April 5, 2006 Source: :
http://www.brandonu.ca/news/article.asp?A_ID=993 April 2006 Women on Women issue of Ecclectica now available online BRANDON, MB – Women on Women, the Spring 2006 issue of the Brandon University e-zine Ecclectica, is now available online! For this issue, editor and BU faculty member Dr. Elizabeth Graham (Sociology) collected research papers written by students in a course offered at BU for the first time in the fall of 2005. "The Sociology of Women's Body Image and Well-being is a seminar course designed to explore a variety of issues related to women's perceptions regarding body image and women's general sense of well-being," writes Dr. Graham in her introduction. "Some of the issues discussed in class were the influence of culture, and specifically popular culture, on women's body image, physical and sexual assault of women, women's reproductive health issues, psychological health, and eating disorders." The essays presented in the Women on Women issue of Ecclectica are a direct result of the class. Anyone who had taken it was eligible to submit her research paper for the issue. As a result, this issue upholds the Ecclectica tradition of presenting a wide a range of thought and ideas surrounding a particular theme. Here we have articles addressing several different historical issues (such as Stacie Zollen’s "Foot-binding Heels," which explores the similarities between the ancient Chinese practice of foot-binding and the practice of wearing high-heel shoes in current Western society, and Esther Baum's "The Perfect Body: A comparable study of modern Western and ancient Egyptian women," which discusses the possible transference of ideal body images over time), current issues (including Teya Cherland’s revelation in "Female Representation in Children's Literature" that female body image and gender role expectations become issues very early in life and "Young Girls and Body Image," Susan Burns’ discussion of socio-cultural influences on the negative self-image and eating patterns of young girls), and social problems (Celeste Taylor's "Intimate Partner Violence," a look at the issue of self-esteem in abusive relationships, and Courtney Wielenga’s discussion a specific case of the sex industry in her paper, "Sex Trade: The Case of Thailand," in which she explains, "[t]he more we learn about the sex trade globally, the more we will understand the sex trade that is taking place in our own communities.") "The topics that are discussed in these papers are not new; others have written and talked about them for quite some time," says Dr. Graham. "However, it is very infrequently the case that we are given the opportunity to learn what young women think and feel about these issues. The contributors to this issue of Ecclectica are all women in their early twenties, from different places, with different interests and different goals. These women come from a variety of disciplines including sociology, psychology, English, political science, and gender and women's studies. Despite their differences they share an awareness of the difficulties women face in our society and a hope that things will get better." Expand your horizons with the latest issue of Ecclectica! Go to: http://www.ecclectica.ca/issues/2006/1/. Ecclectica is a feature e-magazine of Brandon University. It is dedicated to discoveries and trends in the humanities and sciences and accepts philosophical contributions including theory and criticism. Of course, we are also interested in news, reviews, opinion, personalities, and findings. We hope it will become a home for debates and discourses about cultural issues and will include creative contributions in visual arts, music, and literature. For more information, please contact: Kelly Stifora
Communications Officer
Brandon University
Phone: (204) 727-9762
Email: communications@brandonu.ca - 30 -
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