Gender role issues have been an integral part of psychology since the 1970s. More recently, theories and research have surfaced concerning the issues of maleness in our society. Most of these theories focus on masculine gender role and how it affects men in various ways, e.g., their psychological well-being, substance use, relational abilities, and help-seeking behaviors. One area of maleness that has consistently been left out of the Masculine Role Conflict (MRC) debate is that of homosexuality. As a gay man develops, he finds himself at odds with society over something that he experiences biologically as normal and appropriate. It is the contention of this paper that MRC is an issue related to psychological distress among gay men and not psychological weakness in gay men, per se.

Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers, and Lisa Lampanelli as performers demonstrate an arc of evolving female empowerment in the world of stand-up comedy. In this thesis I shall study the development of each woman’s career by examining her material, progression of her comic persona, and relationship to women’s gender roles, both personally and professionally. While there are many other female comics who contribute to the story of women’s stand-up comedy in the contemporary period (in particular, Moms Mabley and Elayne Boosler), Diller, Rivers and Lampanelli each represent a distinct shift in how their persona combined with subject matter, allowing women to break new barriers in terms of comic performance. Diller’s comedy carved a space for Rivers’, and Rivers’ comedy carved a space for the likes of Lampanelli. In viewing the trajectory of their effect on comedy as a whole, we can see how each woman asserted herself in stand-up performance, and forever changed the nature of who was allowed to get up on stage, and also, what they were allowed to say by their audiences. To quote Joan Rivers, “First there was a gasp…and then there was a laugh” (Rivers “Piece of Work”).

Career choice in education and the acquired/achieved level of education are factors that influence social status of men and women. Despite the fact that women, on average, currently achieve a higher level of education than men, women's marketplace status and their height of salary often do not correspond to it. One of the reasons is a low proportion of women in mathematics-related subjects. The aim of this research was to investigate the role of gender stereotypes and identification with mathematics in career choice. In the theoretical part of this thesis, I introduce the basic terms related to gender and gender stereotypes, the role gender plays in institutions and the potential causes of gender differences in the performance in mathematics. In the empirical part, I analyse data from a questionnaire study investigating career choice, level of identification with mathematics, attitudes to courses in the curriculum and the level of gender stereotypes in Czech adolescents. The results suggest few differences between girls and boys in these areas. However, the level of identification with mathematics and the level of gender stereotypes in the career area are related to the educational career choice.

The submitted diploma thesis summarizes knowledge and findings concerning the issues of gender and social inequality with a focus on leadership in organizations. The target of the thesis is to found out if there are any different characteristics in the way males and females perform in management posts. The theoretical point of view is gender theory, through which tries to determine the causes and context of the unequal status men and women in society and in educational system to the labour market where women face a number of barriers that are causing the lower representation of women in management. Within the framework of the theory of organization and management or in the context of leadership styles looks for the optimal leadership style regardless of gender. Keywords equal opportunities, gender roles, gender stereotypes, labour market, leadership, management

This research explores the role of al-Hakkamat rural women poets in the context of armed conflict in Darfur, from 1980s to 2006. Utilising QSR NVivo7 software, the study analyses and interprets qualitatively collected data in the light of the posed research questions. Processes and attributes leading to the identification of al-Hakkamah, such as her singing and composing talents, are explored - from identifying and nurturing to fully constructing her role as a folk singer and agitator as well as a powerful social actor. Her nurtured personal and social identities reconstruct for her gender roles that are found to be both feared and revered by the community and appropriated by the government. She is found to respond effectively to situations ranging from gallantry (lauding), solidarity (lobbying) to downright belligerency (inciting). These roles exhibit robust and proactive gender roles and power relations in Darfur that enable women, not without historical precedence, to exercise their own identity, agency and political influence in an otherwise overwhelmingly patriarchal society. The study also reveals that the conflict of Darfur is rooted in the history of the neopatrimonial domestic politics pursued by the riverine ruling elites, marked by systemic failure to manage resource issues equitably between tribal and ethnic entities in Darfur. In such circumstances, al-Hakkamat agency is either volunteered or enlisted in the attempt to secure an advantage. In either case her agency is verifiably seen to bolster the hypothesis that rural women in Darfur exercise more power than their counterparts in rural northern Sudan.

This essay takes a look at which gender norms and stereotypes can be found in high-school history textbooks, and the values that they pass on to the students who read them. By analysing the textbooks from both a text and image perspective, a rounded view of the values and ideals concerning power and gender that the books contain can be seen. The use of gender theory gives the essay a clear theoretical framework through which the material is analysed. The result showed that the history textbooks over all contained an outdated view of gender roles and gender dynamics. There was a clear overrepresentation of men in both the text and the pictures throughout the books, and the language used created a hierarchy between men and women.  This in turn sends outdated messages to students, messages which may not fit the current ideal of gender equality.

