Gender and Sexuality Commons^™

Pathways To Disclosure And Treatment Among Individuals With An Attraction To Minors, Theodore Jackson

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Child sexual abuse prevention is a significant social concern in the United States and internationally. While there have been some successful efforts to reduce recidivism risk among individuals who have committed sexual offenses, we fall short when preventing first time offenses. Therefore, looking at ways to provide treatment to those who are more at-risk for a first offense seems like a potential solution to this problem. One such relevant risk-factor is attraction to minors. This study is a qualitative examination using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of how people who are attracted to minors make the decision to disclose their attraction, seek …

Tate Speech: Radicalizing Rhetoric And Multi-Level Marketing Recruitment Strategies In The Manosphere, Carey J. Priebe

Theses and Dissertations

My study aims to uncover the discursive elements behind the gendered recruitment strategies that influencers in the manosphere use to pipeline men and boys into their multi-level marketing (MLM) companies. In the manosphere, male supremacy is presented as desirable and subversive, and MLMs take advantage of emotional and economic instability. My study examines the Twitter (X) account of the popular manosphere influencer Andrew Tate as I trace his rhetoric along a three-pronged gendered recruitment framework, a framework originally developed around women selling essential oils online and funneling their followers into radical alt-right politics. What are the similarities and differences in …

The Bitch And The Boogeyman: Violence Against Women And Gendered Morality In American Slasher Films, Davis A. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the relationships between on-screen depictions of violence in American slasher horror films and depictions of gendered morality of victims. Slashers are a subgenre of horror film that arose out of the exploitation cinema movement of the 1970s that are characterized primarily by the presence of one or more human killers inflicting violence on a group of protagonists, typically through the use of bladed weapons. Data collected comes from a comprehensive set of thirty-six American slasher films that received a wide theatrical release, with exemptions for films whose primary genre is not slasher and only selecting three films …

Hidden Wounds And Secret Scars: The Post-World War Ii Western As A Cinema Of Trauma, Maggie Sue Scanlan

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In this project, I consider the post-WWII Western film as a site that represents and navigates war traumatized American masculinity. Through a discussion of the significance of the Western as a national myth that speaks directly to American masculinity and nation-building through individual violence, I situate the genre as an ideal vehicle to reframe war traumatized masculinity and analyze seven Westerns through a threefold analysis: metaphoric (a cinema of trauma), psychoanalytic (the traumatic gaze), and therapeutic (recovery and reintegration). In Chapter One, I track anxieties and preoccupations signaling the cultural concern with war trauma in genres more routinely associated with …

Exploring The Experiences Of Collegiate Black Female Student-Athletes From A Phenomenological Perspective, Deja L. Jackson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Collegiate Black female student-athletes at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) face a unique experience as they navigate the complex intersections of race, gender, and sports while striving for academic and athletic success. Their encounters with racism, discrimination, and marginalization remain largely underexplored. This research provides findings from a transcendental phenomenological study that examined the lived experiences of these athletes. The goal was to understand how racism, discrimination, and marginalization impact these student-athletes both individually and in context sport. Grounded in social constructivism and informed by Black Feminist Thought and Intersectionality Theory, the study involved semi-structured interviews with eight current and former …

The Romanticization Of Human-Vampire Relationships: How 'Twilight' And 'The Vampire Diaries' May Prime Young Women To Accept Dating Violence, Natalie M. Bowen

UROP Posters

The first literary vampire can be traced back to 18th century Germany, with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s poem “Die Braut von Korinth,” but the stereotypical features of a vampire are traditionally accredited to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Modern vampires, such as Edward Cullen and Stefan Salvatore of the Twilight and The Vampire Diaries series respectively, have managed to win the hearts of teenage girls all across America with their sex appeal and charismatic nature. According to Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, individuals learn new behaviors by modeling and imitating the actions of those around them. This comprehensive literature review investigates the connection …

Beyond Strong: A Phenomenology Of Women Executives And The Connection Between Leadership And Fitness, Nozomi Bullock

