Gender and Sexuality Commons^™

Nexmif Pathogenic Variants In Individuals Of Korean, Vietnamese, And Mexican Descent, Elizabeth Langley, Laura S Farach, Mary K Koenig, Hope Northrup, David F Rodriguez-Buritica, Kate Mowrey

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

NEXMIF pathogenic variants have been known to produce a wide spectrum of X-linked intellectual disability (ID) in both males and females. Thus far, few individuals from diverse populations have been described with NEXMIF-related disorders. Herein, we report three individuals with NEXMIF pathogenic variants, the first two are the only males of Korean and Vietnamese descent described with this disorder to our knowledge. The last patient is a Hispanic female who harbors the same pathogenic variant as a previously described Caucasian individual, but with differing clinical presentation. These patients present with many classic symptoms of NEXMIF-related disorders including ID, epilepsy, developmental …

Gender, Sexuality, And Religion: A Critical Integrative Review And Agenda For Future Research, Landon Schnabel, Eman Abdelhadi, Katherine Zaslavsky, Jacqueline Ho, Angie Torres-Beltran

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article sets forth a critical integrative review of the study of gender, sexuality, and religion. Treating religion as a cause, an effect, and an intermediary factor in relation to gender and sexuality, it draws on and synthesizes multiple theoretical approaches, including gender and queer lenses on religion, cultural analysis, and intersectionality. The article is structured around 10 big-picture questions about gender, sexuality, and religion and argues that gender and sexuality are a key symbolic boundary and cultural divide in religious and political life in the United States and around the world. It concludes with an agenda for future research.

Brave New Wombs: Hysterectomy, Gender, And Stratified Reproduction, Andréa Becker

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Hysterectomy is the most common gynecological surgery worldwide and approximately one third of people assigned female at birth in the U.S. will have their uterus removed by the age of 65. Despite the high prevalence, sociologists have neglected to examine this procedure amid broader systems of gender, health, and race inequality. Over 90% of hysterectomies are deemed “elective,” including for chronic reproductive illness or as gender affirming care for trans and nonbinary individuals. Given the various reasons for a hysterectomy, and the incidence of this procedure across gender identities, an analysis of hysterectomy experiences allows for a rich investigation into …

"Queering" Age-Friendly New York City, Austin G. Oswald

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background and aims: The global population is aging and becoming more culturally diverse. As such, scholars, practitioners, and policymakers are expected to think critically about strategies to improve the quality of life of people as they age. In 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Age-Friendly Cities movement to improve the well-being and meaningful engagement of older adults living in the community. New York City (NYC) was the first city in the world to be designated “age-friendly” by the WHO, and is possibly viewed as a model for other cities to emulate. Few empirical studies have examined the age-friendly …

Exploring The Boundaries Of Queerness From Academia To Activism, Jillian M. (Silvia) Miranda

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper gives a literature review that uses texts at the intersection of queerness, blackness, and/or criminality to explore the ways in which Queer Studies can be useful in the classroom (within critical race theory, quare theory) and on the streets in the fight for black lives.

On A Mission: Examination Of Graduate Resources For Multicultural Women At The University Of Massachusetts Boston, Annmarie Mccluskey

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

This paper discusses significant issues affecting Multicultural Women Graduate Students at the University of Massachusetts Boston, a Predominately White Institution, for creating a centralized graduate resources weblink on the Office of Graduate Studies website. The intervention seeks to address navigating gender and race inequalities that create a double bind experience of stress within a dominant academic culture that reinforces isolation, intersectional barriers, microaggressions, and pressure to assimilate to the dominant culture. Facilitation of this proposal will impact Multicultural Women Graduate Students, the Office of Graduate Studies, the Provost’s Office which oversees the OGS, and the entirety of the University of …

God’S Plan For Life: Training Drill Sergeants To Better Serve Their Neighbor By Developing Moral Character Utilizing The “Transformational Moral Leadership” Model, Matthew Christensen

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Instances of moral failure within the U.S. Army raises the question of whether an individual’s character may be developed and improved by utilizing a moral decision-making process. If so, is it possible to measure this improvement? From a Lutheran perspective, is it possible to improve moral character without appealing to the boundaries provided by God’s Word and a Christian community influencing the spiritual dimensions of one’s life.

This project set out to build upon an eighteen-hour Transformational Moral Leadership training model being utilized to strengthen the moral character of drill sergeants at Fort Benning, Georgia. The project allowed me as …

Japanese Gender Trouble In Revolutionary France: Ikeda Riyoko's Shōjo Manga The Rose Of Versailles, Saki Hirozane

Dissertations and Theses

Although traditional gender norms are reinforced by pop-culture media in Japan, some comics aimed primarily at female readers fight against those same gender norms. Shōjo manga (Japanese girls' comics) are no exception and have done so since their "revolution" in the 1970s. In the 1970s, a new wave of young female shōjo manga artists pioneered a different kind of girls' manga because they created new perspectives for their young female readers.

