Journal of Feminist, Gender and Women Studies

Book review: Edad, Género y Academia. Mujeres en la Universidad

Ana Guil Bozal — 2025-06-30

Book Review: Helena González, Diana Ochoa y Laura Pérez (eds.). Edad, Género y Academia. Mujeres en la Universidad, UAM Ediciones, Madrid, 2024.

Protected while in Motion? A Critical Analysis of Sexual Harassment Policies in the Metropolitan District of Quito

Geomara Flores — 2025-06-30

This study examines policies against sexual violence in public transportation in the Metropolitan District of Quito (DMQ). To this end, laws, ordinances, statutes, and other documents related to mobility in this city were collected and analysed from a gender perspective. An analytical framework based on political, logistical, and operational capacities was employed, following the "NATO" resource model, and unstructured interviews were conducted with officials involved in the implementation of these policies.

The results indicate that, although various policies have been implemented to address sexual violence in Quito’s public transportation, the continuity and effectiveness of these actions have been inconsistent and influenced by administrative changes. Metropolitan Ordinance No. 0235 and the "Bájale al Acoso" (Reduce harassment) campaign are examples of initiatives that had a positive impact but faced challenges in their implementation and sustainability. The recent "Cero Acoso" (Cero harassment) campaign, launched in 2022, aims to improve and expand these strategies.

This study highlights the importance of effective governance and well-designed, sustainable public policies to address sexual violence in public transportation. While significant progress has been made in Quito, continuous improvements and adaptations are necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of women in public transit.

Feminist perspectives on the implementation of the violence against women alert in Mexico City: advances, challenges and transformations

Leticia Sánchez García — 2025-06-30

Over the past decades, the feminist movement has brought visibility to the increase and intensification of feminicidal violence, which, to a certain extent, is a result of the inadequate intervention by the State. In the nation's capital, feminist activists, civil society organizations, academia, and some allies within the government—mostly feminists—have played a key role in influencing the Violence Against Women Alert, an emergency mechanism designed to address this issue. Within this context, the objective of this article is to analyze the process of feminist reflection within state institutions—those concerned with prevention, security, and justice—as well as the implications of their intervention in institutional practices that reproduce violence against women. This study adopts a feminist methodology, grounded in the lived experiences of the women involved in this mechanism. Through semi-structured interviews with women who self-identify as feminists, the analysis of institutional documents—which inscribe power relations—and ethnographic approaches, this research examines the mechanism from a processual and relational perspective. Progress toward recognizing women's human right to a life free from violence has been gradual, and the Violence Against Women Alert serves as a tool that enables the exercise of this right. In the context of political alternation, feminist perspectives face challenges and generate tensions, yet they succeed in influencing public policy processes. These advances have materialized in everyday practices that reshape feminist intervention and impact certain structural dimensions of the reproduction of violence against women. The experience of implementing this mechanism in the local context offers insights into the processes, reflections, and feminist interventions that contribute to reducing feminicidal violence.

Revisiting the perception of Andalusian students on feminism. A sociolinguistic analysis and philosophical reinterpretation

Mario Castillo Ávila — 2025-06-30

This paper re-examines the perception of feminism among Andalusian students based on a prior statistical analysis of lexical terms, which enabled the construction of shared conceptual categories. The most original contribution of the present work lies in the search for an explanatory model that—through a philosophical approach—interprets and contextualizes the results obtained in previous studies. To this end, quantitative data derived from techniques specific to lexical availability studies have been reinterpreted with the aim of exploring the sociocultural, historical, and psychological factors that influence young people's attitudes toward feminism. The theoretical framework adopted for this research is grounded in Phenomenology, Critical Theory, and Feminist Philosophy, incorporating key contributions from authors such as Roswitha Scholz and Judith Butler to strengthen the proposed explanatory model. From this perspective, an interpretation of the results is offered that not only allows for a better understanding of the lexical and conceptual associations surrounding feminism but also facilitates the analysis of the discourses and representations constructed by the students regarding this social movement. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of how ideological, educational, and experiential factors shape attitudes toward feminism in the contemporary Andalusian context.

