Human reproduction should not be viewed independently from social reproduction, for to do so limits the perspective of the observer. This thesis examines the limitations of previous studies of human reproduction from an anthropological, psychological, medical and sociological view point. It proposes an alternative feminist perspective which looks at the totality of the pregnancy experience as expressed by the women themselves. Although all women perceive fundamental experiences in common, related to their status as women in male dominated societies, it is argued that there are significant socially determined differences between women in the way they react to these experiences. To establish the extent to which all women have pregnancy experiences in common and to which they have different experiences, two separate groups of women (South Asian and indigenous British) were selected for study. These women were interviewed twice during their pregnancy (using a questionnaire and in—depth interviewing) in an attempt to determine their expectations and experiences of the maternal health services and the extent to which their social class, ethnic background and parity, shaped these experiences. Differences in utilisation of services emerge which are based on the women's social class, length of education, cultural background and parity. Tensions are apparent between lay beliefs about health and illness in pregnancy and the medical model which treats all pregnant women as potentially pathological. The clinical model of pregnancy overlooks the social meaning of pregnancy to the woman and her social network and thus is inadequate in this respect. Inevitably, the amount of support and advice pregnant women receive from their social network varies considerably and is closely related to social class and cultural background. The thesis concludes with suggestions for structural changes in society which are necessary if women are to have autonomy over their actions (particularly in relation to reproduction). These changes involve the erosion of sex, class, and race differences in society, which at present ensure that certain groups are better able to manipulate services to their needs. A list of practical recommendations is detailed suggesting specific points which, if implemented, would make women's future pregnancy experiences richer and more rewarding.

This thesis has addressed an ongoing debate on gender differentiation in employment which has been concerned to analyse why women's economic activity should be constructed as more marginal than men's and why women's employment should be so concentrated in low paid, low skilled jobs. The research has examined the nexus of women's paid and unpaid work and how the form of the organisation of the family and familial ideology undermines the crucial importance of paid employment both to women and the family, whilst the form of the organisation of the labour process often undervalues the real competences women have. The research makes plain the contribution of women's paid and unpaid work. It has been focussed as a case study, on the experiences of a sample of women clothing workers who were made redundant. The case study provides material on the organisation of the clothing industry and the nature of women's jobs there; on employer's strategies for restructuring and rationalising the labour process - which includes factory closure, and the impact and meaning of job loss in the context of patterns of female economic activity, women's familial role and the conditions of the female labour market. As such therefore, it is a study not just of job loss, but of the nature of women's work. The thesis concludes that women's paid employment remains differentiated and marginalised whilst women are employed as cheap labour and whilst that is endorsed by men's claim to a breadwinner's wage. The sexual division of labour within the family contributes to the construction of women as cheap labour. However the wage form, as an unequal wage, sustains those familial relations.

This thesis explores the relationships between science fiction, social theory and social transformation through an in-depth analysis of three feminist science fiction novels. It develops innovative reading practices that bring together narrative theories and methodologies from a range of disciplines, including Sociology, Cultural Studies and Literary Studies. With reference to feminist psychoanalytic theory, the thesis also develops an original theorisation of the 'utopian impulse' and the workings of passionate identification in the formation of interpretive communities, with particular reference to feminist, social theoretical, and science fiction (fan) communities. The three novels focused on — The Gate to Women's Country, Body of Glass and The Fifth Sacred Thing — were selected because they crystallise an extensive range of debates conducted in a period of productive crisis for feminist theory and praxis from the mid 1980s through the mid 1990s. The thesis conducts an in-depth analysis of the transformations in social relations, including intimate social relations, that the novels theorise are necessary for the re-visioning of feminist futures. These include issues surrounding Sex, Gender and Sexuality; Mothering and Fatherhood; the relationship between investments in Spirituality, Technology and Hope for the Future. These debates are all set in the larger context of the historical (and epistemological) rupture between Modern and Post-Modern thought caused by the traumatic events of the Holocaust. The thesis argues that the heteroglossic genre possibilities of science fiction enable the novel texts to embody diverse strands of contestatory feminist theorising. They can thus hold open debates that might be foreclosed in more academic genres of theory that prefer texts to embody a single coherent authorial voice. Throughout the thesis I argue that this is a particularly timely moment to examine such questions, when feminist theory in the academy is apparently dominated by post-structuralist theory, and other feminist theories, namely those clustered around radical feminism, have been and continue to be abjected. I argue that feminist hope for the future requires that no feminist theories should simply be rejected, but that they require conscientious re-readings. Feminists, I argue, must take account of their passionate longings for inclusion in feminist interpretive communities as well as the pain caused when feminist theories exclude their subjective experience and / or alternative theories. The reading practices that can be developed when reading feminist science fiction can facilitate such a process.

