Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Roosevelt, Boy Scouts, And The Formation Of Muscular Christian Character, Gordon J. Christen

Religious Studies Honors Projects

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, many prominent Christians and political leaders saw a degenerative influence in industrializing America. For them, urban culture had eroded gender roles, personal strength, and moral fiber. So-called “Muscular Christians” prescribed physical exertion and wilderness experience to cure these ills. I argue that these values were embodied in idealized characters such as Theodore Roosevelt, Jesus, and the Boy Scout to give a form to cultural remedies. In the process, they became the terms upon which proper Americanism, and proper Christianity, were constructed.

You Bring Yourself To Work: An Exploration Lgb/Tq Experiences Of (In)Dignity And Identity, Sara J. Baker

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The workplace can be a hostile space for people who perform their gender, sex, and sexuality in ways that differ from heteronormative expectations. These employees are often met with messages that are particularly undignifying, thereby denying desires for respectful communication with others and damaging an individual’s sense of self-worth and value. Therefore, the goal of my project was to learn about the experiences of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer individuals in the workplace and what kinds of interactions either affirm or threaten workplace dignity, their strategies for resistance, and how the communication of (in)dignity influences processes of LGB/TQ identity …

Sex-Trafficking In Cambodia: Assessing The Role Of Ngos In Rebuilding Cambodia, Katherine M. Wood

Senior Honors Theses

The anti-slavery and other freedom fighting movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries did not abolish all forms of slavery. Many forms of modern slavery thrive in countries all across the globe. The sex trafficking trade has intensified despite the advocacy of many human rights-based groups. Southeast Asia ranks very high in terms of the source, transit, and destination of sex trafficking. In particular, human trafficking of women and girls for the purpose of forced prostitution remains an increasing problem in Cambodia. Cambodia’s cultural traditions and the breakdown of law under the Khmer Rouge and Democratic Kampuchea have contributed to …

Gender Representations In U.S. Ed.D. Dissertations: A Feminist Content Analysis, Debora Kay Nelli

Dissertations and Theses

Educational access, achievement and opportunity for students and educators in U.S. educational institutions is influenced and often limited by gender. Although the U.S. Glass Ceiling Commission reports that the gender equity values, beliefs and commitments of institutional leaders are a key factor in reducing institutional gender inequities (U.S. Dept of Labor, 1995), very little is known about the current preparation or evaluation of educational leadership values, especially at the doctoral level (Hess & Kelly, 2007, Grogan & Andrews, 2002; Levine, 2005; Murphy & Vriesenga, 2004).

This study utilized feminist content analysis as a conceptual framework and research methodology to examine …

A Critical Analysis Of Media Images Depicting The New Athletic Body Ideal And One Woman’S Experience With Them, Kelsey Mischke

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The idea body type for women in the United States now requires not only a thin physique, but visible muscle definition and fitness, as well. This athletic body type must still poses feminine qualities such as large breasts, a small frame, and curves. This new level of perfection has been created by advertisements, fitness magazines, and internet memes. However, this ideal body type is still computer generated, created from parts of multiple women, and largely unobtainable. Since its emergence, little research has critically assessed these images and their effects of women’s self-evaluations. A feminist perspective will used to determine what …

History Of Women And Alternative Medicine, Megan Eineke

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Alternative medicine has been used all over the world for centuries. From meditation to hydrotherapy, both men and women practice these modalities. Alternative medicine is an important part of the history of medicine and women have played a crucial role in traditional medical and other healing-related careers. This research project examines health activism among feminists and how that has played a role in what alternative medicine has become today. Information gathered from journals, articles, books, and biographies will be used to create a timeline to share how and when specific events and women influenced the reemergence of alternative medicine and …

Long May She Reign: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Gender Expectations In Disney’S Tangled And Disney/Pixar’S Brave, Caitlin J. Saladino

