Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV (UNAIDS) strongly recommends that developing countries regard medical male circumcision as a biomedical intervention. This recommendation has caused developing countries seeking a radical solution to the prevailing and persistent social problem of HIV to reform their health policies. Most now discourage traditional male circumcision and promote safe medical male circumcision (SMMC) as a strong contributor to reductions in HIV transmission. This has introduced conflicts in traditional African societies such as the Bugisu, where male circumcision is culturally motivated, symbolising a rite of passage from boyhood to manhood. In the Bugisu sub-region, the local Bamasaaba regard their cultural practice of traditional male circumcision (TMC) as prestigious.

Punitive gynaecology is a set of healthcare-related attitudes and practices that aim to take control of a woman's body, sexuality and reproductive system in order to produce a reformed body. This thesis scrutinizes thephenomenonofpunitivegynaecology in modernRussia.Narrativeinquirywas conducted to provide an understanding of the ways punitive gynaecology works on the female body, restructures it and inscribes meanings. Autobiographical narratives are analysed and located within a wider socio- political context to concretize the dimensions of punitive practices in gynaecology. The main foci of analysis are the medical gaze, the spatial organization of the gynaecological clinic, pastoral power and agency in the gynaecological examination, the sexuality of the examination, the contingencies of shame, pain and embarrassment. The research uses a Foucauldian framework to uncover power relations permeating the doctor-patient interaction in the gynaecological examination. This thesis thus offers a reflectiononthepreferredmodes ofembodiment anddocilitythat punitivegynaecology attempts toinstil in its' subject. Keywords: punitive gynaecology, discipline, power, gaze, agency, body, hegemonic femininity, clinic, doctor-patient interaction, docility

This essay deals with how Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) works as a critique of the patriarchal hierarchy and the values it brings. This is portrayed in a dystopic setting in which women are subordinate to men, but also men being subordinate and marginalized by other men. Based on a gender theory on masculinities, an analysis is made on two male characters; Luke and the Commander. Both characters gain advantages in society because of hegemonic masculinity. One of them gains advantages in pre-Gilead society, and the other in the Gilead society. The focus of the analysis is on the similarities of the two characters’ connection to hegemonic masculinity. Even though, they live in different periods of history. / Denna uppsats behandlar hur Margaret Atwoods roman En Tjänarinnas Bekännelse (1985) fungerar som en kritik mot det patriarkala samhället och de värderingar som det medför. Detta porträtteras i en dystopisk miljö där kvinnor är underlydande till män, men också där män är underlydande och marginaliserade av andra män. Baserat på en könsanalys om maskuliniteter, så görs en analys av två karaktärer. Luke och the Befälhavaren. Båda karaktärer får fördelar i samhället på grund av hegemonisk maskulinitet. En av dem får fördelar i samhället före skapandet av Gilead, och den andra i Gileads samhälle. Analysen fokuserar på de likheter som finns i kopplingen till hegemonisk maskulinitet hos dem två karaktärerna. Även fast, de lever i två olika tider av historien.

Men are more likely than women to commit suicide and more reluctant to seek professional help when experiencing any type of mental illness. By interviewing six professionals, working as clinical psychologists or counsellors this study aimed to examine their experiences and attitudes concerning masculinity and mental illness among men. The material was examined through a thematic analysis which resulted in four different themes, each responding to the aim of the study from different angles. All participants strive not to differentiate between clients depending on their sex, yet it is widely held that masculine norms restrain men from seeking help from our current health services. This derives from the notion that traditionally masculine virtues such as stoicism and resilience are not compatible with vulnerability which is commonly associated with mental health services. Thus, there is a widespread attitude that traditional masculine norms should be challenged as a means to support men’s mental health. This study suggests that an excessive challenging approach legitimates the current constitution of mental health services which could restrain health services and other decision-makers responsiveness of men’s preferences and needs. To address the problem of mental illness and high rates of suicide among men, the challenging approach needs to be accompanied with compliance and adjustment after the needs and preferences of men.

Denna uppsats undersöker genusrepresentation inom skejtkulturen, genom att i en fallstudie analysera omslag, bildspråk, språkbruk av Thrasher Magazine. Magasinet är en månatlig utgåva som startades år 1981 i San Francisco och har sedan dess varit mycket prestigefyllt och tongivande inom skejtkulturen. Analysen tar avstamp i socialfeminism där genusfrågor och hegemonisk maskulinitet står centralt, liksom teorier om representation och normkritisk design. Inom ramverket av dessa teorier används metoderna semiotisk analys och diskursanalys för att dissekera och studera materialet och föra angränsande resonemang om hur grafisk design kan utmana och bryta normer. Resultat visar att Thrasher Magazine förkroppsligar en hegemonisk maskulinitet och sociala och subkulturella dimensioner av manlig makt som präglar skejtkulturen. Diskussioner om representation förs och kopplingar till skejtkulturen som helhet dras, vilket i förlängningen kan ge användbara insikter om andra subkulturer och samhället i stort. Till sist diskuteras det hur en i sitt yrke som grafisk designer kan påverka genusrepresentation.

