In the 2004 Presidential Election social and wedge issues were among the most publicized mobilization tools utilized by the Bush Campaign. Specifically, same-sex marriage has been suggested as a key wedge issue that may have mobilized voters, although research differs on its impact. My contention is that these previous studies miss the point with regard to wedge issues, which is that they are useful on persuadable voters, and persuadable voters live in swing states. I estimate a logit model using 2004 American National Election Studies survey data. I utilize voters’ decisions to turn out as the dependent variable and control for respondents’ positions on terrorism, the economy, same-sex marriage, political interest, party identification, and socio-economic status. These findings demonstrate, consistent with my hypothesis, voters in swing same-sex marriage ballot measure states were more likely to turn out. These voters may not have been persuadable, but rather the Republican base.

The aim of this study is to examine the media coverage of gender-neutral marriage from an intersectional perspective – with particular regard to gender, sexual orientation and religion. By focusing on the spokespeople who appears in the articles we have made an attempt to answer questions regarding who was heard in the debate on gender-neutral marriage and how the homosexual couples are portrayed in relation to the above criteria. The collected material consists of 89 articles, published in 2009, in Swedish newspapers which have been analysed by using quantitative content analysis. Ten articles have also been selected for a critical discourse analysis based on Norman Fairclough’s approach. The study is based on a social constructionist perspective and the assumption that language is of crucial importance when it comes to the creation and maintenance of social categorisation. Theories of gender/queer and intersectionality have furthermore been used to enable us to look at the topic from a multidimensional point of view. The quantitative analysis of the texts shows a great predominance of male spokespersons. Moreover, it appears that religions other than Christianity are largely underrepresented. The same pattern applies to people with homosexual orientation, whom are rarely heard on the issue of gender-neutral marriage. Furthermore, the results show that bisexuals and trans-gendered are almost completely excluded from the debate. The qualitative part of the study points in the same direction. A membership in The Church of Sweden is presented as a natural norm in the case of homosexuality and gender-neutral marriage, and homosexuals with another religion are made invisible or represented as divergent. The texts reveal a tolerance and openness towards homosexuality, but also strong assimilation ideals. The results show that same-sex relationships are portrayed as something the society is expected to accept, but only on condition that they are formed in accordance with the heterosexual norms concerning marriage and relationships, and also follow norms regarding gender and religion.

The purpose of this study is to research how much women interact with each other on screen and what type of interactions occur. The Bechdel Test criticises the lack of female interactions and the content of those discussions. This thesis asks how much women interact with women in film compared to how much men interact with men. It’s an aspect of female representation in film that has previously not been researched.  The study also takes a closer look at female interactions and asks in what context women are placed when they interact with each other. The study explores the global top 20 box office films and focuses on investigating same-sex interactions in order to see the prevalence of female-to-female interactions (FI) compared to male-to-male interactions (MI). This study applies a quantitative research method on the 20 highest grossing films at the worldwide box office of all time. Findings of the study show that film portrays men interacting with men to a substantially higher extent than women interacting with women. Women are often presented in family situations and rarely are they seen interacting with female work colleagues. The paper proposes a gender equality test, the (im)balance test to understand the relationship between FI and MI, and encourages the test to be applied to films in order to measure their gender balance.

Föreliggande studie syftar till att undersöka och analysera vilka utbildningsmässiga och organisatoriska förutsättningar som socialarbetarna upplever att det finns för att tillgodose stödbehoven för den som upplevt våld i en HBT-relation. Syftet är vidare att undersöka och analysera socialarbetarnas beskrivningar och föreställningar kring begreppen makt, normer och värderingar kopplat till det praktiska arbetet med våld i HBT-relationer. Studien har en fenomenografisk ansats och bygger på intervjuer med socialarbetare som arbetar med våld i nära relation. Maktperspektiv har använts som teoretisk referensram i studien. Av resultatet framkommer att både de egna och samhällets normer och värderingar har stor påverkan på bemötandet i det praktiska arbetet. Socialarbetarna framhåller vikten av reviderade riktlinjer och handlingsplaner då de utgör en trygghet i det dagliga arbetet. Att HBT-personer är en osynlig grupp är socialarbetarna överens om då endast en av våra informanter har erfarenhet av att ha träffat personer som upplevt våld i HBT-relationer. Socialarbetarna framhåller vikten av att vara könsneutral i sitt bemötande samtidigt som det är viktigt att föra en kritisk diskussion inom organisationen för att synliggöra målgruppen. Sammanfattningsvis påvisar resultatet i vår studie att makt förekommer både på individ-, organisations- samt samhällsnivå när det gäller socialt arbete med våld i HBT-relationer. / The objective of the study at hand is to analyze and study which educational and organizational conditions the social workers believe exist in order for them to meet the need for support for those who have experienced violence in an LGBT-relationship. Furthermore, the purpose is to investigate and analyze the social workers' descriptions and notions of the terms "power", "norms" and "values" in conjunction with the practical work with violence in LGBT-relationships. The study has a phenomenographical approach and is based on interviews with social workers who work with violence in close relationships. In the study, we have used the perspective of power as a theoretical frame of reference. The result shows that personal as well as the society's norms and values have a great influence on how the clients are treated in the practical work carried out. The social workers accentuate the importance of revised policies and action plans, since they make a good support in the daily work. The fact that LGBT-persons are a neglected group, the socialworkers agree upon, since only one of our informants have experience of meeting people who have been subjected to violence in LGBT-relationships. The social workers stress the importance of being gender-neutral in their approach, at the same time as it is crucial to keep a scrutinizing discussion within the organization, in order to make this group visible. To sum up, the result in our study shows that power is present in both individual, organisational and community levels, when it comes to social work regarding violence in LGBT-relationships.

