Fanfiction provides the unique opportunity to explore disruptions of heteronormativity through tropes. By exploring different fanfictions in the Soulmate AU, ABO Dynamics, and Mpreg tropes, the disruptions indicate a desire to explore gender, identity, and sexuality through queered characters. Male slash fanfiction provides the chance to examine the disruption of the heteronormative through the queering of male characters and placing them into situations that may embrace the feminine or a female-gendered experience. The situating of heterosexual male characters into queered roles allows an examination of how this disrupts canonical ideas of gender, identity, and sexuality. By reviewing the male slash relationships in these tropes, the narratives may explain why the disruption of heteronormativity seems so appealing to fanfiction authors and readers. Heteronormativity restricts exploration of new dynamics and experiences that fanfiction authors and readers may crave to investigate. Disrupting that heteronormativity presents new opportunities for experiences in areas that may receive underrepresentation.

The thesis deals with a friendship between heterosexual woman and homosexual man, the way it is created, the way it is maintained and the threats it has to face. The thesis defines the meaning of essential theoretical concepts such as gender, sexuality, friendship or intimacy and trust. It is based on ten semi-structured interview with women who define the relationship with their gay friends as a close one. It reflects ways, how gender and sexual identities are negotiated in the friendship, puts friendship with a gay man into a broader context of friendly relationships in a heteronormative society and traditional binary oppositions of feminine and masculine. The thesis also looks into strategies of how the informants construct their own identity, identity of their gay friend ad where they place the boundaries of this relationship.

Transgender (TG) persons often receive, or self-treat, with cross-sex hormone (CSH) treatments as part of their treatment plans, with little known about their incidence of breast cancer. This information gap can lead to disparities in the provision of transgender health care. The purpose of the study was to examine the incidence of breast cancer in the largest North American sample of TG patients studied to date to determine their exposure to CSH, incidence of breast cancer, and to compare results with European studies in transsexual populations. We used Veterans Health Administration (VHA) data from 5,135 TG veterans in the United States from 1996 to 2013 to determine the incidence of breast cancer in this population. Chart reviews were completed on all patients who developed breast cancer. Age-standardized incidences of breast cancer from the general population were used for comparison. Person-years of exposure to known CSH treatment were calculated. Ten breast cancer cases were confirmed. Seven were in female-to-male patients, two in male-to-female patients, and one in a natal male with transvestic fetishism. Average age at diagnosis was 63.8 (SD = 8.2). 52 % received >1 dose of CSH treatment from VHA clinicians. All three males presented with late-stage disease were proved fatal. The overall incidence rate was 20.0/100,000 patient-years of VHA treatment (95 % CI 9.6–36.8), irrespective of VA CSH treatment. This rate did not differ from the expected rate in an age-standardized national sample, but exceeded that reported for smaller European studies of transsexual patients that were longer in duration. Although definitive conclusions cannot be made regarding breast cancer incidence in TG veterans who did or did not receive VA CSH due to the sample size and duration of observation, it appears that TG veterans do not display an increase in breast cancer incidence. This is consistent with European studies of longer duration that conclude that CSH treatment in gender dysphoric patients of either birth sex does not result in a greater incidence than the general population.

The author reports on a case series of four inmates who engaged in attempted or completed surgical self-treatment of their gender dysphoria via autocastration, autopenectomy, or a combination in the absence of concomitant psychosis, intoxication, or other comorbidities that could reasonably account for this rare behavior. These behaviors occurred in the context of persistent denials of access to transgender health care in prison settings. The literature on genital self-harm is also reviewed. Incarcerated persons with severe GID may resort to life-threatening surgical self-treatments when persistently denied access to psychiatric evaluation and cross-sex hormonal treatment. In all cases of surgical self-treatment (SST; i.e., autocastration with the primary intent to reduce circulating testosterone levels) the intensity of gender dysphoria decreased compared to reported baseline levels, although symptoms of GID were still present. Of the four inmates, two were able to obtain access to cross-sex hormones after successful litigation at the time of this writing; another was not. One case remains active. This case series expands the limited literature on surgical self-treatment in the form of autocastration and autopenectomy with a focus on the potential influence of incarceration with denial of access to transgender health care.

This thesis investigates Afghan female immigrants’ experiences of their adaptation process in Sweden. It also examines whether gender identity alters among these Afghan women. The study was conducted through a qualitative research approach based on six semi-structured interviews, with its data being analyzed by thematic analysis. The thematic analysis presented the result on the basis of four themes; identity, social relations, cultural differences and the migration process. Further, the results show that most respondents were affected by migration, that they were influenced by social relations and that they experienced cultural differences in Sweden compared to Afghanistan.

I urge here for a reconceptualization of such female protagonists’ embodiments of the trope of strong black womanhood that shows the benefit of troubling these rigid narratives of inclusion which have underwritten and, to wit, regulated black women’s purchase on the discourse. Using the works of Nella Larsen, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ntozake Shange, I propose that while, to be sure, the aforementioned characters do not match the physical expectations for membership into what I suggest may be called the cult of strong black womanhood, their performances of fitness, independence and control combine with their collective demonstrations of emotionally defensive postures, self-sacrificing decisions, and alternately demanding and passive performances to adhere to essential criteria of the strong black woman. Even when these performances may, because of the characters’ class positionality and caste, be expected to fall instead alongside discourses of respectability, I propose that study of the women’s affective labor processes reveals an eschewing of vulnerability that is the key identifier of the archetype. Such performances, I emphasize, are especially harmful as they inter-relationally interrupt and obstruct opportunities for connection, demonstrations of vulnerability and need among women. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2016. / April 25, 2016. / affect, African American women, middle class, strong black woman, twentieth century literature / Includes bibliographical references. / Dennis Moore, Professor Directing Dissertation; Maxine Jones, University Representative; Alisha M. Gaines, Committee Member; Rhea E. Lathan, Committee Member; Maxine Montgomery, Committee Member.

