Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Disclosure Involving A Third-Party: Reciprocity And Liking Outcomes, Keith Cotterell

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This investigation examines the function of third-party disclosures on reciprocal self-disclosures and liking. Sixty-eight college students engaged in a social interaction with one or two computers. In the experiment, one computer would “disclose” information either about itself or about another computer (third-party). Each disclosure was followed by a question to the participant. Questions were asked either by the discloser or by third-party to assess reciprocation of disclosures. Afterwards, participants rated liking for the two computers-as-social-actors. Participants showed a tendency to disclose more (i.e., give longer responses) to an actor who disclosed to them, regardless of whether the disclosure was about …

Assessment And Impact Of Gentrified Public Housing Neighborhoods In The United States: A Case Study Of Chicago, Todd W. Sink

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social-mix housing policies play a unique role in shaping the geography of gentrification in cities throughout the U.S. and Europe. The HOPE VI program in the U.S. is one popular example. Since its inception in 1992, HOPE VI has simultaneously displaced thousands of urban poor from their homes and neighborhoods, reduced their housing opportunities, and created and encouraged housing development for a more affluent population. Yet over the years, very few empirical studies have emerged that examine the place-based outcomes of HOPE VI within the context of gentrification. As such, important empirical questions remain unanswered. This study focuses on the …

Self-Expansion And Couple Possessions: The Representation Of The Self And Other In Valued Possessions, Lindsey Paniccia

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study seeks to understand the influence of romantic relationships on identity symbolism, specifically the use of personal possessions as a means of achieving social validation. According to self-expansion theory (Aron & Aron, 1986), engaging in a romantic relationship alters one’s sense of self; romantic partners take on the qualities and characteristics of a partner and integrate them into the self. To understand the process of identity symbolism due to one’s newly expanded sense of self, this study investigated the link between the amount of reported self-expansion and couple representativeness as well as the function of one’s possessions (other-direct …

How To Be The Best At Everything: The Gendering And Embodiment Of Girl/Boy Advice, Barbara Lesavoy

Journal of Interdisciplinary Feminist Thought

This paper explores the binary divide packaged under the children’s How be the Best at Everything (2007) girl/boy advice books. Postmodern and materialist feminist thought as a lens into media-infused social and class reproduction provide a theoretical framework in interrogating this gender binary. I argue that that the books, as heteronormative nostalgia, operationalize a theory I term “gender retraction,” a phenomenon in which the vast knowledge that informs our identity spectrum propels us into a cultural time warp, where, with an array of socially inscribed possibilities, the binary clarity of age old girl/boy categories has resurging appeal The paper exposes …

Popular Culture And The Feminist Ideal: A Feminist Critique Of Home Box Office's "Sex And The City", Koryna Zendejas

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Faculty Perceptions About Attributes And Barriers Impacting The Diffusion Of Online Education In Two Saudi Universities, Mohammed Mfarij Alhawiti

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recognizing that faculty are an essential part of the success of any distance education program, this study sought to examine faculty perceptions of attributes and barriers impacting diffusion of online education at two Saudi universities: Taif University and Tabuk University. More specifically, the study intended to (a) give an overview of faculty members’ current stage in the innovation-decision process in regards to online education, (b) examine faculty perceptions about attributes (motivating factors) and barriers (inhibiting factors) impacting diffusion of online education, (c) investigate the relationship between faculty members’ selected personal characteristics (including age, years of teaching, DE experience, gender, academic …

With Us Or Against Us: Using Religiosity And Sociodemographic Variables To Predict Homophobic Beliefs, Erin Coale Schwartz

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Affiliation with religious organizations is prevalent in the United States and within some of these organizations negative messages about lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals are regularly espoused. Exposure to such homophobic sentiment has been found to have a detrimental impact on the mental health of sexual minorities and thereby, makes the exploration of religiosity and homophobia an imperative. This study examined differences in homophobia among the sociodemographic variables of gender, age, education level, religious affiliation, frequency of attendance at religious services, and amount of contact with lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Additionally, a stepwise multiple regression was conducted to determine …

Characteristics Of Difficult Patients In Prisons Compared To Difficult Patients In Primary Care Settings, Emily Kistler