This thesis explores the way in which people constructed their identities using the cultural, public and social narratives made available to them in mid-twentieth-century England. Focusing on the construction of masculinities, this study argues that, contrary to popular opinion, for many men during this period ontological narratives expanded beyond the ‘masculine’ discourses of politics, work and sport, to encompass ‘feminine’ discourses of family, home and romance. In the first section of this thesis the argument is advanced that ideal domesticity was promoted to men, just as it was to women, as integral to the construction of personal identity. As such, an exploration is undertaken of the ways in which discourses about family and home life incorporated men above and beyond a bread-winning role. Section two of this thesis argues that during these same decades romance became an overriding preoccupation for men and searching for a soul mate became a masculine pursuit of the utmost importance. The third section of this thesis looks at various attempts to bring these opposing discourses into a workable whole, concluding with a detailed examination of the divorce reform debates of the mid-twentieth century, and refuting the contention that divorce reform was fought for, and won, on behalf of women. Through an examination of the language and rhetoric expressed in a collection of private letters written by men during the 1960s, this study will demonstrate that men’s consumption of domestic and romantic narratives was as active and as enthusiastic as women’s, and that it was this participation which publicly altered perceptions of our most private relationships. By understanding historical processes in the context of narrative, and recognising men’s position within ‘feminine spaces’, this thesis claims that stories of domesticity, romance and divorce need to be retold.

Along the process of economic development, marriage patterns have gradually changed. Nonetheless, we still observe contrasting differences across regions. This thesis first examines those differences, and questions what determines those marriage patterns. The answer to this will be the economic role of women within a society. In this regard, we explore the relationship between gender differences in labour participation and marital outcomes across regions and over time. To do so, we use ethnographic evidence and country-decade data. Moreover, we reconcile distinctive literatures in an attempt to answer our main research question. The focus of the thesis lies within two specific issues regarding marriage patterns: (i) marital systems, namely polygyny and monogamy, and (ii) the spousal age gap. First, we examine the relationship between female labour participation and polygynous unions. Then, we concentrate on monogamy to explore the spousal age gap. In addition, we discuss our main findings and its implications for the long run. Whether societies have followed a similar path but at different speeds throughout history is our last topic of discussion.

This thesis draws on poststructuralism/postmodernism to present a feminist investigation into the human body, its modes of (self)identification, and its insertion into systems of bioethics. I argue that, contrary to conventional paradigms, the boundaries not only of the subject, but of the body too, cannot be secured. In exploring and contesting the closure and disembodiment of the ethical subject, I propose instead an incalculable, but nonetheless fully embodied, diversity of provisional subject positions. My aim is to valorise women and situate them within a reconceived ethics which takes account of the embodied feminine. My project entails an analysis and deconstruction of the binaries of those dominant strands of postEnlightenment thought that shape epistemology, ontology, and ethics, which in turn set the parameters of modern bioethics. More importantly, it goes on to reclaim a radical sexual difference beyond the binary, in which the female is no longer the other of the male. My enquiry, then, is strongly influenced by the discursive approach offered by both Foucault and Derrida in differential ways, but I counter their indifference to feminist concerns by qualifying their insights in the light of strategies developed by Irigaray and Spivak, among others. The main method of investigation has been through library research of primary and secondary sources in mainstream and feminist philosophy, and in bioethics. In addition, archival work in both textual and iconographic collections was carried out at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine. The contribution made by this thesis is to go beyond modernist feminisms - which would simply revise and add women into existing paradigms - to radically displace and overflow the mechanisms by which women are devalued. And in developing a postmodern critique around some issues in bioethics, I have suggested a new ethics of the body which precedes the operation of moral codes.

The thesis examines how far women's farming groups are able to foster self-reliance among peasant farmers in Tharaka Division, a semi-arid region of Kenya. This is a particularly impoverished, drought prone part of the country where population pressure is resulting in intensified land use. In the past development policies have increased the vulnerability of peasant farmers making local people increasingly dependent on cash cropping and off-farm sources of income. Many households are headed by women, and the majority of farms are managed by women. Three aspects of women's farming groups were investigated: participation; extension and innovation; and access to development resources. A comparison is made between the economic and social status of participants and non-participants in women's farming groups. If it is the case that poor women are excluded from these groups, then a policy of targeting agricultural services and inputs to women's groups actually discriminates against resource-poor farmers. The study compares the number of extension visits received and innovations adopted by participants and non-participants. It questions whether the dissemination of information takes place through groups, and whether or not groups facilitate innovation. It examines the distribution of services and inputs to groups by government and non-government development agencies, and identifies those factors determining which groups receive assistance. The study concludes that women's farming groups have the potential to foster self-reliance amongst peasant farmers. However at present poorer women do not join groups because of severe time constraints created by competing labour demands. Any policy supporting women's farming groups can only be consistent with a "people-centred", participatory approach to development when these constraints are overcome and poor women, particularly female heads of households, are able to participate. Present policy is biased in favour of groups from more fertile areas. It is necessary to formulate policy appropriate to dryland areas where women's farming groups may provide a valuable mechanism for reducing vulnerability and ameliorating the effects of drought and famine.

