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Posthuman Affirmative Business Ethics: Reimagining Human-Animal Relations Through Speculative Fiction
(Springer Nature B V, 2022-07) Sayers J; Martin L; Bell E
Posthuman affirmative ethics relies upon a fluid, nomadic conception of the ethical subject who develops affective, material and immaterial connections to multiple others. Our purpose in this paper is to consider what posthuman affirmative business ethics would look like, and to reflect on the shift in thinking and practice this would involve. The need for a revised understanding of human-animal relations in business ethics is amplified by crises such as climate change and pandemics that are related to ecologically destructive business practices such as factory farming. In this analysis, we use feminist speculative fiction as a resource for reimagination and posthuman ethical thinking. By focusing on three ethical movements experienced by a central character named Toby in Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam trilogy, we show how she is continually becoming through affective, embodied encounters with human and nonhuman others. In the discussion, we consider the vulnerability that arises from openness to affect which engenders heightened response-ability to and with, rather than for, multiple others. This expanded concept of subjectivity enables a more relational understanding of equality that is urgently needed in order to respond affirmatively to posthuman futures.
'Failed' mothers,‘failed’ womxn: Demarcating normative mothering
(Routledge, 2019-12-09) Macleod CI; Feltham-King T; Mavuso JM-JJ; Morison T; Zuffrey, C; Buchanan, F
In this chapter, we show how the boundaries of acceptable mothering are demarcated and regulated through reference to the ‘Other’ (Woollett & Phoenix, 1997). Using examples of ‘womxn’ who refuse motherhood, terminate pregnancies and reproduce when considered to be too young, we outline how womxn who ‘fail’ at normative mothering or who deviate from expected reproductive decisions form the pathologised presence that pre-defines the absent trace of normative mothering and the successful accomplishment of womxnhood (Macleod, 2001). We use the term ‘womxn’ and ‘womxnhood’ to disrupt normative assumptions about gender and sex, here taken to be socially constructed, which write gender and sex onto individuals. In this chapter, the term ‘womxn’ denotes and recognises womxn-identifying persons with the biological capacity to become pregnant, including intersex and transgender individuals. We also use this term to foreground the experiences of womxn of colour, womxn from/living in the global South, trans, queer and intersex womxn, as well as all womxn-identifying persons who have been excluded from dominant constructions of ‘womanhood’ and feminist praxis on the subject (Ashlee, Zamora & Karikari, 2017; Merbruja, 2015).
Young and feminist : negotiating 'identities' in the 1990s : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology at Massey University
(Massey University, 1995) Court, Helena Rose
This study explores the experiences of seven young feminist women in relation to a feminist poststructuralist understanding of 'idenitity' and subjectivity. A review of both the local and international literature reveals a dearth of material about young feminist women and their experiences. Semi-structured, multiple, in-depth interviews are analysed to explore how the young women in this study: • understand feminism and what it means to be feminist • develop their feminist 'identities' • negotiate their feminism in their family relations • understand the conflicts and contradictions that arise in this situation. Significant findings include the complexity and multiplicity of the ways the young women's feminist identities develop, their commitment to feminism and its imperative to achieving change, and the ways the women make sense of the contradictions in their actions to enable them to construct and maintain a coherent sense of self. Two interesting aspects of this study are its critique of feminist poststructuralism in light of the concept of 'sense-making' and its engagement with the principles of feminist research, in particular, an exploration of issues arising from the decision to include the researcher as a participant in the study.
EEO co-ordinators as femocrats : feminism and the state : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Arts
(Massey University, 1991) Payze, Gaye M
This thesis examines the relationship between feminist theory and femocrat practice. The central purpose is to examine the way femocrats act within the state and the extent to which they pursue a feminist agenda. This involved focusing on EEO co-ordinators as a case study of femocrats. The feminist debate about femocrats has raised a series of issues which concern: the structure and activities of the state and the extent to which non-dominant groups can use the state to pursue their political agendas; the ability of individuals to change the nature of the organisational culture and the extent to which those women in femocrat positions pursue the collective interests of women as opposed to their own individual interests. To explore this issue, this study has focused on the position, practices and networks of EEO co-ordinators working within a range of state organisations. In particular, this study examines the extent to which the strategies and issues which EEO co-ordinators have pursued in the development and implementation of an EEO programme are informed by feminist theory and practice. The central fieldwork component involved conducting indepth interviews with eight EEO co-ordinators. This study of EEO co-ordinators has revealed that the links between co-ordinators' practice and the agendas of the feminist movement were limited. Rather, an examination of EEO co-ordinators' practices, networks, and issues of priority has suggested that it is more appropriate to view EEO co-ordinators as pursuing a professional project within the field of EEO.
