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Single women seeking IVF; Marrying the same man again; Feminism and the tweenager

Why more single women are seeking IVF or donor insemination; feminism and the tweenager; marrying the same man twice; is the assumption that Victorian women didn't work a myth?

Single women no longer wait for Mr Right to start a family. The number of single women having IVF and Donor Insemination has doubled in the last five years in the UK. According to recent figures released by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. We look at why more women are choosing to start a family without a partner and the implications for them and their children.

Hilary Mantel, Liz Taylor and Dionne Warwick all married the same person twice. What makes somebody say I do, again, to the same person for a second time?

An estimated 100 girls, aged 16-18, have been abducted from a boarding school in Chibok, Borno in north-eastern Nigeria. The kidnappers are believed to be from the Islamist group, Boko Haram. In an increasingly bloody uprising in this area, is this group targeting more and more women as a way of gaining further control in the region?

A study of the 1901 census reveals that many Victorian women not only held down regular jobs, but were often the family breadwinner. We look at the stereotype of the Victorian woman and how the commonly held assumption that most women gave up work at marriage and devoted their lives to raising her family and keep house - isn't entirely accurate.

Plus why at 19 years old, 'Girl Talk' magazine is, in the words of its editor, 'going feminist'. But what does this mean for young readers? And has feminism become mainstream for the 'tweenager'?

Presented by Jenni Murray
Studio Producer Nicola Swords.

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58 minutes

Last on

Thu 17 Apr 2014 10:00

Nigeria Kidnapping

An estimated 100 girls, aged 16  to 18 years old, have been abducted from a boarding school in Chibok Borno in North Eastern Nigeria. The kidnappers are believed to be from the Islamist group Boko Haram. In an increasingly bloody uprising in this area, is this group targeting more and more women as a way of gaining further control in the region? Jenni speaks to Lizz Pearson, an academic researcher specialising in gender and violent Islamist extremism.

Single Women & IVF

The number of single women having IVF and donor insemination has doubled in the last five years in the UK. According to recent figures released by the , the number of single women having IVF treatment has more than doubled, from 259 in 2007 to 632 by 2012, and the numbers for single women having donor insemination increased from 330 to 468 over the same period. Jenni Murray explores why more women are choosing to start a family without a partner and the implications for children born by donor insemination. She speaks to Lisa Mead, whose two children were conceived by donor insemination; to Dr Susanna Graham, Research Associate at Cambridge University's Centre for Family Research, who has researched single women using sperm donation; and to Dr Petra Nordqvist of Manchester University's Morgan Centre for the Study of Relationships and Personal Life, and co-author of the study Relative Strangers: Family Life, Genes and Donor Conception. 

Working Victorian Women

A study of the 1901 census reveals that many Victorian women not only held down regular jobs, but were often the family breadwinner. Dr Amanda Wilkinson, History Research Fellow at the University of Essex, joins Jenni to discuss the stereotype of the Victorian woman, and how the commonly held assumption that most women gave up work at marriage to devote their lives to raising her family and keep house, is not entirely accurate - a significant proportion of women worked after they married, and continued to work throughout their lives.

Marrying The Same Person Twice

What do Hilary Mantel, Liz Taylor, and Dionne Warwick all have in common? They all married the same person twice. So what makes somebody say ‘I do’, to the same person for a second time? Jo Morris talks to two couples who did exactly that.

Tweenagers And Feminism

At 19 years old, Girl Talk magazine is, in the words of its editor, ‘going feminist’. But what does this mean for young readers? And has feminism become mainstream for the ‘tweenager’? Jenni speaks to Bea Appleby, Editor of Girl Talk, and to writer and parent Sarah Ditum.

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Jenni Murray
Interviewed Guest Lizz Pearson
Interviewed Guest Lisa Mead
Interviewed Guest Amanda Wilkinson
Interviewed Guest Bea Appleby
Interviewed Guest Sarah Ditum
Interviewed Guest Petra Nordqvist
Producer Nicola Swords

Broadcast

  • Thu 17 Apr 2014 10:00

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