Ursula K. Le Guin is often called a feminist science fiction author. Drawing on such theorists as bell hooks and R. W. Connell, I analyze three novels by Le Guin from a social constructivist feminist perspective. I discuss The Dispossessed as it relates to gender and the family in utopian writing, The Lathe of Heaven with respect to gender and race, and Lavinia and gender within the context of the overall trajectory of Le Guin’s writing. I conclude that these novels depict gender in ways that often essentialize identity, whether the novels’ presentations of gender align with liberal or radical feminist ideas, and sometimes represent characters more conservatively than the label “feminist author” might imply. I propose that Le Guin’s status as a feminist writer requires more specific qualification that accounts for the variety of beliefs in existence in contemporary feminist discourse.

What is at stake for female fans and followers of horror cinema? This study explores the pleasures in horror film viewing for female members of the audience. The findings presented here confirm that female viewers of horror do not refuse to look but actively enjoy horror films and read such films in feminine ways. Part 1 of this thesis suggests that questions about the female viewer and her consumption of the horror film cannot be answered solely by a consideration of the text-reader relationship or by theoretical models of spectatorship and identification. A profile of female horror film fans and followers can therefore be developed only through an audience study. Part 2 presents a profile of female horror fans and followers. The participants in the study were largely drawn from the memberships of horror fan groups and from the readerships of a cross-section of professional and fan horror magazines. Qualitative data were collected through focus groups, interviews, open-ended questions included in the questionnaire and through the communication of opinions and experiences in letters and other written material. Part 3 sheds light on the modes of interpretation and attempts to position the female viewers as active consumers of horror films. This study concludes with a model of the female horror film viewer which points towards areas of female horror film spectatorship which require further analysis. The value of investigating the invisible experiences of women with popular culture is demonstrated by the very large proportion of respondents who expressed their delight and thanks in having an opportunity to speak about their experiences. This study of female horror film viewers allows the voice of an otherwise marginalised and invisible audience to be heard, their experiences recorded, the possibilities for resistance explored, and the potentially feminine pleasures of the horror film identified.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2008. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 233 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-233).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 1998. / Includes vita. Bibliography: leaves 212-226.

Thesis (Ph. D., Education)--University of Idaho, December 2008. / Major professor: Jerry R. McMurtry. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-204). Also available online (PDF file) by subscription or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.A.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-139). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2005. / Title from title screen. James Darsey, committee chair; David Cheshier, Mary Stuckey, committee members. Electronic text (237 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed July 12, 2007. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2005. / Title from title screen. David Cheshier, committee chair; Cynthia Hoffner, Carol Winkler, committee members. Electronic text (174 p. : ill.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Apr. 30, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-168).

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Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2007-07-05Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:35:07Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 azevedo_cc_me_assis.pdf: 1000048 bytes, checksum: e139ece903eccd25566cd36fa1a96e7d (MD5) / Constitui objetivo principal deste trabalho a observação da presença feminina nos romances The Driver.s Seat e Symposium, da escritora escocesa Muriel Spark, como fator que possibilite traduzir a realidade das mulheres que buscam autonomia e que, conseqüentemente, ofereça uma relação entre esta atitude e as reações sociais que causam. Com base nos estudos que tratam de questões identitárias (dentro dos estudos de gênero, especificamente, a crítica feminista) será averiguada a recorrência de alguns temas. Dentre eles, destacam-se a morte, a loucura e o aparente controle da situação que, de alguma forma, revelam problemas, conflitos e aflições das personagens estudadas. No primeiro capítulo, situamos a autora com relação ao movimento das mulheres, com o objetivo de, ao contextualizá-la, ter uma melhor compreensão de sua obra. Assim, observam-se as características mais evidentes de seu trabalho com relação às práticas das mulheres em um plano global. Dentre as questões que marcam os estudos da escrita das mulheres, no segundo capítulo serão abordadas algumas linhas críticas que por ela se interessam e a diferenciam da escrita dos homens. A proposta da crítica centrada na mulher (ginocrítica) trata da diferença a partir da ênfase no corpo, na linguagem, na psique e na cultura das mulheres. À luz destas críticas, será realizada uma análise preliminar dos romances sparkianos. No terceiro capítulo, as questões de gênero passam a ser discutidas como fator de análise que prevêem diferenças internas ao grupo das mulheres, bem como semelhanças com trabalhos masculinos. Este aspecto do gênero ocasiona uma leitura não mais binária e hierarquizada de textos, mas que permita às diferenças tornarem-se fator de liberdade e autonomia. Finalmente, a contribuição da autora para a literatura e sua relação com o movimento das mulheres constitui objeto de breves comentários. / The main aim of this work is to observe the female presence in Muriel Spark.s novels The Driver.s Seat and Symposium as a factor that can translate the reality of women who look for autonomy and that also offers, as a result, a relation between this attitude and the social reactions they cause. Based on studies that deal with identity matters (within gender studies, specifically, the feminist criticism) the recurring use of certain themes will be verified. Among them we can point out death, madness and an apparent control on the situation which in some way reveal problems, conflicts and afflictions of the observed characters. In the first chapter, the author is placed within the women.s movement as a way to have a better comprehension of her work by putting her in a specific context. Then, her work.s most evident characteristics are observed in relation to women.s practices as a whole. Among those questions that mark women.s writing studies, in the second chapter will be mentioned some critical trends interested in those writings and which differentiate them from men.s writing. The proposal of the criticism centered in the woman (gynocritics) deals with the difference emphasizing the women.s body, language, psyche and culture. Based on these critics it will be made a preliminary analysis of Spark.s novels. In the third chapter, gender matters begin to be discussed as an analytic factor which foresees internal differences in women.s group as well as similarities to men.s works. This gender aspect causes a reading no longer binary and based on hierarchies, but one that allows the differences to become a factor of freedom and autonomy. Finally, the author.s contribution to Literature and her relation to the women.s movement will be subject to brief comments.