Cosplayers: Gender and Identity is an examination of identity practices in cosplay, as expressed by cosplayers themselves. It challenges the assumed correlation between cosplay and cosplayer identity and considers the lived experiences of cosplayers engaging in the fan practice of sartorial performance. Through a series of chapters covering the blurring lines of gender, sexualized fantasy in real spaces, and nostalgia, the author argues that observational data run the risk of affirming normative expectations of identity in the absence of cosplayer narratives, and produce misreadings that generalize. The work develops and builds an understanding of a complex cultural system of art, engaging with multiple methodologies to make identity, fandom, and critical analysis on the parts of participants and observers alike. This is an accessible and innovative study suitable for scholars and students in gender studies, cultural studies, sexuality studies, sociology, and media studies.

Gender Issues in Scandinavian Music Education: From Stereotypes to Multiple Possibilities introduces much-needed updates to research and teaching philosophies that envision new ways of considering gender diversity in music education. This volume of essays by Scandinavian contributors looks beyond the dominant Anglo-American lens while confronting a universal need to resist and rethink the gender stereotypes that limit a young person's musical development. Addressing issues at all levels of music education-from primary and secondary schools to conservatories and universities- topics discussed include: the intersection of social class, sexual orientation, and teachers' beliefs; gender performance in the music classroom and its effects on genre and instrument choice; hierarchical inequalities reinforced by power and prestige structures; strategies to fulfill curricular aims for equality and justice that meet the diversity of the classroom; and much more! Representing a commitment to developing new practices in music education that subvert gender norms and challenge heteronormativity, Gender Issues in Scandinavian Music Education fills a growing need to broaden the scope of how gender and equality are situated in music education-in Scandinavia and beyond.

This book takes up the question of Christian queer theology and ethics through the contested lens of "redemption." Starting from the root infinitive "to deem," the authors argue that queer lives and struggles can illuminate and re-value the richness of embodied experience that is implied in Christian incarnational theology and ethics. Offering a set of virtues gleaned from contemporary lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, and asexual (LGBTIQA) lives and communities, this book introduces a new framework of ethical reasoning. Battered and wrongly condemned by life-denying theologies of redemption and dessicating ethics of virtue, this book asserts that the resilience, creativity, and epistemology manifesting in queer lives and communities are essential to a more generous and liberative Christian theology. In this book, queer "virtues" not only reveal and re-value queer soul but expose covert viciousness in the traditional (i.e., inherently colonial and racist, and thus ungodly) "family values" of dominant Christian ethics and theology. It argues that such re-imagining has redemptive potential for Christian life writ large, including the redemption of God. This book will be a key resource for scholars of queer theology and ethics as well as queer theory, gender and race studies, religious studies, and theology more generally.

This volume in the Springer Series in Evolutionary Psychology presents a state of the art view of the topic of sexuality and sexual behavior drawing on theoretical constructs and research of noted individuals in the field. Comprehensive and multi-disciplinary, this book seeks to provide a broad overview without sacrificing the complexity of a multi-faceted approach. The book is framed by introductory and closing sections that provide a context for the range of ideas contained within. Ample space is provided in designated sections that focus on key areas of sexuality from both male and female perspectives and that include information from primate studies. This volume can serve as a graduate text in sexual behavior in evolutionary terms and as a guide for further research.

During the era of the French revolution, patriots across Europe tried to introduce a national uniform. This book, the first comparative study of national uniform schemes, discusses case studies from Austria, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Turkey the United States, and Wales.

Due to the increase in transgender characters in scripted television and film in the 2010s, trans visibility has been presented as a relatively new phenomenon that has positively shifted the cis society's acceptance of the trans community. This book counters this claim to assert that such representations actually present limited and harmful characterizations, as they have for decades. To do so, this book analyzes transgender narratives in scripted visual media from the 1960s to 2010s across a variety of genres, including independent and mainstream films and television dramatic series and sitcoms, judging not the veracity of such representations per se but dissecting their transphobia as a constant despite relevant shifts that have improved their veracity and variety. Already ingrained with their own ideological expectations, genres shift the framing of the trans character, particularly the relevance of their gender difference for cisgender characters and society. The popularity of trans characters within certain genres also provides a historical lineage that is examined against the progression of transgender rights activism and corresponding transphobic falsehoods, concluding that this popular medium continues to offer a limited and narrow conception of gender, the variability of the transgender experience, and the range of transgender identities.

