Thesis advisor: Laurie Shepard / "Rhetoric of Imagination and of Sprezzatura in Louise Labé and Isabella Andreini" redefines the relationship between gender and imagination in the act of writing. The goal is not to argue that women write in a different manner than men, rather, by reading their texts together with male contemporaries, this work illustrates how writers engaged in various strategies, and in particular the rhetoric of imagination and of sprezzatura, to establish themselves within the literary culture of the period. Labé (c.1520-1566) and Andreini (1562-1604), grant themselves the authority to write by modeling their needs on the examples set by their male counterparts. The Introductory Chapter consists of a statement of the purpose of the study, its significance, and an outline of the work; it also includes biographies of Louise Labé and Isabella Andreini and contextualizes their socio-economical status. Chapter 1: Prefaces in Louise Labé and Isabella Andreini, A Means to Self-Promotion, analyzes the prefaces of Labé and Andreini, in which they solicit patronage. This practice is an important tool for those seeking social mobility, security, and recognition by others. Chapter 2: Rhetoric of Imagination in Louise Labé and Isabella Andreini, elaborates the role and essential androgyny of imagination. By focusing on the fundamental characteristics of this faculty, its "power of sensory representation," this dissertation argues that Petrarca and Montaigne's idea of imagination is intimately related to man's desire to transform reality, to produce images and, ultimately, to engage in the act of writing, and both Labé and Andreini self-consciously reflect on this function in their words. Both writers develop a rhetoric of imagination that permits them to surpass the very question of gender by taking a position of power with respect to their writing and their rights as authors. Chapter 3: Rhetoric of sprezzatura in Louise Labé and Isabella Andreini, examines how Labé and Andreini use sprezzatura as a rhetorical strategy that allows them to identify with their male ounterparts and cross the boundaries of society while seeking "fame." From my analysis of imagination and sprezzatura I have observed that these are two conditions that create tension between their private and public spheres of Labé and Andreini. On the one hand, imagination is a mental effort, and belongs to the realm of the private; and, on the other, sprezzatura is tied to the rules of eloquence, thus belongs to the realm of the public. In their texts this duality manifests itself through the interplay of the androgynous "I" which masks their identity. In conclusion, this study shows how Labé and Andreini manipulate the existing dominating structure of society to fit gender expectations. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Romance Languages and Literatures.

Thesis advisor: Timothy A. Duket / Abstract The primary goal of this research was to examine men's and women's meta-stereotypes, the stereotypes that group members expect out-group members to hold about their own group, and out-group stereotypes, the stereotypes that group members hold about the opposite gender. It was predicted that the magnitude of these stereotypes would be greater among individuals with higher sexism scores than among individuals with lower sexism scores. Results of this study indicate the existence of meta-stereotypes and out-group stereotypes held by men and women, along with specifying the adjectives that comprise these views. At the same time, only weak correlations were found between levels of sexism and magnitudes of meta-stereotypes and out-group stereotypes. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2003. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Psychology. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

PhD, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand / When a woman is killed she is most likely to be murdered by an intimate partner. This form of homicide known as intimate femicide is conceptualised to be the most extreme consequence of intimate partner violence. Not much is known about such killings in South Africa or in other developing settings. This thesis studied intimate femicide using two complimentary studies from two methodological perspectives. The first study was quantitative with the aim of describing the incidence and pattern of intimate femicide in South Africa. The second study used qualitative methods and explored the social construction of the early formation of violent masculinities. Five papers written from these two studies are presented in this thesis. Study one was a retrospective national mortuary-based study and collected data on all female homicides, 14 years and older, who died in 1999 from a stratified, multi-stage sample of 25 mortuaries. Data was collected from the mortuary file, autopsy report, and a police interview. The second study used a cluster of qualitative in-depth interviews with 20 incarcerated men in prison who have been convicted for the murder of an intimate partner, as well as interviews with family and friends of both the perpetrator and the victim. Overall it was found that 50.3% of women murdered in South Africa are killed by an intimate partner, with an intimate femicide rate of 8.8/100 000 and an intimate-femicide suicide rate of 1.7/100 000 females 14 years and older. Blunt force injuries were shown to be associated with intimate killings, while gun ownership was associated with intimate femicide-suicides. vi Elevated Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) combined with unemployed status was also found to be associated with intimate killings. The qualitative study showed that traumatic childhood experiences such as violent and neglectful parenting practises particularly by mothers made these men feel unloved, inferior and powerless with this found to be a pathway to violent models of masculinity used as a means to attain power and respect. This study shows that such traumatic experiences can lead to a suppression of emotions. It is argued that cognitive dissonance act as a protective mechanism which allows these men to perpetrate acts of violence without consideration of its impact. These findings suggests that intimate femicide is a complex phenomenon with a “web” of associated and mediating factors which all contribute to it excessive levels in South Africa. It shows that intimate femicide is an extension of intimate partner violence and as such has to take into account the unequal gender relations in society. Building gender equity and shifting patterns of femininity and masculinity is a key strategy in reducing this form of violence.

