While literary critics have tended to focus on episodes of alleged masculinism or homoeroticism in D.H. Lawrence’s fiction, this thesis examines a greater complexity of masculinities running throughout his novels, manifested in the tension between an insistence on gender difference and a desire to transcend gender altogether. It does this in two principal ways. Firstly, masculinities in the novels are historicized via discussion of the crisis of Victorian masculinities and fin de siècle anxieties about gender. Secondly, Lawrence’s depictions of masculinity are scrutinized in light of theories of otherness, particularly the conflicting critiques of Simone de Beauvoir and Luce Irigaray. Over five chapters, which deal chronologically with Lawrence’s major novels, this thesis traces his response to the damaging legacy of a gendered mind-body split, often explored through a developing trope of the Lady of Shalott, which simultaneously circumscribes and challenges the perceived duality of gender. A third theme thus emerges from this dual line of enquiry, as anxieties about masculinity focus around the ambivalent figure of the angel, which represents both a seductive ideal of transcendence (the sexless angel) and the more elusive goal of reuniting mind and body (Irigaray’s carnal angel). Although notions of masculinity are always relational to images of femininity, this is particularly the case in Lawrence’s fiction, in which the relationship between men and women is probably the central concern. Accordingly, this thesis engages with masculinities from within a broader context of gender roles. Indeed, Lawrence’s men experience great difficulties in separating themselves from the women around them, while it is the women who begin to insist on the separateness of men and the idea of love as a “third thing” that allows a union of two subjects rather than a reduction to Platonic one-ness. This nascent ethics of gender difference is then taken forward by Rupert Birkin and his male successors, as Lawrence explores a new vision of divine manhood, culminating in the evocation of Oliver Mellors as a “pure masculine angel”

Café magazine is a Swedish men’s lifestyle magazine aimed at men between the ages of 18 and 35. The magazine writes about what men should wear, what they should drink, which new gadgets they should buy and a lot more. They aim to teach men about how to live their lives. This study focuses on how the magazine writes about men, and how they portray masculinities. The questions this study has tried to answer are -How are the men portrayed in the lifestyle magazine Café? And - Which images of masculinities are being distributed to the readers?   What we found was that the normative images of masculinities are being distributed to the readers, but also that the magazine was trying to break the existing normative by talking about deeper feelings and therapy with the men being interviewed for the magazine. It seems the magazine are trying to keep up with the fast-changing world but not quite being able to keep up. According to Giddens and Sutton (2014) it would be helpful for the readers of magazines to be exposed to normative breaking material. That way they could start breaking normatives as well as the magazine.

Parents play a vital role in the education of their children. Apart from providing material resources, they are also responsible for enhancing what is learnt at school and providing relevant background information about their children that is helpful to teachers. This research project focuses on engaging fathers in the education of their sons. It explores the roles played by fathers in the education of their sons and some of the barriers they encounter in trying to work with schools. For various reasons, fewer fathers engage in the education of their children yet they can play a vital role. Although the contribution to education by mothers cannot be ignored, this thesis contributes new knowledge to the unique influence that fathers have in the education of their sons. This enquiry is based on a qualitative case study carried out on a specialist secondary school in the UK. The participatory action research case study methodology adopted in this PhD thesis provided an opportunity to make an in-depth study of the phenomena. A triangular approach was employed in which the views of the fathers, boys and teachers were considered through interviews, document analysis and observations. The enquiry used a participatory action research approach in which participants were involved in the identification of the problem, implementation of an action and reflection of the whole process. Fathers, boys and teachers in the school participated in a series of meetings to suggest ways in which the school could improve the engagement of fathers. The research helped the school to formulate policy that improved the achievement of boys through the engagement of their fathers. Management at the school has taken on board most of the recommendations and is now in the process of improving and strengthening relationships with parents and fathers in particular. The school has employed a family liaison officer responsible for working with parents and advising staff on how to engage better with fathers. This research project has been driven by my own experiences as a father, teacher and son. It contributes new knowledge in the form of a "Father Engagement Model" designed for the school to engage and maintain relations with more fathers. The style of writing adopted in this thesis has been aimed at engaging a wide range of readers including the fathers and their sons of various reading levels.

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published_or_final_version / abstract / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and present food intake and morbidity patterns of obesity in men (n = 162) and women (n = 286) 15 to 80 years of age. Data were collected in a community-based longitudinal study from 1983 to 1985 in a semi-rural Egyptian village. Degree of obesity was estimated using body mass index (BMI) and a derived measure of adiposity from principal components analysis of several anthropometric variables. BMI was significantly correlated with other available measures of adiposity, lean mass and age and uncorrelated with height. Derived measures of adiposity were related to all other measures of relative weight and adiposity in both sexes and related to age in women. Within agricultural households, men were shorter and had higher adiposity levels, and women were taller than non-agricultural households. The presence of chronic disease was unrelated to BMI in men. However, chronic disease and respiratory difficulties occurred more often in overweight and obese women. There was no difference in the prevalence of acute illness for lean and normal weight compared to overweight and obese men. Skin problems occurred more often in overweight and obese women. There was a risk of low pregnancy weight gain across the range of BMI. Obese women produced heavier infants than normal weight or overweight women; overweight women produce heavier infants than leaner women. Infant birthweight was predicted by prepregnancy BMI or adiposity level, pregnancy weight gain and height. For men, animal products contributed to the higher intakes of fat, vitamin A and zinc in overweight and obese, and fats and oils contributed to higher vitamin E intakes. For women, bread contributed to higher intakes of dietary fiber and lower intakes of calcium in overweight and obese.

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