Advertising is increasingly, and has become one of the most powerful forms of global communication. It is one of the most influential tools in spreading ideas about gender, ethnicity and sexuality that create perceptions. Advertising has becoming increasingly global due to the globalization of the Western society and culture. This creates a need for intersectional awareness in advertising in order to avoid communicating inequalities. This bachelor thesis examines and analyze how femininities are articulated in advertising that exists within the contemporary context of popular feminism. Specifically, it offers an analysis of how postfeminism as a contemporary formation of feminism informs these advertising campaigns. The study examines two visual commercials, one from Adidas Originals and one from H&M. A multimodal semiotic analysis was used to analyze the empirical material in order to find out its meanings. The result indicates that the two advertising campaigns from H&M and Adidas Originals presents various and diverse forms of femininities by showcasing women with different looks, bodies and ethnicities. H&M’s commercial showcase women who are seen as empowered, confident and who acts out in different environments. Adidas Originals rather puts emphasis on showcasing women and men who speaks about issues concerning gender, body image and ethnicity. Both campaigns, it is argued, articulate and negotiate a discourse of postfeminism.

Prostitution, arguably one of the world’s oldest profession has become a current and growing business across societies today. In Sweden, there has been an increasing recognition of the constant exploitation and abuse of women who are in the business of selling sexual services. As a majority of the sex workers in Sweden are non-ethnic Swedes, it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish the misogyny from the racism or exotification experienced in prostitution. This qualitative study explores if the intersection of race, misogyny and exotification has given rise to different kinds of vulnerabilities amongst women in prostitution in the Swedish sex industry. The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of a black woman who has been prostituted in the sex industry in Sweden. The aim is to provide knowledge of intersectionality in prostitution and the complex effects it has on an individual woman’s experiences. The authors made use of case study as research design and relied on a semi-structured interview with a black woman who has been in prostitution and her experiences. The results of the study, with comparison to the literary review showed the different intersecting factors that affect a black woman, and how it, with the use of intersectionality as an analytical framework, can be argued that these factors give rise to a distinct experience in a woman with multiple marginalised identities. The study does also suggest the need for further research in the field with a larger selection of respondents that aims at acquiring national data as well as research on prostitution that focuses on power structures and the intersecting identities of persons with multiple dominant identities.

Como as práticas baseadas nos lugares de Mercado podem ser analisadas sob uma ontologia diferente? Esse trabalho é baseado na discussão de alguns prismas teóricos fundamentais na epistemologia de estudos de comportamento de consumo. Estudos envolvendo consumo geralmente focam-se no consumidor como indivíduo final, monolítico – portador de agência e voz. Portanto, esse trabalho busca compreender o descolamento aparente entre os humanos e os não-humanos (coisas). Para tanto, utilizei-me do conceito de coisa, advinda do campo da Antropologia, para estudos de comportamento de consumo. Escolhi, como tema, a sexualidade – visto que é um tema com pouca expressividade no campo de comportamento de consumo. Inicio meu argumento com três pilares teóricos: o conceito de coisa; o conceito de performatividade para gênero e sexualidade; e o conceito de interseccionalidade. Depois, apresento o método utilizado para unir os três pilares na análise empírica in loco. Por fim, ofereço uma discussão sobre a convergência da fundamentação teórica e o método. Meus achados iluminam como atores humanos envolvidos em uma malha de relações, que dividem práticas com outros atores, engajam-se em oclusão de consumo: a necessidade de esconder uma prática de consumo dentro de uma malha próxima de relações. Também iluminam como a cooptação de locais de mercado de forma institucional – adicionando lugares focados em diversidade – não preclude a exclusão. Observei a continuação das práticas exclusionárias dentro de ambientes de mercado considerados abertos à diversidade, ou exclusão interseccional. Ambos achados foram resultado da abordagem ontológica delimitada previamente, que resultou no conceito de gayscape – um conceito puramente qualitativo que contém a malha de interrelação dos atores (humanos e não-humanos) do campo de consumo gay. / How do the marketplace-based practices can be analyzed with a different ontology? This work is based on the discussion of some theoretical approaches fundamentally attached to consumption behavior studies. These studies are usually focused on the consumer as a finished, monolithic individual – bearer of agency and voice. Therefore, this work tries to comprehend the apparent detachment between humans and non-humans. To achieve this I use the concept of thing, from the anthropology field to study consumption behavior. My chosen theme is sexuality – seen it is regarded as an understudied in consumption behavior studies. I start my argument based on three theoretical pillars: the concept of thing; the concept of performativity connected to gender and sexuality; and the concept of intersectionality. Following this, I present the method that was used to unite these three pillars for data collection. Lastly, I offer a discussion about the convergence of the literature review and the method. My findings illuminate how human actors are involved in a mesh of relationships – sharing practices with other actors – engage in what I call Consumption Occlusion: the need to hide a consumption practice within a tightly woven mesh of relationships. I also illuminate how institutional marketplace cooptation – for example, adding diverse marketplaces – does not preclude exclusion. I observed the continuation of exclusionary practices within marketplaces regarded as open to diversity, or intersectional exclusion. Both findings are the results of a previously delimited ontological approach, resulting in the concept of gayscape – a purely qualitative concept that brings forth the relationship mesh among actors (humans and non-humans) of the gay consumption field.

