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The diploma thesis is concerned with the portrayal of the female experience with the Second World War in The Night Watch (2006) by contemporary British writer Sarah Waters. The theoretical part outlines the socio-historical background of the novel with particular attention to the female experience of the Second World War in various fields, such as their family lives, job opportunities, and everyday life during the Blitz. Special attention is also given to the description of the female experience with abortion during the war and the lifestyles of female homosexuals in that historical period. The thesis further presents the theoretical delimitation of the neo-historical genre, of which the novel is a representative, and briefly introduces the novel in the context of Sarah Waters's other works in order to establish the basis for the analysis. The practical part of the thesis relies on the theoretical part and examines how the fictional portrayal of the female experience corresponds with the outlined reality. Simultaneously, the work considers how Waters uses the Second World War in her fictional story and which elements she chooses to highlight. Moreover, it discusses the reasons behind emphasising these elements in the novel and how it corresponds to the neo-historical genre. KEYWORDS Sarah Waters;...

This thesis aims to entangle and analyse the social, cultural and political problematics concerning two major works of Christopher Isherwood - Goodbye to Berlin and Mr Norris Changes Trains, in other words Berlin Stories. Both of these are set in interwar Germany thus this thesis approaches the topic both from the perspective of scrutinizing the Weimar Republic and its domestic affairs and also interpreting the novels from the perspective of social and cultural analysis based on the findings from the theoretical part. The main question is whether Christopher Isherwood really is unbiased and purely factual author as he is often interpreted as far as his literary contribution is concerned. Furthermore, this thesis aims to scrutinize Isherwood's point of view embedded in his works and to answer the question to what extent are his works autobiographical.

This paper looks into why those actively opposing same-sex marriage are failing and emphasises the necessity to reshape the discussion going forward. Apart from pointing to underlying causes leading to the social changes epitomised in the redefinition of marriage, it will take a step back and assess the effectiveness of the classical argumentation in support of marriage. It is argued that those standing up against the LGBT offensive must be able to develop a much more informed and comprehensive strategy in that they improve their style and communicative effectiveness, broaden the context of the discourse, and shift its focal point. Chapter 1 reflects on the emergence of same-sex marriage and offers a brief analysis of week points of the counter-campaign. Chapter 2 reflects on the three dimensions in more detail: it outlines a more effective communication strategy; presents some consequences and of same-sex marriage and parallel development and finally establishes the concept of homosexuality as the foundational prerequisite for gay marriage. Chapter 3 examines the current normalisation paradigm of homosexuality from various perspectives. Following this, guidelines are proposed towards a more viable paradigm, inclusive of considering possible developments in the Catholic Church. Keywords...

The thesis explores the depiction of homosexuality in the novels Goodbye to Berlin and A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood. The novels represent two distinctive periods in Isherwood's life and fiction, European and American, and as such firmly ground him in the canon of pre- gay liberation movement fiction on both continents. The text consists of two main parts, the theoretical and the practical. The theoretical part of the thesis provides a comprehensive overview of British and American queer fiction in the period between the end of the 19th century and the year 1969, corresponding to literary periods and movements which had the greatest impact on Isherwood's prose. In addition, a structured biography of the author is presented, outlining the most significant events in the author's life with reference to his two literary voices. The practical part of the thesis consists of a comparative analysis of the novels across five selected topics. The characters are analysed chiefly in terms of their personal identity, interpersonal relationships and societal roles. Moreover, the contribution of the author's own influence and the narrative techniques he employed is scrutinised. The thesis, therefore, aims to identify the main differences between how homosexual characters are portrayed and determine the...

This interdisciplinary thesis examines the portrayal of homosexual characters in Tennessee Williams's selected stories. Although the theme of homosexuality reoccurs throughout Williams's work, his short fiction constitutes a unique example, as it addresses this issue explicitly. The traditional scholarly view of Williams's depiction of homosexuality highlights the negative portrayal, which could be considered as verging on homophobia. This is closely related to the features of the Southern grotesque, which has become a mode typical for Williams's work. The thesis will largely confirm this view, yet at the same time, it will attempt to find out whether the male homosexual protagonists could be read as queer, i.e. whether they display any features, which would oppose the traditional concept of human sexuality as stable and unchanging. The second chapter will provide the theoretical background of the Southern Grotesque, the specific nature of which stems primarily from the characters, who (for various reasons) do not meet the criteria of normality and thus become misfits excluded from the society. Taking into account the conservative and strongly religious environment of the American South, homosexuality undoubtedly is one of such deviations. To cover the theory of the grotesque fully, the subchapters...