Sexual Identity on the Job provides academics and practitioners with a solid resource for addressing sexual identity concerns and issues in the workplace. It offers corporate trainers, managers, and policymakers suggestions for creating a positive psychological environment of inclusion for all workers through policies of nondiscrimination, the availability of domestic partner benefits, and solid efforts to eliminate on-the-job discrimination toward lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender individuals. It educates social service providers about company actions of which they need to know in order to effectively support their gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgenderedclients.As a compilation of scholarly and applied perspectives, Sexual Identity on the Job covers such topics as multicultural identity (multiple identities) development; legal and policy issues of employment; career development issues for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender persons; and how inclusion improves productivity among all groups. By including both perspectives, this unique volume offers both academics and practitioners a broader knowledge of the field and relevant issues, and possible solutions for sexual identity concerns and questions in the workplace.Chapters in Sexual Identity on the Job address a diverse set of issues relating to ways in which those concerned about the psychological well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender workers can address their needs while recognizing their desire to lead productive, fulfilling lives. The contributors, in promoting workplaces that offer all workers inclusion, safety, and a place to thrive psychologically and emotionally, cover such topics as: gay, lesbian, and bisexual career development and counseling issues managing multiple identities (race, gender, sexual orientation) in the workplace current trends in economic discrimination toward lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals and relevant legal concerns domestic partner benefits the relationship between inclusion and productivitySexual Identity on the Job chronicles the development of research, specific concerns which have been addressed, and where current research leaves this situation. It also provides some interpretation of the past and current research and its implications for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender workers and their co-workers. It betters relationships among gay and straight workers, administration, and management by promoting equal and fair treatment, in regard to both legal and policy issues and in interpersonal relationships, to all employees. Corporate trainers of all levels, academic researchers, career and other counselors, and the general public will find its pages filled with applicable and helpful information.

Sexual Identity on the Job provides academics and practitioners with a solid resource for addressing sexual identity concerns and issues in the workplace. It offers corporate trainers, managers, and policymakers suggestions for creating a positive psychological environment of inclusion for all workers through policies of nondiscrimination, the availability of domestic partner benefits, and solid efforts to eliminate on-the-job discrimination toward lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender individuals. It educates social service providers about company actions of which they need to know in order to effectively support their gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgenderedclients.As a compilation of scholarly and applied perspectives, Sexual Identity on the Job covers such topics as multicultural identity (multiple identities) development; legal and policy issues of employment; career development issues for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender persons; and how inclusion improves productivity among all groups. By including both perspectives, this unique volume offers both academics and practitioners a broader knowledge of the field and relevant issues, and possible solutions for sexual identity concerns and questions in the workplace.Chapters in Sexual Identity on the Job address a diverse set of issues relating to ways in which those concerned about the psychological well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender workers can address their needs while recognizing their desire to lead productive, fulfilling lives. The contributors, in promoting workplaces that offer all workers inclusion, safety, and a place to thrive psychologically and emotionally, cover such topics as: gay, lesbian, and bisexual career development and counseling issues managing multiple identities (race, gender, sexual orientation) in the workplace current trends in economic discrimination toward lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals and relevant legal concerns domestic partner benefits the relationship between inclusion and productivitySexual Identity on the Job chronicles the development of research, specific concerns which have been addressed, and where current research leaves this situation. It also provides some interpretation of the past and current research and its implications for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender workers and their co-workers. It betters relationships among gay and straight workers, administration, and management by promoting equal and fair treatment, in regard to both legal and policy issues and in interpersonal relationships, to all employees. Corporate trainers of all levels, academic researchers, career and other counselors, and the general public will find its pages filled with applicable and helpful information.