Comparative study on the discourse regarding the bodies of pregnant women on social media platforms in China and Spain

Yiyan Zhang — 2025-06-30

In recent years, narratives about motherhood and the representation of the bodies of pregnant women have received increasing attention. This study focuses on a comparative analysis between China and Spain, adopting as a theoretical framework the feminist ideas about the body by Simone de Beauvoir, Judith Butler, and Iris Marion Young, among others, as well as the body theories of Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, among others. Through a narrative-discursive research approach, selected texts published on digital platforms (Instagram, YouTube, Xiaohongshu, and Bilibili) over the last three years are examined with the aim of analyzing the shared experiences of pregnant women and new mothers. The study addresses three key aspects: 1. Discourse on physical pain in pregnant and postpartum women; 2. Subjectivity and objectification of the body during pregnancy and childbirth; 3. Obstetric violence: the body that stirs emotions, empowerment, and disempowerment. The results show that, although in both China and Spain the predominant narratives highlight the happiness and personal fulfillment associated with motherhood, they also reflect the pains and discomforts experienced during the process of pregnancy and childbirth. However, there are significant differences in the visibility of criticisms and complaints related to obstetric violence. The analysis reveals tensions between patriarchal social norms and the demands for bodily autonomy of pregnant women, as well as cultural differences in the objectification of the body and emotional expression during pregnancy and childbirth. In the discussion, the influences of the historical contexts of Spain and China on the construction of the ideology of motherhood are analyzed, which allows us to understand how these narratives are influenced by specific historical, cultural, and social factors.

Promoting women's participation in the boards of directors and top management positions of spanish companies

Ainhoa Saitua-Iribar — 2025-06-30

In a context of increasing regulations and recommendations in different jurisdictions at the international level, with the ultimate aim of achieving an increase in the presence of women in the decision-making bodies of companies,

the aim is to verify whether companies are complying with the recommendations of current regulatory bodies regarding the presence of women in Spanish listed companies and to assess whether both the presence of women on boards (WoB) and in senior or top management positions (TM) influences a number of financial measures. Results show that the average percentage of WoB was below the regulators recommendation. Therefore, there is still a need for further implementation of new rules and recommendations to achieve greater parity or balance between men and women. But that it has a positive effect on short-term solvency (liquidity) of the entities. This would confirm that greater gender diversity improves the control and oversight mechanism of the company's Board of Directors, which would confirm the Agency Theory. But there is evidence that a higher presence of women has a positive effect on short-term solvency of the companies. This would confirm that greater gender diversity improves the control and supervision mechanism of the company's board of directors, which is in line with the Agency Theory. In any case, show that the presence of women on boards is beneficial for the financial situation of the entity in the long term.

Gender relations, power dynamics and silences in Spanish scientific institutions and universities

Marta Romero-Delgado — 2025-06-30

The incorporation of women into the scientific and academic field has improved in recent decades, not without reluctance and with a gender gap that persists at all levels. Some of the discriminations that women have to face are: more time spent on care work inside and outside the workplace, stereotypes and lack of scientific recognition, motherhood as an unrecognized obstacle and therefore a turning point in their careers; and the lack of benchmark women, especially in some areas. Studies that have analyzed the gender gap in the scientific and academic fields in recent decades have typically been doing by statistical data. Without discounting their findings, we consider important to complement them with qualitative studies such as the one we present. Through fieldwork consisting in-depth semi-structured interviews with women working in Spanish research centers and universities, we will analyse the current state of the gender gap in their work environments. The results show that, despite the fact that there are currently certain mechanisms to combat these gender discriminations, some more obvious forms of sexism and others much more subtle and invisible remain. Likewise, some female scientists and academics perceive that they are the ones who do all the work for the academic family, due to the dichotomy of male transparency/hypervisibility versus female opacity/clandestinity that describes women's work in the academic and scientific context. The consequence is a clear employment advantage for men: positions with better pay and social recognition, mainly because they have more time available, both to continue be promoted in their career and to dedicate it to whatever outside of work. We will end this paper with some reflections on the discomfort of female scientists, which go beyond the gender gap and sometimes many of them suggest that the problem lies in the system that supports the scientific and academic world, but also in the current labor market.

The Evolutionary Paradox of Male Homosexuality: a Review of two Hypotheses

Aline Jelenkovic Moreno — 2025-06-30

The maintenance of male homosexuality in human populations poses a fascinating question for researchers. This literature review examines two evolutionary hypotheses that attempt to explain the persistence of this sexual behaviour from an adaptive point of view: kin selection and sexually antagonistic selection. The paper synthesizes empirical evidence from eighteen studies, the results of which suggest that, although both hypotheses have substantial support, their degree of applicability may vary according to different cultural and social environments. The kin selection hypothesis is strengthened by evidence that homosexual men engage in altruistic behaviours that benefit the reproductive success of their relatives. The antagonistic sexual selection hypothesis is supported by studies showing higher fertility rates among maternal relatives of homosexual men. In conclusion, a multifactorial approach is essential for a comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of male homosexuality.