Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons^™

Fostering Queer Consciousness: Using Performative Art As An Activism Tool To Talk About The Lgbtq+ Community In The State Of Bahia, Brazil, Elisangela Pereira Brito

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current scenario in Brazil has attracted the attention of queer artists activists since violence against LGBTQI+ ranks the country as one of the most dangerous places for this community. This study examined how Black gay men have used performative art as activism to foster queer consciousness in the state of Bahia, Brazil. This research employed a qualitative approach, in-depth interview, by providing the unique experiences of three Black queer men artists. Results showed that the early and present experiences of the participants provided a single understanding of how the three Black queer men have used the principles of Pedagogy …

Coping Strategies For Inner Conflicts Between Gay Bear Identity And Health Concerns, Chichun Lin, Darren D. Moore

The Qualitative Report

Gay bear refers to a burly gay man with a hirsute body and face. Chinese gay bear men are highly homogeneous and strictly emphasize a uniform bear appearance; however, obesity is an obvious health issue in this population. This study aims to explore the Chinese gay bear men's inner conflicts between bear identity and health concerns. Eleven Chinese gay bear men including four Taiwanese, two mainland Chinese, two Hong Kong, two Malaysian, and one Singaporean were interviewed. The study used a thematic analysis approach and found three coping strategies including (a) Eat healthy but maintain a minimal bear standard; (b) …

Limp Wrists, Clenched Fists: An Analysis Of Queer Performance Art As A Tool For Political Resistance, Neha Verma

Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections

This paper explores the use of queer performance art as a tool for community mobilization and resistance to socio-legal oppressions. This essay is grounded in movements for queer liberation in the Global South, racialized working-class queer communities, and queer disability justice. As queer culture and aesthetics are often misappropriated for wider cisheteronormative audiences, this work reminds the revolutionary nature of queer performance art.

The Effects Of “No Pro Homo” Policies On Lgbtq+ Perceptions In The American South, Isabella L. Brocato

Honors Theses

Five states in the American South currently have “no pro homo” policies in place, while an increasing number of bills targeting discussions about sexuality and gender identity in public schools are being introduced to House floors around the country. Although there is extensive research on the ways in which these policies put the physical and mental well-being of LGBTQ+ students at risk, there is little to no research about how they shape public perceptions of the LGBTQ+ community collectively. With inspiration from Kenneth and Mamie Clark’s social science study cited in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), this study works …

"Queering" Age-Friendly New York City, Austin G. Oswald

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background and aims: The global population is aging and becoming more culturally diverse. As such, scholars, practitioners, and policymakers are expected to think critically about strategies to improve the quality of life of people as they age. In 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Age-Friendly Cities movement to improve the well-being and meaningful engagement of older adults living in the community. New York City (NYC) was the first city in the world to be designated “age-friendly” by the WHO, and is possibly viewed as a model for other cities to emulate. Few empirical studies have examined the age-friendly …

Receiving A Queen: A Queer And Trans Feminist Classical Reception Rhetorical Historiography Of Elagabalus, Thomas William Passwater

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation studies representations of Elagabalus, the sovereign of Rome who ruled between 218–222ce, after her assassination to examine how depictions and historical accounts of Elagabalus's life make rhetorical decisions about Elagabalus's identity and being that can foreground the composer's relationship to history and the function of history as a rhetorical force. Thus, this project, through studying Elagabalus's composers, raises questions about the nature of figure studies and history. The project draws on trans, queer, and feminist theories and rhetorics which help highlight the contingent and conflicting nature of Elagabalus's identities across representations without settling them into a singular narrative …

There Are Ghosts In The Machine, Jonathan Green

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are ghosts in the machine is a body of paintings that dare to dissolve the boundaries between my physical body, intimate desires, and paintings. Utilizing the aesthetics of leather lifestyles, the paintings express the transformational potential of desire and transgression. Oriented within my experience as a queer, transgender male, I call upon influences that range from the body horror classics by director David Cronenberg or the transgressive attitude of Nine Inch Nails, to theoretical works on the power of eroticism by Audre Lorde and Georges Bataille.Modified by hardware such as chains, zippers, and grommets, the paintings express the transformational …

The Experiences Of The Transgender And Gender Diverse Community On Coming Out At The University Of Arkansas, Taylor Hubbard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researching the experiences of the TGD community can help better understand the unique struggles this community may face, specifically regarding the unique experiences southeastern United States TGD individuals have encountered. We draw on previous studies regarding the entire LGBTQ+ community and the minimal research on the TGD community. There is minimal research looking specifically at the experiences college TGD students have when coming out in different aspects and the perceptions TGD individuals have about themselves as a result of their experiences coming out. We conducted a survey with 37 respondents as well as 4 qualitative interviews. We present interviews conducted …

