Denna uppsats är en litteraturstudie där jag har analyserat sammanställningar av medicinsk forskning om flickors/kvinnors sena ADHD-diagnostisering ur ett genusvetenskapligt perspektiv. Judith Butlers tankar om genusperformativitet, Yvonne Hirdmans teori om genussystemet samt Nancy Tuanas feministiska epistemologi utgör de teoretiska utgångspunkterna. Analysen utgår från teman som avhandlar psykisk ohälsa, internalisering och självkänsla, samt identifiering och utredning. Resultaten visar att föreställningar om genus har en avgörande roll gällande flickors/kvinnors förutsättningar inom ADHD-diagnostisering, och även förödande konsekvenser. 

There is an enormous variation in sex and sexuality among animals. How has this diversity been explained by evolutionary theory? Evolutionary theory regarding sex differences has focused on males and their characteristics and despite theoretical development away from stereotypic notions of females and males, some gender bias remains, both in theory and empirical studies. Heteronormativity is abundant in evolutionary biology. Even though same-sex sexual behaviour has been described in more than one thousand species, the focus on reproduction, which is the basis for evolutionary theory, has long hindered the insight of how widespread it is. Biological arguments for what is natural are abounding in society, and this review of variation in biological sex challenges stereotypic notions of what femaleness and maleness mean. Finally, I discuss how we can aim for a non-normative evolutionary biology.

In a recent issue of this journal, Vandermassen suggested that feminists should include sexual selection theory and evolutionary psychology in a unifying theory of human nature. In response, this article aims to offer some insight into the development of sexual selection theory, to caution against Vandermassen’s unreserved assimilation and to promote the opposite ongoing integration – an inclusion of gender perspectives into evolutionary biology. In society today, opinions about maintaining traditional sex roles are often put forward on the basis of what is natural and how animals behave. However, the natural sciences have proved to be pervaded by gendered values and interests; Darwin’s theory of sexual selection has been criticized for being male biased, and partly due to the unwillingness of Darwin’s scientific contemporaries to accept female choice, research has been overwhelmingly focused on males. More recently, theory has become less gender biased and research has come to include a large variety of issues not present in the first version of the theory. However, there is a need to increase the awareness of gender bias in order to develop a gender-neutral evolutionary biology.

Biological sex differences have long been used as argumentsjustifying male dominance and sexist oppression. Animal studies ofsex differences are used to claim that human sex roles have a longevolutionary history. For example, in a study of toy preferences invervet monkeys, the authors conclude that sex-differentiatedobject preferences arose early in human evolution. In this paper Iscrutinize the study and reveal that both the hypotheses, theperformed preference tests and the conclusions drawn are flawed.In the study, the authors hypothesise that male vervets shouldprefer a ball and a car based on the human hunter-gathererhypothesis. Men are suggested to be selected for navigatingabilities useful for hunting and women for nurturing babies. Thishypothesis is then transferred to vervets which is a tree-livingspecies, subsisting of a mainly vegetarian diet, where skills such asnavigating in space ought to be necessary for survival - in bothmales and females. Furthermore, the presentation of toys isconducted in groups, individual interactions with a toy is taken as apreference for the sex of that individual. Therefore it is impossibleto derive individual preferences from these tests. Vervets arematrilinear with females sometimes being dominant to males. Froman animal behaviour framework, I would interpret the preferencesas an interaction between individuals. Perhaps low-rankedindividuals approach new objects first, as they may be dangerous.The results are interpreted and presented with graphs and picturesin order to tell the convincing story about sex differences in toypreference that the authors wanted to find, but there is no support tfor these conclusions.Hence, from the evidence presented in this study, we cannotconclude that human sex-differentiated toy preferences date morethan 23 million years back in time.

