The present study sought to answer the following questions: Is there a correlation between time spent watching rap music videos and and perception of the imagery of women in rap music videos shown? 2) Is there a correlation between the perception of the imagery of women in rap music videos and their attitudes toward women? There were a total of 53 AAFA who participated in the study. The participants completed the Background Questionnaire and Attitude Toward Women Scale for Adolescents (AWSA). They then viewed approximately 10 minutes of rap music videos that portrayed women negatively, and completed the Opinions on Music Videos survey and the General Questions about Rap Music survey. The data were analyzed with two crosstabs matching time spent watching rap music videos per week with feelings about images of women in rap videos shown, and acceptance of images of women in rap videos shown. A t-test was used to compare AWSA scores and acceptance of images of women in rap music videos shown. A one-way ANOVA was used to compare AWSA scores and feelings about women in rap music videos shown. The results of the study suggest that the more time spent watching rap videos, the less likely the participants would accept the negative images of women in these videos as negative and vice versa. No relationship was found between time spent watching rap videos and feelings about the images portrayed. Regardless of the participant's AWSA score, it did not correlate with her perceptions of the images of women in rap music videos shown. Implications for research and practice were then discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Accompanying materials housed with archival copy. / The purpose of this research was to describe and critically interpret girls' experiences with respect to body image, physical activity and health. The qualitative inquiry included focus group and individual interviews, document analysis and field observations. These methods were used to explore the perceptions of sixty-three girls (grades eight and eleven) and staff from an inner-city high school. Through interpretive data analysis (and constant comparison), the inter-related themes of body image, physical activity and health branched into the sub-themes of societal influences and personal attitudes including: friends, boys, family, school and media. Girls' body images ranged from minor preoccupations to major dissatisfaction with their bodies, while a few girls were happy being themselves. Weak or negative family influences gave way to influences by media, boys and friends. A few girls were very active, whereas others' low levels of participation were attributed to: disinterest in physical activity, intimidation by boys, or perceived lack of opportunity. The girls' perceptions of health incorporated fitness, weight, and eating habits. Girls often used negative qualifiers when describing their weight or body shape. Generally, girls perceived overweight individuals as not taking care of themselves. This research supports the development of gender sensitive physical education programs promoting healthier lifestyles for females.

Thesis (MPhil (Journalism))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Adolescent girls’ passage to womanhood is frequently exposed to a vast array of media products. Mass communication products have become educational devices, guiding young women towards an understanding of femininity and all its accompanying intricacies. We are taught gender lessons throughout our lives, but our teen years are of special significance in this regard. In a society that is becoming all the more media saturated, advertisers are capitalising on different desires and ideals that are being constructed in the media. Initially, only adult women were targeted, but these days a number of mass media products aimed specifically at young women have opened up a whole new market. Until a few years ago, South African teenage girls had only women’s magazines aimed at adult women to refer to. These days, however, a number of teen magazine titles exist locally. The aim of this study was to look at teen magazines as an example of texts that are aimed specifically at adolescent women. More specifically, the study looked at the discourse on femininity within the pages of the text – what is the magazine in essence saying about womanhood? To take the research one step further, it was decided to look at how readers of the magazine engaged and negotiated with the text in order to inform their own understanding of femininity. The goal of the study was to determine how the discourse on femininity played out between the text and the reader. Combining quantitative and qualitative elements, the study was located within a cultural studies framework and referred to Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model as a representation of the communication process. It was found that the magazine under scrutiny had twelve specific thematic categories that were most prominent. It was found that the femininity encoded in these texts revolved around consumerism, fashion and boys. The study found that the readers taking part in focus group research possessed a sufficient amount of educational “cultural capital” to be able to resist the dominant messages encoded in the texts, yet they seemingly chose not to. This study also indicated that the femininity that was constructed in the studied text did not take the greater South African context into account, and that it served to entertain readers from higher LSM groups rather than all South African girls.

