Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 395 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 360-395).

The gender and climate change literature has set out to underscore the differential impacts of climate change within populations. Much of this literature has conflated gender to equate to women, and has focused mostly on women in the developing world, mainly in rural areas where women are usually assigned reproductive social roles and seen as victims of climate change. This overlooks the intersecting and multiple identities of women, their role and voice as agents of change in all regions, and does not use the full range of feminist theory and methods. This dissertation uses feminist geography to challenge the dominant scales and sites of climate change governance and draws attention to the micropolitical, situated, and relational practices through which power relations surrounding climate change are (re)produced. The overarching research question is: How can we include gender and intersectional voices in the study and practice of climate governance? More specifically, I examine how gender and climate policies were and are created; I expose how discourses of gender and climate change are perpetuated and by whom; and I make clear the relationship between these discourses and social inequality and vulnerability to climate change. Paper A examines the experiences of women who are authors of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports and finds that while some women experience active forms of gender discrimination such as silencing or being dismissed, other have a more positive experience, but encounter barriers such as lacking childcare or support from their employers. Paper B shows how feminist geography can investigate the micropolitical and everyday interactions in important geopolitical spaces. It finds that the simple formulation around gender in international climate debate erases important differences amongst women and their struggles; creating an identity politics that excludes people with similar goals, weakening potential for positive change. Paper C contests the mainstream climate change and gender discourse that constructs the ‘third world women’, showing women in rural Mexico as agents of change instead of vulnerable and passive victims and including self-reflection on my own fieldwork. The appended paper shows that, in most cases, carbon offset projects have consolidated gendered regimes of differential access to markets and economic opportunities while also reifying property tenure structures that may further exacerbate gendered distinctions.

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This bachelor thesis had the aim to investigate how young female students experience their safety situation in their own neighbourhood, around the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Previous research shows that women tend to feel more fear of crime in public spaces than men, and this feeling is restricting their mobility in time and space. This gender structure is a worldwide phenomenon and is by feminist geographers explained as an expression of the patriarchy. A phenomenological approach was used in this research to gain an understanding of how this gender structure is affecting individual female’s lives. The used method was focus group interviews and two groups were interviewed, with totally seven respondents. The sessions were analysed by using constructivist grounded theory and partly narrative analysis. The interviewees explained that there were certain spaces that they experience as dangerous, foremost dark places without visibility and few people passing. They also stated that places where people had been robbed, raped or kidnapped earlier were more threating. The potential criminal was portrayed as a non-student male, and the male students were described as their potential protectors. The fear was always present in their lives, they felt more or less unsafe in all parts of the campus and even in their homes. This threat restricted their daily mobility in both time and space, and they used different strategies to avoid different types of crimes.

