The thesis elaborates upon a question which literary techniques Jeanette Winterson applies in her novels The Passion and Written on the Body to portray queer body. The thesis conceptualizes queer body as crystallizing in discontinuous relationships between the categories of sex, gender identity and compulsory heterosexuality within Butlerian heterosexual matrix. The possibility of discontinuous relationships between them - gender disorder - is realised in the act of beholding queer body. Conceptualization of queer body embedded within the Butlerian heterosexual matrix has not been elaborated upon in the full scope of Jeanette Winterson's work. Literary criticism deals with the body in Written on the Body, not, however, in the context of Butlerian model of heterosexual matrix. Articulation of queer body is realized by deconstructive techniques of Jeanette Winterson's writing. These are comprised in the motifs of mirroring in The Passion and palimpsest in Written on the Body. Ontological anxiety in The Passion brings queer body. Magic realism in the novel gives queer body magical skills which make gender disorder possible. Queer body is abject in the novel. In Written on the Body genderless narrator describes queer body as his/her body. It is an adorable and morbid body. The queer body in this novel...

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Le début du 21e siècle a connu la prolifération d’un genre pornographique hétérosexuel dans lequel des femmes portant des voiles islamiques s’adonnent à des rapports sexuels. Les vidéos appartenant à ce pornotype disposent de millions de visionnements et s’illustrent parmi les contenus mainstream accessibles sur les plateformes pornographiques en ligne telles que Pornhub, YouPorn, Xvideos et autres de ce genre. Prenant part au contexte plus large d’islamophobie croissante à la suite des événements du 11 septembre 2001, aux États-Unis, ces films sont riches de sens quant à la représentation des voiles islamiques ainsi que des femmes qui les portent à titre de signifiants de l’Islam et de l’« Orient ». Située au sein des Cultural Studies et des Porn Studies, et empruntant des notions aux études postcoloniales et intersectionnelles, cette recherche permet de mettre en évidence différents éléments sémiotiques, géographiques et sociaux, ainsi qu’historiques et culturels propres aux régimes de représentations et discours articulés dans ces images.Cette étude critique prend la forme d’une analyse de contenu qualitative réalisée avec un échantillonnage déterminé selon des critères de popularité, qui est composé de quinze vidéos pornographiques états-uniennes produites entre 2001 et 2020 provenant des six plateformes pornographiques les plus populaires aux États-Unis au moment de la sélection. Ce travail d’analyse témoigne notamment de la mobilisation des voiles à des fins de différenciation; des tentatives d’aplanissement et d’homogénéisation des différentes cultures associées à l’« Orient »; du statut de subordonnées et de victimes imputé aux femmes voilées; ainsi que de l’objectification, de la fétichisation et des pratiques de désaveu à l’égard de ces femmes dans ce contexte pornographique. Qui plus est, poussant ces réflexions davantage en mobilisant par ailleurs un regard psychanalytique, ce mémoire met en lumière la nostalgie qui se dégage de ces images à l’égard de la grandeur américaine outragée par les événements du 11 septembre 2001, de la transformation du marché du travail plus égalitaire entre hommes et femmes, ainsi que la supposée « crise de la masculinité ». / The beginning of the twenty-first century is marked by the proliferation of a genre of online heterosexual pornography involving women wearing Islamic veils engaging in sexual acts. These videos have been watched millions of times and are part of the mainstream content available on online pornographic platforms including Pornhub, YouPorn, Xvideos. This mémoire situates these videos within a broader context of the rise of Islamophobia following the events of 9/11 in the United States, and they are especially meaningful for their representations of Islamic veils and the women wearing them, both operating as symbols of Islam and what is commonly understood in Western contexts as the « Orient » (Saïd, 1979). This research is academically situated amongst Cultural and Porn Studies, but also mobilises concepts from postcolonial, psychoanalytic and intersectional theories and approaches. In addition, this study emphasizes semiotic, geographic and social, as well as historical and cultural elements specific to the regimes of representation and discourses articulated in these images. This qualitative research deploys a visual content analysis method, mobilizing a purposeful sample based on popularity composed of 15 American pornographic videos made between the year 2001 and 2020 found on the six most popular pornographic platforms in the United States of America at the moment of the selection. This study brings to light: the purposeful use of Islamic veils as a means of differentiation; the attempts to flatten and homogenize the different cultures and nations associated with the « Orient »; the status of subordinates and victims attributed to veiled women; along with practices of objectification, fetishization and disavowal concerning veiled women in this pornographic context. Finally, this study reveals a certain nostalgia in these videos for an American global geopolitical domination destabilized by the events of 9/11, the transformation of the labor market as some women achieve increased equality in the workplace, as well as the discourse of a “crisis of masculinity.”

