Gender and Sexuality Commons^™

Initial Validity Evidence For A Measure Of Transactional Sex In A U.S. College Student Sample, Jasmine Temple

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The purpose of the current study is to develop a measure of Transactional Sex (TS) and provide initial validity evidence for its’ use in future studies to examine this behavior as it relates to individuals’ mental, physical, and sexual health outcomes. TS is defined in the current study as engaging in a sexual relationship/sexual activity with another person with an expectation or intent to receive some form of compensation in return. Compensation can be monetary, material, opportunistic, etc. Participants (N = 269) were recruited through the university’s participant pool and email blast system. Participants completed a 40-minute online survey …

A Closer Look At Relationship Structures: Relationship Satisfaction And Attachment Among People Who Practice Hierarchical And Non-Hierarchical Polyamory, Sharon M. Flicker, Flavia Sancier-Barbosa, Amy C. Moors, Lindsay Browne

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Although polyamorous relationships have received increasing attention from researchers over the past decade, little attention has been paid to differences in relationship configurations: some individuals arrange their relationships hierarchically, prioritizing a primary partner; other relationship structures are non-hierarchical with no relationships prioritized over others. Across two samples (N_Study1= 225; N_Study2= 360), we compared relationship satisfaction and attachment security between individuals in hierarchical and non-hierarchical configurations. Greater variability in attachment security was found between partners in hierarchical relationships than those in non-hierarchical relationships; no significant differences were found in variability in relationships satisfaction across these groups. …

"Upskirting,” Homosociality, And Craftmanship: A Thematic Analysis Of Perpetrator And Viewer Interactions, Matthew Hall, Jeff Hearn, Ruth Lewis

psychology

“Upskirting” is the action or practice of surreptitiously taking photographs or videos up a female’s skirt or dress. In the United Kingdom, it is an offense. However, internationally, laws are uneven. Understanding how perpetrators account for their actions becomes an important question. Here, we present the findings of our thematic analysis of posts on the “upskirting” website, The Candid Zone. Our analysis shows that posters and respondents frame this activity as artistic and technical, providing each other with advice and guidance on where and how to get the “best” shots. We conceptualize this form of abuse as homosociality and crafts …

Profiling A Unique Female Serial Killer: Aileen Wuornos's Life Of Violence, Phyllis Chesler

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Emotional Motivation: How Anger, Fear, Hope And Pride Impact Women’S Political Participation, Ashley Martin

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Despite the great strides the United States has made since passing the 19th amendment, a woman’s emotions continues to become relevant in political discussions. Research has supported that emotion has a place in motivating political involvement, however, additional evidence has shown that for women and People of Color, the display of certain emotions disparage their abilities to influence. Because of these determinations, the present questions stand, is emotion effective in motivating women to participate in politics? If so, does that apply to all women, and to what extent? I utilized the American National Election Studies Cumulative Time-Series dataset to determine …

The Mediating Role Of Self-Blame In The Relationship Between Alcohol Intoxication, Bystander Intervention And Ptsd Symptoms Following A Sexual Assault, Hannah Sawyer

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Introduction: Sexual assault (SA) incidents are common. One in five women will be sexually assaulted during their lifetime (NSVRC, 2015); some will experience Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) because of SA experiences (Resnick et al., 1993). Further, approximately two-thirds of all cases of sexual assault involve consumption of alcohol by the victim, perpetrator, or both (Testa & Livingston, 2009). Previous research has been dedicated to delineating cognitive and situational factors surrounding SA occurrences that contribute to risk for developing PTSD (Jaffe et al., 2013; Peter-Hagene & Ullman, 2018). Peter-Hagene and Ullman (2018) found that SA survivors that engage in more self-blame …

The Relationships Of Perceived Parental Social Support To Vigilance And Resilience Among Lgbtq And Straight Cisgender Adults, Brady Dodds

