<p>Female social dominance over males is unusual in mammals, yet characterizes most Malagasy lemurs, which represent almost 30% of all primates. Despite its prevalence in this suborder, both the evolutionary trajectory and proximate mechanism of female dominance remain unclear. Potentially associated with female dominance is a suite of behavioral, physiological and morphological traits in females that implicates ‘masculinization’ via androgen exposure; however, relative to conspecific males, female lemurs curiously show little evidence of raised androgen concentrations. In order to illuminate the proximate mechanisms underlying female dominance in lemurs, I observed mixed‐sex pairs of related Eulemur species, and identified two key study groups ‐‐ one comprised of species expressing female dominance and, the other comprised of species (from a recently evolved clade) showing equal status between the sexes (hereafter ‘egalitarian’). Comparing females from these two groups, to test the hypothesis that female dominance is an expression of an overall masculinization of the female, I 1) characterize the expression of female dominance, aggression, affiliation, and olfactory communication in Eulemur; 2) provide novel information about the hormonal and neuroendocrine correlates associated with the expression of female dominance; 3) investigate the activational role of the sex-steroid hormones in adult female Eulemur using seasonal correlates of hormonal and behavioral change; and 4) examine the specific role of estrogen in the regulation and expression of sex-reversed female behavior in these species. In doing so I highlight significant behavioral and physiological differences between female-dominant and egalitarian Eulemur and show that female dominance is associated with a more masculine behavioral and hormonal profile. I also suggest that these behavioral and hormonal differences may be the result of fundamental differences in the biosynthetic pathway associated with estrogen production. Moreover, I assert that these putative physiological differences could provide a parsimonious proximate mechanism explaining the evolution of female dominance and its subsequent relaxation in egalitarian Eulemur species.</p> / Dissertation

Context: Although over half of married South African women of reproductive age (15-49 years) use a method of fertility control, 15 percent of them have an unmet need for family planning. Women’s unmet need for family planning is often attributed to traditional norms ascribing decision-making power to men. However, rural-urban migration, exposure to western style education; constitutional guarantee of gender equity and exposure to outside influences via the internet and mass media make such an assumption untenable in contemporary society. Method: Using logistic regression, eight models are separately fitted for the independent variables related to the background and socio-economic characteristics of the woman; the characteristics of the husband; their comparative characteristics; sexual and reproductive factors; sources of information and communication; reproductive as well as HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudes. The final model, using backward stepwise analysis, estimates the effects of the factors associated with a joint or a male vs. a female pattern of dominance in decision-making about using fertility control. Results: The final model shows that joint decision-making is positively correlated with fifth or higher birth order, being raised in a town, living in a household in the middle wealth quintile, having between four and five children; using fertility control to limit births getting a lot of information about HIV/AIDS from the husband, spousal discussions about family planning and not knowing whether good nutrition stops HIV transmission. Male dominance is positively associated with having only one union, having the same amount of education as the husband or not knowing how much education he has, spousal communication about family planning, first marriage occurring 5-19 years ago, not knowing if the condom was used at last intercourse, knowing that condoms are used for family planning only, not getting information about family planning from posters and irregular exposure to the radio. Conclusions: In the era of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and emphasis on the reproductive health approach in family planning, there is a need for studies, at the local level, that include both individuals in the relationship. Qualitative studies focusing on the nature, context and content of couple communication about sexuality and reproduction can provide important information about gender relationships in the South African context. There is also a need to understand the effect of gender and community norms on sexual and reproductive decision-making. Studies on HIV discordant couples can provide important information on the impact of the epidemic on sexual and reproductive decisionmaking. Studies focusing on family formation can provide information on the impact of social change on intergenerational and gender relationships as well as trends in reproductive attitudes and behaviours in transitional South African society

This study highlights the social secretary's experiences and experiences regarding working in a female-dominated profession. The main purpose of this study is to examine the advantages and disadvantages of the profession of social secretaries from a social constructivist perspective and a gender perspective. In the study, we also chose to use a quantitative approach where we created questionnaires and sent them out to social workers to answer, the questions consisted of both open and closed questions. The results show both negative and positive results of being and working in a female-dominated profession. The positive aspects are, among other things, that women have found a profession where they can take a place and work their way up, but the negative aspects are that this profession has become less attractive for men to apply for as the profession is considered female. In the profession of social secretary, women can “take up more space” than they usually can in other male-dominated professions, which shows that social constructivism and gender theory exist in the business. The discussion also draws attention to the fact that women can not take as much space as men when the majority of their colleagues are men, as men are considered to be the superior sex, even though they should be able to do so regardless of which gender dominates or whether it is equal.