Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

The Career Resilience Of Women Of Color Amidst Intersectional Racism-Sexism In The Us: A Consensual Qualitative Study, Hannah Ahmad Ridzuan

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Women of color have historically and presently experienced both sexism and racism on interpersonal, institutional, and cultural levels (Sue et al., 2007). While discrimination based on racial-ethnic and gender identities has by far the most extensive literature base (Duffy et al., 2016), literature on the development of women of color career resilience is not as expansive. Informed by the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT) (Blustein, 2006; Duffy et al., 2016), the intersectionality framework (Crenshaw, 1989; Collins et al., 2021), and critical consciousness (Freire, 1971; Quiñones-Rosado, 2020), this consensual qualitative research (CQR; Hill, 2006) explored how women of color in the …

Japan’S Military Transformation In Abe Era: A Revolution Or Something Else?, Ganesh Aji Wicaksono, Tangguh Chairil

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

After the World War II, Japan has been adopting a pacifist Constitution and established the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) for narrow self-defense operations. The JSDF are restricted from having offensive military weapons. However, Japan’s pacifism and restrained security policy have been evolving recently, especially during the term of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (2012-2020). The latest example is Japan’s plan to enable forward defense and counterstrike. This paper explores the transformation of Japan’s military through the revolution of military affairs (RMA) concept. The findings suggest evolutionary transformation of Japan’s military rather than revolutionary. The factors explored include international and domestic factors. …

Unveiling The Shadows: Exploring The Roles Of The Dark Web And Encrypted Messaging Apps In Facilitating Online Terrorist Networks, Eziho Promise Ogele

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

The paper examines the pivotal roles of the Dark Web and encrypted messaging apps in enabling online terrorist networks. These platforms have become essential tools for extremist groups, empowering them to communicate, coordinate, and share intelligence securely. The Dark Web, a hidden portion of the internet, provides a secure conduit for terrorist organizations to emerge, operate, and coordinate activities anonymously. This digital haven enables terrorists to share resources, plan operations, and execute attacks as part of their secret operations strategy. Encrypted messaging apps, such as Telegram and WhatsApp, offer an additional layer of security, allowing terrorists to send messages anonymously …

Convergence Of Indonesia-South Korea Green Economy Strategy: A Case Study Of Hyundai Motor Group's Investment In The Ev Industry, Darynaufal Mulyaman, Dwi Agustina, Rudolf Davier Figo, Gabriel Alexander Mahameru Sipahutar, Abdullah Akbar Rafsanjani

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

Hyundai Motor Group's investment in the electric vehicle (EV) industry in Indonesia reflects the convergence of green economy strategies between Indonesia and South Korea. The study aims to analyze the contribution of Hyundai investment in the development of the local EV ecosystem, including technology transfer, supporting infrastructure, and its impact on the bilateral relationship between the two countries. The research method used is a qualitative study with a case study approach. The results show that Hyundai Motor Group's investment supports Indonesia's green economy policy, despite challenges related to dependence on natural resources and infrastructure. This research contributes to academics and …

Trans* Educators In Early Childhood Through Secondary (Pk-12) Schools: An Exhaustive Literature Review, Chris Cyan Divens

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This literature review provides documentation and analysis for 22 years of empirical, English-language research on trans* educators in early childhood through secondary (PK-12) education. A total of 87 publications from six different continents provide a basis for researchers and policymakers interested in better understanding this historically marginalized population. Findings include a diverse array of methodological and theoretical approaches as well as several meta-level findings concerning the varied circumstances of trans* educators. There is a need for additional research to address persistent gaps as well as for sweeping policy change and collective action to improve the unacceptable conditions of trans* educators.

