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Pages
- Title
- WEB-BASED, GENDERED RECRUITMENT OF WOMEN BY ORGANIZED WHITE SUPREMACIST GROUPS.
- Creator
-
King, Angela, Morris, Joan, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
According to the hate group watchdog organization, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of hate groups in the United States rose 54 percent since 2000 (SPLC 2009 a & b). Literature on organized white supremacist groups suggests that women have become increasingly more important to such groups for a variety of reasons, many of which are not always agreed upon by and within said groups. In addition, it is believed by many in the hate monitoring world that the World Wide Web has become...
Show moreAccording to the hate group watchdog organization, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of hate groups in the United States rose 54 percent since 2000 (SPLC 2009 a & b). Literature on organized white supremacist groups suggests that women have become increasingly more important to such groups for a variety of reasons, many of which are not always agreed upon by and within said groups. In addition, it is believed by many in the hate monitoring world that the World Wide Web has become progressively more dynamic as a medium of recruitment, as a tool of communication among members, and as a means to propagate the hateful messages espoused by members of these groups. Thus, this research will marry two essential ideas: (1) that women are being sought out and targeted for recruitment by organized white supremacist groups and (2) that the World Wide Web acts as a dynamic tool that aids said groups in accomplishing their goals of recruitment.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- CFE0002621, ucf:48265
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002621
- Title
- THE NEW GIRL.
- Creator
-
Meredith, Angela Marie, Stap, Don, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The New Girl is a collection of poems in which the poet assumes a direct, unfeigned voice. These rhythmic poems cover the deeply personal to the universal and social. The body is presented as a record of experiences both good and bad. Feminist issues pertainingto marriage, work, and sexuality are explored. Whether the poem is about a personal relationship or some aspect of society, it is likely to be multi-dimensional and suggest a duality. Overall, the poems are rooted in the spiritual and...
Show moreThe New Girl is a collection of poems in which the poet assumes a direct, unfeigned voice. These rhythmic poems cover the deeply personal to the universal and social. The body is presented as a record of experiences both good and bad. Feminist issues pertainingto marriage, work, and sexuality are explored. Whether the poem is about a personal relationship or some aspect of society, it is likely to be multi-dimensional and suggest a duality. Overall, the poems are rooted in the spiritual and attempt to relate, with holistic honesty, a sense of reverence for the impure parts of life.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2004
- Identifier
- CFE0000035, ucf:46107
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000035
- Title
- A SCREN OF ONE'S OWN: THE TPEC AND FEMINIST TECHNOLOGICAL TEXTUALITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY.
- Creator
-
Barnickel, Amy, Bowdon, Melody, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
In this dissertation, I analyze the 20th century text, A Room of One's Own, by Virginia Woolf (2005), and I engage with Woolf's concept of a woman's need for a room of her own in which she can be free to think for herself, study, write, or pursue other interests away from the oppression of patriarchal societal expectations and demands. Through library-based research, I identify four screens in Woolf's work through which she viewed and critiqued culture, and I use these screens to...
Show moreIn this dissertation, I analyze the 20th century text, A Room of One's Own, by Virginia Woolf (2005), and I engage with Woolf's concept of a woman's need for a room of her own in which she can be free to think for herself, study, write, or pursue other interests away from the oppression of patriarchal societal expectations and demands. Through library-based research, I identify four screens in Woolf's work through which she viewed and critiqued culture, and I use these screens to reconceptualize "a room of one's own" in 21st Century terms. I determine that the new "room" is intimately and intricately technological and textual and it is reformulated in the digital spaces of blogs, social media, and Web sites. Further, I introduce the new concept of the technologized politically embodied cyborg, or TPEC, and examine the ways 21st Century TPECs are shaping U.S. culture in progressive ways.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003500, ucf:48939
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003500
- Title
- SIGNALS: THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN LITERACY, GENDER, AND SEMIOTICS.
- Creator
-
Parker, Patricia, Preston-Sidler, Leandra, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The purpose of this study is to examine adult literacy beyond its constraints as a social problem and instead consider the implications of illiteracy as a particular form of lived experience, analogous to women's oppression at large. Through a complex system of meaning making, the knowledge accrued by illiterate adults is qualitatively different, and examining these differences in terms of their correlation to coping mechanisms developed in the face of social alienation and diminished...