Individuals with disabilities are often "desexualized" in our society, yet they have the same need for intimacy, self-worth, and social belonging as people without disabilities. Sexuality and Disabilities addresses persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and cognitive disabilities and their concerns in the areas of intimacy, family issues, sexuality, and sexual functioning. It offers suggestions for professionals who work with persons with these disabilities to help them work more competently with disabled persons in the sexuality arena. These concrete ideas are excellent for staff training and education and for enhancing professional development for those working with persons with physical disabilities.The contributing authors create an awareness that all people need individualized consideration and that the special needs of all individuals are important, especially for those who may have previously been left to discover things on their own--usually unsuccessfully. Sexuality and Disabilities focuses on a wide range of disabilities, including physical, developmental, and learning disabilities, mental retardation, and conditions that may have an impact on people later in life such as strokes, heart disease, or other chronic illness. Chapters discuss education and support issues for both practitioners and clients. Some of the topics examined include: components of a staff training program on sexuality and disability specific recommendations for sexuality education and counseling with people with spinal cord injuries and other acquired severe neurological disabilities a program model serving parents with mental retardation and their children specific ways educational programming, social work intervention, and policy efforts can address the special learning needs of people with cognitive impairments sources of support and stress for families caring for developmentally disabled children an analysis of special vulnerabilities and challenges relating to sexual victimization that confront people with disabilitiesAn extremely helpful tool for human service practitioners, Sexuality and Disabilities is also a valuable resource for graduate and undergraduate students who have an interest in working with people with physical, cognitive, or mental disabilities and helping them explore this basic facet of their lives.

This original critical study examines the significance of mythology for contemporary black women writers. It illustrates the narrative strategies used to elucidate themes of mythmaking in such writers as Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Ntozake Shange, Toni Cade Bambara, and Paule Marshall. She identifies the influences of different mythologies - European, African, Black American, and Native American - on black women writers who have appropriated them and reveals the skill with which they have woven them into the worlds of their own experiences.

This unparalleled collection, international and innovative in scope, analyzes the dynamic tensions between masculinity and dance. Introducing a lens of intersectionality, the book's content examines why, despite burgeoning popular and contemporary representations of a normalization of dancing masculinities, some boys don't dance and why many of those who do struggle to stay involved. Prominent themes of identity, masculinity, and intersectionality weave throughout the book's conceptual frameworks of education and schooling, cultures, and identities in dance. Incorporating empirical studies, qualitative inquiry, and reflexive accounts, Doug Risner and Beccy Watson have assembled a unique volume of original chapters from established scholars and emerging voices to inform the future direction of interdisciplinary dance scholarship and dance education research. The book's scope spans several related disciplines including gender studies, queer studies, cultural studies, performance studies, and sociology. The volume will appeal to dancers, educators, researchers, scholars, students, parents, and caregivers of boys who dance. Accessible at multiple levels, the content is relevant for undergraduate students across dance, dance education, and movement science, and graduate students forging new analysis of dance, pedagogy, gender theory, and teaching praxis.

Affirmative Action recounts the fascinating history of a civil rights provision considered vital to protecting and promoting equality, but still bitterly contested in the courts-and in the court of public opinion. "Special consideration" or "reverse discrimination"? This examination traces the genesis and development of affirmative action and the continuing controversy that constitutes the story of racial and gender preferences. It pays attention to the individuals, the events, and the ideas that spawned federal and selected state affirmative action policies-and the resistance to those policies. Perhaps most important, it probes the key legal challenges to affirmative action in the nation's courts. The controversy over affirmative action in America has been marked by a persistent tension between its advocates, who emphasize the necessity of overcoming historical patterns of racial and gender injustice, and its critics, who insist on the integrity of color and gender blindness. In the wake of related U.S. Supreme Court decisions of 2007, Affirmative Action brings the story of one of the most embattled public policy issues of the last half century up to date, demonstrating that social justice cannot simply be legislated into existence, nor can voices on either side of the debate be ignored.

