Tills research project arose from an awareness that many Christian women experience female sexual desire and the expression of sexual pleasure within a religious context to be a forbidden subject and that they are consequently isolated in silence. The social construction of sexuality within the history of Christianity was briefly explored to see which discourses underpin current constructions of White Christian female sexuality. Tills feminist, participatory action research project challenged the silence on women's sexuality by inviting three women to narrate their personal stories of sexuality. With the help of narrative therapeutic practices, some of the dominant social and religious discourses that constitute White Christian female sexuality were challenged and explored. This research project aimed at the co-construction of narratives of sexuality that will hopefully be life-giving to Christian women's experiences with sexuality. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Specialization in Pastoral Therapy))

Submitted by Biblioteca Central (biblioteca@unicap.br) on 2018-09-06T15:10:52Z No. of bitstreams: 2 raissa_maria_bittencourt_morais.pdf: 983280 bytes, checksum: 07d53ce6339e27c0431124f40ccf2bd0 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-06T15:10:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 raissa_maria_bittencourt_morais.pdf: 983280 bytes, checksum: 07d53ce6339e27c0431124f40ccf2bd0 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-07-20 / This study aimed to understand how women who suffered an acquired spinal cord injury (re)construct themselves and their sexual lives. The medullary lesions (ML) are all injuries that affect the structures contained in the spinal canal and can lead to motor, sensory, autonomic and psychoaffective alterations. It is one of the situations that can most affect the life of any individual and that can bring with it many biopsychosocial repercussions. The research that serves as the basis to this dissertation is of qualitative character and is founded theoretically and methodologically in the writings of Michel Foucault and of other authors that dialogue with his thought. As methodological strategies, the Narrative Interviews and the Field Diary were used as tools for the construction of the narratives of the women with acquired spinal cord injury, which were analyzed through a descriptive analytics of the subject of Foucauldian inspiration. These analysis have pointed out that these women are crossed by diverse discursive formations, institutions, knowledge/power games that constitute them as capable of organizing their own methods and ways to perform a sexual life satisfactorily in the way it is possible to live it. The condition of woman, the exercise of a sexual life after a trauma or accident, and the way in which they act upon their subjectivity showed themselves as difficult paths; it is evident the importance of looking at sexuality as a dispositif; it is emphasized the existence of a society that considers certain bodies, and here the bodies with spinal cord injury, as abjects and the suffering experienced by each one of them is verified when faced with the change of an accepted body. Thus, in the narratives we find the certainty that women with acquired spinal cord injury are not considered as asexual, on the contrary, all of them reported experiencing - or having lived - one or more loving, affective and sexual relationships. We hope that our research will contribute to the broadening of women's voices and struggles as well as to the greater opening of spaces for dialogue on the subject of sexuality in what concerns people with physical disabilities, especially women with acquired spinal cord injuries. / adquirida (re)constroem a si mesmas e as suas vidas sexuais. As lesões medulares (LM) são todas as injúrias que acometem às estruturas contidas no canal medular podendo levar à alterações motoras, sensitivas, autonômicas e psicoafetivas. É uma das situações que mais pode afetar a vida de qualquer indivíduo e traz consigo inúmeras repercussões biopsicossociais. A pesquisa que deu base a esta dissertação é de cunho qualitativo e se fundamenta teórica e metodologicamente nos escritos de Michel Foucault e de outros autores que dialogam com o seu pensamento. Como estratégias metodológicas foram utilizadas as Entrevistas Narrativas e o Diário de Campo, como instrumentos para a construção das narrativas das mulheres com lesão medular adquirida, que foram analisadas através de uma analítica descritiva do sujeito de inspiração foucaultiana. Essas análises apontaram que essas mulheres são atravessadas por diversas formações discursivas, instituições, jogos de saber/poder que as constituem como capazes de agenciarem seus próprios métodos e caminhos para executar satisfatoriamente uma vida sexual do modo como é possível vivê-la. A condição de mulher, o exercício de uma vida sexual após um trauma ou acidente, e o modo pelos quais elas se subjetivam se mostraram caminhos difíceis; evidencia-se a importância de se olhar a sexualidade como um dispositivo; enfatiza-se a existência de uma sociedade que considera determinados corpos, e aqui os corpos com lesão medular, como abjetos e verificase o sofrimento vivido por cada uma delas ao se depararem com a mudança de um corpo aceito. Deste modo, nas narrativas encontramos a certeza de que as mulheres com lesão medular adquirida não se consideram assexuais, ao contrário, todas relataram vivenciar – ou já ter vivido – um ou mais relacionamentos amorosos, afetivos e sexuais. Esperamos que nossa pesquisa contribua para a ampliação das vozes e luta dessas mulheres assim como para a maior abertura de espaços de diálogos acerca da temática da sexualidade no recorte das pessoas com deficiências físicas adquiridas, em especial, das mulheres com lesões medulares adquiridas.

