Phototherapy as an Intervention in Identity Development with Adolescents.

Identity development in adolescence is a period of exploration and experimentation. During this stage of development, adolescents are defining their identity in terms of ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender. It can be a confusing time and the lack of resources and support influence the ability of the adolescent to form a cohesive identity. This struggle to define an identity may lead to symptoms of depression and difficulties with interpersonal relationships. Identity interventions are limited and primarily involve the adolescent talking to a therapist and attempting to verbalize and define subjective distress. The use of a phototherapy intervention focuses on using an adolescent's subjective experiences. Phototherapy provides a way for the therapist and client to explore the photographs the client takes and opens different avenues in the areas of non-verbal and visual communication. Photographs can also promote increased communication about an adolescent's ethnic, sexual or gender identity. Interpretations made by the adolescent about images in the photographs will get in touch with emotional experiences that may be missed in traditional "talk therapy." This paper reviews literature on identity development, specifically in the areas of ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Phototherapy, the use of photography to enhance traditional psychotherapy, is described and a rationale is provided for the utilization of phototherapy in adolescent identity development. Vignettes are provided illustrating how phototherapy can be used when working with adolescents who are questioning and exploring ethnic identity, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

The Relationship Between Feminine Gender Norm Conformity and Purpose and Meaning in Life Among Female College Students.

This study explores the relationship between conformity to traditional feminine gender norms and meaning and purpose in life among female college students. Based on previous research findings that show a negative correlation between specific traditional feminine gender norm conformity factors and psychological well-being, we posited that participants with higher levels of traditional gender norm conformity will experience a lower sense of meaning and purpose in life. Self-report data was obtained from 338 female undergraduate college students using the Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory (CFNI) and the Purpose in Life Test (PIL). A standard multiple regression assessed the accuracy of eight feminine norms in predicting purpose and meaning in life. Results partially supported the hypothesis, with Modesty as the most significant contributor to meaning and purpose. Inconsistent with our hypothesis, participants who endorsed high scores on Nice in Relationships, Involvement with Children, Sexual Fidelity, and Domestic, scored higher on the PIL.

Gender inequalities in occupational health related to the unequal distribution of working and employment conditions: a systematic review

Introduction: Gender inequalities exist in work life, but little is known about their presence in relation to factors examined in occupation health settings. The aim of this study was to identify and summarize the working and employment conditions described as determinants of gender inequalities in occupational health in studies related to occupational health published between 1999 and 2010. Methods: A systematic literature review was undertaken of studies available in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Sociological Abstracts, LILACS, EconLit and CINAHL between 1999 and 2010. Epidemiologic studies were selected by applying a set of inclusion criteria to the title, abstract, and complete text. The quality of the studies was also assessed. Selected studies were qualitatively analysed, resulting in a compilation of all differences between women and men in the prevalence of exposure to working and employment conditions and work-related health problems as outcomes. Results: Most of the 30 studies included were conducted in Europe (n=19) and had a cross-sectional design (n=24). The most common topic analysed was related to the exposure to work-related psychosocial hazards (n=8). Employed women had more job insecurity, lower control, worse contractual working conditions and poorer self-perceived physical and mental health than men did. Conversely, employed men had a higher degree of physically demanding work, lower support, higher levels of effort-reward imbalance, higher job status, were more exposed to noise and worked longer hours than women did. Conclusions: This systematic review has identified a set of working and employment conditions as determinants of gender inequalities in occupational health from the occupational health literature. These results may be useful to policy makers seeking to reduce gender inequalities in occupational health, and to researchers wishing to analyse these determinants in greater depth.

Pedagogies and critical reflection: key understandings for transformative gender justice

It is widely acknowledged that quality pedagogy is central to improving the educational outcomes of all students. In improving the social and academic outcomes of boys, and more specifically disengaged boys, the productive pedagogies model has been presented as a way forward. In terms of drawing on this model in socially just ways; to facilitate a broadening, rather than reinscribing of boys' narrow constructions of gender identity, this paper illustrates the imperative of teachers interacting with key feminist understandings of masculinity. Organized around the four dimensions of productive pedagogy, the paper draws on ( predominantly Australian-based) seminal work in the sphere of masculinities and schooling to discuss key strategies and initiatives for improving boys' educational outcomes. Against this backdrop, the paper demonstrates the importance of two principle understandings. The first relates to teachers understanding masculinity through feminist lenses, as constructed, regulated and maintained through inequitable social processes and the second relates to teachers understanding pedagogy as critical and transformative practice. These understandings are presented as vital to enabling gender justice.

