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Full-Text Articles in Communication Technology and New Media
A Qualitative Examination Of The Agency Of Women In Their 30s And 40s Who Use Dating Applications, Tera Buerkle
A Qualitative Examination Of The Agency Of Women In Their 30s And 40s Who Use Dating Applications, Tera Buerkle
Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences
The use of dating applications (apps) to find romantic and sexual partners is widespread across age groups, however, there is a paucity of research on dating apps with those in middle adulthood. Sexual script theory suggests that women’s agency (i.e. the ability to act in one’s own best interest) may be impacted by expectations from an inherently sexualized context, such as dating apps. Feminist theory contends that women’s agency is complicated by gender socialization due to the imbalance of power in society that greatly favors men. In this study seventeen women aged 30 to 49 completed in-depth semi-structured interviews, and …
Theorizing #Girlboss Culture: Mediated Neoliberal Feminisms From Influencers To Multi-Level Marketing Schemes, Frankie Mastrangelo
Theorizing #Girlboss Culture: Mediated Neoliberal Feminisms From Influencers To Multi-Level Marketing Schemes, Frankie Mastrangelo
Theses and Dissertations
I define girlboss feminism as emergent, mediated formations of neoliberal feminism that equate feminist empowerment with financial success, market competition, individualized work-life balance, and curated digital and physical presences driven by self-monetization. I look toward how the mediation of girlboss feminism utilizes branded and affective engagements with representational politics, discourses of authenticity and rebellion, as well as meritocratic aspiration to promote cultural interest in conceptualizing feminism in ways that are divorced from collective, intersectional struggle. I question the stakes involved in reducing feminist interrogations and commitments to discourses of representation, visibility, and meritocracy. I argue that while girlboss feminism may …
Class, Gender, And Mediated Labor Activism In Globalizing China, Siyuan Yin
Class, Gender, And Mediated Labor Activism In Globalizing China, Siyuan Yin
Doctoral Dissertations
My dissertation analyzes the relationships between mediated labor activism and the formation of counter-hegemonic forces in contemporary China. As China becomes a seemingly ideal model to justify the normalization of global capitalism, this study seeks to demonstrate how resistance from disenfranchised groups can challenge hegemonic power. Rural-to-urban migrant workers, who have been among the most disadvantaged groups since China’s economic reform of the 1980s, suffer from institutionalized discrimination, economic exploitation, and social exclusion. Approaching the analysis from an intersectional feminist lens, I explore the politics and possibilities of working-class resistance in searching for a just and equal China. Based on …
Women, Convergent Film Criticism, And The Cinephilia Of Feminist Interruptions, Rachel L. Thibault
Women, Convergent Film Criticism, And The Cinephilia Of Feminist Interruptions, Rachel L. Thibault
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation examines the ways in which female film critics practice film criticism in the convergent age. In original research drawn from ethnographic interviews with eight female film critics and bloggers as well as textual, historical, and reception analyses of criticism, this dissertation argues that women who write film criticism in the convergent era are not only writing from a space of marginalization based on the patriarchal dominance of the film industry, but also face a series of obstacles through gendered and discursive conflicts that are unique to writing online and which do not exert the same impact on male …
The Virtual Bulletin Board: A Feminist Critique Of Pinterest, Alexandra B. Davila
The Virtual Bulletin Board: A Feminist Critique Of Pinterest, Alexandra B. Davila
Communication Studies
No abstract provided.
The Personal, Political, And The Virtual? Redefining Female Success And Empowerment In A Post-Feminist Landscape, Linda Elizabeth Chardon
The Personal, Political, And The Virtual? Redefining Female Success And Empowerment In A Post-Feminist Landscape, Linda Elizabeth Chardon
Honors Theses and Capstones
No abstract provided.
Sweetness And Strength: Codes Of Femininity And Body Image In Branded Social-Networking Messages And Consumer Responses, Anne M. Holcomb
Sweetness And Strength: Codes Of Femininity And Body Image In Branded Social-Networking Messages And Consumer Responses, Anne M. Holcomb
Masters Theses
This study critically analyzes visual and text updates posted by two clothing brands to the social-networking site Facebook.com, including consumers' interaction with these marketing messages. A semiological textual analysis was conducted using Facebook updates by the Victoria's Secret PINK and Nike Women apparel brands, and the responses of fans who subscribed to these updates. Advertising aimed at women in print media has previously been analyzed in this way, revealing patterns of sexualization and objectification that can be harmful to women and men alike. My analysis builds on this tradition. Social-networking sites such as Facebook allow individual users unprecedented access to …
Fashioning The Self: Performance, Identity And Difference, Jessica L. Neumann
Fashioning The Self: Performance, Identity And Difference, Jessica L. Neumann
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis project will examine cultural and rhetorical communication studies to determine how these modes of analysis can be compared with interdisciplinary literature to better understand the role fashion plays within everyday performances and the shaping of identity. Criticisms by second-wave feminist scholars have focused on the fashion industry's overarching male influence; in more recent scholarship, feminist academics have often considered an affinity for fashion to be un-feminist and oppressive. I argue that fashion can instead be viewed as a tool for female agency and expressing individuality, rather than just a mode for reinforcing gendered norms. Using feminist rhetorical analysis …