Existing research suggests that men and women develop differing sexual scripts that influence their behavior, interactions and emotions regarding sex. The objective of this project is to examine the experiences of men and women with formal sex education programs, especially in regards to information about: anatomy and biology, sexual responsibility and risk taking, sexual desire, virginity and abstinence, as well as to explore sources of sex education outside of school. Several studies suggest masculine sexual scripts dictate that men generally construct a more body-focused approach to sex, with an emphasis on competition, aggression and achievement. Conversely, emphasized feminine sexual scripts call for a more emotion-focused approach to sex that stresses self-control, resistance and sexual 'gatekeeping'. One of the explanations for this is adolescents' experience with formal sex education in school. Gendered messages in sex education that reproduce dominant sexual scripts have the potential to reinforce sexual double standards that affirm male desire and regulate female desire. Previous studies have determined school to be a place where individuals develop scripts that guide them through many aspects of social life. While one recent study has pointed to the existence of gendered messages in sex education films, there is little research on how men's and women's experiences with formal sex education influence their interaction with different sexual scripts. Additionally, this research recognizes that interaction with sexual scripts occurs in a multitude of settings over the life course, and although formal sex education is the focus of this analysis because of the explicit messages communicated to adolescents during a very formative stage, other more informal sources of sexual information (i.e. family, peers, and the internet) are explored in comparison with school-based sex education. The findings of this study indicate a gendered patter in access to sexual scripts, drawing from participants' accounts of their sex education experiences in school, as well as important differences in the messages, or scripts communicated to them about sex from friends, family and online. Most notably, men and women generally recount interaction with scripts that reinforce traditional masculine and feminine sexuality in formal, school-based sex education programs. However, sexual learning from more informal sources, like from families and the internet, indicate possible shifts in traditional gendered sexuality, especially for women.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Little existing research has examined women’s solo masturbation and vibrator usage in a way that highlights the importance of both sexual agency and the sexual/romantic relationship context. This research evaluates if and how social factors, partnership status and the relationship context, and sexual self-concept impact a woman’s behaviors and attitudes toward masturbation and vibrator use. Using cross-sectional survey data from adult women (N=112), descriptive and bivariate analyses were used to explore a variety of factors. Single and partnered women did not differ significantly on a majority of measures, suggesting that partnership status may play an insignificant role in predicting women’s solo sex attitudes and behaviors. Regarding the relationship context, partner communication and positivity toward masturbation and vibrator use significantly varied together. Finally, greater sexual openness and sexual entitlement were associated with higher masturbation frequency. Results from this study suggest that masturbation and vibrator use are common among adult women, and women are capable of sexual agency in relation to masturbation and vibrator use, whether they are in established partnerships or not.