This literary study examines the formulation of masculinity in Syrian novels authored by women. The thesis covers the period between 1959 and 2000, corresponding to both the development of the female-authored novel in Syria and the creation of the modern Syrian state. This research engages with studies of masculinity in general and literary masculinity studies in particular. Drawing on the seminal work of Raewyn Connell as well as engaging with studies on masculinity and feminine narratology in Swedish, English and Arabic, the thesis analyses the formulation of literary masculinity through the fictional societies’ ideal masculinity on the one hand, and the female characters’ views and reactions to masculinity on the other. From a general survey of the field, 34 novels undertaking the formulation of gendered relations were identified and chosen for this study. From this selection, five themes emerged, forming the foundation of this thesis’ main chapters. The five themes explore, in turn, how stereotypes are utilised to critique gender roles, ways in which male and female characters collaborate to formulate gender norms, how female characters capitalise on patriarchy in order to enhance their lives, male characters as symbols for social and political change and finally, the difficulties included in the performance of masculinity. Each theme is exemplified through one novel, which is analysed in detail. Throughout the five chapters, the main novel chosen for analysis is put into conversation with other novels with similar themes but from different decades. This allows for an examination of changing ideals of masculinity in addition to the theme itself. The first theme, how stereotypes are utilised to critique gender roles, is studied through a close reading of al-Ẓahr al-‘ārī (The Naked back) by Hanrīyit ‘Abbūdī. The analysis illustrates how the expected normative behaviour of men and women is utilised in order to comment on the formulation of gender roles. The chapter further demonstrates ways in which what is seen as gender specific behaviour can be appropriated by the opposite gender. This is further developed through the examination of female writers taking over the male voice through a first person male narrator. The second theme, ways in which male and female characters collaborate to formulate gender norms, is discussed through a close reading of the novel Khaṭawāt fī al-ḍabāb (Steps in the fog) by Malāḥa al-Khānī. This chapter illustrates the similar expectations that both male and female characters have on their sons and fellow male characters. This includes taking on the role of provider and protector, even in the cases where the female characters are able to look after themselves. The third theme, how female characters capitalise on patriarchy in order to enhance their lives, is elaborated through a close reading of Ayyām ma‘ahu (Days with him) by Kūlīt Khūrī. This theme demonstrates how the female character constructs herself and her world around the idea of a perfect male, whom she thinks will save her. The analysis examines what is seen as ideal traits in a man. It further discusses the change of the female character and how her initial utilisation of patriarchal structure transforms into a critique of the same structure. The fourth theme, male characters as symbols for social and political change, is seen through a close reading of Dimashq yā basmat al-ḥuzn (Damascus, o smile of sadness) by Ulfat al-Idlibī. The chapter connects between changing social ideals and ideal masculinity. Through Bayrūt 75 (Beirut 75) by Ghāda al-Sammān, the fifth theme, the difficulties included in the performance of masculinity, is studied. The problematic masculinity presented is then put in contrast with what appears to be a suggestion that a performance of femininity could be an alternative to unsuccessful masculinity. Whereas the novels differ in their presentation of masculinity and the utilisation of ideal masculinity, they agree on a set of core traits summarised in a hegemonic ideal of masculinity as an ability to provide and protect. The ways in which this should be performed is however closely connected to the female characters’ ideas of emancipation and women’s rights. The female writers’ formulation of masculinity can hence be said to mirror the development of the female characters and their awareness of women’s rights. The thesis hopes that its original contribution to knowledge is the identification and examination of constructed masculinities in Syrian female-authored fiction. Moreover, this thesis studies a body of Syrian fiction previously largely unstudied in Western academia, and in a framework of Swedish, English and Arabic secondary sources.