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Senior-level executive leaders’ work in a dynamic, competitive, 24/7 business environment can be physically rigorous, mentally demanding, and emotionally isolating. The same holds true for women pursuing senior-level leadership roles in corporate America. Women who achieve and succeed in such roles remain the minority: Outsiders in elite spaces who are held to higher standards and overly scrutinized. Among senior-level executive women leaders, those committed to a fitness and training regimen including weightlifting constitute an even smaller minority. Senior-level executive roles require stamina, resilience, and courage—qualities that make up the foundation of the mindset of fitness and strength training (Foyster et …

Exploring Identity And Belonging Through Housing Pathways: Resettlement Experiences Of Female Ukrainian Refugees, Stephanie M. Duncan

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Background: This dissertation examines the resettlement experiences of female Ukrainian refugees in Germany following the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, which displaced over 8.5 million Ukrainians, including 1.2 million to Germany by April 2024. Focusing on Munich, the study explores the interplay of housing pathways, identity, and belonging, emphasizing gendered challenges faced by women, particularly single mothers and caregivers, navigating trauma, systemic barriers, and cultural adaptation. Organized into three articles, this work employs a social justice lens to address structural barriers, such as discriminatory housing markets, economic exclusion, and limited access to resources, which disproportionately impact marginalized women, …

Empowered Margins: Women, Work, And Justice In Educational Labor, Erin Woodford

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation examines economic justice and employment precarity faced by educators in both K-12 and post-secondary education systems. While literature explores themes of changing demographics in union membership, collective bargaining, labor activism, and gendered and intersectional inequities in academia, and women in leadership in unions, a critical gap of disabled women’s voices and solutions to the inequities remains. This study highlights how job insecurity, unequal pay, hiring biases, limited recognition of prior learning, and inadequate institutional support exacerbates mental health challenges, professional invisibility, and economic instability. In the K-12 unionized system, systemic barriers such include disregard for substitute teaching as …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experience Of Gay White Men In Mid-Level Student Affairs Leadership Roles, S. Craig Mourton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the lived experience of mid-level student affairs leaders who identify as cisgender, gay, White, and male in order to further understand the multidimensionality of embodying both privileged as well as marginalized identities. Four participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide and the resulting transcripts were analyzed utilizing the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) perspective. Experiential themes that emerged from the analysis of the individual cases as well as across the cases include unintended pathways into the field of student affairs, experiences of challenging heterosexual male supervisors and the preference for women supervisors, …

Journey To Well-Being: An Exploration Of Thrivership Post-Domestic Violence, Kader Gumus

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Domestic violence profoundly affects multiple facets of a survivor’s life. While most existing literature on survivorship addresses the immediate aftermath of domestic violence, this study delves into the extended process following the trauma of abuse to attain “thrivership,” a new concept in the scholarly and practice literature that emphasizes enduring well-being and flourishing. This dissertation examines the journeys from surviving to thriving for 13 women who transformed themselves and their lives to achieve well-being after traumatic domestic violence. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory was applied to examine the multiple layers of environmental influences on an individual’s development, including the micro, meso, …

Loving-Learning-Leading-Living: A Scholarly Personal Narrative Of A Black Gay Father, Russell E. Thornhill

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation examines the roles, challenges, and contributions of a Black Gay father, a demographic largely absent from academic discourse. While literature explores themes of the church, LGBTQ+ identities, and social justice, there remains a critical gap addressing the lived experiences of a Black Gay father. This study fills that void by elevating narratives as community activists, family leaders, and clergy members, acknowledging their transformative impact within familial and societal structures. The methodology used is the Scholarly Personal Narrative (SPN). It allows for in-depth, reflective engagement with personal experiences in conversation with scholars while situating them within broader sociocultural, theological, …

Effective Policy Implementation And (Trans)Forming The K-12 Education (Cis)Tem, Megan Carlson Murray