Paternalism and Competent Patient Choice in the Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender-Nonconforming People

In 2016 physicians in Ontario will be granted the authority to refer patients with gender dysphoria for sex reassignment surgery. In order to be granted this authority physicians must be trained in the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s Standards of Care, which outlines healthcare procedures for the treatment of gender dysphoria and provides background information concerning transgender health. The Standards of Care require that patients undergo a process of 12 months of continuous living in a gender role that is congruent with their gender identity prior to being given access to sex reassignment surgery. While this requirement can sometimes be helpful it can also cause more harm than benefit. This paper argues that the requirement is strongly paternalistic in its current form and should no longer be mandatory in most cases.

ANALYSIS OF GENDER RELATIONS IN THE INDUSTRIAL COMMUNITY OF AGUIRRE, PUERTO RICO

This thesis is a study of the gender relations of the residents of Aguirre, Puerto Rico, between 1940 and 1991. The primary goal of the project was to explore how gender roles and relations in the Aguirre community were impacted by the social class system introduced by the Aguirre Sugar Company. This project was based on the interpretation of the past and present situation of the Aguirre community using oral history, by conducting a series of interviews among its residents. The interviews resulted in three main themes. First, the concepts of `normal and natural' were used to distinguish gender roles. Second, Aguirreños identified `family as community', since through the family individuals built their gender identity and learned the basic rules of coexistence within the social hierarchy of the community. Third, although the gender and class roles were clear in the community, `resistance and negotiation' occurred in the home and at the Company between those of different gender and social classes. The Aguirre Sugar Company was one of the principal influences on the construction of the Aguirreños identity, and left a mark on the past, present and future generations.

Analyzing consumer-based brand equity on Facebook: the impact of brand gender

In recent years, Facebook and other social media have become key players in branding activities. However, empirical research is still needed about the way in which consumer-based brand equity is created on social media. The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between masculine and feminine brand personality and brand equity, on Facebook, and to analyze the mediating role of consumer-brand engagement and brand love on this relationship. Data were collected using an online survey with 614 valid responses. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Results support 7 of the 11 hypotheses with significant relationship between analyzed constructs. This study confirms the advantages of a clear gender positioning and extends prior research by suggesting that brands with a strong brand gender identity will encourage brand love. Results also highlight that brand love has a mediating role on the relationship between brand gender and overall brand equity.

Living Our Lives on the Edge: Power, Space and Sexual Orientation in Cape Town Townships, South Africa

Much of social science literature about South African cities fails to represent its complex spectrum of sexual practices and associated identities. The unintended effects of such representations are that a compulsory heterosexuality is naturalised in, and reiterative with, dominant constructions of blackness in townships. In this paper, we argue that the assertion of discreet lesbian and gay identities in black townships of a South African city such as Cape Town is influenced by the historical racial and socio-economic divides that have marked urban landscape. In their efforts to recoup a positive sense of gendered personhood, residents have constructed a moral economy anchored in reproductive heterosexuality. We draw upon ethnographic data to show how sexual minorities live their lives vicariously in spaces they have prised open within the extant sex/gender binary. They are able to assert the identities of moffie and man-vrou (mannish woman) without threatening the dominant ideology of heterosexuality.

Female soccer in the Beijing olympic games

Gender relations put men and women in different areas of the hierarchy, for instance in the case of soccer. This work analyzed the news articles from the Beijing 2008 section of the Newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo to identify the space attributed to news articles about female and male soccer, and to qualitatively evaluate what is said to its readers. The result shows that the percentage of words addressing women was higher compared to other surveys and the area for pictures was similar for both genders, however this only happened on account of the influence of the event. The news allowed for an analysis of women in soccer: the entities that perpetuate the hierarchical difference between the genders when they don`t support them; the raising of issues regarding aesthetics which explains why these athletes are not erotized by the media as is the case in other modalities; as soccer is considered to be a male area the media demanded better results from the men.

