Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Dancing Around And Through Harm: Examining The Lived Experiences Of Women Of Colour With Gender-Based Violence In The Toronto & Kitchener-Waterloo Latin Dance Communities, Lexi Salt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Given the systemic nature of gender-based violence in Canada, as well as the increasing popularity of Latin dance, it is important to better understand the particular and culturally-specific ways gender-based violence manifests itself within the Latin dance community. This research study examines the lived experiences of women of colour with gender-based violence in the Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo Latin dance communities. Two groups of participants took part in semi-structured interviews: 14 women of colour dancers, and six “Power Players”, leaders in the Latin dance community who are in a position of power (e.g., instructors, organizers, DJs). The data was analyzed using …

Limp Wrists, Clenched Fists: An Analysis Of Queer Performance Art As A Tool For Political Resistance, Neha Verma

Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections

This paper explores the use of queer performance art as a tool for community mobilization and resistance to socio-legal oppressions. This essay is grounded in movements for queer liberation in the Global South, racialized working-class queer communities, and queer disability justice. As queer culture and aesthetics are often misappropriated for wider cisheteronormative audiences, this work reminds the revolutionary nature of queer performance art.

Rainbow Writes: Peer-Led Creative Writing Groups’ Potential For Promoting 2slgbtq+ Youth Wellbeing, Ceilidh Harrison

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Though mainstream acceptance for the 2SLGBTQ+ community is on the rise, elevated risks of mental health challenges still pervade this community, particularly for youth growing up in this changing environment. Based on previous literature citing the benefits of creative interventions and youth autonomy, the current study sought to explore the implementation of an online, peer-led creative writing program as a possible means to increase emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing in 2SLGBTQ+ youth. Twenty self-identifying 2SLGBTQ+ youth from across Canada were recruited to form two 10-week, online peer-led creative writing groups titled “Rainbow Writes”. Based on Lerner et al.’s (2003) “Five …

Exploring The Relationship Between Gender, Race, And Space, And Toronto Community Housing Policy, Anita Rachel Ewan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation presents the racial-gendered lived experiences of Black women living in Toronto Community Housing (TCH; subsidized housing). This research found that Black women and their families are disproportionately faced with challenges due to barriers caused by housing policy and procedures that also affect the overall development and wellbeing of their children. It also highlights the ways in which Black women continue to thrive and survive in the face of detrimental and derelict living conditions; accomplished through community development and support initiatives, and fostering strong communities.

This is a qualitative research project that includes an art-based method. Utilizing a feminist …

Bridging The Gaps In Bringing In The Bystander: An Intersectional Approach To Campus-Based Sexual Violence Prevention, Anne E. Rudzinski

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This paper draws upon pilot-test data from an intersectional approach to a sexual violence prevention program on university campuses. While many programs have been created to address the sexual violence epidemic, many focus heavily on white, heterosexual, and cisgender scenarios. This research utilizes the Bringing in the Bystander® workshop, a community-based prevention initiative focused on preventing sexual violence through inspiring students to intervene in pro-social ways. In this analysis, the program maintained the same pedagogical structure, but contained a wider variety of narratives designed to include stories and scenarios about contexts relevant to the experiences of LGBTQ+ and racialized students. …

Newcomer Women And The Workforce: A Critical Policy Analysis Of Employment And Labour Legislation In Ontario, Anuja Jeeva

Social Justice and Community Engagement

This research aims to explore the potential impact of changes in Ontario labour legislation on newcomer women in the workforce, particularly with the changes to both the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and the Labour Relations Act, 1995, under the 2017 legislation of the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act (Bill 148). The research stems from the concern that newcomer women are overrepresented in low wage, temporary, precarious employment, and is informed by studies about the issues newcomer women face in finding stable, secure employment, and the societal forces involved in shaping policy intended to address those issues. The purpose of the …

Exposed: Environmental Politics & Pleasures In Posthuman Times By Stacy Alaimo, Nathan Tebokkel

The Goose

Review of Stacy Alaimo's Exposed: Environmental Politics & Pleasures in Posthuman Times.

The Child To Come: Life After The Human Catastrophe By Rebekah Sheldon, Nathan Tebokkel

The Goose

Review of Rebekah Sheldon's The Child to Come: Life after the Human Catastrophe.