Show moreThe purpose of this study is to examine adult literacy beyond its constraints as a social problem and instead consider the implications of illiteracy as a particular form of lived experience, analogous to women's oppression at large. Through a complex system of meaning making, the knowledge accrued by illiterate adults is qualitatively different, and examining these differences in terms of their correlation to coping mechanisms developed in the face of social alienation and diminished professional prospects yields a greater understanding of class privilege and how nontraditional learners fit into a larger social structure. From the perspective of academic feminism, adult illiteracy presents several problems regarding the scope of an inclusive feminist community that acknowledges privilege and difference. The primary method through which information regarding feminism is conferred is printed materials, which utilize highly specific, specialized jargon, and unwittingly create an exclusive community marred by internalized racism and class stratifications. This study explores other methods through which feminist ideation might theoretically be possible, i.e. cultural "reading" communities and vocational and continuing education programs focused on cultural competencies, as women come out of their imposed silences and become aware of their circumstances in a way that resembles feminist thought, if perhaps without sophisticated language with which to communicate those ideals. In this way, feminist ideation and semiotics tie in together, as attitudinal change may occur without the semantic realization of what this entails. This goal of this paper is also, in part, to justify why acknowledging gendered learning differences and a particular female subjectivity for adult literacy clients will yield better results for their self-valuation, as gender is a component of diversity all but ignored within the scheme of adult literacy pedagogical theory.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFH0004266, ucf:44963
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004266
- Title
- Keeping Quiet: Investigating the Maintenance and Policing of Male-dominated Gaming Space.
- Creator
-
Charles, Christopher, Pritchard, Robert, Preston-Sidler, Leandra, Grauerholz, Liz, Corzine, Harold, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Despite the near parity between the number of female and male gamers (Entertainment Software Association, 2014), studies on gender in videogames illustrate a culture that typically reflects hegemonic masculinity and excludes women on a multitude of levels. Because these interactions occur within real and virtual space (both online and within games), a holistic approach is warranted to analyze these mechanisms of oppression. This paper seeks to uncover the ways by which gaming culture is...
Show moreDespite the near parity between the number of female and male gamers (Entertainment Software Association, 2014), studies on gender in videogames illustrate a culture that typically reflects hegemonic masculinity and excludes women on a multitude of levels. Because these interactions occur within real and virtual space (both online and within games), a holistic approach is warranted to analyze these mechanisms of oppression. This paper seeks to uncover the ways by which gaming culture is maintained and policed as a male-dominated space, through qualitative data collection. By using ethnographic, participant observation at a large, multi-genre convention the experiences of both male and female gamers were collected and analyzed. Their stories shed light on the means by which women are silenced, or (")kept quiet,(") by voice chat profiling, verbal abuse, and hostile Internet communities. They are subject to strict policing of gamer identity, relegation as casual gamers, and their calls for inclusiveness all too often fall on game developers' deaf ears.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFE0006281, ucf:51605
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006281
- Title
- The Wonder Women: Understanding Feminism in Cosplay Performance.
- Creator
-
Grissom, Amber, Mishtal, Joanna, Reyes-Foster, Beatriz, Harris, Shana, Tollefson, Kristina, Falu, Nessette, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Feminism conjures divisive and at times conflicting thoughts and feelings in the current political climate in the United States. For some, Wonder Woman is a feminist icon, for her devotion to truth, justice, and equality. In recent years, Wonder Woman has become successful in the film industry, and this is reflected by the growing community of cosplayers at comic book conventions. In this study, I examine gender performativity, gender identity, and feminism from the perspective of cosplayers...
Show moreFeminism conjures divisive and at times conflicting thoughts and feelings in the current political climate in the United States. For some, Wonder Woman is a feminist icon, for her devotion to truth, justice, and equality. In recent years, Wonder Woman has become successful in the film industry, and this is reflected by the growing community of cosplayers at comic book conventions. In this study, I examine gender performativity, gender identity, and feminism from the perspective of cosplayers of Wonder Woman. I collected ethnographic data using participant observation and semi-structured interviews with cosplayers at comic book conventions in Florida, Georgia, and Washington, about their experiences in their Wonder Woman costumes. I found that many cosplayers identified with Wonder Woman both in their own personalities and as a feminist icon, and many view Wonder Woman as a larger role model to all people, not just women and girls. The narratives in this study also show cosplay as a form of escapism. Finally, I found that Wonder Woman empowers cosplayers at the individual level but can be envisioned as a force at a wider social level. I conclude that Wonder Woman is an important and iconic figure for understanding the dynamics of culture in the United States. In the era of #MeToo and TimesUp, Wonder Woman is a character that defies normative boundaries of gendered expectations.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007641, ucf:52515
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007641
- Title
- Positive Political Outcomes From Feminist Islam in Afghanistan: Identifying Development Program Features that Raise the Status of Women.
