Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies Undergraduate Theses

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://digital.lib.washington.edu/handle/1773/1987

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Radical Education and Social Change: An Experiment in Student-Driven Democratic Feminist Education
(2006-06-30) Hatzenbeler, Sam
An undergraduate class, "Radical Education and Social Change," was offered at the University of Washington in Winter 2006. The course was designed and taught by students. The class was an intentional departure from the mainstream classroom environment and embraced feminist and anti-authoritarian methods.
Dieting patterns of college-age women
(2005-09-02) Walters, Michelle
Only a small portion of existing research on dieting behavior focuses on college-age women. The author hypothesizes that most college-age women are currently dieting to lose weight and are using unhealthy methods to do so. A dieting behavior survey of 83 women ranging in age from 18 to 26 years old confirmed this hypothesis. Almost half of the women who were currently dieting were of normal weight or were underweight and most resorted to unhealthy, and often dangerous, weight-loss methods.
Select Your Player: Stereotype Interplay in Video Game Commercial Advertising from Japan and the United States
(2005-09-02) Rodriquez, Catherine
This documentary video provides commentary on the portrayal of women in the video game advertising industry. Clips of video game commercials are presented with commentary on gender stereotypes and the representation of women. It joins video game studies, critical commercial analysis, and a feminist perspective to give clues on how the industry and community sees women as video game players. The documentary examines the representation of women as both video game players and characters.
Hands across cultures
(2005-09-01T23:40:07Z) Vasilnek, Gail
This paper describes the author's experience volunteering as an English language tutor at the Refugee Women's Alliance in Seattle, Washington. Through historical and cultural analyses, the author discusses why the literacy rate among Somali women is so low. The paper describes the barriers to education women in Somalia face and barriers to communication they face when arriving in the United States.
Institutionalization of motherhood in Japan, The: The Evolution of "Mother" since the Meiji Restoration of 1868
(2005-09-01T23:27:58Z) Ninomiya, Reiko
The author traces the evolution of the role of the mother in the Japanese family from the beginning of the Meiji Restoration of 1868 through 1996. An analysis of three contemporary Japanese women's magazines - Fujingaho, Kateigaho, and Josei Zasshi - is used to discuss both the mother's place in the Japanese home and in society and the worries facing the middle-class, urban mother in Japan at the turn of the 20th century. The author uses two themes common to the magazines, the System Kitchen and the preparation of the Obento (school lunch box), to illustrate a mother's role as nourisher, disciplinarian and provider for her family. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the negative opinions about motherhood that younger Japanese women have today and the societal trends that are pushing the marriage age higher and the birthrate lower.
Factors influencing women's decisions to seek Pap smear testing
(2005-09-01T23:22:52Z) Holland, Leah
The Pap smear has become an effective and commonly adopted screening tool for cervical cell abnormalities, and for the presence of the Human Papillomavirus, which may lead to increased risk of cervical cancer. While effective, the Pap smear is often misunderstood, and a variety of factors impede women from regular screenings. In exploring this topic, the author conducts a survey of patients at a Planned Parenthood facility. Findings of this study indicate that major factors influencing a woman’s decision to undergo regular screenings include previous personal or familial exposure to reproductive or breast cancer; a familiarity with her mother’s Pap smear schedule; and a higher education level. The study found that the majority of women surveyed did not fully understand the medical purpose of a Pap smear, however.
"Sex and the City" and Third Wave feminism: Defining feminisms in popular culture
(2005-09-01T23:17:27Z) Hawkins, Joy
Popular culture is taken as an indicator of shared values, and feminism in popular culture is examined through the framework of a successful television show. Following a brief historical analysis of feminist movements and discourse, as well as an overview of television shows depicting feminist themes, the author examines current examples of Third Wave feminism in popular magazines. From this examination of popular magazines, the author constructs seven descriptive categories that are representative of “pop feminism.” These categories are applied to an analysis of the television show “Sex and the City.” The show is found to incorporate elements of all seven categories within the sample studied. The author concludes that “Sex and the City” is a legitimate Third Wave feminist voice that positively influences the lives of women.
Sexually transmitted infections, social stigmas and gender differences
(2005-09-01T22:53:17Z) Cockrill, Marnie
As rates for Sexually Transmitted Infections increase in society, those infected face stigmatization and rejection. Using survey methodology, the author explored attitudes and opinions about STIs from a variety of respondents, focusing on societal stigmatization along gender lines. The majority of respondents were well educated about symptoms, means of transmission, and treatment of STIs. However, they held pervasive attitudes that people with STIs are promiscuous or irresponsible. The author argues that such attitudes reinforce the existence of widespread and oppressive social stigmas surrounding Sexually Transmitted Infections.
