Magister Artium - MA (Women and Gender Studies)

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https://hdl.handle.net/10566/10215

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Browsing by Author "Clowes, Lindsay"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Body positive �healthy� women: Representations of health and femininities in women�s health magazine South Africa, 2013-2018
    (University of the Western Cape, 2022) Samaai, Shirmeez; Clowes, Lindsay
    This research explores how representations of healthy femininities are constructed through narratives of Body Positivity in the South African version of Women�s Health magazine from 2013 to 2018. In my thesis, I examine how the magazine romanticises certain bodies and subtly pathologises others. By conducting a thematic analysis, I focus on the magazine�s presentation of women�s bodies and how these representations are linked to femininities, health, and sexuality. From a Body Positive lens, I argue that the magazine represents certain bodies as normative and �healthy� and other bodies as unhealthy and undesirable.
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    Experiences of rural girls in a historically dominated organisation: scouts in Mpumalanga, Western Cape and Eastern Cape
    (University of the Western Cape, 2006) Van Staden, Maria; Clowes, Lindsay; Women and Gender Studies; Faculty of Arts
    This study explores the experiences of young rural girls in scouting practices, who reside in the rural areas of Mpumalanga, Western and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This exploratory study draws special reference to their participation in Scout programmes in what in observed as a predominantly male-dominated organisational alignment. This exploratory study uses a qualitative feminist investigation, through focus groups and semi structured interviews to investigate the impact of these organisational change initiatives on the experiences of girls in scouting. Although the aim of the study was to explore the experiences of rural girls, boys were included in the study to explore gender dynamics and to problematise how gender inequalities can be understood and addressed in scouting.
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    An exploration of the gendered constructions of �stoner� identity on a Western Cape campus
    (University of the Western Cape, 2019) Brown, Natasha Carmen; Clowes, Lindsay
    This study employed a social constructionist understanding of �identity� to identify key markers of gendered �stoner� identity and to consider how gendered �stoner� identity is performed on a Western Cape campus. The aim was not simply to consider how they see themselves, but also how they are considered through the lenses and perception of non-smoking students at campus. In trying to understand the gendered experiences of �stoners�, this research was grounded in a feminist theoretical perspective and feminist methodological approaches to explore gendered constructions of �stoner� identity at this Western Cape campus. The data for this study was collected through conducting two focus group discussions, and six semi structured, in-depth interviews with six male and six female students from a range of locations across campus. The participants in this study who smoke marijuana/weed did not reject the term �stoner�, rather, they claimed this identity, labelling themselves �stoners�. My research shows that �stoner� identities both transgress and reinforce normative femininities and masculinities.
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    Lesbians and the right to equality: Perceptions of people in a local Western Cape community
    (University of the Western Cape, 2001) Sanger, Nadia; Clowes, Lindsay; Women and Gender Studies; Faculty of Arts
    When lesbians, as women divert from social norms and reject the compulsory heterosexual norm, they are either punished through legal systems for transgressing patriarchial structures or not recognised at all. As women, lesbians suffer at the hands of a homophobic society which believs that women have stepped out of line through challenging the hegemonic discourses stipulating that they have specific and distinct roles to play - that of wives, mothers, homemakers and sexual partners to men. Because lesbians do not fit into this construct, their behaviour is socially and legally condemned for diverting from the "natural order". This study aimed to identify and explore the various ways people construct and perceive lesbians and to reveal how sexuality, as a product of history and culture, determines the ways lesbians are treated in their own communities. This study attempted to explore how, despite the democratic stance of the new constitution, South African lesbians still experience discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation.
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    Perceptions of empowerment: a study of muslim women living in the greater Cape Town Metropole
    (University of the Western Cape, 2011) Abrahams, Zulfa; Clowes, Lindsay; Women and Gender Studies; Faculty of Arts
    This thesis is a small scale in depth exploration into the perceptions of power held by eight Muslim women residing in the Cape Town Metropole area. Using a Qualitative Feminist approach the study aimed to explore and shed light on the multiple ways in which Muslim women negotiate, construct and co-construct agency, power and authority in their everyday lives. This study also sought to explore whether Muslim women who appear independent or empowered actually feel in control of their own lives; and how their ability to make choices is mediated by intersecting identities such as race, class, age, etc. The research highlights a number of emergent themes in which discussion of the women views around education, finance, reproductive responsibilities, patriarchy, etc. takes place and also explores the ways in which the women contest and resist traditional cultural norms in their everyday experiences. Furthermore this study also sought to create a space where the researcher focused and refocused her gaze on the theoretical and epistemological aspects of her chosen method of enquiry in order to interrogate its merits and limits. Upon reflection the researcher also acknowledges that, similar to the participants, she also holds contradictory views on some of the issues discussed.
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    Representations of gender,race and sexuality in selected English-medium South African magazines, 2003-2005
    (University of the Western Cape, 2007) Sanger, Nadia; Clowes, Lindsay; Women and Gender Studies; Faculty of Community and Health Sciences
    The aim of this study was to explore representations of gender, race and sexuality in a select group of South African magazines - Men's Health, FHM, Blink, True Love, Femina and Fair Lady - between 2003 and 2005. From a feminist poststructuralist perspective, it was argued that these magazines presented particular subjectives as normative; privileging and centerig one pole within dichotomies of gender, race and sexuality.
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    Women and Law in Malawi: The experiences of women seeking child maintenance at Lilongwe Child Justice Court
    (University of Western Cape, 2020) Phiri, Limbani Zakeyo; Clowes, Lindsay
    Malawi is endowed with a progressive, transformative and comprehensive legal and policy framework that guarantees the promotion and protection of human rights and justice for its citizenry, including women. The country is a party to multilateral human rights conventions, treaties, and protocols that strive to nurture and safeguard a culture that protects marginalised groups and has, thus, enacted relevant laws to domesticate the instruments. However, studies have shown that the legislative framework has not translated into practice that can create meaningful impact on the lives of ordinary citizens. My study explored the experiences of women that seek child maintenance through the Lilongwe Child Justice Court in Malawi.