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of parental support to resilience and vigilance in LGBTQ and straight, cisgender adults as the majority of research has examined these relationships in LGBTQ and straight, cisgender children and teens. It was hypothesized that greater parental support would be correlated with higher resilience and lower vigilance. Also, it was hypothesized that the relationships would be stronger for LGBTQ participants than for straight, cisgender participants. Participants who were recruited via Prolific Academic completed an online questionnaire that included measures of maternal and paternal support, resilience, and vigilance. Results indicated that participants …

Learning About Healthy Relationships And Sexuality For Adults With Disabilities, Vanessa Karjack

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities receive little to no sex education; as a result, they often struggle to have fulfilling and healthy relationships, experience limitations in physical interactions, and are at risk of being taken advantage of by others. Sommaro et al. (2019) explained that individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) and developmental disabilities (DD) are often placed into one of two categories: they are treated as either eternal children or sexual deviants. These ideas are based on old knowledge and are known to be inaccurate. However, current systems of care struggle to move forward from these notions. A …

“In This Industry, You're No Longer Human”: An Exploratory Study Of Women’S Experiences In Pornography Production In Sweden, Meghan Donevan

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Despite being a global, billion-dollar industry, very little is known about the conditions women face within the pornography industry. The aim of this study was to explore women’s experiences in pornography production, with a particular focus on structural antecedents to entrance, coercion, and violence within the industry, as well as current needs and any barriers to exiting the industry. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine women with experiences in pornography production in Sweden. Participants identified young age, financial insecurity, earlier exposure to sexualized violence, and poor mental health as typical antecedents to entering the pornography industry. Once in the …

Stem Inqueery: How Communion And Femininity Affects Lgbtq Individuals’ Belonging In Stem That Affects Their Motivation To Pursue Stem, Jasmine Elise Graham, Elizabeth R. Brown

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Despite the growth in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in the United States, only 60% of STEM majors complete their degrees. Although STEM is stereotyped as a cis (same gender as birth), straight male, agentic (self-focused), and not communal (other-oriented) field, the inclusion of communion in STEM boosts STEM motivation. Since LGBTQ students highly value communion and LGB(T)Q students are less likely than non-LGB(T)Q students to stay in STEM, we explored whether LGBTQ individuals’ desire for communal opportunities or feminine gender expression shapes their belonging or expectations for success in STEM which in turn affects their (future) motivation …

Desire, Familiarity, And Engagement In Polyamory: Results From A National Sample Of Single Adults In The United States, Amy C. Moors, Amanda N. Gesselman, Justin R. Garcia

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Coupledom and notions of intimacy and family formation with one committed partner are hallmarks of family and relationship science. Recent national surveys in the United States and Canada have found that consensually non-monogamous relationships are common, though prevalence of specific types of consensual non-monogamy are unknown. The present research draws on a United States Census based quota sample of single adults (N = 3,438) to estimate the prevalence of desire for, familiarity with, and engagement in polyamory—a distinct type of consensually non-monogamous relationship where people typically engage in romantic love and sexual intimacy with multiple partners. Results show that …

Pornography: Social, Emotional And Mental Implications Among Adolescents, William Kelly Canady

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation will explain the historical development of pornography. It will highlight four segments: 1- Porn’s impact on brain development of reward pathways, ultimately increasing the appetite for more porn. 2- Porn can be a false substitute for real intimacy, resulting in decreased sexual satisfaction with a real person and increased verbal and physical aggression. 3- Porn promotes sex trafficking, promotes multiple sex partners and reduced STD prevention. 4- A review of interventions available to assist clients in navigating a lifestyle away from pornography.

