In this thesis, I examine the role of queerness, solidarity and movement in anti-war activism relating to the 2006 Lebanon War. I investigate two events called "Out Against the Occupation" that were organized during the summer of 2006 in response to the war. These events emerged as a queer response to the context of various gay pride events held throughout the war that failed to develop an anti-war response to the war in Lebanon. These gay pride events include the Divers/Cité festival held annually in Montreal, the first World OutGames held in Montreal, the World Pride events held in Jerusalem and the Queeruption gathering held in Tel Aviv. I argue that we must rethink the role of movement, queerness and solidarity in order to understand how movements of resistance emerge. I do so by examining the role of subjectivity in how we come to move and orient ourselves towards others. / Dans ce mémoire, j'examine le role de la sexualité queer, la solidarité et le movement dans les mobilisations contre le conflit israélo-libanais de 2006. J'examine deux événements appelés "Out Against the Occupation," organisés durant l'été de 2006 en reaction à la guerre. Ces événements émergaient d'une réaction allosexuelle au contexte de plusieurs événements se rapportant à la fierté gaie qui ont été organisés durant la guerre au Liban. Ces événements se rapportant à la fierté incluaient le festival Divers/Cité à Montréal, le premier "World OutGames" à Montréal, les événements World Pride à Jerusalem et la réunion "Queeruption" à Tel Aviv. Je propose qu'on devrait repenser le rôle du mouvement, de la sexualité queer et de la solidarité pour comprendre comment les mouvements de résistance émergent. Je l'accomplis en examinant le rôle de la subjectivité dans la façon dont on se déplace et s'oriente vers les autres.

This study examined the caregiving identities of Taiwanese women who have siblings with cerebral palsy. It is based on 12 in-depth qualitative interviews with 6 women who were at least 20 years of age, each of whom self-identified either as the family member most involved in caregiving or as the only sister of the sibling with cerebral palsy. The results of the study suggest that the provision of current and future care to siblings with cerebral palsy is a complex phenomenon that contributes to how these women view themselves. Caregiving is informed by four processes associated with the provision of care to their siblings: (a) caring through interpretation (b) caring through transformation (c) caring through protection and (d) caring through sacrifice. Engaging in these four processes of providing care to others created unique considerations and tensions in carrying out other roles these women assume in their lives. More specifically, these tensions had to do with their negotiation of relationships with their mothers, considerations pertaining to who they will marry or have already married, the denial of their right to inherit family properties, as well as their desire and expectation to provide ongoing care to their sibling with CP after marriage. In the study, we observed that these women internalized the sexual division of labour in their families and in their culture; they perpetuated the gender system that requires mothers and sisters to engage in family care. Therefore, greater attention must be brought to the promotion of a more equitable sharing of caring tasks by men and women in the family and to the designing and implementing of long-term care policies adapted to the unique characteristics of Taiwanese society. / L'identité d'aidante naturelle des taïwanaises avec frères ou sœurs atteints de paralysie cérébrale Résumé Cette étude a examiné l'identité d'aidante naturelle des taïwanaises qui prennent soin de leurs frères ou sœurs atteints de paralysie cérébrale. Elle est basée sur 12 interviews détaillées avec 6 femmes âgées d'au moins 20 ans. Ces dernières se sont identifiées soit comme les uniques sœurs des personnes atteintes de paralysie cérébrale ou encore comme les personnes les plus impliquées dans la provision de soins. Les résultats de cette étude suggèrent que la provision de soins présents et futurs aux frères ou sœurs atteints de paralysie cérébrale est un phénomène complexe qui contribue à la perception de soi de ces femmes. Ce phénomène est influencé par quatre processus associés à la provision des soins : (a) soins par interprétation (b) soins par transformation (c) soins par protection (d) soins par sacrifice. L'implication dans ces quatre processus a crée pour ces femmes des considérations uniques et des tensions dans d'autres domaines de leur vie. Plus précisément, ces tensions sont liées à la négociation des relations avec leurs mères, à leurs choix de conjoints, à la répudiation de leurs droits à la succession, ainsi qu'à leurs aspirations et attentes relatives à la provision de soins continus à leurs frères ou sœurs atteints de paralysie cérébrale après le mariage. Étant donné que les femmes ont assimilé la division du travail dans leurs familles et dans leur culture, et qu'elles continuent à vivre dans un système qui demande que les mères et les sœurs s'impliquent dans les soins familiaux, plus d'attention doit être accordée à la promotion d'un partage plus équitable des soins prodigués par les hommes et les femmes dans les familles. Plus d'attention doit aussi être portée au développement de politiques de soins à long terme adaptés à la société taïwanaise.