In this study, societal attitudes toward sexual minorities are investigated through analyzing journalists’ use of evaluative adjectives in newspaper articles regarding famous homosexual couples compared to famous heterosexual couples. In this study, differences in attitudes between male and female journalists are also investigated. The aim is to investigate evaluative adjectives and how often they occur in order to find patterns that could indicate societal attitudes toward sexual minorities. The method used for this research was a close reading of the articles chosen and determining whether the evaluative adjectives were positive or negative in each specific context. The results were then normalized for the purpose of comparison between articles. The results of the study indicate that female journalists use more adjectives in general compared to male journalists. The results also indicate that journalists use more positive adjectives when writing about famous heterosexual couples, compared to famous homosexual couples. Also, male homosexual couples are portrayed more positively than female homosexual couples.

Denna studie syftar till att analysera hur fäders syn på faderskap i relation till hegemonisk maskulinitet och jämställdhet kan påverka föräldraskapet. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten som användes var Connells teori om hegemonisk maskulinitet samt kritiken riktad mot den. Urvalet består av sex fäder där somliga var föräldralediga, några studerade och resterande arbetade. Deras yrkesbakgrunder varierade mellan socialt arbete, data och IT, skolväsendet och hantverkarbranschen. Det empiriska materialet samlades in genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer och analyserades med tematisk analys. Resultaten har visat att traditionell och ny maskulinitetsideologi verkar tävla om inflytande vad gäller hegemonisk status, men även att fäder i jämställdhetens namn både kan upprätthålla och göra avkall på en överordnad position i föräldraskapet. Utifrån resultaten har studien konstaterat att fäders tankesätt kring arbetsfördelning, ansvar och avlastning till viss del leder till att modern blir familjens projektledare och att fadern konstrueras till en andrahandsförälder, likväl som fädernas medvetenhet och engagemang för jämställdhet i föräldraskapet kan motverka denna problematik. Avslutningsvis har studien sammanlänkat fäders resonemang om jämställdhet och maskulinitet i relation till delaktighet och ansvar i faderskapet, vilket synliggjort hur det potentiellt finns samband mellan strukturella och relationella problem på individ- och familjenivå. / This study aims to analyze how fathers' views on fatherhood in relation to hegemonic masculinity and egalitarianism can affect parenthood. The theoretical framework was Connell's theory of hegemonic masculinity and the critique against it. The sample were six fathers whom either worked, studied or were on parental leave. Their professional backgrounds varied between social work, data and IT, school, and craftsmanship. The empirical material was collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed with thematic analysis. The results have shown that traditional and new masculinity ideology seem to compete for influence in terms of hegemonic status, but also that fathers use egalitarianism both to maintain and relinquish a superior position in parenthood. Based on the results, the study has found that father's mind-set about division of labor, responsibility and relief to some extent leads to the mother becoming the family's project manager and that the father is constructed as a second parent, but also that fathers' awareness and commitment to equality in parenthood can counteract this problem. In conclusion, the study linked fathers' reasoning about equality and masculinity in relation to participation and responsibility in paternity, which later showed how it potentially can cause relational problems at the individual and family level.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the rituals and communicative practices that simultaneously create community, out-groups and perceptions of stigma at a local comic book retail organization through autoethnography. As such this piece explores personal identity, comic book culture and how this comic book shop acts as important third place as defined by Oldenburg. Design/methodology/approach: Autoethnography allows for the simultaneous research into self, organizations and culture. As a layered account, this autoethnography uses narrative vignettes to examine a local comic book retail organization from the first person perspective of a collector, a cultural participant and geek insider. Findings: The term geek, once brandished as an insult to stigmatize, is now a sense of personal and cultural pride among members. Various rituals including the “white whale” moment and the specialized argot use help maintain community in the comic book shop creating a third place as categorized by Oldenburg. However, these shared communication practices and shared meanings reinforce the hegemonic masculinity of the store, leading the author to wonder if it can maintain its viability going forward. Originality/value: This autoethnography was performed at a local comic book shop, connecting communicative and ritual practices to organizational culture, hegemonic masculinity, geek culture and personal identity. It also argues that one need not be an embedded organizational insider to perform organizational autoethnography.

No description available.

The purpose of this qualitative, purposeful, bounded case study was to explore the influences that promoted and restricted three women early childhood educators' inclusion of open-ended outdoor learning in a Head Start center. A continued degradation of nature, along with the predominance of women working in the early childhood workforce, led me to the use of the ecofeminist theory for this study. Research methodology included participant interviews, observations, and a study of the site's documents. In the analysis of the data, four themes were identified as promoting or restricting open-ended outdoor learning. These themes included: (a) participant's attitudes, (b) Head Start program requirements, (c) classroom and playground context, and (d) student behavior. Each of the themes included codes that were categorized as promoting or restricting open-ended outdoor learning. Some fell into both categories. Through the use of the ecofeminist lens, a view of the dualistic relationships between (a) teachers and the Head Start program and (b) teachers and their students were identified. These dualisms were found to support the "logic of domination" in which social structures were created to justify the domination of one group over another. These structures have historically been identified as patriarchal and were present at the research site. Children's culture and nature's intrinsic values were considered less valuable than adults' expectations for school readiness. This study provides a view of an ecofeminist early childhood analysis in which limited research is currently available. Further work in this field would aid in the understanding of the dualistic model and its presence in early childhood outdoor learning environments.