As perennial Christian ideals, virginity and chastity were frequent themes in medieval religious discourse. Male religious were frequently virgins and were expected to cultivate chastity; however, women not men were usually the focus of such discussions. But some monastic writers did draw on those models when considering their own spirituality, and it is worth knowing how they were understood and enlisted in those instances. To this end, I investigate five eleventh- and twelfth-century monks who wrote about monastic virginity or chastity: Anselm of Canterbury, Guibert of Nogent, Rupert of Deutz, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Ælred of Rievaulx. In my analysis, I uncover each author’s perception of virginity/chastity. Thus, I reveal that Anselm’s Deploratio is not about lost physical virginity or even sexual sin per se; it is a spiritual meditation driven by his immense fear that sinners would be forever damned. Guibert’s work exposes what a treatise on virginity could become in the hands of an adolescent struggling with sexual desire and steeped in lessons taught by his monastery. Rupert’s tract on virginity and masturbation portrays male virginity as tangible and potent. In so doing, it erects a barrier defending Rupert’s work as an exegete against detractors. For his part, Bernard teaches that what matters most is chaste humility. He also consistently links virginity with pride and false holiness, a strategy possibly linked with a battle between white and black monks. Finally, Ælred produces a model of monastic perfection that is terrifically masculine, distinctively different from virginity, and perfectly suited for his audience. In addition to uncovering each monk’s unique perception of virginity and chastity, I call attention to similarities and differences in their thought and make conclusions based on those observations. Overall, I have found not only that virginity and chastity did matter to some medieval religious men but also that the way they handle those ideals can be tremendously revealing.

As perennial Christian ideals, virginity and chastity were frequent themes in medieval religious discourse. Male religious were frequently virgins and were expected to cultivate chastity; however, women not men were usually the focus of such discussions. But some monastic writers did draw on those models when considering their own spirituality, and it is worth knowing how they were understood and enlisted in those instances. To this end, I investigate five eleventh- and twelfth-century monks who wrote about monastic virginity or chastity: Anselm of Canterbury, Guibert of Nogent, Rupert of Deutz, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Ælred of Rievaulx. In my analysis, I uncover each author’s perception of virginity/chastity. Thus, I reveal that Anselm’s Deploratio is not about lost physical virginity or even sexual sin per se; it is a spiritual meditation driven by his immense fear that sinners would be forever damned. Guibert’s work exposes what a treatise on virginity could become in the hands of an adolescent struggling with sexual desire and steeped in lessons taught by his monastery. Rupert’s tract on virginity and masturbation portrays male virginity as tangible and potent. In so doing, it erects a barrier defending Rupert’s work as an exegete against detractors. For his part, Bernard teaches that what matters most is chaste humility. He also consistently links virginity with pride and false holiness, a strategy possibly linked with a battle between white and black monks. Finally, Ælred produces a model of monastic perfection that is terrifically masculine, distinctively different from virginity, and perfectly suited for his audience. In addition to uncovering each monk’s unique perception of virginity and chastity, I call attention to similarities and differences in their thought and make conclusions based on those observations. Overall, I have found not only that virginity and chastity did matter to some medieval religious men but also that the way they handle those ideals can be tremendously revealing.

Thesis (M.A. (English Studies)) --University of Limpopo, 2018 / The purpose of this study was to examine South Africa’s Post-Apartheid contemporary drama. Three dramas were used in order to examine three primary themes namely morality, corruption and class - the selected plays were John Kani’s Nothing but the Truth, Zakes Mda’s Our Lady of Benoni and Mike van Graan’s Some Mother’s Sons. The ideology carried out in this study was that there is a possible reinvention of Apartheid issues in Post-Apartheid South African drama, exchanging themes of protest and race for morality and corruption, while reflecting real events in the works of playwrights. Also, the study aimed at finding out whether there are connections between class issues and morality as presented in the selected plays. The study found that there is indeed a reinvention of Apartheid issues in Post-Apartheid South Africa, and that there are connections between class issues and morality, including corruption. Lastly, the study concluded that the current South Africa requires a serious intervention regarding moral regeneration as reflected in the selected plays.

