Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

An All-Female Hamlet, Madisen Jade Evans

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A semester spent studying gender through the eyes of a female Hamlet.

The Power And Importance Of Women In Television And Film, Rachael Mackinnon

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Glazed, the pilot episode of a situation comedy series, is just beginning to explore what the world of television has in store for women in 2018. At a time like now where women across the nation are feeling the important effects of entering the Fourth Wave of feminism, there is no time like the present to celebrate the beautiful mind that is that of a woman.

For far too long, women in television have been just something to merely look at. More often than not, the crew would be comprised of mostly men: the strong-willed directors, the scandalous producers, …

Let’S Talk About Sex: An Analysis Of The Gaps In Effective Sex Education In The United States And A Proposed Solution, Mackenzie Butera

Honors Theses

The United States is not currently providing effective avenues through which the majority of U.S children are accessing comprehensive information about sexual health. This gap in education is causing serious consequences emotionally, mentally and physically for U.S. youth. It is critical that discourse surrounding sex and healthy relationships be normalized so as not to closet, stigmatize or victim blame children during formative years. Historically, the United States has perverted the right to education by allocating significant federal funding to abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula. Although this content has been repeatedly proven ineffective and the U.S. continues to rank high amongst developing countries for …

An Analysis Of Operator Eye Behavior When Monitoring Simulated, Petrochemical Manufacturing, Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition Alerts And Warnings With Background Noise, Angela Huenerfauth

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There are a number of potential distractions for operators when viewing plant status-monitoring information in a petrochemical plant: background noises of other employees speaking, sounds of manufacturing equipment and processes and other ambient noises like HVAC and building operation noise. When the monitoring equipment for a chemical or petrochemical plant is not designed to take into account that operators can be distracted by this noise, there is a potential safety hazard for the people in that work environment. Alarms can be missed and fundamental information can be overlooked. SCADA is “a type of control system that collects and displays data …

The Implementation Of A Systematic Method For Identifying The Root Causes Of Manufacturing Negative Process Yield In A North American Fastener Manufacturing Facility, Bradley J. Venable

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Negative process yield is an unexplained expense that does have a significant impact on profits. As like most other manufacturing processes, there are multiple processing operations that a finished good can be exposed to during the course of the entire process. Negative process yield can occur during these known operations but without accurate reporting and data collection, it becomes a moot point. In order to investigate this unexplainable phenomena properly, understanding of what could possibly cause this from occurring must be achieved. In the case of the North American fastener manufacturing plant, missing pieces that are not accounted for through …

Emerging Adults’ Identities, Attitudes, And Orientations Concerning Consensual Non-Monogamy, Amber Kory Stephens

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study considered the connection among aspects of emerging adults’ identities and their relational and sociosexual orientations as well as their attitudes toward consensual nonmonogamy (CNM). Results indicated significant relationships among individuals’ collective and social identity aspects, as dictated in the AIQ-IV, and how emerging adults label their relational orientations (e.g., strictly monogamous, monogamish, open, and polyamorous). Additionally, findings demonstrated that the salience/importance of social categories, roles, and reputations in one's identity influences how they choose to label their relational orientation, their attitudes toward non-monogamy, and their orientation toward uncommitted sex (sociosexual orientation). Discussion, implications and future directions follow.

The Influence Of Interpersonal Dyadic Differences On Condom Use Among Men Who Have Sex With Men, Andrew M. O'Neil

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and other STIs. Condom use is one of the most effective methods of prevention, but rates of condom use have been steadily declining among MSM. Therefore, determining what factors influence condom use decision-making among MSM is important. Interpersonal factors such as physical attractiveness, race, and age have been explored in relation to condom use. However, there is a dearth of research exploring the influence of discrepancies between casual partners in these social categories and its influence on condom use directly.

Purpose: The purpose of this …

Trace., Kcj Szwedzinski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Trace utilizes autoethnography to investigate aspects of Judaism to discover how one decides what to embrace, embody, or deny from inherited legacies. Autoethnography attempts to combine quantitative and qualitative data in order to systematically analyze and describe personal experience. The artist acting as Ba’alei Kushiah, or question bearer, uses Talmudic philosophy as a methodology and approach to art making. This research is self-referential; using Jewish thought to ask questions about Judaism. Judaism, often existing in an in between place with outward characteristics that reflect regional influences, facilitates a dialogue about whether there are relative or absolute delineations within and between …

Stuff They Don't Tell You About Your Whisker Biscuit, Rose Overbey

A Midwestern Review: A Magazine of the Arts and Issues at DePauw University

No abstract provided.

Pots And Pans, Joslyn Fox

A Midwestern Review: A Magazine of the Arts and Issues at DePauw University

No abstract provided.

