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

The Need For Specialized Substance Abuse Treatment For Gay Men In The United States, Sarah Nance

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Substance misuse and abuse is a global public health issue that affects sexual minority populations at a higher rate than the heterosexual population. Many popular gay socialization strategies include gay bars and chemsex, or sexualized drug use, in which substance use is common in both. The Minority Stress Model provides an explanation as to how stigma embedded in a society and within a person can act as a stressor and manifest into a substance abuse disorder. This stigma acts for many as a barrier to seeking healthcare out of fear of discrimination, causing many to hide their identity when seeking …

"Death Can't Touch Them Now": Aids Response And Memorialization In Louisville, Kentucky, 1982-1992., Olivia A. Beutel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to address the role of the queer community in Louisville, Kentucky during the AIDS epidemic. Beginning with the first reported AIDS death in the city in 1983 throughout the 1980s, dialogue focused on those living with AIDS, specifically on education for prevention and aid to those afflicted by the disease. Individuals in the queer community—gay men, lesbians, bisexual men and women, transgender men and women, and others—created resources that were not being provided by the larger city government. Then, in the 1990s, national attention to the AIDS Memorial Quilt encouraged people to participate in rituals of commemoration, …

In The Image Of… Towards A Trans Talmud, Laurence Myers Reese

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the Image of... (towards a Trans Talmud) is a body of work by artist Laurence Myers Reese that works to examine Jewish paradigms of gender through the transgender lens. Reading the archive diagonally, he examines historical Jewish writings, from poet and Rabbi Kalonymous Ben Kalonymous to “false Messiah” Shabbatai Tzvi. Contextualizing contemporary Jewish with notable exhibitions from the Jewish Museum New York and Spertus Museum, Chicago, In the Image of… draws from artists, writers, and Rabbis who use a gendered lens to interrogate Judaism. These include Yael Kanarek, who has worked to re-gender the entire Torah, Rena Yehuda Newman, …

Love And Romance In Early Modern British Literature, Sophia Szeneitas

Senior Honors Projects

This paper seeks to describe and analyze the way in which themes of love and romance were presented in literature in early modern Britain, and how those may differ from or be similar to romantic themes in the media of today. The works being analyzed include plays by William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, as well as some of Shakespeare’s sonnets. A few different lenses will be explored, including the interaction that love could have with the societal power structure and hierarchy present within the literature (such as the ways in which someone being the lover of a powerful person might …

The Glass Coffin: Gothic Adaptations And The Formation Of Sexual Subjectivity., Colton T. Wilson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is now an almost foregone conclusion that classic depictions of vampirism resonate with contemporary queer audiences. A sympathetic response to the monster’s persecution is often the key factor in these arguments, yet little attention is paid to the textual details that prompt such a process of identification. This study posits that the iconography used to establish a connection between monstrosity and non-normative sexuality has its origins in Victorian Gothic fiction, whose descriptions of vampirism were assimilated into the discourse of the fin-de-siècle medical field known as sexology. Theories that defined homosexuality as an illness with physical and psychological symptoms …

The Lived Experiences Of Transmasculine Speakers: A Phenomenological Investigation Of Vocal Quality And Function In Relation To Gender, Micah Wylie

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to learn how transmasculine individuals perceive the quality and function of their voices, and how those perceptions influence how they experience gender identity and communicate with others. This qualitative study adopted a hermeneutical phenomenological approach that involved using content analysis and thematic analysis to describe and interpret phenomena. This approach assumes that the researcher is not biased, but is a part of the world being studied and, therefore, understands the phenomenon by interpretive means. Saturation was achieved when all relevant information was introduced, and patterns of information had been identified. Sixteen interviews were conducted. …

Post-Obergefell V. Hodges: How Lgbt Contact Can Alter Public Lgbt Policy Positions In The U.S. And Arkansas, Briana Huett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Contact Theory (CT) of attitudinal change has utilized to understand perceptions of minority-group members and the policies that surround them since the 1950s. It has further been used to specifically examine how we form our opinions of LGBT-identifying individuals, the LGBT community, and LGBT policies more generally. However, further evidence is still needed from the CT literature surrounding how this form of contact interacts with individuals’ social identities to determine and alter their LGBT policy positions, how the level of contact with LGBT persons might have differing effects on these positions, and whether LGBT contact holds the same effects …

