Digital Commons Network^™

Rap Music Literacy: A Case Study Of Millennial Audience Reception To Rap Lyrics Depicting Independent Women, Mia Moody-Ramirez, Lakia M. Scott

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Using a feminist lens and a constructivist approach as the theoretical framework, we used rap lyrics and videos to help college students explore mass media’s representation of the “independent” Black woman and the concept of “independence” in general. Students must be able to formulate their own concept of independence to counteract the messages and stereotypes they receive in popular culture through advertisements, film, print and music. The authors found that independence is situationally defined and it is a complex concept that is differentiated in consideration of age, race, and gender. Participants noted that rap music has the potential to influence …

When Men Are Sexually Harassed: A Foundation For Studying Men’S Experiences As Targets Of Sexual Harassment, Leland Spencer, Joshua Trey Barnett

Speaker & Gavel

While much scholarly attention has been given to sexual harassment, scholarship about men’s experiences as targets of sexual harassment has been limited. This essay is a review of the literature about men’s experiences of sexual harassment; it explores the operational definitions and sources of sexual harassment, the inadequacy of the instruments used to study sexual harassment, and the implications of this research for organizations and the field of communication studies. It also examines sexual harassment at the intersections of gender and sexual orientation, finding that there are apparent differences in incidences that feature diversity in these areas. This review concludes …

Older Adults With Elevated Bmi Are At Greater Risk Of Accelerated Knee Osteoarthritis: Data From The Osteoarthritis Initiative, Kyle D. Wallace

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Background: Around 35% of adults with osteoarthritis (OA) have knee osteoarthritis (KOA), which generally progresses over several years; however, some individuals experience accelerated KOA (AKOA), a rapid progression to end-stage disease within 48-months. Purpose: To assess baseline differences among those who develop the different types of KOA, and to determine if baseline characteristics and measures can be used to predict an individual’s KOA status (Common KOA or AKOA) 48 months later.

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) was completed. At baseline, 4,769 participants were enrolled. Data from individuals (n = 1,561) free of radiographic KOA (Kellgren-Lawrence …

2016 Research & Innovation Day Program, Robin Painter, Carly Vignault, Teresa Fisher, Taylor Graham, Jenny Rensby, Ashley Sherry, Kelly Maloney, Allison Speck, Victoria Beardshaw, Megan Loucks, Michelle Giffin, Amal Muselmani, Cassandra Melon, Erin Tulett, Candice Thomas, Megan Taylor, Marissa Macdonald, Kayla Bailey, Kate Sadler, Jessica Wilkins, Allyson Richter, Taylor Myers, Jessica Bouchard, Kristina Pepe, Haylee Siddall, Alyssa Churchill, Maureen Cullen, Anthony Currie, Jaimie Cameron, Kevin Co, Mary Alias, Marguerite Mayr, Christian Mclean, Kelsey Fischer, Paryank Dave, Todd Young, Rick Martin, Bronwyn Johns, Catherine Mallinger, Jessica Yassine, Victoria Ngo, Kristen Clendinning, Amy Mcmillan, Dominique Ste. Croix, Pooja Relekar, Krittika Sarkar, Feyisayo Olakanye, Onyekachukwo Okonji, Samiksha Puppalwar, Kajal Patel, Jayeshbhai Parkhiya, Alexander Ware, Victoria Rodrigues, Meghan Bondy, Alana Vandelaar, Richard Cliffen, Adam Desjardins, Brittany Usher, Anthony Valle, Jessica Cutting, Vimoshana Vijayakumar, Anthony Yip Chuck, Ashley Bilyea, Karlie Cooper, Sarah Broadfoot, Russell Vey, Andrew Ross, Jesse Bourret-Gheysen, Cole Drake, Kaitlynn Rawson, Candice Etmanskie, Allan Humphrey, Elliott Law, Julia Bowering, Deion Farrington, Ryan Figueiredo, Romik Vadhvana, Amol Pai, Aisling Laverty, Ryan Chin, Johanna Garzon, Linnea Smith, Ronak Zareardalan, Cassandra Marks, Sarah Dykstra, Jonathan Ferreira, Joshua Zeledon, Kevin Greenspan-Praktik, Nicholas Ireland, Caitlin Lam, Matthew Walcher, Jessica Pesant-Simpson, Chris Robins, Serena Teng, Asha Ramji, Melissa Lambert, Alex Stegmann, Jamie Louwagie, Zachary Alexander Klassen, William Johnston, Jacqueline Payne, Phil Waldie, Brendan Dunn, Paige Mason, Mike Vandenbrink, Kelly Donovan, Craig Docking, Jordan Mcdonald, Jesse Milley, Cameron Kok, Nick Hollinger, Nolan Leclerc, Ken Mcdonald, Sarah Benbow, Cheryl Forchuk, Carolyne Gorlick, Helene Berman, Catherine Ward-Griffin, Natalia Aguillon, Helen Harrison, John Bennett, Robert Haaf, Jodi Hall, Karen Jenkins, Holly Weaver, Billy Jones, Julie Baumann, Debbie Rudman, Lorie Donelle, Karen O'Brien, Katie Sudnicka, Seyed Goosheh, Mona Khadelwal, Annette Woloszyn, Peter Sturm, Lori Ranieri, Karen Katsademas, Matt Farrell, Sam Roodi, Kim Cechetto, Sheryl Third, Mike Sloan, Brad Smith, Pat Bethune-Davies, Karen Jenkins, Sarah Benbow