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has found that patients perceived as being difficult by their physicians share a number of characteristics. These “difficult” characteristics include Axis I disorders, personality disorders, somatization, complex health problems, and aggression. Current research has focused on defining “difficult patients” in community populations, while other populations have gone overlooked. One population that has high prevalence rates of the “difficult” characteristics identified in community samples is offenders. As a group, offenders tend to have high rates of mental illness, chronic health problems, and behavioral issues such as aggression. While difficult patients in prison may resemble difficult patients in the community, research …

The Fabrication Of Gender: Concept To Catwalk, Emily J. Pascoe

Senior Honors Projects

Gender, as I have come to understand it, is a vast, variable and personal response to one’s society and culture. As an interpretation of one’s biological sex it is a prominent aspect in our lives. Because of this prominence, attributes of gender are revealed in many forms. In relevance to fashion gender is manifested visually. Traits of femininity, androgyny and masculinity are rendered in dress and appearance.

I have portrayed these traits by using editorial fashion images to create a visual gender continuum. Using images from a compilation of current fashion magazines, whose target consumers are either men or women, …

Place Construction, Identity, And Capital Investment: An Investigation Of Two Tourist Landscapes In Michigan, Andrew Stawarski

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tourist communities exist all over the world. They are areas that are focused on tourism and are often tailored to resemble specific regions or themes to better achieve capital gain. In this study, two cities in Michigan are examined to better understand how the cultural landscapes are experienced and what practices are employed throughout the landscape. Specifically, this thesis investigates the spatial practices that are involved in re-creating and re-presenting ―themed‖ landscapes. Another question analyzed is whether the ―themed‖ landscapes reflect the resident‘s daily lives and/or their histories. This thesis examines the two Michigan cities of Gaylord and Frankenmuth, re-presenting …

Can Female Genital Mutilation Victims Benefit From Corrective Surgery: To Regain Sexual Pleasure And Be “Whole” Once Again?, Monique Sulls

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is defined by the World Health Organization, (WHO), as the removal or cutting of the external female genitalia. WHO estimates between 100 and 140 million girls and women worldwide currently live with the consequences of FGM. The study finds that through corrective surgery, pre/post therapy, counseling, and sexual education victims to FGM can regain sexual pleasure providing them a chance to be “Whole” once again.

Nietzsche And Lou, Eros And Art : On Lou’S Triangles And The « Exquisite Dream » Of Sacro Monte, Babette Babich

Research Resources

No abstract provided.

Piracy, Slavery, And Assimilation: Women In Early Modern Captivity Literature, David C. Moberly

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis examines a hitherto neglected body of works featuring female characters enslaved in Islamicate lands. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, many Englishmen and women were taken captive by pirates and enslaved in what is now the Middle East and North Africa. Several writers of the time created narratives and dramas about the experiences of such captives. Recent scholarship has brought to light many of these works and pointed out their importance in establishing what was still a young, unsure, and developing English identity in this early period. Most of this scholarship, however, has dealt with narratives of the …

Gender Stereotypes In The American Electoral Process, Samantha Stinedurf

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Gender stereotypes can increase the negative perception of female candidates during an election. This can decrease a female politician's chances of running for office and/or being elected to office. When these stereotypes are attached to female candidates, it can cause bias against them which then effects voting behavior among both men and women voters. Many of these stereotypes include looking at the typical personality traits as well as the perception of competency when dealing with social, economic and foreign policy issues. How do gender stereotypes present bias against women? Using data from the American National Election Study I assess the …

Love For Sale: How Working Conditions Influence The Dramaturgical Presentation Of Self For Sex Workers In Amsterdam, Elizabeth Scheib

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research investigates how working conditions affect the dramaturgical presentation of self for sex workers in Amsterdam. Seven participants were interviewed in person; three were female window sex workers and four were male brothel sex workers. The theoretical perspective was inspired by sociologists Erving Goffman and Arlie Hochschild. The findings were discussed through the subcategories on the preparation for work/use of costume and props, feelings on competition and co-workers, feelings on work and success, the emotional labour of client interaction, and feelings on discrimination or other negative aspects of the job. This research concludes that emotional labour of client interactions …

The Angel And The Imp: The Duncan Sisters’ Performances Of Race And Gender, Jocelyn Buckner

