Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Limitations & Liberation: Republican Motherhood And Female Advancement In Nineteenth Century America, Hannah Russell

Graduate Masters Theses

First introduced by Linda Kerber in the 1970s, Republican Motherhood is the idea that described the role women were expected to play in the years following the American Revolution. Characterized by an expanded sphere of influence through the education of her sons to be prosperous future leaders of the nation and her daughters to be future mothers of American sons, Republican Motherhood played a significant role in the continuing development of gender relations in the early republic. To show the ways in which women utilized Republican Motherhood to reach self-actualization, I analyze the lives of Judith Sargent Murray, Catharine Beecher, …

A Dogged Resolve: The Doctrine And Decline Of Mormon Plural Marriage, 1841-1890, Jaclyn Thornock Gadd

Graduate Masters Theses

A Dogged Resolve is an analytical micro-history of the theology and marital practices among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1841 to 1890. In the spring of 1841, Joseph Smith, Church founder and leader, took another wife; an act which launched a long and controversial practice of polygamy by a small minority within the community. After the Latter-day Saints migrated west, the isolation of the Rocky Mountains fostered a period where plural families could thrive and the first generation endeavored to establish marital norms. However, with advancements in technology and transportation, the younger generations adopted …

A Heavy Burden: Associations Between Sexual Minority Status, Mental Health, And Bmi In Women, Alison E. A. Goldblatt

Graduate Masters Theses

Sexual minority women (SMW) are at increased risk of elevated body mass index (BMI) compared to heterosexual women, which increases their vulnerability to a variety of chronic diseases. This increased risk of elevated BMI is likely due to unique minority stressors faced by sexual minority individuals, such as internalized heterosexism and discrimination. Minority stressors are associated with poorer mental and physical health among SMW, and SMW may engage in unhealthy coping strategies, like binge eating, to cope with these minority stressors. Research suggests that bisexual women, and other women with non-monosexual orientations, face elevated risks to their physical and psychological …

Human Rights And Justice Rights Approaches To Gender-Based Violence (Gbv): The Case Of Kenya’S Sexual Offenses Act (Ksoa), Maryanne W. Kamunya

Graduate Masters Theses

Sexual violence produces detrimental and long-lasting physical and psychological trauma that deters a victim’s ability to fully participate in the economic, political and social development of their community and nation-state (Legal Action Worldwide, 2014). To fight this crime, the UNDP has developed an International Sexual Violence Protocol. This Protocol recommends consolidation of sexual violence legislation into one document called the Sexual Offense Act. These laws tend to use a justice through rights approach to effectively criminalize and prosecute sexual violence within a comprehensive human rights-based model. By using a justice over human rights-based approach; Kenya’s Sexual Offense Act (KSOA) deviated …

The Charge Of Deserting Their Sphere: The Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society And Women’S Place In The Abolitionist Movement, Megan Irene Brady

Graduate Masters Theses

Responding to the all-male American Anti-Slavery Society and inspired by the expansion of women’s benevolent organizations, the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society (BFAS) was founded in 1833. At the outset, the members defined themselves as pious women dedicated to immediate emancipation, while making no overtures to challenging their place in society. BFAS grew quickly in influence and membership, and helped organize the first national women’s anti-slavery convention in 1837. The convention brought together female abolitionists from all over the United States, some of whom espoused more radical views on women’s rights. This thesis examines how interactions at the national conventions—a network …

Whether Or Not 'It Gets Better'…Coping With Parental Heterosexist Rejection, Cara Herbitter

Graduate Masters Theses

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people face the burden of additional stressors as a result of their experiences of stigma and discrimination regarding their sexual minority status. Parental rejection of LGB people in the context of heterosexism serves as a powerful minority stressor associated with poorer mental health (e.g., Bouris et al., 2010; Ryan, Huebner, Diaz, & Sanchez, 2009). Few contemporary theories exist to describe the experience of parental rejection. In addition, the extant empirical research has focused primarily on youth experiences among White and urban LGB samples, signaling the need for research across the lifespan investigating more diverse samples. …

Gay Outlaws: The Alpine County Project Reconsidered, Jacob D. Carter

Graduate Masters Theses

Controversial from the beginning, the Alpine County project (1969-1971), a genuine, albeit unsuccessful, effort put forth by gay radicals to establish a self-governing separatist community in rural California, is a grossly misunderstood event in United States history. Contemporary historical interpretations hold that the project was primarily either a well-conspired hoax devised by Los Angeles Gay Liberation Front (LA-GLF) to attract mainstream media coverage of Gay Liberation, or a misguided effort toward systemic reform. However, evidence indicates that, for gay separatists who supported it, the project was an effort to achieve collective self-determination by creating a geographic haven for a budding …

Can Women Have It All?: Hesitant Feminism In American Women's Popular Writing, Anne Aramand

Graduate Masters Theses

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins are two of the bestselling series of our generation. These series are meeting widespread popularity just as the contemporary feminist debate of: "Can women have it all?" is occurring around the country. Although Twilight and The Hunger Games are not considered overtly feminist texts, they have emerged in a time when women are reexamining the possibility of empowering themselves both in the public and the domestic sphere. Meyer and Collins have introduced female protagonists that deal with precisely this issue.

First, I will be outlining why cultural studies are …

How Ending Gender Violence In India Improves The Nation's International Reputation And Tourism Industry: A Case For Nationalism, Sharon Nambudripad Schiffer

Graduate Masters Theses

As nations have become far more interconnected by means of globalization in the 21st century, the issues that affect one nation often have affects upon others. As India is a nation with a population of more than 1.2 billion, the issues that affect the nation also affect others. As an assault in Delhi, India made international news on December 16, 2012, the international community has become more aware of the incidents of gender-based violence that exist within the country. The ramifications of the international community's knowledge of the assault included a drastic decrease in both its international reputation and its …

Women Under National Socialism: The Case Study Of Melita Maschmann, Lynda Maureen Willett

Graduate Masters Theses

The case study of Melita Maschmann shows that despite the deep manipulation and gender discrimination she was subject to in her youth by National Socialism Maschmann made her own free choices as an adult and chose to zealously absorb its political ideology. The general assumption is that National Socialism, and fascism, were male dominated political ideologies in which women played a passive role, such as that professed by Gertrude Scholtz-Klink. However, many women found National Socialism appealing and became active supporters of its ideals. The purpose of this paper is to explore that appeal and analyze why certain women such …

Gentility And Gender Roles Within The 18th-Century Merchant Class Of Newport, Rhode Island, Nicki Hise

Graduate Masters Theses

The Capt. Thomas Richardson household rose to prominence in Newport, Rhode Island during the community’s golden age of prosperity in the 18th century when Newport quickly became one of the leading seaports in the New World. However, all prosperity halted due to the hardships and damage Newport suffered during the American Revolutionary War. Much of the city’s property and economic success was destroyed at the hands of occupying British troops, and the Rhode Island community was never able to fully recover. Like others in colonial Newport, Capt. Thomas Richardson achieved genteel status as a merchant, distiller, and slave ship owner …