Centre for Research and Innovation Publications

A one day showcase of applied research, social innovation, scholarship projects and activities.

Portrayals Of Gender In The Media: A Content Analysis Approach To Identifying Gender Oppression And Legitimation Of Patriarchy In Magazine Advertisements, Autumn M. O’Toole

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Advertisements are among the most pervasive forms of media. Portrayals of gender in advertisements constitute a significant subject of social research based on this pervasiveness and the influence that advertising media have on audiences. This influence is based on the notion that media is an institutional vehicle for ideas about products, lifestyles, and oppression. In this study, the institution of media is examined through an analysis of representations of patriarchy and gender oppression in media advertisements. The primary research question is: In what ways can we identify gender oppression and the support of hegemonic masculinity and systems of patriarchy in …

Bodybuilding Is An Art And Your Body Is The Canvas: An Examination Of Bodybuilders And The Built Body, Caitlin Greaf

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study examines the bodybuilding community by conducting interviews and watching the bodybuilding documentaries Pumping Iron, Pumping Iron II, and Generation Iron. Bodybuilders’ performance of the body is not solely acted just on stage for competitions. Rather, bodybuilders are continuously redefining limitations of what we determine a ‘normal’ body looks like. By using the concept of the gaze, I analyze bodybuilders’ bodies as an oddity on and off stage (Mulvey, 1989). The oddity of their body transforms the space it takes up into a stage for entertainment. I then examine gender performances of female and male bodybuilders within the traditionally …

The Adoption Of Feminist Policies Under Conservative Governments, Malliga Och

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation sheds light on the role conservative governments play in promoting feminist policies despite an inherent tension between conservative principles and feminist claims. It is critical to focus on the process by which conservative governments adopt or reject feminist policies not only because we know little about the process, but also because conservative governments represent the least likely case. As such, we can learn more from the case of conservative governments than from the experience of leftist parties as it allows us to understand the influence of variables beyond an egalitarian ideology. Specifically, the dissertation will consider feminist policies …

White Women Wanted? An Analysis Of Gender Diversity In Social Justice Magazines, Corey Lee Wrenn, Megan Lutz

Diversity and Social Movements Collection

The role of media in collective action repertoires has been extensively studied, but media as an agent of socialization in social movement identity is less understood. It could be that social movement media is normalizing a particular activist identity to the exclusion of other demographics. For instance, Harper has identified white-centrism in anti-speciesist media produced by the Nonhuman Animal rights movement and supposes that this lack of diversity stunts movement potential. Using the lesser-studied Nonhuman Animal rights movement as a starting point, this study investigates two prominent Nonhuman Animal rights magazines. We compare those findings with an analysis of comparable …

Negotiating Gender And Sexuality In Contemporary Turkey, Jaspal Kaur Singh, Mary Lou O'Neil

