Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

The Strong Black Woman ≠ Superwoman: Shattering Stereotypes Of Strength In Black Literature, Tricia Inez Thomas

English Theses & Dissertations

That the Black woman must be strong in order to endure the oppression she has been forced to withstand is a double-edged sword that equally contributes to both her dehumanization and willpower to survive. This project interrogates the patterns and characteristics that contribute to the schema of the strong Black woman through the examination of cultural texts foregrounded in biblical scriptures against literature written by prominent Black women through Beyoncé. Specific tropes explored include the jezebel, the mammy, and the sapphire with a conclusion that these harmful and dehumanizing stereotypes have cultivated a fallacious assumption of supernatural strength and resiliency …

Differences In Relationship And Sexual Satisfaction And Social Support Between Only Lesbian, Mostly Lesbian, And Bisexual Women, Meredith I. Turner, Cassidy M. Sandoval, Charlotte A. Dawson, Kristin E. Heron

College of Sciences Posters

Research suggests relationship and sexual satisfaction and social support are correlated with components of well-being such as anxiety, depression, and physical health. Differences in relationship and sexual satisfaction and social support have been identified between sexual minority women (SMW; i.e., lesbian and bisexual) and heterosexual women. However, classifying SMW into a single group may mask important differences. Further research is needed to better understand the differences in relationship and sexual satisfaction and social support between subgroups of SMW. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to examine differences in these constructs between women who identify as only lesbian, mostly …

The Influence Of Internalized Heterosexism On Life Satisfaction: Comparing Sexual Minority Women In Belgium And Turkey, Esra Ummak, Ezgi Toplu-Demirtaş, Amber L. Pope, Jeffry Moe

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

To date, the majority of research studying lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) health has been conducted in Westernized, predominantly individualistic countries. Building on minority stress theory and models of LGBTQ health, we explored how sexual orientation and nationality moderated the association between internalized heterosexism and life satisfaction for lesbian and bisexual (LB) women living in two countries (Turkey and Belgium) with contrasting social contexts. The results of two-way MANOVA, in a sample of 339 Turkish and 220 Belgian LB women, revealed main effects but no interaction effects. LB women in Belgium reported less internalized heterosexism and more life …

Refining An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study Of Binge Eating Among Sexual Minority And Heterosexual Young Women: A Mixed Methods Pilot Study, Kristin E. Heron, Charlotte A. Dawson, Cassidy M. Sandoval, Lauren V. Butler, Abby L. Braitman, Alison Cerezo, Robin J. Lewis

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is used to capture daily lived experiences, states, and environments. Although EMA is commonly used in behavioral health research, there remains a dearth of literature on how researchers account for design considerations of EMA techniques when designing studies. The goal of this formative mixed methods study was to elicit feedback on EMA study procedures and materials from the target populations for a larger study about binge eating among sexual minority and heterosexual young women, in which data are collected entirely remotely.

Methods: Sexual minority (n=12) and heterosexual (n=9) women ages 18–30 who binge ate took …

Navy Blues: Between Waves And Warriors, Reinetta A. Vaneendenburg

English Theses & Dissertations

Personal narrative, segments of oral histories, and short prose poetry combine to reflect the experience of contemporary women line officers in the U.S. Navy. I drew from my thirty-plus years of naval service as well as oral interviews that I have collected to depict this significant transitional period for women, whose roles expanded from clerks and fleet support administrators to trained warriors and watch standers, ready for the next mission. Themes such as personal identity, sexuality, and social pressures combine to form a portrait of adventuresome and talented young women who did, indeed, persist, and persevere.

"I Want To Know What I'M Looking At": Surveilling Gender As A Response To Cultural Anxieties In Halloween, Sleepaway Camp, And Scream, Jennifer Jacinda Mclawhorn

Institute for the Humanities Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate slasher films and how they use gendered tropes to respond to and perpetuate cultural anxieties. The methodology primarily uses textual analysis that includes close attention to content, context, and discourse. The study reveals structural patterns and problems that emerge within slasher films, specifically within the Final Girl trope and the behaviors that govern it. In surveilling the Final Girl’s gender performativity, it is apparent that abjection, or a gut reaction to something that exists between two distinct boundaries or categories, is provoked when the Final Girl crosses a socially established gender boundary. …

Rape, Consent, And The U.S. Military, Siris Fernandez

Institute for the Humanities Theses

The military’s sexual assault prevention and response program is unable to effectively eliminate or even minimize occurrences of sexual assault in the service. This program focuses primarily on the elimination of sexual assault through yearly mandatory education on the current policies and procedures that occur when a victim comes forward. The Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) program is reactionary and unequipped to tackle a culture that continues to promote a climate in which sexual assault and harassment exist without fear of retaliation. This thesis explores these issues and provides suggestions for changes in future revisions of the SAPR program. …