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The aim of this African culturally based research is to establish whether a group of unmarried pregnant teenage girls experience rejection during their period of pregnancy as well as to determine whether they experienced rejection for whatever reason before falling pregnant. Seen in the context of the communal and person-centred life view as upheld by the African culture where respect for and well-being of the individual within the tribal and extended family structure is paramount, one would expect that unmarried girls finding themselves in a precarious situation such as premature pregnancy would experience understanding, acceptance and support. The research is quantitative as well as qualitative. The quantitative research focuses on 341 grade 11-leamers at seven secondary schools in the Free State Province of Education as well as in the Gauteng Department of Education. Questionnaires were presented with the aim of establishing the reason for teenage pregnancy; to research the thoughts, feelings and actions of the peer group toward pregnant teenage girls; to determine the presence of feelings of rejection of a group of pregnant teenage girls at the same schools; to determine the thoughts the girls have about themselves as well as about the future. On account of the fact that that the responses of the pregnant girls seemingly contradicted the responses given by the grade 11-peer group sample it was decided to supplement the quantitative research result with a qualitative research investigation by means of focus group interviews conducted with twelve willing to participate pregnant girls at two ofthe secondary schools who voluntarily agreed to participate. The research result indicates that although the pregnant girls did not experience rejection before falling pregnant they did however experience rejection after falling pregnant, especially from the peer group at school, educators, and certain sections of society. Although the parents of these girls were initially offended and reluctant, their attitude toward the pregnancy changed to include acceptance and even support. / M.A. Psychology, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010

The aim of this African culturally based research is to establish whether a group of unmarried pregnant teenage girls experience rejection during their period of pregnancy as well as to determine whether they experienced rejection for whatever reason before falling pregnant. Seen in the context of the communal and person-centred life view as upheld by the African culture where respect for and well-being of the individual within the tribal and extended family structure is paramount, one would expect that unmarried girls finding themselves in a precarious situation such as premature pregnancy would experience understanding, acceptance and support. The research is quantitative as well as qualitative. The quantitative research focuses on 341 grade 11-leamers at seven secondary schools in the Free State Province of Education as well as in the Gauteng Department of Education. Questionnaires were presented with the aim of establishing the reason for teenage pregnancy; to research the thoughts, feelings and actions of the peer group toward pregnant teenage girls; to determine the presence of feelings of rejection of a group of pregnant teenage girls at the same schools; to determine the thoughts the girls have about themselves as well as about the future. On account of the fact that that the responses of the pregnant girls seemingly contradicted the responses given by the grade 11-peer group sample it was decided to supplement the quantitative research result with a qualitative research investigation by means of focus group interviews conducted with twelve willing to participate pregnant girls at two ofthe secondary schools who voluntarily agreed to participate. The research result indicates that although the pregnant girls did not experience rejection before falling pregnant they did however experience rejection after falling pregnant, especially from the peer group at school, educators, and certain sections of society. Although the parents of these girls were initially offended and reluctant, their attitude toward the pregnancy changed to include acceptance and even support. / M.A. Psychology, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010

