Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

"The Least Of These": Towards An Integrated Queer Of Color Critique Of The Prison Industrial Complex, Jahqwahn J. Watson

Senior Independent Study Theses

The prison is a site of social death and death-making. the technology of social death originates in the American institution of chattel slavery and has reemerged in the prison industrial complex. The text Prison and Social Death approaches social death in prisons through the lens of reproductive justice, but the author does so in a way that neglects the influence of race in one’s prison experience. Using the lens of necropolitics, I seek to understand how the markers of race, gender, and sexuality compound to produce experiences unique to the black woman/queer/and trans folk in the prison. Necropolitics contend that …

Laughing Against White Supremacy: Marginalized Performance Of Resistance Comedy, Caren Holmes

Senior Independent Study Theses

This study examines the political influence of charged standup comedy as a form of protest in resistance movements against white supremacy. It examines the experiences of seven marginalized comics who confront oppression through this non-traditional and humor based form of protest. Over the course of two months I conducted and filmed eight in-depth, semi-formal interviews with seven comics of color; six women and one trans-non-binary person, as well as an academic who specializes in studying the production of “charged humor.” I attended more than 30 standup shows and filmed several performances. In my analysis I explore four major themes, (1) …

La Transgresora Fetichista: Los Efectos De La Dictadura Franquista En La Evolución Del Discurso Sexual Español, Marisa Lee Iola Yerkes

Senior Independent Study Theses

Para una perspectiva teórica del feminismo interseccional, analizo tres obras subversivas sobre la época franquista/posfranquista hacía la transición hacia la democracia en España. Este análisis interseccional toma en cuenta la variedad de factores que contribuyen a la discriminación que afronta una persona. Las obras analizadas son dos novelas (Las hogueras de Concha Álos y Las edades de Lulú de Almudena Grandes) y una película (El Calentito de Chus Gutiérrez). Estos tres trabajos revelan las expresiones de la sexualidad de las mujeres que vivieron durante estos períodos y demuestran un cambio significativo en el discurso sexual español.

La primera …

Oppressive Gender Roles In Crime Novels, Alexis Hardee

Bridges: A Journal of Student Research

Throughout history, women have been perceived as unequal or lower-class in comparison to men. This misogynistic opinion makes its way into movies, history books, politics, mass media, novels, music, and employment. Mystery novels are no exception. In this essay, I will specifically target British mystery novels that include these gender stereotypes. The works I chose to research were written by three of the "Queens of Crime" who were extremely famous and influential authors: The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham, The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, and A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh. This analysis determines …

Consciousness Engendered Throughout Lena Dunham's "Girls" : Female Subjectivity Vs The Problem Of Post-Feminism, Heeyeon Kim

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The inequality between genders is an idea still endorsed in everyday life throughout media, political discourse, and relationships. Gender discrimination spurs feminists to strive for equity and has become the motivation for the changing and progressive message in their writings and artworks. Lena Dunham’s HBO TV series Girls is such a work and is distinctly unique when compared to Hollywood’s presentation of the standard image of women, and thus, has been used as an initiation into the study of post-feminism and the contemporary media. Dunham’s attitudes and ideas shown in Girls has the same vigorous feminist movement resembling the rebelliousness …

Sexism Makes Me Sick : An Examination Of Potential Mediators In The Link Between Sexism And Women's Mental Health, Kristin L. Mclaughlin

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

It has been well established in the literature that discrimination is related to negative mental health outcomes. Consistent with this research, studies have found women’s exposure to sexist discrimination is associated with a host of mental health problems. Moreover, research on women’s exposure to a specific form of sexism called sexual objectification suggests links with specific psychological outcomes related to poor body image and eating problems. Based on a theoretical framework informed by system justification theory, this study attempted to unify and extend research on perceived sexism and objectification theory by investigating benevolent sexism and self-objectification as potential mediators of …

Queer Youth Activism : Generational Change In The Us Lgbtq Movement, Megan K. Murphy

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The past several decades have witnessed rapid social and cultural change around LGBTQ individuals and sexual politics in the United States. As a result, LGBTQ youth are coming of age in a socio-historical context characterized by increasing normalization and visibility of LGBTQ people and less overt homophobia where LGBTQ individuals live their lives largely beyond the closet. In this dissertation, the unique characteristics of this post-closet movement generation are explored. I identify three core tensions faced by the post-closet generation: navigating restrictive at risk/victim frames, negotiating identities in the context of growing ambivalence about traditional gay/lesbian categories, and carving out …

