This essay explores how anti-normativity is achieved in Veronica Roth's novel Carve the Mark and uses Lois Lowry's The Giver and Ursula K Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness as points of comparison. It examines if Roth, Lowry, and Le Guin follow through with creating characters that are more than superficially queer by destabilizing gender and traditional attitudes towards identity markers. Using queer theory and gender performativity theory, this essay examines if the queerness of the characters and their relationships hold up when juxtaposed to normativity. When exploring the novels, it can be seen that these authors fail to create characters and relationships that are anything but superficially queer.

The concept of “family” has rapidly changed over the past few years. The prevalence of more and more children raised in same-gendered families has brought to mind the question of disclosure. This qualitative case study explored the disclosure practices of adolescents raised in same-gendered families in an attempt to understand how adolescents negotiate their unique family structure throughout their daily lives. The data in this study was analysed using thematic content analysis. It was found that both positive and negative experiences influence the adolescents raised in samegendered families decision to disclose and that disclosure of family structure usually takes place after careful negotiation based on the grounds of either a close relationship, common ground or a perceived urgency. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Diplomová práce je zaměřena na téma homosexuality a LGBT diskurzu v 90. letech v ČR prostřednictvím analýzy časopisu Promluv. V teoretické části jsou představeny stěžejní koncepty a teoretická východiska, která při zkoumání konceptu homosexuality obecně není možné z genderového hlediska opomenout. Dále je téma zasazeno do historického kontextu. Empirická část zahrnuje kromě popisu metodologie také diskurzivní analýzu časopisu Promluv. Cílem práce je zjistit, zda a jak se časopis Promluv vymezoval převládajícím diskurzům týkajících se politiky identit, sexuality a feminismu. Analytická část je rozdělena do pěti oblastí výzkumu. Klíčová slova: homosexualita, diskurz, gender, identita, sexualita, heteronormativita ABSTRACT The diploma thesis is focused on the topic of homosexuality and the LGBT discourse in the Czech Republic during the 1990s through the analysis of Promluv the magazine. The theoretical part introduces the fundamental concepts and theoretical basis which cannot be left out when analysing the concept of homosexuality from the gender view-point. Apart from the description of methodology, the empirical part of the thesis includes the discursive analysis of the magazine. The aim of the thesis is to determine whether and how the magazine opposed the predominant discourses concerning the...

The study intends to investigate the manifestation of power and patriarchy among Armenian marriage and household traditions and customs which have their role in the process of marginalising women. The construal how the marriage traditions and customs define gender roles and trigger gender inequality in Armenian context is discussed. Culture and society and traditions have an enormous impact on defining gender roles in Armenia. Armenians throughout history have been strongly influenced by cultural messages concerning gender roles and family influence. People both at subconscious or conscious level, take in the cultural perceptions. While the country is going through globalisation processes and becoming more and more exposed to foreign influences, conventional gender stereotypes, and patriarchal systems are still deeply rooted and prevalent in all spheres of social life, and the institution of marriage is one of the most striking among them. The research will illustrate how the culture, through institution of marriage, shapes compound power relations which lead to inequality and marginalisation of Armenian women in domestic sphere. Institution of marriage itself, all over the world, historically has been deeply rooted in patriarchal values, customs and traditions. Despite the fact that nowadays,...

The ​aim​ of this study was to examine transgendered persons experiences of social norms andattitudes related to their gender identity. More specifically the study focused on thecisgender- and hetero norm and how these affect transgender persons transition process andtheir everyday life. The ​method​ used to collect data was by reading five autobiographicalbooks written by transgendered persons. Collected data was analyzed using queer theory andthematized into four different themes; ​The importance of passing, The environments attitudesand reactions, To be yourself or someone else ​and ​Social relationships​. The​ results ​indicatethat transgendered persons are highly affected by norms and are often victims ofdiscrimination due to their gender identity. To “pass” as either man or woman is thereforecrucial to avoid negative attitudes and harassment. The results also showed the difficulty fortransgendered persons to reveal their gender identity to society and their close ones and howdifferent reactions can either discourage or normalize the heteronormative structures thatexists in our society. The​ conclusion ​was that transgendered persons are affected bycisgendered- and heteronormative norms in both their transition process and their everydaylife. Society is categorizing people as either man or woman, and whoever doesn’t fit in thegiven gender roles is classed as deviant

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.