Making Meaning Of The Shared Experience Of Participants In An Undergraduate Lgbtq+ Mentorship Program, Brendan Corbett Csaposs

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the ways in which LGBTQ+ students at the University of Miami make meaning of their shared experiences in the LGBTQ+ Mentorship Program that the university offers, in order to explore ways in which higher education institutions might consider better supporting this key group of students. This study draws upon a variety of theories of sexual identity development, building on the work of Rosario et al. (2011) in looking at the ways that students make meaning of their sexual identity based on self-identification, association with the larger community, and engagement in a …

Voicing Narrative Through Transatlanticism And Transformation In Historia De La Monja Alférez By Catalina De Erauso, Morgan Schneider

Masters Theses

This thesis analyzes various aspects of Catalina de Erauso’s Historia de la Monja Alférez, escrita por ella misma (1829). The first chapter explores notions of interior and exterior as categories that determine not only the protagonist’s movement in space but also their expression of self-identity over the course of the text, focalized through first-person narration. Additionally, the chapter brings to light how the interior narrative parallels Erauso’s desire to share their transformation from nun in a Spanish convent to a soldier in the Americas with picaresque tendencies. Erauso leverages the power of exterior appearances through the self-fashioning of their public …

How To Make A Monster: The Homosexual Experience In Horror And Thriller Cinema, Marcus Lindenburg

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

Horror and thriller’s subtextual stories within cinema have been prominent across many subgenres, creating a wide-spread correlation between the homosexual and the monstruous that grew even noticeable after the start of the AIDS epidemic. Much of horror critique and analysis has been focused on the objectification of the feminine, but the unique role that the male plays in horror and thriller (both as a villain and victim) deserves equal inspection. The research done in this paper demonstrates how horror cinema skews the suggested gender roles and how fear makes us more easily let go of the societal norms held so …

Queering The Ear: Podcast Aesthetics And The Embodied Archive In S-Town, Kira Schukar

English Honors Projects

Despite podcasts’ rising popularity over the last twenty years, literary scholars are only beginning to focus on their affective potential as multimedia texts. In this thesis, I argue that even mainstream podcasts are productively intertwined with queer theories and aesthetics of belonging. Using the 2017 podcast S-Town as my case study, I examine the aural aesthetics of queer failure, temporality, archives, embodiment, and desire as key elements in this complex medium. Putting these theories and aesthetics into practice, I describe my process of research-creation and present a podcast I made about my road trip to Woodstock, Alabama, S-Town’s place …

Bowling Green State University's All-Gender Housing And The Student Expereince, Molly Marody

Honors Projects

All-gender housing has become a way for colleges and universities to create affirming spaces for LGBTQ+ students. As of 2022, only about 425 American schools have gender-neutral or all-gender housing programs out of the over 5,000 colleges in the United States. This lack of institutional support leads to trans and gender-nonconforming students reporting feeling less comfortable on their campuses. LGBTQ+ students report high rates of discrimination and harassment on college campuses. Studies about all-gender housing point to structural issues that cause students discomfort and feelings of instability. This study looks at Bowling Green State University’s all-gender housing program in hopes …

Lesbian Visibility And Censorship In Early Twentieth Century New York City, Aimee Clouse

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

On the brisk night of February 9th, 1927, New York City Police crammed the casts of two Broadway plays, one of which Edouard Bourdet's The Captive, into the back of a paddy wagon. These arrests and the legislation that enabled them were just one step taken by institutions to hide lesbians from the public. The eclectic nature of New York City in the early twentieth century fostered a growing scene of gender and sexual expression unlike anywhere else in the United States. Here, lesbians found freedom to express their sexuality and explore a growing subculture.

