Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1988. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 184-203).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Faculty of the Divinity School, August 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 1998. Graduate Programme in Interdisciplinary Studies. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 328-340). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ39183.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 78 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-67).

Thesis (D. Jur.)--York University, 2000. Graduate Programme in Law. / Title on thesis acceptance page: A feminist critique of Irish abortion law as a post-colonial legal form. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 233-250). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ67939.

This study argues that novels by contemporary women writers, such as Doris Lessing, May Sarton, Barbara Pym and Jenny Diski, through their representation of older female protagonists, create alternative discourses of ageing to those that dominate Western society. By placing these figures at the centre of their narratives, the texts counteract the silence and pejorative stereotyping that routinely surrounds the lives of the aged. The technique of studying literary representations of women is not new; in fact, it is a trusted part of feminist methodology. However, one of the assertions of this dissertation is that it is rarely used to investigate texts about the senescent, reflecting feminism's failure to include the older women in their theories. Part one of the dissertation examines such issues in depth, setting out the theoretical orientation of the study. It considers popular representations and paradigms of ageing, as well as considering the power of normalising discourse and dynamics of representation. Part two uses this material to analyse the strategies that British and North American authors have employed, since the 1960's, to challenge common stereotypes of older women. The first three chapters focus on novels that portray protagonists who display emotions, not usually associated with the old, which are revealed in relation to different aspects of ageing: anger and frustration (dependency); passion and desire (sexuality); and contentment (daily life). Chapter 7, 'The Wise and Archetypal Older Woman', shifts its attention away from more realist texts to study characters who emerge from the covers of ratiocinative fiction. It argues that conventional critiques of the genre often negate its more polemical elements, which is a result of their failure to use an age- and gender-aware approach and a problem that generally greets intelligent novels about female senescence. This thesis sees itself as part of a movement that aims to create a space in which older female characters' voices can be heard and recognised. It contends that the authors treated here produce visions of ageing that are not solely concerned with stagnation and decline. They represent a varied and compelling group of protagonists and, in doing so, illustrate that older women are worthy of literary, social and feminist interest.

This study examines the literary depiction of the black surrogate mother as she is created according to the author’s race, gender, background, experience, biases and goals. Even though she is one of the most successful and popular characters of fiction, she is also controversial. Her reputation is iconic as well as dichotomous. For example, she is credited for the exemplary upbringing of her white charges, while simultaneously blamed for neglecting her own children. Particularly, this paper looks at three black surrogate mothers who conform to the prototypical, often stereotypical, image of the black surrogate mother: Mammy, Aunt Mammy Jane, and Dilsey. The critique substantiates that Mitchell and Faulkner, respectively, were invested in depicting Mammy and Dilsey as representatives of the real black surrogate mothers of their lives. Although, the character of Mammy Jane mirrors Mammy and Dilsey in her commitment and devotion to her white family, Chesnutt employs her as a cautionary warning to the blacks who refuse to accept change and progress after Emancipation. The other three black surrogate mothers, Sofia, Berenice, and Ondine, are antithetical to the stereotypical black surrogate mother. Sofia, an accidental maid, is representative of Walker’s intense efforts to deconstruct the image of the black surrogate mother that plagued her throughout her lifetime. Unlike most white authors, McCullers crafts Berenice as independent, strong, and autonomous, not just as a black surrogate mother of a white child. Morrison provides Ondine with a husband and daughter to be concerned with so that she cannot be cast as the stereotypically loving, nurturing black mother of white children. The conclusion of this study validates that the literary black surrogate mother is most often a creation based upon her author’s specific and personal biases and goals. In conjunction with the above assertion, the critique also contends that the real life black domestic has been and will continue to be significantly influenced by her fictional representative.

This study examines the pornographic images of black women from Sara Baartman, the “Venus Hottentot,” to the Middle Passage, the Auction Block, Plantation Life, Harlem Renaissance, Blaxpomploitation movies, mainstream contemporary cinema, and pornography. It is based on the premise that throughout history black women’s images have been pornographic. The researcher found that the pornographic images present in today’s visual media are outgrowths of the debilitating, racialized and sexualized images of black women historically. The conclusion drawn from the findings suggests that black women’s images in cinema continue to subjugate and objectify black women on and off screen.

In this essay the author compares Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own (1928) to Caitlin Moran’s How To Be a Woman (2012). The two texts have both been described as feminist manifests of their time. The essay focuses on differences and similarities between the two texts, mainly focusing on the authors’ reasons for writing their texts and on the rhetoric they use to reach the audience. The comparison shows that there are many similarities between the texts, given the historical context they were written in. For instance, both Woolf and Moran use humor as rhetorical means and they both see cooperation between women and men as the solution for a better future.

This study explores perspectives of feminist therapists on working with adolescent girls. The participants in this study were three feminist therapists, two of whom were pursuing doctoral studies in counseling psychology and one of whom was an experienced therapist, trained in social work. The research data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, as well as through questionnaires. Triangulation of the data (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007) and interview coding formed the basis of the analysis. The results indicated that participants held well-defined ideas as to the meaning which they gave to feminist therapy and the methods which they used to implement it, in the form of principles, objectives, techniques, and characteristics of the therapeutic relationship, both with adolescents and with adults. In addition, participants revealed their thoughts regarding the appropriateness and relevance of feminist therapy for working with adolescent girls. Furthermore, several challenges to practicing feminist therapy were discussed.