For Us, By Us: A Digital Ethnographic Exploration Of Black Podcasts, Intimacy, & Sexual Pleasure, Dominique C. Dillard

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sociological literature written about Black folks interprets their sexual behavior as unhealthy, risky, and non-normative. Black people are seldom acknowledged as humans, so it is not surprising to discover a discourse that does not portray them as sexual subjects. Studies examining Black sexual subjectivity through white and colorblind ideologies dominate the discussion, reproducing racist discourse historically ascribed to Black bodies. Guided by Audre Lorde’s concept of erotic as power, I document an alternative epistemology about Black sexuality. I argue the construction of Black sexuality must focus on sexual selfhood to grasp how this population conceptualizes and makes sense of their …

Everyday Life In The U.S.: An Intersectional Approach To A North Korean Refugee Woman’S Identities, And Experiences, Lyounghee Kim

Communication ETDs

This dissertation examines everyday experiences of a North Korean refugee woman in the U.S., centering her narratives as sites of critique, resistance, and meaning-making. Grounded in Critical Refugee Studies, Asian American Studies, and Critical Intercultural Communication and framed by intersectionality, it explores how interlocking structures of power shape and are shaped by her life. Rather than focusing solely on trauma or assimilation, this study highlights her digital storytelling, faith, and mutual aid practices as acts of survival, dignity, and moral agency. Using a qualitative, narrative inquiry approach grounded in critical reflexivity, it thematically analyzes her stories to reveal how she …

Laying The Groundwork For Liberatory Expressive Arts Research: A Queer Review, Robyn E. Ginsberg

Expressive Therapies Theses

The goal of this thesis was to reveal the interconnectedness of disparate discourse across diverse disciplines and locate it within one queer domain. The intersection of (expressive) art and (community/participatory) action is a space within which queer collaboration can take place. It is a space that can accommodate and energize non-normative idea generation and exchange which can mobilize queer resistance to create societal change (Fernández & Fine, 2024; Rutten, 2016). By engaging with interdisciplinary literature and situating conceptual frameworks in dialogue this review provides a foundation for liberatory expressive arts research (LExAR) and practice. Key themes include: centering queer and …

Why Are Men So Obsessed With Pornography? Andrea Dworkin Was Right, Robert Jensen

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

The Lived Experience Of Religious Trauma Among Transgender And Gender Diverse People: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Patrick T. Meyer

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Religion has served as a framework to support the psychological well-being of people across cultures throughout human history, yet there is growing scholarly and public interest in how religious institutions and people inflict harm on members through spiritual means. Extant literature demonstrated that transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people experience gendered microaggressions in religious spaces, and their social position within the church likely holds unique insights into the subjective experience of religious trauma. Even though research with people who have had adverse religious experiences has increased over time, little is known about TGD people who experience lasting psychological damage due …

Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Under Siege Worldwide: Moving Beyond Limiting Notions Of Gender And Sexuality In Education Organizations And Leadership, Margaret Grogan

Education Faculty Books and Book Chapters

As 2025 gets underway in the United States, educators across this country, like in many others, are bracing for unprecedented opposition to their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and policies. Newly elected President Trump is rapidly dismantling many federal agencies, cutting off aid to foreign entities, and causing major apprehension across the globe. His stated agenda to eradicate progressivism echoes many other international ultraconservative and far-right movements, who applaud his authoritarian regime. To mount the best possible resistance to these disturbing developments, and, indeed, to expand and strengthen DEI work, this chapter argues for collective action across all the …

The Current 'Ban-Demic': School Book Bans In The U.S., Barbara Perez, Jane Caputi

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This essay examines the alarming rise of U.S book. Our stance is grounded in our experiences as educators and academics in Florida, the state with the highest number of book bans and legislation that has significantly impacted education. Book bans infringe on freedom of expression, right to access information, = students’ right to education, and real harm to targeted communities (i.e., LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities), as the bans contribute to the ongoing marginalization and stigmatization of these communities. Diverse representation is key in literature and education. Banning popular culture texts from the classroom stifles critical thinking, social dialogue, and, ultimately, …