In the 2004 Presidential Election social and wedge issues were among the most publicized mobilization tools utilized by the Bush Campaign. Specifically, same-sex marriage has been suggested as a key wedge issue that may have mobilized voters, although research differs on its impact. My contention is that these previous studies miss the point with regard to wedge issues, which is that they are useful on persuadable voters, and persuadable voters live in swing states. I estimate a logit model using 2004 American National Election Studies survey data. I utilize voters’ decisions to turn out as the dependent variable and control for respondents’ positions on terrorism, the economy, same-sex marriage, political interest, party identification, and socio-economic status. These findings demonstrate, consistent with my hypothesis, voters in swing same-sex marriage ballot measure states were more likely to turn out. These voters may not have been persuadable, but rather the Republican base.

Darbo tikslas – atskleisti figūrų, pateikiamų vienu metu ir nuosekliai, sukimo mintyse ypatumus naudojant tapatumo įvertinimo užduotį. Tiriamieji (32 studentai) atliko tapatumo vertinimo užduotį, kur jiems vienu metu bei nuosekliai (arba atvirkštine tvarka) buvo pateikiamos vienodų arba skirtingų netaisyklingų daugiakampių poros. Stimulai buvo rodomi 100ms vienalaikio pateikimo atveju, esant nuosekliam pateikimui 50ms ir 50ms. Tiriamieji turėjo atsakyti, ar figūros vienodos (nepaisant pasukimo kampo), ar skirtingos. Buvo matuojamas reakcijos laikas bei teisingų atsakymų skaičius. Nustatyta, kad nepasuktos viena kitos atžvilgiu vienodos figūros atpažįstamos tiksliau bei greičiau nei pasuktos bet kokiu kampu. Tiek vienalaikio, tiek nuoseklaus figūrų pateikimo atveju tiesinė reakcijos laiko priklausomybė nuo figūrų tarpusavio pasukimo kampo nenustatyta. Tiek vienodos, tiek skirtingos figūros nuoseklaus pateikimo atveju atpažįstamos tiksliau nei vienalaikio, o reakcijos laikas, vertinant tiek vienodas, tiek skirtingas figūras, trumpesnis vienalaikio pateikimo atveju nei nuoseklaus. Vyrų ir moterų vienodų figūrų atpažinimo tikslumas nesiskiria, bet vyrų reakcijos laikas trumpesnis nei moterų. / The purpose of this study was to examine mental rotation of simultaneously and successively presented figures. 32 students performed same – different task in which the pairs of the same or different irregular polygons were presented simultaneously and successively or vice versa. Stimuli were presented briefly – for 100 ms when presented simultaneously and 50 ms and 50 ms when presented successively. The subjects had to answer whether the two figures were the same or different. Response time and performance accuracy were recorded. The results of the experiment showed that not rotated figures were identified faster and more accurately than those rotated at any angle. The increase in reaction time as a linear function of the angle of rotation was not found (either under simultaneous presentation or under successive one).The same figures as well as the different ones were identified more accurately when presented successively than simultaneously and the response time was shorter under simultaneous presentation than under successive one. The accuracy of men and women did not differ, but men outperformed women by response time.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a major public health issue occuring in the United States and globally. While little is known in general about IPV, understanding about the prevalence of physical IPV among gay men is even more obscure. Scientific literature indicates that harmful lifestyle health behaviors (alcohol and drug abuse, smoking, and risky sexual behaviors) are associated with the increased occurenece of IPV. Intimate Partner Violence in same-sex relationships is often unreported due to society's emphasis on "moral closets" or the fear of potential repercussions. As a result, very few empiracal researches have been conducted on the phenomenon of same-sex partner abuse. this study was conducted to examine the feasibility of enrolling 100 gay men from Atlaqnta into an IPV survey study. The survey was administered via Facebook. Ninety-nine usable surveys were collected. Chi-square tests reveal that being Non-White, using substaces (alcohol, tobacco, and elicit drugs) and non-disclosed orientation staus were all significantly associated with positive IPV reports. Overall, the study sample believes IPV is a health problem in the Atlanta gay community. These findings bear importance for the Atlanta gay community and public health professionals who must address this nearly invisible yet increasing public health issue.

