Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Drag Incorporated: The Homonormative Brand Culture Of Rupaul's Drag Race, Nathan T. Workman

Institute for the Humanities Theses

This thesis argues RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR, 2009–) positions itself as a homonormative pathway to LGBTQ+ social inclusion through privileging neoliberal selfbranding and commodity activist practices that reify privileged raced, classed, and sexuality identity markers. Utilizing interdisciplinary and intersectional cultural studies methods to conduct a textual analysis, I examine how RPDR produces homonormative LGBTQ+ identities through the commodification and standardization of drag cultures. In conversation with existing RPDR scholars, I critically survey RPDR’s gender biases and prosocial messaging as an example of brand culture’s reification of hegemony and homonormativity within LGBTQ+ communities. This research considers the …

A Model Of Individual, Relationship, And Societal Factors And Mental Health And Well-Being In Partnered Sexual Minority Women: The Central Role Of Relationship Satisfaction, Charlotte A. Dawson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sexual minority women (SMW) are at increased risk for mental health disorders, substance abuse, and physical health problems compared to heterosexual women. For heterosexual individuals, romantic relationships have been found to be protective against a variety of health issues. Less research, however, has focused on the association between romantic relationships and health in same-sex couples. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential protective nature of being in a relationship for SMW and to test a model investigating the central role of relationship satisfaction in the association between individual, relationship, and societal factors and mental health and well-being …

Holy Stitches Batman, Or, Performative Villainy In Gothic/Am, A. Luxx Mishou

English Theses & Dissertations

Holy Stitches, Batman, or, Performative Villainy in Gothic/am is an interdisciplinary examination of gothic affect and deviant fashion in the narrative construction of villainy. It asks not just what a villain looks like, but what it means to look like a villain. A villain is a character who consciously and purposefully deviates from standards of normativity in order to pursue their own, often criminal, interests. The signifier of “villain” articulates a different purpose – an adversarial relationship with normativity that guides personal identification. Not exceptional to a gendered cultural system, they are informed by the societies in which they operate, …

The Relationship Between Virginia Title 1 Spending And Minority Male Graduation Rates: A Longitudinal Study, Anastacio B. Marin

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Over the past two decades, education funding in the United States has been redistributed to schools that lack sufficient financial resources to meet the needs of students (Boyle & Lee, 2015). The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), was enacted to increase academic accountability and achievement throughout the nation’s public-school systems. Nationwide, there is a persistent achievement gap between historically marginalized students and their affluent peers. This gap is evident in the Commonwealth of Virginia when measuring student proficiency on End of Course Assessments (EOCAs). For schools serving a large …

An Examination Of The Relationship Among Social Services Support, Race, Ethnicity And Recidivism In Justice Involved Mothers, Ne’Shaun Janay Borden

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Historically, women have been ignored and minimized in criminology research and theory, leading to gaps in the literature on justice involved women. In recent years, there has been more focus on women as their rates of involvement in the justice system have increased. Previous studies have found that pathways to justice involvement are different for women and men, with women experiencing higher rates of victimization, sexual abuse and mental health concerns. Further, justice involved women are unique in that over 80% are mothers or primary caregivers for minors. General Strain Theory is used to assert that receiving support should reduce …

A Three Article Study Examining Sexual And Gender Minority Competency Of Health Service Providers, Corrine N. Wilsey

Health Services Research Dissertations

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals endure a number of health disparities, such as higher rates of violence, mental health conditions, and more medical conditions. These disparities are exacerbated by the fact that SGM individuals face issues such as accessing health insurance, social support programs, and health service providers who are knowledgeable about SGM health issues. Certain health service provider governing organizations (i.e., the American Psychological Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association) have recognized the need for guidelines regarding SGM care in recent years and published guidelines for health service providers regarding …

Testing A Model Of Sexual Minority Orientation In Individuals With And Without The Broad Autism Phenotype, Lydia Ruth Qualls

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP) are more likely than individuals with typical development (TD) to report a sexual minority orientation (e.g., Bejerot & Eriksson, 2014; DeWinter et al., 2017; Qualls, Hartmann, & Paulson, 2018). There has been no research on how existing theories of sexual orientation might explain the development or increased likelihood of sexual minority orientation in these individuals. The aim of this study was to operationalize and test the fit of an existing model of sexual orientation (Worthington, Savoy, Dillon, & Vernaglia, 2002) in individuals with TD, BAP, and ASD.

