Paper short abstract:

Indigenous knowledge systems are absent from Ghanaian psychology. Witchcraft, rooted in indigenous psychology and heavily influenced by spirituality, disproportionately victimizes women. A human rights-based theoretical framework for indigenizing Ghanaian psychology will be introduced.

Paper long abstract:

Psychology's relevance is predicated on how solidly it is rooted in the cultural philosophies of the people it is intended to serve. Westernized Ghanaian psychology has failed to incorporate indigenous folk and philosophical psychologies into explanations of psychological phenomena (Oppong, 2016), and lack the integration of culturally specific philosophical influences on the causes of behavior and the overall human experience. In its denial of ethnoepistemological explanations (Yankah, 2012), indigenous cultural contextual factors are mostly absent from modern psychological models. Ghanaians possess resilient respect for traditional religious beliefs regarding ancestors, animistic spirits, and other supernatural forces. Religion scaffolds the entire indigenous social fabric and all aspects of mental and physical well-being (Adinkrah, 2011), with little distinction between spiritual and public spheres. In indigenous Ghanaian knowledge systems, spirituality is of ultimate relevance to the being; and is perhaps the pivotal point of human existence (Sarfo, 2010).

Witchcraft, a commonly held belief in Ghana, has roots in the indigenous concept of personality, which is deeply tied to spirituality (Onyinah, 2019). Further, witchcraft is inextricably linked to the psychological reactions of those suffering from ill health, misfortune, and an inability to control personal or collective destinies (Field, 1937). Accusations of witchcraft disproportionally affect women and have resulted in significant violence, gender discrimination, and human rights violations, including torture (Onyinah, 2009). Indigenizing Ghanaian psychology could help develop theories and models for understanding witchcraft victimization in culturally appropriate psychological constructs. A human rights-based theoretical framework for indigenizing Ghanaian psychology will be introduced in this paper.

Paper short abstract:

Can an ethical ideal of bureaucratic objectivity promote an alternative, feminist, bureaucratic practice that would challenge the patriarchal gendered hegemony governing most bureaucracies? Tracing the moral experience of an all-women team of Israeli government bureaucrats suggests that maybe so.

Paper long abstract:

Can an ethical ideal of bureaucratic objectivity promote an alternative, feminist, bureaucratic practice that would challenge the patriarchal gendered hegemony governing most bureaucracies? Drawing upon fieldwork with the bureaucratic team of the Israeli Sal Committee suggests that maybe so. The Sal Committee is a government-appointed committee that convenes annually to determine subsidies on new medical treatments as part of Israel's public healthcare program. Aware of the life-and-death implications of committee decisions, the committee's bureaucratic all-women team who prepare the data upon which the committee makes its decisions, attempt to "work objectively" to promote the ethical goal of fair resource allocation. To them, working objectively means ensuring that the documents they write do not convey their personal views. This conception intersected with their gendered predisposition towards minimizing their presence at the committee, which presumably emanated from the patriarchal gendered hegemony governing their workplace. Together, these two orientations directed staff members to "work objectively" by engaging practices aimed at minimizing their presence in Sal Committee's discussions.

Drawing upon phenomenologist Iris Young's "Throwing Like a Girl" (1979), I thus argue that Sal Committee staff members "bureaucratize like girls." Bureaucratizing like a girl can bring about a reaffirmation of a patriarchal division of labor. Nonetheless, it also brought the staff to constitute a model of bureaucratic work that resembles the alternative, feminist model of bureaucracy offered by feminist scholar Kathy Ferguson (1984). Examining bureaucratic practice through the prism of moral experience thus illuminates the potentiality for a feminist "otherwise" in bureaucratic systems.

Paper short abstract:

In the center of my analysis I place the dependencies between cultural distance and acculturation process, and their impact on identity changes of migrant women and the role of social mirror and the self reflected emerging in the relationship of female migrants to the host society and new culture.

Paper long abstract:

Women who decide to escape from their country of origin, and opposition to the cultural norms and patterns adopted in their communities, often break cultural taboos. The situation of forced migrants is radically different from that of male refugees. Likewise, the adaptability of these two groups is incomparable. As a result, they are forced to redefine their existing identity determined by traditional gender roles that define a specific framework for self-perception. In consequence, their existing identity (individual and social) in a conflict situation is broken down and becomes problematic (Wetherell & Edley 1998).Women usually take care of children, which largely determines their adaptation strategies. It is also of great importance for their self-perception and self-definition (Bem 1972). The fact of being a woman is often associated with the internalization of a specific culture and its behavioral patterns that dominate other identifications and become an embodied identity (objectification theory) (Fredrickson & Roberts 1997,). The attempts to meet the real and imaginary expectations of the own group and members of the settlement culture give direction to most of their activities. This fact often determines how will unfold the relations of foreign women with representatives of the local community. The research I carried out in this environment confirmed that the "mirror" in which forced migrants most often look at themselves is not a "social mirror" reflecting opinions and beliefs about them, functioning in the host community, but "distorting mirror" of their own cultures - deforming image, determining self-definition and hindering acculturation (Chaika 2007).

Paper short abstract:

This paper delves into the shared experience of plus-size Japanese women in Tokyo, Japan. It focuses on fashion events which act as a source for collective effervescence, community building, feelings of inclusions, negotiating identity, social support, and body positivity.

Paper long abstract:

As is the case in most industrialized nations, female body ideals change dramatically over time. Throughout its long history, Japan has proved to be no different. From the post-WWII voluptuous womanly figure, to the prepubescent, flat-chested girliness of the 1970s and 1980s, to the current body ideal with nearly unattainable proportions achieved only with extensive aid from the booming weight-loss industry, Japanese women have struggled throughout history to achieve the “perfect” body. This paper focuses on plus-size-identifying women in Tokyo and their search for a sense of place, self, body positivity, and community. I discuss the current climate of female body image in Japan as well as societal perceptions of Japanese plus-size women. I argue that many plus size women in Tokyo connect through shared struggle and life experience. I also argue that plus-size fashion events act as a source of collective effervescence and encourage positive body image. I found that plus-size fashion events promote body positivity, a clearer sense of self, and feelings of comfort, inclusion, and social support. This paper draws conclusions about female body identity, community-building, and shared struggle.