Violence against women: Workshops for youth
(2005-09-01T22:37:37Z) Charlton, Libby
Education is central to creating social change. Addressing the topic of violence against women, the author designed a workshop intended for female youth. The workshop was implemented in two stages at a state “lock down” facility for youth, with positive response from the attendees. The author explores the pedagogical student-teacher relationship, her status as an outsider, and the effectiveness of workshop sessions in fostering social change. A series of future workshops is planned.
Queer and expecting: Lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women in the childbearing literature
(2005-09-01T21:55:27Z) Cashatt, Catherine
This study determined if, with what frequency, and how lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women are represented in the medical and nursing literature on childbearing. I used feminist content analysis methods to examine 26 articles, located through CINAHL and MEDLINE searches, and 9 textbooks, selected for their common use in obstetrics and midwifery. Both the articles and textbooks were analyzed for lesbian, bisexual, and transgender content, assessing whether this content was inclusive, exclusive, or absent, and if it presented the population as pathological, normal with deviance, minority, or exemplar. I found that queer women, in small numbers, are present in the childbearing literature; that CINAHL and midwifery textbooks contained the greatest queer content; that the articles tended to focus exclusively on the population while the textbooks included the population in the body of the material, and that the majority of articles in both of the databases and in the textbooks presented the population as a minority. These findings support the need for further research on queer women and childbearing, especially in the areas of race/ethnicity, age, class, and (dis)ability. Further studies which inclusively and exclusively examine this population are warranted and this work should continue to address heterosexism and homophobia in conventional research and education.
The gender politics of female action heroes in television and films
(2005-09-01T21:38:05Z) Andrade, Jessica
Social and political movements in the United States have led to an increase in the popularity of action and adventure genres in television and films. There has been an increase in female lead roles in these productions and there is a connection between these media representations and socially held ideas of female empowerment. The author argues that films and television shows featuring female action heroes reflect societal ideas about gender roles, and also influence the development of those roles. The author surveys college students to determine why they watch programs with female action heroes, there opinions on how these programs relate to gender roles, and how the students form a personal connection to these characters. Among other results, the author finds that male viewers tend to be drawn to these programs by the sexual attractiveness of the female lead, while female viewers watch these programs to see complex female characters in powerful roles.
Women, Turkey, and the West: Resistances and Negotiations of Power
(2005-09-01T21:20:01Z) Lazzarini, Alicia
By presenting the image of the ideal modern and secular Turkish woman as an integral component of their modernization project, the modernizing Turkish state attempts to prove that it is powerful and developed enough to accede to the European Union. The modernization project is strife with contradictions, however, and women utilize both subtle and public strategies to displace power structures and create their own identity performances. This thesis explores definitions of modernity, modernization, Orientalism, and Occidentalism; the formation of the political subject and spaces of contestation between woman and nation; the beginnings of the Turkish modernization project and the establishment of the Republic; and contemporary discourses regarding women, Turkey, and the West, focusing on Turkey’s attempts to accede to the European Union as a historically-implicated movement, discussions and ramifications of neoliberal restructuring, and arguments regarding women’s rights and Islam. This thesis is an attempt to create an alternative reading of Turkish women’s historical and continuing efforts toward empowerment to the narratives of contemporary media discourses regarding women in Turkey.
The Relationship of Divorced Mothers and their Daughters: A Daughter's Perspective
(2005-07-06T02:00:05Z) Alinkoff, Elizabeth
My personal experiences have inspired me to research the positive aspects of the Mother-Daughter Relationship affected by divorce. In the literature, divorce is assumed to have a negative effect on the MDR. I hoped to conduct research that shows, even though there may be negative aspects, there are definite positives as well. Six, 18-25 year old daughters of divorce were interviewed. Results: Daughters did not feel problems during their adolescence were directly related to divorce, but instead attributed adolescent mother-daughter conflict to regular ‘growing pains’. All the daughters noted that their MDRs are more of a ‘best friend’ relationship versus mother-daughter relationship. Subjects feel daughters who have experienced divorce are more mature and have closer relationships with their mothers than daughters of two parent households. Daughters did not feel that divorce affected their desire to have children.