Mediating And Moderating Factors Of The Relationship Between Sexual Orientation And Eating Pathology And Body Satisfaction In Sexual Minority And Heterosexual Men, Andrea Denae Murray

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Most research on body image and disordered eating has focused largely on women, as women are at higher risk than men for eating disorders. In recent years research has revealed that men are at increasing risk for these outcomes, especially as the ideal male body represented in media images and therefore frequently internalized among men is becoming so lean and muscular as to make it very difficult for most men to realistically achieve. Sexual minority men in particular have been found to be at increased risk for body dissatisfaction, body shame, and disordered eating than their heterosexual counterparts. The research …

The Partners Of Transgender People : Gender, Sexuality, And Embodiment In Relationships Through Transition, Carey Jean Sojka

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In this dissertation, I explore the gendered, sexual, and embodied negotiations of the social world by thirty-five partners of transgender people as their significant other experienced various aspects of gender transition. This research shows the ways that people peripheral to a gender transition can be intimately impacted by it. Participants in this study demonstrated shifted understandings of their own and their partner’s gender and sexuality (i.e. Jason Cromwell’s (1999) transsituated perspective), as well as shifted understandings of gender and sexuality on a structural level, thus expanding our understanding of transgender studies by addressing how the perspectives of intimate partners of …

Lobbying To Lawsuits : Optimistic Biases And Tactical Transitions In The Movement For Lgbt Equality, Katherine Zuber

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This research examines the question of strategic choice in the context of the gay and lesbian rights movement. Although social movements often combine legislative, electoral and legal strategies to effect change, systematic legal efforts on behalf of gay rights did not emerge until well after a concerted lobbying and legislative campaign arose. Why did a politically powerless group seeking rights turn to litigation much later than we might have expected? A targeted case study of gay activism in Boston confirms that political opportunity is an important external factor that shapes strategic choice. However, the impact of these structural factors is …

Checking Privilege At The Door: Men’S Reflections On Masculinity In Women’S And Gender Studies Course, Rachel Schmitz, Emily Kazyak

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Certain types of masculinity undergird gender inequality, but different contexts may encourage individuals to conceptualize gender in new and unique ways. Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) university courses support this for women, but less is known about men’s experiences. Through an analysis of interview data from 15 men who have taken WGS courses, we ask: What do men experience in the WGS classroom and how do men perceive that their experiences in WGS courses shape their conceptualizations of gender and gender relations? Men described developing their understandings of gender inequality after taking a WGS course and they applied this knowledge …

Finding Freedom From Blindness, Elisa Klaassen

Student Scholarship – English

This piece explores the motif of vision that is used repeatedly throughout J.M. Coetzee's novel Waiting for the Barbarians. Hegel's master-slave dialectic theory can help readers understand the power struggles that are found throughout the novel, as demonstrated through the motif of vision and blindness.

Restoration, Shannon M. Slaight-Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The marks I make in clay have different characteristics, and the physical mark of one’s fingertips or visual record of the hand is personal and intimate. This visible activity is the evidence of my constant presence and control within each object. Its repetitive meditation produces a private relief from my persistent anxieties. This exploration for me is not only visual, but also physical. This is the start of my infatuation with the idea of pattern. It has its own discrete visual language and modes of communication; and through my research I am developing a method of intercommunication.

Poison In Pink, Sydney V. Cook

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Humans slather, spray, mist, and cleanse their bodies with personal care products like lotion, hairspray, cologne, and shampoo every day. Our cupboards are stocked full of them, but few of us understand what is in those jars and bottles. We trust that if it’s on the shelf at the store, it’s safe. However, this is not always the case, and many personal care products contain chemicals that are harmful to human and environmental health.

My multi-disciplinary Environmental Studies thesis project combines evidenced-based research, interviews, nonfiction narrative, and science communication to create part of a book manuscript intended to educate general …

The Emergence Of The Feminist Fatale In American Film Noir, Anne Dennon

All Master's Theses

The femme fatale, a quasi-eternal figure of female transgression and retributory violence, has gradually entered popular culture’s symbolic lexicon as representative of mainstream feminism and postmodern femininity. Tracing the development of the femme fatale into a feminist pop culture icon necessitates establishing her sociopolitical status in the late modern era through her presence in Victorian sensational literature. The femme’s translation from the Victorian context to the American mediascape presages her evolving presence in three cinematic eras: classic film noir, neo-conservative retro noir, and millennial neo-noir. Feminist film criticism tends to identify the femme fatale as a protofeminist, a productive transgressor …

