Sociology

The rise of reality TV programmes focussing on relationships and the search for "love" has focussed media attention on the portrayal of healthy relationships, gender roles, and intimate partner abuse (IPVA). Love Island, a UK reality TV programme, was watched in 2019 by over 3 million viewers, a majority of whom are young women aged 16-34, though a younger teenage demographic also watch. Many of these younger viewers may be learning about what healthy relationships are like, and entering their first romantic relationships. Contestant's behavior on Love Island prompted Women's Aid to issue a statement speaking out against unhealthy behaviors in relationships-especially "gaslighting," a form of emotional abuse that makes someone question their own feelings, memories, and version of reality. Based on our experience of running a relationship education program in 24 schools, as part of the Tender national partnership and our research with young people on their perceptions of Love Island, the paper will examine the role reality TV programmes play in young people's understandings of healthy relationships. It argues representations of relationships on Love Island are framed within normative heterosexuality, and enables the normalization of emotional abuse. However, we also argue that these programmes can be a catalyst for discussion amongst young people and open up spaces, especially online, to challenge dominant constructions of relationships. It also makes recommendations for education policy and practice around relationship and sex education in schools.

Being able to manage menstruation safely and without stigma is a basic human right which many women and girls in Nepal are denied. Unhygienic and ineffective menstrual hygiene practices have been linked to negative consequences for women and girls, in terms of both reproductive health and social factors such as school attendance. Negative cultural attitudes and taboos around menstruation are widespread in Nepal and basic knowledge of menstruation and menstrual hygiene, especially in rural areas, is limited. The chapter begins to explore the barriers to menstrual health and right and how menstrual Hygiene Management Projects providing education on menstruation and the provision of reusable sanitary pads, are widely used by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Nepal to address these problems, with a stated goal of improving girls’ reproductive health, educational performance, employment, reducing gender based violence and other psycho-social outcomes.

This paper will explore the use of visual imagery in menstrual activism in Nepal and seeks to address the way that visual methods have been used to empower women to represent their own lives and challenges stigmas and exclusionary cultural practices in Nepal. In Nepal, unhygienic menstrual hygiene practices have been linked to negative outcomes for women and girls in relation to reproductive health and social factors such as school attendance (Hennegan and Montgomery, 2016; Standing et al 2006). Taboos around menstruation are widespread (Standing et al, 2016), while basic understanding of menstrual hygiene is limited, especially in rural areas (Sapkota, 2013). The Chhaupadi system whereby menstruating women are banished from the household, although illegal since 2005, is still practiced in Far Eastern Nepal. It has received a lot of media attention in recent years. To address these problems, NGOs use Menstrual Health Management Programmes to provide education on menstruation and rep...

In 2018/19, Liverpool John Moores University became the first university in England to offer free menstrual products on campus. This paper shares insights from the project – called The Free Period – which was established to tackle period poverty, or menstrual hygiene management (MHM). The authors reflect on student engagement as a significant proportion of menstruators had missed classes owing to period poverty. The paper highlights the need for better dialogue and communication to: improve data; tackle stigma and taboos; and cultivate healthier relationships on campus.

Between February 1996 and November 2006, the Communist Party of Nepal, the Maobadi (Maoists), waged a 'people's war' in Nepal to address the inherent inequalities in Nepali society, (of which education is one amongst many), and to overthrow the constitutional monarchy. During the conflict in Nepal children were used as combatants, spies, porters, messengers by both Maoist and government forces, and schools became central to the conflict. This paper looks at children's experiences of conflict and the role schooling can play in both creating and resolving conflict in Nepal. The article focuses on the impact on children, schools and education during the conflict in Nepal but also looks at some of the initiatives in the five years since the end of the conflict, and raises questions for further research on schooling in the post conflict era. The article is based on research into education and development undertaken as part of a British Council funded Higher Education Link. Focus group discussions and interviews were conducted with school children, parents, teachers and community leaders between 2004 and 2006 and draws on informal discussions and observations with NGOs and teachers in the post conflict period, including the NGOs use of visual methods to enable children's voices to be heard in the peace process.

The Universities UK (UUK) Taskforce report, Changing the Culture, has been seen as a turning point in U.K. universities’ responses to gender-based violence (GBV). Institutional changes have occurred as a response to grassroots feminist activism and resistance to GBV, focusing on sexual violence, harassment, and “lad culture” in universities. This article will argue that the neoliberal marketization of higher education, concurrent with the persistence of misogyny and patriarchy, creates an environment where GBV is normalized, and feminist voices are marginalized and silenced. Interviews with academics show support for victims/survivors on campus often falls to particular academic staff. When initiatives for change, led by institutional management, are limited to protecting the “reputation” of the university, it furthermore falls on academics to challenge not only GBV, but also the reactive and uncritical responses offered by institutions. We contend that national, institutional, and ...

For at least the past three decades, the sociology of football and its supporter cultures has been responsive to the social issues which have emerged within it. Today, the fact that fans rejoice and protest at overseas purchases of their club means that the time has come for research to reflect upon elite level English football’s position in a transnational space. In this context, the presented article focuses upon the football supporters’ protests connected to Liverpool F.C, centring upon the Spirit of Shankly mobilisation, and uses Manuel Castells’ theories to understand them. The argument that emerges is important for sociologists understanding the contemporary world because it illustrates: the connections between local sites around the world; the Internet as a tool through collective action takes place and, discusses what ‘power’ means in these contexts.

This article critically utilises the work of Manuel Castells to discuss the issue of parallel imported broadcasts (specifically including live-streams) in football. This is of crucial importance to sport because the English Premier League is premised upon the sale of television rights broadcasts to domestic and overseas markets, and yet cheaper alternative broadcasts endanger the price of such rights. Evidence is drawn from qualitative fieldwork and library/Internet sources to explore the practices of supporters and the politics involved in the generation of alternative broadcasts. This enables us to clarify the core sociological themes of ‘milieu of innovation’ and ‘locale’ within today’s digitally networked global society.