Exploring reader responses to young adult literature in the Malaysian English language classroom

This article presents the results of a study exploring the reader-responses of Malaysian young adults (YAs) to the literature texts used in Malaysian secondary schools, Dear Mr. Kilmer by Anne Schraff, Captain Nobody by Dean Pitchford, and Sing to the Dawn by Minfong Ho. The study aimed to determine the extent to which the YAs found these texts engaging and relevant, and how they identified aspects of their own young adulthood in the novels. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods through questionnaires completed by 30 Malaysian YAs, semi-structured qualitative interviews with a sub-group of six participants, and their journal reflections. Using reader-response literary theory as the guiding framework, the data were analysed quantitatively through descriptive statistical analyses, and qualitatively through inductive thematic analysis, in order to examine the extent to which Malaysian YAs could identify with the main characters, themes, issues, or events in the novels and determine the relevance of the novels to their lives. The findings showed that the participants identified with the characters’ conflict between being true to one’s self and conforming to societal and gender expectations. The themes of standing up for one’s beliefs and right to education, combating social inequities, and family relationships were also relevant aspects that surfaced in responses towards the novels. This study provides recommendations for the selection of literary texts for the English language classroom that connect to the developmental phase of young adults and allow learners to see themselves reflected in what they read.

Who Manages the Money at Home? Multilevel Analysis of Couples’ Money Management Across 34 Countries

Women’s and men’s predominant social practices in managing employment and unpaid work are influenced by both family policies and society’s predominant cultural family models. Comparative approaches integrating macro-level and micro-level variables are increasingly used to study gendered dynamics in intimate relationships. Yet similar comparative approaches to the study of money management in intimate relationships are lacking. Using data from 34 countries surveyed in International Social Survey Programme 2012 data ( N = 13,645), I explore how variation in institutional and cultural factors concerning gender expectations shapes money management decisions in intimate relationships. The results highlight the importance of contextual gender-egalitarian beliefs and institutional practices to the likelihood of using joint and individualized systems of money management over the traditional system. While macro-level gender ideology was associated with both joint and individualized system (vs. traditional), the institutional practices were found to have a stronger relationship with couples’ individualized money management.

Drag Expression Among Older Gay Men: Exploratory Findings of a Pilot Study

This poster presentation highlights pilot findings of how older gay male drag queens define drag expression and its associated positive and negative attributes. While drag has become more mainstream, little is known about this sexual and gender minority (SGM) and what it means to be an older drag queen and how it interfaces with societal gender expectations. (Knutson, Koch, Sneed, Lee, & Chung, 2020; O’Brien, 2018). Research to date reports that while sexual minority youth experience bullying, anxiety, lower self-esteem, and suicidal ideation at higher rates than their heterosexual and gender conforming peers, research has not examined the role drag expression plays as a healthy coping mechanism and, in particular, what role it may play for older drag queens. (Levasseur, Kelvin, Rosskopf, 2013; Mueller, James, Abrutyn, & Levin, 2015). Several studies have found that familial support and connectedness offers valuable protective factors for sexual minority youth in their sexual identity development, but again, little is known about the benefits this may provide older drag queens (Brandon-Friedman & Kim, 2016; Eisenberg & Resnick, 2006). Utilizing Grounded Theory, in-depth interviews were conducted with gay males over the age of fifty (n=5) who identified as drag queens to understand how drag expression is integrated into one’s persona, how it may serve as a healthy coping mechanism, and how it interfaces with dragism, generativity, and family relationships over their lifespan (Donorfio, 2020). In addition to sharing the qualitative findings, demographic and data measures of personality, coping, resilience, and mood are also be reported.