"Sex roles" are intuitively associated to stereotypic female and male sexual strategies and in biology, the term "sex role" often relates to mating competition, mate choice or parental care. "Sex role reversals" imply that the usual typological pattern for a population or species is deviates from a norm, and the meaning of "sex role reversal" thus varies depending upon whatever is the usual pattern of sex-typical behavior in a given taxon. We identify several problems with the current use of the "sex role" concept. (1) It is typological and reflects stereotypic expectations of the sexes. (2) The term "sex role" parses continuous variation into only two categories, often obscuring overlap, between the sexes in behavior and morphology, and variability in relation to ecological circumstances. (3) Common generalizations such as "sex role as seen in nature" mask variation upon which selection may act. (4) The general meaning of "sex roles" in society (i.e. "socially and culturally defined prescriptions and beliefs about the behavior and emotions of men and women") is contrary to biological "sex role" concepts, so that confusing the two obscure science communication in society. We end by questioning the validity of the "sex role" concept in evolutionary biology and recommend replacing the term "sex role" with operational descriptions.

The diversity, variability, and apparent rapid evolution of animal genitalia are a vivid focus of research in evolutionary biology, and studies exploring genitalia have dramatically increased over the past decade. These studies, however, exhibit a strong male bias, which has worsened since 2000, despite the fact that this bias has been explicitly pointed out in the past. Early critics argued that previous investigators too often considered only males and their genitalia, while overlooking female genitalia or physiology. Our analysis of the literature shows that overall this male bias has worsened with time. The degree of bias is not consistent between subdisciplines: studies of the lock-and-key hypothesis have been the most male focused, while studies of cryptic female choice usually consider both sexes. The degree of bias also differed across taxonomic groups, but did not associate with the ease of study of male and female genital characteristics. We argue that the persisting male bias in this field cannot solely be explained by anatomical sex differences influencing accessibility. Rather the bias reflects enduring assumptions about the dominant role of males in sex, and invariant female genitalia. New research highlights how rapidly female genital traits can evolve, and how complex coevolutionary dynamics between males and females can shape genital structures. We argue that understanding genital evolution is hampered by an outdated single-sex bias.

Mate choice hypotheses usually focus on trait variation of chosen individuals. Recently, mate choice studies have increasingly attended to the environmental circumstances affecting variation in choosers' behavior and choosers' traits. We reviewed the literature on phenotypic plasticity in mate choice with the goal of exploring whether phenotypic plasticity can be interpreted as individual flexibility in the context of the switch point theorem, SPT (Gowaty and Hubbell ). We found >3000 studies; 198 were empirical studies of within-sex phenotypic plasticity, and sixteen showed no evidence of mate choice plasticity. Most studies reported changes from choosy to indiscriminate behavior of subjects. Investigators attributed changes to one or more causes including operational sex ratio, adult sex ratio, potential reproductive rate, predation risk, disease risk, chooser's mating experience, chooser's age, chooser's condition, or chooser's resources. The studies together indicate that choosiness of potential mates is environmentally and socially labile, that is, induced - not fixed - in the choosy sex with results consistent with choosers' intrinsic characteristics or their ecological circumstances mattering more to mate choice than the traits of potential mates. We show that plasticity-associated variables factor into the simpler SPT variables. We propose that it is time to complete the move from questions about within-sex plasticity in the choosy sex to between- and within-individual flexibility in reproductive decision-making of both sexes simultaneously. Currently, unanswered empirical questions are about the force of alternative constraints and opportunities as inducers of individual flexibility in reproductive decision-making, and the ecological, social, and developmental sources of similarities and differences between individuals. To make progress, we need studies (1) of simultaneous and symmetric attention to individual mate preferences and subsequent behavior in both sexes, (2) controlled for within-individual variation in choice behavior as demography changes, and which (3) report effects on fitness from movement of individual's switch points.

It is common to refer to all sorts of clear-cut differences between the sexes as something that is biologically almost inevitable. Although this does not reflect the status of evolutionary theory on sex determination and sexual dimorphism, it is probably a common view among evolutionary biologists as well, because of the impact of sexual selection theory. To get away from thinking about biological sex and traits associated with a particular sex as something static, it should be recognized that in an evolutionary perspective sex can be viewed as a reaction norm, with sex attributes being phenotypically plastic. Sex determination itself is fundamentally plastic, even when it is termed “genetic”. The phenotypic expression of traits that are statistically associated with a particular sex always has a plastic component. This plasticity allows for much more variation in the expression of traits according to sex and more overlap between the sexes than is typically acknowledged. Here we review the variation and frequency of evolutionary changes in sex, sex determination and sex roles and conclude that sex in an evolutionary time-frame is extremely variable. We draw on recent findings in sex determination mechanisms, empirical findings of morphology and behaviour as well as genetic and developmental models to explore the concept of sex as a reaction norm. From this point of view, sexual differences are not expected to generally fall into neat, discrete, pre-determined classes. It is important to acknowledge this variability in order to increase objectivity in evolutionary research.