Participants …

A Multi-Dimensional Model Of Sexual Stigma And Relationship Satisfaction Among Female Same-Sex Couples: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Of Rejection Sensitivity, Alexander Thomas Shappie

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sexual stigma is associated with impaired relationship functioning among sexual minority couples and is associated with a variety of negative outcomes that result in an inequitable burden for members of this population. While there is considerable evidence that sexual stigma and minority stress are related to individual health outcomes, less research has examined relationship health. The present study provides an important contribution to the literature because it was the first to offer a dyadic model that tested the relatedness between all three individual-level manifestations of sexual stigma (i.e., enacted, internalized, and perceived sexual stigma) and relationship satisfaction among same-sex couples. …

Possible Self Dynamics Of Community College Students Engaged In 3d Printing In Informal Environments, Lawrence Ralph Nightingale Jr.

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The overall number of students from diverse backgrounds and women that graduate from community college with degrees in high paying Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines is unacceptably low. The number of opportunities to gain exposure to STEM-based expressions of technology to overcome the dearth of exposure in high school is limited in community college. 3D Printing uses computer-controlled machines to build physical objects one layer at a time starting from the bottom up. The computer-controlled nature of 3D Printing provides a low risk, low cost platform to exercise elements of computer programming and engineering.

This study was a …

Black Teachers’ Collective Wisdom As Social Justice Pedagogy: A Black Feminist Narrative Analysis, Jacqueline Cora Boone

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

In this age, 21st century, where social issues surrounding race and gender are impassioned and escalating, black feminists and Black Feminist Theory are leading the charge in bringing salience through activism and engagement. Doing post structural qualitative research aims to dismantle a myth of scientific knowledge that emphasizes triangulation and transferability of research with the use of multiple representations of experience. This research investigates critical issues in qualitative research, specifically the ontological challenge that researchers commonly encountered in depicting experience and social reality. The turn to experience and lived stories has expanded the modes of qualitative research by hearing marginalized …

A Daily Diary Examination Of Microaggressions And Alcohol Use Among Emerging Adult Bisexual Women: The Role Of Alcohol Demand, Sarah J. Ehlke

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Bisexual women are at far greater risk for alcohol use, alcohol-related negative consequences, and alcohol use disorder than heterosexual or lesbian women. However, research on sexual minority women often combines lesbian and bisexual women into a single group. One possible explanation for the increased alcohol use and associated consequences among bisexual women relates to their experiences of discrimination or microaggressions that are daily insults and comments, intentional or unintentional, about their sexuality from both the heterosexual and sexual minority communities. Thus, it is possible that bisexual women drink to cope with microaggressions. Specifically, bisexual women may drink more and have …

Cecily Brown And Maureen Gallace: Teaching Covert Feminism In Public School, Danielle Salyers

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Feminist art consisting of explicit, provocative, and politically charged imagery is common in the university setting and the wider art world. Although this freedom from inhibition certainly functions as a valuable source of inspiration for those fortunate enough to participate in the institution of higher education, content of this nature potentially works against feminism’s goals by excluding the youngest audience at the moment they are forming ideas about gender relations; students at the K-12 level. As a public-school art educator, I am faced with strict censorship policies that make it difficult to include students in the ongoing feminist conversation by …

Human Supremacy As Posthuman Risk, Daniel Estrada

The Journal of Sociotechnical Critique

Human supremacy is the widely held view that human interests ought to be privileged over other interests as a matter of ethics and public policy. Posthumanism is the historical situation characterized by a critical reevaluation of anthropocentrist theory and practice. This paper draws on animal studies, critical posthumanism, and the critique of ideal theory in Charles Mills and Serene Khader to address the appeal to human supremacist rhetoric in AI ethics and policy discussions, particularly in the work of Joanna Bryson. This analysis identifies a specific risk posed by human supremacist policy in a posthuman context, namely the classification of …