This study was directed at exploring the personal constructions of young males who had self selected as peer counselors, of what it means to be a man in South Africa at this time in history. One of the goals identified was to highlight and examine both hegemonic and alternative versions of masculinity and, in particular, to examine how young men position themselves in relation to these constructions. In order to investigate the research question, ten adolescents/young men participated in focus group discussions on the topic of masculinity. The participants included 8 school boys, 5 white and 3 black, attending a private, all boys school, as well as 2 black university students. All participants had self selected as peer counselors. The study is located in the qualitative research tradition which allows for depth of description and interpretation. The three focus group discussions held (two at the boys school with 4 participants in each, and one at the university) were recorded and transcribed verbatim. These transcripts were then subject to a critical thematic content analysis. The main themes were identified and the four themes which emerged as dominant in the conversation and occurred most regularly across all three groups are analyzed and discussed. These themes are emotional stoicism, normative heterosexuality, gendered division of labour and displayed toughness. Under each theme material supporting hegemonic constructions of masculinity and material supporting alternative constructions of masculinity is discussed as a separate sub-theme. The impact of the role as peer counselor on participants’ constructions of masculinity is also discussed. A brief meta-theoretical discourse analytic commentary is also provided, addressing for example, strategies employed by participants to maintain their sense of masculinity in the discussions. This study highlights the fluidity and plurality of masculinity as well as the struggle of adolescent boys and young men as they engage with where and how to position themselves as masculine. A main finding or observation is that some degree of alternative masculinity will be countenanced provided there is evidence of an acceptable baseline of hegemonic or traditional masculinity in a boy or man.

Thesis advisor: Celeste Wells / This thesis examines the ways in which millennial women are prone to gender bias in their evaluations of female presidential candidates and the factors that contribute to millennial women’s gendered expectations for female presidential candidates. In order to respond to these areas of inquiry, the researcher applied social role theory and system- justification theory to survey and interview data collected from a population of Boston College undergraduate women. Ultimately, it was found that millennial women are prone to gender bias when evaluating female presidential candidates and that the gender beliefs that prompt this bias are so deeply ingrained that they appear almost inevitable. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Communication.

This study draws from qualitative interviews with seven teenage girls in several areas of mid-Sweden. In various degrees, all girls participate in the A-traktor culture. The purpose of the study is to examine how teenage girls construct femininity in the A-traktor culture. It also focuses on how the subculture shape and constrains an A-traktor girlhood. The study showed that the girls participating in the subculture are doing femininity through different negotiations and strategies. The A-traktor girlhood negotiates conventional norms and practices within the subculture as well as with structural conventional norms related to young girls outside the subculture. In order to gain recognition as authentic members of the A-traktor culture, the girls adapt to the masculinized norms in the subculture. Hence, the A-traktor girlhood’s gender negotiations were constrained by the normative framework of the subculture. But the masculinized norms of the culture could also create opportunities for the girls to ”trouble” their performances of femininity to a greater extent compared with the time before entering the A-traktor culture. The A-traktor girlhood’s alternative discourses and practices gave the girls room to maneuver within and also in opposition to the masculinized codes and norms in the subculture. The spatial A-traktor culture and its masculinized normative framework could be used as a place where the girlhood could oppose to societal conventional notions of femininity. The study draws its theoretical framework from gender as performative, spatial orientation and intersectionality. Research on girlhood, youth culture and motor culture has also been essential in the process of analyzing constructions of femininity and girlhood in the A-traktor culture.

This study examines women's employment in Iran between 1979-1997, analysing the changing position of the Islamic state in reaction to economic circumstances and women's responses. In making this assessment the interaction between economic circumstances, the institutionalisation of gender inequality and also the responses of women are examined. This study demonstrates that economic forces and women's struggle for change undermined the Islamic state's gender relations. The Islamisation of state and society which followed the 1979 revolution involved an attempt by the Islamic state to seclude women within the home in accordance with the state's gender and employment policy and practices. The power of the state to transform gender relations, however, was constrained by the Iran - Iraq war, as the survival of many families depended on women's earnings. The end of the war with Iraq and the return of men to the workforce did not result in women's return to the home. Economic reconstruction and inflation increased women's participation in the workforce. This study demonstrates that in 1997, women's participation in the labour force, despite a rigid sexual division of labour imposed ideologically by the Islamic state is no less than it was in pre-1979. However, the state continued to strengthen patriarchal relationships within the home, employment and wider society, thus maintaining that women's participation in the workforce is by nature temporary and that ultimately a woman's place is in the home. Women of different classes and with different levels of religiosity responded to the economic circumstances and the state's gender ideology. Their participation in the political movements and their active role in the economy has raised gender consciousness. The result is an alliance between religious and secular women in urban areas who have demanded reforms and forced the Islamic state to return to the position of the reforms of pre-1979 in relation to women and the family, and women's education and employment.

This thesis explores issues round gender and job segregation which emerged during a qualitative study of the different work experiences and attitudes of over fifty female and male computer programmers, in a number of computer software companies and in two internationally renowned manufacturing organizations. The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate the emergence of a sexual division of labour in this occupation and thus illustrate the process of segregation. It explores a qualitative approach to the study of vertical segregation in the computing industry amongst computer programmers. It uses Foucault's concept of discourse to suggest that a number of discourses are productive of gender segregation at work.

Previous research into the supply-side causes of gender segregation in the workplace, i.e., career aspirations and choices, has identified that gender, particularly masculinity, can explain some of the variance in aspirations. However, there are several flaws with this line of research, including the measurement and conceptualisation of gender, and in that it does not explain how or why gender is related to career aspirations and choices. Here, I propose a process of ‘dynamic fit’ to explain the relationship between gender and careers, in which individuals choose careers that ‘fit’ with their gender, but gender can also be changed to ‘fit’ with gendered careers. In this thesis, I aimed to examine: a) how contextual information influences the relationship between gender and careers, b) how gender influences careers, and c) how careers influence gender. Over five studies, I found that good ‘fit’ between gender and organisational culture can promote women’s aspirations and expectations, gender norms around work and home can vary this fit, and gender can be influenced by careers-based information. Altogether, this provides some support for the process of ‘dynamic fit’. Therefore, these findings highlight that there is a need for a new theory that explains the process by which gender and careers are linked, and I propose elements that need to be incorporated into this theory, such as a ‘doing’ gender approach, and a reciprocal relationship between gender and careers.

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