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The Myth Of Choice: The Cultural Shift In Cosmetic Surgery, Kelly Neyer

Joyce Durham Essay Contest in Women's and Gender Studies

What comes to mind when you hear the words cosmetic surgery? The majority of the population would think of breast augmentations, liposuction, or rhinoplasties; but what about vaginal rejuvenation, labiaplasties, or pubic liposuction? In the United States, cosmetic surgery is undergoing a major cultural shift concerning the types of procedures done on women. Moving away from the outer, visible parts of a female body, cosmetic surgery is advancing to the inner and more private domains of a female body. Known as female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS), these procedures are part of the larger cultural shift in the trends and practices …

The Feathered Hand: Installation, Drawings, Prints By Alison Derby Hildreth, University Of New England Art Gallery

Exhibition Catalogues

The Feathered Hand: Installation, Drawings, Prints is the catalogue from the University of New England Art Gallery’s January 5 –April 3, 2011 exhibition of work by Alison Hildreth.

Hildreth described the work as: “… an installation and a group of drawings and prints that I have been working on over the past 2 years. The drawings and prints I think of as walks through a changing landscape of associative ideas; each carries something from the previous image but moves on to a new interpretation. They continue end to end: divided cities, natural and manmade terrains, maps of investigations inspired as …

When Predator Becomes Prey: The Gendered Jargon Of Popular Culture, Melissa R. Ames

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Throughout the first decade of the twenty-first century the vernacular of popular culture has been bombarded by sexualized terminology. Although these terms are often formed with humorous intent, their staying power and use as cultural descriptive categories is both intriguing and disturbing. Also troubling is the fact that the majority of these new terms, such as puma (a thirty-something female “dating” a younger male), cougar (a forty-plus female “dating” a younger male), and MILF (“mother I’d like to fuck”), are restricted to the female gender alone. This article analyzes the etymology of these terms, their use in popular culture (ranging …

Beauty And The Barbie Doll: When Life Imitates Plastic, Alexandra Gaudio

American Studies Senior Theses

My project will consist of three major parts. I want to take a brief look at how the hegemonic ideals of feminine beauty in the United States have evolved over the past fifty years, since Barbie was introduced in 1959. Also, I will go through a history of Mattel’s Barbie doll, including the development of the doll and some of its many different manifestations over the years. Then I will use these two components to investigate the relationship between exposure to the doll and young women’s perception of beauty, as well as other potentially subconscious ideals they may internalize from …

Peter The Nurse And Teresa The Politician: Exploring Gender Norms And Discrimination In The Workplace, Alex Filippo

American Studies Senior Theses

Due to gender socialization, people of today’s society expect males and females to be intrinsically different. Thus, many careers are dominated by a single gender. In my thesis I explore the consequences that those who are employed in professions that defy gender expectations, i.e. a male nurse and a female politician, deal with. It is common for a man in a female dominated profession to face discrimination. The converse is also true. However, the discrimination each person suffers differs according to his or her gender. The negative discrimination that for instance, a male secretary experiences is most strongly generated by …

Performing Femininity: Rae Bourbon And Christine Jorgensen Onstage, Taylor Riccio

American Studies Senior Theses

Drag performers and transexuals exist on the margins of the two gender binary. By existing on these margins these performers use both their physical bodies and humor to lampoon and subvert the gender binary and broaden the understanding of how gender is performed. Two performers, Rae Bourbon, a female impersonator, and Christine Jorgensen, a transexual who became a performer, placed their marginalized bodies on the stage and by doing so they heighten the subversion and critique of gender inherent in their performances.Gender is a normalizing force that dominates human interactions. Kessler and McKenna open their work on gender with the …

There’S No Crying In Baseball: Feminization, Sport, And Spectacle In The All American Girls’ Professional Baseball League, Dan Murphy

American Studies Senior Theses

My thesis focuses on the All American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Specifically, I explore aspects of femininity within the league and why Phillip Wrigley, the league’s first owner, and other league owners chose to accentuate femininity. In my research, I focus on certain features of the league, such as the league’s beauty school, player’s uniforms, sexuality, and race. I believe these and other factors played a role in how the league decided to market itself to Americans. Additionally I focus on how different members of the media wrote about the league. In writing about the AAGPBL, journalists from local …

Love Through A Wide-Angle Lens: A Mythic Narrative And Feminist Critique Of The Reality Competition Dating Show More To Love, Amy Leann Zsohar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is on the rise in the United States and reality television has also risen to the charge of representing fatness. More to Love was the first reality competition dating show to afford fat women a chance at reality show love. The purpose of the study was to look at how fat women are portrayed on reality competition dating shows. The purpose of this study is to understand how the mythic narrative of love through a feminist lens informed by LeBesco, Bordo, Hill Collins, and hooks are in conversation with each other in More to Love. This study found that …

Gloria Anzaldua And Alanis Morisette: The Untangled Flavors Of Conocimiento, Audrey Nathalie Romero

Theses Digitization Project

This paper explroes the notion that the human body plays a predominant role in the act of writing, and examines how Gloria Anzaldua's concept of writing from the body, which she calls conocimiento (Spanish term for consciousmess), is manifested in Alanis Morissette's lyrics.

