Deny None of It: A Biocultural Reading of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
Gry Faurholt

Abstract Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has predominantly been read as a critique of patriarchy, a feminist dystopia. This article amends the feminist analysis by applying a biocultural approach to the novel, taking as its point of departure three problems that have troubled the feminist reading: Offred’s perceived passivity, the novel’s subtly critical stance towards its feminist characters, and the open ending. By taking into account the environmental context-a fertility crisis-the biocultural reading is able to analyze char­acter in terms of survival and reproductive strategies. Recognizing that the characters are negotiating male and female mating strategies under extreme conditions leads to a deeper comprehension of the way the contrasting philosophies of radical feminism and sociobi­ology inform sexual politics in the Republic of Gilead.

Temida ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-54
Author(s):  
Marissabell Skoric

The study deals with the issue of whether the norms of criminal law make a distinction between male and female sex with regard to the perpetrator of the criminal offence as well as with regard to the victim of the criminal offence and also the issue of whether male or female sex have any role in the criminal law. It is with this objective in mind that the author analyzed the provisions of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Croatia and statistical data on total crime in the Republic of Croatia and the relation between male and female perpetrators of criminal offences. The statistical data reveal that men commit a far greater number of offences than women. Apart from this, women and men also differ according to the type of the criminal offence they tend to commit. Women as perpetrators of criminal offences that involve the element of violence are very rare. At the same time, women are very often victims of violent offences perpetrated by men, which leads us to the term of gender-based violence. Although significant steps forward have been made at the normative level in the Republic of Croatia in defining and sanctioning of genderbased violence, gender stereotypes can still be observed in practice when sexual crimes are in question so that we can witness domestic violence on a daily basis. All of this leads to the conclusion that it is necessary to make further efforts in order to remove all obstacles that prevent changes in social relations and ensure equality between women and men, not only de jure but also de facto.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 140
Author(s):  
LUDMYLLA MENDES LIMA

<p><strong>Resumo: </strong>O presente artigo trata de analisar o modo particular como Machado de Assis constrói a representação dos fatos históricos brasileiros no romance <em>Esaú e Jacó</em>. Este romance traz em seu enredo dois importantes fatos históricos ocorridos no final do século XIX: a Abolição da Escravatura, em 1888 e a Proclamação da República, em 1889. O tratamento literário dado pelo autor aos fatos, imprimindo irrelevância aos mesmos no contexto do enredo, revela que para ser Realista ‘à brasileira’, naquelas circunstâncias específicas, era necessário mostrar o curso da História tendo como base a ausência de transformação.</p><p><strong>Palavras-chave</strong>: Machado de Assis – <em>Esaú e Jacó</em> – História do Brasil.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Abstract: </strong>This paper intends to analyze the special way Machado de Assis builds the representation of Brazilian historical facts in the novel <em>Esaú e Jacó</em>. This novel brings in its plot two important historical events that happened in the late Nineteenth century: the Abolition of Slavery, in 1888; and the Proclamation of the Republic, in 1889. The literary treatment given by the author to the events, printing irrelevance to them, in the context of the plot, reveals that to build a Brazilian realism, in those circumstances, it was necessary to show the course of history based on the absence of transformation.</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong>: Machado de Assis – <em>Esaú e Jacó –</em> Brazilian History.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cesar Sierra ◽  
Ilario De Toma ◽  
Lorenzo Lo Cascio ◽  
Esteban Vegas ◽  
Mara Dierssen

The use of mouse models has revolutionized the field of Down syndrome (DS), increasing our knowledge about neuropathology and helping to propose new therapies for cognitive impairment. However, concerns about the reproducibility of results in mice and their translatability to humans have become a major issue, and controlling for moderators of behavior is essential. Social and environmental factors, the experience of the researcher, and the sex and strain of the animals can all have effects on behavior, and their impact on DS mouse models has not been explored. Here we analyzed the influence of a number of social and environmental factors, usually not taken into consideration, on the behavior of male and female wild-type and trisomic mice (the Ts65Dn model) in one of the most used tests for proving drug effects on memory, the novel object recognition (NOR) test. Using principal component analysis and correlation matrices, we show that the ratio of trisomic mice in the cage, the experience of the experimenter, and the timing of the test have a differential impact on male and female and on wild-type and trisomic behavior. We conclude that although the NOR test is quite robust and less susceptible to environmental influences than expected, to obtain useful results, the phenotype expression must be contrasted against the influences of social and environmental factors.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Romanova ◽  
O Krasko

