Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
-
- Arts and Humanities (11)
- Social and Behavioral Sciences (8)
- American Studies (4)
- English Language and Literature (3)
- Medicine and Health Sciences (3)
-
- Communication (2)
- Education (2)
- History (2)
- Leadership Studies (2)
- Psychology (2)
- Public Health (2)
- Community Health and Preventive Medicine (1)
- Educational Leadership (1)
- Experimental Analysis of Behavior (1)
- Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (1)
- Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication (1)
- Interpersonal and Small Group Communication (1)
- Mental and Social Health (1)
- Organizational Communication (1)
- Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures (1)
- Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy (1)
- Social Influence and Political Communication (1)
- Social Psychology (1)
- Social Work (1)
- Sociology (1)
- Theatre and Performance Studies (1)
- Institution
-
- University of South Florida (4)
- Georgia Southern University (3)
- Georgia State University (3)
- Louisiana State University (3)
- Virginia Commonwealth University (3)
-
- Brigham Young University (2)
- University of Montana (2)
- University of New Orleans (2)
- University of San Diego (2)
- Colby College (1)
- Duquesne University (1)
- Edith Cowan University (1)
- Mississippi State University (1)
- Old Dominion University (1)
- The University of Southern Mississippi (1)
- University of Central Florida (1)
Articles 1 - 30 of 31
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Effects Of Soil Region, Litter Size, And Gender On Morphometrics Of White-Tailed Deer Fawns, Amy Castle Blaylock
Effects Of Soil Region, Litter Size, And Gender On Morphometrics Of White-Tailed Deer Fawns, Amy Castle Blaylock
Theses and Dissertations
Previous research documented that white-tailed deer body mass and antler size varied across physiographic regions of Mississippi. Deer from regions with greater soil fertility had greater body mass and antler size; however, this information is known only for individuals 6 months of age and older. I monitored birth mass and skeletal size of fawns produced by bred, adult, female white-tailed deer transplanted from the Delta, Thin Loess (Loess), and Lower Coastal Plain (LCP) soil regions to fawn in the Mississippi State University Rusty Dawkins Memorial Deer Unit. I evaluated the effect of soil region of origin, litter size, and fawn …
Trailer Park Royalty: Southern Child Beauty Pageants, Girlhood And Power, Elisabeth Blumer Thompson
Trailer Park Royalty: Southern Child Beauty Pageants, Girlhood And Power, Elisabeth Blumer Thompson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Child beauty pageants are a phenomenon in rural communities throughout Georgia. My belief is that most of those who compete in these pageants are from the lower socio-economic bracket, participating for a multitude of reasons. A bricolage of post-structural feminism, critical ethnography, critical hermeneutics and cultural studies lenses will analyze how the performances of participants and the power exercised by the beauty pageant culture work to formulate girls' identities. Analysis will also include how power operates to perpetuate this subculture and its right to dictate norms for beauty and acceptance and will be situated in the culture of girlhood. Examination …
Effects Of Job Stereotype, Applicant Gender, And Powerful And Powerless Speech Styles On Telephone Interview Outcomes, Heather Deanna Palmer Mcfarland
Effects Of Job Stereotype, Applicant Gender, And Powerful And Powerless Speech Styles On Telephone Interview Outcomes, Heather Deanna Palmer Mcfarland
Dissertations
By examining the effects of powerful and powerless speech styles, gender stereotyped jobs, and gendered voices during the employment interviewing process, this study sought to further the research of Parton (1996); Parton, Siltanen, Hosman, and Langenderfer (2002); and Juodvalkis, Grefe, Hogue, Svyantek, and DeLamarter (2003). This study was designed to further explore the possibility of longitudinal changes within acceptable communicative expectations during telephone job interviewing. Participants (undergraduate and professional) listened to two audio taped interviews manipulated by speech style, stereotyped job title, and interviewee gender. Variables were evaluated on semantic differential scales following the previous work of Parton (1996). Similar …
Issues Of Blondeness: Identity, Education, And Experience, Kelly C. Blackston-Cail
Issues Of Blondeness: Identity, Education, And Experience, Kelly C. Blackston-Cail
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This narrative study is an inquiry into the lives of five women and their personal identity development as it is related to the generalizations and negative stereotypes based on hair color among the female gender. The concept of blondeness as it is related to hair color and identity is the primary focus of this study based on the responsibility of social construction on the development of this image. The subject's willingness to participate provided many viable insights about their lived experiences in life, their education and/or professional careers. This study shows how each participant faced these generalizations and negativity which …
