Women's Studies Commons^™

Pursuit Of Empowerment: The Evolution Of The Romance Novel And Its Readership In Fifty Shades Of Grey, Amy Elizabeth Quale

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis examines the new-adult romance work Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James and the novel's readership to identify the evolution of the romance genre and the ways in which the genre is used as a tool for empowerment. As the genre evolves, subgenres develop with the new "empowering" characteristics. As new technologies present themselves to readers, readers have more opportunities to participate with one another and affect the genre's evolution. I assert that Fifty Shades of Grey and the romance community are limited by the patriarchal values traditionally portrayed by the genre; however, the nature of the …

Perspectives Of Female Leaders In Athletic Training, Kyle Matthew Momsen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Previous research has found that women face barriers in athletic training and it appears that they are not represented in leadership positions in numbers equal to the demographics of athletic training. The purpose of this research was to explore the leadership experiences and perspectives of female athletic trainers who have earned a leadership position at the highest levels in athletic training. This qualitative investigation utilized semi-structured, open-ended interviews with 12 women that held national leadership positions in athletic training. The data from this investigation suggests that many of the barriers that previously faced women in athletic training have decreased or …

High School Textbooks And The Changing Narratives Of Woman Suffrage, Kellian Clink

Library Services Publications

History textbooks are criticized for their dry prose, lack of description of causation, and ability to turn students away from the discipline of history. The authors surveyed 16 textbooks from 1933 through 2005 studying their coverage of woman suffrage. The textbooks treat the issue summarily and miss a great opportunity to describe the injustices perpetuated against women, the valor and courage of the activists who persisted and won during a sustained battle by hundreds of thousands of determined women. Furthermore, the textbooks surveyed end with the amendment and do not immediately put it into historical context, with the right to …

Claiming The Feminist Label: A Cross-Generational Exploration Of Self-Identified Feminists, Kaitlyn Kenealy

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The word feminist is often associated with negative connotations that prevent many individuals from adopting the feminist label and self-identifying with the women's movement. This creates challenges for feminists and the movement because individuals choose to believe stereotypes and distance themselves from feminism before fully understanding its purpose or positive aspects. The negative stereotypes and misconceptions associated with feminism and the women's movement contribute to individuals' hesitation to claim the feminist label. Conservative media outlets and social groups would like members of society to believe feminism is dead. As a gender and women's studies graduate student, I know that is …

How Modern Family And Parenthood Represent Equal Parenting: A Feminist Discourse, Samantha B. Coffin

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Within recent discourses about parenting, the concept of equal parenting and fathering is a prominent theme. I have chosen two popular television shows that portray families to see if they represent ideas about equal parenting. I have identified three prominent themes that researchers agree comprise equal parenting: parents' equal power in decision-making, fathers challenging masculine gender expectations by actively nurturing children, and fathers sharing household duties. The findings of this thesis conclude that the television shows Parenthood and Modern Family are contradictory in their representations of equal parenting themes. Parenthood has strong examples of equal parenting, but remains more conservative …

The Emotionally Supportive Sister-Soldier: How The United States Military Values Normative Femininity And Devalues Nonconformist Servicewomen, Kristal Marie Gray

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Women need to be vigilant about the rights and strides they have gained to be sure they are not circling back to feed an oppressive system. Women may be serving in the military but they are filling specific roles as the feminine presence within the ranks. Women are gendered and sexualized from the day they swear in. My research gives valuable insight into the world of the military and how much emphasis is placed on conforming. I explain how servicewomen are expected to act and then interview eleven servicewomen to see if they are behaving according to the military (and …

The Ambiguity Of Panem: Capitalism, Nationalism, And Sexuality In Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games Series, Megan Ann Peters

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The publication of and the critical and public success of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy marks a significant departure from the norms of traditionally-popular young adult literature, particularly in its portrayal of a fiercely active female protagonist. This thesis argues that despite the noticeable progress these novels make in representing a strong female character, The Hunger Games series fails to adequately challenge other important aspects of oppression. I conduct a feminist literary analysis of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay, focusing specifically on representations of capitalism and commodification, national and district pride, and sexual objectification and sexual harassment …