Caring Work: Opening A Space Of Possibility For Exploring Transnational Feminist Solidarity Between Privileged And Marginalized Women, Beverly Romero Natividad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neoliberalism, through its emphasis on personal responsibility and individual freedom in accelerating economic development globally, has only pushed women further into the margin of society. Structural adjustment programs (SAPs), which impose state budget cuts on healthcare and welfare programs, particularly have kept poor women and women of color in poverty and generally, have exploited women's labor. However, in this age of neoliberalism, women's solidarity becomes more significant. Because neoliberalism is founded on individualism, its downfall rests on alliance-building. Against this backdrop, I explore the possibility of fostering transnational feminist solidarity between privileged and marginalized women engaged in formal caring work. …

Ua41 University College Connection, Dennis K. George, Dean, Wendi Kelley

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

Engendering Injustice: Drug Laws, Drug Economies, And The Marginalization Of Women In New York State, Kate Mcgee

American Studies Senior Theses

On November 8, 1983, Elaine Bartlett left her apartment in Harlem, and headed to Grand Central Station. There, she met her boyfriend, Nate. They were headed to the Monte Mario Hotel in Albany. To any bystander, they may have looked like any other couple. But Elaine Bartlett knew different. That’s because she had a four-ounce bag of cocaine stuffed down the front of her pants. In 1983, Bartlett was a twenty-six year old woman with four children. A male friend, George Deets—although she knew him as Chris at the time—told her that if she delivered the drugs, she could earn …

Ua19/16/1 Volleyball Media Information Guide, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Athletic media guide for volleyball team.

Immigrant Women Organize For Justice: A Listening Project, Sandra Catalina Nieto

Capstone Collection

Over nineteen million immigrant women live in the United States. Each one of those nineteen million women carries with her a powerful history. Immigrant Women Organize for Justice: A Listening Project is an attempt to capture a breath of those histories, in particular the histories of four mujeres luchadoras: immigrant women who are organizing communities surrounding them and devoting much of their life and their work to the lucha (struggle or fight) for a more just and equal society. Immigrant Women Organize for Justice: A Listening Project is a two-part project. The first section is devoted entirely to remembering the …

Women & Language: Essays On Gendered Communication Across Media, Melissa R. Ames

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

The present volume of essays examines women's communication as it has evolved historically across multiple mediums. Part I explores how women became "gossip girls" and the important role of gossip in the perception and practice of female communication. Essays in Part II cover the convergence of oral and written communication in women's literature. Gendered performance in such arenas as salsa dance, Dr. Phil and the Internet is examined in Part III, and essays in Part IV discuss women's communication in the technology-rich 21st century. This excerpt features the introduction and one essay from the co-editor.

Women & Language: Essays On Gendered Communication Across Media, Melissa R. Ames

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

The present volume of essays examines women's communication as it has evolved historically across multiple mediums. Part I explores how women became "gossip girls" and the important role of gossip in the perception and practice of female communication. Essays in Part II cover the convergence of oral and written communication in women's literature. Gendered performance in such arenas as salsa dance, Dr. Phil and the Internet is examined in Part III, and essays in Part IV discuss women's communication in the technology-rich 21st century. This excerpt features the introduction and one essay from the co-editor.

Audience Engagement With Mother-Daughter Relationships In Prime-Time Television Of The 21st Century: A Qualitative Analysis Of Interpretation, Sensemaking, And Perceived Effects, Meghan L. O'Briend

Mass Communications - Dissertations

This qualitative analysis examines audience engagement with fictional portrayals of mother-daughter relationships in prime-time television of the 21st century. I used in-depth interviews with women of different backgrounds to explore how real mothers and daughters interpret portrayals of mother-daughter relationships on television; how they make sense of their own mother-daughter relationships through their engagement with these portrayals; and how and to what extent their engagement with these portrayals influences their own lives and mother-daughter relationships.

The results of this study uncovered a process of audience engagement with mother-daughter relationships on television that involved the viewing experience, interpretation, sensemaking, and perceived …

An Ethico-Politics Of Subaltern Representations In Post-9/11 Documentary Film, Joseph D. Parker

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

The World War Without End (WWWoE), formerly known as the War on Terror,ii is one of those rare occasions when a gendered subaltern population comes to the attention of the nation-state. If the subaltern is understood as something akin to illiterate rural women from the global South, then she now has the full attention of the White House and Downing Street, the US State Department, CNN and Time magazine.iii In official state positions and in media coverage, interest in the subaltern is often expressed in humanitarian attention to the rights or freedoms of these subaltern women in order to justify …

Between Reason And Faith: Breaking The Status Quo In Bram Stoker’S Dracula, Erin Newcomb

Journal of Dracula Studies

No abstract provided.

Mormon Female Gothic: Blood, Birth, And The Twilight Saga, Lisa Lampert-Weissig

Journal of Dracula Studies

No abstract provided.

