Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

A Qualitative Study Of School-Based Sexuality Education State Policies And Lgbtq+ Student Experiences In Sex Ed, Anna Babbin

Honors Scholar Theses

Objective:To assess the experiences of LGBTQ+ students in school-based sexuality education and compare responses of students from states with inclusive (Oregon and California) and non-inclusive (Alabama and Texas) sex education policies.

Participants:669 LGBTQ+ students between 13-17 years of age.

Main Outcome Measures:Student write-in responses about the inclusion of queer sexual orientations and gender identity topics in their school-based sex education.

Analysis:LGBTQ+ student write-in responses about their experiences in sex education were reviewed for themes using qualitative methods, and themes were compared across states.

Results:The majority of LGBTQ+ students living in Alabama and Texas report receiving …

How To Be The Perfect Asian Wife!, Sophia Hill

Art and Art History Honors Projects

“How to be the Perfect Asian Wife” critiques exploitative power systems that assault female bodies of color in intersectional ways. This work explores strategies of healing and resistance through inserting one’s own narrative of flourishing rather than surviving, while reflecting violent realities. Three large drawings mimic pervasive advertisement language and presentation reflecting the oppressive strategies used to contain women of color. Created with charcoal, watercolor, and ink, these 'advertisements' contrast with an interactive rice bag filled with comics of my everyday experiences. These documentations compel viewers to reflect on their own participation in systems of power.

It's Just A Toy, Lauren Strauss

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies (2015-2021)

Each and every one of us experiences gender stereotyping, whether we realize it or not. It is such a simple concept and something people don't tend to think about. Although, from a young age, we are exposed to our parents' and societies' views on gender and the toys we should play with, which then stick around for generations. The color pink and dolls are for girls and trucks and the color blue are for boys, right? Well, not necessarily. Toys are also expressed through the idea that women have to be the stay at home mom and take care of …

Naming The Nameless: An Exploration Of Queer Poetry And Empowerment, Jesse Yelvington

2018 Award Winners

No abstract provided.

Female Autistic Perspectives: Limits In Diagnosis And Understanding, Alexandra Helmers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder has increased dramatically within the last two decades, with males being diagnosed, on average, four to five times more than females. Although researchers in the medical community have searched for a biological explanation for this discrepancy, no definitive cause has been found. I argue that our understanding of autism is primarily a social and cultural construction, in addition to a diagnosable medical disorder. The gender disparity in diagnosis reflects cultural narratives surrounding social interaction and the widespread belief in two distinct gender roles. Furthermore, narratives surrounding the topic of autism tend to unintentionally highlight …

Race, Sexuality, And Masculinity On The Down Low, Stephen Kochenash

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In a so-called post-racial America, a new gay identity has flourished and come into the limelight. However, in recent years, researchers have concluded that not all men who have sex with other men (MSM) self-identify as gay, most noticeably a large population of Black men. It is possible that a tainted history of Black enslavement in this country that is inextricably linked with ideas of space, surveillance, subversion, and survival inform a Black male’s self-identification as being “on the down low” (DL). This begs the question: What does mainstream society view as gay-ness and how is the DL constructed …

What Is My Role In Changing The System? A New Model Of Responsibility For Structural Injustice, Robin Zheng

Women's and Gender Studies Program: Faculty Publications

What responsibility do individuals bear for structural injustice? Iris Marion Young has offered the most fully developed account to date, the Social Connections Model. She argues that we all bear responsibility because we each causally contribute to structural processes that produce injustice. My aim in this article is to motivate and defend an alternative account that improves on Young’s model by addressing five fundamental challenges faced by any such theory. The core idea of what I call the Role-Ideal Model is that we are each responsible for structural injustice through and in virtue of our social roles, i.e. our roles …

Asexuality: To Include Or Not To Include A Slice Of Cake In The Lgbtq+ Community, Devin Oliva-Farrell

Tredway Library Prize for First-Year Research

Due to the growing number of sexual orientations and genders that have joined the LGBTQ+ community, a debate has sparked on whether all of these should be included. Specifically, this paper analyzes the debate on whether asexuality should be included or excluded from the group. The results from including or excluding asexuality will have drastic effects on the LGBTQ+ community, self-identified asexuals, and society as a whole when it comes to examining sexualities and genders.

This is illustrated in the following ways: 1) examining the definition of asexuality; 2) exploring the debates surrounding its inclusion or exclusion; 3) highlighting the …

Response: Labour And The Varieties Of Feminism, Monique Charles, Natalie Thomlinson

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

"In our last issue, Charlotte Proudman offered a strongly critical account of the Labour leadership’s engagement with the feminist tradition. Here, two scholars of feminism and race offer their reflections on the arguments she raised."

