Traditional views regarding families are being challenged by new family arrangements. In this study I have explored the experiences of children growing up in same-gendered families, in order to inform our current understanding of how children experience the social constructedness of same-gendered families. I have utilised a narrative research design in order to present and re-present the children’s own meaning-making about being a child in a same-gendered family. I also inquired into the ways in which they negotiate the heteronormativity of society. In order to situate the broader contextual factors of heteronormativity I constructed a narrative tale, which was then developed throughout the thesis as part of the presentation to create a multivoiced, dialogical and reflexive text. From a holistic analysis of the created data, narratives were written which gives a unique and individual account of the experiences of each child that I had engaged with. Grounded in these narratives five concepts emerged, that formed my conceptualisation of the experiences of children growing up in same-gendered families. The main findings suggest that the experiences of children growing up in same-gendered families in this study are (1) that they experience different levels (or ways) of okayness, namely a level of okayness regarding having same-gender parents and a level of okayness to disclose or not to disclose their family structure, (2) children in same-gendered families are aware of others’ okayness or open-mindedness regarding same-gendered families, (3) children in same-gendered families at times show the need for openness in their relationships with others and (4), children in same-gendered families receive support from their parents, siblings, significant others, friends, class mates and other children also growing up in same-gendered families. Finally, I have also explored the interconnectedness between okayness, disclosure, awareness, openness and support and constructed a conceptual framework that serve as a theoretical forestructure against which the findings, interpretations and narratives can be viewed. / Thesis (PhD (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Same-sex divorce is on the horizon in light of the 2015 legalization of same-sex marriage. Since most divorce case law is based on heteronormative presumptions, the authors were curious to understand how local district judges would adjudicate a same-sex divorce case involving a child born prior to the legal marriage. A qualitative study was implemented and a convenient sample of four local district judges in Upper East Tennessee were interviewed for this study. Interview questions were submitted to the judges prior to the interview and themes were identified following data collection. None of the judges had adjudicated a same-sex divorce. All of the judges admitted that they were unfamiliar with case law on same-sex divorce and acknowledged that they would most likely default to heteronormative case law. The judges indicated that they have not had any training on the changing case law as it relates to same-sex divorce and custody issues. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.

University of Macau / Faculty of Law

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Marriage is regarded as one of the most important and universal cultural symbols of belonging, and incorporates a range of privileges that can be acquired in no other way. It is where relationships of desire, politics and economics are fused into personal and public rituals of socially sanctioned connection and inclusion. Yet it draws new boundaries of social inclusion and exclusion or stigmatisation. In this thesis I use narrative inquiry to investigate how seventeen Capetonian queer couples in committed relationships perceive and experience same-sex marriage, and ask whether the Civil Union Act has given them a greater sense of belonging. Sexuality is deeply politicised through gendered disciplinary regimes that impinge on people’s emotional and intimate lives. Sexual politics in South Africa today emerge from a complex history of the sycretisation of widely varying cultural and political discourses, beliefs and practices wrought through colonialism and post-colonial recuperation. The formal protection of lgbti-q identities in the post-apartheid South African Constitution is the outcome of strategic struggles for lgbti-q recognition as human rights. However, formal rights do not necessarily lead to social inclusion as they may not reflect extant cultural values, hence I use the thicker concept of ‘belonging’ as developed by Yuval-Davis to analyse everyday inclusion—a concept which enables me to understand ‘privatised’ and affective dimensions of citizenship shaped by contexts of care and interpersonal intimacy. Worldwide, marriage has long been a central institution in how societies regulate their social and physical reproduction; but marriage also confers privileges which can be