Gender and Sexuality Commons^™

Assessing Understanding Of Sexual Assault Resources And Response Among Health Sciences Students, Michelle M. Pappalardo

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Background: The widely published statistic of 1 in 5 represents the number of women on college campuses who have been sexually assaulted (White House Office of the Press Secretary, 2014). Many colleges and universities have been attempting to address the sensitive topic of sexual assault for quite some time; however, sexual violence still remains prevalent on campuses throughout the United States (Allen, Ridgeway, & Swan, 2015). Many of the roadblocks an institution faces in its efforts may stem from a lack of understanding of the true nature of student attitudes surrounding the topic of sexual assault. The specific needs of …

Perceptions Of Safety In Urban Spaces: The Fan District, Richmond, Va, Lindy C. Westenhoff

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This project identifies and spatially analyzes environmental factors that influence the perception of safety in populations of women within Richmond’s LGBT community. The project was conceived due to increasing calls for awareness about street harassment. Its purpose is to examine what physical factors, at the street level, increase or decrease feelings of safety or discomfort for women within this community.

In the first part of the project, survey data was collected from volunteer participants, members of either Diversity Richmond, downtown Richmond’s local LGBT resource center, or Madison Equality, the LGBT student organization at James Madison University. Using blank paper maps …

Padded Assumptions: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Patriarchal Menstruation Discourse, Kathryn M. Lese

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

In 2015, Rupi Kaur’s photography project featuring a menstruating woman was censored on Instagram, a photo sharing social media platform. The menstruation censorship created a surge in public media discourse about what is and is not appropriate to discuss about menstruation. Menstruation communication is often discrete or invisible in dominant discourse and focuses of medicalization rather than the social norms of “performing menstruation”. This thesis explores menstruation communication in public media discourse and examines how it empowers and disempowers the menstruating female body. Themes including the everyday language of menstruation, patriarchal censorship of women’s bodies, shame and stigma in menstruation …

Ambivalent Sexism, Religiosity, And Perceptions Of College Majors As Masculine Or Feminine, Emily Boyles

Senior Honors Theses

This study sought to determine if college students view certain majors as masculine or feminine and if gender perceptions influence their choice of major and subsequent vocation. The methodology included analysis of predictive relationship between scores on the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI), the Ambivalence toward Men Inventory (AMI), the Revised Religious Fundamentalism Scale (RRFS), and a scale measuring perceptions of majors as masculine or feminine. A total of 492 college students from a large east coast Christian university participated in this study by completing an online survey. Based on the university’s degree offerings, 24 college majors were selected, and students …

Multicultural Advertising And Updated Branding For Wedding Photographers, Kaitlyn Wimmers

Honors Projects

A traditional image of a couple getting married includes one man, one woman, who are young, white, and do not have children. Yet, demographics of prospective couples have become more diverse in terms of age, race-ethnicity, sexual orientation, and family composition. This project examines the extent to which these changes toward diversity in prospective couples are reflected in wedding photographers’ marketing strategies, using content analysis of photographs (N = 960) from photographers' Wedding Wire profiles, personal photography websites, and professional Facebook pages. Eight photographers were chosen from the Midwest (Chicago and Indianapolis) and the West Coast (Los Angeles and San …

Diagnoses By Gender: The Consequences Of Treatment Of The Mentally Ill In Virginia Woolf's The Waves And Mrs. Dalloway 2016, Erika Nichole Jackson

Master's Theses

“Insanity is purely a disease of the brain…The physician is now the responsible guardian of the lunatic, and must ever remain so.” Sir John Charles Bucknill (1897)

Mental illness has consistently been and continues to be a subject that is viewed as taboo by society, especially when it comes to diagnosing a patient. Instead of acknowledging a person’s actions, thoughts, and words, society continually disregards mental illness as something that is negative and to be feared. The fact that this area of medicine can be difficult and distressing makes it all the more important to continue research. It is true …

