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Title: Masculine identity in a "woman's" role: Stay-at-home dads in Northern British Columbia.
Contributors: Elizabeth Sharp (author), Jacqueline Holler (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: This thesis studies masculinity and its effects and influences on men who adopt the traditionally feminine role of primary caregiver. Through a discussion initiated by questions of gender and identity, power and hegemony, this thesis examines the experiences and opinions of men who, in acting outside of hegemonic social expectations, have re-evaluated, and perhaps, re-defined their notions of what it means to be a man. These issues are addressed through a pairing of theoretical and qualitative research of eight stay-at-home dads in Prince George, British Columbia. The primary goal of this research is to illuminate the transitions and barriers of hegemonic masculinity and identify how, or how not, masculine identity changes in a time and culture which encourages gendered change yet maintains traditional standards. As a result, this discussion explores what it means for masculinity - both individually and culturally - when men are not the family breadwinners.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 2010

Title: The cultural evolution of masculine body image: An interdisciplinary analysis of male body image regulation within men's lifestyle magazines.
Contributors: Benjamin Taylor (author), Maryna Romanets (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: This thesis examines the production and promotion of certain male body images, demonstrating a means by which gender image regulations may be identified in print media. Drawing on the intersection of cultural studies, gender theory, sociology, and biology, this work inquires into mimetic series and their exchanges in such men's magazine as Gentlemen's Quarterly UK and North America editions, Men's Health UK and North America editions, Attitude, and Out for 2002-2011 period. The choice of magazines allows for inclusion of both heterosexual and queer perspectives and respective audiences, and thus for a more comprehensive and balanced collection of quantitative mimetic data from which to derive constructed gender regulations. Multicultural sampling of both magazine and advertisement content is instrumental in observing some of the globalizing influences on the masculine media, which affect and reflect the greater masculine body image culture, and modify both individual and collective masculine gender performance. --Leaf ii.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 2013

Title: The feminist movement in Mumbai, India: how women in India organize against gender violence
Contributors: Dorothy Jean Brown (author), Marianne Ainley (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: The nature and forms of violence against women arise from patriarchy- broadly defined as a system of male dominance, legitimated within the family and society through superior rights, privileges, authority and power. The degree to which this happens and the forms in which such power is exercised vary between cultures and societies. The process of subordination is generally achieved by devaluing women's contribution, while at the same time extracting significant contribution from them. The accounts of violence against women in the following thesis illustrate poignantly the conjunction of these processes. They also bring out the cultural specificity of some types of violence. Some avenues available to the victims of violence are through the courts of justice which are not immune to the prejudices of the social order and reflect the male bias of the system. A qualitative research design was used and data collected by doing a feminist ethnography which included interviews, participant observation and content analysis in Mumbai, India. What emerged from the data analysis was that in order to have an understanding of feminism as a validation of women's diverse realities, we must have an understanding of empowerment and how it can enhance our ability to control our own lives. Empowerment is a political activity that can range from individual acts of political resistance to mass political mobilization and is aimed at changing the nature and distribution of power in a society.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 1998

Title: The veiled other: The impact of gender and culture on international political theory.
Contributors: Joanne Allison (author), Joanne Fiske (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: No abstract available.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 1999

Title: ARTivism: Gender and artistic expression at AWAC.
Contributors: Reeanna Bradley (author), Si Transken (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: This thesis explores the power dynamics inherent in discussions about legitimate knowledge and gender expectations. Through eight sessions of art and eleven interviews, it exposes oppressive systems and compares the intersections of race, class, sex, and sexuality. My interdisciplinary approach expands from the work of local contemporary artist and researcher Zandra Dahne Harding. Building upon her thesis, and including influences from feminist theorists such as Rich, hooks, and Butler, and minority activists like Tuhiwai Smith and Feinberg, I situate voices emerging from marginalized populations as equally relevant and poignant, using the case study of seventeen residents of AWAC Homeless Shelter. Art is a means of expression for those whose experiences are muted by socioeconomic disadvantage, differential access to education, and non-normative gender identities. This thesis shares an example of how oppressed people can use and personalize participation in the visual arts to subvert elements of prevailing power structures, like those related to education, criminal corrections, and gender hierarchies. Art sessions and interviews conducted with feminist and indigenous frameworks, called artivism' helped participants involved with a street-level shelter in Northern British Columbia communicate some aspects of their diverse truths of subordination. --Leaf 2.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 2013