accessed in no other way. As in the West, marriage equality was a key aim for lgbti-q struggles in South Africa. But feminists have critiqued marriage as an institution of gendered hierarchy and a site of profound oppression for women. It is at the centre of the private|public dichotomy, and symbolic of women’s differentiated citizenship through, inter alia, the ideology of ‘women as property’. Hence same-sex marriage is deeply politicised in how it upholds or challenges heteropatriarchy. By looking at how a diverse range of same-sex couples in committed relationships perceive and experience same-sex marriage in South Africa, I unravel the ambiguities and contradictions of marriage as a project of belonging for lesbians and gays. Marriage as a sexual politics of belonging is about how lesbian and gay citizens experience equality and dignity in their everyday lives—recognition of them as citizen-subjects, protection of their intimate relationships as well as their struggles for belonging. I engage with the complex outcomes of colonial conquest and post-colonial recuperation on African sexual identities, before turning to an understanding of queer citizenship. I show how belonging is a much thicker concept than citizenship because it accesses our affective relationships. I proceed to use Nira Yuval-Davis’s framework for analysing belonging. She divides belonging into two streams: facets of belonging relating to identities, social locations and political and ethical values; and a politics of belonging. Struggles for belonging are waged around boundaries of inclusions and exclusions, and only become visible when belonging is contested. Projects for belonging are complex and multi-layered negotiations around the boundaries of belonging. Using narrative inquiry, I present the stories of seventeen couples and six key informants to fashion a narrative about same-sex marriage as a project of belonging. I asked them about coming out, and how they met their partners. They also told me about their relationships with children and significant others. We talked about their perceptions and experiences of same-sex marriage, and their views of the Constitution and Civil Union Act. I also asked about their sense of safety as queers and what they thought needed to be done to help queers belong (more). The participants’ most significant sense of belonging derived from having their rights protected in the Constitution. Their sense of entitlement to be who they are, was the outcome of powerful struggles for recognition. The various couples had been in committed relationships for between 8 and 52 years. Some had made use of the immigration status of same-sex partners to be together, which meant they were instantly thrown into ‘marriage’-like situations. Some didn’t want to get married, but 10 couples were married. Except for two couples, all the couples who got married did it primarily for the tangible benefits associated with marriage: through marriage they established formal kinship relationships linked to property and commitment to care. They were generally not interested in the cultural trappings of ‘weddings’, and had modest and quiet ceremonies. All the married couples affirmed that the Act had given them a greater sense of belonging. While all the participants valued formal recognition through the Constitution, the lack of substantive equality needed to be addressed to ensure future belonging for lgbti-q. I concluded that same-sex marriages are powerful social institutions, capable of either upholding heteropatriarchies through homonormative performances, but also capable of subversions. A foundational challenge comes through disrupting the ‘women as property’ exchange embedded in most marital traditions. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die huwelik word beskou as een van die belangrikste en algemeenste kulturele simbole van samesyn, en behels ’n reeks voordele wat op geen ander manier toeganklik is nie. Die huwelik is die kern waar begeerte, politiek en ekonomie verenig in persoonlike en openbare instellings van gemeenskaplike aanvaarding en verbinding. Terselfdertyd teken dit ook nuwe grense van sosiale insluiting, uitsluiting of stigmatisering. In hierdie tesis ondersoek ek wat sewentien Kaapse queer paartjies in vaste verhoudings dink van gay huwelike en hoe hulle dit ondervind, en ek vra of die Civil Union Act hulle meer samesyn (belonging) laat voel. Seksualiteit is uiters polities omdat dissiplinêre sisteme mense se emosionele en intieme lewes reguleer. Seksuele politiek in die huidige Suid-Afrika spruit uit ’n gekompliseerde geskiedenis van ’n samevloeiing van verkillende kulturele en politiese diskoerse, gelowe en praktyke van kolonialisme en post-kolonialistiese herstel. Die formele beskerming van lgbti-q identiteite in die post-apartheid Grondwet van Suid-Afrika, is die uitkomste van strategiese stryde vir lgbti-q herkenning as menseregte. Nogtans het formele regte nie noodwendig gelei tot sosiale insluiting