Le développement des sociétés à travers le monde est influencé par des dynamiques de pouvoir social. D’une perspective de genre, les relations patriarcales ont contribué à la réorganisation du développement par un accès inégal aux ressources, à l’espace et à la mobilité. La société mexicaine, caractérisée par un fort patriarcat et une pauvreté endémique, a vu émerger de multiples outils de développement pour pallier aux inégalités de genre. Plus récemment, les programmes de microfinance sont devenus un instrument de choix pour lutter contre la marginalisation des femmes et les inégalités de genre. La littérature scientifique présente des lacunes au sujet de la nature des relations de genre dans les ménages qui bénéficient de la microfinance. Plusieurs études portent sur les impacts de la microfinance sur la vie des femmes, mais peu offrent une vision holistique considérant la microfinance comme un outil de développement capable de changer la nature spatiale des inégalités de genre. Cette recherche est basée sur une comparaison qualitative de deux études de cas de groupes de microfinance de San Miguel Tenextatiloyan et d’Émilio Carranza, deux communautés de la Sierra Norte de Puebla (Mexique). Son objectif principal est d’évaluer le degré selon lequel les programmes de microfinance ont changé la place des femmes dans la société. Pour répondre à cette question, un portrait de l’organisation spatiale du genre sera tracé, puis, les impacts des programmes de microfinance sur la place des femmes dans les espaces domestiques, de travail et communautaires seront évalués. L’étude mène à la conclusion que les programmes de microfinance du CESDER n’ont pas beaucoup changé la place des femmes dans la société. La recherche dévoile plutôt que, dans un contexte de pauvreté, la microfinance stabilise les ménages et offre des lieux d’échange et de réseautage, mais elle n’offre pas aux femmes une véritable chance d’acquérir plus de contrôle sur leur vie. Deuxièmement, les résultats démontrent que les tâches associées à la reproduction sociale – largement assumée par les femmes - engendrent une barrière structurante à l’empowerment des femmes, un obstacle que la microfinance ne parvient pas entièrement à surmonter. Mots-clés : Géographie du genre, relations de pouvoir, développement, microfinance, spatialité, néolibéralisme, Mexique. / The development of societies around the world is influenced by dynamics of social power. From a perspective of gender, patriarchal relationships often shape development by influencing differential access to resources, including space and mobility. Mexico, historically characterized by both patriarchy and endemic poverty, has been home to a wide range of development strategies addressing gendered inequality. Most recently, microfinance programs have become an instrument of choice for confronting female marginalization and gender inequality. The scientific literature reveals important gaps in the study of gendered relationships in households which benefit from microfinance. Several studies address the impact of microfinance on the lives of women, but few offer a holistic vision that views microfinance as a tool of development promising to shift the spatial nature of gendered inequality. This research is based on qualitative comparative case studies of microfinance groups in San Miguel Tenextatiloyan and Émilio Carranza, two communities of the Sierra Norte de Puebla (Mexico). Its primary objective is to evaluate the degree to which microfinance programs have changed the place of the women in society. To answer this issue, a portrait of the spatial organization of gender is presented, and then the impacts of microfinance programs on the place of women in domestic, work and community spaces is assessed. The results of the study indicate that microfinance programs have not changed substantially the place of women in society. Rather the research finds that, in a context of poverty, microfinance stabilizes households, but does not lead to a clear amelioration of the material circumstances of women’s lives. Secondly, the findings demonstrate that the tasks associated with social reproduction – largely assumed by women – provide a structural barrier to female empowerment that microfinance alone cannot fully confront. Keywords: Gender geography, power relations, development, microfinance, spatiality, neoliberalism, Mexico. / El desarrollo de las sociedades a través del mundo es influido por dinámicas de poder social. De una perspectiva de género, las relaciones patriarcales contribuyeron a la reorganización del desarrollo por un acceso desigual a los recursos, al espacio y a la movilidad. La sociedad mexicana, caracterizada por un patriarcado fuerte y una pobreza endémica, vio emerger instrumentos múltiples de desarrollo para mitigar a las desigualdades de género. Más recientemente, los programas de microfinanzas se convirtieron en un instrumento de elección para luchar contra la marginación de las mujeres y las desigualdades de género. La literatura científica