This thesis focuses on the 'moral panic' provoked by single, 'redundant' middle-class women in the nineteenth century and extends current research by exploring the debate in Europe from both a comparative and transnational perspective. Both pitied and pilloried, unmarried women were deemed to be 'surplus' women and two institutions were established in Berlin and London to provide them with vocational training and employment: the Lette-Verein and the Society for Promoting the Employment of Women respectively. This thesis contends that a comparative study is vital in understanding their work and that hitherto undiscovered transnational lines of communication between them shaped their aims, achievements and development. A comparative perspective will reveal how not only feminists but male social reformers of the liberal bourgeoisie worked together across national boundaries in the campaign to provide middle-class women with employment. It will explore how women who took charge in both cities were not merely philanthropists, but forged their own careers as leaders and entrepreneurs. Case-studies will scrutinize and compare the businesses these institutions founded to train and employ women and analyze their varying degrees of success. This thesis will argue that the women in charge of these enterprises were compelled to negotiate a difficult boundary between commercial and welfare values to be successful. Furthermore, it will reveal that transnational networks were consolidated by men and women who exchanged information and ideas across national boundaries. They were keen to compete with their foreign contemporaries, yet found valuable support from their associates abroad. This thesis concludes that transnational cooperation between men and women in the mid-1860s formed the basis of a more formal international women's movement in the late nineteenth century.

The thesis aims to contribute to a natural history of family life and the study of family practices by investigating the everyday hazards encountered in routine parenting and the resources on which parents draw in helping them manage these. It seeks to understand how first-time parents manage the transition, the difficulties they encounter, including tensions in their own relationship, and the sources of enjoyment as they negotiate their new identities. This longitudinal, qualitative study followed seven heterosexual couples over the first year of their becoming parents and data was generated through the use of in-depth interviews at four points over a year. Other techniques, such as audio and photo diaries, were employed to further elicit different types of data. I explore couples’ accounts of the pressures on parenting and their understanding of what is involved in trying to meet contemporary parenting ideals. The messy business of parenting brings with it discursive and practical dilemmas – breastfeeding advice when a mother is in pain, advice on sleep routines when parents are on their knees with exhaustion. Experts (both professional and popular) can provide support, as can family and friends. But this also has the potential to undermine parents’ own expertise. My research examines the practices they use in responding to the needs of a baby and notions of the ‘right way to parent’ and asks how advice and support contribute to the development of their self confidence and identities. There are also pressures arising from contemporary discourses of the ‘good’ mother and ‘involved’ father. But rather than examining mothers and fathers in isolation, the research asks how partners together manage ideals of shared parenting

This thesis is theoretically guided by the ethics of care and sociological debates over structure and agency. The key areas explored are: the types of employment practices that men adopt which take account of fathering and how fathers negotiate domestic labour and childcare. Semi-structured interviews with twenty-four fathers from two public and private sector employers, explored these issues. These gathered men's accounts of their fathering practices. In addition, five key actor interviews were conducted with representatives from organisations with policy interests in this area. It was found that fathers' employment practices were organisationally patterned. For instance, managerial fathers internalised employers' demands. Fathers in public sector roles accessed flexitime, but its use was restricted by continuous service provision. Fathers without access to formal flexible working policies made informal and occasional arrangements. It emerged that fathers' involvement in care changed in response to children's development. Playing and routine caregiving were important forms of engagement for fathers of younger children. In contrast, fathers of adolescents facilitated their independence whilst providing guidance and helping with homework. In relation to fathers' involvement in domestic labour a diverse typology was presented. This ranged from fathers who left routine tasks to partners, to “sharers” and lone fathers with responsibility for domestic routines. Fathers' felt that partners' standards could obstruct their participation, but this was related to the ownership of tasks. Fathers' care could be fostered through a gendered policy awareness, with arrangements moving beyond children's early years. Domestic labour could be given weight as an area of policy intervention.