Phyllis Kernoff Mansfield

Feeling frumpy: the relationships between body image and sexual response changes in midlife women.

This study investigated the relationships between self‐rated attractiveness and self‐reported sexual response changes (over the past decade) and current sexual satisfaction in 307 heterosexual, midlife women. Results indicated that regardless of the womans specific age, she was more likely to consider herself more attractive when she was 10 years younger, and her self‐perceived attractiveness did not significantly differ based on her menopausal status. The more a woman perceived herself as less attractive than before, the more likely she was to report a decline in sexual desire or frequency of sexual activity. The more she perceived herself as attractive, the more likely she was to experience an increase in sexual desire, orgasm, enjoyment, or frequency of sexual activity. There were no significant statistical relationships between a womans perception of her own attractiveness as she aged and her current sexual satisfaction.

The job climate for women in traditionally male blue-collar occupations

Rapid growth has been observed in recent years in the number of women entering traditionally male blue-collar occupations, yet researchers have paid little attention to this pioneering group. The present study undertook a comparison of the job conditions of two groups of nontraditional women workers, tradeswomen (N=71), and transit workers (N=151); a third group, school secretaries (N=389), was studied as a comparison group of traditionally female workers. Results from a 16-page mail questionnaire revealed that women in traditionally male occupations encountered significantly more adverse working conditions than did their traditional counterparts, and, in addition, reported significantly less satisfaction and more stress at work. Tradeswomen were the most likely to experience sexual harassment and sex discrimination, and black tradeswomen to experience race discrimination. The degree of job satisfaction expressed by the secretaries was unexpected, since most evidence suggests that clerical workers lack autonomy, and encounter boredom and routinization on the job. These findings are discussed in terms of gender segregation and the need to focus future research efforts on specific occupational groups in order to make appropriate policy recommendations as well as to provide help for women in these jobs.

Women's sexual desire: A feminist critique

This article offers a critical feminist analysis of the biomédical conceptualization of womens sexual desire. The five major features of the biomedical model of female sexual desire examined and critiqued are (a) use of the male model as the standard, (b) use of a linear model of sexual response, (c) biological reductionism, (d) depoliticalization, and (e) medicalization of variation. A “New View,” an alternative to the biomédical model, is offered for reconceptualizing womens sexual problems. This analysis concludes with recommendations for feminist‐based biopsychosocial research.

Reconciling Messages: The Process of Sexual Talk for Latinas

Young Latinas’experiences and meanings of sexuality were explored through 31 interviews, with grounded theory used to provide theoretical understanding of sexual talk. The women’s level of comfort with sexual talk and their explicitness influenced the kind of sexual talk they engaged in with partners. The analysis of being in a romantic relationship revealed similar descriptions of processes within the accounts that led to the discovery of the core variable reconciling messages. This describes the Latinas’ process of accepting messages that fit their value system, rejecting messages that they feel misrepresent their beliefs, and altering messages to accept their own sexuality. The findings expand Communication Boundary Management theory and have implications for interventions aimed at assisting women with safer sex topics.

Woman-centered information on menopause for health care providers: findings from the Midlife Women's Health Survey.

Despite their growing numbers, midlife women continue to feel marginalized by a health care system that is unresponsive to their needs for current information about the perimenopausal experience and for egalitarian, woman-centered care. In this article, the authors call upon physicians, health educators, nurses, counselors, and other health providers to meet the consumer needs of this ever-growing clientele. To this end, they provide data-based information derived from the responses of more than 400 middle-aged women from across the United States to annual Midlife Womens Health Surveys from 1990 to 1993. The authors focus on enhancing the sensitivity of health care providers toward their midlife clients by offering data describing the normal menopausal transition and the feelings and concerns of this group.

Chinese Midlife Women's Perceptions and Attitudes about Menopause

ObjectiveThe purpose of this research was to discover and describe the meaning of and attitudes toward menopause in midlife Chinese women in Taiwan. How these women learned about menopause was also explored. DesignQuestionnaires were distributed to a convenience sample of 208 Chinese women aged 35 to 55 living in Taiwan; 168 responded. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. Percentage and chi-square were used to examine the quantitative data. ResultsThe findings revealed that 154 (91.7%) women perceived menopause as a natural phenomenon. No statistically significant differences in attitude toward menopause were found between women grouped by different menopausal levels, by use or not use of hormones, or by religious preference. Some women described menopause as, “no longer young, getting old.” Others described menopause as, “wisdom and maturation,” “a symbol of achievement,” and “a time to start enjoying life.” Sixty-eight (40.5%) of the sample indicated they obtained menopausal information from friends and printed materials such as books, newspapers, and magazines. ConclusionsStudy findings indicate that Chinese women in Taiwan perceive menopause in a positive and holistic way. Culturally sensitized Western practitioners can utilize this studys findings to more appropriately individualize care for Chinese midlife women.

