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This dissertation advances a critical appropriation of Thomas Aquinas's thought on the virtue of humility. Humility has received relatively little scholarly attention since early modernity, and the attention it has received has been largely negative, due to humility's association with religiously inspired attitudes that diminish the human drive for excellence. In recent decades a small number of philosophical and religious ethicists and political theorists have argued that humility, properly understood, is indeed a virtue. However, these accounts have not paid sufficient attention to the way various forms of oppression force a shift in thinking about what humility is and why it is of value. Feminist thought illuminates the social and psychological dynamics of oppression, but it has almost completely ignored the topic of humility. Where humility has been discussed by feminists, it has generally been dismissed as supportive of patriarchy and thus destructive of women's well-being. Humanity is in need of a new account of humility that answers to important criticisms. This dissertation offers such an account by critically appropriating Aquinas's thought on humility. It argues that humility is crucial to the realization of relational selfhood, and it definitely promotes the common good, but only if its operations are coordinated with the exercise of courage and justice.

This dissertation is an investigation of doulas as agents of social change through the lens of feminist theory. Doulas are nonmedical health care workers who provide physical, emotional, and informational support during pregnancy, childbirth, and/or the postpartum period. Because of doulas' willingness to work within the structures of the hospital setting, some have questioned the effectiveness of doulas as change-makers. While much feminist scholarship on the politics of birth centralizes the issue of medicalization, I demonstrate that expanding this line of analysis aids in better understanding the cultural impact of doula care as part of a larger picture of reproductive health advocacy. Through discourse analysis, participant observation, face-to-face ethnographic interviews, and online surveys, I track the goals and effects doulas ascribe to their work, both activist and professional, and on both an individual and group level. Rather than asking whether doulas can successfully challenge the medicalization of birth, I seek to understand how the doula movement contributes to social justice through challenging various overlapping axes of inequality, related to race, class, gender, and sexuality. This analysis highlights the work of doulas in marginalized communities that is, as yet, under-researched and under-appreciated, while also illuminating the multifaceted effects of the dominant medical model of birth. I observe that doulas are increasingly working to empower people in multiple facets of their lives, beyond the birthing room. Rather than being incapable of, or uninterested in, creating social change, doulas are increasingly bringing a new political consciousness into birth work, as evidenced by the emerging designations of "radical doula" and "full spectrum doula." I argue that this movement among doulas represents a new paradigm in birthing rights activism, which connects childbirth choices to a larger reproductive justice agenda and forges connections between birthworkers and activists for causes such as LGBT rights, abortion rights, prisoners' rights, and economic and racial justice. By reimagining the reach of their work, many doulas are drawing necessary connections to social justice issues that are often overlooked in the childbirth reform movement, which tends to focus on medicalization as the primary issue.

Este estudio propone analizar la percepción de mujeres de una familia limeña que pertenecen a tres generaciones diferentes sobre el discurso feminista en el desarrollo de su vida. El discurso es una red de prácticas y acciones, junto con el género se forma el discurso feminista y de la identidad femenina que juegan un rol importante en la vida de las personas. Se trabajará bajo un enfoque cualitativo que involucra la técnica de historia de vida, las entrevistas realizadas a las tres mujeres de una única familia revelan que hay un cambio en sus actitudes y cosmovisión tales como dependencia masculina, métodos de crianza patriarcales y liberales, contextos y estereotipos femeninos. / This study proposes to analyze the perception of women from a Lima family who belong to three different generations about feminist discourse in the development of their lives. The discourse is a network of practices and actions, together with gender, feminist discourse and feminine identity play an important role in people's lives. It will work under a qualitative approach that involves the life history technique, the interviews conducted with the three women of a single family reveal that there is a change in their attitudes and worldview such as male dependence, patriarchal and liberal parenting methods, contexts and female stereotypes. / Trabajo de investigación

This work will examine the Genesis creation narratives through an ecofeminist critical lens to illuminate the ambivalence regarding both the ecological and feminist concerns pertinent to ecofeminist criticism. While ecology and feminism are major issues in today’s social and political climates, ecofeminism and its presence in biblical scholarship is not as prevalent as one might think. When it is discussed, authors come to varying conclusions on the Bible’s stance about either nature or gender, and discussions that consciously espouse ecofeminist methodology are so far insufficient. This work utilizes the documentary hypothesis in order to examine the parallel narratives of creation in Genesis 1-3 from an ecofeminist perspective. This way, the text is treated as two independent works in order to juxtapose ambivalent ecofemininist themes within the text. Ultimately, this analysis proves the ambivalence of these narrative themes within the scope of Genesis 1-3 and confirms that no clear biblical stance can be established using these scriptures alone.