omdat hulle nie die bestaande kulturele waardes weerspieël nie, daarom gebruik ek die konsep van ‘samesyn’ soos ontwikkel deur Yuval-Davis om alledaagse insluiting te ontleed—’n konsep wat my in staat stel om die ‘private’ en emosionele dimensies van burgerskap, die kontekste van sorg en interpersoonlike intimiteit, te verstaan. Wêreldswyd is die huwelik ’n kerninstelling in die regulering van sosiale en fisiese voortplanting in gemeenskappe. Maar die huwelik verleen ook voorregte wat op geen ander manier verkrygbaar is nie. Soos in die Weste, is huweliks-gelykheid ’n sleutelpunt in stryde vir lgbti-q erkenning in Suid-Afrika. Maar feministe het kritiek gelewer teen die huwelik omdat hulle glo dis ’n terrein vir die instelling van geslagshiërargie en diepgaande onderdrukking van vroue. Dit is die spilpunt waarom die verdeling tussen privaat | openbaar draai, en is simbolies van vroue se gedifferensieerde burgerskap deur, onder andere, die ideologie van ‘vroue as besittings’. Dus is gay huwelike polities ingewortel in hoe hulle heteropatriargie onderskraag of aanvat. Deur te kyk hoe etlike Suid-Afrikaanse paartjies van dieselfde geslag hulle toegewyde verhoudings beskou en ondervind, ontrafel ek die raaisels en dubbelsinnighede van gay huwelike as ’n projek van samesyn vir lesbiërs en gays. Die huwelik as seksuele politiek van samesyn is hoe lesbiese en gay burgers in die alledaagse lewe hulle gelykheid en menswaardigheid beleef—dat hulle as burgers erken word, en dat hulle intieme verhoudings sowel as hulle stryde vir samesyn gekoester word. Ek ontrafel die kompleksiteit van Afrikane se seksualiteite deur die gevolge van koloniale verowering en post-koloniale herwinning aan te pak, voor ek na queer burgerskap kyk. Ek bewys dat samesyn ’n meer betekenisvolle begrip is as burgerskap omdat dit ook ons emosionele verhoudings kan aanspreek. Ek gebruik Nira Yuval-Davis se raamwerk vir die ontleding van samesyn. Sy deel dit in twee strome: fasette van samesyn verbonde aan identiteite, sosiale stand en politieke en etiese waardes; en die politiek van samesyn. Stryde oor samesyn word rondom grense van insluiting en uitsluiting gevoer, en word slegs sigbaar wanneer samesyn bevraagteken word. Projekte vir samesyn is ingewikkeld met veelvoudige onderhandelings rondom grense van in— of uitsluiting. Ek gebruik verhaalontleding om die stories van sewentien paartjies en ses sleutelinformante te omskep in ’n vertelling omtrent gay huwelike as ’n projek van samesyn. Ek het hulle gevra oor hoe hulle “uit die kas geklim” het, en hoe hulle hulle minnaars ontmoet het. Hulle het my ook vertel van hulle verhoudings met hulle kinders en belangrike mense in hulle lewens. Ons het gepraat oor hulle sienswyses oor, en ondervindings van, gay huwelike, en hulle sienings oor die Grondwet en Civil Union Act. Ek het ook uitgevra omtrent hoe veilig hulle voel as queers, en wat hulle dink gedoen moet word sodat queers (meer) samesyn kan ondervind. Die deelnemers se grootse gevoel van samesyn was as gevolg van hulle regte wat gekoester word deur die Grondwet. Hulle gevoel van geregtigheid om te wees wie hulle is, het gespruit uit ’n kragtige stryd vir erkenning. Die verskillende paartjies was tussen 8 en 52 jaar lank in vaste verhoudings. Party het gebruik gemaak van die immigrasie wetgewing vir gay minnaars om saam te bly, wat beteken het dat hulle hulle summier in ‘huwelik’-soortige verhoudings bevind het. Party wou nie trou nie, maar 10 paartjies het getrou. Behalwe twee paartjies, het al die paartjies gesê hulle het hoofsaaklik getrou om die tasbare voordele van huwelike te geniet: deur huwelike kon hulle formele verwantskappe skep met besittings en verpligtings tot sorg. Hulle was oor die algemeen nie geïnteresseerd in die kulturele vertoon van troues nie, en het beskeie en stil seremonies gehou. Al die getroude paartjies het gesê dat die Civil Union Act hulle ’n groter gevoel van samesyn gebring het. Alhoewel al die deelnemers die amptelike erkenning van die Grondwet waardeer het, het hulle gesê dat die gebrekkigheid aan substantiewe gelykheid aangespreek moet word om toekomstige samesyn vir gays te verseker. Ek het tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat gay huwelike kragtige gemeenskaplike instellings is wat heteropatriargieë kan onderskraag deur homonormatiewe gedrag, maar dat hulle ook ondermynend kan wees. ’n Fundamentele uitdaging is die moontlike ontwrigting van ‘vroue as besittings’ onderhandelings wat in meeste huwelikstradisies vasgelê is.