<p>The aim of this study was to investigate how mothers in families with strong patriarchal traditions</p><p>see their role as a mother and as a woman. The study is built upon two main questions: What are</p><p>the expectations of your family and your immediate environment on you as a mother and as a</p><p>woman? And what does “honour” mean for you as a mother and as a woman? In our paper we</p><p>had as a starting point a gender perspective that was further on applied in defining our research</p><p>question. We are also giving an account of the phenomenological perspective that we also had as</p><p>a basis of our work. We interviewed six mothers living in families with strong patriarchal</p><p>traditions. There were half-structured interviews according to an interview guide, with half open</p><p>questions. We followed the qualitative method. The results show that “honour” is a basic norm</p><p>for the mothers, that they have difficulties to even imagine living a life without honour. For all of</p><p>our informants, honour means not to have sexual relationships with several men, and to keep a</p><p>woman’s virginity until she gets married. Avoiding bad rumours that may lead to shame is an</p><p>important part of the mothers’ lives. As women, the mothers are forced to take into consideration</p><p>their husbands’ and older family members’ opinions. It is the mothers’ duty to educate their</p><p>children to behave in “the right” way. According to our informants, a mother should be caring</p><p>and in charge of the household work.</p>

The aim of this study was to investigate how mothers in families with strong patriarchal traditions see their role as a mother and as a woman. The study is built upon two main questions: What are the expectations of your family and your immediate environment on you as a mother and as a woman? And what does “honour” mean for you as a mother and as a woman? In our paper we had as a starting point a gender perspective that was further on applied in defining our research question. We are also giving an account of the phenomenological perspective that we also had as a basis of our work. We interviewed six mothers living in families with strong patriarchal traditions. There were half-structured interviews according to an interview guide, with half open questions. We followed the qualitative method. The results show that “honour” is a basic norm for the mothers, that they have difficulties to even imagine living a life without honour. For all of our informants, honour means not to have sexual relationships with several men, and to keep a woman’s virginity until she gets married. Avoiding bad rumours that may lead to shame is an important part of the mothers’ lives. As women, the mothers are forced to take into consideration their husbands’ and older family members’ opinions. It is the mothers’ duty to educate their children to behave in “the right” way. According to our informants, a mother should be caring and in charge of the household work.

This thesis deals with the sexuality of Iranian women living in Sweden. Considering sexuality as gendered and socio-culturally constructed, I examine the impact of Iranian Islamic discourses, contemporary socialization and migration on women’s narrations of sexuality. The theoretical platform arises from a Foucauldian discursive analysis of sexuality, including Iranian and/or Islamic discourses on sexuality, and diasporic and feminist postcolonial theories. The empirical basis of the thesis consists of ten in-depth interviews with first generation Iranian immigrant women in Sweden. The narratives are the textual field for exploring the divergent and contingent intersections of discourses that constitute the women’s sexuality. Themes that surface in the narratives are the importance of virginity, veiling practices, requirements for modest dress codes, lack of sexual education, first sexual experience, marriage, divorce and diasporic experiences. With sexuality as the main subject of analysis, my focus draws on articulations involving gender, otherness, agency and marginality. Being alert to different (at times contradictory) discourses, I study the tension that develops between the process of (self)disciplining the body and the women’s coping tactics. The study examines the ways women take part in existing institutions while exhibiting agency and creating new ways to negotiate across discourses. This thesis shows how moral values regarding sexual behavior undergo various and sometimes contradictory transformations. The women report being torn between two different cultures. Yet, while consistently facing a crossroads of racist and sexist discourses filled with stereotypes of so-called natives and outsiders, I argue that the women are not caught between two cultures. Rather, they live a hybrid experience of ‘Swedishness,’ ‘Iranianness’ and other social relations. Complexity defines their tactics; the women exist in the interstices of culture(s) and discourses.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1941. / "Select bibliography": p. xiii-xix.