Friendship is an undertheorized but increasingly important relationship in late modernity. In this article, the authors present findings from two ongoing research projects about friendship, gender and age in contemporary Sweden. They argue that discourses about gender and friendship are very relevant for how friendship is conceptualized both among men and women, but that the well-known ideas about men’s inability and women’s capacity to be close friends ought to be problematized further, from feminist perspectives. Furthermore, they discuss friendships practices, problematizing the frequent equation of friendship and “deep”, intimate dialogues. Intimate dialogues are important but may overshadow other friendship practices, like various kinds of support, but the authors show that support is negotiated in relation to ideas of ideal friendship, permeated by reciprocity and equality. The authors call for further feminist research about friendship, arguing that a feminist perspective can destabilize gendered dichotomies and make it possible to problematize power relations, vulnerabilities and exclusions in friendships.

The book explores eleven debates held at the Bahraini Council of Representatives (or the Parliament) over 2007-2010 to comprehend how parliamentary discourse contributes towards identity formation within Bahraini society. Within the framework of critical discourse studies, the book traces the ideological struggle over power in the linguistic content of legislative discourse through a range of discursive strategies and devices.The authors contend that the discursive choices across the political spectrum in the legislative debates reflected strong sectarian characteristics which contained in it the seeds of political unrest of 2011, the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ of Bahrain. Parliamentary rhetoric and its resonance in the public sphere, the authors argue, revealed the underlying contradictions in Bahraini society. The book highlights the significance of legislative discourse as a platform of social cohesion, and its instability being symptomatic of contradictions within society.

This essay takes a closer look at femininity/masculinity, sexuality and queer time and place in Charlaine Harris’ novel Dead Until Dark (2001). The essay’s theoretical framework consists of queer theory and skev theory. Skev is a Swedish word that translates loosely into strange or twisted. Skev theory has queer roots but is used to search for and question forms of normativity other than sexuality. This essay examines Bill and Sookie, the two main characters in Dead Until Dark, with the main aim of analyzing the different ways in which they are portrayed that makes them challenge (and sometimes confirm) norms concerning femininity/masculinity, sexuality and the use of  time and place. The analysis talks about Proper Girls and Proper Boys and how Sookie and Bill may or may not be able and/or willing to be Proper. Monsters and how being a monster impacts Bill’s and Sookie’s Properness is also central to the analysis. In short the essay shows that Bill and Sookie exist in a state of (in)betweenness and that this makes their characters subversive in that they are both skeva. 

This article outlines a planned research project concerning Swedish women in international politics. We are guided by the notion that international organizations and embassies can be understood as an alternative public arena for Swedish feminists. Using MP Cecilia Nettelbrandt as an example, we wanted to show that troublesome politicians could be sent away from domestic politics and that Nettelbrandt in her turn used the international feminist cooperation and her commission as an ambassador as an alternative public arena.

Animals' omnipresence in human society makes them both close to and ye tremarkably distant from humans. Human and animal lives have always been entangled, but the way we see and practice the relationships between humans and animals - as close, intertwined, or clearly separate - varies from time to time and between cultures, societies, and even situations. By putting these complex relationships in focus, this anthology investigates the ways in which human society deals with its co-existence with animals. The volume was produced within the frame of the interdisciplinary "Animal Turn"-research group which during eight months in 2013-2014 was hosted by the Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies, Lund university, Sweden. Along with invited scholars and artists, members of this group contribute with different perspectives on the complexities and critical issues evoked when the human-animal relationship is in focus.

The anthology covers a wide range of topics: From discussions on new disciplinary paths and theoretical perspectives, empirical case-studies, and artistic work, towards more explicitly critical approaches to issues of animal welfare. Phenomena such as vegan sexuality, anthropomorphism, wildlife crimes, and the death of honey-bees are being discussed. How we gain knowledge of other species and creatures is one important issue in focus. What does, for example, the notion of wonderment play in this production of knowledge? How were species classified in pre-Christian Europe? How is the relationship between domesticated and farmed animals and humans practiced and understood? How is it portrayed in literature, or in contemporary social media? Many animals are key actors in these discussions, such as dogs, cows, bees, horses, pigeons, the brown bear, just to mention a few, as well as some creatures more difficult to classify as either humans or animals. All of these play a part in the questions that is at the core of the investigations carried out in this volume: How to produce knowledge that creates possibilities for an ethically and environmentally sustainable future.

