Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Below The Neck, Above The Knees, Desiree Dawn Kapler

Theses and Dissertations

My thesis explores the act of violation in the context of trauma and healing through the use of personal narratives and experimental film. My research allows personal storytelling to transform into a larger and more universal theme of generational trauma and dysfunction. Through a feminist lens, I challenge social norms of body autonomy for the sick and abused, capitalism’s social effects on the poor, and passed down maternal lessons from the women who are doing the best that they can with the lives and opportunities that they have been given.

This work is created in spite of the labels my …

Restoration, Shannon M. Slaight-Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The marks I make in clay have different characteristics, and the physical mark of one’s fingertips or visual record of the hand is personal and intimate. This visible activity is the evidence of my constant presence and control within each object. Its repetitive meditation produces a private relief from my persistent anxieties. This exploration for me is not only visual, but also physical. This is the start of my infatuation with the idea of pattern. It has its own discrete visual language and modes of communication; and through my research I am developing a method of intercommunication.

Female Art And Artisans In Edith Wharton’S The House Of Mirth, The Custom Of The Country, And “Roman Fever”, Julia B. Welch

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In early twentieth century old and new New York social circles, the marriage market’s commodification of women acted as the controlling factor for relationships, female power, and personal identity. When considering Wharton’s works for the first-hand viewpoint that she provided of the marriage market, it becomes clear that her interest in art plays heavily into the way women comport themselves within her novels. In order to discuss this relationship in Edith Wharton’s works, I’ve created terms that delineate the various ways female characters respond to the pressures of the marriage market. The best way to analyze Wharton’s women is by …

The Geographic Center Of Nowhere, Sharon Mauldin Reynolds

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The Geographic Center of Nowhere. A collection of short stories exploring the perseverance of several women in varied situations.

Sexuality And Human Rights (Spring 2017), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

"What happens when we think of sexuality, with all its transgressive and individualistic energies, in terms of rationally established universal human rights? Literary texts that focus on individual cases in the context larger cultural and social traditions with a particular attention to the power of language can help us sort through some of the complex ideas that emerge from a discussion of sexual rights. In this class, we will focus on the relationship between sex and politics, especially in questions of gay, lesbian, and transgender right, as well as sex work and HIV/AIDS."

Appearance Discrimination: Lookism And The Cost To The American Woman, Alyssa Dana Adomaitis, Rachel Raskin, Diana Saiki

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

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 …

Radical Dissonance And Haunted Gestures: Rupture And Reverence In The Artwork Of Aja Mujinga Sherrard, Aja M. Sherrard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper serves to establish the studio practice of Aja Mujinga Sherrard within the framework of conceptual art, touching on the flexible use of media, the subversive or political nature of the work, and its relationship to movements and disciplines such as Feminism and Poststructuralism.

The section entitled “Race and Incoherence” addresses the practice of Radical Dissonance—or the creation of ruptures within commonly accepted concepts and social constructions—through the Costuming Kinship Series, 13≠12≠12.2 (Genetics Project), and Body Double. The section entitled ”Art, Loss, and the Unspeakable” traces an emotional shift in her work and speaks directly to the pieces …

Affect Bleeds In Feminist Networks: An "Essay" In Six Parts, Alexandra Juhasz

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Stem, Video Game Play, & Gender = Personalization, Wendi M. Kappers

Publications

It is imperative when utilizing educational video games in K-12 classrooms that student preferences regarding game play, purpose, and design be considered to maximize game play efficiency for learning. As Web 2.0 content infiltrates our educational medium, student customization is key. This manuscript intends to share customization requests gleaned during an 18-week experimental study examining educational video game effects upon 7th graders enrolled in Mathematics and Mathematics 2 courses.

Stem, Video Game Play, & Gender = Personalization, Wendi M. Kappers

Publications

It is imperative when utilizing educational video games in K-12 classrooms that student preferences regarding game play, purpose, and design be considered to maximize game play efficiency for learning. As Web 2.0 content infiltrates our educational medium, student customization is key. This manuscript intends to share customization requests gleaned during an 18-week experimental study examining educational video game effects upon 7th graders enrolled in Mathematics and Mathematics 2 courses.