Title: The representation of sexuality and gender in William Makepeace Thackeray's Vanity Fair
Contributors: Dolores Duke (author), Maryna Romanets (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: No abstract available.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 2006

Title: The silence speaks loudly: considering whether the victims' needs can be met through circle sentencing
Contributors: Charlene C. Levis (author), Jo-Anne Fiske (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: No abstract available.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 1998

Title: Femininity and female identity of forest industry workers in Northern British Columbia from 1960 to 2000.
Contributors: Kathryn S. Doucette (author), Jacqueline Holler (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: This research asked what effects, if any, working in the male-dominated forest industry had on femininity and female identity of women who choose to work in the forest industry of Northern British Columbia. In the literature when women are mentioned attention is focused on their relationship to men who are involved within forest industries. By using Feminist Standpoint Theory the participants' stories are added to the discourse of the forest industry. What the findings propose is that the participants experienced an increase in strength - physical, mental and emotional - but they did not feel that their employment had any lasting effect on their femininity and female identity. While the women had many unique experiences interacting with forest industry employment, the same employment patterns are observable while studying male employees in the forest industry, such as the process to entry into the industry and the necessity of proving their capability performing the work. Therefore, aspects of women's employment within the forest industry are much like men's but work in the bush' is still socially constructed as a masculine realm. --Leaf 2.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 2014

Title: Running with wounded feet: a Taiwanese daughter's views on familial issues of filial piety, home and marriage
Contributors: Hsueh-Lin Wei (author), Joanne Fiske (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: This thesis is an attempt by the author to deconstruct her personal conflicts (issues relating to filial piety, home/family and marriage) by examining two fictional characters' life stories, Bell's and Sue's, and her own lived experiences. The author does not apply any single method of interpretation, but rather she reflects on phenomenology, ethnography and Anne- 1.ouise Brookes' autobiographical approach. Because the author is an international student with English as a second language and a different cultural background (non-Christian epistemology), the process of writing this thesis revealed issues relating to methods of interpretation, translation, the way of presenting an academic work and feminist pedagogy". For the author, this thesis is the product of a satisfying communication between different cultures and power positions.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 2001

Title: Expressions of mother-daughter disconnections and homelessness in Prince George.
Contributors: Somina Aleleba Eka (author), Si Transken (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine expressions of mother-daughter disconnection and homelessness in Prince George, Northern British Columbia. The primary groups for this case study are mothers or daughters living in an emergency shelter in downtown Prince George, BC, i.e., the Association Advocating for Women and Children (AWAC). A descriptive multi-method collaborative authoethnographic design was used for the study. In-depth face-to-face interviews which were conducted during the research were combined with field notes to write this thesis. This thesis gives insight into the reasons for homelessness and disconnection in the mother-daughter relationship using a creative art process. This present thesis follows the pattern, and builds on the scholarship of my predecessors, two research activists (Harding, 2010 Bradley, 2013). --Leaf ii.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 2014

Title: Fatty fatty two-by-four, can't get through the bathroom door: a feminist analysis of the discourse on fat and the strategies used to challenge fatphobia
Contributors: Suzanne Louise Tepperman (author), Julia Emberley (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: Within our society, size is used as a measuring stick to determine which bodies . are deemed acceptable and which are unacceptable. Fatter people have come to fill the space of the unacceptable. However, because of pressures to conform, both thinner and fatter people are oppressed by this condition. Young people need tools to be able to critique the messages that the medical profession, mass media, their family, and their peers are sending them; and within this thesis, a language is needed to theoretically explore the politics of size. To solve the first problem, I engaged in group interviews, using a semistructured interview format to help me determine how youth interpret societal messages about fat. I used the information from these interviews to develop a workshop that is designed to help youth develop positive body image. It is my contention that if young people can grow up being comfortable in their bodies, regardless of size, than society's fatphobic tendency will wither away. To solve the second problem, the theories developed by Michel Foucault in Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison and The History of Sexuality: An Introduction, Volume One are used as a springboard to examine fatphobia, weight-loss discourse and strategies of resistance. From Discipline & Punish, Foucault's thoughts on Benthan's Panopticon, systems of normalisation, and methods of disipline are explored. From The History of Sexuality, this thesis examines Foucault's four categories of discourse (the hysterical woman, the masturbating child, the Malthusian couple, and the Perverse Adult) that he offers to demonstrate that sex was not repressed during the Victorian era. In turn, four categories of discourse (the anorexic woman, the chubby child, the health conscious couple, and the obese adult) are offered to both draw attention to the existence of weight-loss discourse in society and to demonstrate that these categories of discourse, which have been created to help people lose weight, are in fact contributing to more people getting fatter. This thesis also looks at the role that the Fat Liberation Movement has played in recent history. Over the last 30 years, those involved in this movement have been steadily working towards ending fat oppression. From The History of Sexuality, Foucault's notion of reverse discourse is taken as a point of departure to highlight the various strategies that have been used by participants in the Fat Liberation Movement to subvert fatphobic dogma. Though society still exhibits fatphobic tendencies after 30 years of activism, it is not indicative of failure on the part of those participating in the Fat Liberation Movement. The fact that this thesis focuses on fatphobia serves to illustrate that progress is being made. The strategies adopted by these activists are being used to create a new definition of fat: one that eliminates the negative stigma.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 2000