Asking For It: Rape Myth Acceptance At A Mid-Sized Rural Public University And Policy Recommendations, Stacy Galbo

Theses and Dissertations from 2016

Sexual assault on college campuses has recently grown into a national conversation. There has been a push for universities to examine sexual assault on their campuses, but much of this research has focused on major universities in metropolitan areas. This project extends current research by analyzing the sexual assault experiences and attitudes of students at a mid-sized rural public university. A new survey instrument based on validated campus climate surveys was completed by 522 students at this university. This study evaluates the rape-supportive attitudes of participants and how those attitudes might be impacted by various factors, specifically if sex, being …

The Priorities And Accomplishments Of Kentucky Legislators : Is There A Gender Difference?, Amanda Allen

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This thesis uses Kentucky as a case study of gender differences in the policy priorities and perceptions of accomplishments of state legislators. The research question is, “are there gender differences in the legislative priorities and perceptions of accomplishments of Kentucky legislators?” The legislative priorities of the legislators seemed to be similar, along with their own classification of women’s issues. The perceptions of success demonstrated that male legislators were not necessarily more likely to attribute success to themselves, whereas women would attribute success to collaboration efforts. The research was completed through confidential interviews with Kentucky legislators and analysis of the 2015 …

Student Perception On Female Discrimination In Accounting, Qiuting Zheng

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

Approximately 72,648,000 women participate in the labor force compared to 31,543,000 women in 1970 (U.S. Department of Labor). In the 1950s, women were only 30% of the workforce (Toossi, 2002). In 1970, 1990, and 2010, the percentage of working women increased to 40%, 45%, and 47% respectively (Humphrey, 2013). However, students have wrong perceptions about discrimination against women, and, since perceptions and facts are not the same thing, their perceptions might make them misunderstand the accounting profession. This study confirmed that there are misperceptions. To gauge students’ perceptions, I conducted a survey named “Gender Diversity in Accounting” at the Walton …

Love On - The Life Of A Suicide Survivor: A Performance Autoethnographic Study, Patricia R. Wheeler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Suicide touches the lives of millions of people each year in this country alone, yet conversations about suicide loss and survival after a loss remain taboo and often do not happen. The story I performed for this performance autoethnographic study centers on my life as a survivor of suicide. It provides a starting point for dialog regarding trauma, grief, and suicide loss. The narrative was constructed directly following the sudden death of my father, which had a direct effect on my ability to produce artistic work. The development, staging and performance of the story were altered to account for the …

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 …

Intersectionality In Queer Activism: A Case Study, Haley Adams

Undergraduate Theses

This paper explores the relationships between intersectionality and queer activism through a case study of the Louisville, Kentucky LGBTQ+ organization The Fairness Campaign. Intersectionality has been increasingly explored by academia, but rarely ventures beyond the “big three” categorical divisions of race, gender, and class; even rarer are studies of the practical application of intersectionality in activism, particularly queer activism. Through analysis of secondary data, I examine the ways in which intersectionality has, consciously or not, played a part in the history of the Fairness Campaign, as well as its role in the future of the organization.

Whiteness In Contemporary Feminist Campaigns : Free The Nipple., Laura Patterson

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Factors Associated With African American Women’S Sexual Health And Risk Behavior: A Mixed Methods Study, Melody N. Waller

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Introduction: When looking at the health status of our nation, an examination of sexual and reproductive health reveals that there are multiple conditions related to sexual behavior posing a burden on the health of African American women (AAW). Disproportionate rates of sexually transmitted infections, unintended/teen pregnancy, and sexual violence in this group reveal the need to integrate a broader construct to address the multiple factors known to contribute to disparities in sexual and reproductive health affecting AAW. Current health promotion efforts including the encouragement of abstinence and condom use fail to address the multiple components involved in sexual health and/or …