Risk Reduction Decision Making In Women With Brca1/2 Gene Mutations, Heidi M. King
Risk Reduction Decision Making In Women With Brca1/2 Gene Mutations, Heidi M. King
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
With technological advances in testing for gene mutations, a new population of BRCA1/2 women is becoming aware of their increased risk for developing breast and/or ovarian cancer. A salient issue these women face is which risk-reducing option to choose. Little is known about the decision making factors underlying the choice of prophylactic mastectomy for women with a BRCA1/2 mutation. To address this issue, 137 unaffected, positive BRCA1/2 gene mutation carriers (42 who opted for prophylactic mastectomy, 95 who did not) served as participants. All women completed an on-line battery that assessed the following theory-based decision making variables: advantages and disadvantages …
Authentic Out-Of-Class Communication In Study Abroad Programs: Success Defined By Continued Motivation And Cultural Appreciation, Erin Fairlight Olsen
Authentic Out-Of-Class Communication In Study Abroad Programs: Success Defined By Continued Motivation And Cultural Appreciation, Erin Fairlight Olsen
Theses and Dissertations
The benefits of study abroad experience in second language acquisition have evolved from unchallenged assumption to the focus of rigorous study in the past several decades. The benefits of out-of-class contact with natives have likewise been questioned. Despite conflicting evidence of its benefit, students frequently cite out-of-class conversations with natives as among the most beneficial aspects of their language acquisition experience. Reviewing the extant literature, this study narrows in on authentic communication-that is, meaningful out-of-class contact with natives, in which students are able to genuinely express themselves and their personality-as a previously unanalyzed element of study abroad research. It is …
Gendered Representations Of Jazz Vocal Artists: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Cd And Performance Reviews, And Interviews, Miroslava Jichova
Gendered Representations Of Jazz Vocal Artists: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Cd And Performance Reviews, And Interviews, Miroslava Jichova
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
This study of contemporary jazz discourse and gender applies the techniques of critical discourse analysis, inspired by M.A.K. Halliday's systemic functional linguistics and Norman Fairclough's qualitative critical discourse analysis, to explicate the unequal distribution of power in society as represented by the institutions of jazz and mass media, in discourse about jazz vocal artists. Specifically, the study focuses on the way the genres of jazz CD review, jazz performance review, and interviews with jazz artists – disseminated via the institutions JazzTimes and Live New Orleans – represent the artists' identities, roles, achievements and skills. Following Norman Fairclough and the feminist …
Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales: Rhetoric And Gender In Marriage, Andrea Marcotte
Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales: Rhetoric And Gender In Marriage, Andrea Marcotte
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
In the Middle Ages, marriage represented a shift in the balance of power for both men and women. Struggling to define what constitutes the ideal marriage in medieval society, the marriage group of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales attempts to reconcile the ongoing battle for sovereignty between husband and wife. Existing hierarchies restricted women; therefore, marriage fittingly presented more obstacles for women. Chaucer creates the dynamic personalities of the Wife of Bath, the Clerk and the Merchant to debate marriage intelligently while citing their experiences within marriage in their prologues. The rhetorical device of ethos plays a significant role for …
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus: An Analysis Of A Potential Meme, Jo Howarth Noonan
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus: An Analysis Of A Potential Meme, Jo Howarth Noonan
Communication Theses
The purpose of this study was to discover whether the phrase "men are from Mars, women are from Venus,” from John Gray’s book, had become a meme and to explore what its usage implied. Analysis of 510 references was guided by grounded theory. Coding over a decade of newspaper usage of the phrase into seven emergent themes allowed examination of usage against the theories of gender research, communication research, media research and meme theory research. This analysis revealed that this phrase meets the requirements to be considered a meme, and as a meme it has successfully assisted the survival, evolution …
