Majella McFadden

“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).

Screening for the risk of job loss in multiple sclerosis (MS): development of an MS-specific Work Instability Scale (MS-WIS).

Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) mainly presents amongst those of working age. Depending upon the type of MS, many people embark upon a long period of managing their day-to-day work-related needs in the face of intermittent and sometimes persistent disabling symptoms. The objective of this study was to explore the concept of work instability (WI) following the onset of MS and develop a Work Instability Scale (WIS) specific to this population. Method: WI amongst those with MS in work was explored through qualitative interviews which were then used to generate items for a WIS. Rasch analysis was used to refine the scaling properties of the MS-WIS, which was then validated against expert vocational assessment by occupational health physiotherapists and ergonomists. Results: The resulting measure is a 22-item, self-administered scale which can be scored in three bands indicating low, medium and high risk of WI (job retention) problems. The scale meets modern psychometric requirements for measurement, indicated by adequate fit to the Rasch model with absence of local dependency and differential item functioning (DIF) by age, gender and hours worked. Conclusions: The scale presents an opportunity in routine clinical practice to take positive action to reduce sickness absence and prevent job loss.

Sexual Identities and Practices

This chapter outlines psychological understandings of sexuality charting differences in definitions and expression of sexual orientations and practices between traditional and critical schools of thought. Theoretical representations of sexuality as the product of biological processes and substances (evolution, hormones, anatomy, etc.) and heterosexuality as the most natural and normal mode of sexual identity and behaviour are challenged through the introduction of critical perspectives. Drawing from sociological, feminist and ‘queer’ theory perspectives, the social construction of sexuality is emphasised with issues of power, discourse and resistance highlighted and the complexity and fluidity in sexed identities and relationships detailed.