Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

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. …

Out: Exploring Space Through The Indefinability Of Queerness, Jessica Halee

Honors College Theses

Heteronormativity acts as the default. It works to systemically make itself something that is unquestionable and assumed, and standard, thus romantic and sexual relationships between men and women are the norm (Faderman). AS such, those who live on the "opposite" side of the spectrum from heterosexuality, LGBT/queer people, are often viewed as the obvious "other." This creates an entrenched binary between those who are straight and those who are not. But this binary is much more complicated. There is not just heterosexuality and then the opposite of heterosexuality , which is presumed to be gayness, queerness, or anything that functions …

The Legacy Of British Rule On Lgbt Rights In Jamaica And The Cayman Islands, Zachary Stewart

Master's Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between British colonial influence and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights in the Caribbean. Comparing the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory, and Jamaica, an independent former colony of the United Kingdom, the situation for LGBT people is evaluated. While Jamaica has serious abuses and a concerning situation for the human rights of LGBT people, the Cayman Islands’ LGBT community’s position is far less concerning. Owing to its continued connection to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Cayman Islands’ LGBT rights situation is much less dire. Through British influence via …

Homophobia, Human Rights And Diplomacy, Douglas Janoff

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Multilateral human rights diplomacy is a product of the triad relationship between intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), and states. This paper examines the emergence of LGBT rights within the context of the UN human rights system. Recently, the global debates around LGBT rights have become much more public and increasingly complex: Ministers, leaders, and even the UN Secretary-General routinely call on states to do more to protect sexual minorities. Countries such as Uganda and Russia are labeled “homophobic” — not just by human rights activists, but by other states. These “accusations” are delivered both bilaterally and in multilateral …

Preparing Social Workers For Practice With Lgbt Populations Affected By Substance Use: Perceptions From Students, Alumni And Service Providers, Michael P. Dentato Phd, Msw, Brian Kelly, Michael R. Lloyd, Nikki Busch

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Trends in the field of service among those with alcohol and other drug addictions highlight the urgent need for schools of social work to effectively train students to serve clients with substance use disorders, and have cultural humility to effectively serve disproportionately affected LGBT consumers. Online surveys and interviews examined perceptions of graduate social work students and alumni in a certified alcohol and drug counselor program, along with several service providers within an urban setting in the US. Results indicated that students and alumni did not feel adequately prepared through coursework to practice with LGBT populations affected by substance use, …

Lgbt Microaggressions In Counselor Education Programs, Sarah Bryan

Dissertations

Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people report they experience microaggressions, small daily insults and indignities that affect their well-being. For LGBT students, microaggressions have been shown to affect well-being and academic engagement. In order to serve LGBT students and model affirming behaviors, counselor educators must be able to recognize and address LGBT microaggressions when they occur; however, there is currently a paucity of research on LGBT microaggressions in counselor education programs. Most studies on attitudes toward LGBT people in such programs neglect the experiences of LGBT students. Moreover, the few existing studies of the experiences of LGBT …

Girl Crush: Liminal Identities And Lesbian Love In Children's Cartoons, Madison Bradley

Media and Communication Studies Summer Fellows

A textual analysis of the cartoon Steven Universe, this project takes a semiotic approach to explore anti-essentialist messages of gender identity. I argue that within the mainstream media, the cartoon expresses prosocial messages about gender by representing nonbinary characters and gender fluid themes. Using children’s media studies, queer studies, and reception studies, I investigate how the show portrays liminal identities. In particular, I focus on how lesbian existence and gender fluidity are simultaneously normalized and othered through the text’s visuals and dialogue. Critically analyzing the ways in which the media represents queerness as ‘too adult,’ this study reveals that children’s …

Xinghun: A "Cooperative Marriage" Ties Chinese Lesbians And Gays, Rongdian Zhu

Master's Projects and Capstones

In modern China, although the normality of homosexuality has been officially admitted, misconception and discrimination against homosexuals are still prevalent in the mainstream of Chinese society. Chinese LGBT people endure two main sources of pressure: one is from the external and another is from the internal. From the outside, Chinese LGBT people bear the suppression made by the normality of sexual orientation and the hegemonic culture of heterosexuality, in particular heterosexual marriage. And such discrimination is still occurring now in our society. LGBT people themselves are heavily tortured by the pain and pressure of self-denial. A lot of them cannot …

