Tamara Shefer

Bio: Tamara Shefer is an academic researcher from University of the Western Cape. The author has contributed to research in topics: Human sexuality & Masculinity. The author has an hindex of 29, co-authored 91 publications receiving 2593 citations. Previous affiliations of Tamara Shefer include Örebro University.

Social constructions of gender roles gender-based violence and HIV / AIDS in two communities of the Western Cape South Africa.

Abstract: The links between gender roles, gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS risk are complex and culturally specific. In this qualitative study we investigated how women and men in two black communities in the Western Cape, South Africa, constructed their gender identities and roles, how they understood gender-based violence, and what they believed about the links between gender relations and HIV risk. First we conducted 16 key informant interviews with members of relevant stakeholder organisations.Then we held eight focus group discussions with community members in single-sex groups. Key findings included the perception that although traditional gender roles were still very much in evidence, shifts in power between men and women were occurring. Also, genderbased violence was regarded as a major problem throughout communities, and was seen to be fuelled by unemployment, poverty and alcohol abuse. HIV/AIDS was regarded as particularly a problem of African communities, with strong themes of stigma, discrimination, and especially ‘othering’ evident. Developing effective HIV/AIDS interventions in these communities will require tackling the overlapping as well as divergent constructions of gender, gender violence and HIV which emerged in the study.

From boys to men : social constructions of masculinity in contemporary society

Abstract: The problems boys and men create, the problems boys and men experience researching and working with boys in Southern Africa in the context of HIV/Aids - a radical approach multiple meanings of manhood among boys in Ghana do you want to be a father? School-going youth in Durban schools at the turn of the 21st century teenage masculinity: the double find of conformity to hegemonic standards 'Moffies, jock and cool guys' - boys' accounts of masculinity and their resistance in context South African boys with plans for the future - why a focus on dominant discourses tells us only a part of the story 'A woman cannot marry a boy' - rescue, spectacle and transitional Xhosa masculinities social construction of masculinity on the racial and gendered margins of Cape Town masculinities in the era of HIV/Aids - the perspectives of rural male Zulu youth masculinities in the ANC-led liberation movement culture change, Zulu masculinity and intergenerational conflict in the context of civil war in Pietermaritzburg (1987-1991).

From Boys to Men: Social constructions of masculinity in contemporary society

Abstract: The current emphasis in research and education on women and girls is fraught with problems. It has raised a concern that boys and men should be included in research and intervention work on gender equality and transformation. As a result, academics with a background of many years of work in women’s and gender studies undertook a research project focusing on the construction of masculinities among young men. From Boys to Men was born out of this project. This highly original work arises from the conference ‘From Boys to Men’, held in January 2005. It represents the work of some of the best-known theorists and researchers in masculinities and feminism in South Africa, on the continent and internationally. The subjects covered are based on rich ethnographic studies, mostly in South Africa, but also elsewhere in Africa. Acknowledging that there are multiple versions of masculinity and that some are more valued than others, this book is concerned with documenting both hegemonic discourses on masculinity, as well as resistances and challenges to dominant forms of being a boy or man in different contexts of space and time. From Boys to Men provides valuable material for those working with issues of gender, identity and power, and will sharpen understanding of males, inform community-based interventions and facilitate theory-building. ‘This impressive collection of research on men, boys and masculinities would have been impossible just a generation ago. It took the worldwide impact of the women’s liberation movement, and the many feminisms that have since developed, to bring gender into focus … and to bring men into focus as participants in a gender system.’ Raewyn Connell, Professor at the University of Sydney & author of Masculinities, 1995 ‘Given the extant paucity of research and literature on masculinities, this book will undoubtedly prove to be an invaluable resource for scholars in the field of gender studies. The editors of the volume should be commended for this timely, well-constructed and significant contribution to the literature on masculinities studies, both in South Africa and internationally.’ Norman Duncan, Chair of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand ‘Setting this collection apart from existing scholarship on masculinities in South Africa is its interrogation of the gendered rhetoric of boyhood and manhood in the context of HIV/Aids. This is a multilayered and rich collection that suggests masculinities have the potential to be unmade and remade. The volume usefully opens up new avenues of analysis, telling us that masculinities are always in process, under negotiation, contradictory, for ever in crisis.’

South African teachers' responses to teenage pregnancy and teenage mothers in schools

Abstract: South African law forbids excluding pregnant teenagers from school and permits young parents to continue with their schooling. However, the existence of progressive policy and law does not by itself ensure that pregnant teenagers and young parents remain in school or experience as little disruption to their studies as possible. Two of the factors influencing the experiences that pregnant girls and young parents have are the attitudes and practices of teachers. We explore how teachers in diverse South African secondary schools respond to young women's pregnancy and parenting. Teachers' responses are situated within a complex set of meanings invoking sexuality (and sexual censure), gender, class and race. We argue that many teachers view teenage pregnancy and parenting as social problems – a domain of sexual shame with negative effects and disruptive to the academic life of the school (including teachers and other learners). Teachers do not monolithically subscribe to such negativity and, in the context of ...