Demographic Factors Associated With Condom Use In 18-24 Year Olds For Two States, 1998 And 2000/2001, Kimberly R. Glenn
Demographic Factors Associated With Condom Use In 18-24 Year Olds For Two States, 1998 And 2000/2001, Kimberly R. Glenn
Public Health Theses
Despite knowledge about the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), young adults continue to participate in sexual risk behaviors such as unprotected sexual intercourse. This study examines factors that influence condom use in adults aged 18-24 years in the United States. Using secondary data from the 1998, 2000, and 2001 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to assess the factors influencing condom use stratified by gender and study year. A p-value of <0.05 and 95% confidence intervals were used to determine statistical significance throughout all analysis performed. Univariate analysis found that increased age and being male were associated with increased odds of condom use. Multivariate analysis stratified by study year found that in 1998 increased age and unemployment was associated with increased odds of condom use. In 2000/2001, increased age was the only factor associated with increased odds of condom use. Being female was associated with decreased odds of condom use in that study year. When stratified by gender, only increased age was associated with increased condom use. The study results suggest that the factors influencing condom use vary between gender and year. Since different factors impact condom use for each gender, the interventions designed to increase condom use must be centered on those factors. Since age was one of the consistent factors positively associated with condom use, interventions must begin earlier to affect the decision-making processes of young adults.
A Gentlemen's Benevolence: Symptoms Of Class, Gender, And Social Change In Emma, Nicholas Nickleby, And The Mill On The Floss, Aubrey Lea Hammer
A Gentlemen's Benevolence: Symptoms Of Class, Gender, And Social Change In Emma, Nicholas Nickleby, And The Mill On The Floss, Aubrey Lea Hammer
Theses and Dissertations
Austen, Dickens, and Eliot each responded to discussions of their time concerning class, gender, and social change. One of the ways they addressed these issues, and sought to find solutions to the problems facing their culture, was through benevolence. Knightley, in Emma, uses benevolence as a means of mediating self-interest and sympathy. By acting out of sympathy, through benevolence, he achieves the self-interested benefits of reinforcing the class system and achieving his romantic conquests. Likewise, Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby learns how to use benevolence as a means of social mobility from his mentors, the Cheerybles. Throughout Nicholas Nickleby the hero learns …
The Importance Of Gender And Readiness To Change In The Prediction Of Drinking And Negative Consequences Of First-Year Student Drinkers, Margot E. Ackermann
The Importance Of Gender And Readiness To Change In The Prediction Of Drinking And Negative Consequences Of First-Year Student Drinkers, Margot E. Ackermann
Psychology Theses & Dissertations
College drinking is widespread, and binge drinkers can experience serious consequences. The present study examined the effectiveness of two interventions, expressive writing and behavioral monitoring, as well a combined condition, in reducing drinking and negative consequences associated with drinking. Gender differences and differences in readiness to change binge drinking were also assessed. Participants (N = 97) completed a pretest, eight weekly intervention activities, and a posttest during their first semester of college. An ANOVA tested the hypothesis that individuals higher in readiness to change binge drinking participated in more of the weekly intervention activities; this hypothesis was not supported. A …
A Paradox Of Diversity: Billions Invested, But Women Still Leave, Rebekah S. Heppner
A Paradox Of Diversity: Billions Invested, But Women Still Leave, Rebekah S. Heppner
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
In 2005, women made up 46.4 percent of the United States labor force but only 1.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs (Catalyst 2006). Although gains have been made since the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, there is clearly something stopping women from equal representation at the top. Since the late 1980s, businesses have spent billions of dollars on initiatives designed to assist them in dealing with the anticipated increase in the "diversity" of their workplaces (Lubove 1997; Stodghill II 1996; Johnston and Packer 1987). Is there potential for diversity initiatives to help women conquer the "glass ceiling?" …
The "Dark Side" Of Ocb: Examining The Relationship Between Citizenship Behavior And Work-To-Family Conflict, Rebecca H. Klein
The "Dark Side" Of Ocb: Examining The Relationship Between Citizenship Behavior And Work-To-Family Conflict, Rebecca H. Klein