Denna uppsats undersöker den pågående debatten kring "woke"-begreppet och dess roll i det svenska samhället genom en tvärvetenskaplig djupanalys av 10 svenska nyhetsartiklar, från Aftonbladet, Expressen, Svenska Dagbladet och Dagens Nyheter. Studien använder både kvantitativa och kvalitativa metoder för att analysera frekvensen, mönster och teman i begreppets användning över tid och en analys av ”woke”-begreppet uppfattningar och innebörd i olika sociala sammanhang. Studien använder sig av olika teoretiska perspektiv och ramverk, vilket ger en mångfald av tolkningar och åsikter kring begreppet ”Woke”. 

Studien betonar betydelsen av att integrera olika perspektiv för att få en djupare förståelse av begreppet, därigenom används centrala teorier inom genusvetenskapen, såsom intersektionalitetsteorin och performativitets-teorin. En djupare analys kommer inkludera en mer känslomässig dimension, där teorier såsom Ahmeds "culture politics of emotions" och begreppet "sticky objects" kommer belysa hur "woke"-begreppet mobiliserar känslor och kopplingen till bredare samhällsrörelser. 

Resultaten visar att "woke" har blivit en central term i den offentliga diskursen och har polariserat samhället, vilket försvårar öppen dialog och samarbete. Studie visar på en fördjupad förståelse för "woke"-debatten och dess komplexitet, vilket bidrar till en ökad insikt i dess roll och implikationer för samhället. 

Every day struggles for Forest Sámi futures: A year with Henrik Andersson, reindeer herder in GällivareForest Sámi villageAt the UPPSAM spring symposium 2014 Henrik Andersson, reindeer herder in Gällivare Forest Sámi village(sameby), participated and presented along with film maker Petri Storlöpare the documentary “The LastGeneration?”. The film follows Henrik during a year 2012–2013, when he decided to live according to oldertradition. Henrik Andersson is besides working for the maintaining of Forest Sámi tradition and handicraftalso a frequent writer on Facebook and he is actively pursuing different issues of importance for the preservationof Sámi lands and waters for current reindeer herding and for future generations. May-Britt Öhmanhas with the approval of Henrik selected among his many Facebook updates over a year, starting fromJuly 7, 2014 until September 4, 2015. [facebook.com/henrik.andersson.982] The content in the updates isall from every day reflections, happy moments, to critique against the destructive exploitations of Sámi landsand waters. One recurrent theme is the struggle to safeguard reindeer grazing, calving and migration landsagainst wind power exploitations, at the moment pursued by the company Vasavind and also the state powercompany Vattenfall, on the lands of Gällivare forest Sámi village. The updates are most of the time written oncellphone and some smaller editing has been made for enhanced legibility. However, most of the text is thesame version as is available on Henrik’s open Facebook wall. The updates follows Facebook chronology,meaning that the latest are the first.

Marie Stahl and Anita Hussenius have defined what discourses dominate national tests in chemistry for Grade 9 in Sweden by using feminist, critical didactic perspectives. This response seeks to expand the results in Stahl and Hussenius's article Chemistry inside an epistemological community box!-Discursive exclusions and inclusions in the Swedish national tests in chemistry, by using different facets of gender awareness. The first facet-Gender awareness in relations to the test designers' own conceptions- highlighted how the gender order where women are subordinated men becomes visible in the national tests as a consequence of the test designers internalized conceptions. The second facet-Gender awareness in relation to chemistry-discussed the hierarchy between discourses within chemistry. The third facet-Gender awareness in relation to students-problematized chemistry in relation to the students' identity formation. In summary, I suggest that the different discourses can open up new ways to interpret chemistry and perhaps dismantle the hegemonic chemistry discourse.

