The thesis dedicates to discourses of intersexuality in the novel Middlesex written by the American author Jeffrey Eugenides. For the analysis, the method of queer reading was deployed, within the broader perspective of cultural studies. After introducing the context of the novel, and the theoretical framework, three analytical chapters follow which seek queer moments on the background of critical reviews of the novel. First chapter focuses on heteronormativity, performativity, and identity politics. Second chapter is interested in the confession genre and subject in confession. Third, and last chapter closes the analysis with finding moments of queer pleasure.

The aim of this thesis is to analyze and interpret the hypermasculine elements of African American performance in rap music. It shall examine the ways in which the performance works as well as its possible influence on the public; therefore, it shall also react to the widespread criticism of the genre. In order to understand the complexity of the issue, it sketches the history of African American men struggling to attain their manhood and it points out the damage done to African American masculinity during the era of slavery and the following period of Reconstruction. Moreover, it is necessary to trace back the inspiration that helped to constitute the hypermasculine images. To do that, we shall look into the folkloric tradition of figures such as the "bad nigger" and "badman" or "bad nigga;" and we shall see how these personas transformed into the modern figures of "gangstas," pimps and hip hop revolutionaries. In the next two chapters, the thesis discusses the relation of rap music authenticity and the performativity of gender, which is based on Judith Butler's gender theory as described in her book Gender Trouble. Regarding authenticity, we shall dissect the term itself and its potential meaning for a work of art. In the last few chapters, the thesis attempts to categorize hip hop masculinity...

The aim of the dissertation is to analyse works of a Moscow conceptualist Dmitrij Prigov. Prigov approached his medially diversified legacy (that was characterized by media diversity and quantitative hypertrophy) as a life-long project Dmitrij Aleksandrovič Prigov. (project DAP). One of the goals of the project was to remain unidentified, which means to suspend the straight-forward relation between an individual media product and the intention of the authorial subject. However, the connection between the media products and the authorial subject preserved. It is the modality of the connection that changed. The dissertation focuses on the analysis of the modality of the connection. The research begins with an analysis of the media products and proceeds toward the issue of authorial subjetʼs identity construction. Nevertheless, it is the media products that the identity of the authorial subject is constructed by. Authorial subject, however, plays the role of the (co-)agent in the production process of the media products together with other non-human agents like iterable patterns, instruments, techniques and semiotic systems. Methodologically, the dissertation emerges from the intersection of media theories, social theories and the theoretical reflection of the phenomena gathered under the umbrella...

My thesis is focused on critical analysis of political thought of American philosopher Judith Butler. Butler is concerned with the relationship between individual identity and collective subjectivity, and her works - which caused many critical reactions - represent one of the most interesting discussion in the field of feminist political philosophy. Butler is mainly concerned with the question, how various political strategies (eg. feminism) could be based on common interests of various agents, and not on their supposedly stable identity (eg. sex and gender). Her criticism of unproblematized "natural" identities is important not only to the constitution of any individual identity, but also for the notion of the political dimension of a collective subject. The introductory chapters of my thesis are concerned with early thought of Butler, mainly with her critical relationship to the "second wave" feminism, and with her notion of the performative constitution of gender identity. Next chapters explore the shift in her thinking from analysis of gender and sex towards more general themes of political thought: nation, race, class, universalism, state censorship, possibility of resistance or emergence of a collective subject without stable unifying principle. I also try to analyze selected critical...

The aim of this diploma thesis is to explore the way how the gender performativity is portrayed in Xavier Dolan's films. The theoretical part of the thesis first deals with the definition and theoretical grounding of gender performativity from the perspective of several authors, mainly Judith Butler. This part of the thesis will detailly introduce the concepts of gender performativity, which will be necessary for the analysis of the studied films. The theoretical part also presents the queer theory and the related chapter devoted to queer film, which would also include Dolan's work. Lastly, this part also includes a chapter devoted to the concept of mise-en-scène. The methodological part introduces the method of semiotic analysis and introduces the synopsis of the studied films. The analytical part of the work presents its own semiotic analysis of the examined films. The aim of the analytical part is to find out how Dolan works with gender performativity in his films and how it is visually portrayed.