This thesis examines how the Me too-movement was received by a particular segment of the Russian population, as well as possible underlying reasons for this. As contextual background, attitudes toward feminism in Russia are discussed, as well as how the Soviet heritage, the Orthodox Church and relations to the West have shaped these. The method of this study is qualitative analysis of an anonymous online questionnaire, the results of which are interpreted in light of feminist concepts, as well as cultural-historical factors. The analysis of the questionnaire is supplemented by a comparative analysis of discourse concerning the Me too-movement in two media outlets during the relevant period of time: one state-owned and one independent news source. The analysis reveals that the Me too-movement was perceived in a largely negative way, and that it is not well-known as a consequence of it being alienated andobscured by the media coverage. Keywords: Me too, Russia, feminism, activism, West, media

This dissertation broadens the scope of our understanding of the gay liberation movement in the United States by situating it in the wider intellectual, cultural, and political currents of the three decades following the Second World War. By examining the personal papers of key gay and lesbian activists in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as well as the print media that disseminated their ideas to a nationwide public, it demonstrates the profound influence of the social thought of the 1940s and 1950s on the movement, and traces that reception by way of social movements: in particular, the new left, radical feminism, and the youth counterculture. It shows that midcentury theorists in a range of disciplines offered a distinct way of understanding the relationship between society and the self that inverted established hierarchies, thus enabling gay liberation activists and writers to anchor their vision of social transformation in the reconstruction of sexuality, gender, and the psyche. This dissertation focuses not only on the content, but also the context, of the gay liberation print culture, and in so doing reveals the scale and depth of the movement’s public sphere, thus contributing to scholarly knowledge of the nascent networks and solidarities that the underground press made possible, including among gays, lesbians, and transgendered people in prisons, rural areas, and in the military. It shows that as the cultural values and social upheavals that nurtured gay liberation receded in the course of the early 1970s, the utopian aspirations with which the movement began gave way to an interest-group pluralism and a depoliticized preoccupation with private life. This dissertation therefore clarifies the extent to which gay liberation was both a brief and exceptional moment in the longer trajectory of gay and lesbian politics in the United States and an expression of longings and anxieties that were widely shared by many Americans in the postwar era.

The purpose of this study is to examine if, and in that case how feminism is being used as a marketing tool known as “femvertising” in the two firms; Libresse and Ida Klamborn. These two firms were selected as both are specialised in products for young women and are known for their girl power advertisements. The study looks at how neoliberalism infiltrates all aspects of society, affecting the people in it, and making individuals look at themselves as market entities. Furthermore, firms are seen by the people as symbols for their own values, causing goods and services to be marketed as identities to serve the individual person’s values. This study examines how these identities affect the individual person as well as how social media, marketing and company profiles describe that their own products produces a certain identity. The study examines if the two firms are using feminist expressions, descriptions and statements on their webpages, company profile, as well as their Instagram pages. The study also investigates whether the firms use feminist associations to sell identities and how these identities are being advertised to their customers. The study concludes that the neoliberal society has made an impact on how we look at feminism and how it is being advertised. By studying the two firms different platforms the study concludes that Ida Klamborn and Libresse are using feminist expressions, descriptions and statements in their marketing and company description even though they neither claim to be nor deny being feminist. It is also found that there is a clear connection between neoliberal theory and third wave feminism. It has been made clear that both Libresse and Ida Klamborn try to establish a relationship with their consumers through social media with advertisements containing a feminist agenda. This study also concludes that more information and material is needed in order to give a more conclusive answer, although it gives a brief insight into how femvertising works and how it can be identified.

Denne uppsatsen undersøker det nyere kulturelle trendfenomenet Normcore, i relasjon til  femininitet, feminisme, sosial klasse og kjønnsroller. Hensikten har vært å få en dypere forståelse for hvilke konsekvenser det har for kvinner å gjennom denne unisex (kles)stilen motsette seg tradisjonell femininitet, både for deres syn på egen identitet og kropp, samt hva det gjør med tradisjonelle (kvinnelige) kjønnsroller i stort. I tillegg har jeg ønsket å finne ut av og eventuelt problematisere gjennomgående privilegerte og/eller normative posisjoner disse kvinnene innehar, og således ved hjelp av et interseksjonelt, queer og postfeministisk perspektiv diskutere hvem som kan forstyrre normen og samtidig passere.  Analysen er basert på enkeltintervjuer med fire kvinner i tjueårene i Bergen, Norges nest største by, hvor uppsatsen har tatt sitt utgangspunkt.

Dejting online är idag socialt accepterat och en stor del av dejtingmarknaden, där Tinder är en av många appar för att söka en blivande partner. Studien har som syfte att utifrån ett intersektionellt perspektiv, se hur olika kvinnliga erfarenheter av sökande efter kärlek ser ut på dejtingappen Tinder. Studien syftar även till att undersöka om kvinnorna har några erfarenheter av diskriminering när de söker efter en blivande partner. Utifrån Eva Illouz studie om sökandet efter kärlek har vi byggt vidare på ett intersektionellt perspektiv. Studien bygger på en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och består av 8 intervjuer med kvinnor i åldrarna 23- 45 år. I vårt resultat såg vi att kvinnor med högre utbildning har en ökad medvetenhet kring feministiska värderingar och ett generellt intresse för politiska frågor, vilket de även uttryckte som viktiga värderingar hos en framtida partner. De med högre utbildning var även tydliga med vilka värderingar eller politiska uppfattningar de var emot hos en framtida partner. Många av kvinnorna beskriver att de upplevt sexism och diskriminering när de varit i kontakt med män på Tinder, där några av kvinnorna med utländsk bakgrund uppgav att de fått nedlåtande kommentarer på Tinder av män som var kopplade till deras etnicitet.