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The older woman's body is an example of the discontinuous nature of those beings who come under the rubric of woman and, as such, demontrates the impossibility of a unitary representation of woman. This thesis explores the social construction of the older woman's body both as abject and as 'docile/useful' and proposes how this abjectification can be re-inscribed as transgressive through a de-territorialization of the older woman's body.This thesis positions the older woman's body as (un)becoming because it lacks cultural intelligibility as representative of the feminine on the one hand and, on the other, because it disrupts normative ideals of femininity and eludes disciplinary practices. Sexuality is used as a resource to conjure, construct, reinforce and validate the 'ideal' woman, a model against which the older woman is redefined as asexual. I argue that the particular technologies employed in the production of the older woman's 'docile/useful' body are those of the health sciences. A 'docile/useful' body transforms the older woman into a knowable, treatable and profitable body through discourses of health. Mass mammographic screening is analysed in order to illustrate how the biomedical sciences are employed in the regulation of the older woman's body through the co-option of health promotion strategy as a disciplinary practice. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

ABSTRACT This thesis offers a feminist cultural analysis of the popular Indonesian television serial (sinetron) Misteri Gunung Merapi (Mysteries of Mount Merapi). It investigates the television text in relation to its various contexts within the social and cultural transformations of contemporary Indonesia. Misteri Gunung Merapi has been produced since 1998, shortly after the financial crisis and the fall of the New Order regime. Since it was first broadcast by the Indosiar television station, it has ranked among the top-rating television programs in Indonesia, and I am interested in its success in this era of social transformation. The purpose of my study is to examine the significance of this success, including exploring the possibility that it is due to the serial’s engagement with recent issues in contemporary Indonesian culture, in particular the changing roles of women. The discussion falls into three main parts: a consideration of the contexts of socio-cultural change and the globalisation of the television industry within which the sinetron is produced; an examination of the way the sinetron draws on traditional theatrical performance, popular memory and supernatural belief; and a study of its representation of women and gender issues within the action-adventure genre to which it belongs. In the context of the television industry, this sinetron’s production signals the changing character of the industry, from state control to free market. In the socio-cultural context, as state control grew weaker and civil society flourished, the flow of globalization became more visible, foregrounding conflicts between Islamic and secular groups, often over the roles and representations of women. As a sinetron kolosal-laga or epic, the series tells historical and legendary stories in such a way that they speak to contemporary Indonesia as it is in the process of reinventing itself. Misteri Gunung Merapi draws on the narrative and dramatic conventions of both traditional theatrical performance and internationally popular genres of action cinema; it constructs popular memory to raise issues about the present; and it employs popular fascination with the supernatural to invoke the mixture of spiritual traditions that has always characterised Javanese culture, in particular. Focussing on the emergence of warrior women in film and television in both the Hollywood action-adventure and Kung Fu/wuxia genres, the thesis investigates the construction of female fighters on screen. I suggest that the sinetron does not share the same problems of gender representation that feminist criticism has identified in either of these genres. Four areas of analysis - heroism, body, power, and the camera - demonstrate that there is a different concept of gender in Indonesia which is illuminated in this sinetron’s representations of women and gender issues.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Marburg, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 166-172).

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English

This study offers a critical assessment of Letty Mandeville Russell’s contributions to feminist theology with a view to gleaning wisdom for Muslim women who also wrestle with the issue of justice for women. As a liberation theologian, Russell’s definition and construction of feminist theology is based on two elements: commitment to Christianity and strong advocacy of feminism. Russell believes that in human communities, marginalized people, particularly women, are kept down and disempowered in society, history, and the church. Russell recognizes tradition as the key challenge for feminists and she struggles with “all oppressive expressions of Christian tradition.” She notes the androcentric and sexist elements of the Bible, but she refuses to leave the church. Rather, her attempt is to proclaim the “prophetic- messianic” message of the gospel while advocating a critical approach to the biblical text. Thus this thesis will explore the question: Is it possible to reconstruct a theology in a systematic way that is faithful to religious convictions while advocating feminism. In addition to Russell’s books and articles, which form the primary sources for this study, two other Christian feminists (Fiorenza and Harder) will be drawn into the discussion in order to further illuminate the various building blocks that women use to link faith and feminism. Chapter one provides a background for the feminist movement and introduces feminist theology, in order to position Russell within the wide spectrum of feminist theologians who attempt to reconcile their Christian faith and their convictions and vision for women. Chapter two looks Russell’s claim that she is both Christian and feminist. Russell’s definition of feminism, faith, and their inter-relationship will be illuminated as a key to her identity as a feminist theologian. The chapter shows not only how Russell understands these two commitments, often understood as contradictory, but also shows how Russell’s roots in liberation theology have aided her in building a bridge between faith and feminism. Chapter three deals with the methodology that Russell uses to build a bridge between faith and feminism. She proposes a process of action-reflection in which women gain a new understanding of faith and add new perspectives to Christian theology. Chapter four analyzes Russell’s contributions in dealing creatively and faithfully with tradition while being both a Christian and a feminist. She proposes a paradigm shift for the community that does theology; a shift from a paradigm of domination to a paradigm of partnership. She believes that through this shift, all marginalized people, including women, can find their own voices and thus be included in the promises of God to his people. The concluding chapter, chapter five, offers a grandstand view of all of the building blocks that Russell uses to construct a bridge between faith and feminism, thus making apparent how it is possible to advocate feminism and also be committed to Christianity. At the same time, this chapter will also consider whether the same building blocks can be used to build the same kind of bridge for Muslim women.