Family, Housing, And The Political Geography Of Gay Liberation In Los Angeles County, 1960-1986, Ian M. Baldwin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examines the gay liberation movement in Los Angeles County through the lens of housing rights. It illustrates how sexual justice activism evolved in tandem with the fates of the welfare state and urban politics. Like racial minorities, queers have been stymied by economic barriers. Beginning in the 1930s, federal housing agencies established “family” requirements to housing subsidies, which the state defined through biology or marriage. In L.A. County, activists worked to overcome this heteronormative barrier at the grassroots and within the political establishment. Binding gay liberation to economic and family justice, queers opened housing shelters and social service …

How Queer!: Camp Expression In Francis Poulenc's Trio For Oboe, Bassoon, And Piano, Kevin Ryland Eberle

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The music of Francis Poulenc (1899–1963) contains a great deal of humor, irony, and drama. These elements have mostly been attributed to Poulenc’s personal frivolity and associations with over-the-top figures such as Jean Cocteau. Poulenc’s homosexuality, until recently, was marginalized by a discourse shaped by Claude Rostand’s 1950 binary of “monk” (moine) and “bad boy” (voyou). In the early 21st century, Richard Burton notes that this cliché focused the discourse of a sacred/profane binary instead of a heterosexual/homosexual binary. The sacred/profane binary is used by scholars such as H. Wendell Howard to explain the distinction between Les Mamelles de Tirésias …

A Content Analysis Of Gender-Specific Media Coverage Of Sport: Ncaa Athletic Department Home Webpages, Margo R. Malik

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Studies have found that media coverage of women’s sports is inadequate when compared with coverage of men’s sports. The results of these studies have revealed inadequacies in terms of amount of coverage as well as type of coverage. Findings demonstrate that there is a certain way media frame female athletes when they are covered. Female athletes are often portrayed in overly sexualized images, as feminine role models, as passive rather than active, and in sports that are considered gender-appropriate. These types of portrayals can perpetuate gender bias and stereotypes, undermine the true athletic ability of female athletes, and give the …

"Mother, I Will": Female Subjectivity And Religious Vision In The Brontës Novels, Amanda Scott

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Anne, Charlotte, and Emily Brontë have long attracted sustained critical attention, in

large part because of their strong female protagonists. These strong-willed women self-assuredly reject oppression and model new paradigms for the Victorian woman to empower her subjectivity. This subjectivity serves, in turn, not only as the ability to form and express views counter to outworn social prescriptions, but it also serves as the centralized interior focus that allows their protagonists to think of themselves as the foremost subjects of their lives, rather than see themselves as pawns to be moved about in the games of patriarchal hierarchy. This study …

Analyzing Media Representations Of Male Rape And Debunking Myths On 'Law And Order Special Victims Unit', Ryan J. Stephens

Celebration

The project that I have done shows the importance of recognizing that male rape does exist and that it is more frequent than people think. By using Law and Order Special Victims Unit I am able to portray how myths about male rape are debunked and how the show creates new ways of thinking about male rape. Little research has been conducted about male rape and what we do know comes from the myths that are created in society and reinforced by false representations in the media. The research also concludes that we need more research to fully understand the …

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 …

Stigma, Abuse, And Hate Crimes: Effects On Mental Health In Transgender Population, Daisy Guerra

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

A comprehensive literature review that examines the ways in which stressors unique to the LGBT population affect transgender mental health. Specifically this paper will explore stigma, and various forms of abuse that contribute to depression, substance abuse, and risky sexual behavior in the transgender community.

Lost Weight, Alyssa Froehling

Vázquez-Valarezo Poetry Award

No abstract provided.

Understanding Transgender Community: Locating Support And Resiliency Using The Minority Stress Model, Rosalind D. Kichler

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The minority stress model (Meyer 2003) predicts stigmatized minorities, like transgender persons, suffer worse mental health due to exposure to discrimination. However support from similarly stigmatized others can ameliorate the effect of discrimination stress. Although gender and sexual minorities are often assumed to have access to and support from “the” LGBTQ community or “the” transgender community, many may not understand themselves as members of this community nor feel supported by it. Therefore it is essential to interrogate what community means to LGBTQ persons, particularly to transgender people for whom a paucity of literature exists. Based on in-depth interviews with 10 …

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.

