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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Dirt Circus: Queering Sports And Home Through Filth, Hannah Patteson May 2023

Dirt Circus: Queering Sports And Home Through Filth, Hannah Patteson

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This monograph accompanies the MFA Thesis Exhibition, “Dirt Circus”. I outline the history of circus and carnival culture and the ways in which queer identities are expressed through these artistic modes. I describe the nonconforming expressions of gender in these arenas through bearded ladies, aerialists, clowns, and the freak show. I then explore various groups from the 70’s to present day, including Bread and Puppet Theater, The Cockettes, and Split Britches, who utilize performance to further their ideologies of gender freedom, anti-capitalism, and sexual liberation. I compare our differing uses of cheap art and public engagement within the realm of …


Spinning Plates, Anikó K.L. Sáfrán May 2022

Spinning Plates, Anikó K.L. Sáfrán

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Spinning Plates is an intermedia exhibition based on multitasking, at times to an absurd level, to address the gendered division of care labor in a typical, heteronormative household. One hundred years into the pursuit of passing an Equal Rights Amendment, women are still taking on the majority of duties related to managing and caretaking the household and its children, even though most women have also joined the income-generating labor force. At the core of the exhibit are performance-based videos of the mother-artist multitasking, completing household chores, exercising, and creating art. Some of the artworks are action paintings, others are drawings …


“But For Those Of Us Who Live Here”: Performance Of Work And Community By Women Employed In Rural, Predominantly White, Small-Town Schools, Telena M. Turner May 2022

“But For Those Of Us Who Live Here”: Performance Of Work And Community By Women Employed In Rural, Predominantly White, Small-Town Schools, Telena M. Turner

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Rural, small towns are incredibly complex cultural centers. Although rural places are consistently portrayed as unchanging, the operation of cultural and identity within these locations is consistently on the move. Using reflexive interviewing, poetic transcription, autoethnographic writing, this project (re)presents poems on community and identity from five women employed in schools in rural, mostly White, small towns in the Central Appalachian region. Analyzing the poems through concepts in performance studies and work on space and place, this project positions movement and change at the center of small towns and examines how notions of rural place and community are performed through …


Alcohol Use In Women: Resources And Recommendations For Counselors, Samantha Haling Aug 2021

Alcohol Use In Women: Resources And Recommendations For Counselors, Samantha Haling

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

The research shows that alcohol use is rising rapidly among women, resulting in devastating consequences that have not been sufficiently explored in counselor education and training. This paper aims to address this by providing a review of the literature which shows that women are more vulnerable to many of the physical and mental health consequences of alcohol use than men, and that they have unique treatment needs and face gender-specific risk factors and barriers to treatment. The review examines the interaction between gender and alcohol use, summarizes the existing research on the physical and behavioral health consequences of alcohol use …


The Rhetorical Significance Of Women Deminers And Female Participation In Post-Conflict Operations, Brenna N. Matlock May 2021

The Rhetorical Significance Of Women Deminers And Female Participation In Post-Conflict Operations, Brenna N. Matlock

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Across the globe, all female or mix-gender demining teams are working to eradicate landmines and other explosive remnants of war that threaten their communities. However, more generally, women are often absent from the various elements of security and peacekeeping that exists in post-conflict environments. The purpose of this research is to examine the rhetorical significance of women deminers and to analyze wider implications for female participation in post-conflict operations. Using a phenomenological, feminist, and transformative framework, I collected qualitative data from a range of public texts (or “artifacts”) written about women deminers and from online surveys distributed to women demining …


On The Basis Of Gender: Discrimination Against Transgender People In The Hiring Process, Aaron N. Baillargeon Dec 2020

On The Basis Of Gender: Discrimination Against Transgender People In The Hiring Process, Aaron N. Baillargeon

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

The study investigated the effect of a job applicant’s gender identity (male or female) and gender history (cisgender or transgender) on the evaluated quality of the applicant and the likelihood of the applicant being hired for a vacant software engineer position. Participants from the worker pool of Amazon’s Mechanical Turk evaluated the quality of a fictitious job applicant based on a mock resume and background check created for the purposes of this study, then completed the Social Dominance Orientation. There was no significant effect of gender identity or gender history on the evaluated quality of the job applicant or on …


Women In Socialist Cuba: Political And Economic Equality, Julia E. Rogers May 2020

Women In Socialist Cuba: Political And Economic Equality, Julia E. Rogers

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Gender equality is recognized as a fundamental human right and goal by the United Nations. The 1959 Cuban Revolution advocated for widespread social changes including equality for women. Cuba is a critical case because it both confirms and refutes assumptions about gender equality. The central research question explored in this thesis is: How do domestic and global factors combine to affect the rhetoric and experiences of gendered and racial groups with respect to economic and political opportunities in socialist Cuba? I examine whether the divergences between expectations and experiences conform to the general literature. I find that women did achieve …