HIV infection is escalating among African-American heterosexual women in alarming rates. African-American women are 23 times as likely to be infected with the AIDS virus as white women. African-American women account for 72% of new HIV cases among women in 29 states. The risk of contracting HIV virus is highest in African-American communities, which inevitably places African-American women at higher risk than other populations of women. The purpose of this study was to advance knowledge regarding what is unknown about risky sexual behaviors among African-American heterosexual women by giving them the “voice” to share their own personal experiences in their natural environments. I examined participants’ perceptions of risk for contracting HIV/AIDS in relationships with male partners. This qualitative research design focused on a constant comparative analysis. I conducted one focus group [four members and one recorder] along with seven individual interviews, of African-American heterosexual women involved in the Women In Motion [WIM] HIV/AIDS prevention program. The following three health behavior frameworks were examined as a means of understanding the limitations of existing models of sexual risk behaviors among African-American women: The Health Belief Model (HBM), the Transtheoretical Change Model, and the Black feminist perspective. Gaps in the literature included insufficient knowledge of how cultural taboos and myths influence sexual decision-making. An overview of the findings of this study has been explicated under the following three main headings: (1) Observation, (2) Interpretation, and (3) Application. The results of the study are discussed under the following three main categories 1) Understanding Sexual Decision-Making, 2) Understanding Intimacy, and 3) Understanding HIV/AIDS Prevention With Male Partners. In conclusion, sexual decision-making in this inquiry became an all encompassing construct based on African-American women’s perceptions of how they viewed the paradox of sexual needs in intimate relationships with male partners and the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.

The purpose of this study was to examine the hypotheses that the external factors of family environment, gender, and clinical status and the internal factors of self-esteem and impression management would have either a positive influence or a negative influence on individuals' congruence between their sexual attitudes and their sexual behavior. The hypotheses that the external and internal factors would be significant predictors of congruence between sexual attitudes and behavior were not supported by regression analyses. Clinical status and impression management were significant predictors of congruence but in the opposite direction than hypothesized. When age was factored out of the regression equation, clinical status was no longer a significant predictor of congruence. However, impression management remained a significant predictor of congruence.

During the Progressive Era in the United States, social hygiene reformers underwent a fundamental change in their stance toward women accused of prostitution or promiscuous behavior. Rather than viewing such women as unfortunate victims of circumstance who were worthy of compassion, many Progressives deemed them as predatory villains who instead deserved incarceration, forced rehabilitation, and non-consenting medical interference. Texas, due to the many military bases within its borders, became a key battleground in this moral crusade against women as the carriers and proliferators of VD. "Promiscuous" women were seen as not only dangerous to the soldiers but also as a threat to the nation's security, creating an environment that led Texas Progressives to suppress women's civil liberties in the name of protecting soldiers. The catalyst for this change in attitude was World War I. The Great War brought to the forefront an unpleasant reality facing a significant percentage of America's fighting men: venereal disease. While combating sexually transmitted diseases was a serious medical and manpower concern for the military in the era before penicillin, the sole focus on women as the carriers and proliferators of VD led to a nationwide campaign against the "social evil" that demonized women and led to the suspension of thousands of women's habeas corpus rights. This dissertation examines how the twin crusades of Progressivism and the War to End All Wars created conditions in Texas that for many women meant appalling repression rather than progress toward the enjoyment of greater equality.

