This study aims to seek knowledge about what preschool teachers think about gender issues, and if it affects their work. The study has been performed in a multicultural district in Stockholm. A working party of three teachers, one male and two females, has been interviewed and observed. The empirical material from the interviews and observations has then been analyzed based on theories about gender, femaleness, maleness and cultural behaviour. The result proves that one of the three teachers considers that there are general typical female and male behaviour. One of the three teachers considers that there are differences in the children’s behaviour based on their gender. My observations prove that all the three teachers have some apprehensions about what is to be typical male or female behaviour. One of the three teachers thinks that the differences between her male and female colleagues are a result originating in culture and not gender. To sum up, my result suggests that the three teachers’ respective cultures, affects their idea of maleness and femaleness.

Thesis advisor: Janet E. Helms / Due to the intersection of their race and gender categories, with one (race) being marginalized and the other (gender) being privileged, men of color have unique experiences of gendered racism, defined as the ways in which racist incidents are focused specifically on their race-gender categorization. Research has shown that gendered racist experiences are related to worse mental health outcomes in men of color. However, it is not known how men of color’s understanding of themselves, as both people of color and men, interacts with the relationships between their gendered racist experiences and mental health. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to explore men of color’s racial and maleness identities in relation to their mental health and gendered racist experiences.Adult men of color (N = 195) were invited to complete measures that assessed gendered racist experiences (Everyday Discrimination Scale), racial identity (People of color Racial Identity Attitudes Scale), maleness identity (Maleness Identity Attitudes Scale), and psychological distress and wellbeing as mental health outcomes (Mental Health Inventory). Multivariate regression analyses revealed that more experiences of gendered racism were related to higher levels of psychological distress, but were not related to psychological wellbeing. Simple linear moderation analyses indicated that racial identity moderated the relationship between gendered racist experiences and psychological distress, while maleness identity moderated the relationship between gendered racist experiences and psychological wellbeing, in some instances. Moderated moderation analyses indicated that the interaction between racial and maleness identities did not moderate the relationship between experiences with gendered racism and mental health in most instances. Collectively, the results indicate that the ways in which men of color make sense of themselves as people of color and men, independently, have implications for how gendered racist experiences relate to their mental health. However, results did not paint a clear picture of how men of color’s conceptualizations of themselves as both people of color and men relates to their experiences of gendered racism and mental health. Limitations, including the availability of measures for assessing men of color’s identities holistically rather than independently, are addressed. Implications of the results for intersectionality theory and research, practice, and lay men are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Inaugurated by Kariamu Welsh in 1970, Umfundalai is an evolving contemporary African dance technique that draws movements from African and Diasporan dances. As one of the first of thirteen men to study and perform the technique, Umfundalai reified a North American African male identity, empowering me to navigate American and African American social scripts that posit dancing as a non-masculine activity. This study employs an autoethnographic lens to illuminate men's constructions of gender in Umfundalai. Specifically, the research explores maleness, an experienced gendered agency, among eight male practitioners, including the researcher. Brothers of the Bah Yáh is framed as a multi-layered inquiry that applies phenomenological values and procedures to forward an auto-ethnographic intention. The study's qualitative methodology draws on Max van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenology and Anselm Strauss's applied grounded theory, as well as historical description and dance analysis. Sources of data include interviews with seven Umfundalai men, Umfundalai's progenitor and first dance master; an in-depth research journal recording my own lived experience descriptions and memories of dancing Umfundalai; and videos of selected Umfundalai repertory. The study is informed by the literature of masculine studies, highlighting the social function of masculinities as scripted and learned ideals. There is a dearth of resources theorizing the African American presence in African dance on the American concert stage. Drawing on primary sources, the empirical findings of the study are framed in a historical analysis of the emergence of a male presence in Umfundalai since 1993, including male-inspired developments in the technique. Analysis of in-depth interviews reveal that performing Umfundalai choreography affords men an opportunity to dance a self-determined construction of gender performance and that Umfundalai studio practice can be a site for men's affirmation of their `dancer' identities as well as friction with gender performance. Further, while Kariamu Welsh's approach to developing Umfundalai's movement system may be described as gender-neutral, the continuance of Umfundalai by its dance masters substantiated a gendered Umfundalai in which movement and performance were aligned with scripted conventional masculine tropes. The Brothers of the Bah Yáh: The Pursuit of Maleness in the Umfundalai Tradition of African Dance reveals that `the pursuit of maleness' was a unique construction experienced only by the researcher. Contradicting my initial presumption, the other men in this study found their gendered agency outside of Umfundalai. Moreover, a large majority of men in this study draw significantly on conventional masculinities, namely strength and power, to feel their maleness. Further, a spirituality of solidarity was uncovered - an embodied masculinity that can arise while dancing Umfundalai choreography and observing other men dancing at the same time. The dissertation concludes that expressions of maleness as described by Umfundalai's dancing men have currency in sports and in the larger American and African American communities out of which Umfundalai's dance culture emerges. Strength, power, and spiritual transformation situated in similitude represent commonalities of male experiences. At the same time, Umfundalai choreography can house multiple masculinities. Dances like Kariamu Welsh's Raaahmonaaah! (1989) and my Genesis: The Royal Dance of Kings (1996) serve as portals for masculinities that dismantle the hegemony that erodes the community in which it exists. Further research is needed to understand how dancing men can be a force that dismantles racism, sexism, and homophobia. / Dance