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

This project addresses messages about gender expectations in Disney princess narratives. The two films included in my project are Tangled (2010) and Brave (2012), which feature the most recently inducted princesses to the marketed Disney Princess line (Rapunzel and Merida, respectively). Using genre as an organizing principle, I argue that Rapunzel and Merida are different from the past Disney princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, etc.) because their narratives reflect new ideas about gender expectations in modern society. The central tension appearing in both films is the opposition between the image of woman as traditional, domestic, and dependent and woman …

Acceptability Of Sexting In Same-Sex Relationships, Carly Shadid, Katherine M. Hertlein, Sarah M. Steelman

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

For individuals who identify as part of the LGB community, the Internet can be seen as a tool to take control of their lives, may promote self-esteem, and foster a sense of belonging. The purpose of the study was to learn about sexting practices on college campuses. It builds on the existing body of knowledge by attending specifically to sexting rather than the previous literature about engagement in sexual behavior online (see, for example, Daneback, Cooper, & Månsson, 2005). Findings indicated that sexting is viewed as more acceptable in same sex relationships as compared to heterosexual relationships.

The Rhetoric Of Gay Christians: Matthew Vines And Reverend Nancy Wilson As Exemplars, Josu Miller

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

In the United States, there is a perception that the gay rights debate situates Christians against gay rights advocates. According to this perception, Christians oppose gay rights, because the Bible condemns homosexuality as a sin, and those who support gay rights do so using purely secular arguments. This perception of the gay rights debate is flawed and overly simplistic, because simply not all Christians oppose gay rights. In fact, there are multiple interpretations of biblical texts that support homosexuality and have caused a gay rights debate within the church that is as complex and intricate as gay rights debate outside …

Fearless: Josh Griffiths, Joshua M. Griffiths

SURGE

Continually a strong voice for the underrepresented on campus, working with other students and faculty to take initiative in changing campus policy and culture toward the LGBTQ community, and serving as a leader in multiple groups and organizations on campus, Josh Griffiths ’14 fearlessly advocates for members of our campus community, making Gettysburg a more open and welcoming space. [excerpt]

A Rare Species In The Midwest, Ruben Quesada

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

"A" Is Not For Ally, Ellen I. Henry

SURGE

Most people can recall their first crush. They think fondly back to age ten or eleven when they first “went boy-crazy” or couldn’t focus on sixth-grade English because that cute girl was in their class.

This did not happen for me. I do, however, vividly remember it happening for everyone around me. [excerpt]

Family Affairs Newsletter 2014-04-15, Zack Paakkonen

Family Affairs newsletter (2004-2016)

FAMILY AFFAIRS was a free, twice-a-month, social activities newsletter for the GLBTQI (gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans/queer/intersex) community, sent out around the 1st and 15th of each month. It covered the State of Maine only. The list was begun and maintained for many years by Jean Vermette in Bangor, and later operated by Zack Paakkonen of Portland. Over the years it evolved from a social activities newsletter into a business directory, classified ad service, and community bulletin board.

Naccs 41st Annual Conference, National Association For Chicana And Chicano Studies

NACCS Conference Programs

Fragmented Landscapes in Chicana and Chicano Studies: Deliberation, Innovation or Extinction?
April 9-12, 2014
Hilton Salt Lake City Center

Identifying The Visible: A Look At How Economic Class And Ethnicity Influence Women's Visibility Within A Household, Cori Elise Rich

Theses and Dissertations

Archaeology has allowed for underrepresented, often invisible, groups of people within history to become visible and have their stories told. Minority groups such as women, African Americans, and those occupying the lower class are just some of these underrepresented groups who have been identified through cultural remains. Despite archaeologists' best efforts in identifying these groups; there is still much work yet to be conducted. There is a lack of information from the eighteenth-century, and even less work done on the way ethnicity and class impact women's visibility within the archaeological record.

