Cette thèse porte sur le rôle des populations homosexuelles masculines dans les processus de gentrification. Elle se propose de construire une sociologie des processus de gaytrification, c’est-à-dire des cas des gentrification impliquant significativement les gays, et s’inscrit au croisement de la sociologie urbaine et d’une sociologie des homosexualités. Le cadre d’enquête retenu est constitué par le quartier du Marais à Paris et le quartier du Village à Montréal, ces deux quartiers offrant des exemples de gaytrification depuis la fin des années 1970. Une première partie permet de montrer l’intérêt d’un tel objet et de construire un programme de recherche novateur qui mobilise des matériaux empiriques variés (statistiques, entretiens, archives, observations ethnographiques). La seconde partie montre comment différentes formes d’investissement de la part des gays ont favorisé, accentué ou accompagné la gentrification depuis la fin des années 1970 : émergence d’un secteur commercial gay, valorisation symbolique de certains lieux par la presse gay et investissement résidentiel du quartier par les ménages gays. Une troisième partie s’interroge précisément sur le cas des gays venus habiter le Marais et le Village. L’analyse de leurs trajectoires socio-résidentielles montre comment ils ont profondément renouvelé le paysage sociologique local et permet de comprendre le sens que le quartier prend dans leur trajectoire. On peut alors décrire des modes de vie et des pratiques du quartier qui contribuent à sa gentrification d’une manière néanmoins propre aux gays. Une quatrième et dernière partie renverse la perspective : si les gays ont profondément transformé le Village et le Marais, ces deux quartiers contribuent aussi à transformer ce que sont les individus. On examine alors l’hypothèse d’une socialisation gay par le quartier en montrant que l’espace urbain et le quartier constituent des instances de socialisation aux effets variés et plus ou moins puissants et durables à l’échelle des trajectoires individuelles. / This research is focused on the role of gay men towards gentrification. The word “gaytrification” refers to process of gentrification that involves, by different ways, gay men. In french sociology, the role of this “gay factor” has been much neglected and very rarely studied. This research deals with urban sociology but also with sociology of homosexuality. Considering different empirical datas based on statistics, interviews, archives and observations, we can understand the way that gay men improved the value of urban space and the quality of local lifestyles in two different contexts: le Marais (Paris) and le Village (Montreal). These questions are explored since the end of the 60’s. The first part of our dissertation is focused on theoretical issues and methodology about gaytrification: how can we analyze this specific form of “urban renaissance”? The second step of this research articulates different forms of gay involvement towards gentrification of le Marais and le Village since 70’s: gay business and pink economy, lifestyles and symbolic presence of gay men in the neighborhood, housing market and residential issues. The third part analyzes daily life of gay men that lives, or have lived, in these neighborhoods. We show how they gentrify urban space by different ways: social and life trajectories, social and local relations, habits and lifestyles. The last part of the research introduces the reverse of previous results. A new question appears because gaytrification deals not only about how people transform urban spaces but also about how urban space can transform people and identities. In fact, interviews with gay men show how le Marais and le Village can socialize them in a special way.

Detta arbete undersöker hur homosexuella killar skildras i ungdomslitteraturen. Syftet problematiserar dikotomin maskulint/feminint och män/kvinnor. Målet är att införa ett icke heteronormativt perspektiv i ungdomslitteraturforskningen kring genus och queer. Detta görs utifrån teorier av Judith Butler, Tiina Rosenberg och R. W. Connell. De böcker som analyserats är Ung, bög och jävligt kär, Regn och åska och Ibland bara måste man (Boy meets boy). Romanerna är skrivna under 2000-talet. Det är primärt inga komma-ut romaner utan fokus ligger på hur det är att träffa första kärleken och känslorna kring det. I analysen framträder tre centrala teman: Identitet, homosexuellas situation och samhället och kulturens påverkan. Protagonisterna konstruerar sin identitet i samband med nära vänner, estetiska uttryck, miljö och kroppen.    Arbetet har också ett didaktiskt syfte där de efterfrågats en större medvetenhet kring ämnet sexuell läggning och identitet i skolan och utgår från litteraturdidaktikerna Louise M. Rosenblatt och Gunilla Molloy. / This essay problematizes how gay guys are portrayed in youth literature. The purpose problematizes the dichotomy of male / female and the subject of men / women. The goal is to introduce a non-heteronormative perspective in youth literature research on gender and queer. This is based on theories of Judith Butler, Tiina Rosenberg and R. W. Connell. The books that have been analysed are Ung, bög och jävligt kär, Regn och åska, and Ibland bara måste man (Boy meets boy). The novels are written in the 2000s. The novels are primarily no coming-out novels, the focus is what it's like to fall in love with the first person and the feelings around that moment. The analysis showed that three key themes: Identity, the situation of homosexuals and the society and culture influence. Protagonists construct their identity in the context of close friends, aesthetic, body and society.   The work also has a didactic purpose in which they demanded a greater awareness on the topic of sexual orientation in the school and is based on literature didactics as Louise M. Rosenblatt and Gunilla Molloy.

