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Has files: YesSubject: search.filters.subject.440509 Women's studies (incl. girls' studies)

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    Womanhood without motherhood : a critical discursive analysis of how older, childfree women navigate stigma through talk : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University of New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2024) Wootton, Jacqueline Ann
    Voluntary childlessness is relatively common in Westernised contexts but remains stigmatised, especially for women, owing to dominant gendered discourses shaping reproductive norms. In Aotearoa, New Zealand research on voluntary childlessness is scarce, with only several published studies. Globally, research tends to reinforce dominant constructions of voluntary childlessness as abnormal and deviant by focusing on explaining voluntary childlessness (who makes the decision not to parent and why) and the presumed negative consequences, mostly among women of ‘childbearing age’. Research that does consider older women often focuses on potential negative outcomes in later life, echoing common assumptions that childfree women will be sad, lonely, and regretful as they age. Very little research investigates older, voluntarily childless women’s experiences from their own perspectives, and there is no local research to date. Therefore, my research focuses on older, voluntarily childless women living in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Using a feminist poststructuralist lens, under the broad umbrella of reproductive justice, I explore how older women navigate dominant gendered discourses, and how they use discourses to resist stigma associated with their decision not to have children and construct a positive identity. I analysed the interview data generated in interviews with 14 women between the ages of 50 and 71 who identify as childfree from across Aotearoa, New Zealand using critical discursive psychology, applying the principles of reproductive justice and feminist poststructuralism to make sense of my participants’ talk, and what they achieved using the discursive strategies. Four main themes were identified in my analysis, with the first two taking a non-confrontational approach and the final two taking a more critical approach to resisting mandated motherhood, namely: 1. Child-freedom as an equally valid alternative to motherhood, 2. “It’s no big deal”: Minimising and normalising being childfree, 3. Regret-free: Resisting a deficit identity, and 4. “Motherhood is optional, obviously”: Resisting the ‘motherhood mandate’ through liberatory discourses. My research findings show that these women often drew on dominant discourses of essentialism and diversity to construct motherhood and non-motherhood as equally valid options for women. However, they also adopted progressive discourses to problematise motherhood as women’s only source of happiness. While these discursive strategies sometimes contradict each other, the overarching sentiment is that women should be able to occupy the subject position of mother or non-mother without stigma. Accordingly, I argue that by resisting gender essentialist and pronatalist discourse, these women can construct positive, childfree identities and multiple possible subjectivities that constitute womanhood.
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    Shifting the focus from gender diversity and inclusion to belonging and gender equity in Aotearoa New Zealand community football organisations : how did we get here and where are we going? : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Manawatū, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023) Shanks, Alida
    Gender equity in community football organisations remains elusive despite national and international moves to address this through legislation, reports, and strategies focusing on gender diversity and inclusion. This research demonstrates that we are in the position we are today because in their attempts to promote gender equity, national sports organisations and Sport NZ (in its current and previous incarnations) have essentially placed all their emphasis on devising and implementing policy. This approach has produced, at best, symbolic equality. While we have seen some progress in this space, there is much more to do for a sustained change in attitudes and behaviour towards gender diversity and inclusion to achieve gender equity within community sports organisations. Historically, this research shows that legislation and policies are a fairly blunt instrument for changing behaviour, because while they are important statements of what governments and organisations believe, this has not translated into practice. This research provides a historical analysis of this issue, by tracing the history of women’s involvement in community football organisations in Aotearoa NZ within the wider context of women’s involvement in sports organisations, and with reference to the scholarly literature on the history of women’s sport. It discusses the academic literature on gender diversity and inclusion in sport at micro-, meso-, and macro-levels, and draws on analyses of previous frameworks to conceptualise and create a new model, the Belonging and Equity Model. I adopted a relativist ontological approach, a social constructionist epistemology, underpinned by post-structural feminism. Taking a holistic approach, I used a multi-disciplinary methodology, mixed data collection methods and multiple sources of evidence that focused on converting theories and research into practicable tools for community football organisations to use. I applied a qualitative approach, using case study and insider research that included historical context, a web-based survey, action research, and a human-centred design thinking workshop to pilot and review the Belonging and Equity Model, a theoretical framework which was refined and evolved to become the practical Te Poukapa: The Belonging and Equity Matrix. The findings showed that there is a lack of diversity in community football organisations and more than a third of women who work in regional football federations have experienced discrimination. What is needed are actions that focus on belonging and gender equity, including at a strategic level, knowing and owning our (her)story, introducing gender equitable rituals, and building trust at all levels. This research discusses both the reasons for how we got ‘here’ and offers recommendations on how to move forward.