Serendipityblah, Amanda Linn Kunkel

English Theses & Dissertations

So, you’ve stumbled upon my neck of the woods, where the weird and fantastical reside. Wit and humor may save you here but beware of what draws near. Beneath the bright and smiling facade, you may find the danse macabre. Within these pages you’ll find magic and wonder, darkness, and failure. The setting is post-March 2020 in Norfolk, Virginia. An urban city at the heart of Hampton Roads where the lines between reality and otherworldliness blur. Witches protect ghosts in a downtown Abbey. The fae break new ground in the art district of Ghent. Even Death stalks the halls of …

Effects Of Income Disparity On Relationships, B. Lynn Mcelyea

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Shifting social norms are leading to changes in family structures. More women are working, and more families are relying on dual income to provide for the household than ever before. These changes in family income are happening fairly quickly in our society and for that reason, as our society shifts towards a more egalitarian mindset, we should view these variables using primary and secondary earner as opposed to through the lens of a husband and a wife. The aim of this study was to examine relationship satisfaction and how that might be affected by differences in income or earner status …

A Case Study The Effects Of Student Engagement On Academic Achievement In African American Women: Comparing Undergraduate Stem Majors To Non-Stem Majors From A Historically Black College And University, Zenora E. Gay

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The nation is at a critical juncture in history as it seeks to increase the number of students who enter the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce. The national push to have a properly trained STEM workforce was at the forefront of the past administration’s top priority list. The higher education community has a unique opportunity to contribute to the creation of a sustainable U.S. STEM workforce. Although significant progress has been made in STEM fields, some argue that movement has been too slow in certain cases, as shown in degrees earned by women in engineering (National Academies of …

1% Left Of 100: Taino History And Puerto Rican Identity, Alanis Gonzalez Torres

Undergraduate Research Symposium

1% left of 100 is a documentary poetics research project exploring the confluence of identity, family, and language. Crafted in a hybrid format that mixes Spanish and English according to my personal idiolect, which is itself a product of my heritage as a Puerto Rican, Africa, native Taino American, this poem engages with exciting new approaches to thinking about race which liberate us from talking about physical features and takes us instead toward race as a social fact, a product of culture, history, and family. I seek to intervene in a narrative of American history that, though it teaches about …

Dignity Norfolk: How One Tidewater Group Enabled Gay And Lesbian Catholics To Form Long Lasting Friendships And Chosen Families, Chelsea Lembert

Undergraduate Research Symposium

In the past decade, research has been conducted to look into the history of the Queer Community of the Tidewater Region. Students and community volunteers have conducted interviews and gathered documents connected to the queer community to grow the study and breadth of available information for future researchers. However, more in-depth knowledge of community connections and familial ties within the queer community in the Tidewater Region was needed. Through research into Our Own Newspaper, local historical background information, and in-person interviews, I pieced together first-hand accounts of life through the eyes of a gay man or lesbian woman living in …

History Of The Wildcats Motorcycle Club, Rachel Mannetta-Torres

Undergraduate Research Symposium

History of The Wildcats Motorcycle Club will be presented by Old Dominion University student Rachel Mannetta-Torres.

Wear & Tear, Wymberley Davis

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Wear & Tear is a documentary poetics project acknowledging and addressing the systematic policing, silencing, violence, and stripping of self-expression that women have suffered at the hands of cultural, societal, religious, and sexist norms. Wear & Tear is a hybrid research project which draws together mass culture archives and uses heterogenous sources like advertisements and juxtapose these with excerpts from sacred texts which seek to proscribe and circumscribe women’s clothing choices. It models itself on archival works such as Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s Dictee which works with image, language, and voice. My project presents a distinctly material cultural history …

The Relationship Between Self-Sexualization And Sexually Objectified Experience, Dooyoung Choi, Ha Kyung Lee

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Will women who use their sexuality as a source of power, empowering themselves through self-sexualization, experience negative consequences resulting from sexually objectifying experiences? This study explored the relationship between self-sexualization and sexually objectifying experiences, which leads to body shame, with age as a moderator. An online questionnaire was created to measure the four variables (self-empowering sexualization, general self-sexualization, sexually objectified experiences; body shame). A total of 308 female respondents participated through MTurk, and the data were analyzed with SEM. The findings showed that not all self-sexualizing women experienced a negative consequence from sexually objectified experiences; the use of self-sexualization for …

Distorted Reality: A Commentary On Dimarco Et Al. (2022) And The Question Of Male Sexual Victimization, B. Kennath Widanaralalage, Shon M. Reed, Maria João Lobo Antunes, Christina Dejong, Gillian M. Pinchevsky, Rachel Lovell, Cristy E. Cummings