Making Meaning Of The Shared Experience Of Participants In An Undergraduate Lgbtq+ Mentorship Program, Brendan Corbett Csaposs

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the ways in which LGBTQ+ students at the University of Miami make meaning of their shared experiences in the LGBTQ+ Mentorship Program that the university offers, in order to explore ways in which higher education institutions might consider better supporting this key group of students. This study draws upon a variety of theories of sexual identity development, building on the work of Rosario et al. (2011) in looking at the ways that students make meaning of their sexual identity based on self-identification, association with the larger community, and engagement in a …

How To Make A Monster: The Homosexual Experience In Horror And Thriller Cinema, Mia Lindenburg

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

Horror and thriller’s subtextual stories within cinema have been prominent across many subgenres, creating a wide-spread correlation between the homosexual and the monstruous that grew even noticeable after the start of the AIDS epidemic. Much of horror critique and analysis has been focused on the objectification of the feminine, but the unique role that the male plays in horror and thriller (both as a villain and victim) deserves equal inspection. The research done in this paper demonstrates how horror cinema skews the suggested gender roles and how fear makes us more easily let go of the societal norms held so …

The Impact Of Female Leadership On Lgbtq-Supportive Policies, Samantha Bove

Honors Projects in Finance

In the past two decades, gender inequality in c-suites has received a large amount of attention. Thus, the number of women in top management roles has increased substantially. However, the corporate sector has also neglected other marginalized groups, specifically, members of the LGBTQ community. These individuals are important employees and previous literature has established the benefits, both financial and otherwise, that the presence of LGBTQ supportive policies have on American corporations. In this paper, I examine if the presence of women CEOs influences the LGBTQ policies that are implemented in that firm. This will be analyzed using an OLS regression …

The Medical Policing Of Transgender And Gender Nonconforming Adults, Gabrielle Hawkins

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This research aims to better understand the discriminatory health care experiences of transgender and gender nonconforming adults. Conducted through a non-positivist sociological methodology, a primary objective of this research is to uplift transgender and other gender nonconforming voices through a study of lived, personal health narratives. In open-forum, semi-structured interviews, eight participants were asked questions relating to their health narratives, including questions concerning health care experiences and any encounters with discriminatory behaviors/actions by medical professionals and/or other medical affiliated personnel (i.e., receptionists, community health advisors, pharmacists, etc.). Potential questions ranged in theme (but were not limited to): gender identity, gender …

Same-Gender Pathways To Parenthood, Sydney T. Inger

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

LGBTQ+ individuals and couples who want children negotiate systemic inequalities in the United States of America. This literature review surveys America’s confusing legal map and the gaps in its enduring scholarly theories. The paper then examines the challenges that LGBTQ+ individuals and couples confront in working through the common pathways—same-gender adoption and fostering, in vitro fertilization, and surrogacy—to become parents. Dispersing information on the pathways will be a positive step towards breaking down the inequities for those in the LGBTQ+ community who want to start a family.

Sample Holiday Cards: Examples To Help Visualize Your Families Holiday Card Or A Reinforcement Of Racism And Heteronormativity In America., Chasidy Harris

Symposium of Student Scholars

The United States is considered a "melting pot" with a diverse population of citizens. Each year, thousands of Americans send out holiday cards, and increasingly these cards are ordered online in bulk and are decorated with photos for family and friends. However, evidence shows that current advertising does not typically reflect the diversity present in the United States population. This research aims to show how the advertisement of photo holiday cards through sample cards posted on the retailer's website includes mostly white heterosexual couples and families and fewer same-sex couples (with and without children), racial-ethnically diverse families. This research will …

Factors Driving Changing Community Acceptance Of Gays And Lesbians In Cato Manor, Kwazulu-Natal, Isabella Van Der Weide

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Acceptance of LGBTQ people is an important and encouraging area of social progress. As attitudes change in South Africa and across the world, it is important to understand the drivers of change and how that change is experienced within communities. Using both semi-structured interviews (n=19) and collection of survey data (n=30), this study interrogated the factors that formed and changed views on gay and lesbian people among respondents from a community in Cato Manor, a peri-urban area near Durban, South Africa. About half of all participants reported an opinion change. Interview participants who experienced opinion change most commonly reported the …

Dismantling Binary Assumptions In Sex Estimation: Uplifting Trans And Gender Diverse Identities In Forensic Anthropology, Audrey Holbeck

