Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons^™

Khookha Mcqueer: Advocacy For Non-Binary Queerness And Lgbtqi+ Representation In Tunisia, Jake Gomez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In 2018, the Tunisian government arrested 127 Tunisians on the basis of suspicions regarding non-heterosexual and non-cisgendered acts. Tunisian civil society centralizes its core missions around advocating for the rights of LGBT individuals through attempts to target the measures that allow for such unlawful imprisonment: Articles 230 and 226 of the Tunisian Constitution. But within the undiscussed gaps between laws, cultures of homo and transphobia, and civil society lies alternative measures for non-linear forms of queer advocacy. This research engages with the work of Khookha McQueer -- a Tunisian LGBTQI+ rights activist -- and documents conversations had with Khookha regarding …

Licentious Legends: A Folklore Podcast, Alexandra L. Haynes

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Licentious Legends was created out of a need to both understand and educate about sexual contemporary legends; not just what they are and what defines them, but the effect that they have on those who experience them. The purpose of this podcast is not to shame, but to take what has been found and educate about the joys and dangers of these legends. These legends range from the everyday (such as "The Hook"), to legends about a young man killing himself with a plunger. In an effort to gather as many examples as they could, Faye interviewed several of their …

Beware The Cat In The Hat: How Children's Literature Is The Modern Form Of Segregation, Lucy Kebler

Celebration of Learning

Every person grows up exposed to children’s literature. Unfortunately, much of the children’s literature that is published is racially discriminatory, historically inaccurate, blatantly offensive, or pure propaganda. The research for this presentation began in Augustana College’s library and has transitioned to a much broader space: The Saint Louis Country Library. Through this research, it has become obvious that diverse literature is hard to find and is often marketed as only readable for those in the minority race depicted. Many libraries mark literature that contains African Americans, as to help “guide” readers in their selections. Books labeled in this way make …

Jesse Routte: Using Style To Signify Injustice, Emma Nordmeyer

Race, Ethnicity, & Religion

Jesse Routte, first African-American student to graduate Augustana, made national headlines in 1947 for wearing a turban on a visit to Alabama. In this paper, I explore how Routte's stylistic choices uprooted and questioned the racism of the Jim Crow era.

The Formation Of Queer Consciousness In Gay, Latin, Men: How Experiences Affect The Lives Of Queer Latinos, Daniel Leon-Barranco

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

I am interested in investigating the question: How does experience, in a Latinx environment, affect the “coming out” process for queer, Latinx, men? Additionally, the aim of this research is to discover whether Queer Latinx peoples retain their cultural identity/consciousness or abandon it. This project is relevant to analyze whether Latinx culture impacts peoples to abstain from or retain their cultural identity/consciousness. I also hope that this research can prove whether an amalgamation of standpoint theory and Situated Knowledge can come together to affect the process of (re)claiming identity; as the Latinx man claims their sexual identity. This research aims …

Invisible Intersex: How Discourse Serves To Perpetuate Violence, Zoe A. Philippou

Student Publications

Critical discourse analysis surrounding intersex individuals makes it is clear that the violence against intersex individuals stems from a sense of othering due to the silence surrounding the public discussion and representation of intersex individuals. Additionally, the current discourse serves to create a circular argument of blame instead of serving to decrease the violence done upon intersex individuals. This research serves to explore the discourse surrounding intersex individuals and propose social and institutional ways of working to end the stigma surrounding intersexuality.

La Situación Actual Del Lenguaje Inclusivo De Género En Valparaíso, Chile, Madison Liistro

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the last three or so years, the concept of a gender inclusive language has begun to take form in Chile for the first time. The juxtaposition of the prevalence of gender in the Spanish language with a society that is slowly learning to accept the existence of gender in more than two forms and the equal recognition and treatment of people of all genders is striking. This phenomenon has led to proposals for an inclusive language in various government institutions and activist groups. These proposals vary from using the letter x or e to replace the gendered a/o in …

Indonesia’S “Fresh Meat”: Lgbtq Activism Amid Political Homophobia And Transphobia, Catherine Cho

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In 2016, Indonesia—the fourth most populous country in the world—received international attention for what the Human Rights Watch calls an LGBTQ “Crisis” (2016). Sparked by high ranking officials publicly declaring homophobic and transphobic sentiments, a wave of intolerance, fear, and hate disseminated throughout the country. Gender and sexual minorities became “fresh meat” for political players—government officials, military leaders, religious figures, and other social agents competed to take a stand against an “impeding” LGBTQ threat. These dialogues catalyzed into action as zealous anti-LGBTQ campaigns staked violence and discrimination against gender and sexual minorities across Indonesia.