Jordan has a higher fertility rate (3.8) than the averages of countries similar in income to Jordan (2.2) and compared to the Middle East and North Africa region as a whole (2.8) (WHO, WB, UNICEF, & DHS, 2011). The findings of the 2009 Jordanian Population and Family Health Survey demonstrated that the total fertility rate (TFR) has stopped declining in the country since 2002 (DOS, 2010b; USAID, 2010). The prevalence of contraceptive use has also shown little change in Jordan over the last decade (DOS, 2010b; USAID, 2010). Given that contraception is one of the proximate determinants of fertility (Rahayu et al., 2009), the main purpose of this study was to investigate which factors are contributing to women's current contraceptive behavior and intention for future contraceptive use. Research questions were developed in a comprehensive framework that considers women's intention and actual behavior as outcomes of various interactive factors within a socio-cultural context. In particular, the study's framework was directed by a theoretical basis adapted from Ajzen and Fishbein's Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and an extensive review of the available literature in the research area. Obviously, the social set-up and cultural norms in the study setting, together with attitudes toward children and family, represent a traditional scenario that could help explain the consistency of fertility and contraceptive use in the country. Further, the influences of background characteristics on women's contraceptive behaviors and intentions provide another scenario that could help assess the current situation of family planning (FP) in Jordan. In this study, demographic factors, spousal communication variables and healthcare system-related factors are all defined as background characteristics. Attitudes and social norms reflect the women's behavioral determinants and represent the main constructs of the TRA. In fact, involving a set of factors related to women's beliefs and social norms in the study's framework provided an opportunity to explore how these factors might promote or inhibit a woman's intentions and behaviors in respect to contraceptive use. In a three-manuscript format, this research was designed to achieve a number of objectives. The first manuscript aimed at identifying the major factors associated with the current use of contraception among women of childbearing age in northern Jordan. The second manuscript focused on investigating the main factors that are associated with women's contraceptive method preference (e.g. the choice of modern contraceptives as effective methods in preventing pregnancy versus the choice of traditional contraceptives as methods with high failure rates). The third manuscript attempted to explore the key factors associated with women's intention for future contraceptive use since the existence of such an intention would consequently translate into an actual behavior later. In 2010, original cross-section data were collected by means of a face-to-face interview using a structured pre-tested survey. The study sample included women who were currently married and were between 18 and 49 years old. Applying a systematic random sampling procedure, all respondents were recruited from the waiting rooms of five randomly selected Maternal and Child Health (MCH) centers in the Governorate of Irbid, northern Jordan. Using a list provided by the Ministry of Health, all centers in the Governorate were stratified according to the region (urban vs. rural) and randomly selected in proportion to their number in each region. The final sample size for this research consisted of 536 women surveyed, giving a response rate of 92.4 percent. Utilizing logistic regression analyses, the results of the dissertation manuscripts indicate that women's behaviors and intentions toward the use of contraception are affected by a number of factors at the individual, familial and institutional levels. The findings that emerged from the three manuscripts provide health professionals and policy makers with important information to assist in the design of FP programs and campaigns aimed at increasing current contraceptive use, enhancing the adoption of modern contraception and motivating the intention for future contraceptive use. This research strongly suggests that health professionals develop health policies that both expand the availability of MCH centers and strengthen the role of healthcare providers to dispel the numerous rumors and misconceptions surrounding the use of contraceptives, particularly modern ones. Health workers at the MCH centers need to ensure that women have sufficient information about the benefits and side effects of different types of contraception by offering proper FP counseling. The messages that religious leaders can use in advocating for FP would also help make contraceptive use socially acceptable since their opinions are often followed by the majority. This would be a key step toward removing the barriers to contraceptive use. Moreover, to design effective FP interventions, planners should take into account women's attitudes toward the use of contraceptive methods and the components of those attitudes (e.g. women's approval of contraceptive use for birth spacing and perceptions regarding the value of large family sizes and the importance of having male children in Jordanian families). / Graduation date: 2012 / Access restricted to the OSU Community at author's request from May 9, 2012 - May 9, 2013