By taking the experiences and narratives of Indonesian women in Malaysia as the empirical material, this dissertation offers an analysis on spatialised power practices in the context of paid domestic workers. Family survival prompts these women to work abroad, but patriarchal norms shift their economic contribution as supplementary to the men’s role as the breadwinner. The interviews reveal that these women chose Malaysia as their destination country after having listened to oral stories, but despite the transnational mobility involved in their decisions, they are rendered immobile in the employers’ house. Furthermore, the analysis shows an intricate ensemble of power relations in which gender, class and nationality/ethnicity interact with each other, inform and reproduce spatialised domination and labour exploitation practices by the employers. Immigration status of the workers, meanwhile, puts them in a subordinated position in relation to the employers, citizens of the host country. Without the recognition from the state on this particular form of embodied labour, the employers are responsible for defining the working conditions of the workers, leading to precarious conditions. Findings on several resistance practices by the workers complete the analysis of power practices, where resistance is treated as an entangled part of power. Contributing to the study of gendered geographies of exploitation, the study identifies the home and the body as the main levels of analysis; meanwhile, practices at the national level by the state, media and recruitment/placement agencies and globalisation processes are identified as interrelated factors that legitimate the employers’ practices of exploitation. Finally, the dissertation contributes to feminist geography analysis on gender, space, and power through South-South migration empirics.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T18:15:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tamires Regina Aguiar Cesar.pdf: 3193289 bytes, checksum: 120689b904c32bda73dfd86175b1a20f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-12 / This research aims to understand the gender relations as an element of the geographic scientific production in Brazil. The path of understading this phenomenon was drawn by a gathering of 90 online scientific journals undercontrol by geographic entities and available to be accessed with the classification of Qualis System – CAPES between the layers A1, A2, B1, B2, B3, B4 and B5, based on the three-year period 2013 – 2015. The collected papers found in these journals presented an universe of 13.990 papers. For comprehension of the current configuration of the postgraduate studies in Brazil, it was made a data collection on the 55 universities with postgraduate studies programs in Geography, which allowed the composition analysis of the teaching and student staff from theses programs, reflecting on the publication of papers. In the same way, it was realized a search in editorial boards of 90 online journals released for access. The dada presented show that the scientific field of the brazilian geographic science is marked by these structural elements that are inserted in daily practices of the legal and institutional systems, keeping a productivity hierarchy of the scientific knowledge. Even if the brazilian geographic science presents a relevant female participation when compared to the male, the women have a less significant participation. It is evident that the gender and sexuality thematics, even inhibited by hegemonic geographic patterns, still has researchers that dare and challenge the fixed borders in scientific field. / Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo compreender as relações de gênero como elemento da produção científica geográfica no Brasil. A trajetória de inteligibilidade do fenômeno foi traçada em torno de 90 periódicos on line científicos mantidos por entidades geográficas e disponíveis para acesso com classificação no Sistema Qualis – CAPES entre os estratos A1, A2, B1, B2, B3, B4 e B5, com base no triênio 2013 - 2015. A coleta dos artigos encontrados nesses periódicos apresentou um universo de 13.990 artigos. Para entender a atual configuração da pós-graduação no Brasil, foi realizado um levantamento nas 55 universidades com programas de pós-graduação em geografia, o que possibilitou a análise da composição do corpo docente e discente destes programas, que refletem nas publicações dos artigos científicos. Da mesma forma, foi efetivado um levantando nos corpos editoriais dos 90 periódicos on line liberados para acesso. Os dados apresentados comprovam que o campo científico da ciência geográfica brasileira é marcado por seus elementos estruturais que estão inseridos nas práticas cotidianas dos sistemas legais e institucionais, mantendo uma hierarquização da produtividade do conhecimento intelectual. Assim, ainda que o campo científico geográfico brasileiro, apresente uma significativa participação feminina, quando comparada à masculina as mulheres tem uma participação menos significativa. Comprova-se que a temática de gênero e sexualidades mesmo inibida pelos padrões geográficos hegemônicos ainda conta com pesquisadores (as) que ousam e desafiam as fronteiras fixadas no campo científico.

