This thesis investigates the cultural politics of a small group of women through their writing and other activities in 1880s London. Focussed on Olive Schreiner, Eleanor Marx and Amy Levy and the connections they had to one another and to other women, such as Henrietta Frances Lord, Clementina Black and Henrietta Müller, it explores key events in their everyday lives, the writings and texts they produced. It analyses a wide selection of textual sources, re-reading these for small details, intertextual connections and points of disjuncture, to allow for different ways of understanding the mechanics of feminist cultural politics as produced and performed by these interconnected women. Small things in texts can be revealing about such women’s everyday lives and connectedly the cultural politics which underpinned their actions, thus contributing to knowledge about how writing was used strategically and imaginatively to challenge, side-step and overcome oppression and inequality, in these years in London and after. Using the term ‘writing’ in a broad sense to include letters and diaries and other archival sources such as newspaper articles, reviews and manuscript drafts, as well as some selected published work and biographies, the thesis is anchored around four event-driven investigations: Olive Schreiner being accosted by a policeman; the first public performance of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House; the writing of a letter mentioning Eleanor Marx; and, the death of Amy Levy. Relatedly, there are discussions concerning working with historical documents, documenting and archiving the past, researching and representing the past in the present. These investigations allow for the operationalization of a research approach framed by ideas concerning micro, small-scale, everyday life and its qualitative aspects, which together contribute to a re-conceptualisation of a ‘sociology of small things.’ Specifically, it is argued that close and small-scale studies of women’s writing, whether undertaken alone or connected to others, sheds light on the importance of relationship dynamics in connection with writing output, on what writing was produced and what role each text played in larger scale political agendas. Concepts such as palimpsest, liminality and bricolage are interrogated with respect to researching and representing the spatial and temporal interconnectedness of the selected authors and textual sources. And contributions are made to contemporary thinking about epistolarity and social networks, focussing on reciprocity, gift-giving and receiving and notions of ‘letterness,’ along with the defining of boundaries, and the value of determining the nature of ties between women. The thesis also argues that the relationships between intimacy and distance, interiority and exteriority, public and private, are frayed with complicated overlaps.

‘Mothers and daughters on the margins: gender, generation and education’ is a thesis that explores the inter-generational marginalisation of working-class mothers and their daughters both in terms of education, employment and family relationships. In this thesis class is explored through the visual data and interview accounts of nine mother and daughter dyads all residing in the same disadvantaged locality in urban South Wales. The thesis employs sociological and psychological lenses to examine social reproduction, and the ways in which gender, place and class act as barriers to educational progression for the participants, and the psychological, physical and practical costs of social mobility. The thesis argues that women and girls on the margins of contemporary Wales continue to struggle to be agents of their own destiny, against a tide of spatial, structural, social, cultural, economic, psychological and patriarchal processes.

This research is based on fieldwork that was carried out in the post-conflict villages of Adunu and Kom in the Acholi region of northern Uganda. It argues that a woman’s maintained access to customary land within these villages is determined not only by her sex and by provisions within Acholi customary law, but also by her marital and parental status as framed by patriarchal ideologies and power relations. It shows that if women wish to retain and hold on to land that is socially (and sometimes, legally) meant to be ‘theirs’, they must be prepared constantly to bargain and negotiate with either their husband, their husband’s lineage or their own natal clan. They must also conform to gendered norms concerning female behaviour, especially those that pertain to their sexuality and reproductive abilities. It is by adopting such strategies and, often, by making concessions, that they will be able to, in most cases, maintain access to land, particularly if land is in abundance. The thesis also shows that women’s food security is contingent on the gendered relations that they have and maintain with male family members and also on factors that are external, be these climate change or their ability to farm effectively. By looking at the relevance of gender relations in land access and food security, through a gender awareness lens and a feminist ethnography, this thesis provides a nuanced understanding of how women maintain access to customary land and how they can achieve food security, albeit within a male dominated system.