Books

Turkey is often visualized as a modern nation-state having a perfect balance of Eastern and Western cultural mores and traditions within dominant ideological constructions and representations, but on closer inspection, one can detect conflicts and contradictions within various texts—particularly in regards to depictions of gender and sexual identity. Upon its foundation as a nation, Turkey embarked on a state-centered, elite-driven path toward modernization and Westernization while also seeking to produce a monolithic culture. At the time, it was widely believed that Turkey could not rank among modern,

Western countries without the emancipation of women. As a result of the founding …

Commercial Content Moderation: Digital Laborers' Dirty Work, Sarah T. Roberts

Media Studies Publications

In this chapter from the forthcoming Intersectional Internet: Race, Sex, Class and Culture Online (Noble and Tynes, Eds., 2016), I introduce both the concept of commercial content moderation (CCM) work and workers, as well as the ways in which this unseen work affects how users experience the Internet of social media and user-generated content (UGC). I tie it to issues of race and gender by describing specific cases of viral videos that transgressed norms and by providing examples from my interviews with CCM workers. The interventions of CCM workers on behalf of the platforms for which they labor directly contradict …

Ally Advent Calendar 2016, St. Norbert College

2016-2017

This calendar was crowdsourced as a response to a need. People asked: What can we do RIGHT NOW to be an ally to those marginalized, fearful, oppressed? And what can we do to teach love and acceptance to those who aren’t there yet? This calendar is a joyful launching point, a place to start.

Exploring The Coping Strategies Of Female Urban High School Seniors On Academic Successes As It Relates To Bullying, Brenda Elaine Brooks-Turner

ETD Archive

Bullying has become a worldwide problem of pandemic proportion and degree. (Thomas, Bolen, Heister & Hyde, 2010). In the United States over thirty-five percent of school-aged students were directly involved in bullying incidents. Tragic news stories about suicides and school violence raised awareness about the importance of addressing this global issue (Van Der Zande, 2010). To date reports further indicate that more females are involved in indirect relational bullying than males. Unfortunately, as technology becomes more and more accessible, relational bullying has become one of the fastest growing epidemics (Brinson, 2005; Rigby & Smith, 2011).

Current research explanations were limited …

Negotiating Identity And Constructing Masculinities: A Narrative Case Study Of Men In Early Childhood Education, Matthew C. Luginbill

ETD Archive

Men teachers are not present in early childhood classrooms for many reasons, despite recruitment efforts. Many men who do choose to follow this feminized career path find themselves positioned as tokens and often quickly leave for administration. Informed by a three-dimensional narrative inquiry approach this research utilized identity and masculinities paradigms to investigate the experiences of veteran men teaching young children. A series of four interviews was used to explore and describe the individual professional life history of participants. The narratives of Frank, Jerry, and George provide a deeper understanding of how men negotiate identity and construct masculinities over time …

Coloring The Page: Examinations Of Racialized Femininity And Embodied Power Within Women’S Magazines, Lauren Dejesus-Glasgow

Theses & ETDs

This study examines racialized and gendered representations of embodied power within women’s magazines. The cultural imagery disseminated through visual media impacts the behavioral and physical markers of racialized gender that inform the meanings women use to construct ideas about femininity and make sense of their bodies. By looking at the images within women’s magazines, this study explores the different standards of embodied gender and racialized femininities for black and white women produced in this form of visual media. Specifically, I use a quantitative content analysis of the images of models within six issues of Essence magazine (from October 2015 to …

The Alchemist’S Wife: Gender And Sacred Space In Seventeenth-Century Alchemical Art, Elisabeth Rose Genter

Theses & ETDs

In seventeenth-century Europe, the practice of alchemy was commonplace among scholars, noblemen, and the clergy alike. A number of Dutch artists took interest in the subject and produced a variety of alchemical “genre” scenes, which depict the alchemist in his home laboratory, accompanied occasionally by his wife, children, and assistants. Dutch alchemical genre scenes serve a unique purpose in the study of art, as they showcase a versatile, complex space that gives us a look into Early Modern concepts of gender, domesticity, science, and religion. As well, like many other Dutch domestic scenes, the alchemist’s laboratory became a space for …

Gamer Girls: Navigating A Subculture Of Gender Inequality, Robert L. Harrison, Jenna M. Drenten, Nicholas Pendarvis

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Purpose

Video gaming, which remains culturally embedded in masculine ideals, is increasingly becoming a leisure activity for female consumers. Guided by social dominance theory, this paper examines how female gamers navigate the masculine-oriented gaming consumption context.

