Despite the emphasis Proudhon placed on the significance of his ideas on women’s status within society, the patriarchal family, and the conjugal couple for his political thought, scholars of Proudhon display a tendency to bracket off Proudhon’s sexual politics from his general political philosophy. This dissertation comes to grips with Proudhon’s sexism and anti-feminism by first taking Proudhon at his word regarding its importance to his whole political project. I treat Proudhon as a strategist of patriarchal domination in the face of emerging feminist challenges and I argue that his ideas, all of them, should be examined in the light of his own claims about their relation to his anti-feminism. His was a vision of a new patriarchate in which men held full authority within their individual households and, beyond the household, freely associated and federated with each other—in other words, what Proudhon demanded was an anarchism of patriarchs. Proudhon erected the sovereignty of each man out of their absolute mastery over women and crafted mutualism and federalism in order to prevent any intrusion into that sovereignty, making apologetic readings that separate Proudhon’s revolutionary political thought from his patriarchalism difficult to accept. In addition to my engagement with Proudhon’s anti-feminism, this dissertation situates him in the context of 19th century debates around the so-called woman question in French socialism. I have chosen to directly engage with Proudhon’s feminist opponents such as Jeanne Deroin, Jenny d’Héricourt, and Juliette Lambert. On the basis of this feminist literature, this dissertation reconstructs Proudhon’s anti-feminist ideas and agenda dialogically by placing them in opposition to the women whose ideas and movement had actually motivated his writing on the subject in the first place. / Graduate / 2023-08-15

With more opportunities available to men and women to interact, both professionally and personally (i.e., the workplace, educational setting, community), friendships with members of the opposite sex are becoming more common. Increasingly, researchers have noted that one facet that makes cross-sex friendships unique compared to other types of relationships (i.e. romantic love, same-sex friendships, familial relationships), is that there is the possibility and opportunity for a romantic or sexual relationship to manifest. Communication research has yet to investigate how one decides whether to begin a romantic or sexual relationship or choose to remain platonic with their cross-sex friend. Given that cross-sex friendships deal with a lot of ambiguity regarding the nature of the friendship, this researcher sought to uncover what factors determine whether parties reciprocate romantic or sexual interest or opt to remain platonic through the theoretical lens of interaction adaptation theory. Specifically, the researcher sought to determine what expectations and desires predict compensation or reciprocity of romantic or sexual desires. At a large Southeastern university, quantitative data were collected from 307 participants. The results indicated that of the variables, Not Attracted, Incompatibility, and closeness were significant predictors of romantic reciprocation. In the case of 'friends with benefit' relationships, the results indicated that of the variables, Not Attracted, Sexual/Romantic Potential, sex, and sexual attitudes were significant predictors of sexual reciprocity. Further explanations of results, limitations, and future directions for research are discussed.

This study investigated the extent to which gender moderates, and perceptions of fairness mediate, the link between marital power and overall marital satisfaction, as well as cortisol stress trajectories in response to marital distress. Study 1 examined a sample of 213 opposite sex newlywed couples from western Massachusetts, and focused on marital satisfaction as the dependent variable. Findings from the structural equation analysis suggested that perceptions of relationship fairness concerning the division of labor completely mediated the association between marital power and marital satisfaction for wives, but not for husbands. These results also implied an association between wives' perceptions of fairness and husbands' marital satisfaction. Study 2 looked at a subsample (N = 158 couples) of newlywed couples and investigated the effect of experiencing marital power on cortisol stress reactivity and recovery in response to a marital conflict discussion. Findings from the structural equation model suggested a significant association between marital power and stress reactivity & recovery for all participants, with low power wives exhibiting a failure to recover back to baseline levels of stress post-conflict. Methodological and measurement issues pertaining to the study of marital power are discussed, as well as potential implications of this work on future studies related to marital well-being.

