Sociology Lens

Latest articles from sociology lens

Gender & Sexuality / Opinion / Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance / Sociology of Religion

Of bodies and burkinis: institutional Islamophobia, Islamic dress and the colonial condition

The image accompanying this piece was taken last month in France. The image is of a poster that was displayed on the wall of a beach front café, set against the backdrop of armed troops parading the beach front. The overwhelming impression of the poster is the bust of Marianne, her flowing locks said to represent the freedom of the French Republic. She dominates the image, exemplary of what it means to be a woman in France.  The poster is...

Opinion / People / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

Interview with Cynthia Lum and Christopher Koper, new Editors in Chief of Criminology & Public Policy

Cynthia Lum and Christopher Koper, new Editors in Chief of Criminology & Public Policy 1. Congratulations on being appointed the new editors of Criminology & Public Policy (CPP). As you begin your term, what is your broad vision for the future of the journal? We are thrilled to be selected as the new editors of Criminology & Public Policy and intend to continue the excellent work of the outgoing editors Professors Bill Bales and Dan Nagin in making CPP one...

Opinion / Social Welfare

Individualized funding interventions to improve health and social care outcomes for people with a disability: A mixed‐methods systematic review

This is a plain language summary of an Open Access Systematic Review published in Campbell Systematic Reviews. It is also available as a PDF in English and Spanish on The Campbell Collaboration website. What is the aim of this review? This Campbell systematic review examines the effects of individualized funding on a range of health and social care outcomes. It also presents evidence on the experiences of people with a disability, their paid and unpaid supports and implementation successes and...

News

Call for Editor(s): International Migration

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Wiley invite applications for the editorship of International Migration. The journal is a refereed, scientific journal on migration issues as analyzed by demographers, geographers, economists, sociologists, political scientists and other social scientists from all parts of the world. It covers the entire field of policy relevance in international migration, giving attention not only to a breadth of topics reflective of policy concerns, but also attention to coverage of all regions of the world. Issues...

Opinion / Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

In the digital ‘culture war’, left wing politics must capture online spaces – not just try to regulate them

It is tempting to see in contemporary digital political communication nothing more than too many people, saying too much, too loudly. Or, as Plato put it when complaining of the Athenian Assembly, people ‘shouting or hammering their disapproval and approval, grossly exaggerated in either case, of the things that are said and done’. That temptation is to be avoided. Our choice is not between acquiescence to elite authority on the one hand, and acceptance of our cacophonous public sphere on...

Opinion / Social Identity / Sociology of Culture

The “Meat Paradox”, Culture, and Beyond

Cultural sociologists have repeatedly sought a model to explain how culture motivates action. Ann Swidler famously introduced the “cultural toolkit”: an individual’s collection of cultural scripts from which they can draw upon in various contexts.  More recently, cultural sociologists have used theories from cognitive science to explain how actions are driven by the interaction between cognition and the individual’s environment. These models emphasize that individuals’ choices are never purely made out of free will; rather, they are a product of...

Gender & Sexuality / Opinion / Science & Technology / Sociology of Media & Communication

Sexed up online: Instagram influencers, harassment, and the changing nature of work

Kylie Jenner is estimated to earn $1 million per sponsored online post. Scrolling through her Instagram feed shows plenty of examples of how lucrative – and sexualized – the online attention economy has become. From poolside parties and bikinis, to fast cars and crop tops, and from motherhood to makeup tips, branded products are peppered among the mix of idealized selfies, professional headshots, and candid (or made to seem candid) snaps. Jenner is touted as the highest paid influencer on...

Opinion / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Sociology of Health & Illness

Politics of Categorization: Race and Blood

In a recent article for The New York Times, British journalist Rose George makes the case that the Red Cross needs to reassess its policy of desegregating blood based on race and ethnicity. She also argues that blood collection services need to develop initiatives to attract a more diverse pool of blood given the dearth of minority donors. George draws on the sympathetic case of a young child, Zainab, whose cancer treatment requires a rare form of blood common amongst...

Opinion / Peace, War & Social Conflict / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

Football is for hope, for joy, for peace, and for … trafficking?