The Impact Of Female Leadership On Lgbtq-Supportive Policies, Samantha Bove

Honors Projects in Finance

In the past two decades, gender inequality in c-suites has received a large amount of attention. Thus, the number of women in top management roles has increased substantially. However, the corporate sector has also neglected other marginalized groups, specifically, members of the LGBTQ community. These individuals are important employees and previous literature has established the benefits, both financial and otherwise, that the presence of LGBTQ supportive policies have on American corporations. In this paper, I examine if the presence of women CEOs influences the LGBTQ policies that are implemented in that firm. This will be analyzed using an OLS regression …

Invisible Yet Free: Sapphic Relationships In Late 19th Century Europe, Penelope Van Batavia

Student Academic Conference

Sapphic relationships, described as romantic relationships between two women, were able to proliferate without the watchful eye of society in late 19th-Century Europe due to many factors, including the lack of importance European society felt women had. While not entirely able to pronounce their relationships in public, these women were often able to operate somewhat publicly in three main types of common or “accepted” sapphic relationships. These include intimate friendships, “mother-daughter” models, and hetero-passing relationships. Since historical research on sapphic relationships before the 1970s was almost non-existent (beyond the chastising of such relationships) a number of women and queer academics …

The Medical Policing Of Transgender And Gender Nonconforming Adults, Gabrielle Hawkins

Student Research Submissions

This research aims to better understand the discriminatory health care experiences of transgender and gender nonconforming adults. Conducted through a non-positivist sociological methodology, a primary objective of this research is to uplift transgender and other gender nonconforming voices through a study of lived, personal health narratives. In open-forum, semi-structured interviews, eight participants were asked questions relating to their health narratives, including questions concerning health care experiences and any encounters with discriminatory behaviors/actions by medical professionals and/or other medical affiliated personnel (i.e., receptionists, community health advisors, pharmacists, etc.). Potential questions ranged in theme (but were not limited to): gender identity, gender …

Same-Gender Pathways To Parenthood, Sydney T. Inger

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

LGBTQ+ individuals and couples who want children negotiate systemic inequalities in the United States of America. This literature review surveys America’s confusing legal map and the gaps in its enduring scholarly theories. The paper then examines the challenges that LGBTQ+ individuals and couples confront in working through the common pathways—same-gender adoption and fostering, in vitro fertilization, and surrogacy—to become parents. Dispersing information on the pathways will be a positive step towards breaking down the inequities for those in the LGBTQ+ community who want to start a family.

Thematic Use Of Non-Conformity In "Changing My Major" (Ft. Gay Panic), Yazmeen Mayes

Symposium of Student Scholars

CW: Presentation includes references to sex and suicide.

This presentation is an in-depth score analysis of “Changing My Major” from the musical Fun Home by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori, which is based on Alison Bechdel’s autobiographical memoir by the same name. The musical examines the similarities and differences between Alison and her father as she attempts to contruct a future without a queer elder to model it. This presentation demonstrates the collaborative, tight structure of thematic messaging in musical theatre. Overall, ““Changing My Major” personifies the show at large and celebrates the process of questioning as its own epic, …

Sample Holiday Cards: Examples To Help Visualize Your Families Holiday Card Or A Reinforcement Of Racism And Heteronormativity In America., Chasidy Harris

Symposium of Student Scholars

The United States is considered a "melting pot" with a diverse population of citizens. Each year, thousands of Americans send out holiday cards, and increasingly these cards are ordered online in bulk and are decorated with photos for family and friends. However, evidence shows that current advertising does not typically reflect the diversity present in the United States population. This research aims to show how the advertisement of photo holiday cards through sample cards posted on the retailer's website includes mostly white heterosexual couples and families and fewer same-sex couples (with and without children), racial-ethnically diverse families. This research will …

Nelson, Linda, Morgan Lindenschmidt

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Linda explored many topics in this interview, primarily focusing on her political activism rooted in radical lesbian seperatist feminist ideology. She grew up playing sports in Connecticut. She has been involved in a myriad of political movements, ranging from founding a Gay-Straight Alliance at her college in the 70s to being involved in the Anti-War Movement. She has extensive experience also in anti-racist and climate-related activism. She describes herself as a working-class butch woman with an interest in intersectional community organizing.

She also discusses studying in Maine before living in New York City for 16 years, where she worked at …