presenta lagunas respecto a la naturaleza de las relaciones de género en los hogares que gozan de las microfinanzas. Varios estudios se refieren en los impactos de estos programas en la vida de las mujeres, pero poco ofrecen una visión holística que considere las microfinanzas como un instrumento de desarrollo capaz de cambiar la naturaleza espacial de las desigualdades de género. Esta investigación está basada en una comparación cualitativa de dos estudios de caso de grupos de microfinanzas de San Miguel Tenextatiloyan y de Emilio Carranza, dos comunidades de la Sierra Norte de Puebla (México). Su objetivo principal es evaluar el grado según el cual los programas de microfinanzas cambiaron el lugar de las mujeres en la sociedad. Para responder a esta cuestión, un retrato de la organización espacial del género será trazado; posteriormente se analizarán y evaluarán los impactos de los programas de microfinanzas respecto al papel de las mujeres en los espacios domésticos, de trabajo y comunitario. El estudio lleva a la conclusión que los programas de microfinanzas del CESDER no cambiaron mucho la plaza de las mujeres en la sociedad. La investigación descubre más bien que, en un contexto de pobreza, las microfinanzas estabilizan los hogares y ofrecen un lugar de discusión, pero no les ofrecen a las mujeres una verdadera posibilidad de adquirir más control sobre su vida. En segundo lugar, los resultados demuestran que las tareas asociadas con la reproducción social -ampliamente asumida por las mujeres- engendran una barrera estructurante en el empoderamiento de las mujeres, un obstáculo que las microfinanzas no llegan totalmente a eliminar. Palabras clave: geografía del género, relaciones de poder, desarrollo, microfinanzas, espacialidad, neoliberalismo, México.

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Todd F. Simon / This paper explores queer self-presentation on the social network site, Facebook, emphasizing gendered functionality, gender and queer politics and presentations of gendered identities. It provides a review of early critical cyberculture studies, identity performance and queer theoretical considerations. This study is based on hermeneutic analysis of public profile information and transformative changes of Facebook users as well as in-depth interviews of two queer Facebook users. Results indicate that queer users are always-already gendered, even in the seemingly liberal environment of a social network site, but some, aware of the restrictive structures of Facebook, manipulate presentation to negotiate adequate gender performance. With specific attention to heteronormative structures, this paper challenges former claims of the potential for social progress inherent in social network sites and calls for changes within.

This study considers the ontological value of metaphor as a site of ceaseless interaction among multiple (gendered) subjects, drawing on the theoretical work of Max Black, Victor Turner, Jacques Derrida, Paul Ricœur, George Lakoff, and Mark Johnson. Its focus is on the particular function of metaphor, locally and internationally, in three of the “new wars” of the twentieth century. The first chapter examines how the bridge metaphor, undergirded by cultural discourses on Mostar’s Old Bridge and Ivo Andrić’s The Bridge on the Drina, shaped knowledge of gendered experiences in the Bosnian War. The second chapter historicizes the cockroach metaphor, which features in many representations of the Rwandan Genocide, and identifies how “the cockroach” is gendered by metaleptic reference to ubuhake, or pastoral clientship—which gained metaphoric significance through populist movements in the 1950s, when Saverio Naigiziki published The Optimist. The third chapter explores depictions of female civilians, combatants, and suicide-bombers as “prisoners,” considering this metaphor’s gendered variations from Aleksandr Pushkin’s “Prisoner of the Caucasus” to discourses on the Chechen Wars. These three metaphors are of central importance to the production of knowledge about how and in what ways post-cold-war conflicts are gendered. Frequently, the international community objectifies “distant conflicts” through the same metaphors that, for local agents, articulate political self-identifications and enact gendered violence. Locally-initiated metaphors, thusly circulating among multiple discourses, produce interactive sites of semantic investment and imaginary exchange. Global and regional representations in metaphor of the Bosnian War, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Chechen Wars enter into common if asymmetrical networks of geopolitical and temporal interactions structured in part by human rights norms in the 1990s. By tracing the historical, cultural, and modal transformations of bridge, cockroach, and prisoner metaphors, this study investigates how fiction, poetry, journalism, memoir, testimony, film, and performance gender knowledge of the Bosnian War, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Chechen Wars.