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    Body, positive? : how New Zealand women in young adulthood make sense of body positivity content on Instagram : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington Campus, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Campbell, Portia
    Mass media has played an integral role in establishing societal norms around women and their appearances. Feminists have argued that media exposure have has had a negative impact on the way women view their bodies, creating narrow, unattainable bodily ideals and contributing to body image disturbances (Sarkar, 2014). The development of the body positivity movement intended to counter these ideals, rejecting homogenized Western centric standards of beauty, and promoting inclusive, bodily acceptance. Proliferated across social media platforms such as Instagram, the movement has been both celebrated as a reclamation of diverse definitions of beauty and criticized for its fragmented messaging; co-option by commerce and slim, white women and its continuation of the objectification of women. This study considers how 11 New Zealand millennial women make sense of body positive content on Instagram and how these interactions impact their lived experiences. Through a critical realist informed phenomenological thematic analysis, it analyses qualitative semi-structured interview data using an inductive thematic analysis framework. Four themes were generated. One theme considers body positivity as accepting and normalizing difference, whilst another suggests that body positivity doesn’t have enough empowerment power. Another theme analyses how body positivity reproduces normative appearance ideals and the final considers how Instagram facilitates problematic looking. When combined, the study’s findings suggest that body positivity is complex and is full of emotion and nuance. As a movement, it has the potential to challenge stereotypical definitions of beauty but is limited in a variety of ways. The results contribute to growing literature demonstrating the multifaceted nature of sense making of body positive content on Instagram. The study’s limitations and suggestions for future research directions are included.
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    "Oh yeah, I'm a skateboarder" : exploring how girls in Auckland become members of the skate community : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Health Science in Environmental Health at Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2021) Collins, Jacquelyn Anne
    Youth inactivity is a global concern, and girls are a focus of many interventions because traditional opportunities to engage in sport do not appear to meet their needs. Girls' opportunities to be active are affected by a complex network of sociocultural factors including gender role socialisation, objectification, sexism, and the male coding of many sports and physical activities. This thesis presents research based on hermeneutic phenomenological principles that explores the lived experiences of female skateboarders in Auckland, New Zealand. The multifaceted study focuses on novice female skateboarders and Girls Skate NZ, the girls-only skate school that has brought many girls into the skate community since 2018. Drawing on a focus group with skateboarding girls, interviews with the girls' parents, interviews with adult skateboarders, and quantitative skate park observations, the study investigates what it is like for girls to enter the male-dominated world of skateboarding. The study identified impeding factors to girls' skateboarding, but also that Girls Skate NZ supports girls to overcome barriers to participation and increases their confidence on and off the skate park. Parents reported that learning to skate has enhanced their daughters' resilience and given them opportunities to embrace alternative forms of femininity. The study participants reported that members of the skate community at the skate parks used by study participants have become increasingly accepting of female skateboarders. Although gendered barriers still exist that make it more challenging for girls to become skateboarders, the skate park experiences of the girls suggested that they had not experienced deliberate marginalisation from male skateboarders. Girls Skate NZ was shown to successfully provide opportunities for autonomy and competence-building in a supportive, female-friendly environment, which provides a useful blueprint for future initiatives intended to scaffold girls into male-dominated sports.
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    Trafficked women as empowered agents? : exploring the experiences of trafficked women from Sonagacchi, Kolkata : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters of International Development at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2018) Rea, Phillipa
    This thesis explores the freedom experiences of trafficked women from Sonagacchi, Kolkata, and argues that freedom for women trafficked into the sex trade is more complex than simply equating freedom to empowerment or exit from the sex trade. The trafficking of human beings is a major development issue, highlighted in the recently developed Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which sets a target within SDG five, eight and sixteen to eradicate trafficking in all forms by 2030. To be able to reach this goal, a broad understanding of trafficking in needed. Research in the field of human trafficking is relatively recent with the majority of studies focusing on rescue and rehabilitation as the only means of exit from a trafficking situation. This thesis adds to the body of research on trafficking, by exploring the exit strategies of women who successfully exited a trafficking experience and seeking to understand the processes in women’s empowerment and agency. Field work took place in Sonagacchi, Kolkata the largest red-light area in India over a six-week period. A narrative inquiry method was used to hear the life stories of five women who have successfully exited their trafficking situation as well as interviews with four social workers. The findings of this study identified strategies that facilitated trafficked women’s exit from the sex trade. In addition, the processes of empowerment and agency that women experienced were explored, highlighting that individuals can experience empowerment processes and ssome degrees of agency even in exploitative environments. The idea that exit from the sex trade and empowerment equate to freedom is challenged within this study. It is recognised that freedom is contextual, personal and cultural in nature, and that in the context of the West Bengal sex trade, experiences of freedom encompassed contentment and well-being. The main implication of the findings of this research is that trafficked women experience empowerment and agency in the midst of their trafficking experience, but that experiences of freedom are more complex than the literature suggests, and women require healing and wholeness in order for freedom to be actualised.