No Human Right To Sodomy: Christian Conservative Opposition To Sogi Human Rights, Cynthia Burack

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

The American Christian conservative movement is the most consistent and persistent adversary of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) civil rights in the US. In recent years, the Christian right has responded to changes in attitudes to same-sex sexuality in the US by relocating some of their attention and operations to issues and arenas of contest outside the US that hold more promise for implacable antagonism to rights and recognition for LGBTQ people. In some parts of the world, these US-based anti-LGBTQ actors have become recognized as “experts” on gender and sexual minorities and the dire consequences the existence of …

Woman Energy: How Our Lesbian Past Informs Our Lesbian Future, Shawn(Ta) Smith-Cruz

Publications and Research

Sinister Wisdom Issue 3, published the year 1977 holds an essay by poet Adrienne Rich, titled, “It is the lesbian in us...”; The cover of the same issue has art by photographer Tee Corinne. Sinister Wisdom is a multicultural lesbian literary and art journal. This non-fiction creative essay written by Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz reflects on the first year of Sinister Wisdom's publication as a celebration of 40 years through this special edition anniversary print for which only 1000 have been printed. The essay remarks on the shift in lesbian identity and community and the potential impact of the Sinister Wisdom journal …

Girls Are Us: A Collection Of Oral Histories From The Jmu Community, Anne M. Sherman

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

On a campus where women make up a majority of the student population, it is especially important that female voices are heard and given a platform on which they can control their own narrative. I wanted to give those female-identifying voices that platform. I conducted a series of interviews to examine how college-aged female-identifying students feel about their identity and how they construct that identity within the climate of the JMU community. I was particularly interested in the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual preference, and ability. I asked each person to share their stories of times when they …

Breaking The Cycle Of Silence : The Significance Of Anya Seton's Historical Fiction., Lindsey Marie Okoroafo (Jesnek)

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the feminist significance of Anya Seton’s historical novels, My Theodosia (1941), Katherine (1954), and The Winthrop Woman (1958). The two main goals of this project are to 1.) identify and explain the reasons why Seton’s historical novels have not received the scholarly attention they are due, and 2.) to call attention to the ways in which My Theodosia, Katherine, and The Winthrop Woman offer important feminist interventions to patriarchal social order. Ultimately, I argue that My Theodosia, Katherine, and The Winthrop Woman deserve more scholarly attention because they are significant contributions to women’s …

Mother Goddesses And Subversive Witches: Competing Narratives Of Gender Essentialism, Heteronormativity, Feminism, And Queerness In Wiccan Theology And Ritual, Carly B. Floyd

Honors Projects

Wicca has typically been viewed as an empowering alternative to institutionalized and patriarchal religions, and women especially have been drawn to this religion because of its inclusion of women as goddesses and priestesses. It is also seen as a sex-positive religion, and many LGBTQ+ people embrace Wicca due to its lack of concepts such as sin and shame, especially around sex and sexuality. This research, however, troubles the claim that Wicca is a feminist, woman-friendly, queer-friendly religion. While women are celebrated and valued, I argue that women’s positive portrayal as mothers, nurturers, emotional, and intuitive portrays women’s nature in a …

Poster Session, Jenny Warren

Collin College Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Student Research Conference

Posters presented:

• Kathleen Sanchez “Design and Function of MRI Scanners”
• Ahn T. Vo “Do We Need Another Cosmetic Product?”
• April R. Boyd “Students at Work”
• Zaynab Adeola Omisade, University of Texas, Arlington "Screening of Iotrochota Birutulata extracts with chloroform and Methanol/toluene (3:1) for anti-bacteria activity"
• Sarah Minich, Collin College “Does Flexibility in a Prosthetic Ankle-Foot System Improve an Amputee’s Everyday Life?”
• Shannon McCraw, Ph.D. & Madison Poteet, Southeastern Oklahoma State University "Exploring Individual Communication Traits: Assessing The Relationship Between Willingness To Communicate, Self-Esteem, And Individual Entrepreneurial Orientation"
• Shelby Garza, Texas State University "Examining Differences in the Rate of Decomposition between …

"We Control It On Our End, And Now It's Up To You" -- Exploitation, Empowerment, And Ethical Portrayals Of The Pornography Industry, Julie E. Davin