Methodology/approach

Eight avid female gamers (ages 20–29) participated in-depth interviews, following a phenomenological approach to better understand their lived experiences with video gaming. Data were analyzed using phenomenological procedures.

Findings

Findings reveal an undercurrent of gender-based consumer vulnerability, driven by stereotypical perceptions of “gamer girls” in the masculine-oriented gaming subculture. Further, the findings highlight the multilayered, multidimensional nature of gaming as a vulnerable consumption …

Debunking The Myth Of Universal Male Privilege, Jamie Abrams

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Existing legal responses to sexual assault and harassment in the military have stagnated or failed. Current approaches emphasize the prevalence of sexual assault and highlight the masculine nature of the military’s statistical composition and institutional culture. Current responses do not, however, incorporate masculinities theory to disentangle the experiences of men as a group from men as individuals. Rather, embedded within contestations of the masculine military culture is the unstated assumption that the culture universally privileges or benefits the individual men that operate within it. This myth is harmful because it tethers masculinities to military efficacy, suppresses the costs of male …

Masculine Compromise: Migration, Family, And Gender In China (Review), Wenqing Kang

History Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Gendered Voice: Effects Of Gender On Supreme Court Decisions, Maya Rich

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

After 191 years, the first woman was named to the US Supreme Court. Today, three women sit on the high court. Do they speak with a different voice when compared to their male counterparts? This research assesses the potential and additive impact of female justices on the behavior of the United States Supreme Court. Controlling for ideology, gender, and legal factors, this paper analyzes whether the gender of Supreme Court justices impacts case outcomes.

The Acoustic Screen: The Dynamics Of The Female Look And Voice In Abbas Kiarostami's Shirin, Najmeh Moradiyan-Rizi

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the representation of women in post-revolutionary Iranian cinema has been one of the main concerns of Iranian officials. This concern caused the enforcement of cinematic restrictions on Iranian cinema in 1982, known as the Islamic Codes of Modesty. The prohibition of the close-ups of women’s faces was one of these cinematic limitations. Since then, Iranian filmmakers have used a great amount of creativity in their films to not only represent Iranian women on the screen, but also to criticize the gender-segregated laws of Iran. Their creativity and efforts have gradually challenged and changed …

Sticking To The Script: Sexual Scripts In The Slasher Sub-Genre, Jennifer L. Clay

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

The “slasher” sub-genre has been immensely popular, even spawning television shows that invoke the familiar slasher conventions. This sub-genre has simultaneously become vilified by media researchers over the years. The slasher has received particular criticism for allegedly reinforcing regressive attitudes regarding female sexuality. This study applies sexual script theory to better understand the messages about sex found throughout the sub-genre. This study utilizes content analysis to study the more recent iterations of the slasher sub-genre including the re-make, the modern slasher film and the slasher television show. This analysis uncovered that the slasher sub-genre has evolved over time. While slasher …

A Gendered Lens Of Understanding Confidence, Abbey Johnston

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Women make up approximately half of the U.S. workforce, yet far fewer women than men reach senior management and leadership positions. Women enter the workplace at levels similar to men, with comparable credentials and expectations, but their career paths rapidly diverge. This discrepancy among males and females can be associated, in part, to the documented difference in confidence between men and women. This study addressed the critical topic of how gender may impact an individual’s understanding and level of confidence and utilized the theoretical lenses of Mead’s (1934) Symbolic Interactionism and the Standpoint Theory of Harding (1991) and Wood (2004). …

The Confluence Of Gender And Poverty: The Shameful History Of The Trafficking Of Poor Persons For Sexual Exploitation, Jody Raphael

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

Space, Place, Gender, And Sexuality : Situational Gender In Four Coffee Houses, Kimberly Tauches