Ethical Conflicts over the Management of Transsexual Adolescents-Report of Two Cases

Introduction. The diagnosis and the treatment of transsexualism, particularly during adolescence, generate considerable discussion among specialists. Many health and legal professionals have not yet reached a strong consensus on medical treatment for juvenile transsexuals. Hormonal therapy cannot only represent a medical procedure to adjust the somatic sex to the psychological gender, but can also be a reasonable means of preventing some juvenile transsexuals from engaging in undesirable and risky behavior. Aim. To report the cases of two transsexual adolescents who resorted to prostitution to afford hormonal medications when treatment was denied because of age criteria. Results. Hormonal medications were not recommended by the endocrinology staff because specific laws regulating this medical procedure for juvenile transsexuals in Brazil are lacking. In response, these adolescents chose to use illegally obtained sex hormones to treat themselves. Conclusions. We propose ""harm reduction"" as a means of coping with this dilemma in some cases. Baltieri DA, Cortez FCP, and de Andrade AG. Ethical conflicts over the management of transsexual adolescents-report of two cases. J Sex Med 2009;6:3214-3220.

“Somos ensinados a pensar em sexo”: Representações Sociais de Masculinidades e de Amor em Travestis Homens Gays e Homens Heterossexuais

Estudos realizados no campo das masculinidades mostraram que a adesão e identificação de determinados grupos a um conjunto de regras e comportamentos que definem o ser homem implicava em adoecimento e submissão a um regime que supostamente lhes oferece vantagens e poder. Compreender como diferentes grupos constituem-se em relação à divisão social sexual torna-se relevante principalmente se considerarmos sujeitos que fogem ao padrão que define modos de ser homem e ser mulher. Esta tese objetivou investigar as representações sociais de masculinidades e de amor de sujeitos com identidades de gênero e orientações sexuais diversas, especificamente: identificar e analisar representações sociais de masculinidade e amor de travestis, homens gays e homens heterossexuais; apreender experiências de preconceito e discriminação vividas em função da identidade de gênero e orientações sexuais. A pesquisa foi realizada em duas etapas: entrevistas semiestruturadas com 21 travestis; aplicação de questionários com questões abertas e fechadas em 52 homens gays, 40 homens heterossexuais e 39 travestis. Os dados coletados na primeira etapa foram submetidos aos procedimentos da análise de conteúdo categorial temática. O tratamento dos dados coletados na segunda etapa foi realizado através do software ALCESTE. Os homens heterossexuais representam a masculinidade a partir de uma perspectiva evolutiva, ancorada no discurso biológico e científico que descarta as influências da cultura na constituição dos sexos e identidades de gênero. Nos homens gays encontramos aproximações das representações dos sujeitos ao modelo da masculinidade hegemônica fortemente identificada à imagem do homem heterossexual, bem como elementos que ora apresentam aproximações, ora distanciamentos desse padrão. As travestis também utilizam elementos da ideia de masculinidade hegemônica para construção desta representação, objetivando-a na construção do modelo do homem forte e viril, sobre o qual não se identificam mas direcionam seu desejo. Os três grupos representam o amor como elemento estranho à masculinidade, posto que este é objeto que pertence à feminilidade. O amor distancia-se da construção da representação social de masculinidade de homens heterossexuais, é elemento estranho e conflituoso às representações dos homens gays e valor que corresponde a uma ética para o grupo de travestis. Nesse contexto, as experiências de preconceito e discriminação pouco modificam a elaboração das representações de heterossexuais; influenciam fortemente a construção da imagem de homem e mulher por onde homens gays e travestis alimentam suas identificações. Concluímos apostando na defesa da emergência de práticas e identidades sexo-diversas como artifícios potentes à desestabilização do padrão da dominação masculina para determinação de sexos e identidades.

As representações das crianças sobre as questões de género

Relatório da Prática Profissional Supervisionada Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar

O que é ser menino ou menina do ponto de vista das crianças no jardim de infância

Relatório da Prática Profissional Supervisionada Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar

Discriminação de género e construção das masculinidades nos contextos de trabalho: o caso da engenharia civil

Dissertação de mestrado em Gestão de Recursos Humanos