Cette thèse a pour objet la question de l’identité dans les romans suivants : Garçons de cristal de Bai Xian-Yong, Middlesex de Jeffrey Eugenides, Espèces de Ying Chen. La recherche interroge l’opposition entre identité initiale et celle en rupture par rapport à la norme familiale, sociale et politique dans des contextes romanesques différents. Cette opposition apparaît comme le lieu propre de l’identité en suspens et constitue les enjeux de la métamorphose. Quels sont les facteurs qui contraignent les personnages à se métamorphoser et à s’exiler ? Comment le rapport à soi, confronté à la crise identitaire, est-il évoqué dans ces romans à la première personne ?Dans ces trois romans, l’homosexualité, l’hermaphrodisme, la transformation en animal provoquent la mise en suspens de l’identité et l’exil des personnages. La métamorphose effective ou métaphorique met à l’épreuve le sentiment de l'identité, le rapport à soi et à autrui. Mais la métamorphose établit aussi des ponts grâce auxquels les personnages des trois textes pourront, à des degrés divers, se rejoindre eux-mêmes. / The subject of this thesis is the question of identity in the following novels: Bai Xian-Yong’s Cristal Boys, Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex, and Ying Chen’s Espèces. This research interrogates the opposition between the initial identity and that in rupture concerning the familial, social, and political norm in three different contexts. Such opposition seems to be the place proper to the identity in suspense and constitutes the issues about metamorphosis. What are the factors constraining the characters to metamorphosis and exile? How does the connection to self confront the crisis of identity, is it evoked in these novels in the first-person narrative?In these three novels, the homosexuality, the hermaphrodisme, and the transformation to animal provoke the suspense of identity and the exile of the characters. The effective or metaphoric metamorphosis proves the sense of the identity, the connection of the self and the other. Meanwhile, the metamorphosis establishes the bridges upon which the characters in the three novels could join each other to varying extents.

Studien har syftat till att skapa förståelse för hur verkligheten kan upplevas för personer som identifierar sig som homosexuella, bisexuella, transpersoner och/eller queer (H/B/T/Q), idag i Sverige. Vi hade en explorativ ansats utifrån detta syfte och använde oss av Grounded theory som kvalitativ metod för datainsamling och databearbetning. Vi intervjuade 11 H/B/T/Q-personer i Örebro, och vi fann ett antal centrala teman som var återkommande i intervjuberättelserna. Dessa handlade om hur sociala interaktioner med omgivningen påverkade den egna processen mot ett öppet liv som H/B/T/Q-person eller ett mer dolt. Det framkom också att det fanns en koppling mellan öppenhet i detta avseende och psykiskt välbefinnande. Utifrån dataanalysen drog vi en slutsats om påverkansfaktorer för den sociala interaktionens riktning gällande öppenhet/slutenhet och belyste relationerna mellan dessa i teoretiska modeller, där olika uttryck hos en heteronormativ omgivning beskrevs som centrala i detta avseende, men även den enskilda H/B/T/Q-personens interaktionsstrategier och tillgången till socialt stöd. / The aim of this study was to create an understanding of the life-views of persons identifying themselves as homosexual, bisexual, transpersons and/or queer (H/B/T/Q) in Sweden today. We had an explorative approach to this aim and used Grounded theory as a research method. We interviewed 11 H/B/T/Q-persons living in Örebro, and we found some central themes wich were frequently described, generally about how the social interaction with others had an effect on their own processes to living an open H/B/T/Q-life or having a restrictive approach. We also found that living openly as an H/B/T/Q-person seemed to be a salutogene factor. Those factors that we found to be central in the interactional processes to openly or restrictive ways of living as a H/B/T/Q-person, were illustrated in theoretical models, where the relationships between heteronormativity, individual interactional strategies and social support were focused.