Aim of the study: to evaluate the dynamics and to make a comparative analysis of male and female mortality among the population of Belarus Republic during 1959 – 2015.Materials and methods. The data on natural population movement in the Republic of Belarus during 1959 – 2015 have been analyzed in the research work. Crude and standardized mortality rates have been calculated using the direct standardization according to the world standard (Standard “World”), approved by WHO. JoinPoint software was used to investigate time trends as well as office suite MSEXCEL 2010.Results of the study. The minimum values of male and female crude and standardized mortality rates were established in 1964. Throughout the study period, the male population mortality rate grew 1.8-fold (based on crude rates – 2.4-fold), the female population mortality rate – 1.6-fold (based on crude rates – 2.2-fold). During 1985 – 2005, the differences in crude mortality rates among men and women grew 1.2-fold, and during 1962 – 2011, the differences in standardized rates increased 1.8-fold. Since 2003, the mortality rate among men and since 1999, the death rate among women has declined with an annual decrease rate to be more than twice as high as compared to an annual mortality increase registered during its growth.Conclusion. Since the 1960s, the changes in population age structure of the male and female population affected the crude mortality rates. The male and female mortality growth is due to an increased unfavorable impact of combined environmental factors. The adaptive capacity of women to sustain environmental changes contributed to their later entry into the period of mortality growth, as compared to men. The mortality rate reduction in men since 2003 and the excess of a decrease over an increase rate is associated with a set of state measures aimed at protecting and strengthening the public health in the republic.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2375
Author(s):  
Alexander G. Litov ◽  
Oxana A. Belova ◽  
Ivan S. Kholodilov ◽  
Magomed N. Gadzhikurbanov ◽  
Larissa V. Gmyl ◽  
...  

Members of the Lipopteninae subfamily are blood-sucking ectoparasites of mammals. The sheep ked (Melophagus ovinus) is a widely distributed ectoparasite of sheep. It can be found in most sheep-rearing areas and can cause skin irritation, restlessness, anemia, weight loss and skin injuries. Various bacteria and some viruses have been detected in M. ovinus; however, the virome of this ked has never been studied using modern approaches. Here, we study the virome of M. ovinus collected in the Republic of Tuva, Russia. In our research, we were able to assemble full genomes for five novel viruses, related to the Rhabdoviridae (Sigmavirus), Iflaviridae, Reoviridae and Solemoviridae families. Four viruses were found in all five of the studied pools, while one virus was found in two pools. Phylogenetically, all of the novel viruses clustered together with various recently described arthropod viruses. All the discovered viruses were tested on their ability to replicate in the mammalian porcine embryo kidney (PEK) cell line. Aksy-Durug Melophagus sigmavirus RNA was detected in the PEK cell line cultural supernate after the first, second and third passages. Such data imply that this virus might be able to replicate in mammalian cells, and thus, can be considered as a possible arbovirus.


Author(s):  
Cihan Tastan ◽  
Bulut Yurtsever ◽  
Gozde Sir ◽  
Derya Dilek Kancagi ◽  
Sevda Demir ◽  
...  

AbstractThe novel coronavirus pneumonia, which was named later as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), is caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, namely SARS-CoV-2. It is a positive-strand RNA virus that is the seventh coronavirus known to infect humans. The COVID-19 outbreak presents enormous challenges for global health behind the pandemic outbreak. The first diagnosed patient in Turkey has been reported by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health on March 11, 2020. Today, over ninety thousand cases in Turkey, and two million cases around the world have been declared. Due to the urgent need for vaccine and anti-viral drug, isolation of the virus is crucial. Here, we report one of the first isolation and characterization studies of SARS-CoV-2 from nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal specimens of diagnosed patients in Turkey. This study provides an isolation and replication methodology, and cell culture tropism of the virus that will be available to the research communities.Article SummaryScientists have isolated virus from Turkish COVID-19 patients. The isolation, propagation, and plaque and immune response assays of the virus described here will serve in following drug discovery and vaccine testing.


2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 1323-1326 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTIN VORACEK ◽  
MARYANNE L. FISHER

Parker et al. (31, 549–553) analysed the monthly incidence of registered male and female suicides in the Republic of Singapore for the 120 consecutive months 1989–98.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Suci Annisa Caroline ◽  
Novi Anoegrajekti ◽  
Heru S. P. Saputra

In a dominant patriarchal culture, women are considered lower than men in many aspects such as education, politics, workplace, and the sexuality discourse. This article shows the representation of women who symbolize her resistance which is reflected in the novel entitled Jalan Panjang Menuju Pulang by Pipiet Senja. It is used qualitative method supported by descriptive analysis on the basis of theoretical of radical feminism. The results of the study show that woman (Fatin) is subjugated by men. There are physical violence, psychological violence, and also domestic violence which happened to Fatin. Hans did Sexual harassment, while sexual violence done by Frankie. Meanwhile her husband ,Rimbong, threat her and hit her. Fatin suffers psychic and also physical violence. This spouse fought for the custody right. This research discuss about how Fatin showing her resistance to the domestic violence and sexual violence. In her apartment, Fatin dares to scuffles then reports Frankie to the police. She also reveals her resistance by hiding away her child when her husband will take her child.


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