Deep Salt Water By Marianne Apostolides, Jenna Gersie

The Goose

Review of Marianne Apostolide's Deep Salt Water.

Winter Wren By Theresa Kishkan, Vivian M. Hansen

The Goose

Review of Theresa Kishkan's Winter Wren.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans And Queer + (Lgbtq+) Experiences While Accessing Healthcare And Social Services Within Brantford/Brant County, Christine Wildman

Social Justice and Community Engagement

The purpose of the qualitative study was to better understand how Brantford/Brant County LGBTQ+ community members experience accessing healthcare and social services. Over one month I interviewed 8 LGBTQ+ community members and conducted a focus group with 4 Trans and Gender non-conforming individuals. An intersectional feminist and critical Trans politic analysis was used to understand how LGBTQ+ community members experience accessing care. The results reveal that LGBTQ+ community members experience structural violence through oppressive administrative practices. Specifically, heteronormative and homonormative behaviors and assumed heterosexuality and/or gender, which creates a climate where LGBTQ+ people do not feel safe seeking healthcare and/or …

Bye Bye Binary: Exploring Non-Binary Youths' Experiences Of Mental Health, Discrimination, And Community Belongingness, Ellis Furman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In recent years, there has been an increase in research focusing on the impacts of social exclusion and discrimination on the mental health of transgender populations. Despite this, few studies have focused on the experiences of gender non-conforming, or “non-binary” individuals. This community-based participatory research (CBPR) study (N = 10) used the arts-informed method of body mapping, individual interviews, and group discussions to examine non-binary young peoples’ experiences of discrimination in relation to mental health. Participants consisted young people (ages 16-25) living in Waterloo, Ontario. A visual analysis, thematic analysis, and member-checking session were employed to analyze collected data. …

Animals In Irish Literature And Culture Edited By Kathryn Kirkpatrick And Borbála Faragó, Geneviève Pigeon

The Goose

Review of Kathryn Kirkpatrick and Borbála Faragó's Animals in Irish Literature and Culture.

Twerking, Alcohol, And Fame: The Construction Of Disney Celebrities In The Media, Carla R. López

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The mass media expanded intrusion of cameras into the public and private lives of celebrities has contributed to the public's fascination with Hollywood celebrities. Specifically, this cultural obsession has been increasingly centered on female celebrity's increased deviancy and criminal behaviours. Although numerous studies have been completed discussing the cultural fixation of Hollywood celebrity culture and the audience’s attachment to these celebrities, few have provided insight into the media construction of cultural narratives surrounding Disney celebrities. To fill the gap in the literature, I will assess how female celebrity deviance and sexuality is constructed in the media by examining the media …

Sugar For Sale: Constructions Of Intimacy In The Sugar Bowl, Emily Zimmermann

Laurier Undergraduate Journal of the Arts

No abstract provided.

Journey With No Maps: A Life Of P.K. Page By Sandra Djwa, Mckay Mcfadden

The Goose

Review of Journey With No Maps: A Life of P.K. Page by Sandra Djwa.

Negotiating Masculinity: How Infertility Impacts Hegemonic Masculinity, Myscha Burton

Laurier Undergraduate Journal of the Arts

No abstract provided.

Female Canadian Murderers: The Public Trials Of Karla Homolka And Terry-Lynn Mcclintic Through Documentary Representation, Emma Smith

Cultural Analysis and Social Theory Major Research Papers

This paper critically examines the production of violent female offenders by analyzing their visual representations in two Canadian television investigative documentaries created fifteen years apart. Karla Homolka (offending in 1990-1992) and Terri-Lynne McClintic (transgressing in 2009) were both responsible for committing horrific and unpardonable crimes resulting in significant media coverage throughout Canada.