This paper utilizes seven site reports, from households of …

Best Integrated Writing 2014 - Complete Edition

Best Integrated Writing

Best Integrated Writing includes excellent student writing from Integrated Writing courses taught at Wright State University. The journal is published annually by the Wright State University Department of English Language and Literatures.

Gender Differentiation And Gender Hierarchy In C. S. Lewis, Alicia D. Burrus

Honors College Theses

This thesis explores the evidence of sexism in the literary works of C. S. Lewis. Lewis’s relationships with women in his personal life were often estranged, and his works frequently display a predominant view of women as inferior. Each of Lewis’s major fictional works shows evidence of sexism, though such evidence lessens in frequency and prominence with each subsequent work. Lewis’s opinion and portrayal of women did change with his marriage to Joy Davidman Gresham, though his fiction never achieved a complete lack of prejudice against women.

2014 Works In Progress: A Regional Interdisciplinary Conference Of Feminist Scholars, Women's Studies Department

Women’s & Gender Studies Works In Progress

No abstract provided.

The Success Of Gay–Straight Alliances In Waterloo Region, Ontario: A Confluence Of Political And Social Factors, Alex St. John, Robb Travers, Lauren Munro, Renato M. Liboro, Margaret Schneider, Carrie L. Greig

Psychology Faculty Research

This article outlines how gay–straight alliances (GSAs) work to connect youth with community resources, and outlines the political and social context of GSAs in Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Fifteen individuals (youth, teachers, and a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer [LGBTQ] youth service provider) participated in interviews about the role of GSAs in creating supportive school environments for LGBTQ youth and their allies. Analyses of the interview data found that, apart from providing direct support to LGBTQ students, GSAs in Waterloo Region decrease isolation by connecting youth with other LGBTQ community members, events, and resources. This article discusses how the …

Two Community Collaborations With Sexual Minority Women’S Ngos In Shanghai & Hong Kong, Connie Chan, Hsin-Ching Wu

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Based on research with sexual minority communities in the United States, Connie Chan, professor of public policy and public affairs, conducted comparative research with community groups in Hong Kong and Shanghai, China. She provided capacity building training and resources directly to the organization which provides outreach and service to sexual minority women and girls in Shanghai, China. Professor Chan also supported Queer Sisters – an NGO that provides advocacy and community outreach to sexual minority girls and women in Hong Kong – by co-creating a needs assessment survey and helping them to interview their membership in Hong Kong.

Connie Chan …

Indigenous Women, Mother Tongues, And Nation Building In New England: A Tribal Policy Leadership Series, Amy Den Ouden, Chris Bobel

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

In collaboration with the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project (WLRP), Indigenous women educators and leaders, the Dept. of Women’s and Gender Studies is redesigning WOST/WGS 270, Native American Women in North America, to incorporate a lecture series on nation building and a semester-long community engagement project fostering student leadership in a research and policy formation project focused on legislating and funding a Native American language education law in Massachusetts.

Pathways To Political Leadership For Women Of Color Leaders, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Women's Pipeline For Change

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

This research partnership was formed to better understand what motivates and sustains−as well as prevents−Asian American women, Latinas, and African American women from achieving greater rates of political leadership in Massachusetts. Five women of color leaders became research fellows and explored pressing issues such as family and cultural expectations, financial resources and fundraising, and the potential for compromised values. After two years of training, data collection, and analysis, online resources were developed and are now hosted on UMass Boston’s website.