Between And Beyond, Noah F. Heil

Art and Art History Honors Projects

Between and Beyond is a series of handbuilt and wheel-thrown ceramic objects which explore intimate queer relationships through the human figure. I assemble slabs of clay to create openings and negative spaces within the sculptures, implying the ways in which the human form also acts as a vessel. The sculptures as well as the figures themselves remain open and vulnerable, literally and metaphorically. The body is depicted through fragmented sections, alluding to the ways in which society and culture break up gender and sexuality into limiting binaries. These intimate, private moments are meant to conjure an imagined future free of …

From Victim To Volunteer: A Life Course Perspective And The Transition To Adulthood For Individuals Who Have Sold Sex, Julianne M. Siegfriedt

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Under the United States definition of sex trafficking, one is considered a sex trafficking victim if she or he sells sex under 18 years old. Once someone turns 18, in order to claim trafficking status force, fraud, or coercion must be proven or that person falls under the illegal status of sex worker (VTVPA 2000). If one can go from being a victim of a crime to a perpetrator of a crime by having a birthday, what does the transition to adulthood and turning 18 look like for those who sell or exchange sex or are at risk of selling …

Gender Performance In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Amanda Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cross-dressing is a recurrent theme in Shakespeare's comedies, and the theatrical trend of gender bending casting has added an extra layer of complexity to performing his work. How does the gender of the actor affect the performance of a role in Shakespeare? How does it affect the perception of the role, and how can an actor utilize that perception to connect more fully with the audience? How does the female perspective illuminate hitherto unexplored elements of Shakespeare's text and characters? I was inspired by Orlando Shakes' all male production of Twelfth Night to research gender theory in relation to classical …

Maternal Criticism: Reading Two Middle Eastern Women Writers As Nonviolent Peace Activism, Charlyn Marie Ingwerson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation advocates for reading the literatures of two Middle Eastern women writers through a Maternal Critical lens that recognizes the demands of universal vulnerability in characters who resist violence, and responds in Maternal communities of Readers that connect readers to characters, readers to writers, and readers to other readers, carrying the struggle for equity forward. My unfolding argument, centered on Maternal Critical activity in the novels of Palestinian writer Sahar Khalifeh and Israeli writer Ronit Matalon, demonstrates how literature by these Middle Eastern women is part of a narrative context of women’s peacemaking and resistance to violence, a part …

Painting The Leaky Pipeline Pink: Girl Branded Media And The Promotion Of Stem, Juniper Patel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a critical feminist analysis of girl branded media depictions of girls in STEM. Through close textual analysis of three case studies—Disney Fairies films, Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures, and My Little Pony: Equestria Girls media—I found that such STEM promotion tends to emphasize traditional gender roles and neoliberal market values. Disney Fairies films promote traditional gender roles via portrayals of play STEM, white hegemony, and western beauty standards. Additionally, these films promote the neoliberal ideal of industrialization as consequence free. Dreamhouse Adventures depicts STEM in relation to traditional gender norms such as caretaking, heteronormativity, and girl culture. Furthermore, this …

Vile Transgressor Of The Womb : Prosecution And Persecution For Concealment In Puritan Massachusetts., Jennifer White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the crime of concealment in Puritan Massachusetts. The 1624 Jacobean statute, which specifically identified concealing as both the crime and the evidence, provided the basis for prosecuting women who concealed the death of an infant. This dissertation focuses on an analysis that connects the act of concealment to a larger discussion of a woman’s association with secrecy and hiding that led to labeling her postpartum, criminal body as a threat to the colony. The act of concealment was evidence of a woman’s ability to control her own reproduction and her unwillingness to acknowledge her calling in Puritan …

Hoot Magazine And The Sexual Revolution At Depauw, Sydney Majka

Student Research

The multifaceted nature of the sexual revolution in America is a complicated topic to disentangle, but examination of the different strands of the movement reveals how people from all walks of life participated in this transformation of mores, even if they themselves were not consciously aware of their contributions. Beth Bailey’s work Sex in the Heartland closely examines these different factors that composed the sexual revolution, while emphasizing the theme that the sexual revolution was a complex combination of events that was experienced and constructed by different people in widely disparate ways. Bailey uses the town of Lawrence, Kansas and …

Museums, Feminism, And Social Impact, Audrey M. Clark

Museum Studies Theses

This paper aims to explore the history of women within the context of the museum institution; a history that has often encouraged collaboration and empowerment of marginalized groups. It will interpret the history of women and museums and the impact on the institution by surveying existing literature on feminism and museums and the biographies of a few notable female curators. As this paper hopes to encourage global thinking, museums from outside the western sphere will be included and emphasized. Specifically, it will look at organizations in the Middle East and that exist in only a digital format. This will lead …

Encyclopedia Of My Body, Alice Hastings

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This creative thesis project is a culmination of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing degree at UNLV. The thesis—titled Encyclopedia of My Body—was composed entirely during my graduate semesters at UNLV. As a hybrid collection book of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction, it explores the different bodies that create and shape human people. Included within these bodies are of course the temporal, organic bodies human people inhabit; using my own body as the focus, I explore the intersections of gender, pain, and transness. This collection however seeks to trouble the idea of bodies, and therefore explores the bodies …