The “Crisis of 2016” cannot be …

Analysis In E Minor: An Autoethnographic Poetry Collection And Study Of Transgender Identity In Liminal Amsterdam, Em Panetta

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study is an autoethnographic account of the extent to which liminal identity, specifically genderqueerness, are continuously developed in the city of Amsterdam. Transgender identity is a permanently liminal personhood, which is influenced by both potentially liminal periods of time and the liminality of spaces in which the subject lives. At the time of this study, my genderqueerness was situated in the deeply liminal city of Amsterdam for a transient, yet semi-permanent, length of time; thus, this is a study of the temporal and spatial impacts that the Dutch context has had on my personhood. Five locations in the city …

Virtual Avatars: Trans Experiences Of Ideal Selves Through Gaming, Kai Baldwin

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

This article aims to explore the experiences transgender gamers have with avatars. Building on a foundation of identity construction theories from both media studies and queer studies, this study theorizes that these gamers will use their virtual world avatars to experiment with gender performance and ideal selves. These theories of identity construction are explored and examined through digital ethnography, by using the participant observation method, in which trans gamers are interviewed about their experiences with avatar creation and use. Based on the evidence gathered from those interviews, this study concludes that trans gamers in general tend to create avatars who …

Sex Education Or Self Education? Lgbt+ Experiences With Exclusionary Curricula, Karli Reeves

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Though much research exists on LGBT+ exclusion from school-based sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education, the strategies used by LGBT+ individuals during their search for knowledge regarding the subject are not as widely documented. Using the ethnographic research method of semi-structured interviews, this research explores the experiences of young LGBT+ adults with formal sexual and reproductive health education and examines the self-education methods employed by this population in the context of exclusionary and cisheteronormative curricula. This project also functions to contribute to existing literature in the field of anthropology and other social sciences regarding the subject of SRH education, particularly …

Experiences Of Young Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Latinx People In Healthcare, Caleb Hernandez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Latinx lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) queer community members have unique health needs compared to non-Latinx heterosexual patients, including sexual and mental health issues, and challenges in ability to access healthcare. But research is unclear whether LGB Latinx patients may also face double stigma related to their sexual orientation and race. This study examined this issue in experiences of queer and Latinx adults with healthcare providers. I conducted semistructured in-depth interviews with 13 LGB Latinx adults between November 2018 and February 2019. Interviews were audio-recorded, and transcribed. Transcripts were coded, and data analyzed for themes using the Grounded Theory approach. …

Yellow Fever: Asian Representation In Western Pornography, Chye Shoong Chin

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This research project seeks to explore the various implications porn films make on Asians Orientalism. Generally, Asians in pornography are composed of multiple negative archetypes, all based on the underlining purpose of servitude. Characters are portrayed through stereotypes including the use of colonial language to misrepresent Asian men and women in both straight and gay porn videos. Referred to as Orientalism, this ideology exploits Asian characters to privilege the White, male viewer. My research project investigates the following question: How are Asians represented in gay and straight pornographic films and pornographic scenes?

I will be applying scholarly arguments to various …

Something Old, Something New: Historicizing Same-Sex Marriage Within Ongoing Struggles Over African Marriage In South Africa, Michael W. Yarbrough

Publications and Research

This article examines contemporary struggles over same-sex marriage in the daily lives of black lesbian- and gay-identified South Africans. Based primarily on 21 in-depth interviews with such South Africans drawn from a larger project on post-apartheid South African marriage, the author argues that their current struggles for relationship recognition share much in common with contemporaneous struggles of their heterosexual counterparts, and that these commonalities reflect ongoing tensions between more extended-family and more dyadic understandings of African marriage. The increasing influence of dyadic understandings of marriage, and of associated ideals of romantic love, has helped inspire same-sex marriage claims and, in …

Lgbti+ Language And Understandings In Nepal: Creating Spaces And Forging Identities, Patrick Sonnenberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The 1990 Nepali Constitution opened up opportunities for many forms of activism, and identity groups thus began solidifying to advocate for social change and justice (Karki 2012). After the Nepali Supreme Court ruling in 2007, Nepal became one of the first countries to offer a third gender category “Other,” becoming a leader for human rights in South Asia and the world (Mahato 2017). As Coyle and Boyce (2013) point out, there is little research on LGBTI individuals in Nepal. Furthermore, they advocate for more research and closer work with gender and sexual minority individuals in Nepal.

This research attempts to …

Jarrod Hayes. Queer Roots For The Diaspora: Ghosts In The Family Tree. Ann Arbor: U Of Michigan P, 2016., Annie De Saussure

Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature

Review of Jarrod Hayes. Queer Roots for the Diaspora: Ghosts in the family tree. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2016. 325 pp.

How To Be The Perfect Asian Wife!, Sophia Hill

Art and Art History Honors Projects

“How to be the Perfect Asian Wife” critiques exploitative power systems that assault female bodies of color in intersectional ways. This work explores strategies of healing and resistance through inserting one’s own narrative of flourishing rather than surviving, while reflecting violent realities. Three large drawings mimic pervasive advertisement language and presentation reflecting the oppressive strategies used to contain women of color. Created with charcoal, watercolor, and ink, these 'advertisements' contrast with an interactive rice bag filled with comics of my everyday experiences. These documentations compel viewers to reflect on their own participation in systems of power.

On Being Trans: Narrative, Identity, Performance, And Community, Chloe Jo Brown

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis focuses on various topics related to transgender identity and culture. Through a combination of ethnographic and secondary research, I studied transgender coming out narratives, trans media representation, transgender performance and identity, and conceptualizations of group and chosen family in a community of trans students, the WKU Transgender and Non-Binary Student Group.