The Parton Paradox: A History Of Race And Gender In The Career Of Dolly Parton, Lindsey L. Hammers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With a career that has spanned over five decades, country music artist Dolly Parton has continually redefined her image and her music to remain relevant. By incorporating the musical and lyrical stylings of disco and other popular music genres into her songs, Parton moved beyond music’s color line to increase her popularity as an artist. This thesis shows how Parton established a distinct career that catered to different audiences as she traversed the musical color line and repackaged what feminism looked like to country music fans during the Women’s Movement of the 1960s. Placing Parton’s actions in conversation with music’s …

The Enigmatic "Cross-Over" Leadership Life Of Dr. Mary Mcleod Bethune (1875-1955), Greer Charlotte Stanford-Randle

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The dissertation is a deep study of an iconic 20^th century female, African American leader whose acclaim developed not only from her remarkable first generation post-Reconstruction Era beginnings, but also from her mid-century visibility among Negroes and some Whites as a principal spokesperson for her people. Mary Jane McLeod Bethune arose from the Nadir- the darkest period for Negroes after the Civil War and three subsequent US Constitutional Amendments. She led thousands of Negro women, despite social adversity, to organize around their own aspirations for improved social and material lives among America’s diverse citizens., i.e. “the melting pot.” The …

The Experience Of Qigong Among Women Cancer Survivors, Jennifer Sveund

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Research has shown that qigong can be beneficial for a variety of health related conditions; However, evidence suggests that in the United States, a lack of well designed clinical trials limits the efficacy of qigong in the context of cancer treatment. Research has indicated that careful consideration should be given to the design of randomized control trials using qigong due to the conflicting philosophical methodologies. In the United States, qigong has been under investigated, particularly lacking are qualitative inquiries into qigong use and cancer survivorship. This study is an interpretative phenomenological inquiry that sought to understand women’s experience of qigong …

Cruzando Fronteras De Género(S): La Dislocación Del "Bildungsroman" Y La Construcción Política Del Sujeto, Silvia Roig

The Coastal Review: An Online Peer-reviewed Journal

This study shows that Aurora Bertrana’s novels subvert the traditional Bildungsroman and uses the techniques of the Novel of Female Development with (auto) biographical characteristics. The core of my analysis is in the friction, the disruption and the confrontation between the subject and the social system represented by the family, the school and the community. Bertrana’s novels underline that men, similarly to women, are under a strong pressure to adopt a specific role according to heterosexual norms. Bertrana’s work demonstrate that women writers, like men, can introduce social, cultural and political innovations and experiment with a new literature genre.

Profound Barriers To Basic Cancer Care Most Notably Experienced By Uninsured Women: Historical Note On The Present Policy Considerations, Amy M. Alberton, Kevin M. Gorey

Social Work Publications

America is considering the replacement of Obamacare with Trumpcare. This historical cohort revisited pre-Obamacare colon cancer care among people living in poverty in California (N = 5,776). It affirmed a gender by health insurance hypothesis on nonreceipt of surgery such that uninsured women were at greater risk than uninsured men. Uninsured women were three times as likely as insured women to be denied access to such basic care. Similar men were two times as likely. America is bound to repeat such profound health care inequities if Obamacare is repealed. Instead, Obamacare ought to be retained and strengthened in all states, …

Book Review: Absent Aviators: Gender Issues In Aviation, Janet K. Tinoco, Genderie S. Rivera

Publications

This document is Dr. Tincoco's review of Absent Aviators: Gender Issues in Aviation edited by Donna Bridges, Jane Neal-Smith, and Albert J. Mills. Ashgate Publishing Limited, Farnham, 2014. 233 pp. $129.95.

The New Wine: Spirit, Transformation, And Gender In The U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, 1960-1990, Jacob Aaron Waggoner

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Charismatic Catholic Renewal (CCR)—known in Mexico as the Renovación Cristiana en el Espíritu Santo—saw Roman Catholic believers experience ecstatic spiritual practices native to neo-Pentecostalism. At first highly ecumenical, CCR emerged from loosely organized prayer meetings in the late 1960s and early 1970s to become a coherent movement by around 1975. Like many developments after the Second Vatican Council, CCR represented an effort to revitalize the Church by re-centering and empowering the laity. Reflecting a broader reactionary shift in the 1980s, the Renewal gradually shed its potentially liberating elements. This transition was especially notable in the context of the U.S.-Mexico …

Fertility And Reproduction's Niche: Human Sexual Diversity, Samuel W. Austin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abstract: Biologically exploring the origins and forms of human sexuality is of paramount importance. Scientific research has indicated that homosexuality was linked to reproduction, fertility, and adaptive child caring strategies, traits that seem to display cross-cultural similarities. This suggests that sexual diversity may be one of human’s earliest adaptations. While most of the previous research has been on individuals of European descent, little research on Native American populations has been completed to test whether these patterns continue in their population.