The Embodiment And Experiences Of Gender Euphoria Among Transgender And Nonbinary Communities: A Mixed Methods Inquiry, Brendon T. Holloway

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gender euphoria is a critical aspect of embodiment for transgender and nonbinary (TNB) people that has long been overshadowed in academic research by deficit narratives and gender dysphoria. While gender dysphoria is the distress an individual may experience related to their gender, gender euphoria encapsulates the positive emotions a TNB person may experience because of positive gendered experiences. Despite community documentations of gender euphoria since the 1970s, academic research on gender euphoria has only recently begun to emerge. This three-paper dissertation advances this body of scholarship by exploring how gender euphoria is conceptualized, experienced, and embodied in TNB communities. Utilizing …

Cultural Shadows: Vampires And The Shifting Fears Of The West, A Creative Exploration Of Vampire Media And Its Reflection Of Evolving Social Anxieties, Tasha Sayre

University Honors Theses

Cultural Shadows: Vampires and the Shifting Fears of the West is a creative-critical thesis that explores vampire media as a reflection of evolving social anxieties in Western culture. Focusing primarily on film and television, with reference to key literary texts, this study examines how the vampire figure is used to articulate and dramatize recurring societal fears—particularly those surrounding women's sexuality and autonomy, queer identity, and class-based inequality. Through close readings of influential vampire narratives, the thesis demonstrates how these stories mirror cultural tensions and moral panics, transforming the vampire into a symbol of both fear and fascination. Drawing on gender …

Not Meant To Be Read: The Stories They Silence, The Resistance That Speaks, Cristina Onea

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this dissertation, I trace the evolution of surveillance from overt state violence to the more insidious forms of ideological policing embedded in everyday life. Through lived experience, oral history, and critical autoethnography, I explore how surveillance moves through bodies, families, institutions, and memory—not simply as external control, but as internalized rhythms of fear, vigilance, and self-surveillance. I move between my father's life under Romanian dictatorship, my own embodied inheritance, and the contemporary struggles of librarians facing ideological suppression to reveal surveillance as a structure that persists through generations, mutates across contexts, and demands new forms of resistance.

I argue …

Echoes Of Longing, Mahalexmi Mohan

Masters Theses

Loss lingers like a shadow, a weight no time can lift. Longing becomes a silent scream, echoing within, unanswered. Internal pain festers in the quiet, where unhealed wounds weave themselves into the fabric of being. Each breath is both survival and surrender, a fragile balance between hope and the hollow ache of what was, what will never be, yet could be.

Abstract

My work is deeply influenced by my experiences within a dysfunctional family structure and is explored through the relationship of emotional vulnerability and its effect on self-worth. Layered into the work is a confrontation with the scars, conflict …

Welcome To My Mind Palace: The Power Of Fantastical Thinking, Sadie Levine

Masters Theses

What follows is a record of my efforts to make the magic and horrors of my internal world tangible and shareable. The brain constructs hyper-specific fictional realities from childhood to adulthood, yet the scientific study of the mind often forgoes the subjective and the visual. I offer a complementary exploration of the mind - one that is highly visual and based on my own experiences, yet still contextualized in psychological research. Finding the magic in everyday life, and by extension, retreating into alternate realities, is a conscious choice I make, but I have not always had the option to choose. …

"I'M Strictly T4t": Trans For Trans Connections In The Contemporary, Madi Lou Alexander

Dissertations and Theses

Trans for trans relationships, referred to as "t4t", are a relationship type specific to trans individuals. Linguistically originating from Craigslist personal ad spaces, t4t indicates a trans person seeking out and engaging with another trans person. The scope of relationships under the t4t label are often largely associated with sexuality and dating scenes due to their conception in online cruising spaces. Through qualitative analysis, I assess the range of what t4t relationships are through 30 in-depth interviews with participants identifying as trans. This work moves away from focusing on the deficits of holding a marginalized identity, instead aiming to center …

