Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Dating Across Difference: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Interracial Same-Sex Relationships In Targeted Media Outlets, Victor Santana-Melgoza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine how interracial same-sex relationships are constructed and communicated within gay themed media outlets, specifically magazine publications, and the possible effects such construction may have on various consumer populations through the frame of cultivation theory. I studied three major gay publications and surveyed 90 articles for both textual content and visual representation. Categories were then created and articles were grouped by relevance to each category. Through iterative processes, the number of useable articles fell to 68. Articles were mainly captured using online sources. Through this medium of online reading, other access points were …

Comic Book Fandom: An Exploratory Study Into The World Of Comic Book Fan Social Identity Through Parasocial Theory, Anthony Robert Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Comic books and their extensive lineup of characters have invaded all types of media forms, making comics a global media phenomenon that are having a wider profile in media and popular culture. The community of comic book fans has grown as well. The purpose of this study is to investigate how these fans identify with their favorite comic book character(s) through the application of parasocial theory, in order to discover if and how various identification levels lead to the fan's level of fandom or attachment. Various fans of comic books are interviewed, in order to investigate attachment levels and level …

Beneath The Kiss: Unearthing The Ideological Underpinnings Of Kay Jewelers Advertisements, Chelsea Nedlyn Hill

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Advertising is a frequently used influential and persuasive means of communication, such as Kay Jewelers, a corporation whose advertising methods have been superficially appealing to a female audience. However, this study sought to investigate the ideological underpinnings associated with Kay Jewelers advertisements, employing an ideological criticism to argue through feminist theory that Kay Jewelers utilizes key elements of heteronormative love as a means to persuade and influence men to purchase their jewelry products. Through this underpinning of heteronormative romance, Kay Jewelers emphasizes the notion that an artifact, like a piece of jewelry, is necessary in order to properly express …