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Forensic anthropology is a study within the field of physical anthropology that seeks to apply osteological expertise to legal and criminal situations. One of a forensic anthropologists’ most important jobs is to build a biological profile, consisting of age, biological sex, stature, and ancestry, in correspondence to an unidentified decedent. As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, instances of violence against trans and gender non-conforming individuals are unfortunately prominent, however, there has also been more awareness shed on trans activism. Trans individuals are at a higher risk of being victims of violent crime, and thus, forensic anthropologists …

La Capital Marica De Chile: Un Mapa Queer/Kuir/Marica De Valparaíso Y Una Investigación Sobre La Construcción Publica De Una Comunidad Visible En Valparaíso, Steven Powell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Valparaíso, Chile, there is a teeming queer presence in the streets and public spaces. Expressions of queerness can be seen in Plaza Anabel Pinto in the way in which people dress or style their hair, can be heard from the small plaza in front of the Severin Library with the voguing/kiki music blasting at nights, and is grafittied on the walls all around the city. This presence and visibility is met with violence and accompanied by precarious life situations. It was my goal through this investigation to explore this relationship between violence and visibility as it is contradicted and …

Counternarratives Of Color: Race In Queer Archiving, Sanjula Rajat

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research aims to better understand how race figures into the policies, processes, and materials at IHLIA LGBT Heritage, Europe’s largest LGBT-focused archive. By situating IHLIA within the broader history of alternative archives and Dutch homonationalism, the different ways in which race is an important consideration for the archive is examined. Particular attention is paid to the history, organization and location of the archive as well as the publicly funded nature of IHLIA to better understand the possibilities and limitations posed by the notion of an LGBT archive as opposed to a queer(ed) archive.

Evaluating The Validity Of Restrictions On Blood Donation Eligibility For Men Who Have Sex With Men (Msm) In The United States, France, And Switzerland, Swathi Gorantla

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For the first time in a decade, the number of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnoses is higher for heterosexual people compared to gay and bisexual men (Florêncio, 2022). Additionally, in the United States, the American Red Cross has declared a national blood crisis due to the nationwide shortage of donated blood. During this crisis, charged with the new information on HIV diagnosis rates, many advocates for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ+) community question why discriminatory policy surrounding gay and bisexual men donating still exist around the world. These policies are changing worldwide – several European countries have …

Analyzing Alternative Spaces: Queer Social Networks And Notions Of Belonging In Morocco, Adam Griffin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Because of the presence of both legal and cultural discrimination in Morocco, the Moroccan queer community operates largely in secret and is unable to occupy public space. Additionally, the patriarchal structure of Moroccan society creates a culture of toxic masculinity that limits queer expression. This paper examines how queer Moroccans operate in the face of this discrimination. It also explores the extent to which alternative spaces, or spaces that subvert the norms and practices of mainstream society, contribute to the creation of LGBTQ+ social networks. Alternative spaces can be physical spaces—such as bars, cafes, and live music venues—or virtual spaces—such …

“We Are Doing The Absolute Most That We Can, And No One Is Listening”: Barriers And Facilitators To Health Literacy Within Transgender And Nonbinary Communities, C. Riley Hostetter, Jarrod Call, Donald R. Gerke, Brendon T. Holloway, N. Eugene Walls, Jennifer C. Greenfield

Graduate School of Social Work: Faculty Scholarship

Transgender and nonbinary (TNB) individuals face disparities in nearly every aspect of health. One factor associated with poor health outcomes in other marginalized populations is health literacy, yet no identified studies examine health literacy in TNB samples. Moreover, most health literacy frameworks focus primarily on the capacities of individual patients to understand and use healthcare information, with little attention given to provider literacy and environmental factors. In partnership with a statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, we recruited 46 transgender and nonbinary individuals to participate in seven focus groups conducted in urban, suburban, and rural locations throughout Colorado. TNB participants consistently engaged …

The Resiliency And Thriving Of Underrepresented Agricultural Educators: A National Mixed Methods Study, Caleb Michael Hickman

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

Gay men in agricultural education do not have comprehensive support within the agricultural education profession. When gay men decide to become agriculture educators, they often keep their identity private. This national mixed methods study aims to seek if gay agriculture educators are resilient and thrive in rural communities. The thriving elements of spiritual influence, personal competence, peer support, and family cohesion were surveyed and analyzed using a resiliency lens. Findings include gay male agricultural educators thriving in a heteronormative profession. Recommendations include ensuring LGBTQIA+ teachers have a voice in agricultural education.