The state of Maleness has received much attention in academic and public discourse of late. One such instance is the play Defending the Caveman, which depicts men in their ”natural” settings as Cavemen, thereby justifying Caveman-like behaviour. On the other hand, much writing exists that find men culpable of discrimination, violence and abuse towards others. Discourses like these have real effects on the ways in which men choose and act on their Maleness. Six men engaged in narrative therapeutic discussions in an attempt to share their stories of Maleness, to discuss how society constructs men, and to re-evaluate the Maleness chosen by the participants. / Practical Theology / M.Th. (Pastoral Therapy)

The maleness of Christ: revelational or cultural? is a biblical-theological investigation of the significance of Christ's maleness. This thesis attempts to answer questions as to the significance and meaning ofJesus' maleness. Is the maleness of Christ revelational of God's being and character; is it foundational for the gospel; is it reflective of an ongoing created order? Is revelation and salvation impossible apart from a male redeemer? Or could Christ have been born a woman in a different time and culture? Chapter one describes the various positions and arguments: complementarian, biblical egalitarian, Christian feminist, and post-Christian feminist. Chapter two examines two related topics to the problem, namely slavery and the Sabbath. This section investigates how the church has decided, regarding other issues, what is revelational or cultural. We consider the various implications that the slavery and Sabbath debates have on our topic. Our subject relating to the significance of Christ's maleness has many interrelated concerns. In answering the questions regarding Jesus' maleness, chapter three organises much of the material under the motif of the sonship of Christ. This structure allows us to remain focused as well as interact with the differing topics affecting our concern, such as innertrinitarian relationships, the relationship between revelation and culture, the so-called subordination of the Son, the truth and status of analogy, inclusive language, and the implications of Christ as the image of God. Also included this chapter is a discussion on the relationship between Jesus and Wisdom and whether we can refer to Christ as "Daughter." The chapter concludes with a section on whether Christ's maleness either relates to an ongoing created order of male headship or allows for the transformation of patriarchy. / Philosophy and Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Systematic Theology)

Männliche Herrschaft ist ein soziologisches Konzept von Pierre Bourdieu zur Untersuchung der sozialen und symbolischen Kräfteverhältnisse zwischen den Geschlechtern. Das Konzept entwickelt Bourdieu auf der Grundlage ethnologischer Studien zur kabylischen Gesellschaft, die er in den 1960er Jahren in Algerien durchführte. Bourdieu zeigt dabei, wie der Habitus vergeschlechtlichte Konstruktionen der Welt und des Körpers erzeugt, indem er als Speicher von vergeschlechtlichten Wahrnehmungs- und Bewertungskategorien und Schemata fungiert. Mit dem Konzept der Männlichen Herrschaft hat Bourdieu einen analytischen Schwerpunkt auf das Zusammenspiel von Habitus und symbolischer Ordnung gelegt, dessen Resultat die scheinbar binäre und natürliche Geschlechtereinteilung ist.

The state of Maleness has received much attention in academic and public discourse of late. One such instance is the play Defending the Caveman, which depicts men in their ”natural” settings as Cavemen, thereby justifying Caveman-like behaviour. On the other hand, much writing exists that find men culpable of discrimination, violence and abuse towards others. Discourses like these have real effects on the ways in which men choose and act on their Maleness. Six men engaged in narrative therapeutic discussions in an attempt to share their stories of Maleness, to discuss how society constructs men, and to re-evaluate the Maleness chosen by the participants. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Pastoral Therapy)

The maleness of Christ: revelational or cultural? is a biblical-theological investigation of the significance of Christ's maleness. This thesis attempts to answer questions as to the significance and meaning ofJesus' maleness. Is the maleness of Christ revelational of God's being and character; is it foundational for the gospel; is it reflective of an ongoing created order? Is revelation and salvation impossible apart from a male redeemer? Or could Christ have been born a woman in a different time and culture? Chapter one describes the various positions and arguments: complementarian, biblical egalitarian, Christian feminist, and post-Christian feminist. Chapter two examines two related topics to the problem, namely slavery and the Sabbath. This section investigates how the church has decided, regarding other issues, what is revelational or cultural. We consider the various implications that the slavery and Sabbath debates have on our topic. Our subject relating to the significance of Christ's maleness has many interrelated concerns. In answering the questions regarding Jesus' maleness, chapter three organises much of the material under the motif of the sonship of Christ. This structure allows us to remain focused as well as interact with the differing topics affecting our concern, such as innertrinitarian relationships, the relationship between revelation and culture, the so-called subordination of the Son, the truth and status of analogy, inclusive language, and the implications of Christ as the image of God. Also included this chapter is a discussion on the relationship between Jesus and Wisdom and whether we can refer to Christ as "Daughter." The chapter concludes with a section on whether Christ's maleness either relates to an ongoing created order of male headship or allows for the transformation of patriarchy. / Philosophy and Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Systematic Theology)

Männliche Herrschaft ist ein soziologisches Konzept von Pierre Bourdieu zur Untersuchung der sozialen und symbolischen Kräfteverhältnisse zwischen den Geschlechtern. Das Konzept entwickelt Bourdieu auf der Grundlage ethnologischer Studien zur kabylischen Gesellschaft, die er in den 1960er Jahren in Algerien durchführte. Bourdieu zeigt dabei, wie der Habitus vergeschlechtlichte Konstruktionen der Welt und des Körpers erzeugt, indem er als Speicher von vergeschlechtlichten Wahrnehmungs- und Bewertungskategorien und Schemata fungiert. Mit dem Konzept der Männlichen Herrschaft hat Bourdieu einen analytischen Schwerpunkt auf das Zusammenspiel von Habitus und symbolischer Ordnung gelegt, dessen Resultat die scheinbar binäre und natürliche Geschlechtereinteilung ist.