Title: 'Wwoofing' BC: An autoethnography.
Contributors: Agata Skorecka (author), Si Transken (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: Wwoofing' BC: An Autoethnography is an exploratory study centering around the experiences of 8 women Wwoofers' (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) and 11 WWOOF hosts in British Columbia, Canada. The project uses semi-structured in-depth interviews as well as autoethnographic, ethnographic, visual and photo elicitation methods to relate issues of sustainability, health-wellness, gender, feminism-femininity, organic farming, caring, activism, protest, tourism and community. I suggest that Wwoofing provides a respite-sanctuary space for women and WWOOF hosts. Within this space, women Wwoofers and WWOOF hosts are able to witness, analyze and resist social structures as well as create unique friendships and presentations of gender-identity-self. --P. ii.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 2012

Title: The role of gender in the conceptualization of economic distortions in World Bank and International Monetary Fund structural adjustment programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa
Contributors: Jessica Zoe Wilson (author), Paul Bowles (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: In response to rising international debt in many Sub-Saharan African (SSA) nations, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have implemented structural adjustment programmes (SAPs). SAPs are designed to forward foreign currency to SSA nations while at the same time securing commitment on the part of SSA governments to restructure their economies. SAPs are based on neoclassical economic ideals which indicate, among other things, that market distortions create significant barriers to economic progress. Neoclassical economics is shown in this thesis to be based on gender bias, formal sector bias, and ethnocentric assumptions which prohibit the conceptualization that gender-based discrimination can make up market distortions. Given the specific cultural and economic role of women in SSA, this omission has lead to the inability of SAPs to target the full range of market distortions effectively. It is the finding of this thesis that gender discrimination, when re-conceptualized as market distortions, reveals that the asymmetrical access women in SSA have to formal economic relations is halting economic progress. This finding is based on analysis of World Bank and IMF data in conjunction with secondary social scientific research, and feminist, development and socio/economic theories.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 1997

Title: Meanings of health and well-being for rural lesbians in northern British Columbia.
Contributors: Amber Leigh Perry (author), Jo Anne Fiske (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: No abstract available.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 2002

Title: Madeline Izowsky, 1885--1979: A Polish woman in western Canada.
Contributors: Carol Lynn Box (author), Marianne Ainley (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: No abstract available.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 2003

Title: The “girl push-up”
Contributors: Jennifer Coburn (author), William McGill (chair), Jacqueline Holler (thesis advisor), Loraine Lavallee (thesis advisor), Philip Mullins (committee member)
Abstract: Men are stereotyped as more physically competent than women. The stereotyping of women’s poor performance creates the conditions for stereotype threat. Stereotype threat, the fear of confirming a stereotype, can undermine women’s performances and participation in sports. Stereotype threat, however, has not been tested in strength-building activities. The present study experimentally tests whether stereotype threat undermines women’s willingness to perform unmodified push-ups and undermines their push-up performance. Women were assigned to four conditions: a stereotype-threat condition, an implicit stereotype-threat condition, a relief condition, and a control condition. Under stereotype threat, women were expected to choose modified over unmodified push-ups and, among those performing unmodified push-ups, to complete fewer push-ups than women in the other conditions. These hypotheses were not supported. During debriefings, women described their experiences related to push-ups and strength training. A thematic analysis of women’s debriefings offers insight into the gender complexities of women’s engagement with strength training.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 2019