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Este trabalho de pesquisa tem como objetivo fundamental a análise relacional nos estudos de casais violentos, propondo-se a interpretar especificamente as construções discursivas de mulheres de classe média, com ensino superior e autonomia financeira que, mesmo sendo alvo de violência física e psicológica, permanecem por longos anos convivendo com seus parceiros íntimos. Optou-se por esta categoria de mulheres, pelo vácuo existente nos trabalhos que investigam este tipo de população, já que a maioria dos estudos sobre o fenômeno enfoca mulheres de baixa renda, justificando que a dependência econômica feminina como resultante da vinculação ao poder patriarcal. Quanto ao corpus de pesquisa, esse advém dos relatos de mulheres alocados no site eletrônico <wwwgilbertoresponde.com>. Trata-se de relatos sob forma de perguntas que procuram uma saída para o sofrimento amoroso. O site eletrônico é concebido pelas usuárias como uma plataforma de autoajuda. Também foram acrescentadas ao corpus, duas outras análises. O estudo de caso da autobiografia de Oliveira (2011) e uma entrevista com sete participantes do grupo de “Mulheres que Amam Demais Anônimas” (MADA), de 2016. Com o propósito de produzir conhecimento para a aplicação prática, dirigida à solução de problemas encontrados na realidade cotidiana, optou-se pela modalidade de trabalho denominada de Pesquisa Aplicada (BARROS; LEHFELD, 2000; GIL, 2002). Foi usado como método e referencial teórico a Análise de Discurso segundo Foucault (2012; 1986). Em relação ao escopo teórico, esta pesquisa guiou-se pelo diálogo entre a Antropologia, a Filosofia da Linguagem, a História, a Sociologia e contribuições da Psicanálise. A violência dos casais é analisada pela perspectiva dialógica-relacional de Santos e Izumino (2005), tendo como um dos objetivos problematizar o dualismo de certos discursos feministas que concebem a violência como sendo um produto originário e exclusivo da masculinidade. As antropólogas Gregori (1993) e Machado (1998), por exemplo, substituem a polarização da violência até então unilateralmente atribuída aos homens para uma forma relacional de se compreender o fenômeno, por intermédio do estudo de “casais violentos”. Sobre o machismo, adotamos a premissa da psicóloga Castañeda (2006) de que nem o machismo é um discurso exclusivamente dos homens e nem a violência um produto exclusivamente de um dos polos da relação ou do indivíduo particularizado. Violência e machismo não são apenas práticas concretas. Trata-se de um longo processo de socialização microscópica da “dominação simbólica” do homem Bourdieu (2009, p. 138). A violência entre casais não está localizada em um único lugar e/ou indivíduo, mas sim endentada no que Foucault (1982, p. 244) define como “dispositivos”. Selecionamos do corpus de pesquisa três dispositivos que alimentam a violência. São eles, o dispositivo de “amor-paixão” em Rougemont (1988), de sexualidade e de machismo. Esses dispositivos encontram uma fértil reverberação na seara de uma sociedade tremendamente violenta, emotiva, hierárquica e paradoxal como é o Brasil (DAMATTA (1987; 1990; 1993). Partimos também das contribuições teórico-políticas de Foucault (1982) sobre o poder para entendermos a violência enquanto uma “microfísica da violência” (FANINI, 1992; FOUCAULT, 1982;1984). Alguns dos resultados deste trabalho dão conta de que os argumentos da baixa renda e da falta de conscientização política das mulheres vítimas de violência orientaram boa parte das pesquisas feministas nos anos de 1970 e 1980. No entanto, atualmente, sabe-se que a violência contra a mulher “não se origina exclusivamente das desigualdades de classe” econômica, conforme Heilborn e Sorj (1999), nem da falta de consciência política e tampouco da sua condição financeira, considerando os intensos avanços da mulher no campo do trabalho e da vida pública. Pesquisas como Grossi (1991), Gregori (1993), Santos e Izumino (2005) relativizam as práticas de atendimento a mulheres espancadas nos anos de 1980, pois alguns grupos feministas da época que atendiam a mulheres vítimas de agressão, concebiam a violência, restringindo-a muitas vezes à uma produção masculina, quando ela é na realidade um fenômeno macroscópico da cultura da agressão. Outro aspecto a salientar sobre o atendimento a vítimas da violência e sobre as pesquisas feministas é a pouca importância dada ao discurso do amor-paixão (ROUGEMONT, 1998). As mulheres esperam muito do