A discussion on visibility of lesbian women creates an opportunity to understand what it means to Zimbabwean lesbian identifying women to be 'lesbian' and how that identity is visibilised or invisibilised depending on resulting benefit or possible detriment. The study investigates the experiences of lesbian women in Zimbabwe which have been subsumed in a 'homosexual' visibility discourse. Placing the focus of lesbian identity on the visibility locus helps foreground the possibilities and paradoxes of how visibility of an identity impacts personal experience. The intention of this study is to make lesbian identity more visible, bringing it out of the shadows where it has been concealed by a homosexuality discourse that revolves largely around gay men. The study also seeks to understand when visibility matters, for what purpose and when it may be problematic. My approach does not assume that there are ahistorical, transcultural truths about lesbian identity. Instead my question tracks the production of a lesbian identity in Zimbabwe, how it operates and how best its prevailing operation can be described. How is lesbian identity in/visibilised? What is the social and political consequence of in/visibility on the experiences of lesbian identifying women in Zimbabwe? Does a human rights framework positively impact visibility? / tm2017 / Centre for Human Rights / MPhil / Unrestricted

Universities are perceived as non-judgmental because of their tolerant environments and emphasis on producing well-rounded students. Despite transformative initiatives to create an inclusive culture, transgender and gender diverse students may still feel that they are treated unfairly due to stigmatisation or poorly implemented diversity policies. Studies have focused mainly on the gender binary practice of transgender individuals assimilating to cisnormativity. Yet, relatively little work has considered the implications of campus life where transgender students may experience discrimination because of gender-exclusive policies and practices (residence halls, bathrooms, public inclusion, training, and support). This study sought to address this gap. Data from a thematic analysis of qualitative semi-structured interviews were utilised to understand trans* students' perceptions and lived experiences at a South African university. Most of the participants revealed that a hostile climate for transgender students prevailed on campus and that the institution lacks resources and education on transgender issues. Findings reported three major themes: (1) Navigating the power of privilege and institutional systemic oppression; (2) Misalignment and invalidation of one's gender identity on campus; (3) The importance of understanding transgender health from a gender minority experience. Recommendations for creating greater inclusion for transgender students on university campuses are presented.

Within both the scientific discourse on workforce diversity, and diversity management practice, intersexuality and transgender issues have hitherto remained marginalized topics. This chapter gives an overview of the discourses on both phenomena, and proposes starting points for more inclusive organizational diversity management initiatives. It is shown that both topics represent different aspects of the category of "gender". The common practice of conceptually lumping together intersexuality, transgenderism, and sexual orientation can be seen as one important reason that intersexuality and transgenderism are rarely considered in organizational diversity management programs in terms of concrete action. Against this background, a modified, and more integrated approach to structuring the workforce alongside the different dimensions of diversity is proposed. It is shown that the categories of "biological sex and gender", "gender identity", and "sexual orientation" cannot be regarded as being separate from each other. They represent, rather, an interrelated organizational field of action that should be considered as being one interrelated topic for organizational diversity practices. This chapter derives this claim theoretically and discusses the consequences for organizational diversity management practices. For most organizations, this would mean a fundamental rethinking of their goals, in terms of workforce diversity, and the shaping of their diversity management programs.

Few bodies consistently portray natural or unaltered forms. Instead, humans inhabit bodies imbued with sociocultural meanings about what is attractive, appropriate, functional, and presentable. As such, embodiment is always gendered. The social, extra-corporeal body is a central locus for expressing gender. Surgical body modifications represent inherently gendered technologies of the body. But psychomedical institutions subject people who seek gender-crossing surgeries to increased surveillance, managing and regulating cross-gender embodiment as disorderly. Using mixed research methods, this research systematically compared transgender and cisgender (non-transgender) people’s experiences before, during, and after surgical body modification. I conducted a content analysis of 445 threads on a message board for an online cisgender surgery community, an analysis of 15 international protocols for transgender-specific surgeries, and 40 in-depth interviews with cisgender and transgender people who had surgery. The content analysis of the online community revealed similar themes among cisgender and transgender surgery users. However, detailed protocols existed only for transgender consumers of surgery. Interview findings showed that transgender and cisgender people reported similar presurgical feelings toward their bodies, similar cosmetic and psychological motivations for surgery, and similar benefits of surgery. For both cisgender and transgender people, surgery enhanced the inner self through improving the outer gendered body. Despite these similar embodied experiences, having a cisgender gender status determined respondents’ abilities to pursue surgery autonomously and with institutional support. Ultimately, this research highlights inequalities that result from gender status and manifest in psychomedical institutions by identifying the psychosocial impacts of provider/consumer or doctor/patient interactions, relating gendered embodiment to regulatory systems of authority, and illuminating policy implications for clinical practice and legal classifications of sex and gender.