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This research addresses the critical need for supporting transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) students within K-12 public schools, recognizing the detrimental effects of overlooking their unique needs. Current policies often fail to address these needs adequately, leading to mental health challenges and negative educational outcomes. The study aims to identify the key factors influencing the successful implementation of transgender-supportive policies in schools. A review of current research underscores the importance of challenging existing gender-binary norms and promoting inclusivity for TGNC students. By creating affirming spaces and addressing systemic barriers, schools can foster a safe and supportive environment for TGNC youth, …

Black Birth Work As Radical Praxis: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Inquiry Of Leadership Among Black Birth Workers, Lesa C. Clark

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This hermeneutic phenomenological study explores the leadership experiences of Black birth workers (BBWs), revealing critical insights into leadership dynamics within maternal healthcare. Through a theoretical framework integrating African feminism, Black feminism, and anti-racist feminism, the research examines how BBWs conceptualize and enact leadership through embodied, relational, and liberatory approaches. This study addresses a significant gap in leadership literature, particularly regarding generational knowledge and practices of BBWs, which remain understudied despite their vital role in Black maternal healthcare. This study reveals distinct leadership perspectives and methodologies through in-depth interviews with eight BBWs and a detailed interpretive analysis. The findings contribute to …

The Importance Of Accessibility, Self-Advocacy, And Affirming Care: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Of Transgender And Gender Diverse Older Adults’ Primary Care Experiences, Jason Vaught

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The present study explored the lived experiences of Transgender and Gender Diverse (TGD) older adults when receiving primary care. The methodology utilized for this study was Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three participants completed individual, semi-structured interviews. The themes that emerged included “Lack of Accessibility to Services,” “Need for Self-Advocacy,” and “Value of Affirming Care from Providers.” These results illustrated the multifarious needs that arise for TGD older adults when accessing primary care. The findings provided recommendations for healthcare organizations, primary care physicians, and other healthcare professionals. Specifically, the recommendations emphasized two key practices for physicians treating TGD older adults: (1) …

Why Men Join The Incel Community: A Thematic Analysis, Aishwarya Lonikar

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Incels have gained mainstream attention in recent years because of increasing sexism and hatred that have manifested as violent acts committed towards women in the real world. This has led to growing research and discussion on social and political culture. The goal of this study is to understand why men join the incel community, to find ways to mitigate the need for men to join such communities. A theoretical thematic analysis was conducted using a survey to gain a deeper understanding of why men choose to join the incel community. A decolonial feminist interpretive framework was used to analyze the …

Interactive Effects Of Intrasexual Competitiveness, Same-Sex Competition, And Physical Attractiveness On Temporal Discounting, Jose C. Yong, Indra Alam Syah Aziz, Hualin Xiao, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Studies have shown that men discount the future and prefer immediate-but-smaller over delayed-but-larger rewards when exposed to mating opportunities (e.g., attractive opposite-sex targets) or threats (e.g., same-sex competition) whereas women's discounting in response to similar cues appears mixed, suggesting that mating-motivated discounting is primarily a male phenomenon. Importantly, this line of research has not yet examined the role of individual difference variables as well as how the attractiveness of potential mates and perceptions of competition jointly influence discounting rates. We conducted a novel test of the effect of trait intrasexual competitiveness (ISC) using dating profiles varying on target attractiveness and …

Reject Modernity, Embrace Tradition: Unpacking Gender Roles In Social Media Performances Of "The Good Life", Lauren Mar

Scripps Senior Theses

What do JD Vance, tradwife influencers, and the “sprinkle sprinkle” movement have in common? They all have something to do with the increasing popularity of an apparent return to traditional gender roles. This thesis is an intersectional investigation of women’s gender roles in relation to class and race as they appear in different performances of “the good life” on social media. Through a series of personal essays, this thesis explores how these media examples represent a deeper political unhappiness with present conditions. This thesis takes the time to unpack the different sides of discourse surrounding each subject, and counters the …

Sex Work And Covid-19: An Intersectional Discussion Of U.S.-Based Sex Worker Experiences During The Pandemic, Sabrina M. Grandia

