No description available.

In the American capitalist society, the media is often an agent used to perpetuate ideals and to inform consumers of products that they can purchase by using multiple advertising techniques. In an attempt to counter the thin body ideal for women, some companies have begun advertising their products by using plus size models, such as the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. The purpose of this research is to examine college women's perceptions of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, an advertising campaign whose goal is to reverse the stereotypical body ideal for women and broaden the definition of beauty. Some sociologists have criticized Dove for sending conflicting messages. This study is the first that focuses on women's perceptions about this potential conflict. Through the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods, this study examined if, how, and when women changed their initial perceptions toward the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty based on two separate scenarios brought to their attention. This is important because the findings suggest how consumers can change their perceptions regarding a company, in this case one that is a part of a multi-million dollar parent company, based on how a company advertises its products.

Not a lot of research has been done on the middle age years despite this being a pivotal time for adults. Women at this stage of their lives undergo many changes such as perimenopause to complete menopause, having to take care of aging parents, and losing a spouse. Additionally, women tend to seek other women for help and support and form a community that is bound by common concerns and experiences. This qualitative case study explored how a group of middle-aged women experienced life changing events and how their faith and community enabled them to overcome the challenges those incidents brought to their lives. This study also looked into other factors that contributed to their being able to confront and overcome the challenges from those experiences . Thirteen women from one faith community in Manila, Philippines were interviewed individually to find answers to the following research questions: 1. How do middle-aged women describe the life-changing event they have experienced? 2. What approach(es) do middle-aged women take when they are undergoing a life changing event so they can cope with the situation they are experiencing? 3. In what ways does the faith community help the women in the group cope with the life changing event? 4. What other factors may influence these women’s ability to copy with the life changing events they face? Another five women from a different faith community were engaged in a focus group discussion to corroborate the following findings from the individual interviews: 1. Unanticipated events were often challenging and devastating and had a major impact on the lives of these middle-aged women. Additionally, those events did not happen in isolation but, rather, led to other events that were even more lifechanging. 2. When confronted with an unexpected, life-changing event, these middle-aged women were faced with a myriad of feelings and emotions that they examined, evaluated and shared with people they trusted. They also handled their own situation by seeking help from others. 3. Support was a critical element in the ability of these middle-aged women to confront and overcome a devastating transition event. Their faith community offered various types of support during most of the events. 4. The faith of middle-aged women was a significant factor in confronting and overcoming those unexpected events. The women believed their faith made them stronger and made them determined to prevail over the circumstances of the event. This study concluded the following: 1. Middle-aged women go through a variety of highly impactful transitions and their reactions to the event vary from one woman to another depending on the context in which it occurs and the impact on the woman’s life. The manner in which a woman in this age range adapts to the transition event will predict how they are able to cope with the impact of the event on their lives. 2. Support provided by the network built by a woman over her lifetime is essential in confronting and overcoming challenges posed by a transition event. Support can come in different forms and is appreciated by the women. That support enables them to confront, overcome and adapt to the transition event. 3. The women’s religious beliefs are critical to recovery and growth of these middle-aged women and sustain them as they are adapting to their transition events.

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No description available.

Master of Science

In the Maoist era, the quest for beauty was regarded as decadent Western bourgeois culture. However, more and more Chinese women have been shopping for a youthful and beautiful appearance by undergoing cosmetic surgery in recent decades. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Beijing, China, in 2006--2007, this study examines the phenomenon of the rapidly growing popularity of cosmetic surgery among Chinese women and considers the relationships between the remaking of female body image through cosmetic surgery, the reconstruction of self identity, and the reconfiguration of state power and market forces with the expansion of global consumerism in post-Mao China. The thesis suggests that the alteration of female body features through cosmetic surgery reflects in microcosm the transition of China from a Maoist socialist regime to a post-Maoist consumer society within a few decades, following its own "Chinese characteristics." Therefore, Chinese women's involvement in cosmetic surgery must be understood within the broader historical and socio-political context of China, and also must be seen both as the empowerment of Chinese women and also their ongoing subjugation to men, markets, and the state. / Wen, Hua. / Adviser: Gordon Matthews. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-04, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 392-421). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract and glossary also in Chinese.

So, Fun Hang. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-192). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Introduction --- p.1 / Research on Related Areas --- p.3 / Methodology --- p.20 / Summary of Informants --- p.23 / Summary of Chapters --- p.4 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Background of Hong Kong Pakistanis --- p.7 / Introduction --- p.7 / The Pakistani Diaspora --- p.7 / History and Origins of Pakistanis in Hong Kong --- p.10 / Transnational Pakistani Women --- p.24 / Conclusion --- p.26 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- The Lives of Pakistani Women in Hong Kong and Pakistan --- p.28 / Introduction --- p.28 / Rural Lifestyle in Pakistan --- p.29 / Institutionally Supported Lives in Hong Kong --- p.35 / The Joint Family in Pakistan --- p.38 / The Nuclear Family in Hong Kong --- p.39 / The Experience of Pakistani Women as an Ethnic Minority and Lower Classin Hong Kong --- p.46 / "The Experience of Pakistani Women as an Ethnic Majority, Middle Class and Overseas Pakistanis in Pakistan" --- p.50 / Conclusion --- p.53 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- The Lives of Pakistani Women as Muslims --- p.55 / Introduction --- p.55 / Virtual Identity --- p.62 / Funerals and Dua gatherings --- p.63 / Clothing and Veiling --- p.66 / Seclusion of Women --- p.71 / Charity --- p.74 / Conclusion --- p.76 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- The Lives of Pakistani Women as Marriage Partners and Mothers --- p.78 / Introduction --- p.78 / Transnational Marriage Arrangement --- p.79 / Early Marriage and Lack of Education --- p.81 / Split Households --- p.86 / Extra-marital Affairs and Divorce --- p.91 / Conflicts with In-laws --- p.100 / Conclusion --- p.101 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Sense of Home --- p.103 / Introduction --- p.103 / Making Homes in Hong Kong and Pakistan --- p.104 / Where is Home for Pakistani Women? --- p.115 / Conclusion --- p.128 / Chapter Chapter 7 --- "Senses of Identity: Going Home, Dress and Investment" --- p.130 / Introduction --- p.130 / Reasons for their Abilities to Shift Identities --- p.131 / Changing Physical Appearance through Dress --- p.138 / Performing Moral Appearance through Investment --- p.147 / Conclusion --- p.153 / Chapter Chapter 8 --- Conclusion --- p.157 / Summary of Chapters --- p.157 / The Tension between Two Homes --- p.161 / Implications for the Future of Pakistani Women's Identities --- p.170 / Implications for the Studies of Transnational Migration --- p.177 / The Roles of Pakistani Women and Racial Harmony --- p.180 / Reflections on My Fieldwork --- p.183 / Bibliography --- p.187

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 320-415) Investigates female drinking patterns and how they impacted on women's lives in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in early modern England. Deals with female drinking as a site of contention between insubordinate women and the dominant paradigm of male expectations about drinking and drunkeness. Female drinking patterns integrated drinking and drunkeness into women's lives in ways that enhanced bonding with their female friends, even if it inconvenienced their husbands and male authorities. Drunken sociability empowered women.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 320-415) / viii, 415 leaves ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Investigates female drinking patterns and how they impacted on women's lives in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in early modern England. Deals with female drinking as a site of contention between insubordinate women and the dominant paradigm of male expectations about drinking and drunkeness. Female drinking patterns integrated drinking and drunkeness into women's lives in ways that enhanced bonding with their female friends, even if it inconvenienced their husbands and male authorities. Drunken sociability empowered women. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of History, 2002