- Creator
-
Barnard, Margaret, Hamann, Kerstin, Owens, J. Thomas, Dolan, Thomas, Kinsey, Barbara, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Existing literature establishes a connection between elevating the status of women in less developed countries and positive political outcomes including: increased national stability, decreased likelihood of civil conflict, and international stability. In particular, the literature suggests that working within the dominant cultural framework of a country makes development projects more successful. This thesis expands upon these bodies of literature and examines the outcomes of the work of two...
Show moreExisting literature establishes a connection between elevating the status of women in less developed countries and positive political outcomes including: increased national stability, decreased likelihood of civil conflict, and international stability. In particular, the literature suggests that working within the dominant cultural framework of a country makes development projects more successful. This thesis expands upon these bodies of literature and examines the outcomes of the work of two major development agencies in Afghanistan, the UN and USAID in the area of women's education and healthcare. The thesis analyzes some specific characteristics that influence the effects of these programs in the Afghan context. It argues that when development agencies work within the unique cultural context of Afghanistan, and promote development gains for women within an Islamic framework, they are more likely to be effective than if they do not work within this framework. The thesis tests this hypothesis with a comparative qualitative analysis of the goals and accomplishes of the UN and USAID and compares the results of the analysis with survey data from The Asia Foundation Survey of the Afghan people, which provides data from 2006-2013 regarding attitudes of the Afghan people. Based on a qualitative analysis, the study's results, although tentative, identifies patterns of success using the Islamic framework.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005460, ucf:50368
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005460
- Title
- REFLECTIONS: A THEATRICAL JOURNEY INTO THE LIVES OF ADOLESCENT GIRLS.
- Creator
-
Page, Leah, Boyd, Belinda, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Adolescence is a difficult time for young women. Their bodies are changing and they are being asked to conform to a new set of feminine standards if they are to be accepted (Pipher 39). Studies have found that girls experience a decrease in self-esteem during this time. They are less likely to speak their minds openly and honestly, which can lead to depression and a feeling of falseness. As young women attempt to comprehend this turbulent time in their lives, they often find strength through...
Show moreAdolescence is a difficult time for young women. Their bodies are changing and they are being asked to conform to a new set of feminine standards if they are to be accepted (Pipher 39). Studies have found that girls experience a decrease in self-esteem during this time. They are less likely to speak their minds openly and honestly, which can lead to depression and a feeling of falseness. As young women attempt to comprehend this turbulent time in their lives, they often find strength through positive relationships with others as well as from their own knowledge and self-awareness. Reflections is a one-woman show that investigates the current challenges associated with adolescence. The play uses short monologues as well as songs from musical theatre repertoire to tell the story of three separate and unique women. The protagonist of Reflections is an eleven-year-old girl whose personality and sense of self changes drastically during the course of the show. At the beginning of the show, she speaks her mind freely and openly and is unafraid to express her true feelings. When she discovers there are consequences to acting this way, she immediately alters her behavior to ensure her peers accept her. When she witnesses her sister's strength and becomes aware of her mother's intelligence, she realizes she no longer wants to act in ways that do not reflect her true feelings. Her sixteen-year-old sister wants so badly to be accepted that she has begun altering her appearance in dangerous ways in order to fit in. Their mother is struggling to comprehend how to raise two daughters in a culture that does little to support and nurture adolescent girls. Reflections: A Theatrical Look at the Lives of Adolescent Girls outlines each characters distinct journey, using research and analysis to support their stories. In the end it offers advice on how to prevent young women from losing their sense of self during adolescence. This part of the document will present a companion piece to the production in the form of a theatre workshop. This workshop will give young women the opportunity to explore important issues in a safe space. Participants will be able to express their thoughts and feelings without fear of retribution and can begin to investigate ways to challenge social forces that oppress them.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- CFE0001746, ucf:47295
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001746
- Title
- LITTLE WOMEN: STUDY OF FEMALE REPRESENTATIONS IN TEEN FILMS AND HOW THOSE REPRESENTATIONS HAVE AFFECTED GENDER PERCEPTIONS.
- Creator
-
Santiago, Maillim, Gay, Andrew, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Although teen film is littered with tales of young women coming of age, the messages presented in most of these films follow a formula centered on a patriarchal nuclear family ideal, which leads to damaging perceptions regarding gender roles in teenage society. There is the main traditional model of stay at home mother with a father in the role of the breadwinner; the rise of rape culture; and the glass ceiling in the workplace. The young females consuming a mass amount of this media then...
