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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Purple Wave: Gender And Electoral Outcomes In The 2018 Midterms, Semilla B. Stripp May 2019

The Purple Wave: Gender And Electoral Outcomes In The 2018 Midterms, Semilla B. Stripp

Political Science Honors Projects

This thesis offers an analysis of the relationship between gender and electoral outcomes in the 2018 midterm elections. What role did gender play in the success of candidates for the House of Representatives? In answering this question, I quantify women’s success by analyzing the extent to which female candidates’ vote shares can be attributed to their gender. I find that, while controlling for various electoral and biographical factors, female challengers and open seat candidates performed better than their male counterparts, while female incumbents had no advantage over male incumbents. These outcomes also divided along party lines, with Democratic women performing …


Why We Hear About It, And Why We Don't: Power Dynamics And Sexual Harassment Reporting In Us State Legislative Bodies, Halley Norman May 2019

Why We Hear About It, And Why We Don't: Power Dynamics And Sexual Harassment Reporting In Us State Legislative Bodies, Halley Norman

Political Science Honors Projects

The rise to prominence of the #MeToo Movement in October 2017 opened the floodgates to sexual harassment and assault allegations in all fields and levels of employment, across the United States and the world. This movement has crucially revealed is that women often wait months or even years before reporting, if they report at all. Looking at US state legislative bodies, I argue that gendered power dynamics between men and women suppress allegations and promote harassment. Using interviews and data analysis, this paper identifies different factors that may delay or hinder reporting, with a specific focus on gendered power dynamics …


Gender, Media, And The White House: An Examination Of Gender In The Media Coverage Of Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, And Ted Cruz In The 2016 Elections, Rose E. Allen Apr 2016

Gender, Media, And The White House: An Examination Of Gender In The Media Coverage Of Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, And Ted Cruz In The 2016 Elections, Rose E. Allen

Political Science Honors Projects

This paper examines the role of gender in the media coverage of Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Ted Cruz in the 2016 election cycle. Analyzing newspaper articles, Twitter pages, and campaign advertisements, I compare the media coverage of these three candidates to their own campaign messages. My findings reveal that Clinton received more personal coverage than Sanders or Cruz, despite less of an emphasis on personal characteristics in her own campaign materials. I also find that Clinton received less coverage on “feminine issues” such as women’s health and paid family leave, despite her own campaign’s focus on these issues. I …


Deciphering A Duality: Understanding Conflicting Standards In Sex & Violence Censorship In U.S. Obscenity Law, Rushabh P. Bhakta May 2012

Deciphering A Duality: Understanding Conflicting Standards In Sex & Violence Censorship In U.S. Obscenity Law, Rushabh P. Bhakta

Political Science Honors Projects

This research examines the division in US obscenity law that enables strict sex censorship while overlooking violence. By investigating the social and legal development of obscenity in US culture, I argue that the contemporary duality in obscenity censorship standards arose from a family of forces consisting of faith, economy, and identity in early American history. While sexuality ingrained itself in American culture as a commodity in need of regulation, violence was decentralized from the state and proliferated. This phenomenon led to a prioritization of suppressing sexual speech over violent speech. This paper traces the emergence this duality and its source.