Feminist Christians : a conflict resolved? : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Women's Studies at Massey University
(Massey University, 1997) Duncan, Anne Frances
This grounded theory study explains how women make meaning through their participation in the community of La Leche League New Zealand (LLLNZ). It is firmly situated within the context of the need to acknowledge and value women's experiential learning and knowledge, particularly that which occurs through the activities and relationships of motherhood. Seventeen women from throughout New Zealand participated in the study. Written narratives were gathered from eleven of these women and the remaining six took part in a group conversation. In addition, women's stories were collected from twelve months of issues of LLLNZ's journal for mothers. All data were constantly compared using Glaser's emergent approach to grounded theory. Analysis identified a three-stage process and three interacting voices, together creating a basic social process. This basic social process was conceptualised and integrated into a theoretical framework named integrating voices. It is argued that women make meaning through the process of integrating voices. This process comprises three intertwined stages, coming to know (voices), engaging with (voices) and voicing, and is integrative and recursive. The voices implicated throughout the three stages are a tripartite, representing a woman's own voice, the voices of others and the voice of the LLLNZ community. Integrating voices presents an integrated model of meaning-making. The model is integrated through its three-stage process as well as through its tripartite voices. Five strong threads weave through all dimensions and processes of the model. These are: body, mind and emotions; relationships; narrative/story; identity and the practice of the community. The grounded theory integrating voices offers a holistic explanation of learning. It proposes an integration of mind, body and emotions, within the individual and the social, and embedded in context. Additionally, it emphasises that significant learning takes place within everyday activities and in the practice of those everyday activities. These findings have implications for adult education theory and practice where there is a need for a shift towards more inclusive and holistic accounts of adult(s) learning.
Women and social work : a study of feminist social work student placements : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Work at Massey University
(Massey University, 1987) Nash, Mary
Women social workers and their clients are taking strength from the women's movement. They are redefining women's problems and looking for alternative solutions. This study of feminist social work student placements arises from the author's joint interests in feminism and social work education. It establishes the salient characteristics of such placements. The focus is on issues relating to placement administration and the articulation of fieldwork curriculum with academic curriculum. The research was carried out late in 1986. All students (10) on the Massey University Batchelor of Social Work degree who regarded their final placements as feminist were interviewed and placement documents such as contracts, visitors' reports, supervisors assessments and written projects were also used as data. Interviews took place after placements were completed. Four chapters relate to the data. There is a short description of each placement followed by a chapter on the administrative processes of these placements. The third chapter looks at respondents theoretical positions and what influenced their integration of theory into practice. The presentation of data concludes with a section on the nature of feminist social work and outlines five placement principles. It is argued that the social work education curriculum should include feminist theory in relation to social work practice. Emphasis is placed on developing a common understanding of feminist placements so that their organisation may be compatible, as far as possible, with feminist principles. In addition there should be more mainstream feminist theory taught on social work courses to supplement a core paper on women's issues in social work. The study makes it clear that it is essential that academic input is articulated with fieldwork practice. The investigation of the truth is in one way hard, in another easy. An indication of this is found in the fact that no one is able to attain the truth adequately, while, on the other hand, no one fails entirely, but everyone says something true about the nature of things, and while individually they contribute little or nothing to the truth, by the union of all a considerable amount is amassed. Aristotle. Metaphysics, Book IIa. (Barnes, 1984: 1569.)
Women's encounters with pornographic texts: encoding/decoding and resistance: a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Media Studies, Massey University
(Massey University, 1996) Adamson, Tracey Jennifer
The aim of the present study was to undertake audience research (from within the cultural studies paradigm) into ways that women watch pornography. Given that the dominant position within feminism towards pornography has been anti-pornography pro-censorship, the debate surrounding pornography within feminism has concentrated on harm-based analysis. My research is an attempt to address this imbalance, focusing instead on the possibilities of pleasure in pornographic imagery, and by asking specifically about issues that inhibit and generate pleasure in sexual imagery. Using Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model, the present study asked four groups of 3 to 4 women to respond to specific examples of hard-core male identified and women-identified pornographic images. Following viewing the clips each group entered into focus-group discussion concerning the way the images represented women, the degrees of identification with the women on-screen, and the possibility of pleasure in erotic imagery. Wider cultural considerations regarding cultural expectations and definitions of pornography and erotica were also discussed. Textual analysis of the clips revealed that pornography is principally organised according to gender difference that privileges male sexuality over female sexuality. Women's responses to this 'preferred encoding' were organised according to whether the women agreed that pornography failed to offer pleasure for them as viewers, negotiated parts of pornography as pleasureable, or opposed the idea that pornography could not offer pleasure for women. Whereas women are expected to abhor pornography, a view perpetuated by the harm-driven censorship campaigning of anti-pornography theorists, most of the women in this study negotiated pleasure in aspects of pornographic/erotic imagery. I found that although the text themselves do subordinate women's sexuality, women can and do take active pleasure in pornography. It was the textual construction of pornography that was found to be the most offensive aspect of pornography, as it is a construction of sexuality that often fails to represent women's pleasure and misrepresents women's sexuality.