This study illuminates teachers' conceptions of gender and science and possibilities to challenge these conceptions. Since 2005, a group of teachers (K-6) in Sweden have met approximately once a month in two-hour seminars to discuss and develop their instruction in science and technology based on a gender perspective. The present data consist mainly of audio-recordings of the teacher seminars and video-recordings of science activities with students. Analysis of the empirical data has been carried out in several stages and was inspired by thematic analysis, the theoretical framework of which is based on Hirdman's and Beauvoir's theories of gender. The results show that the teachers' ideas about gender/equity and science exist on several levels, within which various conceptions are represented. On the one hand, "reasoning around similarity", where teachers consider that both girls and boys should have the same prerequisites for working with science. In contrast, stereotypical conceptions of girls and boys occur when the teachers evaluate their activities with students, and condescending attitudes toward girls are also observed. The girls' ways of working with science are not as highly valued as the boys', and this outlook on children can ultimately have consequences for girls' attitudes towards the subject. When teachers are allowed to read their own statements about the girls, they get "a glimpse of themselves", and their condescending ideas about girls are made visible. In this way, the teachers can begin their active work towards change, which may lead to new outlooks on and attitudes towards students.

This study examines preservice preschool teachers' university science education experience.The empirical data are from a research and intervention project conducted on teacher education programs at two Swedish universities. We analyzed one of the assignments completed by 111 students within a science course as well as their conversations about the assignment at a number of seminars. We combined culture contrast and thematic analysis to examine the data. The results showed a tension between the preschool culture and the university science culture. We described this tension between the boundary lines of the two cultures as a chafing borderland. These cultures do not merge, and the defined boundaries cause chafing with each other. We discuss ways of diminishing this chafing of borderlands, potential border crossings such as caring and children as boundary objects and equalizing power imbalances.

This study examines to what extent experienced teachers are aware of gender issues in the science classroom. It also explores how an introduction to gender theory might alter this awareness. Teachers wrote their reflections about a real classroom situation. They were then asked to analyse the same situation after having read texts that discussed gender theory concepts. The fourteen teachers' understanding about gender and society were challenged. Some teachers were able to analyse the case differently by applying gender theory, others discussed the case on a more general level, while one teacher showed signs of resistance regarding gender theory.

Several of Darwins ideas about evolution have taken time permeate in to main stream biology. One of them was the idea about the sexually active female. During the last thirty years androcentrism and schematic thinking on sex has been challenged by gender perspectives and modern behavioral ecology but a lot remains to be done. There is much suggesting that in particular the study and transgression of the boundary between theories on gender and sexual selection might produce surprising counter knowledge.

Psykologen Virginia Valian talar om traditionell kategorisering baserad på kön (gender schemas). Man har med experiment tydligt kunnat visa att sådana kategoriseringar påverkar vår perception radikalt. Studier visar till exempel att försöks¬personer som ställs inför uppgiften att uppskatta mäns och kvinnors längd regelmässigt underskattar kvinnors längd. Föga förvånande så bär vi med oss dessa könskategorier även när vi studerar djur och evolution.

Den ornitologiskt kunnige som slår upp sparvhök i Bonniers Alla Europas fåglar i färg slås av att honan avbildas som likstor med hanen trots att honorna i verkligheten är mycket större. Tvärtemot vad fågelboken antyder så är det lättare att missta en sparvhökshona för hanen hos den större duvhöken, än för hanen av den egna arten. Det här är en typ av reproduktion av könsstereotyp och missvisande information som är vanlig i den ornitologiska litteraturen.

Ornitologin i sin tur är intimt kopplad till och uppvisar strukturella likheter med den del av evolutionsbiologin som får allt större inflytande på vår förståelse av beteenden, beteendeekologin.

Beteendeekologiska teorier och resultat kan innebära en revolution för tänkandet kring kön och könsbundna egenskaper. Att plocka isär och återuppbygga könsbegreppen har delvis varit nödvändigt, i synnerhet för de som studerar vad vi kallar ”sexuell selektion”. Därför har genusperspektiven stora möjligheter att kunna bidra med insikter viktiga för både teoribildningen och det praktiska vetenskapliga hantverket.