Theatre Faculty Articles and Research

From 1923 to 1959 Vivian and Rosetta Duncan performed the show Topsy and Eva in front of thousands of audiences in the United States and abroad. This essay examines how the Duncan Sisters’ appropriation of blackness through a yin and yang performance of black and white womanhood, their sexualized but ultimately infantilizing routine as young girls, and their take on anarchistic comedy resulted in a particular spin on age, gender, race, and sexuality that reinforced their privilege as white women even while it pushed the boundaries of acceptable femininity in the swiftly shifting American culture of the first half of …

Fevered Desires And Interracial Intimacies In Jungle Fever, Ronald Sundstrom

Philosophy

Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever centers on a sexual affair between a black man, Flipper, and a white, Italian American woman, Angela. This pairing centers on the type of interracial relationship and pairing (black man plus white woman) typically obsessed about in discussions of interracial romances. It is also the pairing offered by Left radicals, such as Frantz Fanon in Black Skins, White Masks (1952), as the prototype of racial revolution. The title of Julius Lester’s black nationalist classic Look Out, Whitey! Black Power’s Gonna Get Your Mama! (1969), dramatically illustrates this view. Lee’s Jungle Fever upsets this radical stance by …

Investigating Trait Attribution Through Gendered Avatar Play: An Analysis Of The Sims 3, Erika M. Behrmann

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigates whether the life-simulation videogame, The Sims 3, enables the deconstruction of the gender binary. The Sims 3 permits its players the capability to attribute similar traits to male or female avatars. In doing so, players can experiment with taboo trait attributions and potentially defy a male-female binary. A group of 82 The Sims 3 players was surveyed to determine their overall male and female Sims trait selections during gameplay. Participants were questioned on how their trait selection related to their personal identities. Results indicated that players tend to select traits that maintain a gender binary. This …

When Men Are Harmed: Feminism, Queer Theory, And Torture At Abu Ghraib, Aziza Ahmed

Faculty Scholarship

In this Article I explore the assertions of "anti-imperialist" feminist scholars who critique "imperial feminism" for its support of the war on terror (WOT). I bring into this analysis the proposition by queer theorists that feminist reliance on male/ female subordination has the potential to not only obscure harm in times of war but also to perpetuate it. As a case study, I focus on the Abu Ghraib prison photos that depict, in part, female soldiers torturing male Iraqi prisoners. In conducting this analysis, I reveal the analytical limitations of dominance and cultural feminists, particularly with regard to male harm …

Imperial Performativity: The Life, Transgressions, And Writings Of Isabelle Eberhardt Under The Lens Of Queer Theory, Kelsey Deforest

Undergraduate Research Awards

An examination of Isabelle Eberhardt's life and writings with regard to gender norms and imperialist expectations in French-controlled Algeria. The PDF includes the author's entry submission essay for the 2011 Undergraduate Research Awards.

Hegans: An Examination Of The Emerging Male Vegan, Justine Ann Johnson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In the United States, many people have turned to an alternative diet, veganism. The vegan diet contradicts R.W. Connell's (43) theory of hegemonic masculinity, which is supported by the domination of women and animals. This study focuses on the masculinity represented through promotion of veganism for men in two books, Meat is for Pussies by John Joseph and Skinny Bastard by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, and vegan related articles in four US men's magazines: GQ, Esquire, Men's Health Magazine, and Men's Fitness Magazine. These vegan-explicit texts, written for a male audience, reinforce the heteronormative idea of masculinity through masculine …

Play Education Video Games On Their Terms, Wendi M. Kappers

Publications

It is imperative when utilizing educational video games in K-12 classrooms that student preferences with regard to game play, purpose, and design be considered in order 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.

Modelos Masculinos Y Violencia En Sanctuary Y Crónica De Una Muerte Anunciada, Cesar Valverde

Scholarship

This essay analyzes how two novels, William Faulkner’s Sanctuary and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold, present masculine models that juxtapose power and violence during times of social crisis. Both novels present violent masculinities that overcome peaceful masculinities, in conflicts that result in murders and rapes; but rather than acuse the individuals responsible for the violent acts, the texts point out the social mechanisms that inexorably move the authors of the crimes. In both works we also see violence against women and resulting public deaths of men wrongly accused, which happen due to an inability to adapt to …

“I Would Feel Uncomfortable If My Child’S Teacher Were Gay”: Examining The Role Of Symbolic Homophobia And Political Affiliation, Michael Moore, Amy C. Moors