Ikeda Riyoko's Rose of Versailles (Berusaiyu no bara, 1972-73), set in Revolutionary-Era France, changed how Japanese women could see themselves in the 1970s. In Rose of Versailles …

Infectious Intimacy: Men Who Have Sex With Men (Msm)'S Narratives Of Risk Analysis During Covid-19, Seth Knievel

Theses - ALL

This thesis contemplates how men who have sex with men (MSM) have navigated risks associated with having casual sex during COVID-19 by using skills learned from the HIV/AIDS epidemic. I rely on a series of qualitative interviews I conducted with self-reported MSM, as well as qualitative, archival materials from throughout the HIV/AIDS crisis, to better understand how some MSM have performed risk evaluation and management throughout a(nother) pandemic. In my first chapter, I pull from Diana Taylor's theories on the archive, the repertoire, and scenario to argue that some MSM have revived and revised skills used to protect themselves from …

Receiving A Queen: A Queer And Trans Feminist Classical Reception Rhetorical Historiography Of Elagabalus, Thomas William Passwater

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation studies representations of Elagabalus, the sovereign of Rome who ruled between 218–222ce, after her assassination to examine how depictions and historical accounts of Elagabalus's life make rhetorical decisions about Elagabalus's identity and being that can foreground the composer's relationship to history and the function of history as a rhetorical force. Thus, this project, through studying Elagabalus's composers, raises questions about the nature of figure studies and history. The project draws on trans, queer, and feminist theories and rhetorics which help highlight the contingent and conflicting nature of Elagabalus's identities across representations without settling them into a singular narrative …

Where The Rainbow Ends: The Hidden Humanitarian Crisis For Members Of The Lgbtqia+ Community In International Business, John R. Krendel

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Before pursuing an international career, members of the LGBTQIA+ community must be aware of the hardship that may be exacerbated by living and working abroad. This study addresses the trends in laws, including employment and anti-discrimination laws, that provide and restrict certain rights of members of the LGBTQIA+ community in eight countries. These nations, both progressive and discriminatory, include the United States, England, Switzerland, Germany, Taiwan, China, the Philippines and Kazakhstan. Eight LGBTQIA+ business professionals spoke on their experiences living and working in each of these countries and provided advice to members of the community wishing to pursue an international …

Body Image And Relationship Satisfaction In Middle-Aged Women, Julia C. Solem

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this study is to examine the connection between positive body image and relationship satisfaction with middle-aged women. Current research (Ambwani & Strauss, 2007) suggests body image and relationship satisfaction has a bidirectional influence. However, much of the current research focuses on a younger demographic, and middle-aged women are often a neglected population. This study seeks to better understand the interpersonal nature of healthy development in body image and relationships in middle-aged women. A phenomenological approach is utilized to observe the lived experiences of middle-aged women in committed relationships with positive body image. Six participants, between the ages …

Impact Of The Policy Environment On Substance Use Among Sexual Minority Women, Laurie A. Drabble, Cat Munroe, Amy A. Mericle, Sarah Zollweg, Karen F. Trocki, Katherine J. Karriker-Jaffe

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: Sexual minority women (SMW) are at greater risk for heavy episodic drinking, frequent marijuana use, and tobacco use than heterosexual women. Because past research has suggested the political and social environment may influence disparities in substance use by sexual orientation, this study examined associations of the U.S. state-level policy environment on substance use by SMW.

Methods: A total of 732 SMW participants were recruited from two national online panels: a general population panel (n = 333) and a sexual minority-specific panel (n = 399). Past year substance use was defined by number of days of heavy episodic drinking (HED; …

Sex Differences In The Association Between Cardiovascular Diseases And Dementia Subtypes: A Prospective Analysis Of 464,616 Uk Biobank Participants, Caiyun Dong, Chunmiao Zhou, Chunying Fu, Wenting Hao, Akihiko Ozaki, Nipun Shrestha, Salim S. Virani, Shiva Raj Mishra, Dongshan Zhu

Office of the Provost

Background: Whether the association of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) with dementia differs by sex remains unclear, and the role of socioeconomic, lifestyle, genetic, and medical factors in their association is unknown.
Methods: We used data from the UK Biobank, a population-based cohort study of 502,649 individuals. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate sex-specific hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), and women-to-men ratio of HRs (RHR) for the association between CVD (coronary heart diseases (CHD), stroke, and heart failure) and incident dementia (all-cause dementia, Alzheimer's Disease (AD), and vascular dementia (VD)). The moderator roles of socioeconomic (education, income), …