This study examines the experiences of nine hijabi and non-hijabi Muslim girls from diverse backgrounds with curriculum/schooling in public secondary schools in Ontario. The study uses individual interviews and a focus group discussion to delve into how Muslim girls understand their educational experiences. The participants were independent, thoughtful, and conscientious students who were evolving as individuals through their curriculum/schooling experiences. School was a forum where they questioned themselves, discovered their interests, and made sense of their multiple identities. The differences between a participant’s home and school life varied, and each girl had a unique manner in dealing with the various ideological and practical conflicts. As Muslim girls, they were confronted with certain challenges in school; however, this did not detract from the overall positive aspects of their public schooling experiences. My participants felt respected and validated as individuals in their schools and optimistic regarding their futures as Muslim Canadian females.

This study examines the experiences of nine hijabi and non-hijabi Muslim girls from diverse backgrounds with curriculum/schooling in public secondary schools in Ontario. The study uses individual interviews and a focus group discussion to delve into how Muslim girls understand their educational experiences. The participants were independent, thoughtful, and conscientious students who were evolving as individuals through their curriculum/schooling experiences. School was a forum where they questioned themselves, discovered their interests, and made sense of their multiple identities. The differences between a participant’s home and school life varied, and each girl had a unique manner in dealing with the various ideological and practical conflicts. As Muslim girls, they were confronted with certain challenges in school; however, this did not detract from the overall positive aspects of their public schooling experiences. My participants felt respected and validated as individuals in their schools and optimistic regarding their futures as Muslim Canadian females.

This study considers the ontological value of metaphor as a site of ceaseless interaction among multiple (gendered) subjects, drawing on the theoretical work of Max Black, Victor Turner, Jacques Derrida, Paul Ricœur, George Lakoff, and Mark Johnson. Its focus is on the particular function of metaphor, locally and internationally, in three of the “new wars” of the twentieth century. The first chapter examines how the bridge metaphor, undergirded by cultural discourses on Mostar’s Old Bridge and Ivo Andrić’s The Bridge on the Drina, shaped knowledge of gendered experiences in the Bosnian War. The second chapter historicizes the cockroach metaphor, which features in many representations of the Rwandan Genocide, and identifies how “the cockroach” is gendered by metaleptic reference to ubuhake, or pastoral clientship—which gained metaphoric significance through populist movements in the 1950s, when Saverio Naigiziki published The Optimist. The third chapter explores depictions of female civilians, combatants, and suicide-bombers as “prisoners,” considering this metaphor’s gendered variations from Aleksandr Pushkin’s “Prisoner of the Caucasus” to discourses on the Chechen Wars. These three metaphors are of central importance to the production of knowledge about how and in what ways post-cold-war conflicts are gendered. Frequently, the international community objectifies “distant conflicts” through the same metaphors that, for local agents, articulate political self-identifications and enact gendered violence. Locally-initiated metaphors, thusly circulating among multiple discourses, produce interactive sites of semantic investment and imaginary exchange. Global and regional representations in metaphor of the Bosnian War, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Chechen Wars enter into common if asymmetrical networks of geopolitical and temporal interactions structured in part by human rights norms in the 1990s. By tracing the historical, cultural, and modal transformations of bridge, cockroach, and prisoner metaphors, this study investigates how fiction, poetry, journalism, memoir, testimony, film, and performance gender knowledge of the Bosnian War, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Chechen Wars.