Four contrasting recitals were presented to fulfill the requirements for the degree Doctor of Musical Arts. The first recital contained music of miscellaneous composers. Two Preludes and Fugues by the North German Baroque composers Vincent Libeck and Dietrich Buxtehude were separated by Samuel Scheidt's Variations on the Netherlands folk song "Ach du feiner Reiter". The Brahms Chorale Prelude "0 wie selig seid ihr doch, ihr Frommen" and the Louis Vierne "Intermezzo" from the Third Symphony represented Romantic-style composition. The major work of the program was the Carl Nielsen Commotio, a large work in orchestral style. The second recital consisted completely of music by J. S. Bach. Four works of contrasting styles were presented: Concerto, Opus 3, No. 8, composed by Antonio Vivaldi and transcribed by Bach, Partita on Sie gegrisset, Jesu gtig, Sonata IV, and Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor. The third recital was the lecture recital: Registration of Orchestral Textures in Organ Music. This lecture was an attempt to deal with the contemporary problem in performance practice of registration of Romantic organ music. The trends in organ building in the twentieth century have ranged from a deeper exploration of the possibilities of the Romantic organ to the reevaluation of and rededication to principles of organ building popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Thèse de doctorat présenté en vue de l'obtention du doctorat en psychologie - recherche intervention, option psychologie clinique (Ph.D) / Le droit à une vie amoureuse saine et satisfaisante est indéniable pour tous les êtres humains. Pourtant, les personnes ayant vécu une psychose sont souvent confrontées à divers obstacles lorsqu'elles entrent sur la scène amoureuse. La recherche et la pratique clinique ont malheureusement pris du retard à répondre à la demande d’aide dans ce domaine. L'objectif de la présente thèse est de mieux comprendre les défis liés aux relations amoureuses et à la sexualité chez les personnes aux prises avec la psychose, ainsi que d'offrir des ressources utiles pour commencer à aborder ces difficultés. À cet fin, cette thèse a été divisée en trois parties. Le premier article visait à recueillir, évaluer et synthétiser la littérature récente sur les relations amoureuses et la sexualité dans le contexte des troubles psychotiques, les résultats soulignant un besoin pour plus d’études axées sur le consommateur ainsi qu’une plus grande accessibilité aux services adaptés. Le deuxième article a examiné les propriétés psychométriques de deux mesures liées au fonctionnement romantique et sexuel des personnes vivant avec la psychose. Nos résultats suggèrent que les deux instruments sont fiables et valides dans cette population et peuvent donc être utilisés à des fins de recherche et cliniques. Le troisième et dernier article évaluait l'impact d'une nouvelle intervention de groupe, offerte en présentiel ou à distance, pour les jeunes hommes ayant vécu une psychose et cherchant à améliorer leur vie amoureuse. Les résultats suggèrent que le programme pourrait mener à des améliorations significatives au niveau de la symptomatologie, du fonctionnement romantique et de la cognition sociale (c’est-à-dire, les habiletés de mentalisation) des participants, avec les deux modalités de traitement étant tout aussi efficaces. Nous espérons que ces résultats encourageront les chercheurs et les cliniciens à poursuivre leurs recherches sur le sujet, ainsi qu’à promouvoir le développement de ressources supplémentaires pour les personnes aux prises avec la psychose ayant des difficultés sur le plan du fonctionnement romantique. / The right to a healthy and satisfying romantic life is undeniable for all human beings. Yet, people with psychosis are often confronted with unique obstacles when entering the dating scene. Research and clinical practice have unfortunately lagged behind the demand for assistance in this area. The aim of this thesis is to better understand the challenges relating to romantic relationships and sexuality among persons with psychosis, as well as offer useful resources to begin addressing these difficulties. For this purpose, this thesis was divided into three parts. The first article sought to collect, evaluate, and synthesize the latest literature on romantic relationships and sexuality in psychotic disorders, with results highlighting a need for more consumer-oriented research and greater accessibility to tailored services. The second article examined the psychometric properties of two instruments measuring the romantic and sexual functioning of individuals with psychosis. Our findings suggest that both instruments are reliable and valid in this population and therefore can be used for research and clinical purposes. The third and final article evaluated the impact of a new group intervention, offered in-person or online, for young men with psychosis seeking to improve their dating lives. Results suggest that the program may lead to significant improvements in participants’ symptomatology, romantic functioning, and social cognition (i.e., mentalization skills), with both treatment modalities being equally effective. It is hoped that these findings will encourage researchers and clinicians to continue investigating this important topic and promote the development of additional resources for people with psychosis who struggle with romantic relationship functioning.

Prior research has established significant associations between regular physical activity and enhancements in well-being, quality of life, and self-regulation. Given that these benefits may extend to influence the quality of romantic relationships, the present study was the first to evaluate the relationship between exercise and romantic relationship satisfaction through the role of body image, drawing upon the Self-Determination Theory as the theoretical framework. Specifically, the current study aimed to achieve three objectives: (a) to investigate the impact of exercise on romantic relationship satisfaction, (b) to examine the effects of body image as a mediator in the exercise-relationship connection, and (c) to determine whether exercise motives moderate the mediating effect of body image. Data were gathered from an online survey completed by 392 cisgender women in heterosexual relationships and analyzed using PROCESS Macro for SPSS Model 4 and Model 7, respectively. The results showed that exercise frequency was not directly related to romantic relationship satisfaction. However, body image fully mediated this association, indicating that increased exercise predicted body satisfaction and subsequently contributed to individuals' perceived relationship quality. While exercise motivation did not emerge as a moderator of the mediation of body image, health/fitness and enjoyment/mood motives significantly predicted positive body evaluation and relationship quality. In contrast, concerns related to appearance were linked to higher levels of social comparison and negative affect. Therefore, these findings highlight the value of fostering a positive body image and reducing body-focused motivation, as well as prioritizing autonomous exercise for the quality of romantic relationships and overall well-being.