Effects Of Television Content On Children’S Development Of Traditional Gender Role Schemata: A Literature Review, Molly Shilo

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

Despite the progress television has made since its creation, the medium unfortunately still portrays subtle, and not so subtle, gender stereotypes, especially in children’s television shows. Content analyses have documented the pervasive stereotypes set forth on TV that not only portray strict behaviors for both males and females, but that also often depict the female behaviors and characters as inferior (Calvert, 1999). In a wave of advocacy and regulation, parents, teachers, and children have demanded shows that better promote inclusivity and appropriate, family-friendly values. The Children’s Television Act of 1990 required broadcasters to provide educational children’s programming that would teach …

Journeys Of Middle-Class Syrian Women To And In Berlin: Modes Of Subjectivity, Possibilities And Becoming, Randa Adnan Bashlah

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an invitation to dive into the possibilities that emerge in the multiple stages of displacement journeys of a group of diverse Syrian women from a middle-class background, who happen to live in Berlin today, and learn about the displaced bodies' experiences from a personal scale. By capturing the journeys' nuances and trajectories, this study demonstrates how the mobile subjects interact differently and create different attachments with different power structures in the various modes which emerge through the journeys' different spatial and chronological stages. Looking at how displacement adds layers of complexity to the social's messiness and diversity, …

The Influence Of Cyber-Sexual Assault On The Mental Health Outcomes Of Survivors, Kelley R. Holladay, W. Bryce Hagedorn, David Boote

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

Researchers examined data collected from the only national sample of cyber-sexual assault (CBSA) survivors (N = 97; 3.75\% response rate to the online survey) using three valid instruments that measure symptomology of sexual assault. We found that participants scored high across each of the inventories, indicating CBSA survivors respond in ways that are similar to sexual assault survivors concerning emotional dysregulation, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptomology, particularly if they had a history of sexual assault. Implications for counselors are reviewed, and clinical recommendations are offered.

Specialists In Name Or Practice? The Inclusion Of Transgender And Gender Diverse Identities In Online Materials Of Gender Specialists, Natalie Holt, Robyn E. King, Richard Mocarski, Nathan Woodruff, Debra A. Hope

Trans Collaborations Academic Papers

Recommendations for health care providers working with transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals emphasize affirming clients’ identities, such as using correct pronouns and name, however it is unknown how often gender specialists adhere to such recommendations. Websites and intake forms of gender specialists were coded for use of affirming language, asking for pronouns and chosen name, and mention of TGD specialties and resources. Most websites identified the provider’s specialty to work with TGD individuals, though much fewer provided additional resources concerning TGD issues and only half of intake forms included affirming language. Given previous research that has demonstrated providers working …

Psychometric Evaluation Of The Transgender Congruence Scale, T. Zachary Huit, Allura L. Ralston, J, Kyle Haws, Natalie Holt, Debra A. Hope, Jae Puckett, Richard Mocarski, Nathan Woodruff

Trans Collaborations Academic Papers

Introduction Despite increased attention to transgender and gender diverse (TGD) issues in psychological literature during the past decade, gaps remain for psychometric validation of TGD-specific measures. Kozee et al. (Psychology of Women Quarterly 36(2):179–196, 2012) addressed such gaps by creating the Transgender Congruence Scale (TCS), measuring gender acceptance and feelings of gender congruence between internal and external attributes across a broad range of gender identities. The current study extended Kozee and colleagues’ work by further examining the psychometric properties of the TCS.

Methods Between October and November of 2017, 210 transmasculine, transfeminine, and gender diverse adults between ages 19 …

Looking For Better: A History Of Black Southern Migrations, Selena Sanderfer Doss

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

A broad overview of migrations affecting black southerners is presented, including the Atlantic slave trade, the domestic slave trade, colonization movements to Sierra Leone and Liberia, the Exoduster movement, the Great Migration, and the Return South migration. Emigrants convey their experiences and motivations through testimonies and personal accounts. Surviving the trauma of forced migrations, black southerners organized numerous migration movements both outside and within American polities in search of better opportunities. In the late 20th century, black southerners also initiated a return migration to the American South and have since achieved notable socioeconomic and political progress.