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted all forms of industry, including that of sex work. Between October 2020 until November 2022, I did field research and interviews with nine U.S.-based sex workers throughout those months of the pandemic. Using a grounded theory approach, I asked open-ended questions about their entrance into the industry, business practices, and personal experiences before and during the pandemic. Their stories allow us to gain insight into the impact the pandemic had on them as individuals and their broader communities. My analysis highlights a prominent influence of anti-trafficking policy, politicization of the virus, and the impact of Black …

Perceived Credibility Of Allegations Of Sexual Assault Across Victim Race And Mental Health History, Liyah C. Morgan

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Previous research examined the effect of victim gender and rape myth acceptance (RMA) on perceptions of victim credibility; however, little attention has been given to the impact of victim race and mental health history, and even fewer studies have explored the intersection of these two identities. The primary purpose of the current study was to identify factors affecting understanding of perceived credibility of victims of sexual assault, specifically in terms of victim race and mental health history. The study also examined the role of RMA on perceptions of credibility and explored participant attitudes related to color-blind racial attitudes and mental …

A New Theater For Age-Old Social Patterns: An Exploratory Study Of Interpersonal Dynamics And The Overlay Of Gender Within Ai Companionship, Miriam Wolff

Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) companions fundamentally shifts the landscape of interpersonal communication, introducing artificial entities as relational partners rather than mere facilitators of human-to-human interaction. This exploratory study examines the interplay of machine gendering, self-disclosure, perceived partner responsiveness (PPR), and interpersonal satisfaction within human-AI interactions. Participants engaged in conversations with gendered AI companions through the program Replika, completed structured surveys, and participated in qualitative interviews. Findings indicate that users' willingness to self-disclose was influenced by their perceptions of AI responsiveness, while gendered characteristics of AI significantly shaped user expectations and communication patterns. Specifically, users often attributed distinct personality …

Toward Inclusive Care: Enhancing Lgbtq+ Adolescents’ Experiences In Primary Care, Rutwa Shah

Honors Undergraduate Theses

LGBTQ+ adolescents face significant inequities in healthcare access and health outcomes, yet little is known about how they engage with routine pediatric care, where parental presence and clinician dynamics often influence their ability to access affirming services. While prior research has emphasized the importance of inclusive environments and clinician communication, few studies center the voices of LGBTQ+ youth in clinical settings. This study explored how LGBTQ+ adolescents manage sexual/gender identity disclosure, trust, and communication with primary care clinicians. This study draws on data from The VIBES Study: Viewpoints on Improving Bonds Between Health Experts and Sexual and Gender Minority Youth. …

Comparison Of The Division And Fairness Of Household Labor Between The 1980s And Early 2000s, Madeline Rose Provins

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The purpose of this thesis is to examine change in the gendered division of household labor between the 1980s and early 2000s. The division of household labor has historically been inequitable reflecting parallel social hierarchies, power imbalances, and systemic inequalities outside the home.

I used a cohort sample of 1,157 respondents combined from the 1988 Wave 1 of the National Survey of Family and Households (NSFH) and the 2003 Wave 3 to test four hypotheses related to gender and household labor. I found that between 1988 and 2003, the gender gap closed in mean hours a week devoted to indoor …

Power & Danger: A Glimpse Into K-12 Sexual And Reproductive Health Education Via Instagram, Sade Perez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Within the Kindergarten through Grade 12 (K-12) public school system, educators teach a wide array of subject areas and topics with the intention of preparing students for life beyond the classroom. Navigating legislative requirements, community acceptance and opposition, curriculum developments, evolving political landscapes, and a multitude of other challenges, educators that teach controversial subjects are faced with unique challenges. In California, legislation such as the California Healthy Youth Act (CHYA) of 2016, impacts the teaching experiences of those teaching what many deem controversial; sexual and reproductive health education (SRHE). While there is extensive research on the experiences of educators across …

Production & Perception Of /S/ And Pitch Of Transgender Speakers, Connor J. Ryan

Honors Theses and Capstones

Linguistic research on how transgender speakers use speech traits commonly associated with gender, such as f0 and /s/, is still limited in scope. Past research has focused primarily on singular gender groups within the transgender community, particularly transmasculine speakers, leaving gaps in how speech differs among transgender speakers. Additionally, there has been little research on how transgender identity influences perception of gender in speech. Here, I use data from reading passages by fifteen university-age transgender speakers in New England to analyze variation in /s/ and f0 among transmasculine, transfeminine, nonbinary, and multigender speakers. I then performed a perception study using …

Faith, Freedom, And Friction: The Intersection Of Intimate Citizenship And Religion In Central And Eastern Europe, Evelina Juchnevičiūtė Ms.