The purpose of this essay is to use a systematic literature review to examine what previous research highlights about honor-related violence and oppression. With a focus on women's vulnerability, but also to study what definition the term “honour” has in previous research, as well how different forms of violence are used in the maintenance of honour. The method that was used to be able to compile previous research is a systematic literature review that drew inspiration from hermeneutics. The essay is based on previous research consisting of 20 scientific articles, which have been systemically analyzed in order to be able to answer the purpose of the study and questions that consist of themes,; Definition of “Honour” – honour as sexual purity, the male versus female honour, ÿeref and namus,; The influence of power structures – factors that work together to maintain honour, roles within the family and the ideal victim, patriarchal values, laws that limit women’s rights, honour within culture, religion and ethnicity,; What forms of violence are used/expressed – violence triggering factors, isolation methods and different forms of violence. The results show that honour related violence and oppression is a difficult to define problem with complex roots and deadly consequences. Where the order of power and gender, female sexuality, sexual purity, and reputation are decisive factors that make the woman a subordinate individual and she is marked by the culture of honour within the patriarchy as the bearer of the honour of the family and the community. A man’s honour is his alone, while a woman’s rests on the whole family. Violence that women are exposed to is of various forms ranging from latent violence, psychological and physical violence, socioeconomic and socially structured violence, as well as various isolations in everyday life. / Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att med hjälp av systematisk litteraturöversikt undersöka vad tidigare forskning framhåller om hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck, med fokus på kvinnors utsatthet, men även studera vilken definition begreppet “heder” har i tidigare forskning, samt hur olika maktstrukturer påverkar kvinnors utsatthet och vilka olika våldsformer används det i upprätthållandet av hedern. Metoden som användes för att kunna sammanställa tidigare forskning är en systematisk litteraturöversikt som hämtat inspiration från hermeneutiken. Uppsatsen utgår från tidigare forskning som består av 20 vetenskapliga artiklar, som systematiskt analyserats för att kunna besvara syftet och frågeställningarna. I resultatet presenteras olika teman som är kopplad till studiens syfte och frågeställningar som består av teman; Definition på “heder” – heder som sexuella renhet, den manliga kontra kvinnliga hedern, ÿeref och namus,; Maktstrukturers påverkan- faktorer som samverkar för upprätthålla heder, roller inom familjen och det ideala offret, patriarkala värderingar, lag som begränsar kvinnans rätt, heder inom kultur, religion och etnicitet.; Vilka våldsformer används/uttrycks – våldsutlösande faktorer, isolerings metoder och olika våldsformer. Resultatet visar att hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck är en svårt definierad problematik med komplexa rötter och dödliga konsekvenser. Där maktordning och könstillhörighet, den kvinnliga sexualiteten, sexuell renhet och rykten är avgörande faktorer som gör kvinnan till en underordnad individ och hon är märkt av hederskulturen inom patriarkatet som bärare av familjens och gemenskapens heder. En mans heder är bara hans, samtidigt vilar kvinnans heder över hela familjen. Våld som kvinnor utsätts för är av olika former allt ifrån latent våld, psykisk- och fysiskt våld, socioekonomisk och socialt strukturerad våld, samt olika isoleringar i vardagslivet.

Honor-related violence and oppression is a global social problem where women who are at risk of honor in many cases do not dare to seek help and support from social services. The purpose of this study is to investigate how women are affected by honor-related violence and oppression and what challenges the social service in Sweden is facing. The study is carried out through an overall literature study in the form of 12 scientific articles. The results show that honor-affected women live under constant oppression where standards of honor are more prioritized than the women's well-being and right to freedom. It also shows that the social service is going through a series of different challenges, including through a lack of experience and a lack of cooperation between different authorities. When these results are presented, it becomes clear how dishonored women are considered "especially vulnerable", which pushes their isolation in society even more. The social workers' lack of experience on the subject means that vulnerable women do not receive the help and support they need. In addition, the dishonored woman runs the risk of being subjected to even more violence by her perpetrator if she is denied the support and help she needs. This study sets out what problems honor-prone women can encounter in contact with social services. Their contact with social services can either free them from honor violence or make the situation even worse. / Hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck är ett globalt samhällsproblem där hedersutsatta kvinnor i många fall inte vågar söka hjälp och stöd av socialtjänsten. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur kvinnor påverkas av hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck samt vilka utmaningar socialtjänsten i Sverige står inför. Studien utförs genom en övergripande litteraturstudie i form av 12 vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultatet visar att hedersutsatta kvinnor lever under ständigt förtryck där hedersnormer är mer prioriterade än kvinnornas mående och rätt till frihet. Det visar även att socialtjänsten går igenom en rad av olika utmaningar, bland annat genom bristande erfarenhet samt bristande samverkan mellan olika myndigheter. När dessa resultat presenterats blir det tydligt hur hedersutsatta kvinnor betraktas som  “särskilt utsatta”, vilket trycker på deras isolering i samhället ännu mer. Socialarbetarnas bristande erfarenhet kring ämnet leder till att hedersutsatta kvinnor inte får den hjälp och stöd de är i behov av. Dessutom löper den hedersutsatta kvinnan en risk att utsättas för ännu mer våld av sin förövare om hon nekas stöd och hjälp som hon behöver. Denna studie planterar fram vilka problem hedersutsatta kvinnor kan stöta på i kontakt med socialtjänsten. Deras kontakt med socialtjänsten kan antingen fria dem från hedersvåldet eller göra situationen ännu värre.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This paper looks critically at particularly two harmful sexual practices most prevalent among the Zulu people in Kwazulu-Natal; virginity testing for girls, and the practice 'dry sex.' It is mostly the ripple effects of these practices, regarding the spread of mV/AIDS that is most alarming to medical science, leaving them no option other than to condemn this behaviour. This treatise however endeavours throughout to proffer understanding for the needs of a culture as diverse and unique as the Zulu people. Further, this paper often looks from an overarching African perspective, since despite African peoples' differences in terms of linguistics, geography, religiosity and general differences in daily run of the mill activities, there is a dominant socioreligious philosophy shared by all Africans. The, a, band c of virginity testing, and the resulting moral issues revolving around this practice are addressed. The main issues regarding the repercussions of virginity testing are discussed as well as the medical controversy involved in these issues. This will prove the limited effectiveness of this practice and the potential, yet serious and harmful ramifications it has for girls who are tested. In stark contrast to these girls, stands the girl who starts at a very tender age with the practice of 'dry sex', often encouraged and taught to her by female elders in order 'to please men'. This practice serves as a very powerful tool for commercial sex workers, venturing the streets and the truck driver stops, as it lures men into making her the preferred choice. So desperate are her socio-economic and cultural circumstances that she risks infection, and ultimate death, in order to comply with his need for unprotected and 'dry sex.' Numerous studies alert us to the fact that the drying agents used lead to lacerations of the vaginal walls, causing SID's, which in tum, exacerbate the spread of the disease. Zulu traditions and customs regarding sexuality and sexual relationships proffer essential insight into the Zulu people's sexual behaviour. In order to strike a balance between two diverse cultural groups, the West and African, a critical assessment of the West's own sexual history guides us to understand the West's 'sober' practice of monogamy is no less 'permissive' and 'promiscuous' than the African's practice of polygamy. The paper also investigates the corresponding differences in relation to indigenous knowledge systems versus science. African people discern the body's physiology and anatomy metaphorically and symbolically. We cannot simply gloss over these perceptions, enforcing scientific-based knowledge in our educational programmes, without consideration and accommodation for a very unique way of interpreting one's daily experiences and one's unique self. It is not only our biased discernment of indigenous knowledge that complicates the Aids pandemic considerably, but it is also