Perceptions Of Transgender Students In Social Fraternities And Sororities, Stacy Rowan

Masters Theses

Recently, a total of ten social fraternities and sororities have published statements inclusive of transgender individuals, while others have remained silent on their inclusive policies. Currently, there is no published research on the inclusion of transgender students in social fraternities and sororities, though many institutions of higher education have started taking steps toward including transgender students. This qualitative study was designed to identify the perceptions of individual social fraternity and sorority members, the perceptions of their chapters, and how their chapters recruit and welcome transgender students into their organizations. The participants belonged to five different social fraternities and sororities at …

Girls In Graphic Novels: A Content Analysis Of Selected Texts From Yalsa's 2016 Great Graphic Novels For Teens List, Tiffany Mumm

Masters Theses

This study examined the portrayal of female characters in selected texts from the Young Adult Library Association's 2016 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list. Appearances, conversations, and behaviors of preteen and teenage female primary characters were coded. Results indicate that progress is being made in the portrayal of female characters in graphic novels. Diversity in appearances, relatable conversations, and a break from stereotypical behaviors have led to more complex characters that provide readers with better role models. While some stereotypical conventions remain, the progress indicates a positive change for all readers.

Challenging Queer As “Neoliberal”: The Radical Politics Of South Asian Diasporic Lesbian Representational Culture, Sri Craven

Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This essay contributes to transnational feminist and queer interests in neoliberalism, sexual politics and representational cultures that all circulate globally today. It reads Deepa Mehta’s film, Fire (1996), and Suniti Namjoshi’s literary venture, Goja: An Autobiographical Myth (2000). Each processes the question of lesbian visibility as a question of female labor and class relations among women. By analyzing representations of lesbian life in the context of laboring female bodies, the article challenges the dismissal of queer politics as neoliberal in India. Sexual identity politics, as critics argue, often dovetails with neoliberalism’s project of protecting elite and bourgeois subjects’ interests at …

Strategies Female Small Business Owners Use To Succeed In Business, Mere Sovick

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses owned by women cease operations 11% more often than businesses owned by men. Women, who own over 37% of all businesses in the United States, contribute significantly to the 50% small business failure rate. The purpose of this multiple-case study was to explore strategies 5 women who own small businesses use to succeed in business beyond 5 years on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The theory of constraints was the conceptual framework. Data were collected through semistructured face-to-face interviews, websites, company documents, and archival records. Transcript review of interview response data was used to strengthen the credibility of the interview …

Towards A More Inclusive Music Education: Experiences Of Lgbtqqiaa Students In Music Teacher Education Programs Across Pennsylvania, Edward J. Holmes, Brent C. Talbot

Sunderman Conservatory of Music Faculty Publications

During the past decade, the field of music education has seen an increase in the amount of scholarship surrounding LGBTQ studies in music teaching and learning. For example, the University of Illinois hosted three symposia for the field of music education dedicated to LGBTQ studies (2010, 2012, 2016), and proceedings from these symposia were published in three separate issues of the of the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education (2011, 2014, 2016). Other notable scholarship has been published in Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education (Gould 2005); the Music Educators Journal (Bergonzi, 2009; Carter, 2011; McBride, …

Triple Triumph: Three Women In Medicine

Syracuse Unbound

Triple triumph: Three women in medicine is the story of three physicians.

Three physicians, all women, each perceived serious unmet needs in their fields, and envisioned imaginative approaches to meeting those needs. Each encountered resistance, discouragement, and obstruction from the traditional, male-dominated departments in which they worked. These powerful pioneers, undeterred, created programs that earned the highest levels of national distinction and acclaim. Their work and their names are now legendary—in geriatric medicine, in the treatment of breast cancer, and in diabetes research and treatment. Their stories differ, but the commonalities help us understand why constructive change is often so …

The Rewards Of Impertinence: Happy And Unhappy Endings In Jane Austen's Novels, Elizabeth Bolger

English Honors Papers

In this thesis, I use a wide range of period sources—the law governing marriage in the United Kingdom, sermons, and treatises on women’s education—to argue that Jane Austen uses irony and satire to defend “impertinent” women by exposing the villainy of a patriarchal order that attempts to restrain female desire. Her literary strategies of indirection, including irony and satire, have an ethical purpose that is neglected by the many critics who read her works as endorsing conservative values. Her novels function within a traditional narrative framework in order to expose and ultimately undermine the oppressive morals inherent within the patriarchal …

"Until Death Brings Us Closer Together Forever": Spirituality, Corporeality, And Queer Identification With Nature In Transcendental Literature, Kathryn Alderman

English Honors Papers

No abstract provided.

Why Can’T A Woman Fail Like A Man? Gender Differences In Perceived Competence Following A Mistake, Kathryn Kincaid

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Stereotypes are pervasive and can significantly influence the way we perceive and evaluate others. When people occupy roles that are not congruent with stereotypes (such as a stay-at-home dad or a female CEO), past research has suggested that they are evaluated more harshly than those in roles that are stereotype-congruent. The present study examined the role of gender stereotypes by asking participants to read a vignette about a college student and their performance in a class. In these vignettes, the student’s major and gender were manipulated such that there were students in gender stereotype-congruent majors (female nursing major, male computer …