Abortion is a dilemma that women may encounter. The perceptions towards abortion are likely to be shaped by women¡¦s marital statues. Since the 1960s, feminists claim that women should own the right to their bodies, with a particular emphsis on pregnant women and their decisions to have abortion. By saying this, however, there are still pressing structural constraints that regulate women¡¦s bodies and their entitlement for such right. This research is therefore to investigate Taiwanese women¡¦s experiences with abortion, revealing social constraints and cultural cohesions, which determine women¡¦s experiences with abortion. In the context of Taiwan, unmarried women with pregnancy are still considered as ¡§deviants¡¨. Little research has been conducted in order to explore women¡¦s experiences with abortion. In order to contribute such research gap, this study wants to look at (1) how marital status might influence women¡¦s attitudes towards abortion, (2) how women¡¦s marital statuses may contribute to their decisions for abortions (3) how abortions might affect women¡¦s lived experiences? By examining these three questions, this research tried to explore women¡¦s autonomy through their own rights to bodies and abortions. It is suggested that regardless their marital statuses, women rarely own their bodies and the right for abortion. Fertility freedom is a basic human right grounded to women. Yet, in order to obtain such right, women have to constantly battle against husbands and their families, medical authorities, and even the state. Unmarried women with pregnancy, rather than their male partners, are still stigmatized and morally condemned . In addition, research in abortion rarely addresses how men perceive such experience. This is nevertheless important. In particular, by comparing men¡¦s and women¡¦s accounts for abortion, we can understand how gendered inequalities and gendered stratifications are operationalized through patriarchal values. Rather than women themselves, their male partners often make the final decision on abortion. In saying this, yet, this research also explores how ¡¥being a responsible man¡¦ becomes a mainstream gendered language for these men to appropriate in order to construct their masculinity.

This thesis explores the various discursive strategies that black women employ when they encounter street harassment from men. To investigate the ways in which these women choose to respond to men’s attention during social interactions, I examine their perception of social situations to understand how they view urban spaces and strangers within these spaces. Drawing on qualitative interviews that I conducted with 10 black women, I focus on how the unique convergence of this group’s racial and gender identities can expose them to sexist and racist street harassment. Thus, I argue that black women face street harassment as a result of gendered and racialized power asymmetries. I found that black women rely on a variety of discursive strategies, including speech and silence, to neutralize and negotiate these power asymmetries. They actively resist reproducing racialized and gendered sexual stereotypes of black women by refusing to talk back to men who harass. Understanding silence as indicative of black women’s agency, not oppression, remains a key finding in this research.

Examining historical ideology of women’s position within society and how that socialization has influenced historical legal cases of gender inequality is the backdrop for a modern case study of sexual harassment and sexual assault. This thesis explores how women’s voices have been, and continue to be, silenced socially and legally through ages old ideology of women’s subordination to men. By examining a 2007 legal case of ongoing sexual harassment and sexual assault perpetrated by Federal Judge Samuel Kent against women in subordinate positions working within his courthouse it is demonstrated that socialization of gender inequality is stronger and slower to change than the laws prohibiting it. / text

This thesis presents a study combined of a quantitative content analysis and a discourse analysis and aims to investigate women’s representation in news articles about the 2018 wildfires. The representation is examined in two ways, to what extent and how women were represented. To structure the examination the theory symbolic annihilation is used. Symbolic annihilation includes three different aspects of women’s representation in media; absence, condemnation and trivialization. Each one of these aspects is scrutinized on whether they occur in the news articles about the 2018 wildfires. The results show that all except one of these aspects is materialized in the news articles. Women are represented to a lesser extent than men and often in gender-based roles, but contrary to the theory they are also represented in traditionally male roles without being condemned for it. Furthermore, this thesis also aims to explain the results of the representation of women in the news articles. To achieve this the theory poststructuralistic feminism is used. More specifically to analyze the results using the theoretical ideas about discourse, subjectivity and gendered power structures. The analyze show that the gendered power structures that exist in our society affects the crisis discourse and therefore also the representation of women in it. Why women were represented in traditionally male roles was explained by subjectivity and the individual’s power to change discourses.

The aim of this study is to investigate and describe the perceptions women has of being in middle management position in male-dominated industries. Five qualitative semi-structured interviews have been conducted, and the empirical material analyzed from a phenomenographic perspective. The analyzed data resulted in four categories; Job satisfaction is strengthened by the feeling of security, the Organization task-orientation has a negative impact on the leadership, Traditional notions of masculinity and femininity requires adaptation, Good leadership requires some special features. Conclusion show that women in middle management-positions perceived to have strong support in their management role in the male-dominated industries, however, there are indications that these industries also require a certain type of leadership behavior. Women consider themselves even perceive a shift in the focus of what should be prioritized depending on which department they are in. Male-dominated departments often leads to down prioritizing relationship-oriented tasks, as the women think is an essential part of leadership

Studien syftade till att undersöka studenter vid Örebro universitets uppfattningar om allvarlighetsgraden av fysiskt våld, som utförs i nära heterosexuella parrelationer, beroende på könet på förövaren. Uppfattningarna undersöktes genom en webbaserad enkätundersökning innehållande vinjetter med fiktiva scenarion. Respondenterna (N = 107) fick ta del av ett scenario där förövaren antingen var en man eller en kvinna. Respondenterna tillhandahölls frågor tillhörande scenariot för att mäta uppfattningarna. Resultatet av studien visade signifikanta resultat gällande allvarlighetsgrad av våldet baserat på förövarens kön. Studenterna uppfattade situationen allvarligare när mannen var förövare gällande; 1) syn på incidentens allvarlighetsgrad, 2) syn på förövaren och 3) syn på den utsatta. Studiens resultat diskuterades med teoretisk utgångspunkt i könsmaktsordningen. Förståelsen för hur förövarens kön påverkar uppfattningarna om allvarlighetsgraden av våldet är viktigt för att förstå våld i nära relation som ett samhällsproblem i syfte att arbeta brottsförebyggande. Ökad kunskap inom området bidrar till att minska diskriminering och stigmatisering gällande förövare och utsatta oberoende av könstillhörighet. / The aim of this study was to examine students’ at Örebro University perceptions regarding the severity of physical violence in heterosexual intimate relations based on the gender of the perpetrator. The perceptions were examined through a web based survey containing vignettes with fictional scenarios. The participants (N = 107) received a scenario where the perpetrator was either male or female. The participants were then provided with follow up questions to measure their perceptions of the scenarios. The result of the study showed significant results regarding the severity level of the violence based on the gender of the perpetrator. The students' perceptions showed that the situation was considered more severe when the male was the perpetrator regarding; 1) severity of the situation, 2) perception regarding the perpetrator and 3) perception regarding the victim. The results of the study were discussed in relation to the theory of gendered power structures. The comprehension of how the gender of the perpetrator correlates with perceptions of severity of violence is important in understanding intimate partner violence as a societal issue in order to be able to prevent it. Increased awareness in the field contributes to reducing discrimination and stigmatization regarding perpetrators and victims, regardless of their gender.