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In this dissertation, I explore the notion of situational gender in four coffee houses. Drawing on recent theoretical contributions by Barrie Thorne (1993) and Jacob Hale (1997) I determine the ways in which gender changes salience, as well as how gender shifts for individuals in these specific social settings. The crux of my research question focuses on determining the fluidity of gender in everyday life by highlighting the importance of situation while still maintaining a deep understanding of how gender operates as a major social structure. I draw on recent theoretical notions in gender performance, queer theory, and postmodern theory …

Determinants Of Veterans' Help Seeking Intentions : An Application Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Tania Khan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Military veterans are often placed in mentally and physically challenging situations and may also endure stress when transitioning to civilian life after their military service, which can lead to many veterans experiencing mental health concerns (Bullock, Braud, Andrews, & Phillips, 2009; Cornish, Thys, Vogel, & Wade, 2014; Hoge, Auchterlonie, & Milliken, 2006; Seal, Bertenthal, Miner, Sen, & Marmar, 2007). Despite the increased risk, many veterans choose not to seek out professional mental health services (Kim, Britt, Klocko, Riviere, & Adler, 2010; Sharp et al., 2015).

All The Single Ladies : How The Intersections Of Race And Family Type Influence Health, Cassandra G. Carter

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Decreasing rates of marriage and the delay of motherhood or decision to forsake childbearing altogether are emergent trends in the United States. Historically, shifts in family composition have always been important, yet the increase in the number of unmarried and child-free adults is rarely acknowledged by health researchers. Race and family type will be used to investigate the health of Black and White unmarried, childless women (SWANS), using intersectional theory, the Social Determinants of Health, and the Sojourner Model. The frequencies of poor health outcomes are analyzed to determine if family type influences health outcomes, and if so, does this …

Gender, Genre, And “Quality” Television: The Field Of Television Production In America From 1951 - 2013, Joseph Andrew Hoff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gender has a major impact on how society is organized. Societal processes taking place within fields continually shape and recreate our concepts of man and woman. Within television this is no difierent. Although a field closely tied to capitalistic economic interests, television has been afiorded a slight amount of autonomy that has allocertain shows in certain genres to be engaged with by audiences much like literature that is rich in symbolism and open to multiple interpretations. This study addresses how gender has structured the field over three distinct time periods as it expanded and provided men with opportunities and resources …

Finding Sanctuary In Sisterhood: A Middle School Literacy Group Critically Analyzes Race, Gender, And Size, Dywanna E. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This critical qualitative study documented intersectionalities of race, gender, body image, and literacies as interpreted by five eighth grade Black female students during an eight-week after school literacy group. Ethnopoetic methodologies were used to represent findings and provide insights about how critical literacy engagements can be used to create discursive spaces where young Black girls describe and define these intersectionalities, how they are socialized into current beliefs, make meaning of beauty ideals portrayed in media, and interpret gender, obesity, and race. Through content analysis of field notes, audio recorded sessions, research partner interviews, researcher journals, and genre artifacts, this study …

Representing Autistic Masculinity: Hegemonic Gender Performances In Contemporary Autism Films, James Samuel Kizer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

While longstanding notions of autism have conceptualized it as medicalized disability, recent scholarship has advanced theories of autism as cultural production; in other words, autism may be better understood as a synthesis of medical science, media portrayals, and societal attitudes rather than the product of any of these arenas individually. Academic inquiry into the intersection of autism and gender, though, remains largely underdeveloped. Work has been done theorizing how autistic people understand their gender but little exists regarding how cultural apparatuses actually produce it. My study, then, addresses this gap through examining media representations of autism, specifically autistic masculinity in …

Examining Early Childhood Gender Socialization Through Children’S Picture Books, Kendra Leigh Pospisil

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This analysis examines gender representations found in children’s picture books through a symbolic interactionist perspective, employing conceptual ideas produced by West and Zimmerman (1987) and West and Fenstermaker 1995). Through a qualitative content analysis of 20 picture books from the past 15 years, I examine how gender is portrayed through both human and animal characters. I find that children’s picture books reflect our patriarchal society as they are male-centered, male-dominated, and male-identified (Johnson 2014). Children’s picture books depict patriarchal gender portrayals and provide children with examples of gender performances that satisfy patriarchal gender norms. This research has implications beyond books; …