Thesis (M.Cur.) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / Indigenous knowledge (IK) originated from a particular community within a broader cultural tradition. It is stated that IK is socially transmitted shared knowledge, beliefs, and/or practices that vary systematically across different cultural groups. It is further indicated that IK is a critical determinant of human behaviour and health, and the intergenerational mother in the society. Indigenous forms of communication and organisation are seen as important to family and societal decision-making processes with regard to health related issues like care given to children from birth onwards and curing of childhood illness. The operational plan for Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management and Treatment (CCMT) South Africa points out that some South African citizens prefer to consult traditional health practitioners (THPs) on a regular basis for their health problems. The study conducted by Peltzer, Phaswana-Mafuya and Treger (2009) points out that THPs use indigenous practices to prevent and heal childhood illnesses. The aim of the study: To determine indigenous practices by mothers of children admitted in the paediatric unit of a Polokwane/Mankweng hospital complex in the Limpopo Province. The objectives of this study: To explore and describe the indigenous practices of mothers of children admitted in a paediatric unit of a Polokwane/Mankweng hospital complex, Limpopo Province, and to recommend guiding principles based on the study findings for healthcare professionals on the strategies that can be used to assist mothers of children admitted in a paediatric unit of a Polokwane/Mankweng hospital complex of the Limpopo Province. Design and Method: A qualitative, descriptive and explorative research design was conducted for the participants to describe the indigenous practices in relation to managing and treating childhood illnesses. Data were collected by means of unstructured one-on-one interviews at the Mankweng/ Polokwane hospital complex with mothers of children admitted at the paediatric unit. Criteria for trustworthiness were observed as stipulated in Babbie and Mouton (2009). Ethical standards by DENOSA (1998) were adhered to in order to ensure the quality of the study. Findings: Three themes with sub-themes emerged from the data analysis, using Tech’s open coding approach (Cresswell 2009:186), i.e. analogous indigenous practices in curing childhood illnesses, believes related to the indigenous healing process and THP treating of HIV infected children. It is recommended that healthcare providers need to have understanding of indigenous belief systems in relation to healthcare, and work towards incorporating this understanding into their service delivery to recognise and to embark upon the journey of working with THPs.

Cette recherche se focalise sur les actions d’autonomisation des femmes en zone rurale par le biais d’une organisation collective visant à les aider à accéder au marché dans la province du Ningxia en Chine. Nous avons étudié la pertinence de ces actions selon la vision des femmes qui y sont engagées. Au-delà de ces actions, nous avons prolongé nos travaux dans les deux dimensions de la notion du Sujet – à savoir la subjectivité et la responsabilité – et nous avons par là même discuté la viabilité des voies d’autonomisation des femmes rurales. Suite aux analyses des interactions entre ces femmes rurales et leur environnement extérieur, nous concluons sur la participation responsabilisée de tous les acteurs sociaux et sur le respect de la subjectivité de chacun, en vue de l’autonomisation véritable des femmes rurales et pour l’établissement d’un modèle qui pourra être reproduit au profit du développement durable. / The present research focuses on the actions of empowering rural women through their own cooperative to help them enter the modern market in Ningxia province in China. We investigated the relevance of these actions according to the vision of the women who are involved . Beyond these actions , we have extended our discussions in the two dimensions of the concept of the Subject - subjectivity and responsibility - and we have thus discussed the viability of the ways to empower rural women. Following the analysis of interactions between rural women and their external environment , we conclude the responsible participation of all social actors and the respect of the subjectivity of each, with the aim of the true empowerment of rural women, and also try to establish a model that can be replicated for sustainable development.

Comment penser la construction et la déconstruction du genre dans le langage ? Je montre que la philosophie du langage ordinaire — et notamment la théorie austinienne des actes de parole — peut soutenir une approche constructiviste et éclairer le rôle du langage dans la construction sociale du genre. La naturalisation du genre repose à la fois sur une représentation du langage — comme simple reflet du réel et comme « capacité » inégalement partagée — et sur des pratiques linguistiques ordinaires et scientifiques. Penser cela implique de dépasser la stricte dichotomie de l’idéologique et du matériel, pour analyser ensemble la construction et la représentation du genre dans des pratiques discursives et non-discursives. La théorie butlerienne de la « performativité du genre » permet de penser à la fois la construction du genre et sa contingence, sa possible déconstruction. Mais quel est notre pouvoir transformateur ? Si montrer qu’un phénomène n’est pas naturel ne suffit pas à le détruire, analyser sa force ne nous réduit-il pas à l’impuissance ? Pour répondre à ces questions, j’étudie des pratiques discursives de lutte. Je montre le pouvoir transformateur de pratiques de subversions et d’actes de parole insurrectionnels, qui font usage de la performativité du langage pour transformer les conditions sociales encadrant l’efficacité des discours. Je montre que ces pratiques déconstruisent le genre et produisent des collectifs de lutte, pour insister sur ce qu’une approche radicalement constructiviste du genre ouvre comme possibles pour le féminisme et l’action collective. / How is gender constructed and deconstructed in ordinary practices of language? First of all, I demonstrate that ordinary language philosophy – and more specifically the austinian theory of speech acts – can lay the ground for a constructivist approach and help to understand the role of language in the social construction of gender. I show that gender is naturalized both by our representation of language itself – as a mere reflect of reality and as an unequally shared “capacity” – and by ordinary and scientific practices of language. Understanding this idea involves going beyond the dichotomy of ideological and material, in order to analyze construction and representation of gender together in both discursive and non-discursive practices. Butler’s theory of gender performativity makes it possible to understand both construction and deconstruction, or the contingency of gender. But does not highlighting the strength of this construction lead to deny our power and agency? To answer this question, I study feminist discursive practices. I highlight transformative power of subversions and insurrectional speech acts. I analyze discursive practices of denaturalization that challenge both social and discursive orders, and practices that use language performativity to change the social conditions that give power to speech acts. These practices deconstruct gender and produce political and collective subjects: a radical constructivist approach to gender thus opens rich perspectives for feminism and collective activism.