Analyzing Florida’S Lgbtqia+ Censorship Laws And Their Anti-Democratic Attack On Education, Peyton Sibert

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

The past four years (2021-2024) have seen an increase in academic censorship laws and anti-LGTBQIA+ rhetoric across the United States. Florida, specifically, has established itself as a leader in discriminatory legislation. In this paper, the author analyzes four Florida laws: HB 1557, HB 1069, HB 7, and SB 266, along with the rise in book bans to consider both the pedagogical effects and negative impacts on the LGBTQIA+ community. These analyses will be juxtaposed with extant political rhetoric around these laws to expose a) the intent of the law b) the contradictions within and across laws and thereby c) the …

Homeplace As A Methodology Of Care: Conducting Critical Qualitative Research With 2slgbtqia+ Youth In Higher Education, K. Rende Mendoza, Ferial Pearson, Isa Manhart

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This paper addresses the alarming trend of policies and legislative actions targeting diversity, equity, inclusion, and affirmation/accessibility (DEIA) efforts in higher education, particularly those affecting 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. These policies not only pose a direct threat to the physical and psychological safety of marginalized students but also undermine the institutional support systems essential for their personal and academic development. Authored by a nonbinary undergraduate and two 2SLGBTQIA+ teacher education researchers, our paper explores student-led critical qualitative research as a countermeasure to these regressive policies. Building from bell hooks' conception of homeplace, we offer our suggestions for establishing safe, supportive, and liberatory …

Unmasking Masculinities In Counseling: From Conformity To Connection, Kyle R. Rose

Dissertations, 2020-current

This dissertation explored the entanglements of professional counseling and masculinities across three manuscripts, to contribute to (1) healthier forms of gender expression within and beyond the spectrum of masculinities for individuals, (2) the counseling profession’s role in transforming hegemonic masculinity within communities, and (3) larger movements to subvert the patriarchy throughout society. The first manuscript is a conceptual article that presented the Relational Cultural Privileged Identity Counseling (RCPIC) model, an integrative framework designed to help counselors address hegemonic masculinity within the therapeutic relationship. Drawing from Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT) and Privileged Identity Exploration (PIE), this model provided a roadmap for compassionate …

Grief As Slip: (How Little I Show) An Exploration In Clay, When Words Are Not Enough, Michelle A. Smith

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Grief as Slip (how little I show) implies that even as we acknowledge our mortality and the fleeting nature of life, we still only reveal a fraction of our true selves or our deeper realities. The ceramic artwork in this exhibition carries and conveys a journey through the present and remembered emotions of the artists’ personal narrative. By juxtaposing the tactile nature of clay with the ethereal quality of human experience, Smith contemplates the profound interplay between material transformation and emotional resilience. The exhibition’s intent is to translate the essence of complex emotional states into abstracted forms so they can …

Misidentified Bodies And Missing Data: Exploring Forensic Disempowerment And Skeletal Narratives Of Transgender And Gender-Diverse Individuals In The United States, Taylor M. Flaherty

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The bodies of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals represent a physical nexus of contempt and scrutiny. In the United States (U.S.), TGD people experience disproportionate levels of violence and premature death, contributing to a persistent epidemic of harm. Institutionalized anti-TGD biases have reinforced systemic neglect, leading to the routine exclusion of TGD individuals from research, data collection, and historical archives. The absence of state or federal initiatives to track mortality trends and risk factors among this population further exacerbates their systematic erasure. In particular, forensic scientists have traditionally relied on dichotomous indicators of sexual expression which may fail to account …

'We Owe, You Know, The World Our Perfection': How The Neurodiversity Paradigm Informs Autistic Women's Self-Perceptions, Katybeth Adamo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This qualitative, phenomenological study examines how autistic women characterize and interpret their experiences, beliefs, and self-perceptions within the framework of the neurodiversity paradigm. Guided by a social constructivist epistemology, this study explores the complex intersections between autistic women’s experiences of diagnostic processes, gendered socialization, and identity formation in autistic women. Through semi-structured interviews with ten autistic women, themes emerged around gender differences between autistic men and women, external versus internal self-perception, diagnostic age and self-perception, sensory overload and its consequences, and the journey from feeling othered to finding one’s place socially. Findings suggest that delayed diagnosis and persistent societal pressures …