<p>The aim of this study was to explore representations of gender, race and sexuality in a select group of South African magazines - Men's Health, FHM, Blink, True Love, Femina and Fair Lady - between 2003 and 2005. From a feminist poststructuralist perspective, it was argued that these magazines presented particular subjectives as normative / privileging and centerig one pole within dichotomies of gender, race and sexuality.</p>

In Canada, there is the perception that boys are scoring consistently below girls in academic ranking, particularly in the area of literacies. Is there a bias? Is the school system promoting a certain type of 'boy'? Is hegemonic masculinity regularly promoted within the Grade 1 classrooms, in particular regarding literacies? If so, how? Are alternative masculinities encouraged and performed by the boys? This research was conducted over six months, from January to June 2009, in four Grade 1 public school classrooms in two schools in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Along with participant-observation in these classes, interviews were done with students, both individually and in groups. A theoretical framework supported by Butler's idea of performance of gender and Foucault's notions about the creation of self guide this exploration. The findings of this research concluded that, though alternative masculinites were performed, hegemonic masculinity was still regularly promoted within the schools.

Decision makers at every level of society, local, national and international, along with NGOs and civil society are committed to alleviating abject generational poverty. In the context of what many refer to as the ‘feminization of poverty', my dissertation focuses on girls during their early adolescent years in order to uncover the barriers that are present and which prevent them from exiting a life of poverty. By using participatory methodologies, in particular photovoice, we hear directly from ten girls between the ages of 10 – 14 who describe their experiences of living a life of poverty. In my engagement with the girls what became apparent is the impact of pre-determined roles and responsibilities on girls living with poverty. Many of these are noticeably absent in capacity building, poverty and gender related literature. Also absent in discussions related to girls living with poverty and capacity building is a spotlight on the influential role of cultural and societal norms resulting in the lower status of girls. The impact of culture and societal norms becomes self-evident in discussions with the girls, particularly after the girls' conducted community-based interviews with their grandmothers, mothers or aunties. Comprehensive data is often missing which includes specific barriers that emerge in a girl's life including attending school, achieving optimum health, accessing diverse economic opportunities, as well as achieving independence and empowerment. In this study, the importance of obtaining data directly from girls living with poverty becomes evident. For example, girls living intimately with poverty will identify barriers which may not be readily visible to researchers and decision-makers who do not share the same life experience. Only by understanding the diverse barriers that are present in young adolescent girls' lives that prevent them from accessing capacity building opportunities like education and literacy will decision makers be able to develop capacity building policies that will have a higher probability of being relevant, meaningful and high-impact. And only when these capacity building policies have quality of life as key success indicators, can girls living with poverty access a higher quality of life – a clear objective for research and policies related to girls, capacity building and poverty. / Les décideurs à tous les niveaux de la société, locaux, nationaux et internationaux, de concert avec les ONG et la société civile, consacrent leurs efforts à réduire la pauvreté générationnelle abjecte. Dans un contexte que plusieurs décrivent comme la féminisation de la pauvreté, ma thèse se concentre sur des jeunes filles au début de l'adolescence, afin de découvrir quelles barrières sont présentes et les empêchent de se sortir d'une vie de pauvreté. Utilisant des méthodologies participatives, en particulier photovoice, nous entendons les récits de dix jeunes filles entre 10 et 14 ans qui décrivent leurs expériences de vie dans la pauvreté. Ce qui est ressorti de mes échanges avec ces jeunes filles est l'impact de rôles et responsabilités pré-déterminées sur les jeunes filles vivant dans la pauvreté. Plusieurs de ceux-ci brillent par leur absence dans la littérature scientifique sur le renforcement des capacités, la pauvreté et le genre. Est également absent des discussions reliées aux jeunes filles vivant dans la pauvreté et au renforcement des capacités un éclairage sur le rôle influent des normes culturelles et sociétales entraînant un statut plus bas chez les filles. L'impact des normes culturelles et sociétales devient évident au cours de discussions avec les jeunes filles, particulièrement après qu'elles aient réalisé des entrevues au sein de la communauté auprès de leurs grand-mères, mères ou tantes. Il manque souvent de données complètes incluant des barrières spécifiques qui émergent dans la vie d'une jeune fille, incluant fréquenter l'école, atteindre une santé optimale, avoir accès à des opportunités économiques diverses, atteindre l'indépendance et se prendre en main. Dans cette étude, l'importance d'obtenir des données directement de la part de jeunes filles vivant dans la pauvreté devient évidente. Par exemple, les jeunes filles vivant intimement dans un contexte de pauvreté identifieront des barrières qui ne sont pas nécessairement visibles pour des chercheurs et décideurs qui ne partagent pas la même expérience de vie. C'est seulement en comprenant les diverses barrières présentes dans la vie des jeunes filles, particulièrement au début de l'adolescence, qui les empêchent d'avoir accès à des opportunités de renforcement des capacités telles que l'éducation et l'alphabétisation que les décideurs pourront développer des politiques de renforcement des capacités qui auront une plus grande probabilité d'être pertinentes, significatives et d'avoir un grand impact. Et c'est seulement lorsque ces politiques de renforcement des capacités auront la qualité de vie comme indicateurs principaux de succès que les jeunes filles vivant dans la pauvreté auront accès à une meilleure qualité de vie - un objectif clair pour la recherche et les politiques reliées aux jeunes filles, au renforcement de capacités et à la pauvreté.