Accompanying materials housed with archival copy.

122 Leaves printed on single pages, preliminary pages and numbered pages 1-113. Includes bibliography, list of abbreviations, list of definitions, list of tables and figures and list of appendices. Pdf format (OCR). / Thesis (MEd (Educational Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Research into bullying has brought with it an awareness of many aspects of this phenomenon. Firstly, it has shown a distinction between various types of bullying and also how these are further delineated by means of gender. Secondly, by mere omission, it has shown the lack of research on bullying amongst girls. Bullying amongst girls is rife, however the research in this area is limited. The aims of this research are to further explore the complex nature of bullying amongst girls and to gain understanding of its impact; to use the perspectives of the participants to drive intervention and preventative strategies; to dispel the myths which support the practice of bullying; and to raise awareness of an invisible problem, thereby rendering it visible. This interpretive study explores bullying amongst girls by using the perspectives of Grade 5 girls in a parochial school in the Western Cape. The process of inquiry is embedded in the ecosystemic approach and constructivism, which emphasises the importance of context and the belief that knowledge is not passively received, but actively constructed on the basis of the experiences of an individual. Data was collected through the use of semi-structured recorded interviews with focus groups, which were then transcribed verbatim and categorised into themes. The themes which emerged include the varied and complex nature of bullying techniques and the effects of bullying. The main finding was that some girls have innate characteristics which help maintain bullying while others have characteristics which protect them from bullying. The environment also plays a large part in either maintaining bullying or protecting girls from bullying. The implication was that intervention and preventative strategies need to be based on these personal and contextual factors in order to effect change. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Navorsing oor afknouery (bullying) het 'n nuwe bewustheid van vele aspekte van hierdie fenomeen na vore gebring. Eerstens het dit 'n onderskeid tussen verskillende soorte geniepsigheid getoon en ook hoe geniepsigheid verder deur middel van geslag bepaal word. Tweedens het dit ook die gebrek aan navorsing oor geniepsigheid tussen meisies onder die aandag gebring, bloot deurdat dit feitlik nie genoem word nie. Geniepsige gedrag tussen meisies is algemeen, maar navorsing binne hierdie veld is beperk. Die doelstellings van hierdie navorsing is om die komplekse aard van geniepsigheid tussen meisies verder te verken en om 'n begrip van die impak daarvan te verwerf; om die perspektiewe van die deelnemers te gebruik om tussentrede en voorkomingstrategieë te bewerkstellig; om mites wat die praktyk van afknouery ondersteun, te verdryf; en om bewustheid van 'n onsigbare probleem te bemiddel en dit daardeur sigbaar te maak. Hierdie interpretatiewe studie verken geniepsigheid tussen meisies met behulp van die perspektiewe van Graad 5-meisies in 'n kerkskool in die Weskaap. Die ondersoekproses wat gevolg is, is op die ekosistemiese benadering en konstruktiwisme gegrond, wat die belangrikheid van konteks en die oortuiging beklemtoon dat kennnis nie op passiewe wyse bekom word nie, maar aktief op die grondslag van die ervarings van indiwidue gekonstrueer word. Data is met gebruik van semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude met fokusgroepe wat op band opgeneem is, ingesamel, waarna dit woordeliks vanaf opnames getranskribeer en volgens temas gekategoriseer is. Die temas wat na vore gekom het, omvat die wisselende en komplekse aard van afknoutegnieke en die uitwerking van geniepsigheid. Daar is gevind dat sommige meisies ingebore trekke het wat help om geniepsige gedrag te onderhou terwyl ander meisies trekke het wat hulle teen geniepsigheid beskerm. Die omgewing speel ook 'n aansienlike rol in die ondersteuning van geniepsige gedrag of die beskerming van meisies daarteen. Die impliseer dat tussentrede en voorkomende strategieë op hierdie persoonlike en kontekstuele faktore gebaseer moet word om verandering te bewerkstellig.