The majority of literature on the adult entertainment looks at objectification and subjugation of women. Women’s experiences in such arenas are negotiated through circumstances beyond their immediate control. In fact many find themselves in this profession out of destitution and need. The result of which is an experience that is even more harrowing, and psychologically and physically destructive. Previous research suggest that many women in this profession then find themselves in precarious relations, often turning to drugs and alcohol to deal with the highly negative aspect of the industry. However, what is not that often reported on are those women who decide to explore this profession out of mere curiosity or even as a career choice. This analysis aimed to investigate one area of this industry, namely striptease. With focus on the high-end (a more regulated and lucrative end) of the striptease spectrum, this analysis was aimed at investigating the phenomological experiences of women in this sector. We look at the experiences of four women at one of the more prestigious strip-clubs in Johannesburg, referred to as The Club. This study aimed to provide some insight to why some South African women chose to enter striptease—as not much research has been done in this area. More high-end clubs seemed theoretically the most practical site to investigate such a choice. This study was based qualitatively, with the use of semi-structured interview which were analyzed through thematic content analysis. The results of this study are categorized into three sections and framed from an emotional labour perspective. Firstly, the experiences on these women provide a challenge to the traditional feminism perspective—exposing a dynamic power relation that may suggest that, within the high-end at least, women may experience a sense of liberation. Secondly, this study aimed to expose the emotional laboriousness of enacting a sexualised fantasy that is convincing. It was found that such an enactment requires an intense interplay between what is considered the real self and the embodiment and portrayal the girlfriend experience. Lastly, we look at the psychological defensive dissociation that occurs though this interplay between fantasy and reality. In essence this analysis has shed new light on striptease and has provided many new avenues for future research in South Africa.

This thesis investigates women's feelings on being subjected to piropos (catcalling) in their everyday lives. Through interviews with four Cuban women living in Havana, I analyse women's experiences of piropos through a phenomenological lens and through speech theory, investigating how norms surrounding sexualities and gender are materialised in and between language, bodies and spaces. I also investigate which acts of resistance and defence mechanisms my interviewees employ in order to cope with piropos. The first part of the analysis investigates the gendered dimensions of piropos, discussing how it constitutes gendered subject positions while enforcing gender inequality. My interviewees describe how being subjected to piropos makes them feel more feminine and links the occurrence of piropos directly to their self-esteem. They also describe how the occurrence of piropos conditions their possibility to move freely around the city. In the second part of the analysis I look at piropos as a heterosexual game in which different rules apply depending on gender. Lastly, this thesis focuses on my interviewees' accounts of resistance by analysing silence as well as verbal responses to piropos as a way of breaking the rules of the heterosexual game.

This thesis is a discourse analysis of six rape trials, with the intention to analyze how the plaintiffs’’ resistance is described. The overall aim is to investigate whether there are forms of resistance that the courts find more desirable and if there are any rules for how resistance should manifest itself. I will also investigate how the rape is itself described by the plaintiff and courts, respectively. I will analyze how this affects the understanding and attitude toward what has happened. My discourse analysis instrument aims to highlight that there are rules that govern the words of the plaintiffs’ testimony during a trial. The discursive analysis that I apply is based on a social constructionist view, which means that there is not an objective truth and thus the language utilized acts to shape reality. In this analysis, I identify something called a “norm of resistance”, which means that courts treat certain forms of resistance preferentially: specifically the plaintiff must be seen to clearly establish her non-consent to the sexual act by her physical resistance. The resistance should have the intention of making the accused stop, and the resistance should also be based on the defendant's behavior. Witnesses in cases where the indictment was upheld are characterized by the plaintiffs providing logical explanations for her actions and resistance. In cases where the indictment was dismissed the plaintiff described something, which I see, as an internal resistance. The internal resistance is characterized by the plaintiff establishing non-consent by being physically passive. Here I would argue that internal resistance makes the plaintiffs' testimony abortive, because they do not follow the rules of legitimate resistance. In the second chapter, I will examine how the "rape" is described in court. In Swedish law, the sexual act is called sexual intercourse. The analysis of the description of sexual acts will show these descriptions to be based on norms of sexual behavior, where passivitvity from the plaintiff during the rape is a sign that the “sexual act” is mutual. When courts label the sexual act as mutual, the act is not seen as violent, but as purely sexual.

We live in a world where slavery has taken on a new form. Even though the type of slavery we learn about in the history books has been abolished, slavery continues today through, among other things, the sex trade. This study is a qualitative informant study that aims to find out how Swedish non-profit organizations provide support and protection to women who have been subjected to human trafficking for sexual purposes, and what explanatory models exist for why human trafficking for sexual purposes takes place today. The study has also examined which areas for improvement can be identified in the work for support and protection of victims of human trafficking for sexual purposes. The study is based on semi-structured interviews from 4 different Swedish non-profit organizations that in various ways are active actors in the work with human trafficking for sexual purposes. The results shed light on the fact that there is a demand for sexual services that propel the industry of human trafficking for sexual purposes forward. This type of crime can also be explained as a type of gender-based violence that is rooted in a patriarchal and unequal society. Civil society has an important and crucial role to play in combating this type of crime and, not least, in providing support and protection to victims of trafficking. A human trafficking victim has both urgent and long-term needs that need to be met. The study describes civil society's support and protection efforts that human trafficking victims are offered and what conditions they have in Sweden to provide it.