Student Publications

Documentaries about pornography are beginning to constitute an entirely new subgenre of film. Big Hollywood names like James Franco and Rashida Jones are jumping on the bandwagon, using their influence and resources to invest in a type of audiovisual knowledge production far less mainstream than that in which they usually participate. The films that have resulted from this new movement are undoubtedly persuasive, no matter which side of the debate over pornography these directors have respectively chosen to represent. Moreover, regardless of the side(s) that audience members may have taken in the so-called “feminist porn debates,” one cannot ignore the …

Tourism And The Vrankrijk As A Safe(R) Space, Megan Adams

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This is a practicum-based study on the impact of tourism on the creation and maintenance of a safe(r) space at the Vrankrijk. The Vrankrijk is a former squat and current volunteer-run community center and café, which hosts WTF Wednesday, a weekly safe(r) queer night of a voku dinner and performances. This research explores the current definitions of safe space as applied to the Vrankrijk. The study’s main focus is the impact of tourism on the Vrankrijk as a safe(r) space.

The study finds its roots in four experiential interviews with members of the community including a visiting band member whose …

Regulating The Reguliers: How The Normalization Of Gays And Lesbians In Dutch Society Impacts Lgbtq Nightlife, Laura Jacobs

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This Independent Study Project explores how LGBTQ nightlife is impacted by the changing position of gays and lesbians in Dutch society. Specifically, this project seeks to explore how the normalization and popularization of certain subcommunities of LGBTQ individuals in Amsterdam, lauded as one of the most progressive and gay-friendly cities in the world, influences how people navigate LGBTQ bars, clubs, and parties. Data was obtained by conducting 10 in-depth, semi-structured interviews. This data was then analyzed using Judith Butler’s theory of normalization, recognition, and regulation and Gert Hekma’s theory of homonormativity. The research revealed that despite apparent advancements in LGBTQ …

Empirical Reflections On Women Students In Usa Nonprofit Academic Programs And Realizations About Ideological Influence, Norman A. Dolch

Journal of Ideology

This research reports on the beliefs of a select sample of women and men faculty across the USA regarding women in nonprofit organization academic programs. The main differences were on professional orientation among graduate students, difficulty with quantitative oriented courses, and portrayal of women in coursework. To eliminate these differences, beliefs (ideologies) among faculty and students need to be altered. Sanberg’s book Lean In is especially informative about changing beliefs about career orientation for both men and women to what she calls a belief in sustainable and fulfilling positions. Another valuable resource for faculty concerned about these issues is Creating …

Christians’ Cut: Popular Religion And The Global Health Campaign For Medical Male Circumcision In Swaziland, Casey Golomski, Sonene Nyawo

Anthropology

Swaziland faces one of the worst HIV epidemics in the world and is a site for the current global health campaign in sub-Saharan Africa to medically circumcise the majority of the male population. Given that Swaziland is also majority Christian, how does the most popular religion influence acceptance, rejection or understandings of medical male circumcision? This article considers interpretive differences by Christians across the Kingdom’s three ecumenical organisations, showing how a diverse group people singly glossed as ‘Christian’ in most public health acceptability studies critically rejected the procedure in unity, but not uniformly. Participants saw medical male circumcision’s promotion and …

Book Review: Absent Aviators: Gender Issues In Aviation, Janet K. Tinoco, Genderie S. Rivera

Publications

This document is Dr. Tincoco's review of Absent Aviators: Gender Issues in Aviation edited by Donna Bridges, Jane Neal-Smith, and Albert J. Mills. Ashgate Publishing Limited, Farnham, 2014. 233 pp. $129.95.

Reproducing The Capitalist Patriarchy In The Evangelical Christian Sexual Purity Movement: A Feminist Christian’S Concern And Hope, Hannah K. Griggs

Audre Lorde Prize

Through a feminist lens, this essay will explore modern expressions of the conservative evangelical Christian purity movement, including Christian sex manuals, abstinence-only education programs, and purity balls. To begin, I will explain the most important facets of my own feminist theory, which draws from existentialist, socialist, and postmodern feminisms. Using this unique combination of theories, I will attempt to reconcile my deeply held Christian and feminist beliefs about sex. Finally, I will propose a solution that honors both of these important parts of my identity. I assert that the Christian purity movement Others women reinforcing a gender binary, bending to …

French Women In Art: Reclaiming The Body Through Creation/Les Femmes Artistes Françaises : La Réclamation Du Corps À Travers La Création, Liatris Hethcoat

