The study consisted of a qualitative analysis of female swingers' perceptions, attitudes, and experiences related to their participation in the Lifestyle. Using feminist standpoint theory and pro-sex feminist theory as the theoretical framework, in-depth interviews were conducted via the Internet using instant messaging with sixteen female swingers. The women were asked questions regarding their attitudes and perceptions about swinging as well as their experiences in the Lifestyle. Findings were compared with previous studies from the 1970s as well as with common feminist thoughts and potential misconceptions about the Lifestyle. The results showed that although demographically the female swingers were similar to past studies, much of the previous research data was outdated and incorrect. Furthermore, the study provides evidence to

This thesis examines the differences of experiences in working-class and middleclass women's lives due to childhood gender-role socialization and current situations in their lives. The purpose of the study is to examine how past and present experiences influenced four groups of women in making career decisions: 1) owners of nontraditional (male-type) businesses, 2) owners of traditional (female-type) businesses, 3) non-owners of nontraditional (male-type) businesses, and 4) non-owners of traditional (female-type) businesses. Both social and cognitive processes were examined for clues. In-depth interviews were conducted with a total of twenty women to examine their Childhood and current experiences of gender socialization. The women were chosen on the basis of their current occupation. Questions were designed to elicit descriptions of respondents' experiences regarding: 1) common interactions with siblings, friends, parents, and teachers (significant others); 2) messages about careers and educational options from significant others; 3) messages about motherhood from significant others; 4) gender stereotyped actions from significant others; 5) role models; 6) parental education and occupational training; 7) current social networks; 8) how the respondent became interested in her career; 9) respondents' work experiences and educational levels; and 10) major influences on respondents' occupational choices. The socialization approach was used to analyze and explain how these women's experiences affected their career choices. In addition symbolic interactionism and a middle-range theory called habitus and field by Pierre Bourdieu were used. It was found that women who are from the working class experience a cumulative disadvantage due to an internalized scheme through which their values are filtered. In addition, the opportunity structure is not as developed for working-class women as it is for women who are considered middle class (based on their occupation). Business owners were found to have many shared experiences which were not common to the other category of women. The first is that most business owners turned out to have been raised by parents with liberal gender-role attitudes. As a result, most reported that motherhood was not an assumed fact for their lives. When motherhood is not assumed, girls feel less pressure to prioritize marriage and family above a career. In addition, eight out of ten business owners had parents who actively encouraged Achievement values. All ten business owners learned to set long-term goals as children, and most had nontraditional hobbies. Nine out of ten business owners, as opposed to four out of ten non-business owners, had parents who actively supported their hobbies. Also, the majority of business owners, as children, had known and admired at least one person who had an interesting career. The non-business owners and the women who are in traditional occupations are cumulatively disadvantaged as regards their ability to make a completely free choice regarding a career. During childhood they received more messages that might have led them to assume that motherhood must take priority over career plans; they experienced fewer nontraditional hobbies and less parental support regarding long-term goals; they had less exposure to women in nontraditional careers or to women who were business owners; they had less assistance planning a career; and their parents provided fewer achievement-oriented activities and were less likely to interact with them on a regular basis. Thus far during adulthood they have experienced less support for their career goals; they experience less autonomy, flexibility, and creativity on the job, and they are likely to feel less confident about financial planning and their own leadership ability: Over all, they have lower self-confidence than business owners and women in nontraditional careers.

Attributions for success and failure have been the topic of much research. One area of focus is that of gender differences. Research has produced highly inconsistent results, but many believe that differences exist in the way men and women attribute success and failure. The present study was designed to identify differences in the ways college men and women make attributions for success and failure and to determine whether there are gender differences in attributions for success and failure in ego-involved areas. Three hundred and ninety undergraduate students completed the Collegiate Attributions Scale. Results showed that (a) college students are more likely to make internal/stable attributions for success in a class of their major than in a class outside their major, (b) females are as likely as males to attribute success to internal/ stable factors and failure to external/unstable factors, (c) both males and females tend to attribute academic failure to lack of effort and course difficulty, (d) females are more likely than males to make internal/stable attributions for success in gender role consistent classes and for failure in gender role inconsistent classes, and (e) females are more likely than males to attribute both academic success and failure to effort. These results suggest that female attributions undergo some changes from high school to college, but male attributions remain fairly constant.

The primary purpose of this research was to examine a sample of sixteen lesbian women regarding the barriers to lesbian health-care. From this information several interpretive findings regarding lesbian health-care are made. Data were gathered via indepth interviews with each individual lesbian. The data suggest that most lesbian women do not reveal their sexual orientation to their primary-care physician for fear of reprisal. Most of the women interviewed do feel they receive adequate health-care from their physician. The women who participated in this project did so confidentially and were assigned pseudonyms. They were asked questions on a variety of topics, which included demographics, physical health-care, mental health-care, general health, dental care, social and political issues, and homophobia. It was assumed that participants from smaller, more rural areas would face more barriers to health-care than participants from larger cities. The data gathered indicate that only three of the participants had, in fact, informed their primary-care physicians of their sexual orientation. Erving Goffman's stigma and social identity theory, feminist standpoint theory, lesbian feminist theory, and feminist theory provided the theoretical framework utilized in the analysis of barriers to lesbian health care. Combining these three theories allows a discussion of how stigma and homophobia combine to make lesbians invisible in the medical community. Health-care systems, like other major institutions, are structured to support traditional society.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Guidelines on Sexual Harassment identify six factors that are relevant in determinations of sexual harassment. This study attempted to determine if three of these factors (i.e., frequency of harassment, number of victims and number of perpetrators) drive perceptions of what constitutes sexual harassment. Participants role-playing jurors on an hostile environment sexual harassment case demonstrated no differences in perceptions as a function of number of victims or number of perpetrators. The significant effect for frequency of harassment was not in the hypothesized direction, with less frequent harassment being perceived as more likely to constitute sexual harassment. The well-documented gender difference in perceptions of sexual harassment was observed in this study. However, analyses indicated that women are more likely to perceive a situation as sexually harassing because they are more feminine, not simply because of their gender.