Le développement des sociétés à travers le monde est influencé par des dynamiques de pouvoir social. D’une perspective de genre, les relations patriarcales ont contribué à la réorganisation du développement par un accès inégal aux ressources, à l’espace et à la mobilité. La société mexicaine, caractérisée par un fort patriarcat et une pauvreté endémique, a vu émerger de multiples outils de développement pour pallier aux inégalités de genre. Plus récemment, les programmes de microfinance sont devenus un instrument de choix pour lutter contre la marginalisation des femmes et les inégalités de genre. La littérature scientifique présente des lacunes au sujet de la nature des relations de genre dans les ménages qui bénéficient de la microfinance. Plusieurs études portent sur les impacts de la microfinance sur la vie des femmes, mais peu offrent une vision holistique considérant la microfinance comme un outil de développement capable de changer la nature spatiale des inégalités de genre. Cette recherche est basée sur une comparaison qualitative de deux études de cas de groupes de microfinance de San Miguel Tenextatiloyan et d’Émilio Carranza, deux communautés de la Sierra Norte de Puebla (Mexique). Son objectif principal est d’évaluer le degré selon lequel les programmes de microfinance ont changé la place des femmes dans la société. Pour répondre à cette question, un portrait de l’organisation spatiale du genre sera tracé, puis, les impacts des programmes de microfinance sur la place des femmes dans les espaces domestiques, de travail et communautaires seront évalués. L’étude mène à la conclusion que les programmes de microfinance du CESDER n’ont pas beaucoup changé la place des femmes dans la société. La recherche dévoile plutôt que, dans un contexte de pauvreté, la microfinance stabilise les ménages et offre des lieux d’échange et de réseautage, mais elle n’offre pas aux femmes une véritable chance d’acquérir plus de contrôle sur leur vie. Deuxièmement, les résultats démontrent que les tâches associées à la reproduction sociale – largement assumée par les femmes - engendrent une barrière structurante à l’empowerment des femmes, un obstacle que la microfinance ne parvient pas entièrement à surmonter. Mots-clés : Géographie du genre, relations de pouvoir, développement, microfinance, spatialité, néolibéralisme, Mexique. / The development of societies around the world is influenced by dynamics of social power. From a perspective of gender, patriarchal relationships often shape development by influencing differential access to resources, including space and mobility. Mexico, historically characterized by both patriarchy and endemic poverty, has been home to a wide range of development strategies addressing gendered inequality. Most recently, microfinance programs have become an instrument of choice for confronting female marginalization and gender inequality. The scientific literature reveals important gaps in the study of gendered relationships in households which benefit from microfinance. Several studies address the impact of microfinance on the lives of women, but few offer a holistic vision that views microfinance as a tool of development promising to shift the spatial nature of gendered inequality. This research is based on qualitative comparative case studies of microfinance groups in San Miguel Tenextatiloyan and Émilio Carranza, two communities of the Sierra Norte de Puebla (Mexico). Its primary objective is to evaluate the degree to which microfinance programs have changed the place of the women in society. To answer this issue, a portrait of the spatial organization of gender is presented, and then the impacts of microfinance programs on the place of women in domestic, work and community spaces is assessed. The results of the study indicate that microfinance programs have not changed substantially the place of women in society. Rather the research finds that, in a context of poverty, microfinance stabilizes households, but does not lead to a clear amelioration of the material circumstances of women’s lives. Secondly, the findings demonstrate that the tasks associated with social reproduction – largely assumed by women – provide a structural barrier to female empowerment that microfinance alone cannot fully confront. Keywords: Gender geography, power relations, development, microfinance, spatiality, neoliberalism, Mexico. / El desarrollo de las sociedades a través del mundo es influido por dinámicas de poder social. De una perspectiva de género, las relaciones patriarcales contribuyeron a la reorganización del desarrollo por un acceso desigual a los recursos, al espacio y a la movilidad. La sociedad mexicana, caracterizada por un patriarcado fuerte y una pobreza endémica, vio emerger instrumentos múltiples de desarrollo para mitigar a las desigualdades de género. Más recientemente, los programas de microfinanzas se convirtieron en un instrumento de elección para luchar contra la marginación de las mujeres y las desigualdades de género. La literatura científica presenta lagunas respecto a la naturaleza de las relaciones de género en los hogares que gozan de las microfinanzas. Varios estudios se refieren en los impactos de estos programas en la vida de las mujeres, pero poco ofrecen una visión holística que considere las microfinanzas como un instrumento de desarrollo capaz de