Female Leaders Navigate The Arts, Post 'Me Too', Peyton Kennedy May 2020

Female Leaders Navigate The Arts, Post 'Me Too', Peyton Kennedy

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

As the lights dim and the curtain rises on a theatrical production, there are roles to fill onstage and off. Perhaps the most important roles in modern theatre are those of leadership. Leaders in the arts have the power to influence company communication, shape the culture of the rehearsal room and navigate through a crisis. However, leadership and power can be manipulated, as the world witnessed through the ‘me too’ movement. As allegations rose against prominent leaders, the push for change strengthened. We are now three years past Hollywood’s ignition of the ‘me too’ movement, which prompts the question: have …


The (In)Visible Woman: A Performative Autoethnographic Exploration Of Queer Femme-Ininity And Queer Isolation, Bri Ozalas May 2020

The (In)Visible Woman: A Performative Autoethnographic Exploration Of Queer Femme-Ininity And Queer Isolation, Bri Ozalas

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis is a performative autoethnographic exploration of my experiences existing betwixt-and-between the intersection of queer femme-ininity and isolation. Through a creative, affective rendition of my experiences, I detail and connect the nuances of queerness, femme-ininity, and queer isolation to provide a closer look at understanding queer identity with an absence of connection to the queer community. First, I provide an overview of the main theoretical and methodological approaches, and main concepts I utilize throughout my project. I then provide the intricacies of queer theory, queer intersectionality, and affect theory to provide theoretical explanations of my approach to queer isolation. …


Dancing In The Airfield: The Women Of The 46th Taman Guards Aviation Regiment And Their Journey Through War And Womanhood, Yasmine L. Vaughan May 2018

Dancing In The Airfield: The Women Of The 46th Taman Guards Aviation Regiment And Their Journey Through War And Womanhood, Yasmine L. Vaughan

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

During the Second World War, the Soviet Union became the first country in the world to allow women to join the Air Force. Three regiments were formed, comprised of all female personnel. The three regiments flew over 30,000 combat missions and produced thirty Heroes of the Soviet Union (HSUs) in their three years of service. The 588th, later renamed the 46th, was the most successful and well-known of the female regiments, famous for its combat record and stunning achievements.This paper seeks to put into context the unique social constructions that allowed for the recruitment, training, and …


Gender Differences Associated With The Evolution Of Attributes Sought In Sports Apparel, Jami Adler May 2018

Gender Differences Associated With The Evolution Of Attributes Sought In Sports Apparel, Jami Adler

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Since the turn of the century, many things have changed around the world, with a focus on the athletic apparel and fashion industries. Using Fowler’s (1999) research regarding the attributes sought in sports apparel, this study serves as a replication to determine how attributes sought in sports apparel have evolved. Online surveying through Qualtrics was utilized for data collection. The research explored the trend of Athleisure and the rising demand for versatile clothing. The role of gender and its associated differences significantly influenced the attributes sought in sports apparel. In addition, this study explored three additional attributes that consumers evaluate …


Enduring Music: Migrant Appalachian Communities And The Shenandoah National Park, Madeline Marsh May 2018

Enduring Music: Migrant Appalachian Communities And The Shenandoah National Park, Madeline Marsh

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper is an archival study of the displaced children of families formerly living in the Shenandoah National Park which spans from Strasburg to Waynesboro, Virginia. The study looks at interviews, from the JMU Special Collections archives, of these children in the 1970-80s, nearly fifty years after their forced migration from the 197,438 acres that comprised the park. Change and pressure during the 1930s-40s combined with national policy began the nostalgic preservation and veneration of the culture of these people of the Blue Ridge Mountains; through the archives, a clear and diverse picture of the perspectives and lifestyles of people …


(In)Visibility And Meaning In Food Labor: A Feminist Autoethnography, Kathryn Shedden May 2018

(In)Visibility And Meaning In Food Labor: A Feminist Autoethnography, Kathryn Shedden

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

My graduate thesis project entitled “(In)visibility and Meaning in Food Labor: A Feminist Autoethnography” illuminates the gendered experiences of female food laborers and how women make meaning through their labor in this context. Gendered experiences do not stand apart from classed and raced identities, which I also reflexively analyze throughout this thesis. Women working within the food chain have been historically marginalized and made invisible, though they make up an increasingly significant portion of this workforce, a trend known as the “feminization of agriculture.” The discussion of the work that women do when discussing food in the academic literature also …


Morpho: Expectations & Mutations, Lynda Bostrom May 2018

Morpho: Expectations & Mutations, Lynda Bostrom

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Morpho: Expectations & Mutations is a written document accompanying the culmination of my three years painting at a graduate level. The result of which is an autobiographical body of work navigating the tension of being a human with an invisible disease, while straining to understand Western societal constructs of women. I simultaneously reject these fairy tales as a standard recipe for happiness, yet identify with its visual language that is rooted in the vernacular of my generation. Redefining the elements I reject or embrace helps me to look beyond the boundaries of these constructs, and adopt an attitude of curiosity …