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:20:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carlla Berttonciini.pdf: 1117580 bytes, checksum: 215f38399a6e5c015a972fb097b9fbe3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-05-25 / The present thesis main message is the same-sex union recognition as a regular family entity in similarity with any other relationship committed by the affection, as well as the recognition of this union by a general clause of a fully affection union; validate the study on the family evolution and emphasize its social importance. To analyze the family in the Brazilian law and show the link between a contemporary family and a same-sex marriage family. Highlight was given to the religious and historical aspects of same-sex unions. What the Bible really says about same-sex unions. It was pointed that the same-sex unions context in the compared law and the several manners of evaluating the same-sex union. Privacy, intimacy, the exercise of ones sexuality and same-sex unions were analyzed. This study seeks, without stressing out the subject, recognize the same-sex unions as a family entity, once the Federal Constitution of 1988, by rule, did not recognized such marriages. The doctrinal and the Brazilian justice have found some fundamentals for its recognition / O presente trabalho objetivou o reconhecimento da união homoafetiva como entidade familiar autônoma, por analogia com as relações que têm o afeto por causa e, também, o reconhecimento dessa união pela clausula geral de comunhão plena de vida ou de afetos; verificar o estudo da evolução da palavra família e destacar a sua importância social. Fazer uma análise da família no Direito Brasileiro e demonstrar o entrosamento entre família contemporânea e família homoafetiva. Foi dado ênfase aos aspectos históricos e religiosos da homoafetividade . Destacou-se, também, o que a Bíblia, diz, realmente sobre a homossexualidade. Foi observado o contexto das uniões homoafetivas no Direito Comparado e foram analisadas diversas maneiras de avaliar a homoafetividade. Foram analisados a intimidade, a privacidade, o exercício da sexualidade e as uniões homoafetivas. No presente trabalho, procura-se, sem a pretensão de esgotamento do assunto, reconhecer a união homoafetiva como entidade familiar, pois a Constituição Federal de 1988, por preconceito, não reconheceu tais uniões. A doutrina e o Judiciário brasileiro têm encontrado alguns fundamentos para o seu reconhecimento

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Communication, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-77).

Orientador: Evelina Dagnino / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-19T07:08:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Santos_GustavoGomesdaCosta_D.pdf: 1007047 bytes, checksum: b854b4d183a7e219363b228e2bd0e6d5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: A presente pesquisa analisa as lutas e conflitos em torno do reconhecimento legal das uniões entre pessoas do mesmo sexo no Brasil e na África do Sul. O estudo faz uso da perspectiva histórica para entender como ambos os países têm respondido às demandas por direitos sexuais no âmbito da política institucional. O "sucesso" sul-africano em criar uma ampla legislação favorável aos casais do mesmo sexo é contrastado com o relativo "fracasso" brasileiro em aprovar leis para este segmento da população. Variáveis do sistema político-jurídico, juntamente com a confluência (ou não) de projetos políticos comprometidos com a construção democrática presentes no âmbito da sociedade civil e do Estado explicam os resultados tão díspares nos dois países. A pesquisa inclui também a análise dos direitos garantidos aos casais do mesmo sexo em leis e decisões judiciais. Especial ênfase será dada na nomenclatura atribuída a estas uniões de maneira a compreender: a) se as leis e decisões judiciais garantem todos os direitos conjugais (herança, declaração conjunta de bens, adoção conjunta de crianças, garantia de visto de permanência de parceiro estrangeiro entre outros) aos casais do mesmo sexo e b) em que medida leis e decisões judiciais promoveram ou não a equiparação "simbólica" entre casais do mesmo sexo e casais do sexo opostos / Abstract: This research analyses the struggles and conflicts around the legal recognition of same-sex unions in Brazil and South Africa. The study takes the historical perspective to understand how both countries have met the demands for sexual rights in the political arena. The South African "success" in passing favorable legislation for same-sex couples is contrasted with the Brazilian "failure" in approving laws which extend marital rights for lesbian and gay couples. These divergent results are explained by differences in the configuration of political and legal systems and the presence (or not) of political actors (in civil society and the State) committed with a democratic political project. This study also includes an analysis of the rights granted to same-sex couples by laws and judicial decisions. Based on the differences in naming, the study examines: a) if laws and judicial decisions in both countries had extended all conjugal rights (inheritance, taxes deductions, joint adoption, immigration rights) to same-sex couples and b) to what extend had these laws and judicial decisions symbolically equalized same-sex and opposite sex couples / Doutorado / Ciencia Politica / Doutor em Ciência Política

No description available.