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Research on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) has focused on the positive aspects of the construct, neglecting the possibility that individuals who engage in OCB may suffer negative consequences. Thus, the present study expands the literature by examining the possibility that OCB is also related to negative individual-level factors, such as work-to-family conflict (WIF). In a replication and extension of Bolino and Turnley's (2005) research, the present study offers an in-depth analysis of the relationship between OCB and WIF, examining two potential mediators (work time and role overload) and two potential moderators (gender and perceptions of OCB as discretionary). Two hundred …
Women's Athletics And The Athletic Patriarchy, Cynthia Jane Lynes
Women's Athletics And The Athletic Patriarchy, Cynthia Jane Lynes
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This research is a qualitative, case study of five women who have successful careers in the male dominated field of athletics. An interview was done with each woman to determine whether her professional/personal life had been affected in any way by the athletic patriarchy and how their experiences were similar or different. The purpose of this research was to examine the influences of the athletic patriarchy on women's athletics and to explore issues of power and gender within these influences. Research questions asked were: How has the construction of gender identity by the athletic patriarchy affected women's athletics? What part …
A Mixed Methods Study On Cbam And The Adoption Of Thin Client Computers By Adolescents, Cynthia Sistek-Chandler Edd
A Mixed Methods Study On Cbam And The Adoption Of Thin Client Computers By Adolescents, Cynthia Sistek-Chandler Edd
Dissertations
Although stages of change and adoption of innovation dynamics have been examined for adult populations, comparable research for adolescents is limited. Applying a change instrument grounded in Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) to an adolescent population, this study investigates perceptions of 45 middle school students who used thin client portable computers in a one-to-one program at home and at school for 3 years. A mixed methodology design identified which of the 7 stages of concern students passed through and why some students adopted the innovation more readily than others. The Change Facilitator Stages of Concern Questionnaire, a modified version of CBAM, …
Reconfiguring Memories Of Honor: William Raoul's Manipulation Of Masculinities In The New South, 1872-1918, Steve Ray Blankenship
Reconfiguring Memories Of Honor: William Raoul's Manipulation Of Masculinities In The New South, 1872-1918, Steve Ray Blankenship
History Dissertations
This dissertation examines how honor was fashioned in the New South by examining the masculine roles performed by William Greene Raoul, Jr. Raoul wrote his autobiography in the mid-1930s and in it he reflected on his life on the New South's frontier at the turn of the century as change came to the region in all aspects of life: politically, economically, socially, sexually, and racially. Raoul was an elite son of the New South whose memoirs, "The Proletarian Aristocrat," reveals a man of multiple masculinities, each with particular ways of retrieving his past(s). The paradox of his title suggests the …
Queer Identity? Discussing Identity And Appearance In An On-Line “Genderqueer” Community, Sharla N. Alegria
Queer Identity? Discussing Identity And Appearance In An On-Line “Genderqueer” Community, Sharla N. Alegria
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The relatively new field of Queer Theory creates ways of thinking about people living without binary gender, but does not provide for a research model with which to give context to the material struggles of such people. Through the use of Internet discussion groups, the current research project attempts to examine the challenges that people who identify with the concept "genderqueer" describe facing as they fashion selves in social interactions; a process which inevitably requires consumer goods that typically only allow for heteronormative binary gender. Findings suggest that there are similarities in how respondents came to identify with "genderqueer," but …
Reflective Analysis Of The Role Spirituality Plays In Educational Leaders' Coping Successes With A Focus On Gender Divergence, Bettie Bertram
Reflective Analysis Of The Role Spirituality Plays In Educational Leaders' Coping Successes With A Focus On Gender Divergence, Bettie Bertram
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between spirituality and the ability to cope as an educational leader. The role gender plays was also analyzed to determine if there were any differences in the ability to cope as an educational leader founded on gender. The sample for this study consisted of 65 executive leaders from the public educational sector ranging in age from 32 to 64 years of age. The sample was composed of a mix of women and men, the majority of participants Caucasian. The participants selected were college graduates with at least 12 years of …