This book probes into the beedi industry, a highly gendered and class-divided unorganised sector in India. It introduces an analysis of the lives, health status and work of the Indian women and girl children in the industry and discusses the role of gender constructions, global capitalism, and global racism in shaping the ideologies and conceptions about men and women at work. The volume presents a gendered postcolonial perspective on women's employment in the context of social and economic processes that are critical to globalization. It focuses on Telangana's Nizamabad district - where a majority of the women population are employed in the beedi industry. Through detailed surveys and case studies, the author analyses different aspects of exploitation of these women such as poor working conditions, income inequalities, health risks and the realities of child labour in the process of beedi making. Richly detailed, this book will be of great interest to students, researchers and teachers of geography, particularly human geography and feminist geography, women and gender studies, feminism, labour economics, capitalism, development studies, political sociology, and cultural studies. It will also be of interest to gender and feminist geographers, occupational health professionals, NGOs, and those interested in the issues of gender and development.

This study examines the significance of representations of masculinity with particular focus on the consumer industries, building a form of cultural analysis that draws together the study of texts and institutions.

Full Contributors:
Jill Rubery, School of Management, UMIST, Manchester, UK; Paul Edwards, University of Warwick, UK; Paul Marginson, University of Warwick, UK; Peter Armstrong, Sheffield University, UK; John Purcell, University of Bath, UK; John Allen, The Open University, UK; Nick Henry, University of Birmingham, UK; Tony Lane, University of Liverpool, UK; Bryn Jones, University of Bath, UK; Duncan Gallie, Nuffield College, Oxford, UK; Carole Thornley, Keele University, UK; Alice Lam, The University of Kent at Canterbury, UK; Jacqueline O'Reilly, WZB Berlin, Germany; Abigail Gregory, Irene Bruegel, Judy Wajcman, University of Warwick, UK.

Zimbabwean social media has been awash with images of a woman character, spirit, or concept called Chihera. Traditionally, a woman descending from the Mhofu (Eland) lineage/totem is known as Chihera. In the cumulative tradition of the Shona (a Zimbabwean ethnic group), Chihera is a fiercely independent, assertive, free spirited, and no nonsense woman. This volume seeks to deepen reflections on the Chihera phenomenon in the context of the search for gender justice in Zimbabwe and Africa. The authors reflect on how this radical indigenous feminist ethic circulating on social media can animate the quest for Zimbabwean and African women's full liberation from patriarchy and all oppressive forces. They grapple with the issue of generating culturally sensitive theories and approaches to galvanize the struggle for African women's liberation in post-colonial settings. Second, they locate the Chihera mystique in the context of the practical struggle for women's empowerment. Third, the volume illustrates how the Chihera phenomenon could be utilized for gender justice in Zimbabwe and beyond.

Caregiving role rather than gender has a predominant influence on parent interaction in nonstressful as well as stressful situations. Primary caregiving fathers can competently assume caregiving and nurturant functions so as to become their infants' primary attachment figures.

Based on videotaped home observations, Dr. Geiger examines the unique and interactive effects of the gender of the caregiver and the primacy of the caregiver role on parent-infant interaction. Dr. Geiger observed 56 parents of different gender (father-mother) and caregiving role (primary-secondary) interacting with their infant in a non-stressful situation. Then infants were placed under stress in a modified version of the Strange Situation. A gender X caregiving role analysis of variance indicated no gender or role effect for parents' and infants' affiliative behaviors under nonstressful conditions except for fathers' rough tumble play. A caregiving role and/or a gender X role interaction effect was observed on the attachment behaviors of parents (caregiving and displaying affection) and of infants (displaying affection, clinging, moving away, and exploring). Infants' play interaction was most synchronous with that of primary caregiving fathers. Finally, the caregiver role effect indicated on all infants' attachment behaviors under stress showed a distinctive preference for primary caregivers (fathers or mothers) with disregard for gender.

Dr. Geiger's study indicates that primary caregiving fathers can be as competent as primary and secondary caregiving mothers. They were more affectionate, and despite an increased amount of assumed caregiving and household chores, primary caregiving fathers were more involved and in greater synchrony with their infant's play activities than primary or secondary caregiving mothers. This study challenges sex-role stereotypes and suggests benefits of modeling a more egalitarian upbringing. It presents strategies to resolve the dilemma of day care for infants. This book will be of great interest to students, scholars, and other researchers involved with early childhood education, socioemotional development of children, and developmental psychology, especially once it is acknowledged that father care in the home for infants less than one year of age has become the most common form of primary nonmaternal care arrangement (21.6%) adopted by employed mothers.