Show moreAlthough teen film is littered with tales of young women coming of age, the messages presented in most of these films follow a formula centered on a patriarchal nuclear family ideal, which leads to damaging perceptions regarding gender roles in teenage society. There is the main traditional model of stay at home mother with a father in the role of the breadwinner; the rise of rape culture; and the glass ceiling in the workplace. The young females consuming a mass amount of this media then reflect negatively on themselves. The research following this conundrum was broken into two parts: the production of a film looking to remedy the many problems of female representation in teen media and then monitoring the reaction to said film against its target audience: young females between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one. The purpose of this thesis is to explore what makes females within the teenage demographic react to certain kinds of media. If they react negatively or positively towards a media representation of themselves, to what extent does this affect the participants' activity in their daily lives? Therefore, through a process of screening three short films focused on teen issues - including the one made by myself for this study - and then conducting a survey focusing on questions regarding the participants' feelings towards the subject matter, their hopes for themselves, and teen media in general, there was an ability to gauge how deeply teen media affects the modern teenager.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFH0004382, ucf:45009
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004382
- Title
- CRITICAL WHITE FEMINISM: INTERROGATING PRIVILEGE, WHITENESS, AND ANTIRACISM IN FEMINIST THEORY.
- Creator
-
McFadden, Caroline, Vest, Jennifer, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
It is vital that feminist theory and critical white studies be combined in order to form what I call critical white feminism. Both critical white studies and feminist studies are often limited in their ability to adequately address the complex interconnectivity of racial and gender privilege and oppression. In general, feminist scholarship produced by white feminists excludes and oppresses women of color and is therefore inadequate. I refer to this problem as white feminist racism and argue...
Show moreIt is vital that feminist theory and critical white studies be combined in order to form what I call critical white feminism. Both critical white studies and feminist studies are often limited in their ability to adequately address the complex interconnectivity of racial and gender privilege and oppression. In general, feminist scholarship produced by white feminists excludes and oppresses women of color and is therefore inadequate. I refer to this problem as white feminist racism and argue that white feminists are ignorant of the ways in which whiteness and privilege facilitate problematic theorizing. Unlike white feminist theories, the emerging field of critical white studies provides a foundation for exploring whiteness in a racist society. However, critical white theories often examine racism and whiteness without attention to gender, and are therefore inadequate, as well. Consequently, another approach is necessary for the development of liberatory theories that sufficiently conceptualize social change. As a solution to the limitations of both feminist studies and critical white studies, I propose critical white feminism, which encourages white feminists to interrogate whiteness and privilege. The purpose of critical white feminism is to a) conceptualize an inclusive and transformative antiracist feminist framework and agenda, b) challenge white feminist racism and white feminist hegemony, c) encourage open and honest communication between feminists across differences, and d) facilitate feminist solidarity and mobilization.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFH0003864, ucf:44708
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003864
- Title
- Constituting Rhetorical Agency in a Feminist Discursive Space.
- Creator
-
Raynor, Ella, Scott, Blake, Jones, Natasha, Brenckle, Martha, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This thesis details an analysis of a project called Exposing the Silence in order to learn about agency and discursive space. This gallery for traumatic birth stories serves as a relevant site for better understanding how women are constituting their experiences with embodied autonomy and rhetorical dis/empowerment and how they come together to visually and discursively form a feminist space online. I completed a rhetorical analysis of the birth narratives and of an interview with Lindsay...
Show moreThis thesis details an analysis of a project called Exposing the Silence in order to learn about agency and discursive space. This gallery for traumatic birth stories serves as a relevant site for better understanding how women are constituting their experiences with embodied autonomy and rhetorical dis/empowerment and how they come together to visually and discursively form a feminist space online. I completed a rhetorical analysis of the birth narratives and of an interview with Lindsay Askins, one of the creators of Exposing the Silence.My study finds that a dyadic relationship between embodied autonomy and rhetorical agency exists while women negotiate power constructs during their traumatic obstetric experiences. When their rhetorical agency was diminished, so was their embodied autonomy. While they asserted agency during the traumatic experience, loss of agency is the main reason for their feelings of trauma. However, they work to re-assert rhetorical agency by sharing their narratives in the discursive space. The discursive space of the website is feminist because it promotes the rhetorical agency of its users and provides the opportunity for its users to socially construct that agency.My study contributes to the rhetoric of health and medicine (RHM) through its focus on how women constitute their embodied autonomy and rhetorical agency when speaking about an experience in which they lost some amount of both. I especially contribute an interpretation of how rhetorical agency, a discursive assertion of agency, can interact with agency itself, or embodied autonomy, without being the same entities. This project also contributes to RHM through its focus on how an online feminist visual-discursive space is socially constructed by its occupants and creators to assert rhetorical agency.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFE0007238, ucf:52238
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007238
- Title
- Has the Song Remained the Same?: Perceptions of Effectiveness in Family Safety Work.