Abstract The present study examines three novels by Finnish women – Johanna Sinisalo, Pirkko Saisio and Helena Sinervo – each of whom has received the Finlandia Prize for fiction. The novels Ennen päivänlaskua ei voi (2000), Punainen erokirja (2003) and Runoilijan talossa (2004) are analysed in the context of contemporary cultural change in which queer themes have become not only a visible part of cultural representations of gender and sexuality but also active constituents of the established cultural canon. The study considers the varieties of gendered and sexual meaning which are generated by this fiction and – as the novels in question deal with non-normative sexuality – it also discusses how these issues were manifested in their reception. Additionally, it investigates the problematics of a literary genre which thematises non-normative sexuality. Beyond its engagement with the interrelationship between the selected novels (along with their social context) and the present culture, institutions and canon, the study also concerns itself with the question of how non-normative sexuality is addressed and discussed in literature and its reception. The novels are examined as products of a context in which their publication had seemed like a swift, yet appropriate, response to a cultural need for the creation of new, 'liberal' and 'progressive' queer representations. In addition, they are approached as works with specific queer-political agendas, aimed at opposing and deranging the hetero establishment. The analysis of the novels is consequently grounded in the politics of performativity, queer theory and the problematics of its domestic contextualisation, taking account, too, of the intersection between performativity and queer reading. This methodology is called queer political reading. The novels under investigation participate in the cultural, societal, social and discursive processes that use gender and sexuality to construct meaning. The fact that they have also received the Finlandia Prize connects them to a wider context, into a contemporary culture and society, which places sexuality at its centre. Where wide and far-reaching gender issues, brought about by cultural, intellectual, judicial and political changes, marked the turn of the 20th century, the turn of the present century is more explicitly sexual in character, facilitated by contemporary phenomena – such as the epochal changes in theories of gender and sexuality, or legislation and presentations of sexual culture, which have manifested themselves over recent years. Nevertheless, it would seem that discussions of queerness tend to remain allusive and implied rather than explicit, taking not only peculiar but also traditional forms, in which the rhetoric of the closet is used extensively. On the one hand, queerness is quite visible in representations of sexuality. But on the other hand, the reception of that queerness remains largely in the closet. This suggests that – particularly on institutional levels – queer themes can be rendered explicit only when it remains contextually suitable. / Tiivistelmä Tutkimus tarkastelee kolmen kirjallisuuden Finlandia-palkinnolla palkitun naiskirjailijan, Johanna Sinisalon, Pirkko Saision ja Helena Sinervon palkintoromaaneja Ennen päivänlaskua ei voi (2000), Punainen erokirja (2003) ja Runoilijan talossa (2004). Teoksia analysoidaan osana nykyistä kulttuurista käännettä, jossa heteronormatiivisuutta kyseenalaistavat, queerit kulttuurituotteet ovat tulleet osaksi sukupuolen ja seksuaalisuuden kulttuurisia esityksiä ja jopa osaksi hyväksyttyä kulttuurista kaanonia. Tutkimuksessa kysytään, millaisia sukupuolen ja seksuaalisuuden merkityksiä Sinisalon, Saision ja Sinervon normienvastaista seksuaalisuutta käsittelevät teokset tuottavat ja miten aiheet tulevat esille vastaanotossa. Lisäksi pohditaan normienvastaisia seksuaalisuuksia käsittelevän kirjallisuuden lajiproblematiikkaa. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan paitsi teosten, myös niiden yhteiskunnallisen kontekstin kautta nykyistä kulttuuriin ja sen instituutioihin ja jopa kaanoniin kytkeytyviä tapoja, joilla normien vastaisista seksuaalisuuksista puhutaan ja kirjoitetaan sekä kirjallisuudessa että sen vastaanotossa. Romaaneja tutkitaan siinä kulttuurisessa kontekstissa, jossa niiden julkaiseminen vaikuttaa äkkiseltään sopivalta vastaukselta kulttuurin tarpeeseen saada uudenlaista, "vapaamielisyydestä" ja "edistyksellisyydestä" kertovia queer-esityksiä. Toisaalta niitä lähestytään teoksina, joilla on queer-poliittisia, heterojärjestystä vastustamaan ja sekoittamaan pyrkiviä tavoitteita. Teosten tarkastelu liitetään osaksi performatiivisuuden politiikkojen sekä queer-teoretisoinnin ja sen kotimaisen kontekstualisoinnin problematiikan tutkimusta, performatiivisen ja queer-luennan risteyskohtaan. Tätä tutkimuksen menetelmää kutsutaan queer-poliittiseksi luennaksi. Sinisalon, Saision ja Sinervon romaanit osallistuvat osaltaan siihen kulttuuriseen, yhteiskunnalliseen, sosiaaliseen ja diskursiiviseen prosessiin, jossa työstetään ja rakennetaan sukupuolten ja seksuaalisuuksien merkityksiä. Se, että ne ovat saaneet myös kirjallisuuden Finlandia-palkinnon, kiinnittää ne laajempaan kontekstiin, nykykulttuuriin ja -yhteiskuntaan, joiden keskeiseksi kysymykseksi seksuaalisuus on muotoutunut. Siinä missä 1800–1900-lukujen vaihdetta kuvasti laaja ja kauaskantoinen sukupuoliproblematiikka, jolle aikaan sidottu kulttuurinen, intellektuaalinen, oikeusjärjestelmällinen ja poliittinen muutos raivasi tilaa, tämän vuosisadanvaihteen murros liittyy seksuaalisuuteen, jonka raivaajina ovat samankaltaiset, omaan aikaansa kytkeytyneet ilmiöt: jopa käänteentekevät muutokset sukupuoli- ja seksuaaliteorioissa, lainsäädännöissä ja seksuaalisuuden kulttuurisissa esityksissä. Näyttäisi kuitenkin siltä, että julkisissa keskusteluissa queeriudesta ei vieläkään puhuta kaikissa yhteyksissä suoraan vaan vihjaillen ja mitä eriskummallisimmin mutta usein silti hyvin perinteisin, kaapin retoriikkaa hyväkseen käyttävin sanankääntein: queer on yhtäältä kovin läsnä ja pinnassa seksuaalisuuden representaatioissa, mutta samalla esimerkiksi vastaanotossa monin ehdoin kaapissa. Näyttäisi siltä, että piilevästä queeriudesta huolimatta etenkin instituutiotasolla queer-tematiikka on näkyvää vain silloin, kun se on paikan ja tilanteen mukaan sopivaa.

