San Antonio College Library

Xiomara Fuentes, Amandeep Kaur, and Nneka-three wives beaten and humiliated by their husbands-are the subjects of Let's Talk About It, which gives a voice and a face to a spreading epidemic of spousal abuse. This program puts video cameras into the hands of these women's children who then interview their mothers about why they endured-and how they survived-such physical and emotional injury. The questions they ask, framed with a poignant blend of...

Severely wounded, their mother kept crying out, "Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me!" What effects do the sights and sounds of domestic violence have on the malleable minds of children? In this program, ABC News anchor Hugh Downs seeks to answer that question through interviews with Betsy McAlister-Groves, director of the Child Witness to Violence Project at Boston Medical Center, and some of the deeply scarred children who have seen and heard...

The traditional role of wife and mother is changing rapidly to that of independent, self-sufficient working woman for many American Latina women. In this program, several prominent Latina women, including author Isabel Allende, discuss their changing role within the context of Hispanic family values, male machismo, and the traditional role of females as the center of family and community life. Actress Jennifer Lopez explains her choice of career over...

This multi-section program examines the relationships between established sociological perspectives-structural functionalism, Marxist theory, and early feminist theory-and the family; investigates how over several decades the decline in marriage, an increase in cohabitation and divorce, and the lowering fertility rate in the U.K. have affected the British nuclear family; and juxtaposes the old sociology of families and the new, with its emphasis on...

In this program, four middle-aged women-Jeannine, Paulette, Suzanne, and Rachel-speak with both candor and sensitivity about how they came to redefine their sexual orientation. Their stories of coming to terms with their true sexuality in Sudbury, Ontario, are stories of courage, transformation, and a fierce determination to be true to themselves. Additional insights are provided by their ex-spouses and children.

In a remote corner of southwestern China are the Mosuo, arguably the best remaining example of a matrilineal society in the world today. In this program, anthropologist Chou Wah-Shan-one of few outside scholars who have lived and worked extensively with the Mosuo-and Mosuo villagers offer insights into what life is like in the 91 communities where women rule and husbands don't exist. Commerce, belief systems, rituals and festivals, and the day-to-day...

David Nugent, once a violent and abusive person himself, today runs a community-based behavior change group in Australia called Heavy M.E.T.A.L.: Men's Education Toward Anger & Life. Helen Wirtz is a facilitator at MonashLink's Men's Responsibility Group. This program tracks the progress of group members Andrew, Adam, and Alex-three husbands and fathers with dangerous antisocial behavioral issues-as they struggle to stop committing emotional and physical...

It's a life change that every woman faces. Unfortunately, menopause can lead to serious medical issues such as brittle bones, mood disorders, and sexual dysfunction. This program explains the biological changes that take place in the female body during menopause and assesses the potential of hormone replacement therapy, or HRT. It also examines findings on possible links between HRT and the risk of cancer and heart disease, while outlining alternatives...

Many women now give birth at home. Modern hospitals increasingly employ doulas and midwives. This video examines trends in birthing, including late-in-life motherhood and the treatment of postpartum depression.

This program looks at the effects of family violence on the abused and the abuser: at the danger that abused children will grow up to repeat the pattern of violence in their own relationships; at the problems of date violence; at the physical and emotional abuse women suffer at the hands of their husbands and lovers. While showing the benefits of therapy, it stresses the need of the abused for safety-through shelters, hot-lines, and community assistance-from...