How Did We Learn About Sex? —— Sex Education And Sexual Health In Chinese Youth, Yujuan Liu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Attitudes toward sexuality among Chinese youth have become more liberal in recent generations, but sex education remains controversial and limited. Due to the lack of awareness of sexual risks, many Chinese youth engage in unprotected sexual activities resulting in unintended pregnancy, abortions, and STIs. Therefore, understanding successful pathways and unique challenges are crucial to develop adequate sex education for youth’s sexual health in China. The current study used semi-structured in-depth interviews and investigated 28 Chinese youths’ experiences of sex education and sexual health. The results mapped out youth’s sex education experiences by age and sources and demonstrated the impacts of …

Therapist Multicultural Orientation: Client Perceptions Of Cultural Humility, Sexual Identity, And The Working Alliance, Todd L. Jennings

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Research examining the benefits of cultural humility for diverse clients has increased dramatically over the last 10 years. However, little empirical research has applied therapist cultural humility to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients. In a sample of 333 LGB persons, the current study examined whether therapist cultural humility predicted a stronger client-therapist working alliance. LGB identity centrality (IC) and identity affirmation (IA) were considered as possible moderators of this relationship. Therapist cultural humility predicted stronger working alliances in the present sample; however, this association was not moderated by IC or IA. These results suggest that therapist cultural humility is …

A Qualitative Examination Of The Agency Of Women In Their 30s And 40s Who Use Dating Applications, Tera Buerkle

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The use of dating applications (apps) to find romantic and sexual partners is widespread across age groups, however, there is a paucity of research on dating apps with those in middle adulthood. Sexual script theory suggests that women’s agency (i.e. the ability to act in one’s own best interest) may be impacted by expectations from an inherently sexualized context, such as dating apps. Feminist theory contends that women’s agency is complicated by gender socialization due to the imbalance of power in society that greatly favors men. In this study seventeen women aged 30 to 49 completed in-depth semi-structured interviews, and …

"Now Thinking About It, It's Freedom": Conceptualizing Sexual Pleasure For Fat, Queer Women, Carolyn Elizabeth Meiller

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Research considering the positive aspects of sexuality, such as pleasure, within a cultural context is especially important for groups of people that are often seen as separate from the experience of sexuality, such as fat, queer women. Due to perceptions of their bodies and how their sexuality goes against traditional heteronormativity, fat, queer women's experiences with sex and pleasure are under represented. Using a critical sexuality framework, the present study sought to explore the definitions and experiences of sexual pleasure for fat, queer women.

In the present study, constructivist grounded theory methods (Charmaz, 2014) were used to analyze the definitions …

Effects Of States’ Laws On Youth Physical Activity Participation And Obesity Prevalence, Chae Young Chang

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

The alarming prevalence of obesity and lack of physical activity among adolescents led to immediate policy action to address these concerns. Accordingly, many states introduced and enacted their own legislation to encourage physical activity in schools. Few studies have explored the effectiveness of the new legislation, however, especially at the state level. To answer the fundamental question of whether policy is effective and to describe the varying effects of state obesity policies, this study analyzed the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System from 2007 to 2017. Using the difference-in-differences method, this study found that legislative efforts to encourage physical activity had …

Profitable Retail Customer Identification Based On A Combined Prediction Strategy Of Customer Lifetime Value, Yinglu Sun, Dong Cheng, Subir Bandyopadhyay, Wei Xue

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

As a fundamental concept of customer relationship management, customer lifetime value (CLV) serves as a crucial metric to identify profitable retail customers. Various methods are available to predict CLV in different contexts. With the development of consumer big data, modern statistics and machine learning algorithms have been gradually adopted in CLV modeling. We introduce two machine learning algorithms—the gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) and the random forest (RF)—in retail customer CLV modeling and compare their predictive performance with two classical models—the Pareto/NBD (HB) and the Pareto/GGG. To ensure CLV prediction and customer identification robustness, we combined the predictions of the …

The Harm In Seeking Care: Assessing The Relationship Between Healthcare Discrimination And Healthcare Avoidance Behaviors In The Past Year And Since The Start Of The Coronavirus Pandemic In A Transgender And Gender Independent Sample, Kyle L. Mason