Beyond Suffrage: Intermarriage, Land, And Meanings Of Citizenship And Marital Naturalization/Expatriation In The United States, Shiori Yamamoto

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation investigates how the laws of marital naturalization/expatriation, namely the Citizenship Act of 1855, the Expatriation Act of 1907, and the Cable Act of 1922 and its amendments throughout the 1930s, impacted the lives of women who married foreigners, especially in the American West, and demonstrates how women directly and indirectly challenged the practice of marital naturalization/expatriation. Those laws demanded women who married foreigners take the nationality of their husbands depending on the race of women and their husbands, making married women’s citizenship dependent on that of their husbands. Particularly under the Expatriation Act of 1907, all American women …

Vlogging Truth To Power : A Qualitative Study Of Resilience As Practiced By Transgender Youtube Content Creators., Corey J. Feger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an exploratory account of ways that transgender people’s personal YouTube channels, or “vlogs,” provide new avenues to cultivate resilience as a collective. To make sense of this unstable, contested model of identity and community, I apply a three-part model of “social resilience,” a theory of resilience that transcends the individual and welcomes incoherency, contradiction, and “messiness” into its analysis. In Chapter One, I provide a snapshot of transgender history and present my research objective and justification. Chapter Two consists of a literature review and argues in favor of a hybrid theory of intersectionality and assemblage. Chapter Three …

Trans Stories, Trans Voices: How The Internet Empowers Transgender Creators To Have Agency In Trans Fiction, Pepper J. Heifner

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Although many advocates believe that the increased representation of transgender people in mainstream fiction will lead to more understanding for the transgender community, many transgender scholars (Page, Richards) are critical of representation that is created without any involvement of actual transgender people. Some fear that the more radical perspectives of trans lives are being erased and replaced with a homogenous idea of the kinds of trans people who are “acceptable” (cárdenas). To avoid this homogeneity, it is important to allow for a multiplicity of trans perspectives and empower transgender people to have agency over their own narratives.

The goal of …

“This Unique Empire” : Sylvia Plath And Anne Sexton’S Embodied Poetry As L’Ecriture Feminine, Theresa Kircher

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This thesis seeks to place the poetry of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton within a larger discussion of contemporary feminist thought regarding corporeality and Hélène Cixous’ idea of l’ecriture feminine from her 1976 essay “The Laugh of the Medusa.” Beginning with the basic premise of the mind/body dichotomy that was the basis for western philosophy, this thesis argues that contemporary feminist discourse shies away from viewing women’s bodies as a source of empowerment, hoping to avoid exposure to bioessentialist critiques, and instead focusing on women’s access to areas of intellectual power. This thesis posits that rather than uphold the power …

Demonic Pedagogy And The Teaching Saint: Voice, Body, And Place In Cynewulf's Juliana, Christina M. Heckman

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

In Cynewulf’s Old English poem Juliana, the saint frames her encounters with her adversaries as pedagogical confrontations, refusing the lessons they attempt to “teach” her and ultimately adopting the identity of a teacher herself. These confrontations depend on three key tropes in the poem: Juliana’s voice, as a material manifestation of language deployed by the saint; her body, both as living body and as relic; and place, especially the place of the saint’s martyrdom and/or burial. Viewed through theories of material feminism, these tropes reveal diverse forms of agency in the poem, as both human and non-human agents make …

The Wealth Of Wives: A Fifteenth-Century Marriage Manual, Olympia Pelosi

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Cristalian De Espana, Ana Grinberg

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

The Encyclopedia Of Medieval Literature In Britain, Alexandra Reider

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Anglo-Saxon Literary Landscapes: Ecotheory And The Environmental Imagination, Renee R. Trilling

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Shifting Abortion Attitudes Using An Empathy-Based Media Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Study, Mary Ellen Hunt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

U.S. abortion restrictions diminish access and perpetuate a culture of hostility toward abortion seekers. Support for restrictions is high—potentially, because restriction knowledge is low and attitudes are complex. The current study focused on knowledge and support of restrictions and empathy for abortions seekers among Arkansans. The purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of a video intervention intended to increase awareness of Arkansas abortion restrictions and induce empathy for abortion seekers.

Using a randomized controlled trial with pre-, post-, and follow-up design, a sample of Arkansans (N = 369) were randomly assigned to one of five video conditions--either a control or …

Feeling Clumsy, Feeling Alien: Gender And Affect In Victorian Sensation Fiction, Gracie Mae Bain

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“Feeling Clumsy, Feeling Alien: Gender and Affect in Victorian Sensation Fiction” explores the interactions between the shock of reading sensation fiction and the affective potential of the genre using Sara Ahmed’s definition of the killjoy and the affect alien. The sensation genre, as explained in its name, is potentially useful when thinking about affective ties in the Victorian period. The first chapter, “Tracing Sensations: Finding and Following the Killjoy” explores the affective footwork that readers of sensation fiction are asked to perform in their sympathetic process with the female villains and fallen heroines. Affective tools employed by sensational fiction create …