Orientador: Patrícia Borba Marchetto / Resumo: A partir da imposição de uma ordem discursiva heteronormativa heterossexual compulsória, que situa aqueles que não se classificam na bipolaridade (homem/mulher) à margem da própria sociedade é que a abordagem de gênero merece destaque. A transexualidade pode ser caracterizada pela condição do indivíduo que não se identifica psíquica e socialmente com o sexo que lhe fora atribuído na certidão de nascimento, essa condição determina ao indivíduo um excessivo desconforto e uma sensação de inadequação social, de não pertencer ao contexto no qual é inserido. Nesse sentido o presente trabalho analisa a partir do referencial teórico de Alexy por meio de uma dogmática em três diferentes níveis (analítico, empírico e normativo), as dificuldades enfrentadas pelas pessoas transexuais em virtude das omissões legais e estatais, tendo em vista que apesar da garantia dos direitos fundamentais na Constituição Federal, especialmente da dignidade humana, isso não tem se demonstrado eficaz na tutela dos direitos dos indivíduos transexuais. Nesse sentido, na esfera do Poder Legislativo inúmeros foram os projetos de lei para tentar regulamentar a identidade de gênero, no entanto, nenhum foi aprovado, mantendo-se assim a inexistência de uma lei de identidade de gênero no ordenamento jurídico brasileiro, o que acaba contribuindo ainda mais para a marginalização da pessoa transexual, na medida em que a mantém invisível perante as instituições de direito de seu País. No âmbito do Poder Executivo ocorr... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: From the imposition of a compulsory heterosexual heteronormative discursive order, which places those who do not classify themselves in bipolarity (male/female) on the fringes of society, the gender approach deservesattention. Transsexuality can be characterizedby the condition of the individual who does not psychically and socially identify with the sex assigned to him on the birth certificate. This condition causes the individual excessive discomfort and a sense of social inadequacy, not belonging to the context in which is inserted. In this sense the present work analyzes from the theoretical reference of Alexy through a dogmatic in three different levels (analytical, empirical and normative), the difficulties faced by the transsexual people due to the legal and state omissions, considering that despite the guarantee of fundamental rights in the Federal Constitution, especially human dignity, this has not been effective in safe guarding the rights of transgender individuals. In this sense, in the sphere of the Legislative Power there were numerous bills to try to regulate gender identity, however, none were approved, thus maintaining the absence of a gender identity law in the Brazilian legal system, which ends up further contributing to the marginalization of the transgender person, as it keeps them invisible to the institutions of law in their country. Within the scope of the Government, the institute of the social name was created, which recognizes gender identity, but ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

While there is a significant body of research on the topic of gender identity and gender attitudes, the existing literature contains a number of competing theories and leaves several gaps open for exploration. Namely, there is a lack of research on adult subjects, a lack of research into the benefits of using implicit measures of gender attitudes, and more room for exploration of the potentially complex interactions between gender identity variables, gender attitudes, and adjustment. This study investigated the relationships between a number of variables that have been suggested to make up a multidimensional model of gender identity, as well as an implicit measure of gender attitudes, an explicit stereotype endorsement measure, and a measure of well-being. The study took place online and participation was open to any U.S. resident over the age of 18. The expected relationships between gender identity and gender attitude variables were not found, but a number of intriguing correlations in the data are discussed.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how stay-at-home fathers view their role as the primary caregiver, and how they encounter opposing masculinity issues. This is explored through discussion about daily life, the decision to stay home, and household labor, a particularly interesting reflection of gender roles and equality. The two research questions used to explore this included: How do stay-at-home fathers understand their masculinity and social role? How does talk about the negotiation of household labor in stay-at-home father/career mother families illustrate masculinity issues? Through an analysis of interviews of eight present or past stay-at-home fathers, I capture the ways that these fathers describe and discuss the stay-at-home parent role. By looking at how these men define and interpret the specific challenges they face while in this role, I help tell the stories of stay-at-home father/career mother families, and understand whether these families, too, experience Hochschild's "stalled revolution."

"Isn't it pretty to think so?" The ambiguity of this question, posed by Jake Barnes in the last line of The Sun Also Rises, is a reflection of the novel's evolving definition of what constitutes a relationship. As the focus of Hemingway criticism has slowly broken from tired discussions of misogyny a space has opened for considering the complex ways his writings address questions of gendered identity. Through this lens critics have asked exactly what kind of man and women Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley represent. For decades critics and scholars have viewed this final line as having a negative connotation, signifying the death of love not only in the novel, but in the era. However, this reading fails to take into account the evolving gender roles the Brett and Jake represent. My essay looks at the novel's protagonists not simply as Brett or Jake, but also as Brett and Jake. Through this lens it becomes clear that Hemingway's portrayal of these characters is not one of the "bitch-goddess" and a defeated male, but of two people who, through their rapidly evolving gender roles and sexuality, are uniquely suited to be side by side when the rubble of the fiesta comes crashing down around them, not merely as friends, but as the only relationship that can truly exist.