Queerly Phrased: Language, Gender, and Sexuality

Queerly Phrased: Language, Gender, and Sexuality. Anna Livia and Kira Hall. eds. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.460 pp.     

Dragging Drag: The Performance of Gender and Sexuality in the Cook Islands

Kia Orana day is an annual event on the island of Aitutaki. It consists of performances from a number of government departments to an audience of locals and the occasional tourist. The Kia Orana day described here featured a drag show by the Ministry of Outer Islands Development. Drag shows are prevalent in the Cook Islands and they are performed by both ‘heterosexual’ and ‘homosexual’ men. This paper explores some of the reasons for their popularity through an examination of gendered ideologies that structure Cook Islands social life—in particular the ways in which gender is embodied in everyday movement and dance. The examination of forms of sexuality and gender presented in public life are used to explain the comic currency of drag. I present a number of different interpretations of the Kia Orana performance and suggest that although it may have a similar appearance to Western drag, it has different meanings in the Cook Islands. These meanings suggest drag revolves around notions of gender which are not necessarily defined by sexuality. Cook Islands drag, I propose, must be contextualised in terms of Cook Islands notions of personhood.     

Renovated: Gender and Cinema in Contemporary Vietnam

This article discusses the changes in Vietnamese cinema from the Socialist to the contemporary period from the viewpoint of gender representation. Under socialist conditions of cultural production, films were made by state-funded studios, with a clear mandate to provide the population with film material appropriate to the state's ideals. Since Doi moi (“Renovation”) in the late 1980s, Vietnam was opened up to market forces and cinematic practices have responded. Issues of gender have come into focus, and films exploring these themes have emerged from both state studios and private investors. Nevertheless conservative social values remain strong, and gender remains an area of dynamic uncertainty.     

Sexuality and Gender Role in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Case Control Study

The ‘extreme male brain theory of autism’ describes an extreme male pattern of cognitive traits defined as strong systemising abilities paired with empathising weaknesses in autism spectrum disorder. However, beyond these cognitive traits, clinical observations have suggested an ambiguous gender-typed pattern regarding several sexually dimorphic traits.The aim of the present study was to investigate if patterns of non-cognitive sexually dimorphic traits differed between the autism spectrum disorder and control groups. Fifty adults with autism spectrum disorder and intelligence within the normal range, and 53 neurotypical controls responded to questions on gender role, self-perceived gender typicality and gender identity, as well as sexuality. Measures used were a Swedish modification of the Bem Sex Role Inventory and questions on sexuality and gender designed for the purpose of this study. Our results showed that one common gender role emerged in the autism spectrum disorder group. Masculinity (e.g. assertiveness, leadership and competitiveness) was weaker in the autism spectrum disorder group than in the controls, across men and women. Self-perceived gender typicality did not differ between the groups but tomboyism and bisexuality were overrepresented amongst women with autism spectrum disorder. Lower libido was reported amongst both male and female participants with autism spectrum disorder compared with controls. We conclude that the extreme male patterns of cognitive functions in the autistic brain do not seem to extend to gender role and sexuality. A gender-atypical pattern for these types of characteristics is suggested in autism spectrum disorder.     

Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality

Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality. Sue-Ellen Jacobs. Wesley Thomas. and Sabine Lang, eds. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 1997.332 pp.     

The Gender/Sexuality Reader: Culture, History, Political Economy

The Gender/Sexuality Reader: Culture, History, Political Economy. Roger N. Lancaster and Micaela di Leonardo. eds. New York; Routledge, 1997. 574 pp.     

4-1BB: Still in the Midst of Darkness

4-1BB is a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily. The receptor functions mainly as a costimulatory molecule in T lymphocytes. In addition, several lines of evidence have shown that interactions between 4-1BB and its ligand are involved in the antigen presentation process and the generation of cytotoxic T cells. Recent studies, however, have demonstrated that 4-1BB plays more diverse roles: Signals through 4-1BB are important for long-term survival of CD8⁺ T cells and the induction of helper T cell anergy. Clinically, there is great interest in 4-1BB, because T-cell activation induced by anti-4-1BB monoclonal antibodies is highly efficient in the eradication of established tumor cells in mice. Now, since mice deficient in 4-1BB or the 4-1BB ligand are available, subtle roles played by 4-1BB may be revealed in the near future.     

The Cool Knife: Imagery of Gender, Sexuality, and Moral Education inKaguru Initiation Ritual

The Cool Knife: Imagery of Gender, Sexuality, and Moral Education inKaguru Initiation Ritual. T. O. Beidelman. Washington, DO. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997. 312 pp.     

Zebrafish Rohon-Beard Neuron Development: Cdk5 in the Midst

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (cdk5) is a proline-directed serine/threonine kinase that is activated mostly by association with its activators, p35 and p39. Initially projected as a neuron-specific kinase, cdk5 is expressed ubiquitously and its kinase activity solely depends on the presence of its activators, which are also found in some non-neuronal tissues. As a multifunctional protein, cdk5 has been linked to axonogenesis, cell migration, exocytosis, neuronal differentiation and apoptosis. Cdk5 plays a critical role in functions other than normal physiology, especially in neurodegeneration. Its contribution to both normal physiological as well as pathological processes is mediated by its specific substrates. Cdk5-null mice are embryonically lethal, therefore making it difficult to study precisely what cdk5 does to the nervous system at early stages of development, be it neuron development or programmed cell death. Zebrafish model system bypasses the impediment, as it is amenable to reverse genetics studies. One of the functions that we have followed for the cdk5 ortholog in zebrafish in vivo is its effect on the Rohon-Beard (RB) neurons. RB neurons are the primary sensory spinal neurons that die during the first two days of zebrafish development eventually to be replaced by the dorsal root ganglia (DRG). Based on ours studies and others’, here we discuss possible mechanisms that may be involved in cdk5’s role in RB neuron development and survival.     

Machos and Sluts: Gender, Sexuality, and Violence among a Cohort of Puerto Rican Adolescents

During the past decade, interpersonal violence increasingly has become a public health concern. As a result, prevention programs now aim to decrease violence among diverse populations. This article describes the beliefs and rationale for gender-based violence among a cohort of low-income, predominantly second-generation, mainland Puerto Rican adolescents. Based on a three-year (1989-91) ethnographic study, the findings describe how these young people, through the use of gender-based social constructs such as "machos" and "sluts," justify violence by linking it to beliefs about gender roles, sexuality, and biology, and thus perpetuate gender-role conformity, particularly heterosexual male dominance. The findings suggest that if the public health community is going to reduce gender-based violence among Puerto Rican youth, it needs to acknowledge that gender and sexuality are important ingredients that support violence and avoid a simplified and stereotypical model of culture that ignores other social factors and changes in traditional Latino gender roles.     

Measuring Mamma's Milk: Fascism and the Medicalization of Maternity in Italy

Measuring Mamma's Milk: Fascism and the Medicalization of Maternity in Italy. Elizabeth Dixon Whitaker. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000. 358 pp.     

For the Love of Women: Gender, Identity, and Same-Sex Relations in a Greek Provincial Town

For the Love of Women: Gender, Identity, and Same-Sex Relations in. Greek Provincial Town . Elisabeth Kirtsoglu. New York: Routledge, 2004. 192 pp.