“The Battle Against Sameness”: Queer Marriages In Forster And Woolf, Lindsey Hatton

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

The Bloomsbury Group was known for unconventionality, both in their lives and in their writing. This holds especially true for E.M. Forster and Virginia Woolf, whose novels uniquely depict queer relationships as an alternative to traditional, rigid, heterosexual marriages. This paper looks at Clarissa and Richard from Mrs. Dalloway, Margaret and Henry from Howards End, and Maurice and Alec from Maurice and how each of these couples subvert the societal conventions of the Victorian era in different ways. A close reading of these texts and characters allows for a nuanced understanding of Woolf and Forster’s revolutionary visions and demonstrates how …

Online Dating During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Is It The New Norm?, Sara Henry, Emily Foster, Alexandra Kraft, Amanda N. Gesselman

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

For many who were single during the COVID-19 pandemic, this public health crisis may have led to issues with dating or finding a romantic partner. To understand the impact of the pandemic on dating life, in the present study, we examined single people’s dating app usage collected as part of The Kinsey Institute’s annual Singles in America project. Using a nationally representative sample of people who were currently single in the U.S. (N = 4,877 with an average age of 45.92), we found that the vast majority of single people (96%) were using dating apps (e.g., Tinder, Bumble, Match) during …

Contributing To A Richer View Of Korean Queer Popular Culture With Jungmin Kwon, Jungmin Kwon

PDXPLORES Podcast

Jungmin Kwon is an associate professor of film and digital culture. Kwon studies film and digital media through a lens of queer and feminist perspectives, focusing on how non-normative identities challenge and disrupt existing hierarchies in Korean culture.

Click on the "Download" button to access the audio transcript.

The Abuse Of Darwinism (And Social Darwinism) For The Purposes Of Discrimination, Jessica N. Kantrowitz

Honors Student Research

Throughout most of history, people have tried to justify their discrimination against other groups of people in any way they can, especially using biology and evolutionary theories as reason. When Charles Darwin published his book “On the Origin of Species”, introducing his theory of evolution and the work and experiments he did to prove this theory, it caused many to question their previous bigoted beliefs. For some, however, Darwin’s theory of evolution, which would come to be referred to simply as Darwinism, only further proved their biases, or they could, at least, make it sound like they did. Later on, …

The Mythos Of Lilith: A Collection Of Madwomen, Megan Mau

Master's Theses

For too long, women’s stories have been mitigated, translated, truncated, and censored, if they were even recorded at all before the world could hear them. What could women be writing that would be so threatening to incite such censorship? To a male-dominated world, anything that could disrupt their illusions of power is a threat. If a woman penned a narrative of her experiences in this world, or if she were to begin speaking on a new way of thinking that called for change, that must be stopped. The ultimate goal is to prevent women from writing or stepping out of …

F. Scott Fitzgerald’S Homme Épuisé: Usurping The “Madwoman” In Tender Is The Night (1934) [2022], Emma Hill

Master's Theses

Nineteenth-century women writers commonly use themes of entrapment and madness in what are now classified as gothic novels. In texts such as Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, and The Yellow Wallpaper, confinement and madness are synchronous in developing the figure of “the madwoman.” These texts were written during a time when it was uncommon for female writers to seek publication, and many used pseudonyms to get their works published or to be taken seriously by critics. The “madwoman” emerged as a powerful trope to articulate what writing under a patriarchal system feels like. That is to say, confinement scenarios resulting from female …

There Are Ghosts In The Machine, Jonathan Green

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are ghosts in the machine is a body of paintings that dare to dissolve the boundaries between my physical body, intimate desires, and paintings. Utilizing the aesthetics of leather lifestyles, the paintings express the transformational potential of desire and transgression. Oriented within my experience as a queer, transgender male, I call upon influences that range from the body horror classics by director David Cronenberg or the transgressive attitude of Nine Inch Nails, to theoretical works on the power of eroticism by Audre Lorde and Georges Bataille.Modified by hardware such as chains, zippers, and grommets, the paintings express the transformational …

A Content Analysis Of The Equal Rights Amendment, Ashley Smith

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced to Congress in 1923, passed through both houses of Congress in 1972, but failed to be ratified by the number of states necessary to become a Constitutional amendment. There are numerous social, political, and economic factors that have contributed to the successes and failures of the ERA over the years, but little research has been done to determine how these individual instances influence one another long term. Utilizing the qualitative method of path dependency and research rooted in feminist theory, I examine the timeline of the ERA as it fits within the greater …

Design Is A Social Process: A Survey On Inclusive Practice, Gabriel De Souza Silva