From Protecting To Performing Privacy, Garfield Benjamin

The Journal of Sociotechnical Critique

Privacy is increasingly important in an age of facial recognition technologies, mass data collection, and algorithmic decision-making. Yet it persists as a contested term, a behavioural paradox, and often fails users in practice. This article critiques current methods of thinking privacy in protectionist terms, building on Deleuze's conception of the society of control, through its problematic relation to freedom, property and power. Instead, a new mode of understanding privacy in terms of performativity is provided, drawing on Butler and Sedgwick as well as Cohen and Nissenbaum. This new form of privacy is based on identity, consent and collective action, a …

Challenges Faced By Lgbtqiap+ Youth, Sydney Inger

Virginias Collegiate Honors Council Conference

Geography and religion play an integral role in how a family may react to a youth’s gender identity or sexual orientation. Geographic location as well as religious affiliation are predictive of how accepting a family is toward an LGBTIAP+ child, but this is not correlated with every case. When a family is unaccepting, youth can find themselves running away, homeless, in the foster care system, or incarcerated. On top of continuous rejection at home and in the community, youth are left with challenges finding accepting foster families, applying for jobs, and buying homes later in life. There is a strong …

Impacts Of Intersectionality In The Lgbtqiap+ Community, Sydney Inger

Virginias Collegiate Honors Council Conference

Intersectionality plays an integral role in how a family or society reacts to a youth’s identification within the LGBTQIAP+ community and their chances of overcoming societal challenges that may follow. The intersections of geographic location and religion are predictive of how accepting a family is toward an LGBTIAP+ child, but this is not correlated with every case. When a family is unaccepting, youth can find themselves running away, homeless, in the foster care system, or incarcerated. Beyond continuous rejection at home and in the community, youth are left with challenges finding accepting foster families and applying for jobs and homes …

Wait ‘Til You See It From The Back: Twerking As An Expression Of Sexual Agency, Mariah M. Johnson

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper attempts to examine racism, respectability politics, and its relation to twerking. With the use of research by Gilbert Herdt, Stanley Cohen, Marshall McLuhan, Dr. Tamura Lomax, Patricia Hill-Collins, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham and many others to put the use of Black women as modern day folk devils into perspective.

Trigger Warning: Racism, Sexual Assault

Gender-Specific Mentorship For Collegiate Female Band Directors, Laura M. Johnson, Douglas T. Owens

College of Arts and Letters Posters

The purpose of this study was to provide insight on the impact of gender-specific mentorship for aspiring female collegiate wind band conductors. The areas of focus included impactful mentorship methods, identifying mentors, and potential improvements for the wind band field. This research project was approved for an IRB exemption by the Old Dominion University College of Arts and Letters Human Subjects Review Committee. Two Qualtrics surveys were created for this study to reflect the differences in the level of experience of wind band conductors. Female collegiate/university band conductors and current/former music education or conducting graduate students completed Survey A (N …

Predicting The Likelihood Of Dating Violence Perpetration In A Sample Of Women: Unidirectional Versus Bidirectional Violence, Elaine Mae Murphy

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious, pervasive problem affecting over 30% of young adults. Although early research focused on men as perpetrators, it is commonly found that women are just as likely, if not more likely, to perpetrate violence in relationships. Some studies have categorized violent couple dyads into unidirectional (perpetration only) or bidirectional violence (reporting both perpetration and victimization). The current study identified predictors of the two types of violent profiles, specifically among female perpetrators. Included in the regression model were early family variables as dictated by the literature (e.g., child abuse, parental violence, early aggressive behavior, and …

Gender-Specific Mentorship For Collegiate Female Band Directors, Laura M. Johnson

Music Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide insight on the impact of gender-specific role models and mentorship for aspiring female collegiate wind band conductors. The areas of focus included methods of impactful mentorship, identifying role models, and potential improvements for the wind band field. This research project was approved for an IRB exemption by the Old Dominion University College of Arts and Letters Human Subjects Review Committee.