Workin’ It Out At Curves – Religion, Gender, And The Body In Contemporary America, Jamie K. Singelais
Workin’ It Out At Curves – Religion, Gender, And The Body In Contemporary America, Jamie K. Singelais
Senior Scholar Papers
I performed qualitative research in the form of participant observation, surveys, and in-depth interviews to examine Curves, a fitness franchise for women found throughout the United States and, increasingly, the rest of the world. I conducted this exploratory study specifically at the Curves in Waterville, Maine, and made several trips to other franchises in the area for comparative purposes. One of my key findings is the importance of understanding Curves’ organization as a business, specifically, its status as a franchise and the effect that this has on its popularity and growth. Additionally, my research revealed the role, surprising to me, …
A Study Of Gender Equality At Private And Public Two-Year And Four-Year Florida Institutions, Stacey Lazenby Malaret
A Study Of Gender Equality At Private And Public Two-Year And Four-Year Florida Institutions, Stacey Lazenby Malaret
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study sought to examine the perception of gender equality from the viewpoint of women administrators at Florida public and private two- and four-year institutions. Potential respondents were chosen from American College Personnel Association and/or National Association of Student Personnel Administrators databases. The data used for this study were obtained from 32 female administrators (50% response rate) who completed a self-administered online questionnaire, distributed to potential respondents in August and September, 2007. Collected data were entered into an SPSS database. Through data analysis, confidence intervals were reported for each survey item. Comparable means were studied for each of the six …
The Effects Of Transdermal Nicotine On Tobacco/Nicotine Withdrawal And Concurrently Administered Cigarettes In Women And Men, Betha A. Kleykamp
The Effects Of Transdermal Nicotine On Tobacco/Nicotine Withdrawal And Concurrently Administered Cigarettes In Women And Men, Betha A. Kleykamp
Theses and Dissertations
Transdermal nicotine (TN) is a smoking cessation pharmacotherapy thought to work by suppressing tobacco/nicotine withdrawal and reducing the effect of a concurrently smoked tobacco cigarette. Clinical trials suggest that TN may be less efficacious for women. This study explored the possibility of gender differences in response to transdermal nicotine in 54 women and 70 men. Participants completed four within-subject, double-blind, randomized sessions corresponding to 0, 7, 14, and 21 mg TN and 4-hrs after TN application smoked an own-brand cigarette. Prior to session onset participants completed ≥ 8 hours of verified tobacco cigarette abstinence (i.e., expired air carbon monoxide levels …
Camping In The Classroom: Ridiculous Theatre As Serious Drama, John Kenneth Deboer
Camping In The Classroom: Ridiculous Theatre As Serious Drama, John Kenneth Deboer
Theses and Dissertations
My first semester pursuing my MFA in Voice and Speech Pedagogy I vocal-coached an openly gay student playing a straight character who would mask his sexual identity in such a manner that his performance became stiff and uninteresting. Rather than using his personal identity as an asset in the pursuit of a successful performance, his chosen vocal tactics removed any sense of theatricality from his performance. I confronted the student and suggested such extreme vocal suppression diminished the quality of his overall performance. He replied, "So you want me to get the gay out."His use of the phrase, "get the …
The Effect Of Scholarship Support, Gender, And Sport Type On Retention Of Collegiate Student-Athletes, Carrie Lennon Webster
The Effect Of Scholarship Support, Gender, And Sport Type On Retention Of Collegiate Student-Athletes, Carrie Lennon Webster
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this investigation was to determine what factors contribute to student-athlete retention, specifically looking at scholarship support, gender, and sport type (individual or team sport). Eight Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) schools provided data on all student-athletes participating from the 200 1-02 through the 2004-05 academic years. The investigator collected data on site at each institution (University of Delaware, Drexel University, Georgia State University, James Madison University, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, Old Dominion University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the College of William and Mary) and obtained on each student-athlete including year, sport, gender, amount of scholarship support (both athletic …
Politics And The Glass Ceiling In American Law Enforcement: Why Not More Women Chiefs Of Police?, Madeline G. Meistrich Edd