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This inquiry pivots the discussion on design practice toward process, and seeks to elucidate how inclusivity is achieved in it, and by what means it is maintained. The design process is interrogated through a series of case studies on contemporary practitioners that either describe themselves or are recognized by the wider design community as inclusive of gender, race, sexual orientation, ability level, and are sensitive to history of place. The case studies are selected to demonstrate a diversity of project types, management structures, and design tools, and they comprise the practices of LA Más, Assemble, and Bryony Roberts. The product …

Designing A Program To Train Elders To Respond To #Metoo Experiences Of Adult Females In A Church Context, Jana H. Unruh

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This project intervention explores resolution of systemic issues of church-based sexual harassment, abuse, and violence, referred to as #MeToo, through design of a training program for elders. As theological foundation for the project, the Gospel of Luke frames positive approaches modern church leaders can align with in the quest for solutions to #MeToo. The Good Samaritan parable and the story of Mary and Martha extract valuable lessons for church elders addressing sexual harassment, abuse, and violence experiences of adult women. In Luke, we find fresh understanding for questions of #MeToo through the highly relevant concept of “neighbor.” Luke will …

Engagement In Consensual Non-Monogamy And Multi-Partner Sex During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Insights From A National Sample Of Single Americans, Kaylie Posen, Manya Dhupar, Amanda Gesselman

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

For many, the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing gave people time to think about their sex lives. Previous research by Lehmiller and colleagues (2021), showed correlations between loneliness and stress with increased sexual risk taking and new sexual desires during the pandemic. In the present study, we examined the prevalence of engagement in consensual non-monogamy and multi-partnered sex during the COVID-19 pandemic taking into account sociodemographic factors and living arrangements. We analyzed data from a national sample of people who are currently single in the U.S. as part of The Kinsey Institute’s annual Singles in America study (N = 3,622; …

Dress Coding Latinidad? Color-Blind Sexism In School Dress Code Policies, Marisa Quezada

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Whether dressing for the private or public, clothing is an essential aspect of the human experience; making it a topic that all individuals have some form of connection to. Dress code policies have been a point of contestation for many students for centuries, dating back to Native American boarding schools limiting certain types of clothing or the landmark Tinker v Des Moines case of 1969. Even through the courts at the time argued that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate” in regards to their political expression, dress codes continue …

#Notallmen And #Metoo: Investigating Perceptions Of Masculine Victimhood And Constructions Of Masculinity In The #Metoo Era, Caitlin Segraves

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Twitter users all over the world use the hashtag, #MeToo, to show support, solidarity, and to share their own stories of sexual harassment and/or violence. #MeToo, a movement created by Tarana Burke and promoted by Alyssa Milano’s use of the hashtag reignited a global conversation about the prominence of sexual violence in women’s lives, a topic of discussion in prior feminist movements, as well. #MeToo has brought about a renewed interest in addressing sexual violence and rape culture in the U.S. and abroad. In response to growing reports of sexual violence, men’s rights activists have voiced an increased concern for …

Putting Around The Issue: How Gender Issues Are Pushing Women Away From Golf, Emma Petermeier

Political Science Theses and Capstones

I identify the reasons why women leave the sport of golf and what can be done to keep women playing golf. I take a look at the issues presented from a variety of perspectives as they have affected women in sports, and specifically, golf. I also identify, through interviews, what complications are currently present, and explore first-hand experiences with gender equality. What is the pushing factor for women playing golf, but more importantly, what circumstances make women choose to no longer play golf?

The greater issues that are investigated include interpersonal, intrapersonal and structural constraints that women face. From the …

Factors Influencing The Credibility And Believability Of Victims Of Sexual Assault, Stephanie Carlson

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The purpose of this research is to answer the question of which factors that influence the believability of a woman who comes forward to disclose a sexual assault are the most impactful. My methodology consisted of conducting interviews with attorneys who have participated in both the defense and prosecution of criminal sexual conduct cases to evaluate whether the trends revealed in the literature on a macro scale apply to the micro-scale in northern Minnesota. Findings showed that the majority of patterns revealed in the literature did in fact influence the credibility of victims of sexual assault in Beltrami County, Minnesota …

The Happiest Place On Earth: A Grounded Theory Of Fulfillment In Mixed-Orientation Marriages, Isadora Ferreira De Melo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mixed-orientation marriages (MOMs) are often misunderstood. There is a general cynicism in research literature and in the broader culture regarding the relational viability of same-sex attracted (SSA) individuals who marry someone of the opposite sex. However, there exist couples in MOMs that are resilient and attain satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to better understand how MOMs might become successful. By interviewing maritally satisfied mixed-orientation couples, the Model of Relational Self- Determination in Mixed-Orientation Marriages was developed. This model is separated into five stages that are organized around the experience of disclosure of the SSA spouse’s sexuality. Depending on …