amor (BOURDIEU, 2011, p. 82-83) e dependem mais dele do que esperam os homens. Se elas são prisioneiras da lei do amor, eles estão presos à virilidade e à violência como uma “carga” nos termos de Bourdieu (2011, p. 64) destinados a carregá-la. Entende-se que, entre casais violentos, é tão difícil para a mulher desocupar o lugar da vítima, como é para o homem, sair do lugar da violência. / This research work has as main objective the relational analysis in the studies of violent couples, proposing to interpret specifically the discursive constructions of middle-class women, with higher education and financial autonomy that, although being the target of physical and psychological violence, remain for long years living with their intimate partners. This category of women was chosen because of the vacuum that exists in the studies that investigate this type of population, since most of the studies on the phenomenon focus on low-income women, justifying that women's economic dependence as a result of their attachment to patriarchal power. As for the corpus of research, this comes from the reports of women allocated on the electronic website <wwwgilbertoresponde.com>. These are stories in the form of questions that seek a way out of the suffering of love. The website is designed by users as a self-help platform. Two other analyzes were also added to the corpus. The case study of Oliveira's autobiography (2011) and an interview with seven participants from the 2016 group of "Women Who Love Too Much Anonymous" (MADA). With the purpose of producing knowledge for practical application, aimed at solving problems Found in the daily reality, we opted for the modality of work called Applied Research (BARROS; LEHFELD, 2000; GIL, 2002). The Discourse Analysis according to Foucault (2012, 1986) was used as method and theoretical reference. In relation to the theoretical scope, this research was guided by the dialogue between Anthropology, Philosophy of Language, History, Sociology and contributions of Psychoanalysis. The violence of the couples is analyzed by the dialogical-relational perspective of Santos and Izumino (2005). One of the objectives is to problematize the dualism of certain feminist discourses that conceive of violence as an original and exclusive product of masculinity. The anthropologists Gregori (1993) and Machado (1998), for example, replace the polarization of violence hitherto unilaterally attributed to men to a relational form of understanding the phenomenon, through the study of "violent couples." On machismo, we adopt the premise of the psychologist Castañeda (2006) that neither machismo is a discourse exclusively of men nor violence a product exclusively of one of the poles of the relationship or individualized individual. Violence and machismo are not just concrete practices. It is a long process of microscopic socialization of Bourdieu's "symbolic domination" (2009: 138). Violence between couples is not located in a single place and/or individual, but is indented in what Foucault (1982, p244) defines as "devices." We select from the research corpus three devices that fuel violence. They are the device of "love-passion" in Rougemont (1988), of sexuality and machismo. These devices find fertile reverberation in the heart of a tremendously violent, emotional, hierarchical and paradoxical society such as Brazil (DAMATTA (1987; 1990; 1993). We also draw on Foucault's (1982) theoretical-political contributions on the power to understand violence as a "microphysics of violence" (FANINI, 1992; FOUCAULT, 1982;1984). Some of the results of this study indicate that the arguments of low income and lack of political awareness of women victims of violence have guided much of feminist research in the 1970s and 1980s. However, it is now known that violence against women. The woman "does not originate exclusively from economic class inequalities," according to Heilborn and Sorj (1999), neither of the lack of political awareness nor of its financial condition, considering the intense advances of women in the field of work and public life. Researches such as Grossi (1991), Gregori (1993), Santos and Izumino (2005) refer to practices of care for women beaten in the 1980s, since some feminist groups of the time attended to women victims of aggression conceived violence, often to a male production, when it is in reality a macroscopic phenomenon of the culture of aggression. Another aspect to emphasize regarding the care of victims of violence and feminist research is the little importance given to the discourse of passion-love (ROUGEMONT, 1998). Women expect much of the love (BOURDIEU, 2011, pp. 82-83) and depend more on it than men expect. If they are prisoners of the law of love, they are bound to virility and violence as a "burden" in Bourdieu's terms (2011, 64) intended to carry it. It is understood that between violent couples, it is as difficult for the woman to vacate the victim's place, as it is for the man, to leave the place of violence.