Post-Feminism For Children: Feminism ‘Repackaged’ In The Bratz Films, Sarah Anna Becker, Danielle Thomas, Michael R. Cope

Faculty Publications

After their release in 2001, Bratz dolls carved into Barbie’s previously monopolistic share of teen doll sales. Amidst their growing popularity, cultural critics expressed a host of concerns about Bratz dolls, especially over how they sexualize youth, but the line grew to include a host of products like costumes, makeup kits, games, books, clothing, and movies. It also inspired new, similar doll lines from other toy companies. In this article, we situate the Bratz’s popularity in a specific cultural moment tied to the history of modern feminism. We use a content analysis of the Bratz movie series to explore the …

A Targeted Existence, Melissa J. Lauro

SURGE

Over the summer, I visited a friend from Gettysburg who was having a party. The party was fun for the first half, and I was having a good time, so I decided to stay the night instead of walk in the dark to the bus. This is what parents and educators and older sisters and women everywhere had taught me: stay with people you know; clutch your keys in your hand; don’t walk alone. I was staying with my friend from school; I was safe. [excerpt]

Diploma Thesis: Do Women Represent Women?, Vladimira Dostalova

Jepson School of Leadership Studies Research Symposium

There is an implicit assumption behind advocating for women in elected offices that descriptive representation of women lead to a corresponding political output. This would mean that gender is one of the indicators of legislative behavior. To examine the role of gender in the substantial representation of women, I focus on the agenda setting process, which I measure as the sponsorship of group interest legislation. Data include all bills introduced in lower Houses of ten states, which provide necessary variance to control for party effect, overall ranking of the status of women, and level of women’s presence in a state …

Policy Brief No. 24 - Are Female Baby Boomers Ready For Retirement?, Lori Curtis, Kate Rybczynski

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Research/Policy Brief

Due to their life-course socio-economic conditions, many female boomers may suffer large decreases in well-being as they head into retirement. Pension reforms which increase retirement age will disproportionately disadvantage those already in low income. While changes to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) will reduce losses from poor or sporadic labour force participation, these changes are too late to help the early boomer women. Likewise, while research suggests that improving retirement outcomes must begin with improved labour market conditions, inequitable conditions persist. Therefore, any current policy change will miss helping the early boomers. Finally, with increasing rates of chronic disease and …

Research Brief No. 10 - Analyzing Canadian Women Working After Childbirth As Lifecourse Transition, Stéphanie Gaudet, Martin Cooke, Joanna Jacob

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Research/Policy Brief

This research focused on Canadian mothers who had a first child between 1970 and 1999, and the probability of these mothers working shortly after childbearing. Authors Stéphanie Gaudet, Martin Cooke and Joanna Jacob studied the change and underlying dynamics with two main questions. First, what are the characteristics that affect Canadian women’s employment? And how have women’s employment transitions after the birth of a first child changed over time? The investigators probed the effects of socioeconomic characteristics on labor force withdrawal using the 2001 General Social Survey, Cycle 15 on Family History. Employment transition was viewed through a type of …

Research Brief No. 5 - The Changing Impact Of Motherhood On Employment Across Generations Of Canadian Women, Philippe Pacaut, Celine Le Bourdais, Benoit Laplante

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Research/Policy Brief

Women’s work histories are closely interwoven with motherhood, as shown by previous studies that have examined Canadian women’s family histories in relation to their movements of entry into—and exit from—the labour market. These studies have either supported or reinforced, at least implicitly, the existence of an incompatibility between motherhood and paid work. The results of these studies are interesting in that they provided a broad picture of how Canadian women adapted their work lives according to family events. However, the image they reveal is static and incomplete, failing to highlight the changes experienced among recent generations of women. We examined …