Previous research indicates that gay men‟s relationships with their mothers are generally more warm, supportive, and emotional than their relationships with their fathers, and that fathers are less likely to be told, less likely to be told first, and more likely to react negatively to disclosure than mothers would. Most of these findings are derived from asking sons to report on their parental relationships. As such, very little is known about the nature of the father-son relationship before, during, and after disclosure, from the father‟s perspective. The aim of this thesis, therefore, is to uncover and explore first-hand accounts of the experiences and taken-for-granted meanings that potentially shape heterosexual fathers‟ relationships with their gay sons. A sample comprising six Afrikaans-speaking, white fathers, between the ages of 53 and 61 years, from a middle to upper-middle income bracket, and residing in Gauteng, South Africa, were selected purposively through the use of opportunistic or convenience sampling. Utilising an interpretivist approach located within the qualitative research paradigm, an individual in-depth interview strategy was adopted as a means of gathering data. A brief questionnaire probing demographic characteristics was also utilised to further contextualise the data obtained in the interviews. All the interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed for later coding and analysis. Through the use of thematic network analysis, eight organising themes were uncovered, including (a) subliminal awareness prior to coming out; (b) epistemic rupture of internal system of beliefs; (c) personal paradigmatic shifts; (d) acceptance as a complex and ongoing dialectical and reconciliatory process; (e) ambiguous loss; (f) persistent history of thought; (f) wrestling with the reason why; and (g) coming out as a dual experience. Each organising theme contained several basic themes. On the whole, the themes support the view that most parents are neither totally rejecting nor fully accepting of their gay sons. The fathers are seen to navigate their way through a plethora of experiences and meanings that are not only likely to inform the development of their multidimensional identities as men and fathers, but also shape their unique relationships with their gay sons. While the fathers may have attained a level of “loving denial” in their relationships with their gay sons, most continue to struggle with the meaning and expression of same-sex sexuality, and appear to wrestle with the challenge of integrating their understanding of same-sex sexuality with their constructions of traditional Afrikaner masculinity, as well as their meanings associated with having a gay son. However, unlike prior reports of a poor father-son dyad, the fathers reported a general improvement in their relationship with their gay son after he came out. This discrepancy may be attributed to the possibility that the particular group of fathers who volunteered to discuss their father-son relationships willingly were further along in the acceptance process. Recommendations for future research, includes an exploration of the dynamic interaction between heterosexual and gay constructions of masculinity within the father-son dyad before, during and after disclosure, examining the role that mothers play in influencing the quality of the father-son relationship before, during and after disclosure, uncovering the intra- and inter-personal variables that may facilitate the adaptive adjustment processes among fathers over the longer term, and exploring the contexts and processes associated with transitions within fatherhood across the life course of fathers of gay sons. / Heterosexual fathers' relationships with their gay sons / Psychology / D. Phil.

This qualitative exploratory and descriptive study explored and described the experiences of HIV sero-discordant couples post diagnosis at the Perinatal HIV Research Unit in Soweto, Gauteng Province. Data was collected using in-depth interviews with each individual from seven HIV sero-discordant couples. Following thematic analysis, four themes emerged: immediate response to HIV sero-discordant results; challenges in relation to disclosure of HIV sero-status; limited information on HIV sero-discordant; and the impact of HIV sero-discordant on the couples. All these were mainly linked to poor counselling and inadequate support to HIV sero-discordant couples. The findings of this study have both clinical and policy development implications. Recommendations have been put forward for development of contextual relevant HIV Sero-discordant Couple Counselling and support guidelines focusing of enhancing knowledge and skills of health care professionals responsible for counselling and supporting HIV sero-discordant couples. / Health Studies / MA (Public Health)

With the advent of a new constitutional dispensation in South Africa, intimate relationships that were not formally recognised, such as customary marriages, became fully recognised through designated legislation. Domestic partnerships are, however, afforded only limited recognition despite compelling reasons that lead people to domestic partnerships. Domestic partners are also discriminated against based on marital status despite a Constitution that forbids discrimination based on equality, human dignity and marital status. The object of this study is to investigate whether there are sufficient grounds to afford domestic partnerships full recognition similar to that granted to civil marriage. This study includes arguments in favour and against the recognition of domestic partnerships and a discussion of the reasons that lead people into domestic partnerships. There will also be an analysis of the draft Domestic Partnership Bill 36 of 2008 to determine the suitability of the draft Bill to regulate domestic partnerships. This investigation is conducted with reference to relevant draft Bills, legislation, and case law. / Private Law / LLM