Of all the natural forest that is lost every year, 94 percent are located in the tropics. Fast-growing wood plantations and pulp production constitute a major threat to the remaining tropical rainforests and to the local populations who depend on these forests to secure their livelihood.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that the global growth rate of tree plantations amounts to 45,000 km2 per year. Asia and South America accounts for 89 percent of the total growth. Brazil has by far the most tree plantations in South America and the majority of the plantations are situated in the south eastern states.

On 28 September 2005, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva inaugurated Veracel’s newly-constructed paper mill in the southern cone of the Brazilian state of Bahia. The pulp mill’s annual production capacity is currently 900,000 metric tons of pulp. It is expected to produce the cheapest pulp in the world.

The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the Brazilian Social and National Development Bank (BNDES) have contributed US$640 million of investments for the pulp mill. NIB contributed US$70 million and EIB US$80 million of this sum. The total cost of the under the current administration. Despite the political enthusiasm for the expansion of the pulp and paper industry in Brazil various movements and groups offer hard resistance against this expansion and environmental organizations from various states have formed a network, A Rede Alerta Contra O Deserte Verde (Alert Against the Green Desert Movement), in order to oppose the construction of pulp mills and the increase of eucalyptus plantations to supply the mills. Veracel owns 700 km2 of plantations. In addition, there are 230 km2 of plantations, which are owned by peasants and farmers contracted by Veracel. A part owner of Veracel is Aracruz, the Brazilian-Norwegian paper and pulp company. Aracruz owns 2,100 km2 and has additional agreements with peasants and farmers planting an area of 380 km2. The large economic consultant institution, Instituto Fundação Calmon, has stated that the potential of growth of the eucalyptus plantations in the region amounts to 15,000 km2. This would mean that, compared to their present size, the size of the plantations would increase several times. There have been some political attempts to legislate against the unrestricted expansion of the eucalyptus plantations. So far, however, the pulp and paper companies have succeeded in lobbying against such restrictions. The opposition against the industry states that the expansion of the pulp and paper corporations has to be limited since:

• The expansion of eucalyptus plantations forces local people- peasants, indigenous groups and Afro-Brazilian subsistence farmers- from their land.

• Pulp and paper corporations appropriate land that otherwise could have been used in the ongoing land reform.

• The plantations increase the price of land, thus making it harder for the state to buy land for land reform.

• The plantations have detrimental effects on agriculture in the vicinity and reduce water availability.

• The plantations obstruct the regeneration of the Atlantic rainforest and have negative consequences for the sensitive flora and fauna of the region.

• The paper and pulp industry generates few new jobs, despite the fact that huge state resources have been invested in this sector.

• The construction and operation of pulp mills have detrimental effects on the environment.

• The construction of the pulp mills attracts thousands of people to the region who do not have the right education to qualify for employment.