The three chapters of my thesis address some of the traditional milestones of a trans person’s acculturation: coming out, constructing one’s newly discovered trans identity, and finding community. Chapter 1 explores coming out as transgender, and the way in in which coming out is valued and discussed …

Race, Sexuality, And Masculinity On The Down Low, Stephen Kochenash

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In a so-called post-racial America, a new gay identity has flourished and come into the limelight. However, in recent years, researchers have concluded that not all men who have sex with other men (MSM) self-identify as gay, most noticeably a large population of Black men. It is possible that a tainted history of Black enslavement in this country that is inextricably linked with ideas of space, surveillance, subversion, and survival inform a Black male’s self-identification as being “on the down low” (DL). This begs the question: What does mainstream society view as gay-ness and how is the DL constructed …

The Cowboy Code, Eric D. Teman J.D., Ph.D., Johnny Saldaña

Eric D Teman, J.D., Ph.D.

Let’S Escape Into The Music: A Cross-Generational Oral History Of Orlando Lgbtq+ Spaces, Hannah Powell

Honors Program Theses

Since Orlando’s first gay bar, The Palace Club, opened in 1969, LGBTQ+ spaces have played an essential role in the Orlando queer community. They have acted as loci of gathering, solidarity, identity-formation, recreation, and even healing. There is an absence of literature on the LGBTQ+ community in Orlando and, more generally, in Central Florida as a whole. The legacy of LGBTQ+ spaces in Orlando is worthy of study due both to the city’s rich queer history and Orlando’s singular experience of the deadliest act of hate-motivated violence against the LGBTQ+ community in the history of the United States. Through documenting …

Queer Politics In Neoliberal Times (1970s-2010s), Margot Weiss

Margot Weiss

Shapeshifting And Sexuality: A Critical Autoethnography Of A Selkie, Sophie Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Shapeshifting lore has provided a rich and evocative way to explore human experiences across many different cultures. This author utilizes the mythology of selkies to unpack the perspective of a white queer woman who is dealing with issues of racial privilege, heteronormativity, and patriarchal oppression. Utilizing performative writing and autoethnographic method, the author creates an argument for the integration of intersectional practices within the work of queer theorists, as well as for resistance against assimilation.

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 …

Research And Study Of Fashion And Costume History Spanning From Ancient Egypt To Modern Day, Kaitlyn E. Dennis Miss

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Through a generous donation to Morehead State University, research has been conducted on thousands of slides containing images of artwork and artifacts of historical significance. These images span from Egyptian hieroglyphs to the inaugural dress of every first lady of the United States. The slides are in the process of being recorded and catalogued for future use by students in hopes of furthering academic comprehension and awareness of the influence of fashion and costume history through the ages. Special thanks to the family of Gretel Geist Rutledge, faculty mentor Denise Watkins, as well as the Department of Music, Theatre, and …

Stifled [Queer] Voices, Eric D. Teman J.D., Ph.D.

Eric D Teman, J.D., Ph.D.

Lullaby For The Burning Ear: How Intersectional Feminism Can Help Decolonize The Latino Consciousness, Donovan E. Hernandez Garcia

Senior Theses

People exist with their own religions, cultures, and practices, which illustrate the ingenuity of humanity. Yet, because of major events that altered the fate of the Americas, a certain societal structure was created to maintain power. Due to colonization, the prolonged exposure to numerous cultures, and the continuation of oppressive systems, people have been forced to band together based on similar characteristics, be it race, gender, or sexual orientation, creating divisions within society. It is because of such colonial mentality, subliminal and apparent, political and cultural movements, such as Feminism and intersectionality, have been created to combat the harmful effects …

Laramie 2.0: Journey Of A Queer Professor, Eric D. Teman J.D., Ph.D.

Eric D Teman, J.D., Ph.D.

South African Marriage In Policy And Practice: A Dynamic Story, Michael W. Yarbrough

Publications and Research

Law forms one of the major structural contexts within which family lives play out, yet the precise dynamics connecting these two foundational institutions are still poorly understood. This article attempts to help bridge this gap by applying sociolegal concepts to empirical findings about state law's role in family, and especially in marriage, drawn from across several decades and disciplines of South Africanist scholarly research. I sketch the broad outlines of a nuanced theoretical approach for analysing the law-family relationship, which insists that the relationship entails a contingent and dynamic interplay between relatively powerful regulating institutions and relatively powerless regulated populations. …

Lessons From The Gender Equality Movement: Using Title Ix To Foster Inclusive Masculinities In Men's Sport, Deborah L. Brake

Articles

This article was written for a symposium issue in Law & Inequality: A Journal of Theory and Practice on the topic of LGBT inclusion in sports. The symposium, which was held at the University of Minnesota Law School in November of 2015, was precipitated by the controversy that erupted when NFL player Chris Kluwe sued and settled with the Minnesota Vikings for allegedly firing him over his outspoken support for marriage equality. The article situates the Chris Kluwe controversy in the broader context of masculinity in men’s sports. At a time when support for LGBT rights has resulted in striking …