abstract: Prior sentencing research, especially research on cumulative disadvantage, has mainly focused on the treatment of male defendants, and little attention has been paid to female defendants, especially minority female defendants. Drawing on the intersectional vulnerability and focal concerns perspectives, the current study emphasizes the need to examine disparity in sentencing through an intersectional lens and across multiple decision-making points. Using the State Court Processing Statistics dataset (SCPS) from 1990-2009, this paper investigates the impact that race/ethnicity has for female defendants across individual and successive stages in the sentencing process. The results suggest that race operates through direct and indirect pathways to cause lengthier sentences for Black female defendants compared to White female defendants, thus providing evidence of cumulative disadvantage against Black female defendants. Theoretical, research, and policy implications will be discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Criminology and Criminal Justice 2018

This dissertation format includes three articles that each address a unique aspect of the current barriers to access that individuals with disabilities with intersectional identities experience in their academic and career paths to attainment of a doctoral degree. The first article contains an analysis of data drawn from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). This analysis revealed that youth with disabilities who were also economically disadvantaged participated in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) classes in high school in significantly lower numbers than their peers who did not have disabilities and were not economically disadvantaged and in significantly lower numbers than their peers who did have disabilities, but were not economically disadvantaged. Many of these students from low socio-economic status (SES) families also have subordinate group identities (United States Department of Education [USDOE], 2014). These students who have disabilities and are economically disadvantaged are less likely to pursue graduate education which requires the completion of research methodology coursework. The second article is a qualitative study of the experiences of doctoral degree program graduates who have disabilities and belong to other subordinate groups. The barriers to inclusion and their successes in completing research methodology coursework is discussed. The last article in this dissertation explores Universal Design in Instruction and Learning (UDIL) techniques that can improve access in research methodology coursework at the graduate level for students with disabilities and/or those with diverse learning styles.

This research study investigates the lived experiences of eight Black women senior secondary school leaders (hereafter referred to as Black women senior leaders) so as to elucidate their understanding, perceptions and experiences of senior leadership. Educational reform has taken place in England during the Thatcher, Major, New Labour and Coalition governments, leading to significant changes in secondary schools in England. These changes have resulted in new leadership roles, challenges and high levels of accountability. Moreover, the role of headteachers and senior leaders have been widely researched and discussed (Brundrett, 1999; Bush et al. 2006; Lumby and English, 2009; Leithwood, 2009, 2012), yet the experiences of Black women senior leaders is absent from the literature, which has focused on the experiences of Black minority and ethnic teachers and leaders (Powney et al. 2003; Bush et al. 2006; Coleman and Campbell-Stephens, 2010; Johnson and Campbell-Stephens, 2014) A social constructionist, interpretivist paradigm was adopted for this thesis and, using an intersectionality lens, the complexities of Black women senior leaders’ multiple identities and experiences were explored. Sixteen transcripts were generated from two semistructured interviews with the participants and my own, to explore how their race; gender; and, social class intersect to shape their leadership perceptions, beliefs and behaviours. Moreover, this research study is interested in gaining a better understanding of how Black women senior leaders develop their personal and professional identities; the value they place on formal and informal leadership preparation, development and learning approaches; and, how they maintain professional relationships with colleagues. The key findings are presented under the three research questions where Black women senior leaders’ narratives elucidate the lessons they have learnt throughout their senior leadership journeys, which provide insights into their experiences, offering practical advice to help other Black women and colleagues considering senior leadership.

This study aims at investigating gender, gender interaction and sexuality among homosexual women with Assyrian belonging. The focus has been on describing their experiences of being homosexuals as well as the difficulties they face from an intersectional perspective.The result portrays that in the research and among the respondents there is generally a cultured image of heteronorms that cannot be deviated. Individuals who deviate from cultural norms are considered abnormal. The respondents suggests that her sexual orientation is limited to her from an intersectional perspective because homosexuality is invisible in gender-gender interactions and sexuality where there are also different power relationships. The challenges experienced by respondents were the implementation of the cultural norm in society as well as intersectionality overriding and subordination maintained in interplay between sex and sexuality in their daily lives. Consequently the respondents lives in different roles to avoid losing contact with relatives and avoiding the hegemony of society.

