Dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Clinical Psychology) at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2012. / Previous research has shown that in the past males generally had negative attitudes and opinions about gender equity and the development of female autonomy and emancipation. The present study aimed to explore the perceptions of male university students in KwaZulu-Natal about independent women. More specifically the researcher tried to investigate whether “new generation” South African males are more accepting of gender equity and the independence and emancipation of South African females. An interpretive perspective was employed. A total of 6 assenting male university students, 3 from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and 3 from the University of Zululand situated in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, participated in the present study. In line with the researcher’s epistemology, the methodology was qualitative in nature and semi-structured interviews were used. All the participants were given a short biographical questionnaire and a one-on-one semi-structured interview was conducted thereafter. The research data was subjected to thematic analysis. The significant themes that emerged from the analysis are presented in the results chapter. The present study’s overall findings suggested that the “new” male generation of KwaZulu-Natal still generally hold negative attitudes and perceptions about gender equity and South African independent females. However, it was also found that the “new” South African male generation of the University of KwaZulu-Natal and University of Zululand is more receptive to the independence of South African females than the “older” South African male generation. In conclusion the present study’s contributions as well as shortcomings are discussed, along with recommendations for future research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uzulu/oai:uzspace.unizulu.ac.za:10530/1261 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Mohabir, Thirusha |
| Contributors | Thwala, J.D. |
| Publisher | University of Zululand |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | application/pdf |
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