“We Become Capable of Handling Everything”: Gender and Gulf Migration in Kerala, South India

Women have a uniquely gendered experience with worker migration from Kerala, South India to the Gulf, a phenomenon which touches virtually every household in this state. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Kerala, this article examines the intersections of gender and migration; I argue that migration fuels significant social change in terms of gender expectations and the role of women as economic agents. My fieldwork reveals that women work abroad due to personal circumstances and to conform to local ideas about modernity. Migrants’ wives also experience increased autonomy in their daily lives. These two categories of women, migrant women and the wives of male migrants, are attuned to others’ perceptions of their roles vis-à-vis migration. Despite occasional negative feedback, women report that they are empowered by worker migration. This project builds on scholarship examining the status of women in Kerala (Eapen and Kodoth 2003), the experiences of migrant spouses (Osella 2016), and female Christian nurses’ Gulf migration (Percot 2006). I extend this work by analyzing the personal narratives of individual women who work in the Gulf, head their own households in Kerala, and experience stigmatization because of emigration. Finally, I explored the broader implications of migration for the lifestyles and aspirations of women in Kerala.

Leading While Female: A Personal Journey

Growth in the administrative function of universities along with the fragility of academic culture creates challenges for academic leaders invested in change. In my own case, these challenges were compounded by my gender: my status as an immigrant woman in a leadership role. In this chapter I outline the basic requirements of a democratic culture—allowing individuals to preserve their identity while positively contributing to the community in which they're embedded—and question the gender stereotypes that see men but not women as “naturally” suited to leadership. This prejudice can translate into implicit or even explicit bias and discrimination when women attempt to fill roles that historically have been reserved for men, and thereby violate gender expectations. As a consequence, women leaders may be marginalized and their authority resisted or unrecognized. This chapter is a personal journey detailing my own experiences of “leading while female.”

Doing gender as an offender: A criminological analysis of offender narratives, and the interrelationship between masculinities and child sexual abuse

<p>Masculinity is a powerful construct that transcends other aspects of male existence and dictates codes of conduct accordingly. Masculinity describes a plurality of roles, norms and expectations that regulate the behaviour of men. Within criminology, many theorists have established an association between threatened masculinity and sexual violence perpetrated against adults. Comparatively little attention has been paid to the relationship between masculinity and sexual violence perpetrated against children. What research there is, suggests that men who sexually abuse children may offend as a way of overcompensating for perceived masculine inadequacies that have arisen as a result of chronic experiences of powerlessness. This thesis is based on semi-structured, in-depth interviews with men who have sexually offended against children. Twenty men were recruited from community-based rehabilitation programmes around New Zealand. Transcripts of these interviews — as well as client records and results of a Q-sort task — were analysed to identify ways in which these men achieve, negotiate or defy normative gender expectations. A mixture of thematic and narrative analysis was used to interpret the data, revealing four prominent themes: powerlessness, entitlement, risk-taking and rigid thinking. Within each broad theme, several other factors were identified. For the theme of powerlessness these were: distorted perception, idealistic or nostalgic views of childhood, previous experience of trauma or abuse, an inability to seek help, experiences of humiliation or rejection, and perceived masculine failings. For the theme of entitlement these were: a propensity for resentment and blame, narratives of nice guys relegated to the friend zone, and valuing of hypermasculinity. For the theme of risk-taking these other factors were: narratives of boredom or addiction, as well as the existence of obsessive or compulsive tendencies. For the theme of rigid thinking these were: inconsistent or illogical cognitive patterns, poor or inappropriate boundary setting, and inflexible or unattainable religious ideals. Overall, the results lend support to current theories of powerlessness and show that men’s sexual offences against children can be interpreted as overcompensatory behaviour occurring within the spectrum of normative masculinities. These findings highlight the need for rehabilitation to consider offenders’ masculine identities as a point of treatment focus. It is argued that society must challenge the rigid and unattainable nature of hegemonic masculinity because of its potentially harmful consequences for men, women and children. It is hoped that the content of this thesis can contribute to academic knowledge about ‘doing gender as an offender’.</p>

Doing gender as an offender: A criminological analysis of offender narratives, and the interrelationship between masculinities and child sexual abuse

