Digital Commons Network^™

Creative Industries: Behind The Scenes Inequalities, Sierra C. Nicely

Sociology Theses

Film has been a major influence since its creation in the early 20th century. Women have always been involved in the creation of film as a cultural product. However, they have rarely been given positions of power in major film productions. Using qualitative approaches, I examine the different ways in which men and women directors approach creating film. I examine 20 films, half were directed by men and half by women. I selected the twenty films out of two movie genres: Action and Romantic Comedy. These genres were chosen because of their very gendered marketing. My focus was on the …

Sexually Nonconforming Pinays Negotiate Relationships With Parents, Partners, And Community, Veronica Salcedo

Sociology Theses

Documentation and analysis of lesbian, bisexual, and queer women’s experiences in the U.S. centers White lesbians in urban settings. This study contributes to the growing literature on sexually nonconforming (SNC) women of color. When women of Filipino descent, or Pinays, are romantically attracted to other women, how do they negotiate relationships with their families of origin and choice? What are the raced and gendered experiences of SNC Pinays? I conducted narrative analysis of 10 in-depth, semi-structured interviews that center the voices of SNC Pinays in the U.S. Through Burawoy’s extended case method, I find that both SNC Pinays and their …

The Role Of Education In The Assimilation Of Romani Women In The United States, Melanie Covert

Sociology Theses

The Romani are a largely unknown people group in the United States though their plight world-wide is highly visible. The story of Romani in the United States remains largely untold. This study explored the daily lives of 15 Romani women within the United States. The study investigated questions of historical prejudice, gender roles, educational achievement and barriers to assimilation with in the Romani community. Results of the study highlighted that many Romani women encounter significant barriers inside and outside of their communities that impact their ability to pursue higher education and to fully assimilate into mainstream society due to current …

Contractions Or Constructions: A Content Analysis Of Birthing Facilities In Miami, Florida, Shameka Thomas

Sociology Theses

Numbers of caesarean sections, epidurals, and other forms of medical interventions for birthing are rising in the United States healthcare industry. One possible reason is the medicalization of birthing and labor techniques. Another potential reason is the increasing distinction between laboring in a hospital versus laboring in the home or an independent birthing center. The dominance of the medical model of birthing has led to social constructions of birthing that divide women by diagnosis, into either high-risk or low-risk prenatal categories, further perpetuating the medical model’s power to marginalize the midwifery model.

Forty percent of U.S. births are financed by …

Splitting Sexuality And Disability: A Content Analysis And Case Study Of Internet Pornography Featuring A Female Wheelchair User, Laura Carter Overstreet

Sociology Theses

General social stereotypes characterize people with disabilities as asexual, invisible, and stigmatized. Therefore, sexualizing people with disabilities becomes taboo. The goal of this study is to explore how Internet pornography depicts a female wheelchair user. Using qualitative, inductive content analysis and a case study approach, I analyze 24 images from a specific, relevant website for a theme that appears most prevalent in sexuality and disability literature, the sexuality/disability split, wherein individuals’ sexualities are not pictured, felt, or acknowledged in concomitance with their disabilities. My results indicate that a sexuality/disability split does occur to some degree, but that the subject also …