This thesis is a qualitative ethnographic inquiry that explores how to apprentice senior secondary school students into critical awareness of gender issues within the Hong Kong New Senior Secondary Liberal Studies (hereafter NSSLS) curriculum context. The project attempts to engage students in thinking about gender issues from different levels of criticality or critical thinking. It was guided by the following research questions: (a) What Discourses of gender are co-constructed, negotiated or/and resisted by the NSSLS curriculum and teachers and students? (b) What Discourses about critical thinking are co-constructed by the NSSLS curriculum and teachers and students? (c) Is it possible to enhance these students’ critical thinking regarding gender issues in the NSSLS subject? To this end, an intervention unit on gender stereotyping designed with genre-based pedagogy was taught and co-taught by the researcher in one traditionally Chinese as the medium-of-instruction (TCMI) and one traditionally English as the medium-of-instruction (TEMI) secondary schools. The study had three stages and adopted multiple research methods, triangulating ethnographic data from interviews, classroom observation, and students’ writing assignments. In the first stage, the pre-intervention stage, the intervention unit was designed by the researcher and the LS teachers in the two schools. Interviews were conducted with focal students to gain insights of their perceptions of gender stereotypes. Pre-measure writing assignments were also given to the students to investigate their cognitive academic language proficiency and gender identities. In the second stage, the intervention unit was respectively taught and co-taught by the researcher and lessons were video- and audio-taped in both schools. In the third stage, the post-measure writing assignments were given to the same groups of students to interpret the potential effectiveness of the unit. Additionally the focal student informants from both schools were interviewed again. Data analysis drew upon theoretical perspectives from poststructuralism, social constructivism and critical theories. Specifically Reisigl and Wodak (2009)’s discourse-historical (DHA) approach to CDA, positioning theory, and other discourse analysis tools were used to examine the Discourses of gender and criticality embedded in the teaching and learning of NSSLS in the two schools. It is found that the Discourses of gender equity, essentializing gender differences, resistance and submission to traditional gender norms, together with the Discourses of criticality such as multiple perspective thinking and writing logical and substantiated arguments are constructed and re-constructed across different fields of action of the NSSLS subject. It is also revealed that some students embody higher critical gender awareness after the intervention unit. Taken as a whole, the study shows that it is a difficult and yet still possible task to raise students’ critical gender awareness in the NSSLS subject. It is hoped that the study will serve as a springboard for future research on critical literacy/pedagogy in NSSLS and longitudinal studies on the itinerary of transformation of secondary school students’ gender identity in a time of change for the Asian societies. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This phenomenological qualitative study is informed by integrated theories including a social constructionist perspective on human sexuality, sexual identity development models, heterosexism with theoretical support of minority stress model and feminist theory. The aim was to uncover the lived experiences of 20 male sexual minority students navigating heterosexism in secondary schools, within the socio-cultural context of Hong Kong Chinese society. Due to the invisibility of sexual minority adolescents in Hong Kong, purposeful sampling was used to recruit informants who were having same-sex sexual attractions and/or sexual behaviors/sexual identity. Over the period 2008-2011, twenty male informants, aged 14 to 19 and currently enrolled in secondary schools, were recruited for in-depth interviews. In terms of community labels, these informants might be known as gay, bisexual, memBa, tongzhi, tongxinglian, and those who are still questioning their sexual identity. Parental consents were waived for informants under eighteen years old and alternative measures were carried out to safeguard confidentiality and their best interests. Qualitative data analyses via a software package NVivo yielded several overarching themes: 1) “exploring my sexuality in school”; 2) “feeling powerless over overt homophobia”; 3) “feeling alienated over heteronormative assumptions”; 4) “feeling oppressed over silencing”; 5) “angry over curriculum omission”; 6) “distressed with risk stories”; and 7) “empowered with stories of resilience”. The results suggest that with variations in their sexual identity developmental process, they defined and interpreted their sexualities with reference to the specific social cultural context of Hong Kong, especially linked to the Christian value, Chinese Confucianism and Western human rights concepts. In the process of exploring a stigmatized sexual identity within schools, the informants generally felt powerless, alienated, and oppressed when encountering psychological and cultural heterosexism, manifested through overt and subtle forms by individuals and the systems within the school context. In the process of navigating homophobia and heterosexism, informants shared both risk and resilience stories. The current findings will be helpful for those in the teaching and counseling professions. These professionals can also help raise public awareness of this group of students in order to eliminate the social stigma, prejudice, and discrimination that still plague sexual minorities. Recommendations are made for further research, education policy, professional training for teachers and counselors, and support services for sexual minority students. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Education

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Contemporary Western feminist scholarship fails to explore the backdrop to the naturalization of feminine subjugation. By analyzing the structures, histories, and theories of gender relations, this study dislocates femininity from its ascribed Otherness and, in doing so, demonstrates how empowered femininities have been overlooked or rendered invisible within gender studies. Femme, as the failure or refusal to approximate the patriarchal norms of femininity, serves as the conceptual anchor of this study and is used to examine how femmephobic sentiments are constructed and perpetuated in contemporary Western feminist theory. In part, this perpetuation is achieved through the pedagogical and theoretical exclusions from the texts chosen for gender studies courses, revealing a normative feminist body constructed through the privileging of identities and expressions. Privileging of identities is demonstrated through the designation of literary space and in an overview of dominant theories, such as how the feminine subject is maintained as the object of critique and as not able to be “properly” feminist. This assessment of gender studies course texts reveals a limited understanding of femme and femininity that maintains these identities as white, middle-class, normatively bodied, and without agency. Feminist theory demonstrates an embedded normative feminist subject, one marked by whiteness and body privileges. By deconstructing the privileging of theories of the normative feminist subject, this study argues that gender studies has replicated feminist histories in which the politics and concerns of the white socially privileged subject are the first to be addressed. While white femininity is present in hir Otherness and in critiques of hir femininity, the racially marked femme does not exist, even in absence. The femme—as a queer potentiality—offers a way of thinking and re-thinking through the limitations of contemporary Western feminist theory and the paradoxical preoccupations with the absented femme. / Thesis (Master, Gender Studies) -- Queen's University, 2013-09-09 19:36:29.903

Through a case study of female traditional healers who practice same sex relationships, this study attempts to provide some reasons for the opposition to same sex-relationships in Africa. The main question that the study grapples with is: If traditional healers practice same sex relationships, why does the Zulu community (and African communities in general) insist that same sex relationships are “un-African?” Given that homosexuality has been labeled as “un-African” and “un-cultural”, how does one explain the existence of homosexual relationships amongst Zulu sangomas, who are considered the custodians of culture? The study draws on the experiences of ten female traditional healers from Kwa-Ngcolosi and Inanda. The data was produced through workshops, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Queer theory and African feminist cultural hermeneutics were the lenses through which the data was analyzed. The findings show that beliefs in procreation as a means for the continual survival of the ancestors in the community and beliefs in the supremacy of the male in society as demonstrated in the killing of lesbians are the major reasons for the rejection of same sex relationships in African societies. The study concludes that within the traditional belief systems of the ancestors, women do have authority and can choose alternative relationships. Furthermore, in the sphere of traditional healing, recognition is given to different sexualities. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Men and masculinity studies is a significantly developed field of research in Western scholarship and has gained increased interest in Africa, particularly in South(ern) Africa. This study: “Godly Manhood”: Evangelical Constructions of Masculinities in A South African Context – A Case Study of the Mighty Men’s Conference (MMC) is one that seeks to make a contribution in this field of research from a religion (Christian theological) and gender perspective. The study investigates how faith discourses within the Mighty Men’s Conference (MMC) shape perceptions and constructions of masculinities within contemporary Protestant (mainly, Charismatic, Evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity) in post-apartheid South Africa. The study sought to analyse the extent to which Angus Buchan and the MMC’s call for men to return to ‘godly manhood’ either re-inscribe patriarchal conservatism or contribute towards gender-social transformation. In seeking to examine what it means to be ‘Mighty Men’ and “godly men,” the study illustrates how faith discourses within the MMC as a Charismatic, Evangelical and Pentecostal religious grouping inform representations of masculinities. As the study reveals, Charismatic Evangelical theology, beliefs, and gender traditions/ideologies presented by Buchan in his MMC informs perceptions of what is understood as an ‘ideal’ Christian man. These, as the study shows, influence constructions of masculinities achetyped in patterns of ‘godly manhood’ as a process of “recreating Christian masculinity.” The study applied drawing on intersectionality as a conceptual framework. The study showed how religion intersects with other socio-cultural, political and economic factors that necessitate changes as Christian men seek to make sense of their masculine self at the cross-roads of various socialisations. Such changes seem to contribute to representations of emerging masculinities within this context of study. The study adopted a qualitative, multi-methods research design and in addition to my personal observations from the conferences, semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirty four men who have been attending the MMC. Analysis of findings reveals that there are multiple representations and constructions of contradictory and conflicting representations of masculinities within divergent voices of what it means to be ‘Mighty Men’ and practice ‘godly manhood.’ Although certain core commonalities regarding the concept of ‘godly manhood’ emerged from the thirty four men interviewed across the three shades of conservative, Charismatic and Pentecostal Evangelicals, this study makes two important conclusions. First, it indicates that ascriptions to “godly manhood” inculcated by Buchan and the MMC not only portray patterns of traditional and conventional masculinities, but also remain a patriarchal motivation for restoring Christian male supremacy, control and domination. Second, the study illustrates that while Charismatic Evangelical men have a desire to change, their ascription to ‘godly manhood’ is characterized by struggle between traditional/conventional male practices and a need to embrace egalitarian views of gender relations. Such results indicate the extent to which contemporary Charismatic and Evangelical Christianity portray expressions of masculinities which are ambivalent. The study concludes questioning whether Jesus Christ can be a resource for transforming religiously constructed masculinities. The study proposes alternative Christological discourses as counter-models to traditional and patriarchal masculinities. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2014.

Anthropology has long understood that cultures proscribe gender-specific roles. This thesis explores how gender role dynamics in America may contribute to more college women going abroad to study than college men. The past decade of data consistently indicates that two-thirds of American students studying abroad are female. While this statistic seems counterintuitive to the stereotype that Americans rear boys to be adventurous and girls to be protected; ethnographic methods were primarily used to identify and analyze the cultural scripts that influence female decision-making among this population. This research will reflect the web of complex and competing cultural scripts students face regarding the decision to study abroad, many of which are at least influenced by gender and socially transmitted by their families. / Department of Anthropology

The retail sector spends millions of dollars each year advertising to consumers. This is a considerable investment for companies seeking effective ways to inform and persuade the consumer. Consequently, retailers need to develop creative message strategies and tactics that will positively affect consumer attitudes. One particular tactic available to retailers is the use of a spokesperson in the advertisement. Salespersons are used in numerous advertisements and can provide key benefits to an advertiser. However, to maximize these benefits, retailers need to carefully select the spokesperson that will be most effective for their store and product. This purpose of this research is to examine the characteristics that influence consumers' perceptions of print advertisements that include a spokesperson in the advertisement. Most of the past literature concerning spokespersons has concentrated on the consumer perspective of meeting and interacting with a living, breathing person. This research seeks to use the past research on salespeople to examine the spokesperson as a cue in a print advertisement. In this perspective, the consumer views the spokesperson from a visual-only perspective. The proposed experiment will utilize print advertisements from two retail businesses. More specifically the study will investigate how consumers react if the individual viewed in the advertisement is typical (matches with their preconceived stereotype) or if the salesperson is atypical (does not match with their preconceived stereotype). This research also examines how men and women are viewed differently in the spokesperson role and how changes in physical appearance may impact consumers' perceptions. The research also studies the influence of spokesperson stereotypes on consumers' cognitive responses.

This study employed quantitative and qualitative methods to examine gender trends and the quality of gender interactions at the United States Naval Academy (USNA). In addition to gender, midshipmen demographics, experiences, personality types, interests, and graduation outcomes were compared within and across gender for graduation years, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2004. Representation of women has increased to the current high of around 16%. Further, the data revealed similarities and differences between men and women in terms of their non-gender characteristics. Women's SAT scores and Cumulative Quality Point Ratios (QPRs) are on par with the men's. Proportionally, women are more likely to be extroverts and varsity athletes than are men. Women are less likely to be technical majors. Women are being afforded leadership experiences to the same extent as men. Perceptions regarding gender relations and cohesion were assessed through focus groups conducted with 110 midshipmen. Although gender representation has increased, and the Administration is credited with improving the explicit climate, there does not yet exist a completely gender-neutral or women "friendly" climate. The preponderance of findings regarding gender interactions at the Naval Academy suggests that male midshipmen have yet to fully accept female midshipmen. The Naval Academy must continue to confront the subsurface issues and dynamics persisting amongst male and female midshipmen. Recommendations include making an institutional commitment to improving gender interactions and company cohesion, securing alumni cooperation, and involving midshipmen in improving the gender climate.

M.A. / The aim of this study was to generate hypotheses concerning personality functioning of androgynous individuals, and more specifically within the context of marital relationships. Ideally, a holistic view of a person in his/her unique life situation should be taken into account in scientific research. In order to limit this study only two personality concepts were studied, self concept and locus of control. it must be kept in mind , however that there is an ecological interaction between many more and unknown factors and granting that it is artificial to isolate only two factors from encompassing whole.