Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Black Gay Genius Interview With Lisa C. Moore, Shawn(Ta) Smith-Cruz

Publications and Research

An interview with the publisher of Redbone Press, the small press, black lesbian owned and operated, that republished the archival material of Joseph Beam, excavating the work of the gay black male icon and writer of Brother to Brother and In the Life.

Sexual And Political Affairs: Representation Of Women In American News Media, Melissa Beal

Masters Theses

Explores representations in American news media of women who have been involved sexually with male politicians and women who are politicians through a critical rhetorical lens. Through the use of poststructural feminism, the term "mistress" is problematized. Attention is given to the news media's focus on women's bodies as sites of dangerous sexual temptations as well as the media's constant attention to women's physical features, which reduces women to objects. It is shown that similar coverage regarding bodies is not given to men. Also discusses the news media's frequent interrogation of women's minds. Explores aspects of confession and apology through …

The Effect Of Interpersonal Relationships On The Body Image Of First Year, Women Of Color Studying At Predominately White Undergraduate Institutions, Lauren Kross

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

"The Effect of Interpersonal Relationships on the Body Image of First Year, Women of Color Studying at Predominately White Undergraduate Institutions" by Lauren Kross, a 2014 graduate student in the Gender and Women's Studies Department at Minnesota State University Mankato, focuses on how relationships and peer groups positively or negatively impact the body image of first year women of color studying at Minnesota State University Mankato, a predominately white undergraduate institution. The first year of college is a time that students experience many changes in their environment, academics, interests, and identity development. Their previously formed and newly formed relationships play …

Pursuit Of Empowerment: The Evolution Of The Romance Novel And Its Readership In Fifty Shades Of Grey, Amy Elizabeth Quale

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis examines the new-adult romance work Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James and the novel's readership to identify the evolution of the romance genre and the ways in which the genre is used as a tool for empowerment. As the genre evolves, subgenres develop with the new "empowering" characteristics. As new technologies present themselves to readers, readers have more opportunities to participate with one another and affect the genre's evolution. I assert that Fifty Shades of Grey and the romance community are limited by the patriarchal values traditionally portrayed by the genre; however, the nature of the …

Perspectives Of Female Leaders In Athletic Training, Kyle Matthew Momsen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Previous research has found that women face barriers in athletic training and it appears that they are not represented in leadership positions in numbers equal to the demographics of athletic training. The purpose of this research was to explore the leadership experiences and perspectives of female athletic trainers who have earned a leadership position at the highest levels in athletic training. This qualitative investigation utilized semi-structured, open-ended interviews with 12 women that held national leadership positions in athletic training. The data from this investigation suggests that many of the barriers that previously faced women in athletic training have decreased or …

Gayme: The Development, Design And Testing Of An Auto-Ethnographic, Documentary Game About Quarely Wandering Urban/Suburban Spaces In Central Florida., David Moran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

GAYME is a transmedia story-telling world that I have created to conceptually explore the dynamics of queering game design through the development of varying game prototypes. The final iteration of GAYME is @deadquarewalking'. It is a documentary game and a performance art installation that documents a carless, gay/queer/quare man's journey on Halloween to get to and from one of Orlando's most well-known gay clubs - the Parliament House Resort. "The art of cruising" city streets to seek out queer/quare companionship particularly amongst gay, male culture(s) is well-documented in densely, populated cities like New York, San Francisco and London, but not …

It’S Not Just A Gay Male Thing: Sexual Minority Women And Men Are Equally Attracted To Consensual Non-Monogamy, Amy C. Moors, Jennifer D. Rubin, Jes L. Matsick, Ali Ziegler, Terri D. Conley

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Concerned with the invisibility of non-gay male interests in alternatives to monogamy, the present study empirically examines three questions: Are there differences between female and male sexual minorities in a) attitudes toward consensual non-monogamy, and b) desire to engage in different types of consensual non-monogamy (e.g., sexual and romantic/polyamory versus sexual only/swinging), and c) schemas for love? An online community sample of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals (n = 111) were recruited for a study about attitudes toward relationships. Results show that sexual minority men and women hold similar attitudes toward CNM and similar levels of desire to engage in …