Football gives hope to people across the globe, both young and old. Aspirations of being a professional football player signals an opportunity to change the socio-economic circumstances of not just an individual, but potentially a community for generations to come. Football gives joy to those who watch it and play an active role in following their favourite teams through the numerous ups and downs of professional sport. Football has also been used to bring peace to countries on the verge...

Opinion / Social Welfare / Sociology of Children / Sociology of Media & Communication / Sociology of the Family

Marketing Children: Overcoding Indigenous Children with Colonial Happiness in the Child Welfare System

In 1964, the Today’s Child column began in the Toronto Telegram, written by Helen Allen at the behest of then-Deputy Minister of Welfare in Ontario, Dr. James Band. In 1972, the column moved to the Toronto Star. The Today’s Child ran weekly until 1982 and featured over 4,000 daily advertisements of children who were available for adoption. Each column would feature a photo of the child or multiple children and offer descriptions of each child’s appearance and disposition. A television...

Applied Sociology / Books and arts / Feminist Theory / Gender & Sexuality / Social Psychology & Lifecourse

Radical Happiness: Moments of Collective Joy

Happy Friday everyone! Actually, when was the last time that you experienced pure happiness? Real unrestrained joy? Many of us, sadly, are feeling increasingly isolated and lonely. During Mental Health Awareness Week recently, leading figures including Alastair Campbell bravely discussed their experiences of depression; raising awareness, with a view to generating a collective understanding of, and sympathy for, those experiencing mental health issues. So, the new book by Lynne Segal, Radical Happiness: Moments of Collective Joy representing ‘a passionate call...

Article types / Class & Stratification / Opinion / Social Theory

Sociologists should stop talking about social class

Once upon a time it meant something when we talked about social class.  The concept was useful in describing social inequalities, or predicting outcomes such as illness and premature death.  But the turn towards cultural and symbolic approaches to class in recent sociology has made ‘social class’ increasingly meaningless and empirically unhelpful.   For most of its history, sociology has explored the stratifications and inequalities it has observed among members of societies, most notably in terms of gender, race and...

Opinion / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Identity / Sociology of Health & Illness

Agency and structure: the impact of ethnic identity and racism on the health of ethnic minority people

Powerful people have a significant impact on our lives. Not only can their decisions affect our access to wealth, and consequent well-being, but their influence affects our very self-definition and expression. Understandings about who we are and what that means develop in light of the ways in which certain categories are understood in and responded to by wider society: what we’re told about what ‘being one of those sorts of people’ means. But while academic studies acknowledge the societal or...

Gender & Sexuality / Opinion / Social Identity / Social Psychology & Lifecourse / Social Theory

The Importance of Trans Positive Research in a Time of Great Criticism

  ‘Two in five trans [1] people (41 per cent) and three in ten non-binary people (31 per cent) have experienced a hate crime or incident because of their gender identity in the last 12 months.’ (Stonewall Trans Report 2018). If you add to this the levels of criticism and “debate” present on social media ranging from Piers Morgan [2] to Paula Radcliff [3] about the trans community it makes for a pretty dire situation. I contend that a way to improve this...

Gender & Sexuality / Opinion / Social Psychology & Lifecourse / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

Developing a Coercive Control Defence

Each year as part of its annual conference, the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) runs a postgraduate academic poster competition. In April of this year I was pleased to learn that my poster ‘Developing a Coercive Control Defence’ had been shortlisted. Since then, as well as being delighted that my poster was so well received by the competition judges, I’ve also found myself thinking about the value of participating in such a well-attended event where academic posters are viewed as an...

Gender & Sexuality / Opinion / Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Sociology of Health & Illness

First People Lost: New Statistics Show Alarming Patterns in Indigenous Death Rates in Canada

  The Canadian National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls has wrapped up its hearings and is scheduled to deliver its final report early next month. The Inquiry examines some of the most extreme outcomes of violence and marginalization of Indigenous women and girls, however the factors affecting their livelihood and life expectancy extends beyond these extreme outcomes and recent research suggests there may not be cause for optimism unless there is systemic change. A research study...