Brendan Gough

“Warning! alcohol can seriously damage your feminine health”: A discourse analysis of recent British newspaper coverage of women and drinking

Women’s increasing alcohol consumption has come under intense scrutiny recently within the UK press and, as this paper will report, the coverage on the whole can be seen to present women who drink as problematic. Although feminist researchers have examined media constructions of gender (Marjorie Ferguson 1983; Ellen McCracken 1993), and although men’s drinking has been the subject of critical analyses (Brendan Gough & Gareth Edwards 1998; Debra Kaminer & John Dixon 1995), there appears to be little feminist work on women’s drinking per se. This is a significant omission, since gender representations around eating, drinking, or sex tend to draw upon conventional ideals around femininity (and masculinity) and as such invite feminist deconstruction (Susan Bordo 1997; Julie Hepworth & Christine Griffin 1995). It is also necessary for feminists working in this area to examine critically scientific thinking on women’s drinking, as media constructions and everyday understandings will inevitably be distilled from mainstream psychological “knowledge.” Indeed, science is often invoked in discourse to warrant particular constructions as legitimate or self-evident, as opposed to mere opinion (Derek Edwards & Jonathan Potter 1992).

Qualitative Research and Its Place in Psychological Science

In discussing the place of diverse qualitative research within psychological science, the authors highlight the potential permeability of the quantitative-qualitative boundary and identify different ways of increasing communication between researchers specializing in different methods. Explicating diversity within qualitative research is facilitated, initially, through documenting the range of qualitative data collection and analytic methods available. The authors then consider the notion of paradigmatic frame and review debates on the current and future positioning of qualitative research within psychological science. In so doing, the authors argue that the different ways in which the concept of paradigm can be interpreted allow them to challenge the idea that diverse research paradigms are prima facie incommensurate. Further, reviewing the ways in which proponents of qualitative research are seeking to reconfigure the links between paradigms helps the authors to envisage how communication between research communities can be enhanced. This critical review allows the authors to systematize possible configurations for research practice in psychology on a continuum of paradigm integration and to specify associated criteria for judging intermethod coherence.

Women in medicine − is there a problem? A literature review of the changing gender composition, structures and occupational cultures in medicine

Background  Internationally, there are increasing numbers of women entering medicine. Although all countries have different health care systems and social contexts, all still show horizontal (women concentrated in certain areas of work) and vertical (women under represented at higher levels of the professions) segregation. There is much discussion and competing explanations about the implications of the increasing numbers of women in the medical profession.

Healthy masculinities? How ostensibly healthy men talk about lifestyle, health and gender.

Research on mens health has predominantly focussed on links between ‘hegemonic’ masculinities (e.g. perceived invulnerability) and health-averse practices (e.g. high fat diets). However, it seems reasonable to assume that not all men adopt conventional ‘unhealthy’ masculine positions, so it is important to study those men who are engaged in healthy practices to see how masculinity is constructed in this context. The research reported here derives from an interview study with men categorised as pursuing health-promoting lifestyles (regular exercise, no/low alcohol intake etc.). The focus is on how these apparently ‘healthy’ men (n = 10) account for their health-promoting practices, with a particular focus on the role of masculinities in framing these practices. Following intensive analysis of the interview transcripts drawing upon elements of discourse analysis, we identify a variety of accounts used by the men to frame their health-promoting practices. For example, all the men disavowed a direct interest in talking/thinking about health, construed as excessive and feminine, and instead justified their practices variously in terms of action-orientation, sporting targets, appearance concerns and being autonomous. These findings are discussed with respect to the relationships between masculinities and health, and implications for health promotion work with men are discussed.

Why do young adult smokers continue to smoke despite the health risks? A focus group study

The focus of this article is on constructions of health and illness in relation to smoking. Specifically, we were interested in how culturally embedded health promotion messages were discussed and understood by our young smokers–and how continued smoking was rationalised in the context of a thoroughgoing anti-smoking climate. To investigate accounts of smoking maintenance, we conducted focus group discussions (N = 22 groups) with young adults from both high school and university settings. Techniques from discourse analysis were used to identify significant patterns of talk around health and smoking, and three main repertoires were elicited. First, the health risks of smoking were downplayed in several ways (e.g. by citing other risky activities). Second, the putative health benefits of smoking were emphasised (e.g. stress relief). Third, smoking was construed as a temporary, youthful phenomenon, which would cease upon entering responsible adulthood. The implications of these three interlocking repertoires are discussed in relation to smoking maintenance, and suggestions for targeted health promotion are made.