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Gender minorities encounter a myriad of barriers to accessing general and gender affirming healthcare. Financial disparities impacting affordability of healthcare costs and insurance-based denials for gender-affirming care are among prominent barriers discussed. Considerations of the prevalence of stigma, discrimination, and erasure of gender minority identities must not be neglected when seeking to understand healthcare accessibility and utilization in this population. Previous researchers have examined gender minority patients’ experiences of discrimination in healthcare settings and delaying care due to fear of discrimination. There is a dearth of knowledge about the relationship between lifetime exposure to varied forms of healthcare discrimination …

Evaluating Study Procedure Training Methods For A Remote Daily Diary Study Of Sexual Minority Women, Kristin E. Heron, Abby Braitman, Charlotte A. Dawson, Rachel I. Macintyre, Lindsay M. Howard, Robin J. Lewis

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methods can be used to remotely assess physical and mental health in daily life for hard-to-reach, marginalized, and geographically dispersed populations in the U.S., such as sexual minority women (e.g., lesbian, bisexual). However, EMA studies are often complex, and engaging participants from afar can be a challenge. This study experimentally examined whether adding videos to written recruitment materials would improve consent rates, reduce dropout rates, and improve survey completion rates for an online daily diary study.

Methods: As part of a 2-week study of same-sex female couples' health, 376 women ages 18-35 were recruited from …

Holding On To Who They Are: Pathways For Variations In Response To Toxic Workplace Behavior Among U.S. Intelligence Officers, Greta Creech

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The U.S. intelligence community is a critical mission industry responsible for protecting lives and safety in ways that impact the global security environment. Research on the deleterious impact of toxic workplace behavior on other critical mission fields, such as health care and the U.S. military, is robust. However, intelligence scholars publishing within the unclassified arena have been silent on the phenomenon, how personnel respond to it, and how it may impact the intelligence function. This lack of scholarship has afforded an opportunity to understand what constitutes toxic behavior in the intelligence environment and how it may affect U.S. national security …

“Child Witches”: Sexual Exploitation And Abuse Of Homeless Girls In South-Southern Nigeria, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Sexual exploitation and abuse of girls is one of the endemic social problems in Nigeria. Although this problem has attracted much research attention in recent times, some newly emerged factors contributing to the problem have been mostly ignored. This study explored how the abandonment of children following their stigmatization as witches contributes to sexual exploitation and abuse of the girls in the Akwa Ibom and Cross River states of Nigeria. The study was based on the qualitative research paradigm. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews of three senior staff members of the Child’s Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN)—a children’s charity …

Murders In The German Sex Trade: 1920 To 2017, Manuela Schon, Anna Hoheide

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This research report is the result of collecting and evaluating data on cases of homicides and attempted homicides in the German sex trade from 1920-2017. The findings show violence against prostituted women and the attitudes of the sex buyers who commit most of the violent acts against the women. The report discusses the media coverage of murder cases, complication of cases, and a critique of methods of criminal evaluation by the police. From 1920 to 2017, 272 victims of murder and attempted murder were identified. Liberalization of prostitution occurred in 2002. From then until 2017, there is a decrease in …

Rainbow Writes: Peer-Led Creative Writing Groups’ Potential For Promoting 2slgbtq+ Youth Wellbeing, Ceilidh Harrison

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Though mainstream acceptance for the 2SLGBTQ+ community is on the rise, elevated risks of mental health challenges still pervade this community, particularly for youth growing up in this changing environment. Based on previous literature citing the benefits of creative interventions and youth autonomy, the current study sought to explore the implementation of an online, peer-led creative writing program as a possible means to increase emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing in 2SLGBTQ+ youth. Twenty self-identifying 2SLGBTQ+ youth from across Canada were recruited to form two 10-week, online peer-led creative writing groups titled “Rainbow Writes”. Based on Lerner et al.’s (2003) “Five …