Gender, Power and Resistance to Change among Two Communities in the Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract: This study investigates how women and men in the Western Cape, South Africa, construct their gender identities and roles. As part of the development of an HIV prevention intervention for men, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were conducted. Several themes regarding the construction of gender were identified. First, participants reported that traditional gender relations of male dominance and female subservience were still in evidence, along with traditional gender roles that mandated a division of labour between the household and paid workforce. Second, participants reported a shift in gender roles and relations in the direction of increased power for women. Last, hostile resistance to changes in gender power relations was evident in the discussions. Redefining masculinity and femininity and shifting gender relations in the direction of `power with' instead of `power over' is perhaps a necessary prelude to lasting social change and curbing the HIV epidemic in South Africa.

تقويم البرنامج : طرق بديلة و إرشادات عملية = Program evaluation Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines

Abstract: I. INTRODUCTION TO EVALUATION. 1. Evaluation's Basic Purpose, Uses, and Conceptual Distinctions. 2. Origins of Modern Program Evaluation. 3. Recent Developments and Trends in Evaluation. II. ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO PROGRAM EVALUATION. 4. Alternative Views of Evaluation. 5. Objectives-Oriented Evaluation Approaches. 6. Management-Oriented Evaluation Approaches. 7. Consumer-Oriented Evaluation Approaches. 8. Expertise-Oriented Evaluation Approaches. 9. Adversary-Oriented Evaluation Approaches. 10. Participant-Oriented Evaluation Approaches. 11. Alternative Evaluation Approaches: A Summary and Comparative Analysis. III. PRACTICAL GUIDELINES FOR PLANNING EVALUATION. 12. Clarifying the Evaluation Request and Responsibilities. 13. Setting Boundaries and Analyzing the Evaluation Context. 14. Identifying and Selecting the Evaluative Questions and Criteria. 15. Planning How to Conduct the Evaluation. IV. PRACTICAL GUIDELINES FOR CONDUCTING AND USING EVALUATIONS. 16. Dealing with Political, Ethical, and Interpersonal Aspects of Evaluation. 17. Collecting, Analyzing, and Interpreting Quantitative Information. 18. Collecting, Analyzing, and Interpreting Qualitative Information. 19. Reporting and Using Evaluation Information. 20. Evaluating Evaluations. V. EMERGING AND FUTURE SETTINGS FOR PROGRAM EVALUATION. 21. Conducting Multiple-Site Evaluation Studies. 22. Conducting Evaluations of Organizations Renewal and Training in Corporate and Nonprofit Settings. 23. The Future of Evaluation. Appendix: Some General Areas of Competence Important in Education Evaluation.

Postmodern Subjects, Postmodern BodiesThinking Fragments: Psychoanalysis, Feminism, and Postmodernism in the Contemporary WestYearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural PoliticsGender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity

Abstract: Preface (1999) Preface (1990) 1. Subjects of Sex/Gender/Desire I. 'Women' as the Subject of Feminism II. The Compulsory Order of Sex/Gender/Desire III. Gender: The Circular Ruins of Contemporary Debate IV. Theorizing the Binary, the Unitary and Beyond V. Identity, Sex and the Metaphysics of Substance VI. Language, Power and the Strategies of Displacement 2. Prohibition, Psychoanalysis, and the Production of the Heterosexual Matrix I. Structuralism's Critical Exchange II. Lacan, Riviere, and the Strategies of Masquerade III. Freud and the Melancholia of Gender IV. Gender Complexity and the Limits of Identification V. Reformulating Prohibition as Power 3. Subversive Bodily Acts I. The Body Politics of Julia Kristeva II. Foucault, Herculine, and the Politics of Sexual Discontinuity III. Monique Wittig - Bodily Disintegration and Fictive Sex IV. Bodily Inscriptions, Performative Subversions Conclusion - From Parody to Politics

Violence and injuries in South Africa: prioritising an agenda for prevention

Abstract: Summary Violence and injuries are the second leading cause of death and lost disability-adjusted life years in South Africa. The overall injury death rate of 157·8 per 100 000 population is nearly twice the global average, and the rate of homicide of women by intimate partners is six times the global average. With a focus on homicide, and violence against women and children, we review the magnitude, contexts of occurrence, and patterns of violence, and refer to traffic-related and other unintentional injuries. The social dynamics that support violence are widespread poverty, unemployment, and income inequality; patriarchal notions of masculinity that valourise toughness, risk-taking, and defence of honour; exposure to abuse in childhood and weak parenting; access to firearms; widespread alcohol misuse; and weaknesses in the mechanisms of law enforcement. Although there have been advances in development of services for victims of violence, innovation from non-governmental organisations, and evidence from research, there has been a conspicuous absence of government stewardship and leadership. Successful prevention of violence and injury is contingent on identification by the government of violence as a strategic priority and development of an intersectoral plan based on empirically driven programmes and policies.