No description available.

<p> From early to middle childhood, girls normatively begin to show a shift towards masculinity. Preschools are filled with "girly girls" whereas elementary schools show a high prevalence of girls self-identifying as tomboys. In contrast, boys' masculinity remains stable without a similar shift towards femininity. One possible explanation for this discrepancy is children's awareness of male prestige. As children become more aware that males are valued over females, I hypothesize that children may be motivated to approach masculinity and possibly avoid femininity. The current study uses archival data and examines whether awareness of male prestige is associated with an approach towards masculinity exhibited by children's gender attitudes. Participants included 217 six-year-old children who were interviewed. As hypothesized, the more that children believed that others had a higher regard for boys compared to girls, the more favorable were their attitudes towards boys, and the less favorable were their attitudes toward girls.</p>

<p> The post-apocalyptic narrative has been imagined time and again in American literature and popular culture. More often than not, it is presented as a dystopian future in which all signs of humanity and the world as we know it are lost. Through an examination of nature and environment, humanity, and time and futurity within two post-apocalyptic texts&mdash;Cormac McCarthy's novel <i>The Road</i> and Robert Kirkman's graphic novel <i> The Walking Dead</i>&mdash;this thesis explores the manner in which heteronormativity is presented and, more importantly, the ways in which this type of dominant order can be and are disrupted. Reading against the grain, I explore definitions "normative" and "nonnormative," "human" and "monstrous" within the post-apocalyptic narrative in an effort to suggest that these definitions are complicated in an attempt to present the post-apocalyptic future as a space for multiple potentialities and possibilities of living.</p>

In response to contemporary moral and feminist criticisms regarding the hypothesised effect magazine discourses of sexuality have on readers, this thesis explores how six groups of adolescents and young adults respond to representations of sexualities from the teen and women's magazines Cosmopolitan, Cleo, Girlfriend and Dolly. Drawing upon theories of poststructural feminism, cultural studies and audience reception this work expands upon existing magazine literature by attending to the ways teen and women's magazines are interpreted and talked about by different groups of adolescents and young adults. This analysis fills a gap in contemporary magazine research, which has generally failed to address how gender and sexuality, as they are portrayed in contemporary periodical publications, are made sense of by readers. Therefore, in focusing on reader talk this thesis is also able to address the ways in which individual and collective identities are constructed interactively in the socially specific context of focus group discussions. Attention is given to looking at the complexities surrounding the relationships that exist between magazine reading, representations of sexuality and adolescents and young adults through an examination of the discourses girls, boys, young women and young men draw upon in their talk on magazine representations of sexualities. I argue that readers of magazines are active producers of meaning who think and talk about magazine representations of sexualities in a variety of complex, contradictory and often ambiguous ways. Research participants employ interpretive repertoires, drawn together from various new, traditional and alternative discourses about sexuality, in the process of attributing meaning to contemporary sexualities, as both cultural objects and aspects of everyday life. Thus, rather than take up and accept the sexual subject positions that magazines make available to readers, the talk of the research participants in this project illustrates how sexualities are constantly being negotiated. The articulation and performance of masculine and feminine sexualities is therefore recognized within this thesis as a highly contradictory, contextual and negotiated process.

The purpose of this study is to examine political crimes in and women’s political activity in 18th century Sweden. The cases of political crimes which has been used range from 1700- 1789 and they form an outline of the patterns of political crime in this century. These cases contain different types of political crimes, but most common ar defamation of the royal family, defamatory writings, rumor-spreading and treason. To study women’s political activity, seven cases ranging from 1749 to 1758 have been more closely studied. All of these cases belong to the category defamation of the royal family. The study has shown that the frequency of cases of political crime fluctuates and incidents are most common between 1740 to 1759. Furhtermore different kind of crimes are more common in different periods of time. Treason is most common between 1710 and 1714 and cases of rumor-spreading only exist between 1740 and 1759. Few cases of these crimes being commited by women have been found, in only 19 out of 426 cases is the perpetrator a woman. These cases show that the demfamatory words whih are used depend on who they are used towards. The king is criticized for his politics, whereas the queen’s character is insulted. The study has also shown that there is no evidence that it was considered odd for women to commit these crimes, which can be connected to the different view on gender in early modern times.Keywords: Gender, Politics, Political crimes, treason, defamatory words, royal family, 18th century, Sweden.