- Creator
-
Marshall, Debra, Lynxwiler, John, Wright, James, Jasinski, Jana, Jewett, Aubrey, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
National and international research on governmental privatization efforts reflects myriad successes and failures. However, little is known about the effectiveness of family safety privatization efforts in the state of Florida. In Brevard County, Florida, family safety privatization efforts have been underway for several years now, and while evaluations are taking place, they do not reflect one key piece of information(-)the perceptions of family safety workers. A snowball sample was obtained...
Show moreNational and international research on governmental privatization efforts reflects myriad successes and failures. However, little is known about the effectiveness of family safety privatization efforts in the state of Florida. In Brevard County, Florida, family safety privatization efforts have been underway for several years now, and while evaluations are taking place, they do not reflect one key piece of information(-)the perceptions of family safety workers. A snowball sample was obtained from former and current child safety workers and open- and closed-ended questions were administered with a total of 15 former and current family safety workers who work or worked for several different public and private family safety agencies within Brevard County, Florida. Information was obtained regarding perceptions of privatization to adequately and more efficiently do the work of public entities. The results show two primary areas of interest. The model of care which has been instituted post-privatization (CARES) has been perceived as more effective than the former state model; the strongest problematic themes that developed concerned power, control, and the perception of unfairness. These themes are explored using a backwards mapping approach and recommendations for continued growth and cohesion are explored.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004208, ucf:49021
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004208
- Title
- (UN)NATURAL BODIES, ENDANGERED SPECIES, AND EMBODIED OTHERS IN MARGARET ATWOOD'S ORYX AND CRAKE.
- Creator
-
Galbreath, Marcy, Murphy, Patrick, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The developing knowledge of life sciences is at the crux of Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake as she examines human promise gone awry in a near-future dystopia. This thesis examines aspects of posthumanism, ecocriticism, and feminism in the novel's scientific, cultural, and environmental projections. Through the trope of extinction, Atwood's text foregrounds the effects of human exceptionalism and instrumentalism in relation to the natural world, and engenders an analysis of human...
Show moreThe developing knowledge of life sciences is at the crux of Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake as she examines human promise gone awry in a near-future dystopia. This thesis examines aspects of posthumanism, ecocriticism, and feminism in the novel's scientific, cultural, and environmental projections. Through the trope of extinction, Atwood's text foregrounds the effects of human exceptionalism and instrumentalism in relation to the natural world, and engenders an analysis of human identity through its biological and cultural aspects. Extinction thus serves as a metaphor for both human development and human excesses, redefining the idea of human within the context of vulnerable species. Oryx and Crake reveals humanity's organic connections with non-human others through interspecies gene-splicing and the ensuing hybridity. In this perspective, Atwood's text provides a dialogue on humankind's alienation from the natural world and synchronic connections to the animal other, and poses timely questions for twenty-first century consumerism, globalism, and humanist approaches to nature. The loss of balance provoked by the apocalyptic situation in Oryx and Crake challenges commonplace attitudes toward beneficial progress. This imbalance signals the need for a new narrative: A consilient reimagining of humanity's role on earth as an integrated organism rather than an intellectual singularity.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003227, ucf:48552
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003227
- Title
- Watch Me Disappear: Gendered Bodies, Pro-Anorexia, and Self-Injury in Virtual Communities.
- Creator
-
Preston-Sidler, Leandra, Bowdon, Melody, Scott, Blake, Marinara, Martha, Fragala, Maren, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This project examines the relationship between gendered identities, virtual communities, and material bodies, with an emphasis on eating disorders and self-injury practices. The use of the internet to represent and foster particular categories of material bodies, such as the anorexic, the fitness buff, and the self-injurer, has gained substantial visibility due in part to the proliferation of visual imagery presented through social networks. I analyze written and visual texts within specific...
