This thesis entails a historical comparative analysis of the three feminist waves, based on a historical literary analysis, and is exemplified by three case studies that illustrate each specific...Show moreThis thesis entails a historical comparative analysis of the three feminist waves, based on a historical literary analysis, and is exemplified by three case studies that illustrate each specific time period. The historical analysis and the case studies are then compared in order to evaluate historical changes and developments. Through this, the following research question is answered, ‘What does a historical comparative analysis of four women between the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries show with regard to the effects of changing domesticity values on the roles of women in American higher education?’ The women chosen for the case studies both diverged from, and conformed to social rules in their time period, thereby illustrating which rules exactly were in place. Therefore, the effects that these expectations had on women in higher education are illustrated as well. The term domesticity that is used in this thesis is derived from the Cult of Domesticity that was present in the 18th and 19th centuries, prohibiting women from entering the public sphere in any way. The effects that domesticity had on women in higher education is evaluated through mechanisms of femininity and masculinity, the ‘duality of education’ by Anderson-Faithful and Goodman, and the ‘feminist dilemma’ by Joan Scott. These themes show that domesticity has influenced women in higher education, and continues to do so, despite improvements in women’s social and legal rights.Show less
Background: Prior research drawing on evolutionary psychology has shown a link between women’s fertility and sexual market value, suggesting a lower sexual market value for women past their prime...Show moreBackground: Prior research drawing on evolutionary psychology has shown a link between women’s fertility and sexual market value, suggesting a lower sexual market value for women past their prime reproductive ages. In relation to this, I investigated changes in women’s dating strategy as a function of age. I predicted women past their prime reproductive age to be less choosy as reflected in partner choice, sexual behavior and demands placed on a potential partner in terms of age. Methods: I used data from 323 heterosexual, female participants (aged 18-44) of an online dating paradigm. Participants were matched with a partner based on similarity on either task performance or questionnaire responses, after which they could contact their match for an (online-) date. Two follow-ups investigated how suitable they found their partner. Results: No direct relationship between women’s age and choosiness in terms of partner choice was found. However, women’s age positively predicted more unrestricted sexual behaviour, possibly reflecting lowered choosiness. The change in women’s demands placed on a partner in terms of age could not be investigated due to methodological restrictions. Conclusion: This thesis is not conclusive about age-related changes in female choosiness in terms of partner choice. However, exploratory findings are promising, suggesting lower sexual restrictiveness in older women. Further research is needed to clarify the reasons behind this finding. Further, future research needs to allow for natural age assortment in order to test changes in women’s demands in terms of age difference.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Liberal Arts and Sciences: Global Challenges (LUC) (BA/BSc)
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Since 2001, billions of aid money have been pumped into Afghanistan to improve the lives of civilians, especially women. The plight of Afghan women has mobilised many NGOs to come into the country,...Show moreSince 2001, billions of aid money have been pumped into Afghanistan to improve the lives of civilians, especially women. The plight of Afghan women has mobilised many NGOs to come into the country, but not much has improved. This research attempts to find the reasons as to why so few improvements have been made, by using interviews with NGO employees working in Afghanistan to supplement and update the existing literature. Afterwards, a final analysis will be presented, combining the literature and the data from the interviews into one evaluation of the obstacles to the improvement of the position of women. The research question is: What are the obstacles to the improvement of the position of women in Afghanistan? It concludes that the main obstacles are more or less similar to the ones identified in the literature, namely the ineffective government, corruption, backlash against reforms, the deteriorating security situation, low quantity and quality of education, child marriages and baad. The research also identifies two new problems not yet identified by the literature: the tribal and religious norms regarding women and “Afghanistan fatigue”.Show less
This research aims to answer the question “How gender representation in politics affects the outcome of policymaking in the federal government of Nigeria”. And to help answer the questions, two...Show moreThis research aims to answer the question “How gender representation in politics affects the outcome of policymaking in the federal government of Nigeria”. And to help answer the questions, two hypotheses were formulated which are H1: greater women's representation in politics and decisionmaking positively affects the outcome of policymaking leading to economic growth and development of a country; H2: increasing the number of women decision-makers in politics leads to an outcome that is beneficial for women as well as their male counterparts. To test these hypotheses, a combination of desk research and informal/unstructured interview was carried out. It is emphasized that the gender representation in this research is focused on politics at the federal government level. Gender representation in politics at the federal level is selected because laws, policies, and decisions made at the federal government supersede all other levels (states and local government levels) of governance in Nigeria. The findings of this research support the two hypotheses as the desk research shows that the few women in politics who served on the federal level have positively impacted life’s in diverse ways while contributing to the economic growth of the country; from empowering the poor and vulnerable, providing jobs, developing new policies, challenge previous unfavorable status quo and above all alleviating poverty and thereby boosting the economic situation of the country. These findings were also supported by the interviewees. When women are included in political affairs such as decision making, it led to the development of laws and regulations that every inhabitant of the country benefit from. The research also contributed to knowledge by enumerating factors limiting the political representation of women at the federal government level. These main factors identified include religion, culture, marriage, fear, perception, education, and less or no fund. The dominant factors seem to be religion, culture, and marriage; these factors were further substantiated by the interviewees.Show less
This thesis investigated why Marko Vovchok, a Russian noblewoman, chose to narrate her stories through the voices of Ukrainian serf and peasant women. Likewise, this research sought to determine...Show moreThis thesis investigated why Marko Vovchok, a Russian noblewoman, chose to narrate her stories through the voices of Ukrainian serf and peasant women. Likewise, this research sought to determine what significance her use of the Ukrainian language in her early prose fiction had apart from its folkloric / national values, and whether it had any significance for the topic of gender. She was the first female Ukrainian writer. Using the Ukrainian language uttered by peasant and serf women, Vovchok found a way to talk about otherwise difficult issues through a kind of ‘wilderness’, defined by Elaine Showalter as being outside of male experience. Female bodily, cultural, and social issues were problematic in the contemporary literature of the Russian Empire. Therefore, her deployment of a neutral form of Ukrainian, but based on female peasant and serf forms of speech with folk elements, opened up a ‘wilderness’ of expression not yet available to anyone in Ukrainian – whether they were male or female authors. Another important feature of her stories and their language is their universalism: firstly, in their applicability to oppressed people everywhere, and secondly in their applicability to oppressed women everywhere.Show less