The absorbing subject of sexuality in the Middle Ages is examined here in 19 original articles written specifically for this handbook by major authorities in the field. The study of medieval sexuality poses problems for the researcher: indices in standard sources rarely refer to sexual topics, and standard secondary sources often ignore the material or say little about it. Yet a vast amount of research is available, and the information is accessible to the student who knows where to look and what to look for. This volume is a valuable guide to the material and an indicator of what subjects are likely to yield fresh scholarly rewards.

In this edited volume, Kasi Lemmons, the first African-American woman auteur to solidly and steadily produce a full body of work in cinema-an oeuvre of quality, of note, of international recognition-will get the full film-studies treatment. This collection offers the first scholarly examination of Lemmons' films through various frameworks of film theory, illuminating her highly personal, unique, and rare vision. In Lemmons' worldview, the spiritual and the supernatural manifest in the natural, corporeal world. She subtly infuses her work with such images and narratives, owning her formalism, her modernist aesthetic, her cinematic preoccupations and her ontological leanings on race. Lemmons holds the varied experiences of African-American life before her lens-the ambitious bourgeoise, the spiritually lost, the ill and discarded, and the historically erased-and commits to capturing the nuances and differentiations, rather than perpetuating essentialized portrayals. This collection delves into Lemmons' iconoclastic drive and post-soul aesthetic as emanations of her attitudes toward personal agency, social agency, and social justice.

This text confronts the complacent assumption that "boys will be boys" which has resulted in a widespread blindness about the problem of boys in school. The book is a balance between theories on boys and classroom practice. Each chapter has a thematic introduction, a series of classroom strategies including practical suggestions for classroom use, and an "in the classroom" section which includes a short account of working with boys on some of these themes in an inner-city comprehensive school.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203397428

In the absence of accurate information, American culture has upheld a distorted view of what it means to be an older gay man. Gay and Gray is the first and only scholarly full-length treatment of older gay men in America today. It breaks the stereotype that older gay men are strange, lonely creatures and reveals that most older gay men are well-adjusted to their homosexuality and the aging process.This second edition contains four new chapters that present additional perspectives on the reality of gay aging. Dr. Minnigerode's study shows that older gay men do not perceive themselves as growing old faster than their heterosexual counterparts, and that forty is the age at which most gay men believe that the label "young" no longer applies--this finding led Berger and other researchers to define "older" gay men as those over forty. Pope and Schulz confirm Berger's finding that for most older gay men a continuation of sexual activity and sexual enjoyment is the norm. John Grube's paper on the interaction of older gay men with younger gay liberationists explores the cultural divide between today's older gay man and his younger counterpart, filling a gap left in the first edition. And a concluding chapter by Richard Friend on a theory of successful gay aging summarizes much of the current thinking about this topic. The true situation of the older homosexual male presented in Gay and Gray challenges preconceptions about what it means to be old and gay. It asserts that in most ways, older gay men are indistinguishable from other older people. Because the book portrays older gay men in a realistic and sympathetic light, it is therapeutic for the many gay men who have been burdened with society's negative and distorted views about them. These men may compare their own lives to those of the respondents described in the book. Gay and Gray offers younger gay men a rare glimpse into their futures and enlightens and comforts those who count older gay men among their family and friends. The conclusions drawn in the book will change people's perspectives and offer new ways of thinking for and about older gay men.Gay and Gray is filled with rich case histories and treats its subject with dignity and compassion. Topics of focus include: love relationships social and psychological adjustment gay community self-acceptance being "in the closet" and "coming out" as a gay person intergenerational attitudes popular stereotypesAs the first intensive interview and questionnaire study of gay men aged 40 and older in America, Gay and Gray examines the lives of these men in light of cultural stereotypes. Author Berger asks about the social lives of these men, their involvement in both the heterosexual and homosexual communities, their "coming out" experiences, their attitudes about younger gays, their experiences in growing older, and their strategies for adapting to life's challenges. In the study, Berger reveals that, contrary to stereotypic views, most older gay men are well-integrated into social networks and lead active and generally satisfying lives. He found that few live alone; most scored as well as younger gays on measures of psychological adjustment, such as self-acceptance; many are open about their homosexuality with family, friends, and colleagues; and the most well-adjusted older gay men were integrated into a homosexual community, associated with younger gay men, and were unwilling to change their sexual orientation.

