Feminism and feminist theory Books

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Book SynopsisThis is the first comprehensive account of the multifaceted processes of gendered transformation that took place in Myanmar between 2011 and 2021, and which continues to shape events today. The period began with the end of direct military rule and the transition to a hybrid, semi-democratic regime, precipitating far-reaching political, economic and social changes across Myanmar. To date, the gendered dynamics and effects of this transition have not yet received sustained scholarly attention. Remedying this gap, this book provides a much-needed historical corrective through a careful, nuanced analysis of the gendered dynamics of transitional politics, institutions and policymaking; feminist resistance, mobilization, and movement building; and their effects on labor, land, and everyday lives. Although the February 2021 military coup brought an end to this decade of experimentation and transition, in the richness of its analysis and detail, the book offers a deeper understanding of the current political situation in Myanmar. The gendered changes that the transition brought about have shaped both the current configuration of masculinized, military dictatorship, as well as the unprecedented role played by women in resistance to military rule after the 2021 coup. This analysis of the gendered dynamics and effects of the recent decade of political transition in Myanmar is therefore critical for understanding current events, as well as the ways in which Myanmar’s political landscape might continue to be reshaped.

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Book SynopsisMainstream feminist discourse has failed to fully engage with commercial sex work. In a series of groundbreaking, previously unpublished essays, The Business of Sex corrects this lacuna. Moving beyond the traditional feminist focus on slavery and trafficking, HIV/AIDS, and other health issues, the contributors to this volume engage fully with the political and theoretical implications of sex work. Dismissing old antagonisms, they argue that feminism - thanks to its role in revolutionizing perspectives on sexuality and labor - is a natural ally for the sex workers' rights movement. In the process, these innovative scholars provocatively critique the dominant moral paradigm of heterosexual monogamy, which has created a pervasive "victim" discourse and limited our understanding of sex work's complex realities. Drawing on firsthand stories of sex workers and prostitutes, this volume gives voice to newly articulated movements such as "whore feminism" and "queer feminism" - feminisms that have the potential to move discussions about sex work onto new and fruitful terrain.

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Book SynopsisWhether it is in-vitro fertilization, sperm injection, surrogacy, cryopreservation, or intrauterine insemination, assisted reproductive technology (ART) has revolutionized our understanding of pregnancy, birth, infertility, and women's bodies. Viewed by some as a technological quick-fix for infertility, ARTs create both challenges and opportunities, and responses to them have sought to balance questions of ethics, rights, and politics. With essays by eminent academics and activists, Reconfiguring Reproduction examines the ART industry by bringing a feminist health lens to bear on the experiences of women in countries such as Korea, Canada, the United States, Israel, Australia, India, and others. In essays focused on the expansion of the industry, the gendered nature of the burden and treatment of infertility, the destabilization of the family as we know it, and feminist debates around surrogacy that reassess ideas of agency and commodification, Reconfiguring Reproduction charts a fast-changing and highly politically charged area, where commerce, medical technology, ethics, and ideology intersect.

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