The network of environmental and human rights organizations that organizes the resistance against the expansion of the pulp and paper industry in general and Veracel specifically asserts that the ecological conditions have changed since the last Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was made. Therefore, the network demanded that a new EIA ought to be carried out before Veracel started construction of a paper mill. Veracel, and the corporations which owns it, Stora Enso and Aracruz, rejected this demand, however. The network is also critical of the fact that the technique used in bleaching the pulp will not be TCF or totally chlorine free. Instead of the TCF-technique, the elemental chlorine free process, ECF, will be utilized. The advocates of Veracel stress the employment opportunities created. This is, however, a contested claim. Most of the land where eucalyptus is grown was previously utilized for extensive cattle-raising. According to one of the most outspoken critics of the paper pulp companies, the priest José Koopmans, the eucalyptus plantations do not lead to any net gain in jobs when compared to cattle-raising and small-scale agriculture. Koopmans and organizations that represent farmers and landless peasants argue that plots where fruits of different kinds are cultivated lead to a significant increase in available jobs. They say federal and state investments should, therefore, be redirected from the pulp sector to small-scale agriculture. Indeed, considering the large sums invested, few vacant jobs were created at Bahia Sul’s and Aracruz’ plants. At the latest plant Aracruz built, 173 direct jobs were created. Taking into consideration the investments made, this shows that every vacant job costs US$3.3 million. Veracel’s plant will generate approximately 500 direct jobs. Another major problem with Veracel concerns its partnership with joint-owner Aracruz Celulose, the world’s leading producer of bleached eucalyptus pulp. The corporation, founded in 1968, has a long and conflict-ridden history. Local people and the network of environmental and human rights organizations fear that Veracel successively will adopt Aracruz’ methods and its inadequate dialogue with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and unions. The human rights organization FASE or Federation for Social and Educational Assistance argues that Aracruz has acquired land through false promises, threats and the destruction of sources of subsistence of the local people. FASE claims that there were about 40 indigenous villages in the area where Aracruz was active. After Aracruz had established all of its eucalyptus plantations in the area only three villages remained. In the beginning of October 2005, around 300 Tupinkim and Guarani Indians occupied the administrative center of Aracruz. The Indians demanded that the corporation return 1,100 hectares to them, which they claimed were part of their traditional territory. The Indians withdrew after authorities promised that a new demarcation of indigenous territory will be conducted. The pulp mills have resulted in further deterioration in the living conditions of the local people. The large water consumption needed for the mills made Aracruz redirect the courses of rivers in the region, thus decreasing local people’s access to potable water and fishing opportunities. The resistance against Aracruz has hardened substantially over the last years. There have been attempts to legislate against further expansion of the plantations and in 2002 the state parliament of Espírito Santo appointed a commission to investigate Aracruz’ behavior. Currently, hundreds of labor lawsuits have been brought against Aracruz. So far, however, Aracruz has succeeded in continuously expanding its activities. One reason for its success is the company’s well-developed political network. Aracruz is among the companies in Brazil which makes the largest donations to politicians. Its donations and contacts have paid off. All three of Aracruz’ plants have been inaugurated by presidents of Brazil and the country’s highest political stratum have supported Aracruz.

The field of evolutionary ecology in general and behavioural ecology in particular is often regarded as an androcentric science where sexual stereotypes pervade. In this article we review some of the evidence for this notion and suggest that behavioural ecology still is suffering from such gender bias. The criticism so far has mainly been centred on how these problems affect the understanding of humans. Here focus on how it can produce misconceptions of animals and animal behaviour. In particular we discuss why gender perspectives are relevant to theory production, experiment design and the choice of study species. We also suggest that sexual stereotypes and androcentrism are not a necessary part of behavioural ecology, and that the field has the potential of producing knowledge that could revolutionize some of the thinking around sex and gender.

Abstract: We investigated whether the sexually selected forehead patch of the collared flycatcher Ficedula albicollis is an honest badge of status indicating quality expressed as immunological response. We used both manual measurements and digital measurements, the latter based on photographs. Badge-size data were collected during the mating period and during the nestling feeding period to capture trait plasticity. Concomitant with first sample collection, birds were inoculated with a novel antigen. Antibody response was strongly and positively correlated with badge expression during the mating period and with the increase in badge expression during the mating period as compared with outside this period. The results support the Hansen and Rohwer theory of coverable badges, are consistent with the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis and with the good genes model suggesting that, on a population level, the expression of secondary sexual traits should be an honest signal positively associated with traits that are beneficial for survival. The results also suggest that manual measurements of this type of secondary sexual trait are sufficiently exact.

This study of achievement differences, as reflected by course grades, on a third-semester electromagnetism course at a Swedish research university was motivated by instructor concerns about gender inequalities. Quantitative analysis showed a gender gap in course grades between female and male students for the period of fall 2007 to spring 2013. Dynamics behind this gap were explored through interpretative discourse analysis on interviews of 21 students who had recently passed the course. A recurring pattern was identified in the interviews. Students described studying electromagnetism as either studying to pass or studying to learn. Their choice of practice was influenced by the significance recognized in the course, which primarily was discussed in relation to program affiliation. Students stressed that perceived differences, in their study context, were larger between students affiliated with different programs than between male and female students on the same program. This was supported by quantitative analysis of course grades in relation to study programs, where the grade difference between female and male students on the same program in most cases were not statistically significant. The gender gap in grades for the whole course was related to different achievements on different programs. Programs further from the discipline of physics had lower mean grades and also enrolled a larger fraction of female students. Society-wide gender differences in interest and study choice are reflected in the grades on this single course. These results displace the achievement gap from the level of individuals to that of programs, and the gender gap from a difference in achievement to a difference in study choice. We discuss the implications of this shift of perspective in relation to gender differences for both research and teaching.