriers. In doing so, I argue that being physically active is a privilege rooted in how race, place, gender, and body image converge differently on Black women's propensity to be physically active than other raced and gendered groups. Middle class Black women are excluded from class‐based privileges and experience a form of space invasion where their temporal space, geographic space, and bodily space are invaded. In this regard, this research agenda is not solely about physical activity but rather how the structural arrangements of communities contribute to healthy lifestyles.

Over the past four decades, violence against women (VAW) has come to be seen as a violation of human rights and an important concern for social policy. Yet government action remains uneven. Some countries have adopted comprehensive policies to combat VAW, whereas others have been slow to address the problem. Using an original dataset of social movements and VAW policies in 70 countries over four decades, we show that feminist mobilization in civil society—not intra-legislative political phenomena such as leftist parties or women in government or economic factors like national wealth—accounts for variation in policy development. In addition, we demonstrate that autonomous movements produce an enduring impact on VAW policy through the institutionalization of feminist ideas in international norms. This study brings national and global civil society into large-n explanations of social policy, arguing that analysis of civil society in general—and of social movements in particular—is critical to understanding progressive social policy change.

As wars exert increasing force on global affairs, there is greater demand for understanding the international diversity of family experiences with conflicts. This study examines the relationship between military participation during the Vietnam War (1965-1975) and first-marriage timing among northern Vietnamese men and women. Based on the Vietnam Longitudinal Survey and its recent followup, this paper describes cohort variations in the likelihood and timing of first marriage during pre-war, wartime, and post-war years and addresses the effects of veteran status, combat exposure, duration and timing of service. We find war did not decrease marriage likelihood among men but caused significant delays in first-marriage among veterans. Except for urban women, female first-marriage timing was largely immune from war impacts. Parental role in mate selection, residential propinquity, and postnuptial living arrangement helped facilitating wartime union formation. We extend the present discussion of marriage resilience to shed light on Vietnam's current marriage trends and the "flight from marriage" patterns in Pacific Asia.

Between 1900 and World War I an international political campaign was conducted against 'white slave traffic'. This campaign ultimately resulted in two international agreements to combat the procuring of women for 'immoral purposes' across borders. This article analyzes the politics of the Dutch campaign and argues that it gave rise to a powerful image of the white slave as a meaningful political concept. Although forced prostitution is identified as one of the realities of female migration, the 'white slave' is a historical construction. The first part of the article distinguishes the social meaning of the 'white slave' from older notions about prostitution as slavery. Using the lenses of race, gender and colonialism, the question is what the 'whiteness' of the white slave signified about women, sexual danger and the social order. The second part discusses the political and legal aspects of the Dutch campaign, for example, the rise of a gendered movement, the fight against the brothel and the nature of certain legal changes.

An examination of sex trafficking in the Balkans reveals how three interrelated social groups -- traffickers, trafficked women, & opponents of trafficking -- are all involved in the regional economy of the sex trade. The importance of the Balkans as a center of illegal trading networks is discussed. Data drawn from reports of the International Organization for Migration & the Southeastern European Cooperative Initiative are used to determine the volume, scope, & patterns of Balkan sex trafficking. The most common routes begin in Ukraine, Moldova, & Romania & move through Serbia to West European markets. Since 2000, Albania has been providing the greatest number of trafficked women. Migration, law enforcement, human rights, & structural approaches to conceptualizing the trafficking problem are explored, along with trafficking networks in nearby European Union (EU) states; EU efforts to combat sex trafficking; & the link between anti-trafficking efforts & security interests. It is contended that trafficking must be understood as a function of economic dependency & human rights rather than an illegal migration/law enforcement issue. 2 Tables. J. Lindroth

Among topics discussed: Women and goal‑setting; family background; education; Lowe family business; the two‑politician family; lobbying; state funds to combat child abuse; how became involved in politics; lobbying; Lowe's relationship with Governor Busbee; Carl Sanders; efforts to obtain the 1988 Republican National Convention for Atlanta; how became a Republican; reapportionment; special elections; decision to run for office; first election; campaign organization; Jimmy Carter; Joe Frank Harris; John Greer wins election against Lowe; comparative effectiveness as lobbyist and legislator; ERA; emotional outbursts by legislators; ladies' bathroom and Tom Murphy; accomplishments; funding for Grady Hospital; animosity between Lowe and Joe Mack Wilson; Grace Hamilton; women's issues; Eleanor Richardson; committee appointments; bank vault issue; disappointments; trauma of election loss; business interests following departure from legislature; Elderly Authority Board; future plans; impact as a woman in the legislature; needed changes for women in the legislature. ; Bettye Lowe represented Fulton County in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1978‑1983.