This book considers gender as a convenient tool for making new boundaries within the European Union. It offers a political analysis based on sociological surveys conveyed by the author in 2008-2021. It emphasises the utmost necessity of a proper understanding of specific gender political technologies applied in ethnic and religious diasporas within the EU borders, by EU ruling elites, to avoid ideological collapse in relations with diaspora political groups and general members. The book demonstrates that uncritical application of EU gender equality programs within diasporas may transform gender to a dangerous political force destabilising the European Union. The monograph will be of interest for political science researchers, legislators, and administrators that work with political dimension of gender.

Broaden your understanding of lesbians of color, their perspectives, and their needs from a human services point of view. Lesbians of Color: Social and Human Services helps you understand the ways in which lesbians of color perceive important issues related to their oppression and discrimination by the dominant social service community. The authors'personalized accounts graphically depict the deep-seated impacts of society's racism, sexism, and homophobia. This insightful book suggests effective ways of changing detrimental practices and agency policies that perpetuate oppression and discrimination, and it enhances your interactions with lesbians of color. Chapters build on "feminist standpoint theory," a theory of inquiry enlightened by authors'firsthand knowledge that helps you move from an intellectual to an empathic grasp of the points made by each author. The use of standpoint theory gives you a different way of gaining insight and understanding of the experiences of lesbians of color. It acts as a springboard for valuing and celebrating the experiences and perspectives of lesbians of color so you can, in turn, provide more sensitive and effective services to members of this population. Among the topics explored in Lesbians of Color are: specific ways white practitioners should behave to demonstrate their sensitivity and respect for lesbians of color insight as to how "need perceptions" and "problem diagnosis" varies when the practitioner listens to and understands lesbians of color specific identity issues that affect the emotional well-being of adopted lesbians visibility and activism as contributors to the mental health of lesbians of color how visibility and activism are essential in creating positive changes in policies and practices for lesbians of colorThis volume is useful for professionals involved in direct service practice with lesbian clients and for administrators of social service agencies. The book is also a helpful guide for educators in professional preparation programs who must introduce students to issues related to lesbians of color.

This volume explores the discourse of disaster and women in the existing social settings and state disaster-related affairs in coastal Bangladesh. It covers various issues ranging from disproportionate vulnerability, coping and adaptation mechanisms for women, limitations for promoting participation and involvement of women in the decision-making process both in family and community and changes in the role and responsibilities of women for reducing disaster risk and vulnerability. It contributes to the deconstruction of gender-based identity by addressing women's changing practices and roles in the coastal area in terms of the involvement of women with the development process, earning/income generation activities, decision-making process, access and entitlements to resources. This book presents the most current and inclusive circumstances of disaster and women of the coastal area in Bangladesh. The insights obtained through the eyes of a sociologist from a holistic perspective make this book different and unique. The book is of interest to researchers, academics, policymakers and professionals engaged in the social understanding of disaster studies, as well as to researchers and practitioners in interdisciplinary domains, including sociology, gender studies, social work, environmental studies, and development studies.

This book presents a compilation of chapters relating to the socio-cultural experiences of Malaysian Indian women. It includes a historical background covering Indian women's migration to Malaya, and explores the lived realities of contemporary Indian women who are members of this minority ethnic group in the country. The authors cover a wide range of issues such as gender inequality, poverty, the involvement of women in performing arts, work, inter-personal relationships, and well-being and happiness, drawing on substantial empirical data through a gendered lens. This book addresses the gap in the intersectional gender studies literature on minority groups of women in Malaysia, while simultaneously highlighting the multiple forms of subordination minority women - particularly Indian women - experience in society, including those that arise from gender-ethnic intersectionality. In examining the case of Indian women in Malaysia, it also speaks to and enriches existing literature on the lives of minority groups of women in the Global South more broadly This anthology is beneficial to researchers and students in the social sciences, particularly in disciplines related to gender studies and minority studies. In addition, it is also useful for policy makers and social activists working with minority women in the Global South.