Magister Legum - LLM / The objective of this study is to explore the criminalisation of persons based on sexual orientation in Cameroon in light of that country’s international human rights obligation. The study examines the constitution and laws of Cameroon as applicable to sexual minorities. It aims to discuss recent developments in international human rights law with regard to the human rights basis for decriminalising homosexuality.

Higher education in South Africa is faced with a paramount task to help erode the social and structural inequalities that have been inherited from the Apartheid system (Department of Education 1997; Council on Higher Education 2000:12). The findings from the Soudien Report (2008:116-117) point out that the post-Apartheid higher education system in South Africa is characterised by various forms of discrimination and institutional cultures that marginalise some members of institutions resulting in pervasive feelings of alienation. In the South African higher education field, the concept of a “home” for all has been used by a variety of commentators to depict a vision of what transformed, inclusive higher education institutional cultures might look like. In this thesis, I interpret the experiences of residence life on the part of gay, lesbian and bisexual students on a largely residential campus. I ask how gay, lesbian and bisexual students experience being “at home” in the campus’s residence system. The thesis is based on 18 in-depth qualitative interviews with students who self-identify as gay/lesbian or bisexual who have experienced residence life on the campus for a period longer than six months. A wide literature exists on the concept of “home”. Drawing from many different disciplines including anthropology, history, philosophy, geography, psychology, architecture and sociology, I distil the essential features of “at homeness” as incorporating comfort, privacy, security, acceptance, companionship and community. The research was concerned to inquire into how central the idea of home is to human flourishing and then into how gay, lesbian and bisexual students are routinely denied many of the essential comforts associated with being “at home” that heterosexual students have the privilege of taking for granted.