"I Now Pronounce You...Uhh": A Qualitative Autoethnographic Exploration Of Women's And Men's Marital Surname-Choice Experiences, Julie Louceil Germain Walker

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Marital name change has been a topic of fierce debate in social settings and has received some attention from academia, but largely scholarship on marital name change focuses on female choices and their rationale. Using a combined in-depth qualitative and autoethnographic approach, I sought to understand the connections between name and identity. I interviewed 11 heterosexual, married women and men about their marital name choices to explore the possible name-identity connections. Choosing a surname requires some type of pre-choice negotiation, either individually or with a partner, and several post-choice negotiations, such as with family members and the process of changing …

Aemilia Lanyer's Use Of The Garden In Salve Deus Rex Judæorum, Anna Brovold

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Aemilia Lanyer used her collection of poetry, Salve Deus Rex Judæorum to redefine the way that women should look at themselves in the eyes of God. She began her collection with poems dedicated to women that she had deemed virtuous and worthy of individual attention. Her dedicatees were then presented to her readers as the true Disciples of Christ; an honor due to women because of their empathy for Christ's situation. Lanyer rewrote the biblical Passion story in order to include a feminized version of Christ, the rightful female Disciples of Christ and an additional trial presented to Pontius Pilate …

"I Could Kill You Quite Easily, Bella, Simply By Accident": Violence And Romance In Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" Saga, Samantha Amber Oakley

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis argues that Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga is an exemplification of rape culture due to its valorization of romantic relationships that are psychologically abusive, violent, and ultimately destructive. In my analysis, I use a postmodern feminist framework to examine the four main books in the series: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. Specifically, focusing on how the female protagonist, Bella Swan, is portrayed, I interrogate the interactions with her two love interests, Edward Cullen and Jacob Black. I found that the romantic developments between Bella, Edward, and Jacob are depicted as violent and dangerous affairs that echo non-physically …

"Not Our Population To Serve": An Examination Of Resources For Women With Physical Disabilities Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence, Kristen Lea Walters

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis examines services provided to women with physical disabilities who are survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). Women with disabilities experience IPV at alarming rates and examining resources they may turn to when leaving abusive relationships is crucial to improving such services. In order to analyze services provided to this population, I surveyed staff at both domestic violence shelters and group homes. Two separate surveys were constructed, one for domestic violence shelter staff and one for group home staff. Surveys were administered to facilities throughout Minnesota in the spring of 2012. To ascertain these professionals' capacity to help this …

"I Have Not Learned Anything About Native American Women In Minnesota": An Educational Workshop About Indigenous Women Of Minnesota, Amy Anderson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The historical and contemporary experience of Native cultures is an integral component of the history of Minnesota; however, the significance of these Nations is often overlooked in formal education, as well as culturally ignored. I have witnessed a lack of knowledge regarding Native lived experiences from both resident and non-resident college students in Minnesota. Comprehension of topics ranging from the various Nations in Minnesota to the United States-Dakota War of 1862 is absent. Furthermore, any recognition or familiarity with Native women's position is basically nonexistent. Formal education has failed to transmit the history and the cultures of this population, so …

Deconstructing "Chappelle's Show": Race, Masculinity,And Comedy As Resistance, Lyndsey Lynn Wetterberg

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

"Chappelle's Show" is a sketch comedy series that ran from 2003-2004 and that was created by and starred comedian Dave Chappelle. Chappelle focused on the issues of racism and race as gendered and as a social construction throughout the show's two full seasons. Using content analysis, my research highlights race and masculinity as a social construction within the context of "Chappelle's Show" by focusing on specific sketches within the series that play on issues of race and gender. The overarching theme of my analysis examines the idea of comedy as resistance to dominant society, specifically to race and gender norms …

Deviant Desires: Gender Resistance In Romantic Friendships Between Women During The Late-Eighteenth And Early-Nineteenth Centuries In Britain, Sophie Jade Slater

