Magister Artium - MA (Women and Gender Studies)

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

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Browsing by Author "Faculty of Arts"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    The contemporary construction of the causality of HIV/AIDS :a discourse analysis and its implications for understanding national policy statements on the epidemic in South Africa
    (University of the Western Cape, 2005) Judge, Melanie; Shefer, Tamara; Institute for Social Development; Faculty of Arts
    This study was concerned with the social construction of HIV/AIDS at the policy level in contemporary South Africa, and how such constructions shape the manner in which the epidemic is understood in popular discourse.
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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 stigma experienced by women who are living with HIV/AIDS
    (University of the Western Cape, 2006) Roman, Gail Sandra; Shefer, Tamara; Women and Gender Studies; Faculty of Arts
    The effects of the spread of HIV/AIDS place a great burden on women and children, who will probably suffer most in terms of social and economic deprivation. Since HIV/AIDS is linked to social taboos such as sexuality, drug use and death, there are enormous levels of ignorance, denial, fear and intolerance in most communities. These prejudices lead to the stigmatisation and discrimination of people who are living with HIV/AIDS. Moreover the illness, as it is sexually transmitted, has been conflated with sexual excess, lack of morals, and those already stigmatised such as sex workers with associated discourses of blame, shame and guilt. Generally, responses to HIV and those living with HIV have served to reflect, legitimise and reproduce broader social inequalities on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, race and class. Stigma is the reason why many people who are living with HIV/AIDS, choose not to disclose their status and seek apposite assistance. This study explored the stigma experienced by a group of women who are living with HIV/AIDS and to develop a deeper understanding of whether these experiences are complicated by social responses.
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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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    Perceptions of the veil among a group of Sudanese women: a qualitative study
    (University of the Western Cape, 2004) Wani, Catherine; Stander, Christell; Shefer, Tamara; Women and Gender Studies; Faculty of Arts
    The Islamic dress code has been forcibly imposed on the women in Sudan, since 1983, and many feminists researchers have criticized the practices of the veil as a tool to oppress women. This study aimed to explore a group of Sudanese women, currently living in South Africa, experiences and perceptions of the veil, whether the veil is a religious dress code or a tool that has been used to exercise inequality.