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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Flinders University, Centre for Development Studies. / Typescript (bound). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 224-256). Also available online.

Although Filipinos are becoming one of the largest Asian groups in the U.S there is limited research regarding mental health challenges Filipino women experience specifically regarding body satisfaction and self-image. The goal of this explorative qualitative study was to explore the relationship between objectified images of women in the media and the reported levels of body dissatisfaction in a sample of 8 American-born Filipino women and 8 Philippine-born Filipino women. Objectification theory was used to guide this research and levels of sociocultural influences, body satisfaction, and body consciousness were explored through a qualitative research design using statements from the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3, the Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults, and the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale. Participants were interviewed individually and the data were coded in order to determine patterns and themes. Results revealed that the Philippine-born participants relied more on images in the media than the American-born participants of the study in relation to what is attractive and fashionable. However as a whole, the data found that the majority of the participating women felt comfortable with their bodies and physical appearance. The results of this study could help create greater awareness of the issues that Filipino American women deal with in relation to their bodies and self-image through the development of initiatives to treat Filipino American women who may be suffering from mental health issues due to objectification as culturally Filipinos typically do not seek psychological intervention. If programs could be designed specifically for Filipinos targeting issues with body satisfaction, fewer Filipinos may be affected by poor body-image.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This thesis is a feminist exploration of how violence against Filipino women in Australia is represented in the Australian and Philippine media and the relationship between the women’s lives and media images of their abuse. It is fundamentally concerned with the problem of the absent and silenced voices of Filipino women in media portrayals of violence. It aims at creating a space in which the women’s stories can be told. Based on interview data and discourse analysis of Australian and Philippine newspaper articles, the study investigates how the homicides and disappearance of seven Filipino women are represented. Case studies drawn from interviews with family members and friends of these women comprise the core of the study. An exploration of additional articles and interviews further reinforces the issues and themes that emerge in the case studies. The case studies contextualise the women’s experiences. Analysing media images in light of the interviews reinstates the absent and silenced voice in media accounts of violence. By charting the lives of these seven women, their hopes and aspirations as well as the pain and fear they suffered at the hands of abusive male partners, the case studies illuminate the way media accounts have largely misrepresented their experiences. Many of the Australian articles, in particular, bore little resemblance to the women’s lived realities. Juxtaposing Australian with Philippine portrayals further illuminates the racism and sexism of a large section of the Australian print media. A major theme to emerge out of this study is that the relationship between media image and actual violence also involves struggle and conflict over constructions of identity. It is a site of contested realities. Most of the articles analysed in this study failed to tell the story from the deceased woman’s perspective. It is argued that to hear these women's voices, journalists need to move beyond using sexist, racist and class-based stereotypes, such as mail order bride, to describe Filipino women or explain their abuse. It also means accounting for the history of domestic violence that was a large part of their lives.

Despite the existence of breast cancer screening that could promote early diagnosis and survival of breast cancer, high mortality rates of breast cancer persist among Filipino women. The purpose of the qualitative study was to describe the perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors of Filipino women working as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 20 Filipino women between the ages of 40 to 60 years who were recruited voluntarily using purposeful sampling technique. Guided by the structures of health belief model (HBM), the study used an inductive coding technique to elicit common themes from the raw data. The study established that the participants' screening behaviors were influenced by family history of breast cancer, the financial and emotional burden of the disease and its treatment, the benefit of early detection, mobility to participate, culture and language barriers, and the social media. The study also demonstrated that the desire to participate in breast cancer screening is influenced by the participants' perception of susceptibility and perception of severity to breast cancer. The findings of the study could create a positive social change as it may inform the practice of public health providers, influence the drafting of informed policies for comprehensive breast health care, and improve access to preventive health services for Filipino women OFWs. Furthermore, the study could empower Filipino women in their personal health decision making, especially when working in other countries where good health is the working capital and a precondition for survival.

In this study, an examination of the everyday experiences of the contract migrant Filipina domestic helpers exposes a culture of indifference which pervades the Hong Kong society on all levels--individual, community, and judiciary. At the centre of the abuses inflicted upon the Helpers is the employment contract with extraordinarily restrictive terms which promotes abuse by many employers. This study also looks at the transnational informal social infrastructure which has been organized by the Filipino community to mediate the hostile working environment engendered by the indifference of the global economic and political climate upon their lives. Faced with the task of implementing new policies for controlling labour migration into Hong Kong, the legislators have focused on the end result and finding the means with which to accomplish their goal. Embedded within this process are unexamined cultural mores and practices. Although the starting point is to benefit the community, by providing domestic helpers to serve the middle and upper class households, too often the abusive consequences to individual migrants are ignored as the women become the means to an end. Migration has often been viewed as an aberration to the notion of the sedentary community. Treated as an anomaly, it is the migrant who problematizes simple theoretical positions of social organization and structure. The migrant is always treated as the one who does not conform to the ideal community and is conveniently merged into existing social categories, such as the lower status of women in Hong Kong, and the lower status of domestic workers -- relegated thereby to the periphery of the society's consciousness.