Vampires Do(N’T) Exist: Using Past And Present Technologies To Make Dracula Real, Holly J. Mcbee

Journal of Dracula Studies

No abstract provided.

Sexing The Book: The Paratexts Of Bram Stoker’S Dracula, Brigitte Boudreau

Journal of Dracula Studies

No abstract provided.

Suicide And Suicide Risk In Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Populations: Review And Recommendations, Ann P. Haas, Mickey Eliason, Vickie M. Mays, Robin M. Mathy, Susan D. Cochran, Anthony R. D'Augelli, Morton M. Silverman, Prudence W. Fisher, Tonda Hughes, Margaret Rosario, Stephen T. Russell, Effie Malley, Jerry Reed, David A. Litts, Ellen Haller, Randall L. Sell, Gary Remafedi, Judith Bradford, Annette L. Beautrais, Gregory K. Brown, Gary M. Diamond, Mark S. Friedman, Robert Garofalo, Mason S. Turner, Amber Hollibaugh, Paula J. Clayton

Publications and Research

Despite strong indications of elevated risk of suicidal behavior in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, limited attention has been given to research, interventions or suicide prevention programs targeting these populations. This article is a culmination of a three-year effort by an expert panel to address the need for better understanding of suicidal behavior and suicide risk in sexual minority populations, and stimulate the development of needed prevention strategies, interventions and policy changes. This article summarizes existing research findings, and makes recommendations for addressing knowledge gaps and applying current knowledge to relevant areas of suicide prevention practice.

I Don't Remember Antwerp, But I Do Rome, Michael C. Vocino

Technical Services Faculty Publications

Brief short story of a fictional gay encounter in Antwerp, Belgium.

Ivy Leaves, Volume 85, Ivy Leaves Editorial Staff

Ivy Leaves

The 2011 edition of the Anderson University journal of art and literature, Ivy Leaves.

The names of the known editors for this issue of Ivy Leaves were Anna Davis, Brianne Holmes, Sarah Dobrotka, Rafael Alcantar, Jr., Josh Overstreet, Calli Lawson, Kelly Johnson, Jennifer Hall, Rachel Spoon, Mandie Wines, Naomi Nakazato, Lindsey Dilleshaw, Jivan Davé, Phillip Belger, David Bishop, Laura Jones, Seth Christie, Andrew Higgins, Teresa Jones, and Tim Speaker.

Resistance Through Transformation? The Meanings Of Gender Reversals In A Taiwanese Buddhist Monastery, Hillary Crane

Faculty Publications

This chapter demonstrates that Taiwanese Buddhist nuns resist the limitations of traditional Han gender ideologies by drawing on opportunities offered within those traditional gender constructions—opportunities that allow them to define themselves in opposition to the limited female gender characteristics and roles they reject. Crane argues that we should not interpret these nuns' masculine identification simply as resisting dominant Han gender ideologies. Instead, the nuns embrace the traditional, sexist Han ideologies, even to the point of exaggeration—portraying women not only as dangerous to the spiritual cultivation of others, but also of limited spiritual ability. They define the negative characteristics of women …

From Larva To Butterfly: Sophia In Ding Ling’S Miss Sophia’S Diary And Coco In Wei Hui’S Shanghai Baby, Xiaoqing Liu

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Sophia and Coco are two characters in Ding Ling's Miss Sophia's Diary (1928/1995) and Wei Hui's Shanghai Baby (1999), respectively. Like a larva, Sophia, who enters society in the early twentieth century, is weak and immobile. Coco, who lives at the end of the twentieth century, is like a butterfly leading an outlandish lifestyle. The differences between Sophia and Coco reflect the achievement of official feminism, which liberated Chinese women from traditional patriarchal control in the social sense. However, gender issues for women remain unresolved. To fight against traditional patriarchy and especially challenge gender oppression in official feminism, both Sophia …

Peeking Out From Behind The Curtain, Ian Reese

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Absconded by airport security to middle-of-nowhere Russia, Nikolai Alexeyev sat for several days in early September 2010 unaware of his infractions or of his fate. Like a page from a Cold-War spy novel, the point of his abduction was to terrorize; Alexeyev’s abductors psychologically tortured and berated him with homophobic remarks. Nikolai Alexeyev is the leading gay rights activist in Russia and has been a twisting thorn in the side of local and national government for several years. Upon his release, he resolved to agitate further by leading a public demonstration to boycott the Swiss International Air Lines for its …

A Process Archive: The Grand Circularity Of Woman's Building Video, Alexandra Juhasz

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Behind The Bars Of “Beauty”, Sheri Binkly

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

Using Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women, as my starting point for analysis, I set out to find the truth about the “beauty myth,” and what affect it has on women in our society. With the help of research done by Michelle Goldberg and Marissa Audia-Raymo, I analyzed current society, and examined why women still seem to be held back. My initial prediction proved to be naive. I wasn’t giving women enough credit for their struggles both now and throughout history. What I encountered was a problem that was established very deeply in …