This study discusses ways how patterns of masculinity and femininity construct themselves in gendered practices of ice hockey, in the bodies of female ice hockey players and their gender identifications and how the players construct their gender performances. Opening section describes gender as an analytical category in the sport as a male domain where there are reproduced and emphasized elements of traditional masculinity as physical strength and dominance that are contrasted to the attributes of traditional femininity such as vulnerability and passivity. It outlines how gender is constituted in the sport in general and in ice hockey as a masculine sport, and how the norms of masculinity and femininity are reproduced through them. The dynamics of relationship between gender and ice hockey team is treated within the case study of a Czech women hockey team. The study discusses how gender positions of female hockey players of this team are constituted within the team dynamics, the effect of normative femininity to the constructions of physical performances, the concept of physical fitness for hockey and gender conformity appearance. It also outlines the gendered formal grounding of the women hockey through the rules and hierarchical structures and the influence of media coverage and the segregation...

Travesti show - in other words men's dressing as women (especially famous singers) in order to create a parody - has become a legitimate part of the Czech cultural events for the last twenty years. Moreover, in comparison with a foreign production of that kind it is very specific as regards terminology and content. Although travesti show theme has penetrated into the Czech academic ground too, it is still understood only from the perspective of gender performativity and is focused on performers themselves. On the contrary, this paper tries to grasp spectators' perspectives regarding not only the audience perception of the performers, but also a wide range of spectators' characteristics related to their general degree of tolerance towards gender roles in the society as well as LGBT issues in comparison with common population.

Although Bernard Malamud's fiction has been frequently regarded as allegorical and symbolic, Malamud did not avoid the period's social issues in his works, such as the racial question and the changing nature of relationship between American Jews and African Americans. The present thesis aims to discuss Malamud's selected fiction dealing with Black- Jewish relations, namely short stories "Angel Levine," (1955) "Black Is My Favorite Color" (1963) and the novel The Tenants, (1971) and to place them into the context of Black-Jewish relations in the United States and of Black-Jewish literary dialogues and the tensions they express. It thus seeks to evaluate Malamud's role in the discourse of Black-Jewish relations in America. Calling upon a theoretical framework, outlined in chapter 2, based on philosophical and sociological findings of Judith Butler, John Searle, and Michael Omi with Howard Winant, the study examines the role of language and literature in constructing the Self and the Other (understood both as individual and collective identities, including categories of race and ethnicity), suggesting thus that literary texts, such as Malamud's selected fiction, are a part of discursive dialogue through and against which American Jews and Blacks construct their identities. Apart from the approaches to...

This dissertation deals with various gender aspects of playing computer games. It describes how gender stereotypes are connected with the level of production, content, and with the players themselves. In this sense, it shows that games are still created mainly by homogeneous male teams, in order to attract male players, they contain mainly male characters, while the female ones are created to be attractive to these ideal male players. However, the primary goal of this dissertation is to describe the different ways and intensities of the relationship with the avatar, the playable character in the game. The analytical part consists of two illustrative case studies, one concerning female heterosexual players, the other male heterosexual players. The basic premise is the fact that the player "plays gender" - that is, performs it similarly to social reality. However, this performance is not just a reconstruction and confirmation of hypothetically stable gender identities, but on the contrary their deconstruction ("playing with gender"). In this sense, the work pays particular attention to situations where the player and the avatar have different genders and the heterosexual player, therefore, identifies with the avatar but also objectifies him/her. This dissertation aims to emphasize the uniqueness of...

Diploma thesis with the title "Analysis of queer child through the movie" is situated to the context of queer theories. These theories are discussed through the movie "Tomboy" (2011). Theoretical part of the thesis discusses fundamental theoretical background including attitudes towards to concept of gender within gender studies. The thesis is also focused on the theory of performativity and also discusses the normative socialization of children and their nonconformist behaviors. Key opinions to queer theories in context of sexuality and identity are introduced in this part of the thesis. I also present Stockton's arguments on queer child. Research section presents methodological part of analysis of the movie Tomboy. It also presents the specific method, which is Stuart Hall's theory of representation. In the analysis of the movie there are major themes reflected - how the category of gender, queerness, sexuality and identity are constructed in the context of queer child. Keywords Queer, performativity, childhood, socialization, gender, jinakost, identity, sexuality, film, stereotypes.