This paper emerges in the course of a doctoral study which explores the role of cultural texts (those found in both curriculum and popular culture) in the construction of adolescent girls’ ‘envisionings’ of womanhood. The paper offers a feminist post-structuralist/psychoanalytic approach to the analysis of one curriculum text and proceeds with a discourse analysis of three girls’ responses to t...

The first anesthetic for childbirth and the first recognition of the importance of hand hygiene in obstetrics coincidentally occurred within 5 months of one another in 1847. More than 150 years later, one would have thought that these milestone events would have been fully integrated into practice. However, individuals resist transformational change, which is defined as a fundamental alteration...

Female genital mutilation, also known as female genital cutting, is a deeply rooted cultural practice in more than 28 African countries, parts of the middle east, and pockets of Asia. Annually, an estimated 2 million girls come of age in such areas.1 Support for the practice in communities is broad-based. Mothers, mothers-in-law, fathers, and religious and community leaders defend the practice ...

Background: In many ways, the experience of stigma has come out of the closet but yet it remains a seriously neglected issue in the global response to some chronic disease such as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is the most common hormonal problem in women which can be a precursor to many life threatening conditions including type II diabetes, hypertension, ca...

Background: In many ways, the experience of stigma has come out of the closet but yet it remains a seriously neglected issue in the global response to some chronic disease such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). PCOS is the most common hormonal problem in women which can be a precursor to many life threatening conditions including type II diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and ca...