<p>Masculinity is a powerful construct that transcends other aspects of male existence and dictates codes of conduct accordingly. Masculinity describes a plurality of roles, norms and expectations that regulate the behaviour of men. Within criminology, many theorists have established an association between threatened masculinity and sexual violence perpetrated against adults. Comparatively little attention has been paid to the relationship between masculinity and sexual violence perpetrated against children. What research there is, suggests that men who sexually abuse children may offend as a way of overcompensating for perceived masculine inadequacies that have arisen as a result of chronic experiences of powerlessness. This thesis is based on semi-structured, in-depth interviews with men who have sexually offended against children. Twenty men were recruited from community-based rehabilitation programmes around New Zealand. Transcripts of these interviews — as well as client records and results of a Q-sort task — were analysed to identify ways in which these men achieve, negotiate or defy normative gender expectations. A mixture of thematic and narrative analysis was used to interpret the data, revealing four prominent themes: powerlessness, entitlement, risk-taking and rigid thinking. Within each broad theme, several other factors were identified. For the theme of powerlessness these were: distorted perception, idealistic or nostalgic views of childhood, previous experience of trauma or abuse, an inability to seek help, experiences of humiliation or rejection, and perceived masculine failings. For the theme of entitlement these were: a propensity for resentment and blame, narratives of nice guys relegated to the friend zone, and valuing of hypermasculinity. For the theme of risk-taking these other factors were: narratives of boredom or addiction, as well as the existence of obsessive or compulsive tendencies. For the theme of rigid thinking these were: inconsistent or illogical cognitive patterns, poor or inappropriate boundary setting, and inflexible or unattainable religious ideals. Overall, the results lend support to current theories of powerlessness and show that men’s sexual offences against children can be interpreted as overcompensatory behaviour occurring within the spectrum of normative masculinities. These findings highlight the need for rehabilitation to consider offenders’ masculine identities as a point of treatment focus. It is argued that society must challenge the rigid and unattainable nature of hegemonic masculinity because of its potentially harmful consequences for men, women and children. It is hoped that the content of this thesis can contribute to academic knowledge about ‘doing gender as an offender’.</p>

Loosening the Marriage Bond: Divorce in New Zealand, c.1890s - c.1950s

<p>Based on a detailed examination of 2,195 divorce case files generated by applications to the Wellington Supreme Court, the study explores the changing frequency and character of the divorcing population in New Zealand between 1898, when the grounds for divorce were extended under the Divorce Act, until c.1959. The end point is set by access limits to divorce case files, the beginning of Marriage Guidance, and the establishment of a 'normal' pattern of divorce following the postwar spike. The study examines how and why New Zealanders divorced in increasing numbers over the period. In particular, it looks at the increase in divorce during and after the two world wars. The rate peaked in the immediate postwar years and remaining at levels about those pre-1914 and pre-1939.The study also looks at how war contributed to an underlying and on going change in attitudes towards marriage and divorce, not solely attributable to the immediate crisis of enlistment. The study explores the social and cultural factors influencing the decision to divorce including gender, class, religion, and the desire for, or presence of, children. Among other factors, it inquires into the reason why those who divorced in New Zealand were primarily working class, in contrast to their English counterparts, reflecting different class-based perceptions of morality and respectability. It will explore the growing emphasis on sexual pleasure and on women's attainment of social and sexual rights as contributing to the increase in divorce. The public nature of divorce proceedings through this period, with cases being heard in open court and few limits on newspaper reporting, operated as a means of social control and public surveillance. The discussion focuses on how the courts contributed to the construction of definitions of normative behaviour of husbands and wives, judged individuals' abilities to be suitable mothers and fathers and awarded custody of children. The court also adjudicated issues of acceptable and illicit sexual behaviour with gender expectations as part of the considerations. Although those who flouted expected marital norms could risk ostracism or public condemnation, the thesis also shows that this power diminished as divorce became more common. The thesis concludes with an examination of marriage guidance as a public recognition both of the potential for divorce and of the belief that marriages took effort to maintain and that advice and guidance support could help 'unstable' marriages regain stability. In the post-World War II period there was also an acknowledgement that some marriages could not be 'saved' with divorce being the only alternative. Regardless, of such interventions, the changes in attitudes about divorce, made divorce an increasingly acceptable solution to unhappy marriages. Divorce, as this thesis will argue, did not 'break' the marriage bonds but rather, loosened them.</p>