Title: Issues of voice, changes of heart: personal and political implications of women's feature film production in Canada
Contributors: Adeja Houle Chrisara (author), Julia Emberley (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: Within the already colonized realm of Canadian film production, fictional narrative films made by women are further marginalized, for the most part going unseen and unacknowledged. This thesis examines thirty-four English language films by and about women, representing the work of twenty-seven filmmakers, in the context of a 'cultural circuit', encompassing interviews with the filmmakers , a consideration of the stories told in the films, and input from viewers. In their quest to present realistic, yet optimistic, portrayals of women's lives, the filmmakers succeed in producing empowering stories of women which provide an alternative to the damaging and stereotypical images most often found in mainstream cinema. Addressing various aspects of feminist film theory, it is argued that storytelling through film is a powerful communicative force, and it is vital that women's perspectives be seen and heard in this arena if ours is to become a more enriched, inclusive and equitable society.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 2002

Title: Wife battering, institutional appropriation, and treatment discourse: a struggle for discursive control
Contributors: Patty J. Ginn (author), Joanne Fiske (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: This thesis examines the gap between the objectified knowledge created by institutions and the expert knowledge or experience of one woman within institutional systems dealing with wife battering. Examining this gap reveals the patriarchal and hierarchical relations inherent in institutional systems and uncovers the discursive practices which they employ in order to construct ideologies about wife battering. The discourses of Law, Psychology and the helping professions stand in direct opposition to feminist discourses based in concepts of gender inequity and patriarchal domination. All discourses, however, are not created equal. The discursive battlefield is dominated by treatment discourses that insist battering is a sickness not a choice as feminist discourses maintain. This is validated by legal systems that remand or recommend that batterers enter treatment programs for abusing their wives. In order for feminists to compete successfully against dominant discourses they must construct a discourse which validates and encompasses the experiences of all battered women and resist the appropriation of services for battered women by the state.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 1997

Title: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as "shero": Re-defining the mythological hero.
Contributors: Jamie Onciul-Omelus (author), Robert Budde (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: This thesis examines Buffy Summers from the television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer using feminist television criticism to position the character within third wave feminism and pop-culture hero mythology. The central question is: how and why is Buffy not a hero but a "shero"? The term "shero" is a feminist backlash to the traditional heroine and hero. She is a strong, courageous woman, who accomplishes great things in the face of patriarchal forces that would keep her meek and dependent. The methods used in this thesis are based on television theory methodologies, including ideological analysis and literary analysis from a third wave feminist perspective. I argue that female stereotypes, represented in television, language and hero mythology play a significant role in limiting women's roles within these areas. However, I believe that BfVS is a show that challenges female stereotypes and successfully redefines traditional views of women and heroes on television. The results of this thesis contribute to the growing literature of third wave feminism and feminist television criticism. More importantly, this thesis establishes the character, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as a shero and feminist role model, which has been lacking in popular culture.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 2005

Title: Negotiating the conditions of Bella's desire
Contributors: Devon Flesher (author), Karin Beeler (thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia College of Arts, Social, and Health Sciences (Degree granting institution), Si Transken (committee member), Stan Beeler (committee member)
Abstract: Through detailed analysis of the relationship between lead characters, Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, this thesis explores the Twilight Saga’s representation of sexuality. In the four novels and five film adaptations, the series presents female sexuality as threatening to the patriarchal status-quo, while simultaneously depicting a version of male sexuality that is fragile and in need of protecting. By examining Edward’s fears about his sexuality, and therefore cultural anxiety about the sexual behaviour of adolescent males, this work engages in a close examination of the way that Bella is represented as a threat to Edward and the patriarchal structure of his family. To evaluate the impact of the saga on attitudes of fans, this study provides a critical analysis of a selection of Twilight fan fiction. These stories represent a feminization of writing and a path to the creation of what Hélène Cixous calls 'écriture feminine,' or women's writing, via collaborative and reciprocal story telling that allows the audience to participate in the creation of the story and therefore shape the meaning of the text.
Discipline: Gender Studies
Content Model: info:fedora/ir:thesisCModel
Date added: 2017

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