Thesis (M.Admin. (Development)) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / Feminist studies show that gender inequality is an impediment for livelihoods diversification among rural households. Whereas women are understood to be the designers, planners and managers of livelihoods for household survival, their roles in diversification of the means of earning a living are generally undermined through a myriad of social and cultural laws, values, norms and beliefs. Despite the publicity, attempts and efforts in redressing gender inequality in a demographic South Africa, the dissertation argues that gender inequality in rural areas has remained persistent, posing an obstacle to the capacity of households to diversify their livelihoods. The study uses survey results from Sebayeng Village in order to demonstrate that the community’s perceptions of women’s roles perpetuate the status quo wherein women’s capacity to diversify livelihoods are undermined. The survey involved 200 households that were sampled through the simple random design. The respondents consisted of 56.5% females and 43.5% males. The survey results demonstrate that gender inequality remains deep in Sebayeng Village and that such inequality negatively affects the ability of households to diversify their livelihoods. Therefore, this study tends to confirm the general principle that gender inequality renders women as unexplored resources in rural development. To that extent, the study concludes that one of the tests for the success in gender transformation in South Africa is in releasing the energies of women in the sphere of livelihoods diversification.

Davantage que leurs aînés classiques ou néoclassiques, les auteurs romantiques sont hantés par la question du corps qui pose en creux celle du plaisir sexuel de la femme. Loin d’être un mouvement angélique et désincarné, le romantisme est en effet tiraillé par la matérialité des sens autant que par l’idéalité, se posant ainsi en héritier de Sade au même titre que de Rousseau. Les écrivains romantiques ne sont d’ailleurs pas les seuls à montrer un intérêt croissant pour la jouissance féminine : entre la fin de la Restauration jusqu’à la Révolution de 1848, les médecins tentent eux aussi d’éclaircir ce mystère et de le réguler. Mais, pour ce faire, ils reprennent à leur compte les théories misogynes des pires exégètes de la Bible et ils justifient ainsi, d’une manière prétendument scientifique, les lois inégalitaires du Code civil qui maintiennent la femme en position d’esclave juridique et de mineure sexuelle. Les auteurs romantiques ont-ils été influencés par ce contexte antiféministe ou sont-ils parvenus à proposer d’autres modèles ? Cette thèse explore l’ambivalence d’un mouvement qui réhabilite la chair au nom d’un plaisir supérieur au devoir mais qui véhicule en même temps tout un système de représentation machiste qui ne cesse de faire l’apologie du corps féminin outragé. À la même époque, des voix bien plus marginales se font entendre, notamment chez certaines saint-simoniennes qui n’hésitent pas à faire – bien avant la révolution sexuelle – l’apologie de « l’amour libre ». Le thème, socialement inconvenant, déchaîne malgré tout les passions, surtout chez les femmes auteurs qui craignent que cette question embarrassante ne nuise à des revendications qu’elles souhaiteraient plus « sociales ». / More than their classical and neo-classical predecessors, Romantic authors are obsessed with the question of the body which implicitly matches the subject of women’s sexual pleasure. Far from being an angelic and disembodied movement, Romanticism is indeed torn between the materiality of the senses and the question of ideality, arising from Sade’s as well as also Rousseau’s works. Besides, Romantic writers are not the only ones to show a growing interest in female enjoyment: between the end of the Bourbon Restoration and the 1848 Revolution, doctors tried to solve that mystery and regulate it. But, to do so, they endorsed misogynistic theories of the most extreme exegetes from the Bible and justified at the same time, from a so-called scientific point of view, the unequal laws of the French Civil Code which legally kept women in the position of subordinate sexual slaves. Were Romantic authors influenced by this anti-feminist background or did they manage to offer other ways of thinking? This dissertation explores the ambivalence of a movement which redeems the flesh in the name of a pleasure superior to duty but also conveys a chauvinistic set of representation condoning the violated female’s body. At that time, the echo of marginal voices arose, in particular among some Saint-Simonian women who did not hesitate to praise “free love”, way before the sexual revolution. The topic, a socially inappropriate one, aroused fierce passions among activists and even within the Romantic Movement.

