Digital Commons Network^™

Pornstars, Content Creators, And Sex Educators: A Discourse Analysis Of Gender, Sexuality & Resistance In The West-Coast Pornography Industry, Samantha Silver

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Given the ease of Internet accessibility, the porn industry increasingly provides a common socialization medium for conceptions of gender, sex, and sexuality. For my master's thesis, I interviewed 10 industry film and video actors to better understand the processes through which their experiences are created. Interviews provided the data for a discourse analysis that considers systems of power that shaped actor interactions and core definitions of sex, gender, and sexuality. Hegemonic constructions of gender, femininity, and sexuality are pervasive in the industry; however, the industry also provides an arena for transformative discourse and disruption of hegemonic ideals. This research is …

Cultivating Chingona Power: A Study On The Chingona Identity, Celia Orosco Haro

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Mujeres across the country are claiming the Chingona identity and using it to cultivate their Chingona strength, feel empowered, and live for their own approval. A Chingona in this newly reclaimed use means a woman who embodies confidence, acceptance of self, reclamation of sexuality, siguiendo le adelante por su propio camino sin importarle lo que digan los demás, rejects social and cultural norms/expectations of women, and uses her strengths to empower and uplift others. Through the reclamation of this identity, these mujeres are moving beyond being hijas de la chingada to being Chingonas. This research highlights the Chingona identity …

“There's No I In Team”: Student Athlete Identity At An Ncaa Division Ii University, Jovanah Arrington

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Student athletes hold a unique identity at colleges and universities all across the nation. They are tasked with the high demands and time constraints of being both a college level student and athlete. While there have been growing conversations about student athletes at Division I institutions, those pertaining to Division II student athletes remain minimal.

While student athletes have a great deal in common, they all come from different backgrounds that have contributed to who they are today. When arriving to college, these unique individuals are introduced to institutional power structures that constrain and control their identities and individuality. These …

Bushler Bay And Hood View, 40 Years On: Gender, Forests And Change In The Global North, Carol Jean Pierce Colfer

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

In 2017, Carol Colfer revisited the communities of Bushler Bay and Hood View on the Olympic Peninsula, where she had spent three years doing ethnographic research in the 1970s. The purposes were two-fold: to test several rapid rural appraisal techniques and, as emphasized here, to assess the changes that had taken place in the interim. The ultimate goal was to contribute to USFS efforts to collaborate more effectively with women and men in forest communities. Her findings suggest that changes occurred in three (or more) spheres: livelihoods, demography, and gender relations, each of which is discussed below for each time …

We Break Our Bodies To Save Our Souls: Identity Construction Through The Participation In Flat Track Roller Derby, Torisha Stone

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

While sociology of sport has been growing steadily over the last few decades, with an increased focus on how sports participation allow for active identity construction, research on roller derby is incredibly limited. I argue that research on roller derby provides an important window for understanding gendered sports construction and participation. Derby also provides a space where identities are created through performance in addition to the creation of unique personas or in some cases primary identities. In this study, I conducted 15 semi-structured open ended interviews using non-probability and snowball sampling techniques of a rural roller derby league as well …

The Burden Of Invisible Work In Academia: Social Inequalities And Time Use In Five University Departments, University Of Oregon Social Sciences Feminist Network Research Interest Group

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

Despite an increase in the number of PhDs earned by women and faculty of color in recent decades, they are less numerous among faculty at US colleges and universities. This scarcity is most pronounced at the level of full professor. Why are women and faculty of color not reaching the upper levels of academia? Previous research in the cultural taxation literature suggests that women and faculty of color experience heavier service burdens than their white male colleagues. In order to examine whether a heavier service burden could be at the root of the “leaky pipeline” from PhD to full professor …

Moving The Needle On Equity And Inclusion, Kris De Welde Ph.D.

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

This article, adapted from an invited lecture given by the author, addresses intersectional inequalities in U.S. higher education, particularly as they impact faculty. With a focus on structure, culture, and climate, current data is presented, highlighting the variety of ways in which academia remains stratified. These patterns contribute to continued inequality, inequity, marginalization and discrimination. A secondary focus is on change, on “moving the needle,” exploring specific strategies for how institutions can transform and individuals can labor as change agents for equity and inclusivity.

How Far Have We Really Come? Black Women Faculty And Graduate Students' Experiences In Higher Education, Lori Walkington

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

This paper presents a critical overview of the sociological research on Black women's experiences as graduate students and faculty in higher education, with a focus on research since 1995. In interaction with the social inequalities of race and class, how are Black women faculty and graduate student’s experiences with sexism, racism, and classism reproduced within the institution of higher education? What kinds of policies have been implemented to address these problems? What changes, if any, have there been in the experiences of black women faculty and graduate students over time? How do Black women scholars fare in relation to their …

What It Means To Do Gender Differently: Understanding Identity, Perceptions And Accomplishments In A Gendered World, Joshua S. Smith, Kristin E. Smith

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

Recent changes in policies, laws, and public opinion have brought discussions about gender and gender-related topics to the forefront of cultural discourse. In spite of increased acceptance of gender nonconformity in public laws and Supreme Court rulings, we continue to see acts of hostility towards people who express their gender in nontraditional ways on both macro-system and individual levels. Viewing questions surrounding the issues of gender through an identity-oriented lens may shed light on some aspects of this complex topic. The present research utilizes social psychological and gender theories in order to better understand and explore the apparent contradictions in …

Aspirants And Interlopers: First-Generation, Underrepresented, Low-Income Master's Students, Jennifer Miles

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This thesis is based on eleven interviews with seven students enrolled in a social science master’s degree program at a small public university in the Western United States (University of the Northwest - UNW). My analysis details the differences in pathways and educational experiences between first- and continuing-generation students in this program. I found that first-generation, underrepresented, low-income (FGULI) students expressed greater difficulty fitting into graduate school, greater doubt about their ability to ‘do’ graduate school, less comfort interacting with faculty, and less ease with the concept of graduate school and with conceptualizing themselves as graduate students than continuing-generation students …