Keeping up Appearances: The Basic Social Process of the Menopausal Transition

Sixty-one perimenopausal women experiencing changes in menstrual bleeding were interviewed by phone and were asked about the changes they were experiencing, how they felt about the changes, and how the changes affected their lives. Womens responses indicated that they perceived certain changes (unpredictable or unexpectedly heavy bleeding, intense hot flashes, and sudden emotional outbursts) as potentially embarrassing or disruptive. Womens attempts to conceal and maintain control of changes led to the discovery of the core variable, keeping up appearances. The results of this study emphasize the need for a greater specificity in correlating womens feelings and behaviors with particular changes as well as the need for a better understanding of the ways in which social and cultural expectations influence womens feelings and behavior.

MIDLIFE WOMEN'S ATTRIBUTIONS FOR THEIR SEXUAL RESPONSE CHANGES

This study focused on the sexual response changes of 280 mostly White, married, highly educated midlife women and on the attributions they made for these changes. In a U.S. sample of women participating in the Midlife Womens Health Survey (MWHS), women whose sexual response had changed in the past year (40%) reported more decrements than increases in sexual response. When asked how they accounted for these changes, women referred most often to the physical and emotional changes of menopause and to life circumstances, and less often to their relationships with their partners. The attributions showed a distinct pattern: Most of the decrements were explained by physical events related to menopause, whereas most of the increases were explained by life circumstances. These findings are discussed in terms of a need for studying womens sexuality from a biopsychosocial perspective.This study focused on the sexual response changes of 280 mostly White, married, highly educated midlife women and on the attributions they made for these changes. In a U.S. sample of women participating in the Midlife Womens Health Survey (MWHS), women whose sexual response had changed in the past year (40%) reported more decrements than increases in sexual response. When asked how they accounted for these changes, women referred most often to the physical and emotional changes of menopause and to life circumstances, and less often to their relationships with their partners. The attributions showed a distinct pattern: Most of the decrements were explained by physical events related to menopause, whereas most of the increases were explained by life circumstances. These findings are discussed in terms of a need for studying womens sexuality from a biopsychosocial perspective.

GENDER AND CHANGES IN SUPPORT OF PARENTS IN CHINA: Implications for the One-Child Policy

The Chinese traditionally have valued sons over daughters, depending on their sons to support them in old age. Recent changes, however, suggest a shift toward greater gender equality, with daughters also keeping elderly parents. The present study, undertaken in 1979 in the Peoples Republic of China, assessed attitudes of 48 university staff members toward financial support for aged parents and living arrangements in old age, with an emphasis on gender differences. We found that most sons and daughters gave financial support to their parents regularly and most men and women still believed adult children should share housing with their aged parents. In this sample, the sons assumed this responsibility far more than the daughters, and few of the respondents believed their parents should live with a daughter. However, when asked to project their own preferences in old age, sons thought they would prefer to live with a son, but daughters feel they would like to live with a daughter. These results are discussed in terms of two important cultural changes, the new marriage laws and the one-child policy, that were implemented at the time of the study.

Midlife Childbearing: Strategies for Informed Decisionmaking

More and more women in the United States are choosing to delay motherhood until their 30s or even 40s. Yet traditional medical advice warns against midlife pregnancy, predicting a variety of adverse reproductive outcomes associated with “advanced maternal age.” Assignment to a high-risk category may result in heightened feelings of concern about pregnancy complications among midlife mothers. Because it is possible that increased emotionality during pregnancy may itself give rise to various childbearing complications, some middle-aged women may become victims of iatrogenic stress during pregnancy. This article first examines critically the medical literature describing the relationship between maternal age and pregnancy outcomes and finds little support for the medical pessimism. Next, the article describes the literature that explores the links between heightened emotionality during pregnancy and various negative outcomes and suggests that, despite serious methodological flaws, there is some evidence that fear-induced stress during pregnancy may place certain middle-aged women at higher risk for complications. Finally, strategies for improved decisionmaking and for enhancing the pregnancy experience of midlife women are proposed.