Essa pesquisa trata das múltiplas relações de poder entre corpo e espaço, em diferentes escalas, envolvidas na prática de interrupção voluntária da gravidez. A criminalização do aborto provocado não impede que milhares de procedimentos clandestinos sejam realizados anualmente no Brasil. A ilegalidade contribui para a insegurança da prática, constituindo um problema de saúde pública porque coloca em risco a vida das mulheres. Contra essa situação, movimentos feministas vêm lutando pelo aborto legal e seguro em nome da saúde, dos direitos sexuais e (não) reprodutivos e da autonomia corporal das mulheres. Nesse contexto, o estudo buscou compreender como as práticas de aborto provocado envolvem múltiplas escalas territoriais de poder e resistência, procurando responder três questões centrais: No que consiste a prática de aborto provocado? Como as relações entre corpo e espaço podem ser evidenciadas a partir de uma perspectiva escalar dessa prática? E, nesse sentido, como o corpo pode constituir uma escala de resistência? Para dar conta da proposta, o referencial teórico-metodológico apoiou-se, sobretudo, nas correntes feministas da Geografia que entendem que o espaço não é neutro do ponto de vista das relações hierárquicas de gênero e em abordagens territoriais multiescalares. ( Continua) As estratégias de investigação incluíram coleta de dados realizada por meio de uma ampla pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, além de nove entrevistas semi-estruturadas, com mulheres brasileiras, entre 24 e 38 anos de idade, que tiveram pelo menos uma experiência de aborto clandestino. O tratamento dos dados consistiu na transcrição das entrevistas, categorização e análise de conteúdo. O estudo mostrou que a prática de aborto provocado consiste em um tema complexo, que envolve aspectos jurídicos, médicos, religiosos, econômicos e emocionais. Além disso, com a restrição do aborto seguro, feito em ambiente hospitalar, a apenas três situações previstas em lei (estupro, risco de vida para a mulher e anencefalia do feto), as mulheres acabam recorrendo às clínicas clandestinas ou ainda ao aborto caseiro, provocado com medicamentos adquiridos no mercado ilegal. Assim, as práticas clandestinas e as lutas pela descriminalização do aborto analisadas ao longo do estudo são exemplos de resistência e subversão às normas estabelecidas, reforçando a afirmação de que o corpo pode constituir espaços de resistência. / This research deals with the multiple relations of power between body and space, at different scales, involving the practice of voluntary termination of pregnancy. The criminalization of induced abortion does not prevent thousands of clandestine procedures from being performed annually in Brazil. Illegality contributes to insecurity in the practice and constitutes a public health problem. Against this situation, feminist movements have been fighting for legal and safe abortion in the name of the health, the sexual and (non) reproductive rights and the women's bodily autonomy. In this context, the study looked at how abortion practices involve multiple territorial scales of power and resistance, trying to answer three main questions: What is the practice of induced abortion? How can the relations between body and space be evidenced from a scalar perspective of this practice? And, in that sense, how can the body constitute a scale of resistance? In order to achieve this proposition, the theoretical-methodological reference was based, above all, on the feminist currents of Geography, which understand that space is not neutral from the point of view of hierarchical gender relations, and in multi scalar territorial approaches Research strategies included data collection carried out through an extensive bibliographical and documentary research, in addition to semi-structured interviews with nine Brazilian women, between 24 and 38 years of age, who has, at least, one experience of clandestine abortion. Data processing consisted in transcription of the interviews, categorization and content analysis. The study showed that the practice of induced abortion consists of a complex matter that involves legal, medical, religious, economic and emotional aspects. In addition, with the safe abortion (made in a hospital environment) legal restrictions to only three situations (rape, risks to the woman’s life and anencephaly), women resort to clandestine clinics and/or to drugs purchased in the illegal market. Thus, both clandestine practices and struggles for the decriminalization of abortion analyzed throughout the study are examples of resistance and subversion to established norms, reinforcing our statement that the body can constitute spaces of resistance.

Livability, sustainability, and accessibility in urban public space are growing concerns in urban research and policy agendas. The professional field, however, lacks perspectives for public space qualities. Academic research about women and girls’ involvement in the re-design of public spaces is scarce. The Swedish suburb of Fittja in Botkyrka municipality is characterized by modernism and functionalism and at the beginning of a large refurbishment process. In 2018, think tank Global Utmaning initiated #UrbanGirlsMovement Botkyrka with the purpose of improving the public spaces of Fittja together with multiple stakeholders, particularly girls and young women from Fittja. In this case study, multiple methods and concepts from feminist urban geography and public space research are applied to examine how livability is illustrated and understood by girls and in which ways these learnings can inform urban public space policies. The results highlight ways to discharge patriarchal structures in public space using a compact and multifunctional urban form, accessible to all citizens through a variety of unprogrammed activity options, vibrant hangspace and green beautification. A feminist approach to urban livability shows the importance of understanding the diversity of perspectives to livability in public space, and that these perspectives matter for how we understand planning principles.