Ce travail de thèse interroge la ménopause en tant que catégorie et en tant qu’expérience. Il prend pour objet les mécanismes de la « fabrique » de la ménopause et ses effets afin de mettre en évidence comment physiologie et rapports sociaux se nouent. La construction sociale de la ménopause, son traitement social et l’expérience des femmes dans le contexte actuel français sont étudiés à partir d’un double matériau : les discours sociaux portant sur la ménopause et des entretiens approfondis menés auprès de femmes ménopausées. L’étude de la construction de la ménopause dans les discours médicaux souligne, tout d’abord, le caractère fondamental du genre dans la production de cette catégorie, aujourd’hui mise en scène dans des relais culturels (médias et publicités). Nous analysons, ensuite, l’expérience de la ménopause comme un apprentissage. Avec pour objectif de « dénaturaliser » la ménopause, nous éclairons la socialisation dont elle est le fruit et les interactions où s’en réalise l’apprentissage. Enfin, loin d’être un évènement, la ménopause constitue un processus dynamique, informé par des rapports sociaux et produit de représentations. Nous appréhendons l’expérience de la ménopause en tant que trajectoire influencée par différents facteurs qui mettent en jeu les normes d’âge en termes de fécondité, les représentations du corps ainsi que deux interactants clés : le médecin et l’autrui significatif. / This PhD deals with menopause as a category and an experience. It aims to understand the mechanisms through which menopause is “made”, as well as their effects. The social construction of menopause, its social treatment and women’s’ lived experiences in the French context are examined from a double perspective: social discourses about menopause and interviews carried out with menopausal women. Firstly, the social construction of menopause in medical discourses reveals the crucial importance of gender in the production of this category, nowadays extremely dramatized in media and advertisement. We then proceed to analyze menopause as a learning process. In order to “denaturalize” menopause, we focus on the socialization which it is a product of, and the interactions which constitute its learning process. Finally, we examine menopause as a process fashioned by social relationships and representations, a trajectory where norms of age and fecundity, representations of the body, and key interactions with physician and significant other are at play.

La santé des femmes au travail doit être envisagée comme une question collective, déterminée par les rapports sociaux de sexe. La vision médicale traditionnelle du corps des femmes y voit un corps toujours défaillant, ce qui constitue un obstacle à la reconnaissance des atteintes à la santé des femmes liées au travail. Le champ empirique de l’aide aux personnes âgées nous offre l’opportunité d’observer les pénibilités du travail d’aide à domicile. Nous pouvons également prendre connaissance des pathologies qui en découlent. Tous ces éléments confirment la pénibilité du métier d’auxiliaire de vie, visible même dans les données de reconnaissance de l’assurance maladie. Lire ces résultats à l’aune des rapports sociaux de sexe nous permet de comprendre comment l’ignorance de cette pénibilité amène un bénéfice collectif. Ils indiquent également tout l’enjeu qu’il y a à proposer une vision de la santé dégagée de la lecture strictement biomédicale, construite au masculin neutre. / Women occupational health should be seen as a collective issue, determined by social relations of sex. The traditional medical view of women's bodies refers to an understanding of an ever-failing body, and this is an obstacle to the recognition of attacks on women's health related to work. The empirical field of elderly home care gives us the opportunity to observe the physical and psychological discomforts for health care workers. We can also take note of the diseases linked to this work hardness. All these facts confirm the hardness of health care worker job, visible even in the recognition data of health insurance. Read those results in terms of social relation of sex allows us to understand how the ignorance of this hardship brings a collective benefit. It also indicates how important it is to offer a vision of health away from the strictly biomedical point of view, masculine neutral built.