The subjects in this study were separated into two groups. Those that completed Survey A were either female collegiate/university band conductors, current music education or conducting graduate students, or former music education …

Leveraging Maternal Rhetoric, Space, And Experience: La Leche League's Emergence As A Counterpublic, Jenny Lynn Moore

English Theses & Dissertations

For over six decades, the international, mother-to-mother breastfeeding support organization La Leche League (LLL) has been helping women breastfeed successfully. LLL was formed at a time when the dominant ideology of scientific motherhood framed mothers as obedient adherents to physicians’ strict guidelines, which encouraged bottle-feeding and discouraged close mother-child bonds. LLL has been credited with challenging scientific motherhood, transforming medical discourse and practices surrounding infant feeding, and prompting the medical professional to accept mothers’ active involvement in decision-making; yet, paradoxically, it has also constrained mothers by reducing women to their maternal biology, discouraging mothers from participating in the public sphere, …

The House And The Infected Body: The Metonomy Of Resident Evil 7, Alan Mcgreevy, Christina Fawcett, Marc A. Ouellette

English Faculty Publications

Resident Evil 7, in articulating the threat of infectious mold, situates the illness with the feminine: Historical, cultural, and physiological connections between mold and women gives the game license to limit, objectify, and render the female characters monstrous. First-person immersion brings us into contact with the infection, as mold and Molded threaten the buildings of the Bakers, while mold growing in their brains threatens the Bakers themselves. Through the form of infection, the disease is invasively feminine, reflected in the Bakers and their homes.

Creating Jewish Mothers: A Feminist Ethnographic Investigation Of The Mothers Circle Of Coastal Virginia And The Interfaith Parents Circle, Amy K. Milligan

Women's & Gender Studies Faculty Publications

This feminist ethnographic investigation of the Mothers Circle of Coastal Virginia and the Interfaith Parents Circle utilizes the lens of feminist folkloristics to analyze the role that women have had in the foundation and evolution of the groups. Ultimately, this essay argues that the Mothers Circle of Coastal Virginia / Interfaith Parents Circle create a space for women to navigate the tensions faced by southern Jews; that they center Jews-by-choice and non-Jewish mothers parenting Jewish children by creating safe spaces for caregivers; and that, through a horizontal peer education model, these groups offer a sustainable and transferable model of programing …

Going Beyond Book Displays: Providing Safe Spaces For Lgbtq Youth, Lisa Gay-Milliken, Jeffrey Discala

STEMPS Faculty Publications

School libraries should be a space where students of all ages feel welcome and safe. I (Lisa) can speak from experience when I say this is not always the case, not in the 1980s and not today. Even in the school library, a place I now cherish, I was fearful of ridicule and harassment. I was frustrated because I did not see myself—a young, questioning, and confused lesbian—in any of the books. Gay and lesbian characters didn’t exist on those high school shelves. “But that was the 1980s,” you say. It hasn’t gotten much better for much of the LGBTQ …

Writing The Rainbow: Facilitating Undergraduate Teacher Candidates’ Lgbtqia+ Allyship Through Multimodal Writing, Judith Dunkerly-Bean, Julia Morris, Valerie Taylor

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This yearlong qualitative descriptive case study conducted by an interdisciplinary team of education faculty with pre-service elementary teacher candidates sought to disrupt heteronormativity and to increase candidates’ awareness and preparedness for inclusivity with future LGBTQIA+ elementary students. Central to our findings was that in researching and authoring multimodal texts addressing topics and concerns faced by the LGBTQIA+ community for their future classrooms, there was a shift in the perceptions and preparedness of the candidates toward working with children identifying as LGBTQIA+. However, we also encountered resistance and/or apathy that led us to develop an analytical framework for disrupting teacher candidate …