This study offers a critical assessment of Letty Mandeville Russell’s contributions to feminist theology with a view to gleaning wisdom for Muslim women who also wrestle with the issue of justice for women. As a liberation theologian, Russell’s definition and construction of feminist theology is based on two elements: commitment to Christianity and strong advocacy of feminism. Russell believes that in human communities, marginalized people, particularly women, are kept down and disempowered in society, history, and the church. Russell recognizes tradition as the key challenge for feminists and she struggles with “all oppressive expressions of Christian tradition.” She notes the androcentric and sexist elements of the Bible, but she refuses to leave the church. Rather, her attempt is to proclaim the “prophetic- messianic” message of the gospel while advocating a critical approach to the biblical text. Thus this thesis will explore the question: Is it possible to reconstruct a theology in a systematic way that is faithful to religious convictions while advocating feminism. In addition to Russell’s books and articles, which form the primary sources for this study, two other Christian feminists (Fiorenza and Harder) will be drawn into the discussion in order to further illuminate the various building blocks that women use to link faith and feminism. Chapter one provides a background for the feminist movement and introduces feminist theology, in order to position Russell within the wide spectrum of feminist theologians who attempt to reconcile their Christian faith and their convictions and vision for women. Chapter two looks Russell’s claim that she is both Christian and feminist. Russell’s definition of feminism, faith, and their inter-relationship will be illuminated as a key to her identity as a feminist theologian. The chapter shows not only how Russell understands these two commitments, often understood as contradictory, but also shows how Russell’s roots in liberation theology have aided her in building a bridge between faith and feminism. Chapter three deals with the methodology that Russell uses to build a bridge between faith and feminism. She proposes a process of action-reflection in which women gain a new understanding of faith and add new perspectives to Christian theology. Chapter four analyzes Russell’s contributions in dealing creatively and faithfully with tradition while being both a Christian and a feminist. She proposes a paradigm shift for the community that does theology; a shift from a paradigm of domination to a paradigm of partnership. She believes that through this shift, all marginalized people, including women, can find their own voices and thus be included in the promises of God to his people. The concluding chapter, chapter five, offers a grandstand view of all of the building blocks that Russell uses to construct a bridge between faith and feminism, thus making apparent how it is possible to advocate feminism and also be committed to Christianity. At the same time, this chapter will also consider whether the same building blocks can be used to build the same kind of bridge for Muslim women.

This dissertation offers a new narrative for the local woman suffrage movement in nine rural counties in Texas. I argue that, unlike cities, where women used dense organizational networks to create a coherent suffrage movement, conservatism inherent in rural Texas denied suffrage advocates the means to achieve similar objectives. Rural women nevertheless used the suffrage campaign to articulate feminist sensibilities, thereby reflecting a process of modernization ongoing among American women. Rural suffrage advocates faced unique obstacles, including the political influence of James E. Ferguson, who served as Governor for almost two administrations. Through Ferguson's singular personality, a propaganda campaign that specifically targeted rural voters, and Ferguson's own tabloid Ferguson Forum, rural voters found themselves constantly bombarded by messages about how they should view questions of reform in their state. The organizational culture that sustained suffrage organizations in urban Texas failed to do so in rural Texas. Concerned for their status, rural women scorned activism and those who pursued it. Absent an organized campaign, the success of suffrage initiatives in rural Texas depended on locally unique circumstances. Key factors included demographic trends, economics, local politics, and the influence of frontier cultural dynamics. The tactics and rhetoric employed by rural suffragists in Texas generally reflected those used by suffragists nationwide. While rural suffragists mustered arguments grounded in natural and constitutional rights, rural voters responded more to the claim that votes projected woman's feminine virtue into public life, which accommodated prevailing attitudes about woman's place. The First World War supplied rural suffragists with patriotic rhetoric that resonated powerfully with Texans. Rural Texas women successfully reframed public dialogue about women's roles, articulating feminist ideas through their work. Unlike rural clubwomen, suffragists pursued the ballot as a means to improve the status of all women. Feminist ideas increasingly obtained with women in visible leadership, and eventually reached all rural women, as countless hundreds registered to vote, and still more educated themselves on political issues. In doing so, rural women in Texas joined women across America in challenging the limits of domesticity and envisioning a fuller role for women in public life.