Bakgrund: Idag lever cirka 20 000 samer i Sverige varav cirka 2500 har sin huvudsakliga inkomst från renskötsel. Livet som renskötare beskrivs som fritt men samtidigt präglat av konstant oro och stress inför framtiden. Diskriminering och bristande stöd hör till vardagen och senare forskning visar att ohälsan ökar bland renskötare. De flesta hälsoproblemen bland renskötande samer grundar sig i marginalisering och kunskapsbrist hos allmänheten gällande renskötsel och samisk kultur. Syfte: Att belysa upplevelser av hälsa bland renskötande samer i en sameby i Sverige. Metod: Semistrukturerade intervjuer med intervjuguide och följdfrågor kring upplevelsen av hälsa användes. Totalt 27 personer tillfrågades om deltagande och elva personer medgav samtycke. Intervjuerna spelades in, transkriberades och analyserades enligt kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Intervjuerna genomfördes under januari och februari månad 2016. Resultat: Tre kategorier och elva underkategorier identifierades utifrån informanternas upplevelser. Kategorierna som identifierades var; förutsättningar för en god hälsa, hinder för en god hälsa samt hälsa i framtiden. Resultatet visar på att renskötarna saknar stöd och förståelse från myndigheter samt ortsbefolkning och att det råder informationsbrist gällande den samiska kulturen. Dagens ökade exploatering och klimatförändringar skapar svårigheter i arbetet med renskötsel och det är en bidragande orsak till renskötarnas upplevelse av ohälsa. Slutsats: Resultatet av studien visar att det finns fortsatt behov av forskning inom området då renskötarna befinner sig i en utsatt situation vilket påverkar deras hälsa på ett negativt sätt. Resultatet ses som användbart till det fortsatta arbetet inom svensk hälso- och sjukvård samt aktörer såsom myndigheter och övriga befolkningen.

In recent years, cellular systems based on orthogonal frequency division multiple access – time division duplex (OFDMA-TDD) have gained considerable popularity. Two of the major reasons for this are, on the one hand, that OFDMA enables the receiver to effectively cope with multipath propagation while keeping the complexity low. On the other hand, TDD offers efficient support for cell-specific uplink (UL)/downlink (DL) asymmetry demands by allowing each cell to independently set its UL/DL switching point (SP). However, cell-independent SP gives rise to crossed slots. In particular, crossed slots arise when neighbouring cells use the same slot in opposing link directions, resulting in base station (BS)-to-BS interference and mobile station (MS)-to-MS interference. BS-to-BS interference, in particular, can be quite detrimental due to the exposed location of BSs, which leads to high probability of line-of-sight (LOS) conditions. The aim of this thesis is to address the BS-to-BS interference problem in OFDMA-TDDcellular networks. A simulation-based approach is used to demonstrate the severity of BS-to-BS interference and a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) equation for OFDMA is formulated to aid system performance analysis. The detrimental effects of crossed slot interference in OFDMA-TDD cellular networks are highlighted by comparing methods specifically targeting the crossed slots interference problem. In particular, the interference avoidance method fixed slot allocation (FSA) is compared against state of the art interference mitigation approaches, viz: random time slot opposing (RTSO) and zone division (ZD). The comparison is done based on Monte Carlo simulations and the main comparison metric is spectral efficiency calculated using the SINR equation formulated in this thesis. The simulation results demonstrate that when LOS conditions among BSs are present, both RTSO and ZD perform worse than FSA for all considered performance metrics. It is concluded from the results that current interference mitigation techniques do not offer an effective solution to the BS-to-BS interference problem. Hence, new interference avoidance methods, which unlike FSA, do not sacrifice the advantages of TDD are open research issues addressed in this thesis. The major contribution of this thesis is a novel cooperative resource balancing technique that offers a solution to the crossed slot problem. The novel concept, termed asymmetry balancing, is targeted towards next-generation cellular systems, envisaged to have ad hoc and multi-hop capabilities. Asymmetry balancing completely avoids crossed slots by keeping the TDD SPs synchronised among BSs. At the same time, the advantages of TDD are retained, which is enabled by introducing cooperation among the entities in the network. If a cell faces resource shortage in one link direction, while having free resources in the opposite link direction, the free resources can be used to support the overloaded link direction. In particular, traffic can be offloaded to near-by mobile stations at neighbouring cells that have available resources. To model the gains attained with asymmetry balancing, a mathematical framework is developed which is verified by Monte Carlo simulations. In addition, asymmetry balancing is compared against both ZD and FSA based on simulations and the results demonstrate the superior performance of asymmetry balancing. It can be concluded that the novel interference avoidance approach is a very promising candidate to.