This paper deals with the role of American courts, specifically their decisions, regarding the rights and social status of LGBT people, which is an acronym standing for lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. The main finding is that court decisions in favor of LGBTs make lives of such people even more difficult, because authorities in states where such decisions are taken often try to circumvent these decisions using legislative powers. However, in the long term, it seems that courts manage to initiate debates about LGBT-related topics with various arguments that the American society is forced to consider. It appears that in such debates common sense prevails over prejudices and myths. One such myth that was widely accepted by society was that when a child lives with a homosexual in a common household, such child was going to become homosexual him- or herself. This paper also explores an analogy between current efforts of LGBT people to reach full equality and secure anti- discrimination measures for themselves and the struggle for civil rights of African-Americans. Both these groups have faced treatment which suggested that they are second-class citizens. One of the ways society expresses this second-class citizenry is by denying LGBTs access to the institution of marriage arguing it...

Reading through the works of Oscar Wilde, one soon notices the many instances of polarity: the recurring themes of the body versus soul, good versus evil, city versus nature, artificial versus natural and many more. It is to be found in his plays as well as in his prose and fairy- tales. Yet these polarities do not necessarily have to oppose each other: the Wildean dialectic allows contraries to coexist, and thus we have the Star-Child who, through repentance, turns from evil to good; however this turn of character does not ensure a happy-ending, and makes us question whether "good really is good". A great number of Wilde's characters either live a double-life, have two distinct sides to their personality, or even several personalities, and in the case of Dorian Gray the split is literal. What led the author to constantly toy with this motif is a question worth examining. In Wilde's case, the artist's life cannot be entirely separated from his works since so much of what he was and what formed him is reflected in the texts he wrote. His statement that "what people call insincerity is simply a method by which we can multiply our personalities" (Ransome, 162) shows that for Wilde, truth was not the opposite of "lie", but there may have been several different versions of truth. His aesthetic views,...

Slowly developing since the 1980's, queer theory became a very important sphere of gender studies of the end of the 20th century and affected not only the very perception of gender categories, but also intepretations of these in texts. The thesis concentrates on queering of the dramatic works of William Shakespeare, describing relations which can be broadly characterized as homosexual - romantic or sexual attraction between members of the same sex, including homoerotic or homosocial aspect of these relationships. After establishing the textual grounds for these readings the text goes on to describe various stagings in theatre, television and film of Anglophone and Czech origin. In order to achieve representative illustration of the problem the established division of Shakespeare's drama is maintained, dividing the plays into three categories - comedies, tragedies and historical plays. One play of each of these categories is then discussed further. These are The Merchant of Venice for comedies, Othello for tragedies, and Richard II as a representative of historical plays. In the Merchant of Venice the discussed relationship is the one of Antonio and Bassanio, examining the possible motivation for Antonio's incredible generosity towards his young friend. The most famous homosexual interpretation of the...

1 Summary This BA thesis, partly a work of sociological theory and partly of literary analysis, discusses the crisis of masculinity in the society, placing an emphasis on the American milieu. As a starting point it uses the dramatic pieces of the contemporary American playwright David Mamet. Mamet is in his works generally attracted to the world of men, and we can only find a handful of female characters in them. Additionally, he frequently places his men, who usually share the typically masculine characteristics and behavioral patterns, into traditionally male environments - for instance on a boat or into a ruthlessly competitive real estate agency. Thus he prepares his ground to be able to fully explore one of the most prominent American social myths - the myth of masculinity. The second chapter focuses in its sociological opening part on the concept of masculinity as such. In the beginning, a historical overview of the development of human understanding of masculinity is introduced. It is apparent that it was only with the coming of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of feminism around the turn of the century that the society saw the drastic change which, as we may understand it, led to the crisis of masculinity. Later, Judith Butler's theory of the performativity of masculinity is discussed, and...