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Intimate citizenship, a dimension of citizenship that emerged from the second wave of feminism, refers to rights related to intimate life, including women’s reproductive rights, same-sex relationships, and other related rights. In Central and Eastern Europe, these rights have been shown to come into conflict with the region’s deeply embedded religious values that have historically shaped societal norms around reproduction, gender, and sexuality. The present study employed a mixed-method systematic literature review, combining bibliometric and thematic analyses, to examine academic literature on the intersection of intimate citizenship and religion in Central and Eastern Europe. The review covered the period 1990-2024 …

A National Survey Of Gendered Grouping Practices In Secondary School Physical Education In England, Shaun D. Wilkinson, Dawn Penney

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Gendered grouping practices and curriculum provision are matters of long-standing contention and debate in physical education (PE) policy, research, and practice internationally. In England, there is a long tradition of single-sex grouping in PE in secondary schools, with accompanying gendered patterns of staffing and many boys and girls taught different activities in the curriculum. Research on the incidence of single- and mixed-sex grouping in PE is however scarce, dated, and limited in scale. At a time when education, sport, and society are challenged to move beyond binary discourses and critically review structures and practices that uphold stereotypical and established …

Masculinism, Institutional Violence And #Metoo: Understanding Australian University Responses To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Emily Gray, Jacqueline Ullman, Mindy Blaise, Jo Pollitt

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This article offers an analysis of data from the project Sexism, Higher Education, and Covid-19: The Australian Perspective. The authors argue that the gendered impact of the pandemic in Higher Education Institutions constitutes a form of institutionally perpetrated sexist harassment, and that raising awareness of the ways in which institutions themselves enable and perpetrate such harassment is consistent with the aims of the #MeToo movement. This article is intended to act as testament to the ways in which Australian universities function as masculinist institutions that, during this time of crisis, deployed tactics that were experienced by women and minority-identifying research …

Asian Women’S Studies After Three Decades: Institutional Success, Epistemic Limitations, And The Imperative Of Transnational Solidarity, Trimita Chakma

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This article examines the three-decade project of Asian Women’s Studies (AWS), an institutional and epistemic endeavor that, while successfully challenging Western-centric feminism, inadvertently reproduced center–periphery dynamics. Drawing on archival research, interviews with AWS pioneers, and a systematic analysis of 414 articles from the Asian Journal of Women’s Studies (AJWS) between 2001 and 2021, this study explores AWS’s central paradox: efforts to decenter the West inadvertently created new regional hierarchies. The analysis reveals patterns including minimal personnel overlap (2.7%) between AJWS authors and Asian Association of Women’s Studies (AAWS) members, concentration in East Asia (58.5%, declining to 44.93% by 2022-2025) with …

Submission To The Nsw Standing Committee On Social Issues Inquiry “Impacts Of Harmful Pornography On Mental, Emotional, And Physical Health”, Giselle Woodley, Lelia Green

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Our submission is formed from a combined experience of decades of working with teens and more recently, the Australian Research Council funded project (DP190102435), Perceptions of harm from adolescents accessing online sexual content, which explored Australian teens and young people’s (aged 11-17) perspectives of Sexually Explicit Material (SEM) including pornography. Qualitative data was collected between 2021 to 2023, and involved 30 teen interviews, with another 19 interviews with teens occurring a year later (49 interviews in total), and four focus groups (n-18) to explore these issues further. 26 parents of these teens from 24 families were also interviewed, followed by …