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Our commentary responds to claims made by DiMarco and colleagues in an article published in this journal that the majority of victims of rape are men and that 80% of those who rape men are women. Although we strongly believe that studying male sexual victimization is a highly important research and policy endeavour, we have concerns with the approach taken by DiMarco and colleagues to discuss these incidents. Specifically, we critique their paper by addressing the definitions of rape used by the authors, questioning their interpretation of national victim surveys, evaluating their analysis of the underreporting of male rape, and …

Disabling Citizenship: Rhetorical Practices Of Disabled World-Making At The 1977 504 Sit-In, Ruth Osario

Women's & Gender Studies Faculty Publications

The article analyzes the importance of a citizenship approach to disability rights. Integrating disabled world-making in the writing classroom can transform thinking of people about the teaching of public writing. It is noted that disabled world-making can help English studies ensure professional organizations go beyond the legal requirements and ensure the full participation of disabled scholar-teachers.

Self-Sexualization In Relation To Sexual Harassment And Body Shame, Dooyoung Choi, Ju-Young M. Kang, Jieun Kim, Ha Kyung Lee

STEMPS Faculty Publications

While many researchers examined several harmful consequences of the imposed or forced sexualization of women, still little is known about voluntary self-sexualization and its potential effects on women who engage in the practice. Although the idea that self-sexualization is self-fulfilling remains contentious, women who self-sexualize are naturally expected to receive sexualized attention, including unwanted attention. This study starts with the question of whether self-sexualizing women, including those who use self-sexualization as a source of power, experience sexual objectification, measured by nonphysical sexual harassment, and its negative consequence, measured by body shame. Furthermore, we investigate how age moderates the relationship. An …

Associations Between Body Dissatisfaction And Relationship Functioning Among Same-Sex Female Couples: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, Cassidy M. Sandoval, Kelly A. Romano, Kristin E. Heron, Charlotte A. Dawson, Tiphanie G. Sutton, Barbara A. Winstead, Robin J. Lewis

Psychology Faculty Publications

Nearly all past research about body dissatisfaction and romantic relationship factors is among heterosexual couples; little is known about these associations in sexual minority couples. The present study aimed to fill gaps in the current literature by using actor-partner interdependence models (APIMs) to examine dyadic patterns of association between body dissatisfaction and different aspects of relationship functioning among same-sex female couples. Participants were 163 same-sex female romantic dyads (326 women) between the ages of 18-35 years who completed measures of body dissatisfaction and relationship factors. Results from significance testing of actor and partner effects indicated higher levels of women's own …

Abandoned Allies: A Case Study Analysis Of The Special Immigrant Visa Program, Sarah Pedigo Kulzer

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Employing a qualitative case study approach, the current study aims to critically analyze the U.S.’s use of the Special Immigrant Visa program in Iraq and Afghanistan by examining the individuals it serves, the agencies through which services are rendered, and the state’s vested geopolitical interests in the program. Engaging in active participation, I observed and interacted with those who work within, assist, or utilize the services of Commonwealth Catholic Charities’ refugee resettlement program, including case workers, service providers, and resettlement clients themselves. Examined through the lens of neoliberal harm, the theoretical frameworks of realpolitik and Simmel’s (1950) concept of the …

Integrating Empathy Pedagogy With Feminist Thought And Social Justice Praxis, Ashlyn Elizabeth Brown

Institute for the Humanities Theses

This thesis outlines the need for empathy pedagogy in higher education. It will examine how empathy pedagogy can be integrated with feminist thought and social justice praxis. I argue that when we integrate empathy pedagogy with feminist thought and social justice, we are building the capacity for students to understand others’ lives in oppression. Furthermore, an integrated modality of teaching empathy will allow students to foster the traits of empathy within themselves; students are then better able to act as agents of social change by utilizing the traits of empathy to actively listen, self-reflect, and mindfully engage with other lived …

Physical Education And Extracurricular Activity Participation Of Autistic, Neurodivergent, Disabled Trans Adults, Steven Kelly Holland

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Disabled trans students may be multiply marginalized and/or have reduced access to otherwise affirming gender identity- or disability-related spaces in educational contexts because of their intersectional identities. At present, a limited understanding of disabled trans students school experiences are known. This dissertation was constructed using a two-manuscript format. The purpose of the first study was to investigate the physical education experiences of disabled trans adults. The study was conducted from an interpretivist paradigm and used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore the lived experiences of disabled trans adults. Six adults (aged 18-30), who identified as: autistic, neurodivergent, disabled, trans, non-binary, …

A Narrative Study Of The Experiences That Disrupt Or Terminate Entry In The Community College Presidential Pipeline For African American Women, Dana G. Stilley

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Organizational structures, beliefs, and values in higher education are influenced by the deep-seated characteristics of patriarchy, dominance and racial and gender bias, upon which higher education was founded. These factors continue to impact the ascension of African American women to college presidencies. Current challenges facing community colleges include a gap in executive leadership and the underrepresentation of African American women in the presidential pipeline.

