Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has emerged in the 1980's as a major health threat of epidemic quality. The panic and fear accompanying this epidemic have been more extreme than the relatively small numbers of cases might suggest, however. This paper contextualizes that panic within a discussion of the epistemological implications of AIDS as it articulates with the ideology of sexual identity and gender domination in North American culture. Based on an analysis of print media AIDS news-stories, from 1985 through 1987, books about AIDS, and AIDS urban legends, I determine that the 'epidemic of fear' that characterizes the AIDS epidemic is the inevitable outcome of AIDS complex and ineluctable corrosion of the symbolic foundations of the ideology of masculinism in North America. Through the development of a model of mass media news as revealed reality, and a discussion of the core resonant signs of that ideology, I argue that AIDS violates the meaningful integrity of the hegemonic discourse of sexual identity, gender and reproduction, and undermines the capacity for this "regime of truth" to sustain itself. By placing AIDS within the framework of a critical analysis of the significant potential for ideological transformation, I argue for a broader and more comprehensive understanding of the AIDS epidemic as a sickness event. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

The main objective of my thesis is to outline basic concepts helping to understand the gender issue. Following these finds I want to focus on the concepts of the modern political scene and on the mapping of the theoretical finds and facts regarding the numbers of politically engaged women in Czech politics. A bigger part of this thesis will focus on the research which will consist of two parts. The original assumption consisted of only one research but while writing my thesis I encountered new facts which I wanted to include and that is why I conducted two researches. The topic of the thesis is the question of gender division of roles in the political sphere in the Czech Republic. Based on the introductory theoretical description of development of the emancipation movement striving for active participation of women in modern democratic politics and characterization of the situation in the Czech society, a research into the division of roles between men and women will be conducted. An attempt to state the reasons why there are less women in politics nowadays will be based on active cooperation with PF JCU students through information gained from questionnaire survey. The anticipated conclusion will be a summary of all finds and an attempt to suggest a solution to reach an optimal state in Czech politics.

The utility of selective retrieval processes in our everyday lives is evident across the varied contexts we are subjected to as human beings. Memory is characterised by an unlimited storage capacity, but limited retrieval capacity. Subsequently, we are selective in what we remember in a given context in order to use memory in an adaptive manner. Previous theory places memory at the centre of deriving and maintaining a sense of self and personal identity. In contrast however, the extent to which memory serves the representation of social identities and the groups to which they are linked is unclear. As social identities are said to be the extension of the self to the social context, the present empirical investigation examined the role of selective processes of retrieval and forgetting on the remembrance of social identity and group-based information in the areas of gender, religious, partisan, and ideological identity. Findings illustrated that we implicitly preserve and retrieve information that is relevant to our sense of social identity, whilst forgetting and implicitly diminishing information that is irrelevant. The findings also established that information retrieved not only pertains to the in-groups in which we seek membership, but also of opposing out-groups that seek to contrast and potentially challenge our in-group's worldview. Furthermore, mechanisms and structures that support the representation of self were extended to the findings, delineating how processes of organisational and distinctive processing support the retrieval of social identity-based information of relevance and importance. The thesis concludes with the assertion that memory is not only the looking glass through which we see the reflection of the self, but also serves to act as the reflection through which we acquaint ourselves with, and relate ourselves to, our significant others in the social context.

The thesis deals with the history of feminism both in the world and in the Czech Republic, its trends and waves. Some distinguished male and female feminism representatives whose works and opinions have influenced the development of feminist ideology are introduced. It also gives a survey of permeation as well as influence of feminism and gender on certain areas of private and social life in the European Union and in the Czech Republic. In the thesis legitimacy or illegitimacy of feminist demands and possibilities to meet those demands are discussed. The terms such as equality, discrimination, agenda on equality between men and women and family politics are mentioned, because they refer to areas of a prominent concern of feminism.

Gender Mainstreaming ist eine gleichstellungspolitische Strategie, die daraufhin ausgerichtet ist, sämtliche Entscheidungen in einer Organisation kritisch auf ihre Auswirkungen auf die von geschlechterbezogenen Ungleichheiten unterschiedlich geprägte Lebensrealität von Frauen und Männern zu überprüfen und diesbezüglich bestehende Differenzen abzubauen. Kritik wird u. a. aufgrund der voraussetzungsreichen Umsetzung und der Gefahr, stereotype Geschlechterbilder zu verfestigen, geübt.