enhanced by the burden of stereotyped gender-roles. Not only is a paradigm shift regarding the imbalance of power very much needed, we also need to understand that the inculcated anger some men in the Zulu culture fosters is a force to be reckoned with, as it displays psychological underpinnings of damage, signalling very clearly the need for therapeutic measures of healing. Conversely, the female in the Zulu culture has started to empower herself, but not always in terms of a beneficial end in itself. Similarly, it must alert us to the fine line separating the virgin-whore dichotomy, fuelled by her poverty-stricken and maledominated existence. It would appear that what we are fighting for is more than the preservation of life whilst engulfed by AIDS's scourge, but a global vision where the individual, or a whole community, with regard to mVIAIDS, is "self-reproducing, pragmatically selfsustainable and logically self-contained." (Bauman 1994: 188) / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die Zoeloe kultuur figureer daar veral twee tradisionele seksuele gedragspraktyke wat kommer wek by sommige Westerlinge, hier ter plaatse sowel as in die buiteland. Alhoewel hierdie praktyke as natuurlik, eksklusief en algemeen beskou word, is daar huidiglik stemme van protes wat waarsku dat die twee praktyke potentiele gevaar inhou vir die mens se gesondheid en geesteswelsyn. Die praktyke behels dat jong en weerlose meisies vanaf die ouderdom van ses jaar gereeld onderwerp word aan 'n vaginale toets om vas te stelofhulle nog 'n maagd is, en, die voorkeur van sommige mans om omgang te he met 'n vrou wat haar vagina op 'n 'onnatuurlike' wyse droog, hard en styf hou met die oog op 'n meer bevredigende seksuele ervaring vir die man. Baie vroue geniet ook hierdie ervaring. Die mediese wetenskap is veral bekommerd oor die moontlike verband tussen die nadelige repurkussies van die twee praktyke en die vinnige verspreiding van MIVMGS en pleit derhalwe dat daarmee weggedoen word. Die praktiseerders van eersgenoemde praktyk word byvoorbeeld gewaarsku dat dit mag lei tot gevalle van verkragting, anale seks asook kindermishandeling, terwyl laasgenoemde praktyk veral twee hoe risiko-groepe ten opsigte van die VIGSpandemie ten prooi val; die kommersiele sekswerkers in Kwazulu-Natal wat die praktyk gebruik as wapentoerusting, en die land se vragmotorbestuurders wat hierdeur verlei en aangemoedig word. Hierdie vorm van seksuele omgang ondermyn egter nie net kondoomgebruik nie. Studies het bewys dat die gebruik van 'n vaginale uitdrogingsmiddel daartoe kan lei dat die wande van die vagina mag skeur. Beide groepe loop derhalwe nie alleenlik die risiko om 'n seksueeloordraagbare siekte op te doen nie, maar om ook 'n VIGS-slagoffer te word. Terwyl die beperkte effektiwiteit van die twee praktyke deurkam word, poog die verhandeling om deurgaans 'n duidelike ingeboude begrip te handhaaf vir die unieke en eiesoortige karakter van die Zoeloe kultuur. Dit redeneer dat beide groepe, Afrikaboorlinge en Westerlinge, moet probeer verhoed om te polariseer en illustreer dat diverse kultuurgroepe almal, vanuit 'n kultuurhistories perspektief, meerdere of mindere tekens van promiskuiteit en permissiwiteit ten opsigte van seksualiteit toon. Dit spreek vanself dat die twee praktyke ondersoek moet word teen die agtergrond van die Zoeloe's se inheemse kennis met inbegrip van die wyse waarop die menslike fisiologie en anatomie metafories en simbolies verklaar word. Die digotomie wat bestaan tussen inheemse kennis en wetenskap vra dat ons boodskappe gekommunikeer moet word op 'n wyse wat beide gesigspunte konsolideer. Uiteraard kompliseer die stereotipering van geslagsrolle in die Zoeloe bevolking die VIGS-pandemie aansienlik. Dit dra in 'n groot mate daartoe by dat die VIGSpandemie nie suiwer as 'n biomediese probleem manifesteer nie, maar dat ander psigo-sosiale faktore in berekening gebring moet word. Dit werk byvoorbeeld 'n ongebalanseerde magsposisie in die hand wat sommige Zoeloe mans se sielkundige worsteling met hul diepgewortelde, polities geinspireerde woede belig en dui op sommige kontemporere Zoeloe vrouens se toenemende geneigdheid om seks aan te bied in ruil vir geld. Sy doen dit om sodoende haarself van die juk van die Zoeloe man se mag oor haar en haar neerdrukkende sosio-ekonomiese omstandighede te bevry. Die verhandeling beweeg dikwels buite sy grense en fokus nie net bloot op die gedrag van die Zoeloe bevolking nie, maar boorlinge van Afrika in die algemeen. Hierdie oorhoofse Afrika-perspektief vind regverdigingsgronde in die lig van die feit dat boorlinge van Afrika saamgesnoer word deur 'n oorheersende sosio-religieuse filosofie, desnieteenstaande die feit dat daar merkbare verskille voorkom ten opsigte van linguistiek, geografie, religieusheid en ander wat betref hul daaglikse gebruike en omgang.