Historically trans people have been advised that the gender role transitional process will undoubtedly result in the breakdown of their relationships. Research into trans people's sexuality is growing, yet research into the sexuality of cisgender partners, in the context of their partners' transition, is sparse. This project presents an in-depth narrative analysis of six cisgender women who have been partnered with trans identified individuals. The findings are presented through individual overall impressions of the participants and the collective narratives told. The main story plot that emerged was 'the quest to stay together' which is told through sub plots of identity, the body and invisibility. Further sub plots are offered in regards to the support participants accessed to assist in 'the quest to stay together'. The analysis includes the ways in which narrators drew on, and/or challenged, social discourses of gender and sexuality and also performative aspects of identity. Clinical implications, limitations of the study and future research are also discussed.

The ​aim​ of this study was to examine transgendered persons experiences of social norms andattitudes related to their gender identity. More specifically the study focused on thecisgender- and hetero norm and how these affect transgender persons transition process andtheir everyday life. The ​method​ used to collect data was by reading five autobiographicalbooks written by transgendered persons. Collected data was analyzed using queer theory andthematized into four different themes; ​The importance of passing, The environments attitudesand reactions, To be yourself or someone else ​and ​Social relationships​. The​ results ​indicatethat transgendered persons are highly affected by norms and are often victims ofdiscrimination due to their gender identity. To “pass” as either man or woman is thereforecrucial to avoid negative attitudes and harassment. The results also showed the difficulty fortransgendered persons to reveal their gender identity to society and their close ones and howdifferent reactions can either discourage or normalize the heteronormative structures thatexists in our society. The​ conclusion ​was that transgendered persons are affected bycisgendered- and heteronormative norms in both their transition process and their everydaylife. Society is categorizing people as either man or woman, and whoever doesn’t fit in thegiven gender roles is classed as deviant

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No description available.

Sex is a biologically based classification, determining whether an individual is male or female. Comparatively, gender is a socially designed construct, which varies between cultures and prescribes what it means to be a man or a woman. Western culture suggests all individuals fall neatly into one of these two groups. Females are expected to display feminine characteristics such as being nurturers, while males are expected to display masculine characteristics such as being providers. There exists, however, a population of individuals who identify themselves as "transgender," meaning, they feel inconsistency between their internal sense of gender identity and their birth-assigned biological sex and/or assigned gender role. These individuals wish to separate from their birth-assigned gender role and express through physical modification their true gender identity. In the context of romantic relationships, it was once thought that disclosure of one partner's transgender identity meant inevitable demise of the relationship. Clinical guidelines offered advice to the transgender partner, suggesting they abandon their family, change their identity, and begin a new life elsewhere (Lev, 2004). More recently, however, clinical experiences suggest the possibility that many transgender people can maintain healthy and sustainable relationships. This study sought to understand the impact of gender transition on the sexual relationship and sexual orientation of female-to-male (FTM) transgender individuals and their cisgender female partners. / Master of Science

Prior research has established significant associations between regular physical activity and enhancements in well-being, quality of life, and self-regulation. Given that these benefits may extend to influence the quality of romantic relationships, the present study was the first to evaluate the relationship between exercise and romantic relationship satisfaction through the role of body image, drawing upon the Self-Determination Theory as the theoretical framework. Specifically, the current study aimed to achieve three objectives: (a) to investigate the impact of exercise on romantic relationship satisfaction, (b) to examine the effects of body image as a mediator in the exercise-relationship connection, and (c) to determine whether exercise motives moderate the mediating effect of body image. Data were gathered from an online survey completed by 392 cisgender women in heterosexual relationships and analyzed using PROCESS Macro for SPSS Model 4 and Model 7, respectively. The results showed that exercise frequency was not directly related to romantic relationship satisfaction. However, body image fully mediated this association, indicating that increased exercise predicted body satisfaction and subsequently contributed to individuals' perceived relationship quality. While exercise motivation did not emerge as a moderator of the mediation of body image, health/fitness and enjoyment/mood motives significantly predicted positive body evaluation and relationship quality. In contrast, concerns related to appearance were linked to higher levels of social comparison and negative affect. Therefore, these findings highlight the value of fostering a positive body image and reducing body-focused motivation, as well as prioritizing autonomous exercise for the quality of romantic relationships and overall well-being.