The thesis deals with the cultural and literary influences that can be traced in the works of Oscar Wilde. Its aim is to map out and elucidate some of the important motifs of the author's work and aesthetics in their own context as well as in the wider cultural-historical one. The methods used will be comparison of relevant materials, analysis of certain expressions typical of the author with their connotations, explaining the intertextual allusions in Wilde's work, and historical sources. The requisite attention will also be paid to Wilde as a representative of a subversive element of Victorian society and how this relates to his sexuality; that is to say, exploring the issue of the tabooing of non-heterosexuality, which may have been a decisive factor in Wilde's criticism of the conventions of his era and to his search of positive role-models in the ancient tradition both for his art and for his personal philosophy. Keywords Ancient Greece, ancient Rome, fin-de-siecle, homosexuality, intertextuality, l'art pour l'art, LGBTQ*, Marius the Epicurean, metatextuality, non-heterosexuality, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Victorian era, Walter Pater.

The aim of this study is to describe adoption barriers emerging on the cosmetics for men market through market research and consumer behaviour exploration. The relationship men have with the cosmetics is not easy to understand, so the purpose of this study is to explore on what is based their relationship to cosmetics market - why some are ready to use cosmetics while other reject. Regarding market of cosmetics for men, there are the barriers that prevent in adoption of cosmetics. The thesis would reveal what influence the social decision making, and would go deeper into what influence men; and what the relationships with products, brands, services, and environment they have. The conclusion will be the interpretation of the adoption barriers on cosmetics for men market.

The thesis deals with critical views of the post-war American society as found in three literary works: Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye and Jack Kerouac's On the Road. The thesis's aim is to introduce briefly the post-war society and then, on basis of text analysis, to provide criticism expressed by each book mentioned above. Divided into four main parts, it describes the post-war situation in the United States (political, social and cultural) and thereafter it focuses on the books itself. It provides a short biographical summary of each author's life but it mainly targets the criticism the book contains. The post-war period was significant because of the change it brought. The society of the 1950s was characterized by many "booms" that contributed to its development. The main features of this period were consumerism and materialism; these were also the principal things subjected to criticism. The question the thesis wants to answer is whether this criticism was justified or not. This objective is realized in the conclusion. Based on all facts provided by the thesis, the answer is that the criticism was justified; however, it is not so easy and it is necessary to read the whole thesis to understand all reasons that led to this conclusion and to think over...

In my diploma thesis, I dealt with the question of homosexuality, especially with the attitude of homosexual men and women to registered partnership. The diploma thesis is divided into two parts. The first part is theoretical, the other one comprises my research. In the first, theoretical part, I was concerned with the concept of homosexuality from the past to the present days, with the attitude to it from the medical and social points of view, and from the standpoint of faith. I dealt with the fundamental concepts relevant to homosexuality {--} coming out, the way of its progress, the homosexual identification, behaviour, the differences between homosexuality in men and women etc. Last but not least, I focused on the political and legislative aspects, such as the questions of discrimination, the attitude to the Registered Partnership Act and the resulting rights to start a family. To carry out the research part I used questionnaires with 23 closed and 1 semi-closed questions. 100 questionnaires were handed out to men and women with a different sexual orientation in the Region of South Bohemia. The research proceeded predominantly with the help of the South Bohemian Lambda. I was given back 73 completed questionnaires, and I worked with this sample in the research part of my dissertation. The responses to the questions drawn up in the answer sheet were to help me to confirm or refute my hypotheses. The first hypothesis: The young generation with homosexual orientation more often take a positive than a negative attitude to registered partnership. The second hypothesis: The young generation with homosexual orientation feel discriminated by the heterosexual society. On the basis of the responses obtained from questionnaires we can assume that neither of my hypotheses was confirmed. Young homosexual people do not have a positive attitude to the registered partnership. The vast majority of the respondents answered that they found certain drawbacks in the law, both in the legal and social fields. For these reasons the majority of the interviewed people do not use the possibility of registered partnership, and during the period of the Registered Partnership Act they have not noticed any changes related to their life with regard to their sexual orientation. The second hypothesis concerning young homosexual people who feel discriminated by heterosexual society was not confirmed either. The evaluation of the results shows that the majority of homosexuals have never met with discrimination either in employment, society or in health service. And if they have, the discrimination was related largely to men who were mostly exposed to verbal attacks. But it is necessary to point out that the refutation of this hypothesis can be affected by the fact that a certain percentage of respondents who said that they had never met with any discrimination, they have not admitted their different sexual orientation in public or in front of close friends.