The research presented here tests the Sexually Antagonistic Hypothesis for Male Homosexuality, Fraternal Birth Order Effect, and childhood atypical gender …

Back To Africa In The 21st Century: The Cultural Reconnection Experiences Of African American Women, Marcia Tate Arunga

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the lived experiences of 18 African American women who went to Kenya, East Africa as part of a Cultural Reconnection delegation. A qualitative narrative inquiry method was used for data collection. This was an optimal approach to honoring the authentic voices of African American women. Eighteen African American women shared their stories, revelations, feelings and thoughts on reconnecting in their ancestral homeland of Africa. The literature discussed includes diasporic returns as a subject of study, barriers to the return including the causes of historic trauma, and how Black women as culture bearers …

Flora Tristan’S Plural Identities In "Peregrinaciones De Una Paria": Challenging And Reproducing Existing Power Structures, Nancy Tille-Victorica

The Coastal Review: An Online Peer-reviewed Journal

This article analyses the ways in which Franco-Peruvian author Flora Tristan crosses the border of her plural identities in her famous travel book Peregrinaciones de una paria (1837). It especially looks at how she performs as a male in certain situations and how these are generally associated with her French identity. It also considers her identification as a woman and how it is linked to her Peruvian identity. These examinations reveal how Tristan actually redefines herself as a pariah and how her definition differs from that of outcast imposed on her in France prior to her departure for Peru.

Femme Fatales And The Shifting Gender Norms Of The 19th Century, Esther M. Stuart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project seeks to explore female monstrosity, specifically the femme fatale, in Gothic literature and its reflection of the shifting gender norms of the nineteenth century. The late 1790s experienced a distinct narrowing of female gender roles. While authors like Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Hays publish during the eighteenth century, a backlash against such feminist voices took hold as a resurgence of spheres ideology and more traditional gender norms came into vogue. This particular shift in attitudes towards female gender norms is reflected in Scottish poet Anne Bannerman’s work as well as English novelist Charlotte Dacre’s Zofloya. Both authors’s works …

Female Art And Artisans In Edith Wharton’S The House Of Mirth, The Custom Of The Country, And “Roman Fever”, Julia B. Welch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In early twentieth century old and new New York social circles, the marriage market’s commodification of women acted as the controlling factor for relationships, female power, and personal identity. When considering Wharton’s works for the first-hand viewpoint that she provided of the marriage market, it becomes clear that her interest in art plays heavily into the way women comport themselves within her novels. In order to discuss this relationship in Edith Wharton’s works, I’ve created terms that delineate the various ways female characters respond to the pressures of the marriage market. The best way to analyze Wharton’s women is by …

American Culture Of Servitude: The Problem Of Domestic Service In Antebellum Literature And Culture, Andrea Holliger

Theses and Dissertations--English

My dissertation argues that domestic service alters a culture’s relationship to the laboring body. I theorize this relationship via popular literary and cultural antebellum texts to explore the effects of servitude as a trope. Methodologically, each chapter reads a literary text in context with social and legal paradigms to 1) demonstrate that servitude undergirds myriad articulations of antebellum power and difference; 2) show how servitude inflects the construction of these paradigms; and 3) trace Americans’ changing relationship to the concept of servitude from the Early Republic through the Civil War.

I begin with James Fenimore Cooper’s The Pioneers (1823), exploring …

How The Climate Of Opinion In States And Countries Influences Gay Rights, John Poe

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

This dissertation examines attitudes on same-sex marriage and how personal predispositions toward support and the climate of opinion interact to help create attitudes. Over the past few decades, support for gay rights has increased dramatically in the United States and many other countries around the world. I argue that, while the set of basic personal determinants of attitudes toward homosexuality and gay rights stays roughly the same, the impact of such determinants changes over time and space. The framework used in this dissertation draws on attitudinal and political psychology, political sociology and theories of contextual effects. I argue that over …

The Lactating Man, Mathilde Cohen

Mathilde Cohen