Looking Back, Looking Forward: Contextualizing Historical Bioarchaeological Accounts With Contemporary Social Issues, Katharine Chiyono Woollen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The very existence of women has been taken for granted throughout history. Their domestic roles are viewed as biologically fixed, resulting in a general lack of information recorded or researched relating to their lived experiences, life histories, and narratives. Instead, it is the history of white men that has been standardized as the norm, creating visible gaps in our understanding of women’s experiences. Additionally, the majority of existing literature centers on female reproduction, their roles as mothers, and violence enacted against women. While this information contributes towards a greater understanding of women’s experiences in bioarchaeological investigations, these data often lack …

A Movement In Process: The Effects Of Post-Dictatorship Politics On The Legalization Of Abortion In Argentina, Corinne J. Robbins

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

Access to abortion is an inherently critical aspect of sexual and reproductive rights. That is to say that access to safe abortions is of equal importance to guaranteeing a person’s right to safety during the pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum period. This research primarily focuses on the trajectory of the legalization of abortion in Argentina after the end of the last military Dictatorship (1976-1983), the factors that impacted the movement, and how the movement is received in Argentina today. Argentina’s current administration has been unsupportive of the current abortion law, but past successes demonstrate that abortion rights activists in Argentina are …

"You Know The Rules": A Dramatic Experiment In Aromantic Literary Theory, April Chronowski

English

This paper proposes a new literary theory framework based on the zine "an aromantic manifesto" by yingchen and yingtong, as well as the work of Erving Goffman, using theater as a device to examine romantic relationships. Blending English and sociology, I focus each chapter on a different literary period and examine two plays each: early modern (Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing), modern (Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Djuna Barnes' "To The Dogs"), and contemporary (Caryl Churchill's Cloud 9 and Margaret Edson's W;t). In tandem with analysis of formal elements---like …

Cartoon Kinship, Kelsey Bell Quinn

Master's Theses

Most people view cartoons as mindless entertainment exclusively for children. They dismiss the genre as if it only contains zany and overzealous characters who deal with simple, predictable challenges, easily resolved by the end of the episode. The negative attitude towards cartoons—or seemingly anything animated—undermines the importance of the lessons and the themes many shows do impart on their viewers, regardless of their age. Shows like Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender cover a plethora of complex themes, but due to its status as an animated work, it has been disregarded as a show for children rather than being appreciated as …

Fugitive Colors, Natalie Rose Eddings

Theses and Dissertations

My objects are meditations on intertwining themes of labor, rest, and interiority and their shadow sides—power, subjugation and the gaze. I couple materials that have millenia-long histories such as metals, glass, paper and clay with found objects and plat materials to illustrate narratives and exhume memories. Drawn from nature and technologies of land, plant stewardship and the domestic realm, I imagine my sculptures as life supporting vessels or magical enclosures.

Through sculpture, photography and printmaking, I build structures that are space of quiet to be filled with thought, healing and development. Like incubators and seed pods, my work is protective …

The Prescribing Of Gender, A Scope On The Societal Ideologies Showcased Within Le Roman De Silence, Derrian Fernandez

Master's Theses

Culture is constantly evolving, its ideologies cementing themselves within our minds, shaping how we as a society guide ourselves through living in such. Social class, religion, gender, all are forms of identity that have a place, and a certain understanding and standing within our culture and society. Through this understanding of ourselves, we are defined, creating multiple forms of distinct expression to help differentiate our place further. A pope is expected to wear a certain attire just as a bride is expected to. The same ideology trickles down, creating demarcations of attire that subsequently ingrain themselves into our culture and …