The dramatic increase in the U.S. prison population has renewed scholarly interest in the prison experience. Researchers have built upon and extended classic theories of inmate behavior to better understand the mechanisms that lead to inmate violence and misbehavior. Yet, scholars still consider what happens to inmates inside of prison a “black box,” due to limited systematic assessments of the prison experience. This body of scholarship is also limited by its narrow focus on males, as theories of inmate behavior have been developed around male experiences and, in turn, ignore the possibility that gender may influence prison life. Feminist theory suggests that assessments of the prison experience necessitate a focus beyond a “gendered” analysis, to one that simultaneously takes in to account race and ethnicity. Theory indicates that the intersection of gender, race, and ethnicity influence the prison experience and the way in which prison staff react to behaviors of different inmate groups. Accordingly, the goal of this dissertation is to address these research gaps and to systematically examine female inmate behavior and official reactions to behavior. Specifically, this dissertation examines three domains of the prison experience. First, it examines gender and race/ethnicity-based variation in the trends and predictors of formal in-prison misconduct. Second, the dissertation explores gender and racial/ethnic differences in how prisons sanction inmate misconduct and focuses specifically on the use of disciplinary confinement, losses of gain time, and assignment to extra work duty. Third, the dissertation assesses how in-prison punishments influence future in-prison misconduct and examines whether there is gender and racial/ethnic variation in those effects. Towards this goal, this dissertation uses longitudinal data that come from the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC), and include all inmates that entered Florida prisons between 2005 and 2011. The data are especially useful in the assessment of the female prison experience, because they include a large enough sample of female inmates of Black, White, and Hispanic background to allow for systematic empirical assessments, which are typically rare in the study of this type of population. This dissertation uses a number of different analytic techniques, including bivariate comparisons, life table analyses, multilevel logistic regression models, negative binomial regression, and multilevel survival analyses. The dissertation’s analyses identify several critical results that advance prison research, theory, and policy. First, the findings highlight that there are notable gender and racial/ethnic differences in official misconduct, which point to the possibility of behavioral differences or differential rule enforcement, or perhaps both. At the same time, this dissertation shows that prior incarceration and age are the strongest predictors of misconduct, violence, and order violations for Black, White, and Hispanic males and females. Second, this dissertation identifies disciplinary confinement as the most frequently used in-prison sanction across male and female inmates incarcerated in Florida prisons. Third, empirical assessments showed little to no deterrent effect of harsher in-prison punishments (e.g., disciplinary confinement). More broadly, the findings underscore a need for more nuanced assessments of the female prison experience, and one that can account better for officer decision making patterns. The dissertation concludes with an overview of the findings, and a discussion of theory, research, and policy implications.

Within the broader literature on migration, Japan is often portrayed as straddling two categories, one of a homogenous country and another of a multicultural society. The arguments on both sides are supported through the historical evidence, analysis of media resources, as well as narratives of Japanese residents. This inquiry seeks to highlight voices of migrants within these debates. This dissertation focuses on the urban – rural residential experiences of international migrants in Kanto and Tohoku regions. This inquiry treats international migration processes in terms of moving between the contexts of different countries as well as between urban – rural locations. These global – local experiences of migrants are set within broader milieu of the social and spatial stratifications created through neoliberal competition. The theoretical framework for this analysis is based on post-structural understandings of identity, migration, and economy. This study draws on qualitative methods, including, ethnographic data, interviews, content and textual analysis of job advertisements, as well as cognitive mapping. These sources allow us to create a unique portrait of migrant subjectivity that pulls from different contexts of fluid, spatial identities which mediate migrants’ interpretations of living and working in neoliberal Japan. The findings of this dissertation support the thesis that intersectional social identities such as gender, ethnicity, and social class, have a spatial component.

This study examines how some Indian women in South Africa who became managers negotiated their identities in their early lives and in their adult working lives on their journeys to becoming successful managers. Prior studies on identity work and the experience of intersectionality by ethnic minority women have typically focused on professional identities in isolation, separate from early life influences. The current study uses a life story approach to provide a holistic understanding of the journeys of the first significant cohort of Indian women to ascend to management positions in South Africa. I explored the narratives of 13 Indian women managers in senior and top management positions in corporate South Africa using a grounded theory approach to make visible the identity work they have engaged in throughout their lives so far. The life stories of the participants reveal that throughout their lives they have grappled with negotiating a gender identity shaped by Indian cultural assumptions about the roles of men and women in juxtaposition to or in combination with their personal aspirations for professional success. I used a bird cage metaphor to capture how these multiple factors shaped and constrained their lives and careers. The interplay between their racio-ethnic, gender and professional identities is unpacked, and their strategies for reconciling the tensions among their multiple identities are described. In negotiating their identities, these women have developed a particular type of hybrid identity that allows them to move between the compartments into which their professional identity demands and cultural expectations have been divided. The women’s cultural identities remain pivotal in their lives, and they have strong collectivist identities, as they still live within their communities even after the official end of apartheid. My findings enrich and extend the identity literature relating to ethnic minority women by focusing on identity negotiation over time, rather than only on discrete moments in time. My findings also contribute to identity literature in general, as they illustrate that an individual’s identity is formed not only by personal and social identities, but also by the historical and cultural context beyond the organisation within which the person operates. This context is often not considered in identity research in organisations – most studies relating to identity work focus on the tensions between personal identities and professional identities in the workplace. It also reinforces the idea that identity is never fixed but always in negotiation. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted