Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-100).

Traditionally and historically certain jobs have been recognized as male or female professions leading to the assumption that the barrier crossing men and women working in these gender atypical jobs are being less masculine and less feminine. The aim of this study is to examine similarities and differences among male social workers and female police officers in the experience of being a gender minority in their workplace and how it effects the construction of their gender identity. Working with a qualitative approach and using semi-constructed interviews the study was conducted by interviewing a total of five social workers and four female police officers, in six different communities, about their personal experiences of being a gender minority in a gender atypical job. The result shows both differences and similarities between the genders and their occupation; on a personal level neither of the respondents seemed to have a problem working in a gender atypical job although admitting that working in a “female” and “male” profession  had effects on their personality but not on how they viewed themselves as men or women. On a group level the respondents experienced both differences and similarities; both genders talked about being stereotyped into taking on certain tasks but also about having advantages of being male or female in certain situations. Further on the female police officers talked about being pushed aside to give room for the male colleagues while the male social workers experienced the opposite; being more acknowledged. On a societal level respondents from both groups were talking about a shift in societies showcasing that the view on men and women and what is considered male and female have been or in a process of being disintegrated. The results were seen from a social constructionist viewing point and were interpreted and analyzed using following theories and theoretical concepts: Stereotype, gender, role theory, identity, gender identity and the theory about the mirrored self.

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Not available / text

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / English / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Literary and Cultural Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

The aim of this essay is to examine the narrated experiences of three Trans- masculine activists in relationship to the emergence of a new term "hembros" as a forum for diverse forms of gender expression and subjectivity. The present study is an attempt to examine gender expression from a nomadic subjective approach and a queer phenomenological theoretical framework. The results of this study have shown that gender expression, although not free from the tensions that social sanctions present, could be proposed from different locations of embodied gender subjectivity. Meaning that awareness about the gender system and the structures of power, and working within those frames, one can create new notions of gender expression, taking the body as a starting point.

This dissertation explores the impact of gender ideologies held by medieval readerships on the production of books and circulation of texts in late medieval England. The first chapter explores how the professional book trade of late medieval London circulated booklets of Chauceriana which constructed masculinity and femininity in strict adherence to the courtly love literary tradition. In the second chapter, I demonstrate that such a standardized representation of courtly gender could be adapted by a readership removed from the professional book trade, in this case the rural gentry producers of the Findern manuscript, who present a revised vision of femininity and courtliness in their anthology. This revised femininity includes several texts which privilege the female speaking voice. The third chapter goes on to investigate the use of the female voice in one particular genre, the love lyric, and asks if the female lyric speaker can be associated with manuscripts in which women participated as producers or readers. Finally, the fourth chapter turns to masculinity, examining how the commonplace book of an early 16th century grocer, Richard Hill, contains selections from didactic and recreational literature which reinforce the ideals of masculine conduct in the merchant community of late medieval London. The dissertation concludes that manuscript contexts must be taken into account when reading gender in medieval English literature.

This research explores how formal employment outside the household affects the gendered identity of married women. A comparison of ten married white women who are not gainfully employed and ten married white women who are gainfully employed has been used to determine whether or not formal employment has an impact on gender identity. Tajfel's social identity construction theory argues that member of devalued social groups will strive to construct positive self-concepts by either reinterpreting the prevailing beliefs surrounding social categories or by challenging these beliefs. I focus on the division of women and men into the private and public spheres according to 'innate' abilities. Patriarchal ideology has devalued the social category 'women' and the domestic sphere. This research aimed to determine whether or not these gainfully employed married women were challenging patriarchal ideology and therefore renegotiating their gendered identities. This study focuses on three aspects: the role of work in the formation of a positive self concept; the experience of motherhood; and the double-shift. It was found that gainful employment although not altering a woman's gendered identity did result in a more positive self-concept because of public recognition and financial rewards. However, the experience of motherhood for employed married women remains integral to their gendered identity as women and they experience guilt and anxiety because they do not remain at home. Lastly, the household chores remain primarily a woman's responsibility, even when she is employed outside the household, resulting in a double-shift. The interviews for this study demonstrate that married women who are employed ful-time outside the household do not challenge the patriarchal ideology which shapes their gendered identity. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.