cambiar la naturaleza espacial de las desigualdades de género. Esta investigación está basada en una comparación cualitativa de dos estudios de caso de grupos de microfinanzas de San Miguel Tenextatiloyan y de Emilio Carranza, dos comunidades de la Sierra Norte de Puebla (México). Su objetivo principal es evaluar el grado según el cual los programas de microfinanzas cambiaron el lugar de las mujeres en la sociedad. Para responder a esta cuestión, un retrato de la organización espacial del género será trazado; posteriormente se analizarán y evaluarán los impactos de los programas de microfinanzas respecto al papel de las mujeres en los espacios domésticos, de trabajo y comunitario. El estudio lleva a la conclusión que los programas de microfinanzas del CESDER no cambiaron mucho la plaza de las mujeres en la sociedad. La investigación descubre más bien que, en un contexto de pobreza, las microfinanzas estabilizan los hogares y ofrecen un lugar de discusión, pero no les ofrecen a las mujeres una verdadera posibilidad de adquirir más control sobre su vida. En segundo lugar, los resultados demuestran que las tareas asociadas con la reproducción social -ampliamente asumida por las mujeres- engendran una barrera estructurante en el empoderamiento de las mujeres, un obstáculo que las microfinanzas no llegan totalmente a eliminar. Palabras clave: geografía del género, relaciones de poder, desarrollo, microfinanzas, espacialidad, neoliberalismo, México.

Cette thèse de doctorat porte sur l’évolution de la qualité de l’emploi des travailleuses et des travailleurs québécois entre 1997 et 2007. À partir d’une nouvelle typologie, nous analysons les changements dans la qualité de l’emploi des femmes et des hommes et l’impact sur l’écart entre les genres. L’originalité de cette thèse est qu’elle permet de jeter un regard multidimensionnel sur la qualité de l’emploi en considérant quatre dimensions à la fois : la rémunération, la stabilité de l’emploi, la qualification et les heures de travail. Après avoir présenté notre problématique de recherche relative aux inégalités professionnelles entre les genres, l’étude fait une revue des écrits portant sur les principales théories en jeu et sur le concept de la qualité de l’emploi. Ensuite, le cadre conceptuel est présenté afin de situer notre contexte de recherche, les questions générales considérées, la pertinence d’une typologie et les principaux déterminants de la qualité de l’emploi. Le chapitre suivant est consacré à la démarche visant la création d’une nouvelle typologie de la qualité de l’emploi et celle relative au cadre d’analyse. Enfin, nous présentons une analyse des changements de la situation des hommes et des femmes dans les divers types d’emploi en tenant compte de la situation familiale, du niveau de scolarité des personnes et de certaines caractéristiques du marché du travail. Le constat global qui ressort de notre étude est qu’il y a eu une réduction appréciable de l’écart entre les genres au chapitre de la qualité de l’emploi (baisse générale de plus de 30 %). Notre recherche révèle que ce changement s’est surtout produit chez les personnes ayant une scolarité élevée, vivant en couple mais engagées dans des responsabilités familiales limitées. Une bonne partie des changements notés s’expliquent par l’amélioration notable de la qualité de l’emploi des femmes, plutôt que par une baisse de la qualité de l’emploi des hommes. Ces résultats montrent que la situation conjugale et la charge familiale de même que le niveau de scolarité sont des paramètres déterminants des changements observés. / This dissertation examines the evolution of job quality for women and men in Quebec between 1997 and 2007. Using an original typology, we study changes in job quality for women and men, and changes in the gender gap. The novel aspect of this research is that it uses a multidimensional perspective on job quality by considering simultaneously four dimensions: wage level, employment stability, qualification and length of the work week. We first present our research topic, professional inequalities between genders in the labour market, and we review the literature concerning the main theories on gender inequality and job quality. We then present the conceptual framework of our research and our research questions; the relevance of our typology of job quality is then examined, and our approach to data analysis is justified. The analysis parameters chapter is dedicated to the creation of new typology of job quality and to data analysis framework. Finally, we present our results concerning the evolution of the job quality differences between male and female workers, taking into account the family situation, the education level of these individuals and some labor market characteristics. Our study reveals an appreciable decrease of the gender gap in job quality (an overall drop of more than 30 %). Our research shows that changes occur especially for those who have a relatively high level of education, those who live in a couple, and those whose family responsibilities are not too heavy. Most of the changes depend on a notable improvement of job quality for women, and not so much on the deterioration among male workers. Those results show that family situation and level of education, considering together, are significant determinants of the observed changes.

