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Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been a tough topic to discuss in both local and global spheres. In the past twenty years however, a space has been created for it in the public consciousness. The object of this study is to trace the shifts that have occurred in how FGM has been talked about and make the ongoing dialogue visible. This is achieved by examining feminist debates, human rights discourse and the media as not only primary definers of the issue but also as sites of discourse production. / In moving from the local to global agenda, more actors have become involved in the debates and as such have further complexified an already complex practice. Each site offers a unique perspective and representation on the FGM controversy and has contributed to how the West has made meaning of the practice.

Drawing on my own process of entry into local queer, lesbian and feminist public cultures, I argue that a powerful relationship between feminist and lesbian existence can be felt and that this sensibility bears influence on the way queer erotic and politicized identities emerge in relation to one another. These affective links remain frequently unacknowledged and/or are actively repudiated due to popular accounts of feminist genealogy whereby second wave lesbian-feminist positions are rendered fundamentally incompatible with contemporary queer/third wave feminist ones. I challenge this narrative by building on select early articulations of radical lesbian feminism to show that when affirmed consciously, the sense that lesbianism and feminism are interconnected constitutes a “woman-identified experience” and an opportunity to bear witness to the unrealized possibilities of second-wave radical feminism in the present. I conclude that politicized “lesbian” and/or “woman” identification remain indispensable strategic sites from which to observe and confront heteropatriarchy.

In the face of an explosion of feminist discourse and an increasingly global, deeply troubled socio-religious climate, the following study explores the role of religion qua Christianity in researching female subjectivity, according to Julia Kristeva. Kristeva's pervasive influence and controversial reception in academic circles grants her the focus of this investigation. / This project familiarizes the reader with Kristeva's theory of subjectivity as a process and situates her among the plethora of feminist theorists. It also examines her view that religion is an illusory therapy for the modern subject in crisis. Finally, these two themes are brought together in a discussion on her theory of a culture of revolt, derived from the psychoanalytic process. Kristeva's vision for the future of feminism is shown to be deeply philosophical, while also socially and politically important. Furthermore, in revolt culture, religion might well leave open the possibility of researching female subjectivity.

Thesis (MVisualArts)--University of South Australia, 2001.

The basic aim of this thesis is to describe and analyse how �the woman voter� was constructed within Labor discourse during the Hawke/Keating years. My domain of investigation is electoral politics, in particular the federal election campaigns of 1983 and 1993. These elections flank the beginning and the end of the Labor decade, a period of great significance to both the development of Labor politics specifically and Australian politics in general. The elections of 1983 and 1993 were campaigns in which the Party made a concerted effort to attract women�s votes. Through a reading of the various texts associated with these two campaigns, I explore the construction of �the woman voter� as a �new� political subject position within Labor discourse. The dominant influences on the construction of �the woman voter� as a new subject position were Labor discourse and feminism, or more precisely Labor discourse affected by the incursion of feminism from the 1970s onwards. This thesis describes and analyses how this subject position has been produced and reproduced within Labor discourse. The gender gap research developed for the 1983 federal election constitutes one of the more important technologies that work to construct �the woman voter� within Labor discourse. A reading of the texts associated with the 1983 campaign reveals the character of �the woman voter� as a caring figure. However, as the Labor decade progressed, �the woman voter� is articulated in Labor discourse as a more complex figure, focused on her responsibilities both in the home and at paid work. A reading of various texts associated with the 1993 election campaign shows that �the woman voter� is constructed as a carer-worker; this subject position is broadly consonant with the objectives liberal, economic government. Certain modifications within this basic subject position can be observed in Labor�s anti-GST campaign materials, which made an appeal to the woman voter as consumer.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2006. / Supervisor: Barry Allen. Includes bibliographical references (p. 259-277).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2006. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-06, page: 2659. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-133).

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2008. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 85 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-85).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2007. / "May 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 246-259). Online version available on the World Wide Web. Library also has microfilm. Ann Arbor, Mich. : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [2007]. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm.