In this thesis I assert that Robinson’s theatrical heritage positioned her uniquely to confront the revolutionary explosions of 1790s radical thought. In her writings, Robinson’s onstage experience of gender performativity is transformed into a bold feminist critique of gender roles for women (and men) everywhere. In Chapter 1, I study writings by eighteenth-century theatrical women to argue that Robinson’s feminism must be understood within a theatrical context to appreciate the unique radicalism of her feminist vision. In Chapter 2, I explore how Robinson’s powerful identification with Marie Antoinette lies at the roots of her feminist project. In Chapter 3, I explain how Robinson then turns to the voice of Sappho to develop a radical vision of transcendent genius. In Chapter 4, I demonstrate how Robinson turns her critique of gender on men through the performative space of the masquerade in Walsingham (1797). Finally, in Chapter 5, I explain how this radical feminist critique is moulded to utopian ends in The Natural Daughter (1799), as Robinson rewrites the ending of Wollstonecraft’s Wrongs of Woman in a vision of the revolutionary family. I read three strands into Robinson’s feminism: 1) the rejection of incommensurable sexual difference; 2) the union of rational virtue and benevolent sensibility in the development of transcendent genius; and 3) a radical critique of the anxious crisis in 1790s masculinity. The result of this was a utopian vision of the future quite different from Wollstonecraft’s better-known brand of ascetic feminism. Instead, Robinson’s feminist theory works to rescue the original values of the French Revolution from beneath the ravages of Jacobin corruption. Beyond the limiting categories of incommensurable sexual difference, Robinson envisions a family in which woman would no longer have to renounce her sexual body in order to engage with society, and man could finally accept her as his equal.

Sexual violence is ubiquitous throughout the Anglophone West and shows no sign of abating. Feminist analysis has long demonstrated that this is a problem grounded in gender relations, patterns of masculine socialisation, and patriarchal social organisation. However, this thesis proposes that the roots of the Anglophone West’s rape culture also extend far beyond matters of gender and sexuality, deep into the core of the dominant culture itself. Setting feminist theory in dialogue with wider socio-cultural analysis, the research explores the complex relationships between the prevailing ideologies, ethics, systems, structures and practices of the dominant culture and the Anglophone West’s high incidence of sexual violence. In so doing, it reveals that, contrary to popular misconceptions, rape is neither a ‘natural’ nor a ‘savage’ act but a highly ‘civilised’ one which expresses the foundational philosophies of Anglophone Western culture in a sexualised, gendered form. Specifically, it shows that sexual objectification, which presents women as little more than ‘rapable bodies’, is part of a far wider pattern of normalised objectification developing from the Anglophone West’s underlying belief that some lives are worth less than others and so may be legitimately used and ‘consumed’ for personal gain. Expanding this to include analysis of men who commit sexual violence, it also establishes that perpetrators’ ‘rapist mentalities’, or the modes of thought and relation that enable and motivate rapists to commit rape, function as interpersonal, gendered expressions of the Anglophone West’s celebration of and reliance upon exploitation, conquest and coercive rule. Through these arguments, the thesis ultimately demonstrates that rape is not only an act of gender violence but also an inevitable manifestation of the dominant culture of the Anglophone West at large which can be fully addressed and challenged only by expanding analytical frameworks to include broad socio-cultural critiques and diverse social justice activism. In taking this position, the thesis expands understanding of rape beyond the limits of existing research and raises significant issues for both future scholarship and the ongoing struggle against sexual violence.

Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Amy L. Hubbell / According to Feminist Theory, the social construction of gender is carried out through ritualistic or performative acts in everyday life. The idea of “doing” gender, or the “understanding of gender as a routine accomplishment embedded in everyday interaction” has been commonplace in this field for over three decades (West and Zimmerman 125). Contemporary French author Anna Gavalda toys with typical gender stereotypes in her novel Ensemble c'est tout creating characters who “do” gender and culture utilizing a mix of stereotypical and subversive gender traits. In this thesis I will discuss and analyze how Gavalda's main characters simultaneously accept and reject many gender stereotypes, displaying a variety of masculine and feminine traits in their daily lives, performing their genders in an unconventional fashion, and promoting an ideal of androgynous behavior. In the end, Gavalda manages to create a sort of “spatial justice” in which the characters fulfill more than just the traditional roles society expects from them. The majority of Gavalda's work integrates French culture, specifically the French meal, in order to set the tone. True to form, she highlights the importance of commensality in French society with considerable amounts of the story's intrigue taking place around meals. The meals themselves become performative acts, ritualized and carried out in much the same way as gender. Gavalda promotes the institution of the French “repas” and the conviviality that accompanies it. Her representations of food and gender beg a variety of questions relating to the role of the modern French woman's appetite and femininity, hierarchies in (and out) of the kitchen, as well as the notion of class in relation to eating well. By combining typical gender expectations with more subtle subversion of societal roles, is Gavalda in fact cooking up a recipe for an androgynous kitchen? The integration of these gender behaviors built around the institution of the French “repas” underscores a shift in the current societal standards promoting a new collective ideal for social change.

A collection of poetry surrounding the themes of women, language, and Bachelard's concept of poetics of space.

The axe of the house is a collection of poetry written and collated over three and a half years. The vast majority of the poems are about women: these are women’s voices usually recounting specifically female experiences. Many of these female poems were informed by the confessional mode, as appropriated and transmuted by the contemporary women writers I read and studied. The collection begins with confessions of my own in poems like “Anne Askew’s ashes” and “Jean,” and then moves on to include love poems like “Prayer” and “Gulls,” which are also at least partially autobiographical. Also confessional, but not autobiographical, are the poems at the centre of this collection. These are poems in which women from various different walks of life speak about their inner lives. Some of these women, like the speakers of “Hate mail” and “Silver Ghost,” are my own creation, while others, like “Mrs Rochester,” are borrowed from elsewhere. These poems examine intimate relationships from various angles: marriages, one night stands and vicious rivalries are all explored via a first person narrative. Body image is also a common theme. There are a few poems which are more overtly political, delivering feminist messages about the ways patriarchal society portrays and often ostracises women. “Harpies,” for example, looks at women who are seen to have no sexual worth, while “The picture in your mind when you speak of whores” concerns women whose only perceived worth is sexual, dismissing the various marginalising stereotypes that exist around sex workers. The collection moves farthest away from its examination of the female experience in the poems towards the end. However, these poems form a travelogue in which privilege of various kinds is examined and critiqued. Poems like “Witch” and “Belongings” are still concerned with the lives of women, while “Big heat” uses a female narrator to examine the more recognised privileges of wealth and mobility. These ideas recur in poems like “Barcelona diptych” and “Highway: Skagit County, WA,” but the poems that round off the collection are also attempts to capture a sense of place and space. Throughout this work, there are poems that are particularly interested in liminal space: several of the poems in the collection, including “Poltergeistrix” and “The women” look at the hours and days immediately after death. The space between travel destinations is also liminal, and these final poems attempt to make sense of it – finally succeeding with “Hydra,” which delivers a sense of acceptance and advocates living ‘in the moment’. The critical section, “Entangled in biographical circumstances,” looks afresh at the female confessional poem, most commonly associated with Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton and Adrienne Rich. With reference to the works of these literary foremothers, I focus on the ways in which a new generation of women poets has been inspired to adopt this mode. As well as noting the often hostile response of male critics to confessional work by female writers, I examine the very different ways in which Sharon Olds, Sapphire and Liz Lochhead work in the confessional tradition to produce poetry that speaks candidly about the inner lives of women. I also discuss the ways in which the work of these three poets has influenced and shaped my own poetry.

The discussion of Islam and their view of the Koran is constantly ”under fire” where everyone has an opinion, even the non-muslims. In this paper, the goal was to find out how the believers themselves interpret and see the Koran. The focus of this study is mainly on two suras in Koran, sura 4 verse 3 and sura 4 verse 129. The purpose of the study is to analyze the Muslim feminist authors’ views on polygamy and their focus on the two suras. The material is from four different feminist authors that writes about polygamy, their view and opinion on polygamous marriages and about the polygamous message in the Koran. The study demonstrates that the feminist authors argue from similar basis when discussing polygamy. The two most common arguments that the authors use is argument of fairness, where there is no logic to why, the otherwise so fair God, isn’t it then it comes to the terms of polygamy. Another argument that the authors bring up is the evolutionary argument, which the authors believe that the interpreters of the Koran in the present should take into account the historical development when they interpret the suras. The four different authors bring up similar arguments but different views on how polygamy in Islam and in the Koran should and can be interpreted.

In recent years, the young adult genre has become increasingly popular and is experiencing a "second golden age.” It might be expected in such novels, when written by women and featuring gifted female heroines, to find some kind of a feminist message. Indeed, the heroines are often perceived as strong and capable. However, they fall in line with several old gender stereotypes. The three novels chosen for this study are: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard and An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. I will show that women, although perceived as strong and capable on the surface, often conform to stereotypes. In order to do this I analyse how women are portrayed from different perspectives. Women are often perceived as passive in romantic situations, and objectified through the normative male gaze. It is interesting that also in novels written by women for women, the male gaze is prominent. Through this the female reader gains the desire to be objectified, implicitly from the narrative, which is something that works against women’s empowerment in society. Furthermore, the female protagonists rarely, or never, threaten patriarchy in any way and generally work toward reinstating patriarchy which is perceived as the only sensible option. Women in power, who do threaten patriarchy, are portrayed as sadistic witches.

The heart of this thesis is an examination into the relevant differences between Nietzsche’s perspectivism and standpoint theory. Briefly, both standpoint theory and perspectivism have been subjected to various charges that dissolve into two major ones, which are worthy of additional scrutiny: the charges of essentialism and incoherence. My overall argument in thesis is that standpoint theory, in spite of recent feminist defense, is still susceptible to these charges, and this proves counterproductive to its aims of combatting marginalization. Moreover, I argue that Nietzsche’s perspectivism provides a corrective to the short comings of standpoint theory.

The main theme in this thesis is potentials for increased user participation in the development of ecological sanitation technologies. The argument is that ecological sanitary engineering can be regarded as a heterogeneous practice that needs to incorporate environmental considerations as well as users’ knowledges and aspirations. To be a heterogeneous engineer therefore means to acquire skills for advanced dialogue with the users and other stakeholders, rather than providing finished technical solutions. In a case study in rural South Africa, I found that much of the responsibility for taking initiatives for the transformation of the water supply and sanitation systems lies with the community. By contrast, a case study of ecological sanitation in urban Sweden revealed that there was generally very little room for user involvement; instead, sanitation specialists presented a picture of the users as recipients of technical systems and information. These two different cases form the basis for a discussion about the relationship between users and specialists and pose the question of how we can encourage participatory technology development practices that users, specialists and ecosystems can endure. On the basis of feminist theory, technoscience and participatory methodologies, I have identified some criteria for feminist sanitary engineering. These include recognition of diversity, feminism beyond gender/deep feminism, reflectivity and heterogeneous engineering, and action research and user participation. The transformation of sanitary engineering towards the inclusion of these criteria is a long-term process, which needs to begin with reflection among sanitation specialists. / Temat i avhandlingen är möjligheten till ökad brukardeltagande i utvecklingen av ekologiska avloppsalternativ. Två studier ligger till grund; en i Sydafrika, där det lokala samhället har stort ansvar för vatten och avlopp, och en i Sverige, där ingenjörer inom kommunen har ansvar för systemen. Några kriterier för en utveckling av feministisk VA-teknik har identifierats, nämligen erkännande av mångfald, feminism bortom könstänkande, reflektivitet och heterogen ingenjörskonst, aktionsforskning och brukardeltagande.

Denna studies huvudsakliga syfte var att undersöka ett mindre antal kristna feministers ställningstaganden i abortfrågan och hur dessa kan förstås ur moralpsykologiskt perspektiv. Utifrån studiens moralpsykologiska teorier gjordes också en ansats att hitta gemensamma värden hos de informanter som var för respektive mot abort, eftersom dessa värden enligt teorin kan ligga till grund för en pragmatisk lösning i abortkontroversen. Som bakgrund till studien låg kristen och feministisk etik med fokus på just abortfrågan. Halvstrukturerade kvalitativa forskningsintervjuer var den metod som användes för att genomföra undersökningen. Den hermeneutiska spiralen användes för att analysera och tolka intervjuerna vilka visade att studiens kristna feminister övergripande är för abort som en pragmatisk lösning fram till Jesus återkomst och förverkligandet av Guds rike.