O enfoque desta pesquisa são as relações afetivo-sexuais na região da Fronteira do Rio Grande do Sul no período republicano (1889-1930); território amplamente identificado no imaginário popular com a violência, imagem esta que foi objeto de pesquisa de diversas obras de nossa historiografia. Entretanto, pouco destes estudos se valeram das reflexões sobre este tema e suas ligações com as identidades de gênero. Esta opção temática deve-se pela longevidade das práticas de vivência entre homens e mulheres unidos por laços afetivo-sexuais – procedimento estes ainda presentes em nossa contemporaneidade. Examinando estas relações através da crítica histórica, pretedeu-se encontrar os vetores pelos quais as dinâmicas sociais amplas são perpassadas. Ao nos focarmos nestes vínculos, objetivou-se ampliar o debate das múltiplas formas de manifestações sociais através de registros criminais, observando as permanências de hierarquias, contingências, conflitos e assimilações. / The focus of this research are the emotional-sexual relationships in the frontier of Rio Grande do Sulduring the Republican period (1889-1930),a territory widely identified with violence in the local’s common sense - an image that has been a research subject of several inquiriesby our historiography. However, few of these studies made use ofinsights of the gender theory in remark of this object, and fewer stillfocused in the private and public aspects of violence may influence these practices. This thematic option is due to the longevity of the living practices between men and women united by emotional-sexual ties - ways of living still present in our times. Examining gender relations in historical analysis, we now have at our disposal one of the important vectors by which social relations are pervaded. By focusing on these links, we aimed to broaden the debate the multiple forms of social manifestations expressed through criminal records, noting the permanence of hierarchies, contingencies, conflicts and assimilation.

Social psychology researchers have become increasingly interested in the role of essentialist beliefs in predicting attitudes toward social groups. However, there is little agreement about what the term actually means, whether it means different things for different groups, what endorsement of essentialism (or its sub-components) means for attitudes, and how much this varies depending on the relevant social context. This underlying lack of clarity helps to explain some of the difficulty in understanding the relationships between essentialist beliefs about sexual orientation and attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. In the current project, I suggest a fundamental shift in the approach to this issue. Specifically, I examine the effects of essentialist beliefs related to gender (rather than essentialist beliefs related to sexual orientation) on heterosexist attitudes. In study one, I explore the interrelationships among gender- and sexual orientation-related beliefs and attitudes toward gays, revealing that essentialist beliefs about gender are more consistent and unitary in their relationship to heterosexism than the sexual-orientation related analogues. In my second study, I demonstrate a causal link by manipulating essentialist beliefs about gender. Increasing the salience of gender essentialist beliefs produced higher heterosexism scores relative to decreasing the salience of such beliefs. Taken together, these studies demonstrate the interconnectedness of sexism and the gender hierarchy with heterosexism and discrimination against gays. More importantly, study two forecasts a possible intervention strategy for reducing anti-gay prejudice.

I denna kvalitativa studie har det undersökts om vilken betydelse könsroller har på bankanställda samt om manliga och kvinnliga anställda upplever sin yrkesroll annorlunda. I undersökningen återfinns nio respondenters upplevelser varav sex anställda är respondenter som identifierar sig som kvinnor och tre som identifierar sig som män. Studien har genomförts på tre olika organisationer på olika orter i Sverige. Denna undersökning belyser respondenternas subjektiva upplevelser och erfarenheter om könsroller. Resultatet har analyserats utifrån de sociologiska perspektiven: rollteorin och symbolisk interaktionism som förklarar hur respondenternas roller skapats och hur de utspelar sig samt hur de uppfattar sig själva utifrån könsroller. Studiens resultat är att manliga och kvinnliga anställda upplever könsroller på liknande sätt, det vill säga i enlighet med de stereotypa egenskaperna utifrån vad som anses manligt respektive kvinnligt. Dock skiljer sig betydelsen av könsroller i upplevelser och även att det råder en ojämlikhet. Kvinnliga anställda upplever att de behöver prestera mer för att bli lika uppskattade som manliga kollegor. Kvinnor upplevde även i större utsträckning att de blev negativt bemötta av främst kunder på grund av deras kön. De manliga anställda upplevde att deras manliga kön fungerade som en positiv tillgång när det gäller respekt och karriärsuppgång. Resultatet visade att samtliga respondenter anpassade sig efter de rådande stereotypa könsrollerna dock att det sker utan någon större reflektion. / In this qualitative study, we have investigated which meaning gender roles have on bank and financial employees’ professional role, and whether male and female employees perceive their professional role differently. The study includes nine respondents' experiences of which six employees identify as female and three employees identify as male. The study has been conducted within three different organizations in different locations in Sweden. This study highlights the respondents' subjective experiences and experiences about gender roles. The results have been analysed using the sociological perspectives: role theory and symbolic interactionism, which explain how the respondents' roles are created, how they take place and how they perceive themselves based on gender roles. The study reveals that male and female employees experience gender roles in a similar way, that is, in accordance with the stereotypical characteristics based on what is considered male and female, respectively. However, the importance of gender roles in experiences differs and that inequality exists. Employees who identify as female feel that they need to perform at a higher level to become as appreciated as male colleagues. Women, to a greater extent than the men, felt that they were negatively addressed primarily by customers because of their perceived gender. The employees who identify as male felt that their gender served as a positive asset when it comes to respect and career advancement. The result showed that all respondents adapted to the prevailing stereotypical gender roles, however, that it occurs without any major reflection.