In this thesis I start by reviewing the theoretical perspectives that have informed the debate around equality rights for gays and lesbians. Next, I will analyze the concept of equality developed by the Supreme Court of Canada under section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In the Andrews case, decided in 1989, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected a model based on formal equality, embracing instead the far-reaching concept of substantive equality as a way to redress historical prejudice and disadvantage of individuals and groups that fall within enumerated or analogous grounds of discrimination. In the last decade, a number of courts have applied this model to equality claims brought under the Charter by same-sex couples. I will explore the details of several of these cases as well as a variety of statutes relating to same-sex couples. Finally, I will discuss recent law reform proposals that recommend that state benefits should be allocated regardless of the relationship status of the beneficiaries, thereby envisaging more radical changes to the legal system. I conclude that the Canadian approach to equality for same-sex couples has followed an interpretive method that seems to apply a definition of family that is shifting and varies on an ad hoc basis, but that the denial of spousal status under marriage laws represents a limitation of equality rights still to be overcome. I also conclude that, in fact, the concept of status may still influence the adjudication process under section 15 of the Charter as far as marriage rights are concerned. This is because the framework of analysis under section 15 calls for an assessment of the claimant's position in the larger socio-political context, and this element, if not properly circumscribed, risks being corrupted by existing prejudices and biases relating to family. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

M.A. (Clinical Psychology) / The present study explores the personal narratives of eight gay South African men regarding testing for the human immune-deficiency virus (HIV) which causes AIDS. The narratives are described within a social constructionist perspective. Two tape-recorded conversations were held with each of the participants in this study, all .of whom had never tested HIV positive. The elicited narratives are related to the men's ideas about HIV, AIDS and gay..sexual identity, and are situated in the South African context. In addition, a reflexive approach is used, farina as the narratives are related to the reflections of the research participants, the researcher and the supervisor about the research process. The narratives suggest that the gay men in the study see decision making regarding HIV testing as involving personal choice and individual responsibility. The participants seem well informed of safe-sex precautions necessary to prevent the transmission of HIV. However, in accordance with the research literature, they appear to employ individual heuristics which allow for unsafe sexual practices, usually in the context of long-term relationships. Empirical research is required in order to determine whether or not these findings can be generalized to the general population of gay South African men. The need for safe-sex education to take account of such individual heuristics is emphasized. In addition, it is suggested that gay men may benefit from assertiveness training which empowers them to decline engaging in sexual behavior which puts them at risk of contracting HIV.

Historically, films from the mainstream American animation companies have had an almost non-existent representation of homosexual characters. Previously, it has been proven that the heteronormative has had a strong dominance in these companies. Considering the companies constantly produce new films, we aim to explore if this is still accurate. Within this context, this research offers an updated perspective on current representation by analyzing five animated feature films: Zootopia (2016), ParaNorman (2012), Storks (2016), Finding Dory (2016) and Frozen (2013). We have, with semiotics as a foundation, conducted a qualitative inductive content analysis of these films. By diverging from the heteronormative perspective which is deeply rooted in society we have viewed these films with a different approach. This research shows that the inclusion of homosexual couples and queer characters in animated films has increased. However, despite this increase the characters remain in small roles which are only included for a short time. This shows that the heteronormative still dominates in American mainstream animation. The clues which are given about the characters’ sexuality are subtle, resulting in them being easily overlooked. / Filmerna från de stora amerikanska animationsbolagen har tidigare haft en näst intill obefintlig representation av homosexuella karaktärer. Tidigare har det bevisats att heteronormativet har dominerat i dessa bolag. Med tanke på att bolagen ständigt producerar nya filmer vi vill se om detta fortfarande stämmer. Denna undersökning ger därför en uppdaterad bild av den rådande representationen genom att undersöka fem animerade långfilmer, Zootopia (2016), ParaNorman (2012), Storks (2016), Finding Dory (2016) och Frozen (2013). Vi har, med semiotisk metod som grund, utfört en kvalitativ induktiv innehållsanalys av dessa filmer. Genom att frångå det heteronormativa synsätt som finns djupt rotat i vårt samhälle har vi tittat på dessa filmer från en ny infallsvinkel. I vår undersökning framgår det att inkluderingen av homosexuella par och queer-karaktärer har ökat. Trots denna ökning förblir det tidsmässiga utrymmet för dessa karaktärer kort, därmed bibehåller heteronormativet sitt grepp i den amerikanska mainstream-animationen. Ledtrådarna om karaktärernas sexualitet är subtila vilket resulterar i att de enkelt kan missas.