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The research I have conducted for my French Major Senior Thesis is a culmination of my passion for and studies of both French language and culture and the history and practice of Visual Arts. I have examined, across the history of art, the representation of women, and concluded that until the 20^th century, these representations have been tools employed by the makers of history and those at the top of the patriarchal system, used to control women’s images and thus women themselves. I survey these representations, which are largely created by men—until the 20^th century. I discuss pre-historical …

Women And Revolution: Marx And The Dialectic, Lilia D. Monzó

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This article argues that Marxism is inherently anti-sexist, anti-racist, and against all forms of exploitation and oppression. As a philosophy of revolution, Marxism is more than about economic restructuring but rather argues for the development of a new humanity based upon a class-less mode of production. Dialectically, these changes must come simultaneously from changing relations of production, changes in the material conditions of families, and the development of values and ideologies related to freedom and equality. Women's liberation and anti-racism play a central role in this revolution. Working class women and women of color are especially roused to action due …

Positionality And Feminisms Of Women Within Sufi Brotherhoods Of Senegal, Georgia Collins

IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Cal Poly Humboldt

No abstract provided.

Las Percepciones De Las Dinámicas De Género A Través De Los Niveles Socioeconómicos De Dos Liceos De Santiago De Chile / 119/5000 Perceptions Of Dynamics Gender Equality Across Socio-Economic Levels Of Two High Schools In Santiago De Chile, Sarah Kochanek

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

La siguiente investigación se enfoca en el tema de género en el sistema educativo chileno. El objetivo amplio de la investigación es comparar las percepciones de género y reproducciones de roles de género en las opiniones de estudiantes de dos liceos de diferentes niveles socioeconómicos en Santiago y analizar las diferencias. Los métodos de esta investigación incluyeron observación participante, entrevistas con estudiantes y profesores de dos diferentes liceos de Santiago (una municipal y una particular pagada). Los principales hallazgos rechazaron la hipótesis planteada; se encontró que la conciencia del tema es más presente en la escuela municipal, de bajos recursos …

Prospective And Dyadic Associations Between Expectant Parents’ Prenatal Hormone Changes And Postpartum Parenting Outcomes, Robin S. Edelstein, William J. Chopik, Darby E. Saxbe, Britney M. Wardecker, Amy C. Moors, Onawa P. Labelle

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

During the transition to parenthood, both men and women experience hormone changes that are thought to promote parental care. Yet very few studies have explicitly tested the hypothesis that prenatal hormone changes are associated with postpartum parenting behavior. In a longitudinal study of 27 first-time expectant couples, we assessed whether prenatal hormone changes predicted self and partner-reported parenting outcomes at three months postpartum. Expectant fathers showed prenatal declines in testosterone and estradiol, and larger declines in these hormones predicted larger contributions to household and infant care tasks postpartum. Women whose partners showed larger testosterone declines also reported receiving more support …

The Glass Ceiling Is Not Broken: Gender Equity Issues Among Faculty In Higher Education, Jillian Wood

Educational Studies Dissertations

Gender discrimination is an ongoing topic, including discrimination that occurs in higher education. Previous studies have shown female faculty experience a variety of workplace discrimination including sexual harassment/bullying, salary disparities, and lack of worklife balance. This dissertation aimed to analyze equity issues for female faculty at a private university. The researcher utilized a narrative inquiry methodology, conducting interviews with five full-time female faculty. The purpose of this dissertation was to understand the participants’ everyday stories and lived experiences. The researcher utilized critical feminist theory and leadership theory to examine the notion of equity at this campus. The findings, shown through …

Rape And Sexual Violence: Questionable Inevitability And Moral Responsibility In Armed Conflict, Katherine W. Bogen

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

Wartime sexual violence is a critical human rights issue that usurps the autonomy of its victims as well as their physical and psychological safety. It occurs in both ethnic and non-ethnic wars, across geographic regions, against both men and women, and regardless of the “official” position of commanders, states, and armed groups on the use of rape as tactic of war. This problem is current, pervasive, and global in spite of the status of wartime sexual violence perpetration as a crime against humanity and the capacity of the international criminal court to indict offenders. Though some scholars have argued that …

Fictional Survivors And Real Life Survivors: Fede Alvarez’S Evil Dead As A Slasher Film And Unnecessary Depictions Of Sexual Violence, Alyssa Froehling

Audre Lorde Prize

This paper addresses the instances of rape in Sam Raimi's 1981 film The Evil Dead in comparison with Fede Alavarez's 2013 remake, Evil Dead. It explores the implications that these depictions of violence on film have on American culture, victim blaming, and gender inequality.