In today's society, most media users are aware that the image of reality that media producers create differs from real life. However, the knowledge about the power that the media holds is forgotten in daily media use. This is due, among other things, to the fact that the image of reality that the media communicates is in many cases more tangible than the actual reality. The media thus has a decisive role in how reality is perceived, and in this case how relationships are perceived. A negative or unrealistic representation of romantic relationships can cause a problem for individuals' perception and attitudes towards their partners, or future partners. In recent years, romantic comedies have slowly become more popular with both men and women. They have started spreading from their conventional and traditional structure to other territories and areas. The genre is characterized by a focus on idealized love. It usually consists of suspense with love being challenged and a happy ending to the story. The plot keeps the audience glued to their seats hoping that love will triumph in the end. This study aims to investigate the representation of relationships in three romantic comedies from the 2010s. Certain expectations of a romantic relationship can be constructed in the films. By scanning the movie database IMDb for the top rated romantic comedies from the 2010s the top three movies were selected, with the three movies being Leap Year (2010), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) and Something Borrowed (2011). By applying a thematic analysis, the representation of the main relationships in the movies will be analyzed. Themes will be selected in relevance to the research question.  The relationships in the movies showed interesting similarities and differences in the way gender roles, initiative and complications were represented. Stuart Hall's theory of representation supports the study´s emphasis on the importance of the topic and explains how stereotyping can be used by producers to promote a specific demeanor.

The main objective of this research was to investigate how people use Facebook within the context of their romantic relationships from an attachment theory perspective. In the present study, a convenience sample (n = 179) completed an online survey with questions about Facebook use, attachment style, uncertainty-related behaviors, jealousy, relationship satisfaction and commitment. Results indicate that 1) there is a positive correlation between jealousy and Facebook use; 2) also, there is a positive correlation between jealousy and the time an individual spends viewing their partner's profile; 3) further, jealousy is positively related to uncertainty-reducing behaviors. Taken together, these results support the assertion that there is a downward spiral involving jealousy and Facebook. Results also showed that there are two types of uncertainty-related behaviors: antisocial behaviors and territorial behaviors. Anxious-ambivalent attachment styles were found to engage in antisocial behaviors the most, whereas secure individuals engaged in antisocial behaviors the least. The findings provide ample areas for future research on social networking sites and relationship variables.

Vi har genomfört en komparativ kvalitativ innehållsanalys av filmen High Fidelity (2000) och serien High Fidelity (2020). Vårt syfte har varit att synliggöra hur romantiska relationer samt män och kvinnor representeras över tid. Studien har utgått från teorier om socialkonstruktivism, genus, representation, stereotyper och normen om tvåsamhet. Vi har tagit del av vårt material i sin helhet samt utifrån specifika scener för att genomföra en djupare analys. I kontrast till tidigare forskning som studerat verken utifrån musikteori, har vi studerat verken ur nya perspektiv. Studien bidrar till vidare forskning om ämnet genom att undersöka ett inte tidigare berört verk; High Fidelity (2020). Vårt resultat visar att både filmen och serien innehåller representationer som bekräftar och reproducerar normer. Serien innehåller, jämfört med filmen, en mer komplex och inkluderande representation av kvinnor. Sammantaget för de båda verken är att tvåsamhet tycks vara det centrala temat och idealet. / This essay consists of a comparative qualitative content analysis of the film High Fidelity (2000) and the series High Fidelity (2020). The aim of the analysis was to make visible how men and women and romantic relationships are represented over time. The study was based on theories of social constructivism, gender, representation, stereotypes and heteronormativity. We have taken part of the material in its entirety as well as on the basis of specific scenes in order to carry out a deeper analysis. In contrast to previous research that has treated the works based on music theory, we have studied the works from new perspectives. The study contributes to further research on the subject by examining a work not previously touched upon; High Fidelity (2020). Our results show that both the film and the series contain representations that confirm and reproduce norms. Compared to the film, the series contains a more complex and inclusive representation of women. Overall for both works, the norm of twosomeness seems to be the central theme and ideal.

No description available.