Politics And The Glass Ceiling In American Law Enforcement: Why Not More Women Chiefs Of Police?, Madeline G. Meistrich Edd
Dissertations
Law enforcement is one of the last male-dominated occupations. Out of 18,000 police departments in the United States, only 200 to 250 have women chiefs. Such under-representation reflects the "glass ceiling" effect of a gender-based metaphorical barrier that prevents women from rising to the top of an organization, regardless of qualifications. The research examined three questions: what are the issues and problems articulated by women officers attempting to move upwards; what strategies were employed as they attempted to advance; and what strategies could help other women reach the top? Nine female primary participants in law enforcement leadership were interviewed, as …
Disrupted Conventions: Gender Roles In Mildred Walker's The Curlew's Cry And Winter Wheat, Pandora Andre-Beatty
Disrupted Conventions: Gender Roles In Mildred Walker's The Curlew's Cry And Winter Wheat, Pandora Andre-Beatty
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
In this thesis, I discuss the significance of gender in Mildred Walker’s novels The Curlew’s Cry and Winter Wheat. Walker wrote and situates both narratives in Montana, supporting my argument that literature of the American West remains a productive area for examining gender roles. The Curlew’s Cry is set at the closing of the American frontier in the early 20th century, while Winter Wheat is set during the settled agricultural era of the 1940s. I argue that instead of re-enforcing gender stereotypes commonly found in novels set in the American West during and after the white settlement of the plains, …
Bishopness, Lauren Goodwin Slaughter
Bishopness, Lauren Goodwin Slaughter
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
The publication of "Edgar Allen Poe & the Juke-Box" modifies Elizabeth Bishop’s established oeuvre in ways that demonstrate the anxiety throughout her work regarding the concealment of sexual difference—a concealment she often takes part in. As the poems reveal, by putting emphasis on particular kinds of clothing, Bishop emphasizes the necessary—but flawed—methods for that concealment. Black stockings, gloves, sailors hats, and other garments of traditional gender representation work as useful metaphors, symbolically engaging the construction of the literary image accepted in the academy which has produced the unified notion of “Bishopness” some critics still wish to uphold. When themes of …
Who Speaks And Who Listens? Genre, Gender, And Memory In Holocaust Discourses, Lisa A. Costello
Who Speaks And Who Listens? Genre, Gender, And Memory In Holocaust Discourses, Lisa A. Costello
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
The Holocaust discourses examined in Who Speaks and Who Listens? Genre, Gender and Memory in Holocaust Discourses perform writing that does something through the presentation of meaningful content and its interaction with the process of the writing act. These discourses are utterances necessarily wedged between the past and the future—between the fear that the traumatic past of the Holocaust recedes too much and the concern with what might become of this past for the generations that follow. The theory of performative memorialization describes how multiple discourses of the Holocaust engage with each other and with the audiences that receive and …
Utilization Of Health And Medical Services: Factors Influencing Health Care Seeking Behaviour And Unmet Health Needs In Rural Areas Of Kenya, Trish Prosser
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
There are many factors that influence health and health care seeking. Although many of these factors are similar across populations, exactly how they interact and influence the actions of people is often unique to a population in the context of the environment they live in. The current study, a population-based cross sectional survey, identifies three specific geographically diverse populations in rural areas of Kenya, to gain information regarding overall influences on health care seeking, and also information specific to each geographical area to directly target the health needs of the individual population living there. Participants of the survey were interviewed …
Free Women Of Color And Slaveholding In New Orleans, 1810-1830, Anne Ulentin
Free Women Of Color And Slaveholding In New Orleans, 1810-1830, Anne Ulentin
LSU Master's Theses
Many free women of color lived in antebellum New Orleans. Free women of color tried hard to improve their lives, and engaged in a wide range of economic activities, including slaveholding. Numerous records show that free women of color owned slaves. It is hard to determine why free women of color engaged in such business. Free women of color’s relations with their slaves is controversial as it is difficult to assess why free black women would own slaves, but also buy, sell, and mortgage slaves. Free women of color’s status was exceptional due to specific patterns of manumission in Spanish …