The gym has the potential to be a valuable resource for adult physical activity. Yet, despite this, the gym environment remains a particularly underdeveloped area of study. Women’s gym experiences in particular is an area of research that needs a greater focus, as currently the literature tends to focus on women’s gym experiences in extreme or isolated contexts. Thus, this research sought to illuminate the female, gendered experience within a traditional, mixed gendered gym context. Through the use of unstructured life story interviews, this research illuminated the dominant gendered expectations that women perceive within the gym space and how these expectations interact with/in women’s gym use. Through this exploration this research also discussed what women perceived could be changed in order to benefit their gendered gym use.

This essay examines the limitations of societal gender norms and expectations of the late nineteenth-century and how the fictional character Ántonia Shimerda adheres to and fails to conform to them. In nineteenth-century America men and women were divided into two different spheres. Women were expected to stay within the four walls of the home and take care of cooking, housekeeping and raising the family’s children. The home was believed to be the only place where a woman could be truly happy. However, in the novel Ántonia proves that women can be happy performing physically demanding tasks outside of the expected sphere for women. To explore Ántonia’s gender fluidity this essay focuses on gender expectations and norms in the historical setting of the novel and analyzes the reasons for her to abandon her gender and the consequences this has in her life. The representation of a character that both adheres to and fails to conform to the nineteenth-century gender perceptions indicates the performative nature of gender. Cather creates a fluid gender in Ántonia, who proves to be both an independent and strong character that clearly illustrates the limitations of rigid gender norms.

The aim of this study was to examine how our way of doing gender affect female managers in the male-dominated IT organizations and how the female managers handle the consequences they entail. The study is based on a qualitative research approach where we gathered empirical data through semi-structured interviews. In this study, six respondents with varying experiences of management role within the IT organizations participated. The results are analyzed with the help of previous research and the theoretical framework which included Pierre Bourdieu's theory masculine domination and the West and Zimmerman's theory doing gender. In our study, we concluded that female managers in the male-dominated IT organizations feel the need to adapt to a greater degree than their male counterparts. As a result of the contradictions that exist in the female gender norms versus the role expectations placed on managers, who have a male character, women need to downplay their femininity, including  by adjusting their language.

Thesis advisor: James Mahalik / The mental health issues of depression and substance abuse are a major public health concern in the U.S. The timing of the onset of depression and substance use is critical to the lifelong prevalence of these issues (e.g., Gayman, Lloyd, and Ueno, 2011). Symptoms of depression during adolescence are associated with major depressive episodes during adulthood (e.g., Pine, Cohen, Johnson, Brook, 1999). Alcohol use during adolescence has been linked to substance abuse in young adulthood (Griffin, Bang, and Botvin, 2010) and adulthood (Chung and Martin, 2011). Due to the influence that adolescent depression and alcohol use has on lifelong development, potential factors related these outcomes during adolescence are essential to examine. The Five C's model of positive youth development (PYD) provided a framework for the current study to understand how internal (e.g., conformity to gender norms) and external (e.g., social support) characteristics of an individual lead to the development of personal qualities of PYD, which in turn are associated with behaviors (e.g., depression, alcohol use; Lerner et al., 2005). A sample of 642 high school students from several Catholic high schools in the Northeast was utilized for the analyses. T-tests indicated that females report greater depressive symptoms compared to males, but no gender differences in alcohol use. Regression analyses indicated significant relationships between greater conformity to feminine norms and decreased alcohol use and increased social support and PYD. Conformity to masculine norms was associated with decreased social support and PYD. The current study expands the existing body of literature by including internal characteristics involving identity such as conformity to gender norms in the Five C's model of PYD and examining both the benefits and costs of one's gender, conformity to gender norms, and social support on PYD, depression, and alcohol use during adolescence. The findings suggest that gender, conformity to gender norms, and social support contribute to the adolescent outcomes of PYD, depression, and alcohol use, which have clinical and developmental implications. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology.

Throughout history women have been excluded from leading positions. Today, however, there is an equal gender distribution among Swedish managers, which by some is seen as a result of the Nordic model. Despite this, current statistics show that women tend to have a greater responsibility over child rearing and household duties. The aim of this study is to examine female leaders’ experiences of combining family and career, the challenges they face, and if these differ from male leaders. Previous research on women’s work commitment has shown that mothers are not less committed to their careers than women without children. At the same time other studies show that working mothers feel guilty over not being good enough parents. This study is based on eight qualitative interviews with female and male leaders in Sweden. The study shows that the female participants face challenges to their careers because of traditional gender norms, however these norms do not disfavour the male participants. This study also illustrates that the female subjects meet greater expectations both in their roles as leaders as well as in their roles as parents. Gender norms regarding motherhood result in that the women are made to feel guilty if traditional expectations go unmet. This is not something experienced by any of the male participants.