Show moreThis project examines the relationship between gendered identities, virtual communities, and material bodies, with an emphasis on eating disorders and self-injury practices. The use of the internet to represent and foster particular categories of material bodies, such as the anorexic, the fitness buff, and the self-injurer, has gained substantial visibility due in part to the proliferation of visual imagery presented through social networks. I analyze written and visual texts within specific social networks to assess their function and potential impact on individuals and larger communities.Drawing from Donna Haraway's cyborg theory, N. Kathryn Hayles' posthuman, Judith Butler's performativity, feminist poststructural analysis, and the notion of augmented reality, this project explores how individuals rely on social networks, images, and technologies to provide supportive environments for, as well as modify and maintain, specific gendered bodies. Applying feminist interpretations of Foucault's concepts of discipline and (")docile bodies,(") primarily the research and critiques of Susan Bordo, Anne Balsamo, and Armando Favazza (among others), I examine how image sharing and interactions via social networks and communities affect material bodies and function as forms of social control, normalizing and encouraging ultra-thin bodies and dangerous behaviors, including eating disorders, overexercise, and cutting. I also explore subversive strategies of resistance enacted both within and beyond pro-ana and self-injury communities to counter negative messages and promote positive body image in girls and women.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0005690, ucf:50125
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005690
- Title
- IRANIAN FEMINISM: A COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF ITS IMPACT AND FUTURE.
- Creator
-
Eskamani, Anna, Sadri, Houman, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
For the casual observer, the term "Iranian feminist" is often considered to be an oxymoron. However, what seems to be an ironic juxtaposition actually holds a great length of truth: for over a century now, Iranian women have been marching, screaming, and fighting for equal gender rights - all the while embracing feminist ideals. In fact, "feminity" is a political symbol that has been influencing Iranian politics for over 150 years. From the very beginning of modern Iranian history, women have...
Show moreFor the casual observer, the term "Iranian feminist" is often considered to be an oxymoron. However, what seems to be an ironic juxtaposition actually holds a great length of truth: for over a century now, Iranian women have been marching, screaming, and fighting for equal gender rights - all the while embracing feminist ideals. In fact, "feminity" is a political symbol that has been influencing Iranian politics for over 150 years. From the very beginning of modern Iranian history, women have always played a pivotal role within Iranian history, constantly connecting the personal to the political. This research aims to explore this phenomenon as an independent movement and as one comparable to American feminism. Three main topics are explored: theocratic restrictions, culture, and globalization. There are three methods of research that I have utilized as resources for this study: previous studies, statistical data, and interviews. The purpose of this study is to understand why and how feminism is increasing within the anti-feminist regime of the IRI. This study holds both theoretical and political significance and is designed to predict the future status of Iranian feminism through examining the conditions of the past and present.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFH0003701, ucf:44737
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003701
- Title
- Rewriting Patriarchal Norms in Academia: Invitational Rhetoric in a Crowdsourced Survey.
- Creator
-
Molko, Rachel, Wheeler, Stephanie, Rounsaville, Angela, Jones, Natasha, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This thesis seeks to understand the how texts are constructed to forward feminist communicative objectives through a case study of Dr. Karen Kelsky's "A Crowdsourced Survey of Sexual Harassment in the Academy.(") In this research, sexual harassment is understood as(&)nbsp;an act of power, sexual in nature, enacted by faculty or staff (employed or contracted in different capacities) in their relations with other faculty or staff, who are often lower ranking.(&)nbsp;By adopting invitational...
Show moreThis thesis seeks to understand the how texts are constructed to forward feminist communicative objectives through a case study of Dr. Karen Kelsky's "A Crowdsourced Survey of Sexual Harassment in the Academy.(") In this research, sexual harassment is understood as(&)nbsp;an act of power, sexual in nature, enacted by faculty or staff (employed or contracted in different capacities) in their relations with other faculty or staff, who are often lower ranking.(&)nbsp;By adopting invitational rhetoric as a theoretical framework, this thesis examines the way(&)nbsp;Dr. Karen Kelsky's crowdsourced survey creates the space to articulate and elevate often(&)nbsp;suppressed(&)nbsp;personal testimony regarding sexual harassment.(&)nbsp;By welcoming, and then displaying, narratives that have been deliberately silenced over the course of history, Kelsky's spreadsheet showcases a collective consciousness surrounding sexual harassment in academia. The current scholarship surrounding feminist communicative praxis highlights the importance of the written personal narrative as meaning-making and as a reflective practice, especially through the medium of journaling. However, this research examines how texts can employ personal testimony to co-create meaning as a mode of resistance. In particular, Kelsky's artifacts create a space that privileges and displays situated knowledge about sexual harassment that has been otherwise obfuscated. By conducting a feminist(&)nbsp;rhetorical analysis, this thesis argues that Kelsky's artifacts perform invitational rhetoric that mediates situated knowledge surrounding sexual harassment in the academic workplace.(&)nbsp;Reflection and dialogue shape the nature of storytelling as evoked by the survey, which are approached by this thesis as feminist communicative praxes that are activated throughout engagement with the artifacts.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFE0007228, ucf:52229
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007228
- Title
- DESTABILIZING IDENTITY: THE WORKS OF DOROTHY CROSS.