Does Monogamy Harm Women? Deconstructing Monogamy With A Feminist Lens, Ali Ziegler, Jes L. Matsick, Amy C. Moors, Jennifer D. Rubin, Terri D. Conley

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

In this paper, we utilize a critical feminist lens to analyze the advantages and disadvantages found within two different romantic relationship configurations: monogamy and polyamory. While visibility of polyamorous relationships has increased in recent years, there is still a lack of information and a plethora of misinformation concerning non-monogamous romantic relationship dynamics (Conley, Moors, Matsick, & Ziegler, 2012; Conley, Ziegler, Moors, Matsick, & Valentine, 2012). One such notion is that polyamory is differentially damaging to women vis-à-vis men. From a phenomenological perspective, sociocultural values dictate that women, unlike men, are prescribed to be dependent upon monogamy in order to define …

On The Margins: Considering Diversity Among Consensually Non-Monogamous Relationships, Jennifer D. Rubin, Amy C. Moors, Jes L. Matsick, Ali Ziegler, Terri D. Conley

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Consensual non-monogamy (CNM) encompasses romantic relationships in which all partners agree that engaging in sexual and/or romantic relationships with other people is allowed and part of their relationship arrangement (Conley, Moors, Matsick & Ziegler, 2012). Previous research indicates that individuals who participate in CNM relationships are demographically homogenous (Sheff & Hammers, 2010; Sheff, 2005); however, we argue that this may be an artifact of community-based recruitment strategies that have created an inaccurate reflection of people who engage in CNM. To achieve a more nuanced understanding of the identities of individuals engaged in departures from monogamy, the present study provides a …

Reflections On The Feminine Mystique, Bren Ortega Murphy

Women's Studies & Gender Studies: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Afghan University Women Graduates Are Not Well-Represented In The Job Market In Afghanistan, Mohammad Kazem Shakib

Master's Theses

Higher education has been one of the prominent sectors in Afghanistan for the past decade. There has been a steady increase in the representation of women within the higher education system in the country. However, the growth of an educated workforce within the job market and the growth of the national economy have not been equal. A high number of university women graduates are jobless, employed in non-relevant professions, or working in part-time jobs like teaching in primary and secondary school.

This paper explores the contribution and representation of university women graduates in the economy of Afghanistan. Through a liberal …

Normalizing Abnormality: An Exploration Of Social Forces Driving Gendered Disparity In Rates Of Anxiety Disorder Diagnoses, Sara Tebeau

Senior Independent Study Theses

According to recent statistics provided by the National Institute of Mental Health (2013), American women are twice as likely as men to face diagnosis with an anxiety disorder. While there are existing bodies of sociological and feminist work theorizing both the social construction of mental illness categories and the historical pathologization of women, there is no contemporary dialogue centered on gendered disparity in anxiety diagnosis rates. In this paper, I contribute to ongoing discussion of neoliberal influence on the gendering of mental illness through an exploration of the forces contributing to disparity in rates of diagnosis with anxiety disorders. In …

Adverse Health Effects Of Spousal Violence Among Women Attending Saudi Arabian Primary Health-Care Clinics, H. M. Eldoseri, K. A. Tufts, Q. Zhang, J. N. Fish

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

This study aimed to investigate the frequency of spousal violence among Saudi women and document the related health effects and injuries, as well as their attitudes to gender and violence. Structured interviews were conducted with 200 ever-married women recruited from primary-care centres in Jeddah. Nearly half of the surveyed women (44.5%) reported ever experiencing physical violence from their spouse. Although 37 women (18.5%) had received violence-related injuries, only 6.5% had reported these injuries to a health-care provider. Victims of spousal violence had poor perceptions of their overall health, and reported pain or discomfort, antidepressant use and suicidal thoughts. Women mostly …

Sex, Power, And Slavery, Gwyn Campbell, Elizabeth Elbourne

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

Sexual exploitation was and is a critical feature of enslavement. Across many different societies, slaves were considered to own neither their bodies nor their children, even if many struggled to resist. At the same time, paradoxes abound: for example, in some societies to bear the children of a master was a potential route to manumission for some women. Sex, Power, and Slavery is the first history of slavery and bondage to take sexuality seriously.