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Romantic friendships between women in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries were common in British society. Young women were drawn to each other, often in romantic ways, in part because of the way in which the society was ordered. In this period, females generally socialized only with other females, from birth until marriage. Even after marriage the majority of women spent most of their time with other women. This deep intimacy between women was encouraged and accepted and is visible in correspondence between female friends. Although there is scholarly literature surrounding romantic friendships during this period, the way in which these …

Theatre Of The Oppressed: Transitioning Feminist Pedagogy From Theory To Praxis, Megan Mary Rae

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Bell Hooks states in her text Feminist Theory: From Margins to Center that there is a "missing link" between feminist theory and praxis (113). This creates a "tug-of-war" mentality in higher education between practitioners and academics (hooks 113). Paulo Freire also challenges education structures with his critique of "the banking system" in his text Pedagogy of the Oppressed (72). In 1971, Augusto Boal created a venue of theatre founded on these educational challenges called Theatre of the Oppressed that allows for discussion, participation, and a shared experience between actors and audience members. In this research, I demonstrate the use of …

I Had An Abortion: Midwest Women, Stigma And Disclosure, Katie Stack

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Since the legalization of abortion is 1973, both pro-choice and pro-life sides of the debate have struggled for political and cultural influence. Meanwhile, the voices of women who have utilized abortion serves remain unheard, their stories invisible. Largely, this silence surrounding women's abortion experiences has been attributed to the stigma that is associated with the abortion procedure. Other have argued that women are not silent about their abortion experiences, but that they navigate the complex political and social contexts of their lives by managing the stigmatized identity of having had an abortion. By utilizing in-depth, semi-structured interviews, and encouraging a …

A Feminist Content Analysis Of Seventeen Magazine, Brittany Marie Trimble

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Over the past two decades, there has been growing concern among researchers, clinicians, and policy makers regarding the sexualization of female adolescents in the media. Developmental psychologists and researchers argue that adolescents are particularly vulnerable to messages presented in the media, as these messages are internalized as real. These messages afflict long-term emotional and physical effects on adolescent girls. Through content analysis and extensive research, The American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force (2010) argued that the sexualization of adolescent girls and women directly effects the psychosocial development of young women, creating self-objectification, negative self-images, anxiety, shame, depression, eating disorders, and …

Fractured Identity - The Jagged Path Of Diaspora In Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's The Mistress Of Spices, Lisa Lamor

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Representation of fractured identity issues is a thematic element powerfully present in the work of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Although identity is a commonly explored theme in general, it is through fragmentation in her novels that struggles are often identified and trauma is illustrated. Complex, fragmenting experiences of persons living in the Indian diaspora are frequently present in novels by Divakaruni along with continual employment of fracturing in terms of structure, imagery, plot, language, and character. In order to illustrate the presence of fracturization in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's literature, in this thesis I do an extensive textual examination of her first …

Hegans: An Examination Of The Emerging Male Vegan, Justine Ann Johnson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In the United States, many people have turned to an alternative diet, veganism. The vegan diet contradicts R.W. Connell's (43) theory of hegemonic masculinity, which is supported by the domination of women and animals. This study focuses on the masculinity represented through promotion of veganism for men in two books, Meat is for Pussies by John Joseph and Skinny Bastard by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, and vegan related articles in four US men's magazines: GQ, Esquire, Men's Health Magazine, and Men's Fitness Magazine. These vegan-explicit texts, written for a male audience, reinforce the heteronormative idea of masculinity through masculine …

Funding Of Women's Programs By Minnesota Foundations, Suzanne E. Runte

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this thesis was to determine how much money Minnesota foundations contributed to programs for women. The study examined the grants awarded by a representative sample of 12 Minnesota foundations over a four year period (1980-1983). Data was collected from foundations' annual reports or 990 tax forms. The amount of funding each foundation contributed to women's programs and the type of services founded were recorded.

Results from the study indicated that programs for women do not received much of the total amount of funding given by these Minnesota foundations. The four year average percentage of funding to women …