- Creator
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Dowling, Aileen, Mendoza, Ilenia Col�n, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This thesis aims to analyze Dorothy Cross's sculptural, installation, and video works in relation to Ireland's Post-Conflict struggle with its cultural and global identity. Throughout the course of history, Ireland's identity has always been in question, sparking new interest over the last thirty years in producing an Irish identity discerned by "hybridity, multiplicity, and mobility."[1] Declan McGonagle states that the traditional Irish constructs of gender and sexuality were primarily...
Show moreThis thesis aims to analyze Dorothy Cross's sculptural, installation, and video works in relation to Ireland's Post-Conflict struggle with its cultural and global identity. Throughout the course of history, Ireland's identity has always been in question, sparking new interest over the last thirty years in producing an Irish identity discerned by "hybridity, multiplicity, and mobility."[1] Declan McGonagle states that the traditional Irish constructs of gender and sexuality were primarily challenged by Dorothy Cross during this period of rapid sociopolitical change.[2] Cross consistently deconstructs pre-Christian Mother Ireland and patriarchal Catholic Ireland in her early sculptural works, and ultimately transitions towards communicating a collective identity rooted in loss and desire. [3] The constructions of gendered, cultural, and collective identity are dismantled across multiple media throughout Cross's oeuvre, which can be analyzed through a synthesis of poststructuralist, postmodern, and French feminist theory. In evaluating Dorothy Cross's destabilization of identity, I will expand the literature on contemporary Irish art during the nation's turbulent time of globalization, which has been underemphasized in the study of contemporary European art.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFH2000126, ucf:46012
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000126
- Title
- HEALTHY AGING AND SELF-OBJECTIFICATION: THE IMPACT OF EMPOWERMENT AND FEMINIST ATTITUDES ON BODY IMAGE, EATING BEHAVIOR, AND AGING SATISFACTION.
- Creator
-
Grippo, Karen, Tantleff Dunn, Stacey, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The purpose of this study was to contribute to women's healthy aging across the adult lifespan by empirically examining potential protective factors (e.g., empowerment and feminist attitudes) in maintaining positive body image, healthy eating behavior, and aging satisfaction. Objectification Theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) provided a theoretical framework for understanding the connections between sexual-objectification experiences, media influences, and self-objectification, and the...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to contribute to women's healthy aging across the adult lifespan by empirically examining potential protective factors (e.g., empowerment and feminist attitudes) in maintaining positive body image, healthy eating behavior, and aging satisfaction. Objectification Theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) provided a theoretical framework for understanding the connections between sexual-objectification experiences, media influences, and self-objectification, and the resulting negative psychological consequences for women in Western society. This study was the first to examine empowerment in relation to Objectification Theory. Additionally, a developmental perspective was gained by using a diverse sample of young, middle-aged, and older women in the investigation of the impact of self-objectification on aging satisfaction. Results indicated that women of all ages were just as likely to report either body image satisfaction or body image dissatisfaction after accounting for BMI. However, younger women were more likely than older women to view their bodies as objects. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was performed utilizing Objectification Theory as a framework for predicting body image, eating behaviors, and aging satisfaction. Empowerment and feminist attitudes were not protective factors in promoting healthy eating behavior and positive thoughts related to body image and aging. The final structural model did, however, provide support for Objectification Theory and its proposed relationships between sexual-objectification experiences and the development of self-objectification and the negative consequences of self-objectification on a variety of health-related constructs. Long-term implications include incorporating this knowledge into empirically supported prevention and intervention programs aimed at reducing body image and eating disturbance and promoting healthy aging across the adult lifespan.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFE0003966, ucf:48692
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003966
- Title
- STORY LINES: MOVING THROUGH THE MULTIPLE IMAGINED COMMUNITIES OF AN ASIAN-/AMERICAN-/FEMINIST BODY.