Despite some similarities and consistencies in both documentaries, anomalies and disparities in coverage serve as the center of my analysis. Against features of both substance and style, a comparative analysis of the documentaries with features closely associated with the production of reality television, I contend that both documentaries …

Pro-Anorexia/Bulimia Interactions Online: Problematizing Complex Cultural Phenomena, Nicole D. Schott

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In the West, and increasingly globally, individuals, particularly women, are fixated on weight loss, driven by the goal of achieving a culturally-desired, and aggressively marketed, "skinny" female physique. There are online forums where individuals refer to themselves or their eating disorders as "pro-ana" and "pro-mia". Individuals who post on these sites both align with, and challenge, what medical and mental health professionals define as serious mental health problems that result in severe, sometimes fatal, medical complications. This thesis specifically focuses on interactions with, and within, the pro-ana/mia culture on the social media websites Tumblr and YouTube. Over sixteen months, and …

The “Reproductive Destiny” Of Women: Constructing Women Solely As Reproductive Entities In Oral Contraceptive Medical Texts, Andrea Carson

Cultural Analysis and Social Theory Major Research Papers

This major research paper analyzes the representation of women and sexual reproduction in Western oral contraceptive medical texts. Drawing on previous feminist and sociological literature on the medicalization of women’s sexuality and reproduction, I suggest that these texts draw upon a particular discourse that confines/restricts the social construction of women as reproductive entities. This study is based on a discourse analysis of 10 oral contraceptive medical texts, published between 1965 and 2007. Drawing upon the theoretical frameworks of feminism and medicalization, I interrogate how womanhood and motherhood become inexplicably linked and how women are homogenised based on their reproductive capacities. …

'The Aids Is Coming And There Is Nowhere To Run...': Culture, Gender, And The Politics Of Kisongo Maasai Women And Girls' Vulnerability To Hiv/Aids (Immune Deficiency, Tanzania), V. Corey Wright

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis outlines the research findings and implications for practice generated from the, “A Gender Issue: Reducing the Vulnerability of Kisongo Maasai Girls to HIV/AIDS” project, which was a participatory action research (PAR) study in collaboration with the Kisongo Maasai in Northern Tanzania. The objectives of the study were to explore the factors that may contribute to girls’ vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, and develop a culturally-specific framework that may contribute to effective design and administration of program and policy-level interventions. The findings of this study illustrate the ‘politics of health’ that determine girls’ vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. It presents a cultural analysis …

Women's Agency In The Development Of Hybrid Social Spaces: The Trials Of Sarah Ballenden And Maria Thomas In Canada's Red River Colony, 1850 And 1863 (Manitoba), Sharron A. Fitzgerald

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In 1850 and 1863, the British Hudson's Bay Company's Red River colony (current day Winnipeg) witnessed two sensationalized lawsuits. These lawsuits focused on two women of mixed First Nations and British extraction, namely Sarah Ballenden and Maria Thomas. Using these legal cases as a backdrop, this study aims to destabilize the notion that British claims to power and authority in the "contact zones" in the Red River colony were "fixed" and that women were the passive victims of history. I argue that British women developed defensive strategies based on their situated knowledges of social and spatial relations in that place. …

Sexual Consent In A Gay, Lesbian, And Bisexual Population: An Exploratory Study, Dahlia Marie Hallal

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Recently, researchers have begun to study how consent to sexual activity is negotiated between men and women in romantic relationships. Much of this research has focused on heterosexual relationships where factors affecting the process of consent include differential socialization between men and women. Consequently, the literature to date is arguably heterosexist in nature and evidently indirectly oppressive to individuals not identifying as heterosexual. Further, clinicians addressing issues of sexual consent have no literature to draw upon when working with gay males, lesbian women, or bisexual (GLB) individuals, potentially assuming heterosexist dynamics. Conducting research within a GLB population on sexual consent …

Quest For Balm In Gilead: Disclosure Patterns Of Church-Affiliated Family Members With Relatives Who Have 'Come Out' As Lesbian Or Gay, Margaret Elizabeth Myers

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The researcher conducted a study between September 2005 and March 2006 that explored the disclosure experiences of church-affiliated relatives of lesbians and gays in their mainline church communities. The researcher believed that findings would potentially contribute to the provision of pastoral care in church communities that would improve the life experiences of those family members whose relatives are lesbian or gay. The study used a combined qualitative and quantitative approach. Interviews took place with 16 family members to discover their disclosure experiences, and an additional 54 family members completed a 30-item questionnaire that sought additional information about disclosure experienced. The …