Abstract The aim of this essay is to examine if children’s, in this case girls and boys between four and six year old, experiences and perceptions of various occupations follow a gender stereotypical pattern that is distinguishable in the society and that is evidenced by a gender distributed list presented by the Central Bureau of Statistics (SCB 2016). These children’s experiences and perceptions are examined in relation to family and surroundings. The central question is how they describe occupations and occupational-related activities offered in a school and preschool environment from a gender perspective. These children’s experiences and perceptions are also examined in relation to how they describe their career-related aspirations. Our study is theoretically based upon two different alignments of the gender theory that describe the social construction of gender. The data collection is based on 7 group interviews with 31 children from one preschool class and two different preschools. The results of our study indicate that the children have occupational experience that they relate to family members and/or to their immediate surroundings. The majority of the children’s experiences show that chores are distributed equally within the family and are therefore described as genus neutral. However, the majority of the children's occupational experience is gender-influenced, thus following the gender segregated labor market outlined by Central Bureau of Statistics (2016) list. Their own occupational aspirations also show that they follow this gender stereotypical pattern. The study emphasizes that the children are active agents in their development of gender identity and that their gender identity appears more clearly in specific contexts. On the other hand, we see that girls are more eager to extend the limits of the female arena. Another important aspect that the study shows is that the occupational activities offered in the school and preschool activities have a positive impact on how children distinguish their own ability. This can increase their ability to feel that they can do it if they really want to!

abstract: The aim of this dissertation was to explore the construct and experiences of gender norm resistance (GNR) using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The purpose of Study 1 was to standardize and universalize what is already known about GNR by creating a quantitative GNR measure. In so doing, I operationalized the implicit and explicit GNR framework described by Way and colleagues (2014). On a sample of adolescents (484 6th grade students; girls = 234; 10-13 years old, Mage = 11.44 years, SD = .56) the GNR measure was tested for gender differences and to explore how GNR aligns with and differs from other constructs related to gender identity and peer relations. The results supported the two-factor model (implicit and explicit forms of GNR), supported convergent and discriminant validity, and identified mean level differences depending on GNR form, gender, ethnic identity, and gender typicality. The purpose of Study 2 was to explore why young men resist gender norms, what motivates their acts of resistance, and how they understand those motives. I expected that implicit GNR would be motivated by the pursuit of authentic nonconformity and would involve an awareness of norms, feeling gender atypical, and authenticity. I expected that explicit GNR would be motivated by a dislike of gender norms, and that it would involve an awareness of, dislike of, and pressure to conform to gender norms. The results supported these expectations and indicated a subtype of GNR, activist GNR, defined by the desire to change gender norms to benefit the social group. Both studies rely on the resistance/accommodation framework to describe the balance of conformity and resistance as individuals navigate systems of power and oppression. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2020

Previous research has shown that when children choose to play an instrument, their gender and preconceived notions tied to it, has been a big factor. Gender norms have ruled the expectations and choices available for girls. It has also been shown that more often the boys would play instruments and the girls would sing. The guitar is one instrument that has been closely paired with these stereotypes and therefore often unattainable for girls, but what is the situation like today in Sweden?  In Sweden musical education is available through your municipality’s “kulturskola”. It is the biggest educational institution in Sweden for kids when it comes to cultural activities, and many kids go there for the purpose of learning an instrument. Sweden’s capital Stockholm is the city which has the largest number of students, spread over 42 establishments, which will be the focus here.  This study will research how many girls partake in musical education through the municipalities in Stockholm, focusing on the guitar in particular, by compiling statistics from the schools. It will also try to answer how the girls perceive the guitar by doing an interview study with female guitar students.

Tajikistan is the only post-Soviet republic that went through a civil war after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which negatively impacted all aspects of the country as well as education, particularly girls’ education. The limitations on Tajik girls’ education are due to economics and gender norms that are critical factors. This paper highlights the girls’ education condition in the period from 1995 to 2019, which is the post-war period, in the capital city, Dushanbe, and rural areas of the country. The review answered why girls most likely choose family life (marriage and children) rather than pursuing higher education in their life. In order to study this issue, the study used primary data. This paper studied the traditional culture (gender norms) factor as a barrier to keep girls out of school while providing the context of the social and occurred political changes during the post-war to the present time.

Master of Public Health - MPH / The unequal balance of power between women and men, which has its roots in gender norms, contributes to both male and female vulnerability to HIVand sexually transmitted infections (STIs).Yet most HIV prevention activities target only women. There are, however, a range of civil society organisations that are currently working to promote gender equity and HIV prevention among men in South Africa.