- Creator
-
Choudhury, Athia, Park, Shelley, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
We all have stories to share, to build, to pass around, to inherit, and to create. This story - the one I piece together now - is about a Thai-/Bengali-/Muslim-/American-/Feminist looking for home, looking to manage the tension and conflict of wanting to belong to her family and to her feminist community. This thesis focuses on the seemingly conflicting obligations to kinship on the one hand and to feminist practice on the other, a conflict where being a good scholar or activist is directly...
Show moreWe all have stories to share, to build, to pass around, to inherit, and to create. This story - the one I piece together now - is about a Thai-/Bengali-/Muslim-/American-/Feminist looking for home, looking to manage the tension and conflict of wanting to belong to her family and to her feminist community. This thesis focuses on the seemingly conflicting obligations to kinship on the one hand and to feminist practice on the other, a conflict where being a good scholar or activist is directly in opposition to being a good Asian daughter. In order to understand how and why these communities appear at odds with one another, I examine how the material spaces and psychological realities inhabited by specific hyphenated, fragmented subjects are represented (and misrepresented) in both popular culture and practical politics, arguing against images of the hybrid body that bracket its lived tensions. I argue that fantasies of home as an unconditional site of belonging and comfort distract us from the multiple communities to which hyphenated subjects must move between. Hyphenated Asian-/American bodies often find ourselves torn between nativism and assimilationism - having to neutralize, forsake, or discard parts of our identities. Thus, I reduce complicated, difficult ideas of being to the size of a thimble, to a question of loyalty between my Asian-/American history and my American-/feminist future, between my familial background and the issues that have become foregrounded for me during college, between the home from which I originate and the new home to which I wish to belong. To move with fluidity, I must - in collaboration with others - invent new stories of identity and belonging.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFH0004200, ucf:44974
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004200
- Title
- Repro, But Make It Fashion: Discourses on Sex, Sexuality, and Reproduction in Teen Vogue Magazine.
- Creator
-
Londono, Estefany, Carter, Shannon, Armato, Michael, Donley, Amy, Bubriski, Anne, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
There are many possible sources for youth to become educated about sexuality and reproduction, however the media are cited as particularly powerful and prominent sources of information (Jaworski, 2009). Particularly in an era in which abstinence-only messaging dominates sex education, media become a source to which young people turn and where they receive much of their sex-based messaging. Due to backlash over problematic content that perpetuates gender stereotypes and relays harmful messages...
Show moreThere are many possible sources for youth to become educated about sexuality and reproduction, however the media are cited as particularly powerful and prominent sources of information (Jaworski, 2009). Particularly in an era in which abstinence-only messaging dominates sex education, media become a source to which young people turn and where they receive much of their sex-based messaging. Due to backlash over problematic content that perpetuates gender stereotypes and relays harmful messages about sex and sexuality, some magazines, including Teen Vogue, have attempted to shift towards more feminist-minded content (Keller, 2011, Milkie, 2002). This study is a qualitative critical feminist media analysis that examined the framing of sex, sexuality, and reproduction content in a sample of 60 Teen Vogue articles, an online publication that targets adolescents and young adults. The analysis revealed that overall, articles conveyed positive representations of sexuality, advocating for affirming and evidence-based sex education, self-empowerment through knowledge, and comprehensive reproductive healthcare for all. However, contradictory frames of sex stigmatization and a reproductive rights framework that advocates primarily for abortion rights were still highly prevalent in the data. Considering media is a significant component of the sexual socialization of youth, Sex Positive framing of sexuality which prioritizes pleasure, healthy relationships and sexual dynamics, and inclusive and affirmative sex education helps to create new narratives in media concerning how sex is viewed. These messages may have positive impacts by creating healthier sexual scripts and becoming dominant narratives in the future. However, articles in the data also utilized fear-mongering tactics that are notoriously used in abstinence-only sex education. These messages aid in further stigmatizing young people not only for having sex but also for not being informed of the potential associated risks, creating a harmful paradox that may counteract the goals of sexual health and sex positivity. Additionally, reproductive rights and reproductive justice messaging and the presentation of policy updates relevant to young readers has the potential to inform and socialize young people to be better informed about sex and sexuality, which may, in turn, lead to greater sexual empowerment. Such messaging may also empower youth activists in a time of political turmoil, connecting teen readers to what is going on around them, and providing concrete actions they can take to create political change. ?
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007832, ucf:52815
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007832