The aim of this study was to, on the basis of normalization and autonomy; investigate how staff working in group homes discusses about sexuality of people with an intellectual disability. Our study was based on ten semi-structured interviews of both care staff and heads of group homes to get responses from different levels within the same organization. The empirical material was analyzed through the theory of social constructivism, which focuses on how we construct the world through interaction and language, and the normalization principle whose goal is that all people with developmental disabilities should have the opportunity to live like all other people. We view these theories as useful to gain understanding of the questions in our study. The result of this study showed that the subject only comes up for discussion when problems arise, that the communication on the subject is inadequate and more discussion is requested. Further the result illustrated that staff strives for people with developmental disabilities to feel they have autonomy but this is also a challenge in their work.

It is clear that the US federal government is concerned about the country's teen pregnancy rates and would like to see changes. Without a precise understanding of the factors associated with adolescent pregnancy, and specifically with Hispanic female adolescent pregnancy, monies allocated to prevention programs could go to waste. The focus of this study was to systematically review the current literature as it relates to factors, in this case attitudes, beliefs and practices that influence Hispanic female adolescents' reproductive behaviors. This study consisted of systematically reviewing published studies, through a process of abstracting and organizing their findings into a matrix. Three electronic databases were searched: MEDLINE, ERIC, and CINAHL. The initial search yielded a total of 494 publications. After applying specific inclusion criteria, the final sample of publications included forty-nine (n=49). Publications were categorized as primarily quantitative or primarily qualitative studies. Methodological characteristics of each study were judged using an overall methodological quality score (MQS) assigned to each study. Different MQS criteria were developed for qualitative and quantitative studies. A total of 205 findings were abstracted from the 49 included reports. Beliefs that were identified consistently among the studies were norms and values associated with condom use, partner's beliefs, hedonistic beliefs, and communicative beliefs. Norms and values were also seen as important when adolescents chose to remain abstinent. Findings that were unique the Hispanic adolescent population were identified as well with cultural factors showing significant associations. Regarding methodological quality, fewer than 50% of studies included a theoretical framework and only 11 included Hispanic-only samples. Qualitative studies had similar findings to those of the quantitative studies, but also introduced new factors associated with reproductive behaviors. Acculturation constructs were seen among the qualitative studies as being positively associated to sexual abstinence. Other behaviors such as partner's manipulation of birth control and the use of female condoms were unique to the qualitative studies done in this review. This review provided a critical assessment of the literature and it methodological qualities. Findings should be interpreted with caution due to limitations. Concentrating on unique factors associated with the Hispanic population can lead to interventions that are culturally sensitive to this population and effective. Health professionals should focus on conducting more studies with exclusively Hispanic samples and use factors unique to the Hispanic population when planning health education programs that are culturally sensitivity to Hispanic female adolescents' needs and world-views.

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ABSTRACT Sexual issues are common among the general population; therefore it is likely that clients suffer with them whether or not they are presenting issues. Because unresolved sexual issues may contribute to harm, counselors have an ethical obligation to ensure these issues are addressed during therapy. Yet, many fail to do so for a variety of reasons. Because clinical supervisors are in a unique position to nurture and mentor novice counselors, their influence is salient to this issue. Although some research has been done to address this issue, results are inconclusive and somewhat contradictory. This study attempts to fill in the missing data and to address some of the discrepancies by exploring how counselors perceive addressing sexual issues, identifying some of the influencing factors that allow this issue to persist, and exploring how clinical supervisors can be supportive. Sixty-three mental health professionals from the state of Florida participated in a survey where they were asked about both their experiences as clinicians and as interns under supervision. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, and descriptive statistics, as well as chi-square test of independence were calculated. The degree to which counselors reported being very comfortable with addressing clients' sexual issues did not align with the reported frequency of initiation of the topic nor the reported levels of discomfort on specific sexual topics. Comfort levels related to discussing sexual issues were found to be positively associated with frequency of initiation, and in couples cases, female counselors raised the topic significantly more often than male counselors. Other findings are analyzed and discussed, conclusions are drawn, and recommendations for future study and implications for the field are included.

This study examines the experiences of women rugby players to understand how gender informs their participation in a sport described as masculine. Considering how race, gender, and sexuality constitute women’s identities is important when answering the question of how women experience playing “masculine sports.” This project examines how race, specifically whiteness, and sexuality inform the gendered experiences of women athletes. Using interviews with women rugby players, I consider how women who play a sport characterized by masculinity describe their experiences as rugby players. I argue that reflecting on how race and sexuality constitute these athletes’ experiences illuminates the different ways in which the categories of masculinity and femininity are racially constructed, constantly in flux, and contested. / text