In this thesis I address the following questions: (1) How do dykes take up space in public in contemporary cities? (2) How does the ‘marching dyke’ emerge as a subject and what kind of subject is it? (3) How, in turn, do marching dykes affect space? In order to examine these questions I focus on the Toronto Dyke March to ask how it emerged in this particular time and place. The answer to each of these questions is paradoxical. I argue that the Dyke March is a complex, complicated and contradictory site of politics, protest and identity. Investigating ‘marching dykes’ reveals how the subject of the Dyke March is imagined in multiple and conflicting ways. The Toronto Dyke March is an event which brings together thousands of queer women annually who march together in the streets of Toronto on the Saturday afternoon of Pride weekend. My research examines how the March emerged out of a history of activism and organizing and considers how the March has been made meaningful for queer women’s communities, identities, histories and spaces. My analysis draws together queer and feminist poststructuralism, cultural geography literature on sexuality and space, and the history of sexuality in Canada. I combine a Foucaultian genealogy with visual ethnography, interviews and archival research. I argue that the Dyke March is an event which is intentionally meaningful in its claims to particular spaces and subjectivities. This research draws connections across various bodies of scholarship and offers an interdisciplinary contribution to the literature, contributing to discussions of queer women’s visibility and representation. Although my analysis is focused on Toronto as a particular site, it offers insight into broader queer women’s activist organizing efforts and queer activism in Canada.

In this thesis I address the following questions: (1) How do dykes take up space in public in contemporary cities? (2) How does the ‘marching dyke’ emerge as a subject and what kind of subject is it? (3) How, in turn, do marching dykes affect space? In order to examine these questions I focus on the Toronto Dyke March to ask how it emerged in this particular time and place. The answer to each of these questions is paradoxical. I argue that the Dyke March is a complex, complicated and contradictory site of politics, protest and identity. Investigating ‘marching dykes’ reveals how the subject of the Dyke March is imagined in multiple and conflicting ways. The Toronto Dyke March is an event which brings together thousands of queer women annually who march together in the streets of Toronto on the Saturday afternoon of Pride weekend. My research examines how the March emerged out of a history of activism and organizing and considers how the March has been made meaningful for queer women’s communities, identities, histories and spaces. My analysis draws together queer and feminist poststructuralism, cultural geography literature on sexuality and space, and the history of sexuality in Canada. I combine a Foucaultian genealogy with visual ethnography, interviews and archival research. I argue that the Dyke March is an event which is intentionally meaningful in its claims to particular spaces and subjectivities. This research draws connections across various bodies of scholarship and offers an interdisciplinary contribution to the literature, contributing to discussions of queer women’s visibility and representation. Although my analysis is focused on Toronto as a particular site, it offers insight into broader queer women’s activist organizing efforts and queer activism in Canada.