Loosening the Marriage Bond: Divorce in New Zealand, c.1890s - c.1950s

<p>Based on a detailed examination of 2,195 divorce case files generated by applications to the Wellington Supreme Court, the study explores the changing frequency and character of the divorcing population in New Zealand between 1898, when the grounds for divorce were extended under the Divorce Act, until c.1959. The end point is set by access limits to divorce case files, the beginning of Marriage Guidance, and the establishment of a 'normal' pattern of divorce following the postwar spike. The study examines how and why New Zealanders divorced in increasing numbers over the period. In particular, it looks at the increase in divorce during and after the two world wars. The rate peaked in the immediate postwar years and remaining at levels about those pre-1914 and pre-1939.The study also looks at how war contributed to an underlying and on going change in attitudes towards marriage and divorce, not solely attributable to the immediate crisis of enlistment. The study explores the social and cultural factors influencing the decision to divorce including gender, class, religion, and the desire for, or presence of, children. Among other factors, it inquires into the reason why those who divorced in New Zealand were primarily working class, in contrast to their English counterparts, reflecting different class-based perceptions of morality and respectability. It will explore the growing emphasis on sexual pleasure and on women's attainment of social and sexual rights as contributing to the increase in divorce. The public nature of divorce proceedings through this period, with cases being heard in open court and few limits on newspaper reporting, operated as a means of social control and public surveillance. The discussion focuses on how the courts contributed to the construction of definitions of normative behaviour of husbands and wives, judged individuals' abilities to be suitable mothers and fathers and awarded custody of children. The court also adjudicated issues of acceptable and illicit sexual behaviour with gender expectations as part of the considerations. Although those who flouted expected marital norms could risk ostracism or public condemnation, the thesis also shows that this power diminished as divorce became more common. The thesis concludes with an examination of marriage guidance as a public recognition both of the potential for divorce and of the belief that marriages took effort to maintain and that advice and guidance support could help 'unstable' marriages regain stability. In the post-World War II period there was also an acknowledgement that some marriages could not be 'saved' with divorce being the only alternative. Regardless, of such interventions, the changes in attitudes about divorce, made divorce an increasingly acceptable solution to unhappy marriages. Divorce, as this thesis will argue, did not 'break' the marriage bonds but rather, loosened them.</p>

Nonbinary Beginning Teachers: Gender, Power, and Professionalism in Teacher Education

Background/Context: In recent years, Canadian and U.S. schools have increased efforts to recognize gender diversity and reduce gender-based harassment, in large part because a growing number of young people are coming out as transgender or nonbinary in adolescence. However, little research explores nonbinary teachers’ experiences or investigates barriers to their entry into the profession. Purpose: This article begins to fill this gap by showing how six nonbinary beginning teachers navigated gender expectations, worked to appear professional, and negotiated racial and gendered power dynamics in their initial teacher education and preservice teaching. Participants: Participants include six nonbinary preservice teachers of diverse gender expression and racial and class backgrounds who were enrolled or had recently completed teacher education in North America when the study was conducted in 2018. Research Design: This qualitative study employed in-depth, phenomenological interviews. This article uses Sara Ahmed’s concept of the “willful subject” to consider how participants negotiated the relationship between their gender identities as nonbinary people and their nascent professional identities as teachers. Conclusion: These beginning teachers expressed concern about succeeding in their teacher education programs and worried about how others perceived them because of the expectation of normative gender implicit in teaching’s professional norms. This expectation was enforced by the profession’s gatekeepers more than by K–12 students and their families, who participants generally described as hospitable or indifferent to having a nonbinary teacher. If the profession is to genuinely welcome gender diversity, it must recognize and work to deconstruct its own gender normativity.