Lgbt Student Experiences In Boston Public Schools: A Case Study, David Geyer

Honors College Theses

While the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community has overcome great obstacles in its fight for equality, the newest challenge has become the poor mental health of the LGBT youth. In this study, the experiences of a recently graduated LGBT Boston Public Schools student were investigated through qualitative research methods. Interviews with the student were analyzed to determine what factors contributed to his overall positive experiences and mental health as a bisexual student attending Boston Public Schools. The showing of support from his mother and peers, along with the presence of a Gay-Straight Alliance club at his school positively affected …

A Conversation With Jamie Hoag

LGBTQ Alumni Oral History Project

This conversation represents an oral history interview with a Holy Cross alum who graduated in 1998.

Interview keywords: Outfront, Chaplain's Office, Catholicism, religious, relationships, student involvement, government

A Conversation With Christopher Brown

LGBTQ Alumni Oral History Project

This conversation represents an oral history interview with a Holy Cross Alum who graduated in 2004. Highlights of this conversation include content on the interviewee’s transition to the Holy Cross community, extracurricular involvements, spiritual life, and career in student services at St. Benedictine College in New York state.

Interview keywords: Allies, ABiGaLe, Office of Student Affairs

A Conversation With Mark Thivierge

LGBTQ Alumni Oral History Project

This conversation represents an oral history interview with a Holy Cross alum who graduated in 1970.

Interview keywords: social movements, 1960's, activism

A Conversation With Michael Mccarthy

LGBTQ Alumni Oral History Project

This conversation represents an oral history interview with a Holy Cross alum who graduated in 1973.

Interview keywords: theater, law, Fenwick Scholar, Vietnam War

A Conversation With Suzanne Lamoureux Kriesant

LGBTQ Alumni Oral History Project

This conversation represents an oral history interview with a Holy Cross alum who graduated in 1998. Highlights of this conversation include content on being bisexual at Holy Cross.

Interview keywords: ABiGale, bisexuality

A Conversation With George Grattan

LGBTQ Alumni Oral History Project

This conversation represents an oral history interview with a Holy Cross alum who graduated in 1991. Highlights of this conversation include George's reflections on the Holy Cross campus climate during the early 1990's, bisexuality, and the coming out process.

Interview keywords: closet, college, coming out, family, Jesuit, professional life, study abroad, support

Does All The Excitement Really End At Marriage? An Assessment Of Same-Sex Marriage Legislation And Lgbt Activism, Kelsie Diaz

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the legalization of same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships with LGBT political participation and activism. There has long been a debate between several groups of LGBT activists on what the legalization of same-sex marriage will do to LGBT activism. Will achieving same-sex marriage ultimately hinder the movement or will it open new realms of possibility for change? This study aims to survey the arguments offered by a few prevalent sides of the same-sex marriage debate, then provide empirical information as support for one of those claims. This study …

A Conversation With Connelly Akstens

LGBTQ Alumni Oral History Project

This conversation represents an oral history interview with a Holy Cross alum who graduated in 1968. Highlights of this conversation include reflections on living as a closeted transgender person at Holy Cross in the 1960's and her transgender outreach efforts following her time at Holy Cross.

Interview keywords: activists, academics, basketball, closet, colleges, coming out, communities, compartmentalisation, Digital Transgender Archive, conferences, educators, free inquiry, intersex, Jesuit, musicians, provision of information, relationships, Roman Catholicism, sports, sportspersons, students, transgender community, transgender identity, transgender people, writers

Rehearsing Justice: Theatre, Sexuality And The Sacred, Victoria Rue

Faculty Publications, Social Sciences

The theatre actor’s process in a rehearsal hall is reality and metaphor. It can be a rehearsal for justice, where we can live freely. In this laboratory the actor becomes all of us. Like the actor, we inhabit our bodies and our sexualities, sometimes as spiritual practice, or as sacred and creative, even as incarnations. In particular, women’s bodies remember what it is like to be no-body and what it is like to be a some-body. The texts of women’s bodies contain their history of pain, wellness and illness.In creating a character, the actor creates a biography, an inner life, …

Liberate Or Assimilate? A Comparative Study Of Post-Transition Lgbt Activism In Spain And Russia, Austin Jay Lehn

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College