Assuming Identities: Gender, Sexuality, And Performativity In The Silence Of The Lambs, Lynne Stahl

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In the introduction to Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick discusses the instability of the ignorance/knowledge binary, which generally equates the latter with power and the former with impotence. She argues that ignorance (or the appearance thereof) can be a tool of power as well, citing as an example the 1986 ruling by the United States Justice Department that employers “may freely fire persons with AIDS” provided that those employers “can claim to be ignorant of the medical fact, quoted in the ruling, that there is no known health danger in the workplace from the disease” (5). That this …

Lg Ms 031 Dale Mccormick Papers Finding Aid, Christina E. Walker

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

Dale McCormick was the first woman in the country to complete a carpentry apprenticeship with the carpenter’s union and is a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters local 1996, having been a carpenter and contractor for 30 years. In 1988, McCormick founded Women Unlimited, a program that successfully trains women on welfare to compete for high-paying jobs in trade and technical occupations. In 1984, McCormick helped found and became the first President of the Maine Lesbian/Gay Political Alliance (now called EqualityMaine), which advocates statewide for civil rights and better treatment for lesbian/gay/bi/transgender/and questioning people. She was a co-founder …

Crescendo!, Spring 2014, Buffalo Gay Men's Chorus

Crescendo! The Newsletter of the Buffalo Gay Men's Chorus

Spring 2014 issue of Crescendo!, the newsletter of the Buffalo Gay Men's Chorus.

Lg Ms 027 Diane Elze Papers Finding Aid, Elizabeth Sistare, Nicholas Martin

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

A 1978 graduate of the University of Maine, Orono, Diane Elze began her volunteer career working for the YWCA Fair Harbor Shelter in Portland, Maine. She was an activist in the LGBT community in the Portland area in the 1980s and 1990s. Among other activities, she was a founding member of the Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance, worked on the AIDS Project, and founded the LGBT youth group, Outright. She also edited the newsletter Moving, The Newspaper of the Maine Association of Handicapped Persons and founded the statewide gay and lesbian newspaper, Our Paper. Elze earned a Master’s Degree …

Men And Feminism: The Art Of Negotiation, Emma Craig

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study is the result of a month-long interview process with seven men living in the Netherlands. It focuses on the feminist experiences of the men as well as the ways in which they enact or embody feminist ideals in their daily lives. Their backgrounds are very diverse. Some are Dutch natives, while others are migrants from other nations. There are diversities in race, sexuality, age, and class as well. Each interviewee negotiates their masculinity and their feminist ideology differently. Specifically, this study examined the pressure to uphold hegemonic masculinity, homosociality as a platform for feminism, and some of the …

The Self-Supporting Women Of Wanita Hindu Dharma Indonesia (Whdi) Province Bali And Their Modern Way Of Thinking, Olivia Gregorius

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

During my independent study period, I spent four weeks with the members of WHDI Province Bali. During this time I was able to participate in their organization’s activities and events in order to gain first hand knowledge about what programs the women are involved in. Some of the events I attended include cultural activities such as seminars about traditional hair and makeup as well as marriage preparation, etiquette discussions, gamelan and traditional singing lessons and religious ceremonies such as weddings, cremations, a mediksa the blessing of new houses and shops and visits to different temples such as Batur temple and …

Challenges To Women In Political Leadership In Samoa, Kiki Martire

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Samoan women hold an integral and valued place within their families and communities. Despite this, Samoa continues to report some of the lowest representation of women in political office in the world. The newly instated Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing 10% of Parliamentary seats for women will bolster female political involvement in the upcoming 2016 elections. An investigation into the challenges that face women entering political leadership roles at the village and Parliamentary level will bring awareness to the struggles encountered by women and contribute to dismantling the barriers which stand against them. Fourteen female politicians and experts in the field were …

High-Impact Women Entrepreneurs In Argentina: A Study Analysed Through The Endeavor Model, Stephanie Soussloff

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Latin America and the Caribbean women represent 41.6% of the population active in the economy. Among those women, 15% identify as entrepreneurs. Yet even a smaller percentage are able to become high impact entrepreneurs, whose businesses reach international levels, create jobs and stimulate the economy of their regions.

The organization Endeavor is founded around the principal idea that entrepreneurship is a catalyst for economic development. Endeavor is committed to boosting the impact of entrepreneurs in emerging markets through giving them a support network of experts in their field to help expand their business. In exchange the entrepreneurs are expected …