Defining and Defending ‘Unhealthy’ Practices A Discourse Analysis of Chocolate ‘Addicts” Accounts

Contemporary ideals of health and nutrition conspire to render the consumption of chocolate and similar snacks problematic. Individuals who self-define as ‘chocoholics’ therefore present an ideal opportunity to investigate how ostensibly unhealthy acts are defined, defended and maintained within a health-conscious climate. This article reports on an interview-based study with five self-professed chocoholics. A Foucauldian form of discourse analysis was applied to the interview transcripts and four main discourses identified: chocolate as dirty and dangerous; chocolate as pleasure; self-surveillance; and addiction. The function of such discourses in terms of upholding the moral status of these individuals is discussed.

“I never touched anybody—that's my defence”: A qualitative analysis of internet sex offender accounts

Abstract There is an ongoing public debate about internet sex offenders: do they progress to contact offences, or are their deviant interests sufficiently satisfied through downloading indecent images of children? Also, do such individuals accept that they create victims in the absence of direct physical contact with children? This paper presents an analysis of the accounts offered by individuals convicted of internet-based sexual offences involving the downloading and viewing of images of children (n = 7). The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA); a number of themes were generated from the rich data set produced. Here we focus upon the dominant theme of “self-distancing” wherein interviewees variously and often creatively rejected the view that they were creating child victims, actively disidentified from the sex offender label and generally downplayed their accountability relating to their offending activities. Findings are discussed in relation to policy implications and treatment.

Coming Out in the Heterosexist World of Sport: A Qualitative Analysis of Web Postings by Gay Athletes

SUMMARY The literature on coming out typically concerns experiences with family and friends, but apart from a few (auto)biographies by elite gay athletes, there is very little published on how gay athletes come out to their sporting peers. Since most sports are infused with ideals and practices associated with hegemonic masculinity and heterosexuality, coming out is likely to present some unique challenges for gay athletes. This paper reports on a preliminary study based on an analysis of online accounts (N = 8) provided by North American gay athletes for a web-based newsletter. Techniques from qualitative research methods, popular with and informed by various feminist, critical, and lesbian and gay psychologists in the UK, are used to make sense of these accounts. A clear pattern emerged across all accounts, incorporating the following key themes: (1) Sport as distraction from sexuality; (2) Invisibility and isolation within sport; (3) Coming out to the team: difficult but rewarding; and (4) Becoming politicised: challenging heterosexism within sport. Discussion centres on the challenges and opportunities facing gay men within sporting contexts and the implications of the analysis for possible psychological interventions with gay athletes. The need for further qualitative research in this area is also underlined.

'They did not have a word': the parental quest to locate a 'true sex' for their intersex children

Given the paucity of research in this area, the primary aim of this study was to explore how parents of infants with unclear sex at birth made sense of ‘intersex’. Qualitative methods were used (semi-structured interviews, interpretative phenomenological analysis) with 10 parents to generate pertinent themes and provide ideas for further research. Our analysis highlights the fundamental shock engendered by the uncertain sex status of children, and documents parental struggles to negotiate a coherent sex identity for their children. Findings are discussed in light of the rigid two-sex system which pervades medicine and everyday life, and we argue that greater understanding of the complexity of sex and gender is required in order to facilitate better service provision and, ultimately, greater informed consent and parental participation regarding decisions about their childrens status.

Smoking in the lived world: How young people make sense of the social role cigarettes play in their lives

This qualitative study explored how young people (16- to 24-year olds), both smokers and non-smokers, talk about the social role of smoking in their everyday lives. In 22 focus group interviews, 47 high school children and 40 university undergraduates participated. On the basis of analyses, it is proposed that the perceived need to smoke cannot be reduced to addiction; cigarettes appear to play a complex social role in young peoples lives. In order to resist smoking, participants highlighted the need to provide an excuse to peers, and some reasons (e.g. an interest in sport for boys) were considered more legitimate than others. Cigarettes (certain brands) were also claimed to be used as a way of controlling other peoples perception of smokers, and also to serve as a social tool (for instance, to fill in awkward gaps in conversation). Additionally, smoking was argued to be subject to context (e.g. some schools possess a pro-smoking ethic, while others and universities are anti-smoking). Finally, it was claimed that stopping smoking is difficult since all of the foregoing social factors cannot easily be avoided. The findings of this study compliment and enrich existing social psychological approaches to smoking in young people, and lay the basis for anti-smoking campaigns which take into account the complex social role cigarettes play in the lives of young people.