This thesis centers the voices of eight queer participants and explores their lived experiences of partner abuse, for the purpose of theorizing about queer partner abuse in ways that challenge and confirm mainstream heteronormative ways of understanding relationship abuse. The research was carried out using a critical qualitative thematic approach, which allowed for rich descriptions to be provided by participants through conversational interviews. The eight participants involved in this research were from the BC lower mainland and varied in age, socio-economic status, ability, mental/emotional health, race, and gender identity. Three themes emerged during the literature review and were central to the analysis: (a) gender; (b) power; and (c) service delivery. The findings indicate that participants not only internalized gender identities, but also constructed their experiences of relationship violence through the available discourse, which is mainstreamed and gendered. The most significant finding in this research has been the extent to which homophobia and heterosexism affected each of the participants within their personal relationships and in relation to their social environment.

Doctor of Philosophy / Research has shown that the school-based experiences of same-sex attracted (SSA) young people are frequently less than ideal, often fraught with verbal and physical harassment and social isolation from peers. School-based victimisation of SSA students has been correlated with their negative mental health outcomes, drug and alcohol use, decreased academic outcomes and lowered tertiary aspirations. These outcomes raise issues related to duty of care for educators, including the general responsibility of schools to create safe, equitable learning environments for all of their students. In order to better meet the needs of SSA students in Australia’s secondary schools, this nationwide study examined the current school climate toward same-sex attraction as described by SSA young people aged 14-19 through their reported experiences and perceptions of environmental stresses and supports, using Margaret Spencer’s PVEST model as the theoretical framework. A web-based survey instrument, advertised through both mainstream and lesbian/gay/bisexual-orientated youth sources, was used to sample Australian SSA students (N = 282). The relationships between SSA students’ perceptions of their school climate (including the treatment of SSA students and topics), their sense of connection to their school community, and their reported academic self-concept and motivation toward learning were investigated using bivariate and multivariate techniques, including structural equation modelling. In-depth interview sessions were conducted with six SSA young people in order to further examine these findings. Results indicated that SSA students’ perceptions of their school climate were directly related to their sense of safety within the school environment, their social connection to their peers and teachers, and their feelings of connectedness to the school environment in general. SSA students’ connection to their teachers and their school environment had the strongest total impact on their academic self-concept and motivation to learn. Of key import was the clear indirect impact of SSA students’ perceptions of their school climate on both of these important academic outcomes, through their connection to both their school community and general school environment. These findings allow for the generation of informed recommendations for school policy and practice with the academic outcomes of Australia’s SSA students in mind.

[Truncated abstract] Since the late 1970s, the phrase that has captured the imagination of China's enormous socio-economic change is kaifang (opening up). This phrase signals not only a series of state-directed projects to make China a 'modern' nation, but also a self-conscious desire to find a new sense of national importance and 'Chineseness'. This nationalist self-consciousness is not new, but it indicates a desire to leave China's socialist past behind and become a world power in the new millennium. This thesis explores the complex and heightened manifestations of national pride and identity that have emerged since the era of opening up. Its central question examines how a renewed form of Chineseness, with a specific focus on a fresh form of Chinese same-sex identity, is articulated in both nationalist and globalist terms, with particular reference to China's opening up. This thesis thus contributes to an understanding of how Chinese same-sex identity in urban China is variously constructed and celebrated; how it is transformed; and how it presents its resistances in the context of China's opening up to the mighty flux of globalisation. In doing so, the research illuminates how seemingly modern and authentic Chinese gay and lesbian identities in urban China come into being at the intersection of certain competing discourses. These discourses are predominantly represented in the contexts of 1) an increasingly globalised gay culture, 2) the ongoing construction of an indigenous Chinese identity, 3) a hybridised transnational/Chinese identity, and 4) the emergence of a gay space in Chinese cyberspace. By indicating how these discourses are simultaneously globalised, localised and deterritorialised, and are necessarily entangled with global power relations, I demonstrate how an essentialised notion of Chinese same-sex identity is continuously transformed by the imaginary power of China's opening up to broader contexts. I conclude that it is within the paradigm of China's opening up to the current globalising world that same-sex identity in urban China, as a rapidly changing notion, can best be understood. ... To an extent, the articulation of seemingly modern and authentic Chinese gay and lesbian identities in urban China is in a state of continuous tension between opening up to a global identity and preserving a local authenticity. Furthermore, the development of these gay and lesbian identities is conditioned and regulated by political thought and action. In this way, political conditioning ensures control and conformity in the articulation of Chinese (same-sex) identity in a self-censored (or ziwo shencha) manner. Most fundamentally, self-censorship is practised more effectively at an individual level than at a state level. Against this background, I argue that the articulation of same-sex identity in urban China is paradoxical: open and decentred, but at the same time, nationalist and conforming to state control.