“By Following Them, I Was Able To Identify Things I Shared With Them” : Conceptualizing How Social Media Use Influences Genderqueer Identity Development, Margeaux Gaiani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Among young genderqueer people, social media can be used as a tool for gender exploration, building support systems, and identity validation. However, literature on how these processes are linked together over time to curate a holistic sense of identity is limited. Using a grounded theory framework, this study seeks to construct a model explaining how gender identity development is linearly influenced by social media use among young genderqueer (transgender, non-binary, genderfluid, etc.) individuals. 20 indepth interviews were conducted with genderqueer participants ranging in age from 18- 26 years old. Participants were recruited through personal contact, referrals, and social media posts. …

Archiving Feminist Truth In Trump’S Wake Of Lies, Julie Shayne

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

This article is about an assignment I do in one of my Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies social movement classes. I revised the assignment the first time teaching the class after Trump lost the 2020 election. For the assignment, students work in groups to research local feminist and gender justice organizations and deposit all of their original materials – recordings, photos, flyers, etc. – into a digital, open access archive I co-created several years ago with librarians and staff on my campus. In 2021 I had my students do the “post-Trump” edition where they researched local organizations about how their …

The Thread Of Legality: Lgbtq Parental Identity Construction And Experiences In A Post-Marriage Equality Era, Allison Jendry James

Wayne State University Dissertations

LGBTQ couples have more opportunities to become parents than ever before. This is partly due to advancements in the LGBTQ movement as well as changes in cultural ideologies, changes in families, and more recent medical advancements (Ryan and Berkowitz 2009). Such changes allow LGBTQ couples to become parents, but to do so in differing ways (Dunne 2000). The legalization of same-sex marriage changed the parenting landscape for LGBTQ parents in a variety of ways. Parenthood is presumably different now that same-sex marriage is officially legal. Experiences among LGBTQ couples in the post legalization of same-sex marriage era raises questions about …

Learning To Be Gay: Narrative Socialization Of Young Indonesian Homosexuals, Amika Wardana

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

The increasing religious conservatism within Indonesian society has propelled the growth of hatred and vigilantism targeting sexual minorities—which are seen as committing an unforgiven sin—especially towards LGBTs (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender). This study addresses the processes that these minorities experience in order to express their sexual identities and forge social relationships with fellow same-sex queers. In specific, this study focuses on the ways young gays begin to understand and develop their sexual identity amidst a largely hostile social environment. By utilizing social media, these young gays have built digital communities for socialising with fellow gay people, as well as …

It Takes A Muscle: Wholes, Holes, And Other Voids, Saar Shemesh

Theses and Dissertations

IT TAKES A MUSCLE¹

In the BELLY of the BEAST, the HUMAN

in the deep end of a SWIMMING POOL

in a GRAVE, looking up/out from within

at the base of a CRATER, ABYSS, PIT

the room as a CRADLE, INCUBATOR

architecture as MOTHER MOULD.²

____________________________

¹ Title is borrowed and abbreviated: Spectral Display, “It Takes A Muscle To Fall In Love,” 1982.

² For what American-English delineates as ‘mold,’ British-English uses ‘mould’ and is more specific in its technicality. The former doesn’t distinguish in spelling between mold (fungus) and mold (mould). I’m not particularly a fan of …

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 …

Litigation, Legislation, And Love: The Comparative Efficacy Of Litigation And Legislation For The Expansion Of Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Civil Rights, Mallory Harrington

Honors College Theses

This research examines the comparative efficacy of federal appellate court decisions and federal legislation with regards to the furtherance of civil rights on the basis of sexual orientation. The research examines efficacy based upon the number of measures which have been implemented as well as the content of each measure. The research examines federal appellate and Supreme Court decisions, as well as adopted pieces of federal legislation since 1950. It also examines the likely causes of the disparities in efficacy that are indicated in this analysis. The findings of this research indicate that litigation has been much more effective at …

Alone Together: The Experiences Of Lgbtqia+ Undergraduates At Faith-Based Colleges, Jennifer Edwards

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences of LGBTQIA+ alumnix who attended faith-based colleges. The study was guided by Strayhorn’s (2019) College Students’ Sense of Belonging Theory and Abes’ et al. (2007) Reconceptualized model of multiple dimensions of identity. The scope of experiences explored was narrowed to three of the five categories in Schreiner’s (2010a) Thriving Quotient. These categories were: positive perspective (outlook on life), social connectedness, and diverse citizenship.

The study included 11 participants from 7 faith-based colleges and represented various intersections of sexual and gender identity. The study employed constructivist grounded theory methodology, an inductive research approach …