Women are increasingly active in the participation and consumption of travel, and are now recognised as a growing force within the tourism industry. This trend is linked to changing social and political circumstances for Western women around the world. Within Australia specifically, women's opportunities for education and for earning equitable incomes through employment have improved. Furthermore, traditional ideologies of the family have shifted, so that social expectations of marriage and the production of children do not yield as much power as they once did. As a result of these shifts, women living in contemporary Australia have a wider range of resources and opportunities with which to access an ever-increasing array of leisure/travel choices. It appears that one of the many ways in which women have been exercising their relatively recent financial and social autonomy is through independent travel. The solo woman traveller represents a growing market segment, with research showing that increasing numbers of females are choosing to travel alone, without the assistance or company of partners, husbands or packaged tour groups. However, little empirical research has explored the touristic experiences of solo women travellers, or examined the constraints and challenges they may face when journeying alone. 'Constraints' have been described variously as factors which hinder one's ability to participate in desired leisure activities, to spend more time in those activities, or to attain anticipated levels of satisfaction and benefit. While the investigation of constraints has contributed to the leisure studies discipline for a number of decades, the exploration of their influence on tourist behaviour and the tourist experience has been virtually overlooked. Research has shown that despite the choices and opportunities women have today, the freedom they have to consume those choices, and to access satisfying leisure and travel experiences, may be constrained by their social and gendered location as females. Although theorisations of constraint have remained largely in the field of leisure studies, it is argued and demonstrated in this thesis that there is potential in extending constraints theory to the inquiry of the tourist experience. Grounded in theoretical frameworks offered by gender studies, feminist geography, sociology and leisure, this qualitative study set out to explore the impact of constraints on women's solo travel experiences. Forty in-depth interviews were held with Australian women who had travelled solo at some stage of their adult lives. Adopting an interpretive and feminist-influenced research paradigm, it was important to allow the women to speak of their lives, constraints and experiences in their own voices and on their own terms. In line with qualitative methodologies, it is these women's words which form the data for this study. Based on a 'grounded' approach to data analysis, the results reveal that constraints do exist and exert influence on these women's lives and travel experiences in a myriad of ways. Four inter-linking categories of constraint were identified, namely socio-cultural, personal, practical and spatial. Further definition of these categories evolved, depending on where the women were situated in their stage of the solo travel experience (that is, pre-travel or during-travel). The results of this study show that there are identifiable and very real constraints facing solo women travellers. These constraints could stem from the contexts of their home environments, or from the socio-cultural structures of the destinations through which they travelled. However, these constraints were not immutable, insurmountable or even necessarily consciously recognised by many of the women interviewed. In fact, it became increasingly evident that women were findings ways and means to 'negotiate' their constraints, challenges and limitations. Three dominant negotiation responses to constraint could be identified; the women could choose to seek access to solo travel when faced with pre-travel constraints: they could withdraw from solo travel because of those same constraints, or they could decide to continue their journeys as a result of their in-situ constraints. Evidence of women negotiating suggests that constraints are not insurmountable barriers, and confirms that constraints do not necessarily foreclose access to travel. Furthermore, a focus on negotiation re-positions women as active agents in determining the course of their lives and the enjoyment of their solo travel experiences, rather than as passive acceptors of circumstance and constraint. Linking with the concept of negotiation, solo travel was also shown to be a site of resistance, freedom and empowerment for these forty women. Through solo travel, it was apparent that the women could transgress the structures and roles which influenced and governed their lives. This thesis shows that, through solo travel, the women interviewed found an autonomous and self-determining 'journey of their own'. At the same time, the extent to which this really was a journey of their own was questioned and revealed to be problematic under a feminist/gendered lens. Thus a more appropriate concept of women's solo travel is that it is a 'relative escape'. That is, their journeys, escapes and experiences were always situated relative to the societal expectations and perceptions of home; relative to the gendered perceptions and ideologies of the destination, and relative to the limited spatial freedoms as a result of a socially constructed geography of fear.