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to better understand the experiences that disrupt or terminate the journey to a presidency for African American women in senior level positions at community colleges. The goal was to …

Body Dissatisfaction And Disordered Eating Among College Women’S Social Networks: An Investigation Of Perceived Changes Following A Dissonance-Based Body Image Intervention, Rachel I. Macintyre

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Body dissatisfaction is associated with numerous health consequences and is pervasive among college women. Effective interventions exist that reduce body dissatisfaction in college women by helping them resist sociocultural pressures to conform to the appearance ideal, such as the Body Project. Yet research is limited on whether social and behavioral processes help participants reduce their engagement in sociocultural appearance-ideal messages and contribute to the intervention’s effectiveness. The primary purpose of the present study was to examine these social and behavioral processes, including the changes in college women’s social networks associated with their participation in the Body Project. Undergraduate and graduate …

Investigating The Role Of Denial In Interpersonal Formulations Of Binge Eating Among Black And White College Women: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study, Lindsay Marie Howard

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Binge eating is a prominent concern with 2.8 million Americans meeting criteria for binge eating disorder and an additional 10-15% reporting loss of control and overeating behaviors that fail to meet diagnostic criteria. Despite the risk associated with binge eating in emerging adulthood, studies exploring differences in binge eating between Black and White college women have been limited. Black women may be more likely than White women to deny disordered eating behaviors, such as binge eating, due to pressure to reflect historical body positive ideals and heightened stigma regarding mental health issues in Black communities. Denial is worthy of attention …

Narratives From Appalachia: The Current Stories Of Lgbtq Community College Students, Todd A. Cimino-Johnson

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

LGBTQ students are ubiquitous on community college campuses across the United States. The exact number of LGBTQ students is unknown and often their needs are ignored. LGBTQ students face harassment and discrimination at higher rates than other minority groups. This study was conducted to gather the current narratives of LGBTQ students attending community colleges in the Appalachian Region. This study aimed to determine what LGBTQ students are experiencing on community college campuses across Appalachia. Fifteen students took part in a one-on-one semi-structured interview for this qualitative study. All students were currently enrolled in a program of study when the interviews …

Rescripting Father-Daughter Dynamics: New Masculinities And Relational Possibilities In Post-Apocalyptic Video Games, Sarah Mortazavi Brooks

English Theses & Dissertations

The Last of Us and The Walking Dead video games deploy father-daughter relationship pairings between their main characters in ways that disrupt the hegemonic patriarchal understandings of those very roles, though in different ways. The Last of Us and The Walking Dead utilize paternal mentorship in ways that subvert patriarchal ideology’s established patterns for gendered behavior through role-switching and alternative models of masculine care respectively. Where video games too often still cater to an audience that is heterosexual, white, and male, these games feature narratives that challenge the heteropatriarchal messaging common to this medium. The Last of Us does this …

On Being Seen Or For Those Who Break Like Me, Shanisha K. Branch

English Theses & Dissertations

The nature of truly seeing is something I’ve had a hard time grappling with. If you understand the difficultly of seeing and wanting others to see you that same, then these pages are for you.

Institutional Stretching: How Moroccan Ngos Illuminate The Nexus Of Climate, Migration, Gender And Development, Shelby Mertens

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The global migration crisis the world has experienced thus far is only the tip of the iceberg. As the earth’s temperature continues to warm and extreme weather conditions worsen, millions of people across the globe will be displaced, and women in particular will face more difficult challenges. What the climate migration literature fails to study is these longer-term impacts beyond sudden onset disasters. Governments and institutions will be forced to respond and adapt to the new reality resulting from the climate crisis. This research provides a case study of Morocco and, by using institutional ethnography, investigates how NGOs working in …

Courageous Endurance: The Lived Experiences Of Trans Folx And The Criminal Legal System, April Carrillo

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The field of criminology and criminal justice have widely ignored the experience of being a trans person and interacting with the criminal legal system, despite the reality that trans folx experience discrimination and harm at the hands of criminal legal practitioners. This dissertation explores these experiences, as well as how trans folx navigate a myriad of other issues to include their identity and institutional discrimination. Trans folx are not guaranteed many protections or rights in the United States which leaves them at an especially vulnerable position when entering the criminal legal system. Essentially, trans folx are forced to navigate a …