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Negotiating Beauty Ideals: Perceptions Of Beauty Among Black Female University Students, Fiana O. Swain
Negotiating Beauty Ideals: Perceptions Of Beauty Among Black Female University Students, Fiana O. Swain
Anthropology Theses
This thesis explores the college lives of Black women who attend or recently attended majority white colleges and universities in the United States. Emphasis is placed on how Black women’s college experience is influenced by the way they define beauty, as well as how they perceive their White peers to define beauty. Through the collection of ten in-depth interviews, I examine how Black women’s perceptions of beauty compare with those of mainstream United States standards and those of the dominant culture of their schools. I explored how the Black women I interviewed responded when confronted with these mainstream beauty standards …
The Role Of Social Support Systems In The Advancement Of Professional Chefs, Emily Hansford
The Role Of Social Support Systems In The Advancement Of Professional Chefs, Emily Hansford
Anthropology Theses
The professional fine dining kitchen has predominately been the domain of male chefs. The purpose of this study was to look at what factors affect chefs, especially female chefs, in the development of their professional careers. I interviewed 12 professional female chefs and five male chefs in New York City and Atlanta, in various stages of their careers, in order to gain a better understanding of the difficulties faced by chefs. Through my research I learned that although women face devaluation from their male coworkers, they also face stigmatization from their female coworkers. This research provides insight into changes that …
La Vida Online: The Parallel Public Sphere Of Facebook As Used By Colombian Immigrant Women In Atlanta, Michaelanne M. Dye
La Vida Online: The Parallel Public Sphere Of Facebook As Used By Colombian Immigrant Women In Atlanta, Michaelanne M. Dye
Anthropology Theses
This thesis examines how Colombian women within the city of Atlanta utilize Facebook as a parallel public sphere, a cultural phenomenon through which the silenced use mediums of popular culture to discuss private and public dilemmas (Dewey 2009). Through ethnographic research in Atlanta, I analyze how these young women use Facebook as they negotiate their identity through the multiple contexts of their everyday lives. Drawing from feminist critiques, I explore whether Facebook provides an alternative to the traditional public sphere, while also investigating how power structures influence freedom of expression online. Through an international network of friends, these women tackle …
Stitching Together: An Exploration Of Women's Sociality Through An Urban Knitting Group, Gillian Barbara Ruland
Stitching Together: An Exploration Of Women's Sociality Through An Urban Knitting Group, Gillian Barbara Ruland
Anthropology Theses
The phenomenon of knitting groups is an increasingly widespread trend in urban settings. In this thesis, I argue that the resurgence of knitting groups in contemporary urban areas is the result of a nostalgic search for a sense of community within an otherwise complex and sometimes alienating urban landscape. Through ethnographic research in Atlanta, GA, I examine how women knitters whom I interviewed theorize their own interactions in the knitting community and the ways in which technology serves to facilitate these interactions. With lives revolving mainly around family and careers, the women who join knitting groups seek an escape from …
"Cooking With Love": Food, Gender, And Power, Melinda Anne Mills
"Cooking With Love": Food, Gender, And Power, Melinda Anne Mills
Anthropology Theses
This work explores the complex relationships between women, food, and power. Engaging the literature of feminist food studies allowed me to record the narratives and examine the experiences of women living in the United States. I take a close look at how women solidify and strengthen their social relationships to family and community through the use of food, or compromise and weaken these relationships through the denial or refusal of food, in the form of cooking or eating. I also consider both local and global contexts for understanding food, in terms of consumption and chores. Finally, I demonstrate how imagery …
A Prison Within A Prison: Segregation Of Hiv Positive Inmates And Double Stigma, Emily Hilyer Gaskin
A Prison Within A Prison: Segregation Of Hiv Positive Inmates And Double Stigma, Emily Hilyer Gaskin
Anthropology Theses
Although the majority of state prison systems have made the move away from segregated housing for HIV positive inmates, a few still continue this practice. The purpose of this study was to learn more about the experiences of women who have carried the double stigma of being HIV positive prisoners who were segregated within the prison system because of their illness. Drawing on interviews with HIV positive women who served time in a segregated facility and are now released, I was able to explore how double stigma and segregation affect identity and daily life. By asking these women questions about …
Boys' Love And Female Friendships: The Subculture Of Yaoi As A Social Bond Between Women, Amy Ann O'Brien
Boys' Love And Female Friendships: The Subculture Of Yaoi As A Social Bond Between Women, Amy Ann O'Brien
Anthropology Theses
In this thesis I argue that the yaoi community addresses a gap in subculture studies through the ways in which women use the genre to socialize. Yaoi is a genre of Japanese animation and comics which focuses on romantic relationships between two men and is directly geared towards women. Through ethnographic research in the United States, I look at how the women I interviewed conceptualize their participation within the community and what yaoi means to them. The women within the yaoi community are not rebelliously opposing the mainstream as many subcultural theories suggest, but are instead carving out a social …