The paper identifies the phenomenal rise of increasingly invasive forms of elective cosmetic surgery targeted primarily at women and explores its significance in the context of contemporary biotechnology. A Foucauldian analysis of the significance of the normalization of technologized women's bodies is argued for. Three “Paradoxes of Choice” affecting women who “elect” cosmetic surgery are examined. Finally, two Utopian feminist political responses are discussed: a Response of Refusal and a Response of Appropriation.

Trust has long been acknowledged as central to nurse-patient relationships. It, however, has not been fully explored normatively. That is, trust must be examined from a perspective that encompasses not only reliability and competence, but also good will within nursing relationships. In this paper, we explore how a trust approach, based on Annette Baier's work on trust in feminist ethics, could help inform future developments in nursing ethics. We discuss the limitations of other approaches such as those based on contracts, paternalism, and care. By drawing out central features of Baier's theory, we demonstrate how it can help overcome the problems of these previous models. In doing so, we emphasise the importance of combining the ethics of care and justice, acknowledging vulnerability and the potential for evil in nursing relationships, and politically situating the ethical concerns of nursing.

Prevailing heteronormative discourses in early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand present difficulties for upholding the right of gender diverse tamariki (children) and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer-parented families to experience belonging in equitable, inclusive early childhood settings. The purposeful use of picturebooks that disrupt these discourses can go some way towards mitigating against exclusion. This article draws on the findings of a small-scale qualitative research project that explored early childhood teachers’ use of picturebooks that included gender diverse children and lesbian- and gay-parented family content. In highlighting teacher support for or silencing of children’s working theories about possibilities for gender change and two mother or two father parents during the picturebook sessions, the article makes a case for expanding the curriculum beyond the limits of heteronormativity. Some practice recommendations for facilitating picturebook sessions are offered to this end. Importantly, teacher preparedness to manage discomfort arising through discussion of topics perceived to be dangerous or risky during such sessions is critical.

Background: Premenstrual mood symptoms are considered common in women, but such prevailing attitudes are shaped by social expectations about gender, emotionality and hormonal influences. There are few prospective, community studies of women reporting mood data from all phases of the menstrual cycle (MC). We aimed (i) to analyze daily mood data over 6 months for MC phase cyclicity and (ii) to compare MC phase influences on a woman’s daily mood with that attributable to key alternate explanatory variables (physical health, perceived stress and social support). Method: A random sample of Canadian women aged 18–40 years collected mood and health data daily over 6 months, using telemetry, producing 395 complete MCs for analysis. Results: Only half the individual mood items showed any MC phase association; these links were either with the menses phase alone or the menses plus the premenstrual phase. With one exception, the association was not solely premenstrual. The menses-follicular-luteal MC division gave similar results. Less than 0.5% of the women’s individual periodogram records for each mood item showed MC entrainment. Physical health, perceived stress and social support were much stronger predictors of mood (p < 0.0001 in each case) than MC phase. Conclusions: The results of this study do not support the widespread idea of specific premenstrual dysphoria in women. Daily physical health status, perceived stress and social support explain daily mood better than MC phase.