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Symbolic homophobia is a general negative disposition towards lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals, which is demonstrated in symbolic forms of prejudice rather than overt actions. Stigma towards lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals has transformed from overt forms of prejudice to slightly less blatant more subtle forms in recent years (Schafer & Shaw, 2009). Based on previous research, it is has also been shown that conservatives will have higher levels of symbolic homophobia. (Linneman, 2004), Thus, in order to assess the more nuanced forms of prejudice in relation to political affiliation, Study 1 created a scale to assess symbolic homophobia. …

Olfactory Mate Choice And Potential Chemical Signals Of The White-Throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia Albicollis), Peter Sebastian

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chemical odor signals are well documented in mammals, and yet almost nothing is known about the use of chemical odor signals in birds due to the traditional view that birds have a no sense or a poor sense of smell. Recent studies have revealed the traditional view to be unfounded, but more work is necessary to 1) expand our knowledge of avian olfaction in passerine species and 2) determine whether birds utilize chemical signals. The aim of this thesis was to 1) test for olfactory-based choice in a passerine species, and examine the chemical composition of preen oil for potential …

Perception Of Control: Accuracy Among Optimists And Pessimists On Noncontingency And Contingengy Tasks, Spencer Baunn M.S.

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The learned helplessness theory asserts that depressed individuals unrealistically believe that they have little to no control over aversive outcomes in their lives. Paradoxically, research on judgment of control has demonstrated that depressed individuals are not necessarily pessimistic, but rather more realistic than non-depressed individuals. Most of the research on depressive realism has investigated individual’s perceived control in situations in which they have no actual control. Few studies have investigated perception of control in situations where control is possible. Considering that many circumstances in life are controllable, it is important to examine how different personality variables contribute to accurate judgments …

Lg Ms 018 Maine Won’T Discriminate Archives Finding Aid, Karin A. France

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

Maine Won't Discriminate (MWD) was an organization created to work toward passing LGBT civil rights legislation in Maine and to advocate against/for citizens referenda that would have overturned/sustained such legislation. The Archives contains organizational records as well as print and audiovisual material created and used by the organization. The majority of the materials relate to MWD’s ultimately successful efforts to oppose referendum Question 1 in 2005, which read: “Do you want to reject the new law that would protect people from discrimination in employment, housing, education, public accommodations and credit based on their sexual orientation?” The materials include polling …

A Descriptive Study Of A Building-Based Team Problem-Solving Process, Alexander B. Brewer

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to empirically evaluate Building-Based Teams for General Education Intervention or BBT for GEI. BBT for GEI is a team problem-solving process designed to assist schools in conducting research-based interventions in the general education setting. Problem-solving teams are part of general education and provide support to students with academic or behavioral concerns by creating individualized interventions that teachers can use in the classroom. Historically, problem-solving teams’ two primary goals were to reduce referrals to special education and improve student performance on academic or behavioral concerns. This study examined the effectiveness of BBT for GEI by …

Career Decisions: Goodness-Of-Fit And Attrition Of Teachers In Alternative Schools, Deidre S. Coulter

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers are the most important element in the education system (Stronge, 2002). However, studies of teachers in certain sectors are lacking. The paucity of research on teachers who work in the alternative school environment was a driving force behind this study, which is a case study of the characteristics of alternative schools, perceptions of teacher training, attrition, and goodness-of-fit. Interviews with teachers, administrators, and support staff in an alternative school were used to investigate interactions between teachers and students and between colleagues. Classroom observations of the teachers were used to help explore the classroom climate. Emergent themes such as communication, …

Police Brutality Makes Headlines: Retelling The Story Of The 1938 Pecan Shellers’ Strike, Laura Cannon Dixon

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The 1938 San Antonio pecan shellers’ strike was a unique labor event. It involved conflicts between a dominant white power elite and workers who were culturally, ethnically, linguistically, and religiously different. The power elite separated and suppressed Tejano workers, who were seen as inferior. The five-week strike was an attempt to shake off that suppression. As newspaper reports from the period showed, the power elite responded to picketers with brutal police tactics, but nightsticks, ax handles and tear gas failed to curb worker resistance. The strike was important, therefore, because unlike other Southern labor actions, workers in San Antonio succeeded, …