Twenty-six authors from diverse scholarly backgrounds look at the vexed, traumatic intersections of the histories of slavery and of sexuality. They argue that such intersections mattered …

Portraits Of Women’S Leadership After Participation In A Culturally Based University Tribal College Partnership, Catherine Calvert

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study explores the leadership, change, and empowerment stories of Native American women who participated in a tribal university partnership culturally based higher education program. In light of research identifying a prevailing lack of higher education completion rates for Native American students, my intention is to share the success stories of Native American women who persisted, graduated, and influenced their communities. Narratives of students’ higher education persistence, community leadership, and empowerment are important to inspire future generations of students to first see the possibility of higher education for themselves, and then investigate their options and participate as students. After reviewing …

Economic Empowerment Through Income Generating Activities And Social Mobilization: The Case Of Married Amhara Women Of Wadla Woreda, North Wollo Zone, Ethiopia, Belete Deribie Woldegies

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Wadla Woreda is located in North Wollo Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. The woreda is predominantly agrarian and the population produces mainly subsistence food crops with small amounts of cash crops. Access to basic social and economic services such as health, education, and employment for rural communities is limited due to poor development of rural infrastructure. Wadla is one of the food insecure woredas in the region. As a result some of the people are internally displaced and a portion of the population is included in safety-net programs. The Wadla Woreda is prone to famine due to severe droughts, soil …

In Idi Amin’S Shadow: Women, Gender, And Militarism In Uganda, Alicia C. Decker

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

In Idi Amin’s Shadow is a rich social history examining Ugandan women’s complex and sometimes paradoxical relationship to Amin’s military state. Based on more than one hundred interviews with women who survived the regime, as well as a wide range of primary sources, this book reveals how the violence of Amin’s militarism resulted in both opportunities and challenges for women. Some assumed positions of political power or became successful entrepreneurs, while others endured sexual assault or experienced the trauma of watching their brothers, husbands, or sons “disappeared” by the state’s security forces. In Idi Amin’s Shadow considers the crucial ways …

What Variables Explain Differences In Coaching Salaries For Division I Women's Sports?, Tyler Lange

Honors Program Theses

This paper examines the possibility of discrimination based on gender and/or race in NCAA Division-I coaching. High-profile male coaches earn higher salaries than female coaches, which could reflect labor-market discrimination. This paper investigates the determinants of coaches’ compensation. Because the number of female coaches in men’s sports is trivial, this study is limited to women’s sports. Using salary data from the 2012 fiscal year for public universities in three Division-I conferences – Missouri Valley, Big 10, and Big 12 – I look at a variety of revenue and non-revenue generating women’s sports. I model head coaches’ annual salaries as the …

Comparison Of Life Experiences Of Men And Women In The Sciences, Tori Nicole Quist

Honors Program Theses

A lack of sense of belonging and stereotype threat have been shown to contribute to women leaving the sciences (Seymour, 1997; Beasley & Fischer, 2012; Deemer et al., 2013). Contributing to this is the fact that most women find affirmation externally (through friends, family and professors) for their life decisions (Seymour, 1997; Zeldin, 2000). A set of comparative studies in 2000 and 2008 were done examining factors affecting women’s and men’s choices of majors and careers (Zeldin, 2000 and Zeldin, 2008). These studies concluded that men relied on achievements in science as the source of their career decisions to enter …

Pro-Anorexia/Bulimia Interactions Online: Problematizing Complex Cultural Phenomena, Nicole D. Schott

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In the West, and increasingly globally, individuals, particularly women, are fixated on weight loss, driven by the goal of achieving a culturally-desired, and aggressively marketed, "skinny" female physique. There are online forums where individuals refer to themselves or their eating disorders as "pro-ana" and "pro-mia". Individuals who post on these sites both align with, and challenge, what medical and mental health professionals define as serious mental health problems that result in severe, sometimes fatal, medical complications. This thesis specifically focuses on interactions with, and within, the pro-ana/mia culture on the social media websites Tumblr and YouTube. Over sixteen months, and …