Feminism, femininity and motherhood in post-World War II New Zealand : A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts in history at Massey University
(Massey University, 1995) Knox, Heather
Hanging between the turmoil of global war and the social challenges and changes of later decades, the 1950s tends to be remembered as a time of social order, consensus and security. As a result, researchers often view these years as ones of stagnation for New Zealand women; a time when the stable nuclear family ruled supreme, when men's and women's roles were clearly delineated and little action was taken towards challenging them. However recent expansions of our perceptions of political activism have suggested otherwise. Helen May, for example, has taken a wider view of women's politics that incorporates domestic-based and non-controversial and argued that the apparent tranquility of the 1950s covered elements of conflict and contradiction. She and other historians maintain that women, while conforming to dominant expectations of their role, were also actively negotiating change in their lives. This thesis aims to investigate the extent to which three New Zealand women's groups centred on mothering, Parents' Centre, Play Centre and the Plunket Society, served as vehicles of these hopes for change. To this end, the relative degrees of progressive "feminist" and traditionalist "maternalist" elements within the organistions' philosophy and process are analysed. It is argued that the nature of each organisation is distinctive, with each showing a particular balance of feminist and maternalist characteristics. Together, the three organisations represent a continuum of women's political activities and illustrate the diversity of women's politics both within a particular time and within individual groups.
Judicial experiences : a discourse analysis of Family Courts judges' talk about domestic violence : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MAster of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
(Massey University, 2005) Thompson, Juliet Louise
Domestic violence toward women and children is a serious and prevalent issue in New Zealand society. It has both serious physical and psychological effects on all victims, including children who only witness the violence. This research focuses on Family Court Judges' responses to domestic violence and asks how these Judges make sense of domestic violence and work within the Domestic Violence Act 1995 to provide effective protection for victims. The framework of this research is feminist post-structuralism. This framework argues that there is no one singular objective truth but that all objects are dynamic and are constructed by talk. The meaning of objects and the position of subjects depend on discourses that are culturally and historically specific rather than individual attitudes or independent facts To examine the response of the Family Court Judges two Judges were interviewed and two published papers taken from speeches made by Judges were chosen for analysis. The results of the discursive analysis indicate that within the legal discourse there is a move away from valuing the role of women's groups and feminist theory in regard to the construction of domestic violence. The current construction of domestic violence within the Judges' talk tended to value the role of father's rights groups and the patriarchal familial construction of the father/child relationship. Domestic violence is being constructed more in terms of provocation rather than in terms of power and control, which is the feminist construction of domestic violence that current legislation is based upon. These differences between the legal discourse and feminist discourse constructions of domestic violence raise important questions as to how the aims of the Domestic Violence Act are being constructed by the Judges and whether these constructions are impacting on the effective protection of domestic violence victims.
Interrogating speech in colonial encounters : native women and voice : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Women's Studies at Massey University
(Massey University, 1997) Matahaere-Atariki, Donna C
This dissertation is an examination of Maori women's relationship to feminism within the current postcolonial dilemma of New Zealand politics. It interrogates the voice of native women and the location of this articulation. I investigate the efficacy of 'speaking-out' under conditions of colonial renewal and advance stages of late-capitalism. I ask 'what role does mainstream feminist politics play in the reproduction of 'images' that express native women's subjectivity in the Pacific'? And subsequently, 'how have Maori women responded'? If the point is to have a voice, what does it mean for those of us who have been silenced to be 'given' a voice? The limits of feminism as the presumed destination of native women will be seen to reflect the double-bind proposed by Maori women unable to return 'home', to that space designated, 'indigenous theory'. The irony and contradictory inevitability of postcolonial politics produces a moment, event, that Native women have no option but to negotiate as part of the colonial encounter we all inhabit.

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