Fanfiction provides the unique opportunity to explore disruptions of heteronormativity through tropes. By exploring different fanfictions in the Soulmate AU, ABO Dynamics, and Mpreg tropes, the disruptions indicate a desire to explore gender, identity, and sexuality through queered characters. Male slash fanfiction provides the chance to examine the disruption of the heteronormative through the queering of male characters and placing them into situations that may embrace the feminine or a female-gendered experience. The situating of heterosexual male characters into queered roles allows an examination of how this disrupts canonical ideas of gender, identity, and sexuality. By reviewing the male slash relationships in these tropes, the narratives may explain why the disruption of heteronormativity seems so appealing to fanfiction authors and readers. Heteronormativity restricts exploration of new dynamics and experiences that fanfiction authors and readers may crave to investigate. Disrupting that heteronormativity presents new opportunities for experiences in areas that may receive underrepresentation.

This thesis raises the question to what extent remains lesbian identity relevant as a stigma in the Czech Republic. The theoretical part shows how sexuality and homosexuality in particular is influenced and shaped by society. I draw predominantly from scientific texts of foreign origin and for information relating to the Czech Republic I draw from Czech resources. My approach to the study of sexuality is constructivist. The research part of my study I drew from the analysis of semi-structured interviews with lesbian women. Initially, I offered an insight on what it means to be lesbian by the bearers of lesbian identities themselves. In the central part of my study, I explained in what context and why are the lesbian identities usually experienced as a stigma. As part of everyday life lesbian identity manifests itself as a stigma especially when a lesbian did not come out and treats her own identity as a stigma herself. By doing so she brings tension into interactions, especially with people who she is closer with, because she constantly deals with the control of information about her lesbian identity. Dissimulation of lesbian identity gets even harder in case that she is in relationship with a woman. Such a thing is necessarily connected with closeting the relationship, which makes it difficult for the...

This study has examined how young queer people are using SNS for exploring, buildingand communicating their identities and how this may differ in the different stages ofcoming out. The aim of the study has been to broaden the field with and obtain a deeperunderstanding of how a marginalized group in society can use social media as a part inexploring and building an identity. The study was conducted with a method of semistructuredpersonal in-depth interviews with a sample of five Swedish queer people in theage span of 23-27. The result was analyzed along previous research within the field andwith a theoretical perspective of culture, representation, performative acting and selfpresentation.The result showed that young queer people are exploring, building andcommunicating their identities in different ways that varies depending on where in theprocess of coming out they are. The result showed that it was common for the queerpeople in this study to use SNS while exploring and building their queer identities, but notas common when communicating it. There were both similarities and differences in thesefindings compared to previous research.

Bakgrund: Litteraturgenomgången visar att samhället genomsyras av heteronormativitet. Kunskapsbrister finns i utbildningarna inom sjukvården och i den kliniska verksamheten om möten med HBTQ- personer. En kunskapslucka kan identifieras om hur möten skapas mellan sjuksköterskor och HBTQ- personer på en akutmottagning. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att beskriva hur legitimerade sjuksköterskor på en akutmottagning möter HBTQ- personer. Metod: Deskriptiv empirisk studie med kvalitativ ansats, interaktiva samtalsintervjuer med sex legitimerade sjuksköterskor genomfördes och analyserades med modifierad innehållsanalys, editing analysis style. Resultat: Ur analysen utkristalliserades fyra kategorier: spirande genuserfarenhet, en krävande men öppen arbetsmiljö, tvetydig relation och god och värdig vård. Slutsats: Analysfynden från interaktiva samtalsintervjuer med sex legitimerade sjuksköterskor på en akutmottagning förklarades med begrepp ur queerteorin. Trots att den spirande genuserfarenheten hämmas av den förhärskande heteronormativiteten och kunskapsbristen om kön, genus och sexualitet bidrar till tvetydigheten hos sjuksköterskorna på akutmottagningen, skapas det, även under rådande förutsättningar, möten inom vilka HBTQ- personer ges en god och värdig vård. / Background: The literature review shows that society is permeated by heteronormativity. Knowledge gaps in education programs in health care and in clinical practice concerning encounters with LGBTQ people. A knowledge gap can be identified on how encounters are created between nurses and LGBTQ people in an emergency department. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe how registered nurses in a hospital emergency department encounter LGBTQ- people. Method: Descriptive empirical study with qualitative approach, interactive conversation interviews with six registered nurses was conducted and analyzed with modified content analysis, editing analysis style. Results: From the analysis emerged four categories: emerging gender experience, a demanding but open work environment, the ambivalent pair and good and dignified care. Conclusion: The findings from interactive conversation interviews with six registered nurses in an emergency department were explained with concepts of queer theory. Despite the emerging gender experience is hampered by the dominant heteronormativity and lack of knowledge concerning sex, gender and sexuality contributes to the ambiguity of the nurses in the emergency department, even under present conditions, encounters are created with LGBTQ people, in which they are given a good and dignified care.