Navigating Culture: An Exploration Of Domestic Violence And Abuse Resource Provision To The Harrisonburg Iraqi Refugee Community, Kaitlin Michelle Holland Dec 2017

Navigating Culture: An Exploration Of Domestic Violence And Abuse Resource Provision To The Harrisonburg Iraqi Refugee Community, Kaitlin Michelle Holland

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

There are currently 22.5 million refugees worldwide who have been displaced from their home countries due to war, conflict, or persecution. Of this total, only 1% are recommended for resettlement each year. In recent years, many of these resettled refugees have come from Iraq, fleeing conflict stemming from the Iraq war and ISIS. Upon resettlement, refugees face significant acculturation difficulties that can negatively affect mental health. Additionally, experiencing domestic violence and abuse (DVA) can also negatively affect physical and mental health. I researched how the refugee migration experience and domestic violence and abuse affect mental health as well as what …


Girls Are Us: A Collection Of Oral Histories From The Jmu Community, Anne M. Sherman May 2017

Girls Are Us: A Collection Of Oral Histories From The Jmu Community, Anne M. Sherman

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

On a campus where women make up a majority of the student population, it is especially important that female voices are heard and given a platform on which they can control their own narrative. I wanted to give those female-identifying voices that platform. I conducted a series of interviews to examine how college-aged female-identifying students feel about their identity and how they construct that identity within the climate of the JMU community. I was particularly interested in the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual preference, and ability. I asked each person to share their stories of times when they …


What Street Harassment Means, Madison Davis May 2017

What Street Harassment Means, Madison Davis

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper is exploratory research into how college-age women understand their experiences of street harassment. Street harassment is a normative experience for women living in patriarchal cultures, and is an intrusive experience faced regularly in public life. Women told their experiences as part of a narrative that changed over time as they aged from teens into college. Their experiences were not confined to the street, but experienced across public life, and women often carry the weight of harassment in silence. Women resign to the ongoing reality of harassment, and their experiences did not exist in a vacuum but a larger …


The Role Of Refugee Women Narratives In The U.S. Resettlement Process, Alys N. Sink May 2017

The Role Of Refugee Women Narratives In The U.S. Resettlement Process, Alys N. Sink

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Within resettlement scholarship, there exists a distinct absence of direct narratives by refugee women about their resettlement experiences within the United States. This absence of voice has even been noted by refugee women representatives during a 2013 UNHCR dialogue stating that: “We call for a model in which the State, the municipalities, NGOs and refugees work together to learn from each other, hear the voices from the grassroots and together develop comprehensive, coordinated and long-term responses” (Speaking for Ourselves: Hearing Refugee Voices, A Journey Towards Empowerment). This study delves into this absence of voice locally, investigating the ways in which …


Anti-Transgender Discrimination And Oppression In New York City And San Francisco During The Gay Liberation Movement, 1965-1975, James Brady May 2015

Anti-Transgender Discrimination And Oppression In New York City And San Francisco During The Gay Liberation Movement, 1965-1975, James Brady

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Transgender and gender non-conforming people in San Francisco and New York City were oppressed in many ways during the 1960s and 1970s. Due to employment discrimination, many were homeless and worked as prostitutes. While living on the streets, transgender and gender non-conforming people frequently faced arrest and police harassment due to laws against cross-dressing and solicitation. Transgender and gender non-conforming people were also oftentimes the victims of hate crimes. Even gay liberation activists oppressed transgender and gender non-conforming people. They did this by excluding transgender and gender non-conforming people from gay liberation organizations and refusing to support transgender causes. Despite …


Vanguardia Mujerista Haciendo Escuela: An Oral History Of Cuban Feminism, Marie Eszenyi May 2015

Vanguardia Mujerista Haciendo Escuela: An Oral History Of Cuban Feminism, Marie Eszenyi

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The high rate of female political participation in Cuba has led many journalists, political scientists, and activists to claim that the country is quite possibly the most feminist in Latin America (Torregrosa, 2012). As the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality (2012) indicates, Cuba ranks third in the world for female participation in legislative bodies. Indeed, Cuba has a long history of female political and revolutionary involvement that positions Cuban feminism both on the forefront and the margins of the economy, governmental institutions, culture, society, military systems, and the workplace during various historical points. Moreover, Cuba’s location just 90 miles …


Transformational Leadership And Resilience, African-American Women Nonprofit Leaders: A Mixed-Methods Study, Donovan Branche Dec 2014

Transformational Leadership And Resilience, African-American Women Nonprofit Leaders: A Mixed-Methods Study, Donovan Branche

Dissertations, 2014-2019

African-American women represent an untapped resource and bring with them transformational characteristics and resilience that are vital to the increasingly complex world of nonprofit leadership. The black feminist standpoint argues that black women have experienced years of oppression via sexism, racism, and classism. Despite this, many have endured and exceled. The nonprofit sector operates for the public good and accounts for about 5.5% of the United State’s gross domestic product. This important sector will lose about 75% of its leaders in the next few years due to the retirement of baby boomers. It is crucial that nonprofits consider the next …