Anti-Trafficking Legislation and the Media Discourse on Prositution and Trafficking in Women: A Comparative Study of the United States and India
(2005-07-06T01:47:48Z) Burrows, Christina
I argue that slavery and human trafficking are a violation of not only human rights, but of civil rights and an understanding of the basic freedoms of movement and freedoms of body that are commonly understood in both the United States government and the government of India. Even though slavery and human trafficking are prevalent in both nations and more so in India, both countries have designed their governments, as well as have signed treaties and created governmental Acts to ensure such basic freedoms to their people. The governments of both India and the United States were designed and amended so that its citizens would be free from such violations of human rights. Unfortunately, this legislation has not proved to be entirely effective in either country. At the same time though, it appears that the citizens of neither country are entirely informed of the significance of trafficking in persons, and in this case trafficking in women for sexual exploitation, or its almost indiscernible relationship to prostitution and sex work.
Factors Affecting "Fight or Flight" and "Tend or Befriend" Responses to Stress
(2005-07-06T01:37:46Z) Matthews, Jackie
For decades research with animals and humans has suggested that the “fight or flight” response is essential to dealing with stress. New research posits that gender issues may influence the stress response. Recently Taylor (2000) described the “tend and befriend” response to stress that may be more typical of females than males. She offers the following conceptualizations that are central to her theory. “Fight or flight” occurs when confronted by stress, individuals either react with aggressive behavior, such as verbal conflict and more drastic actions (the “fight” response), or withdraw from the stressful situation (the “flight” response). “Tend and befriend” occurs when in response to stressful conditions by protecting and nurturing themselves and their “young” (the "tend" response), and by seeking social contact and support from others (the "befriend" response). This is a descriptive study to contribute knowledge about stress responses. My project’s focus is: 1) To develop an instrument to measure stress responses based on Taylor’s theoretical framework of stress responses. 2) To describe respondents perceptions of stress responses that they consider “fight or flight” or “tend and befriend”. 3) To describe the most commonly used stress responses. 4) To explore possible relationships between gender and type of stress responses.
Queer Women with Disabilities — Intersections in Identity
(2005-06-23T23:15:04Z) Whitney, Chelsea
Until recently the sexuality of individuals with disabilities has largely been ignored or incorrectly assumed to be non-existent. Individuals with disabilities have a range of sexual orientations encompassing both heterosexual and queer identities. In what ways do individuals with disabilities construct their sexual orientation identity? How do women who identify as both disabled and queer develop their multiple identities? Do current models of lesbian identity development or models of disability identity development address the reality of queer women with disabilities identity? This project involved interviews with five queer women with disabilities in the Northwest to understand their subjective experiences of their identity and the process of its development. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed with Atlas.ti software. Both identity development models for disability and queer identity could be used to describe either women’s disability identity development or queer identity development. A combination of identity development models best fit these women’s life experiences. Implications for future theory and activism stemming from dual identities are discussed.
It depends on what you mean by community: Community building among undergraduate students within the Women Studies Department at the University of Washington
(2005-05-11T01:53:19Z) Heaton, Anna, M.
Using participatory research, the author explores attitudes and perceptions of current and former undergraduate students in the Women Studies Department of a large U.S. university regarding the concept of “community.” Based on this research, the author develops strategies for identifying and overcoming barriers to community building within the department, using feminist critical pedagogy as a base.
Book of fusion, The: The lesbian identity integration fictional narrative
(2005-05-11T01:50:33Z) Ensor-Estes, Zaedryn
The author explores a range of fictional works written by lesbians and containing lesbian protagonists, through the framework of lesbian identity stage models. The relative merits of five models are compared in describing the process of lesbian identity establishment. The historical development of the lesbian novel is then traced. The author finds that limitations of stage models include their use of linear progression and goal-oriented design, which contrast with both actual and fictional portrayals of lesbian identity progression as continuous, non-linear, and process-oriented. The author uses this research of lesbian fiction as a springboard for her own creative writing, a sample of which is excerpted here.
Inclusive language inside the Christian community
(2005-05-11T01:42:22Z) Brown, Hope Ariel
Traditional Christian theology is grounded in historical scriptures and teachings that use gendered language when referring God. This gives rise to the use of male pronouns and gender descriptions of “God” in Christianity. Feminist theology provides a framework to reconcile these gendered philosophical foundations with a feminist worldview, using inclusive language as a primary tool. The author conducted interviews with five female spiritual intellectuals, each from a different denomination of Christianity, to understand their individual spiritual journeys to a feminist theology and to determine how they use inclusive language in their ministries. Analysis of the interviews reveals that these women share a belief in intense personal reflection as a catalyst for spiritual growth. Balance, patience and good judgment are necessary when introducing inclusive language to a congregation.
Effects of the Thin Ideal in Magazines on Women, The
(2005-05-11T01:38:22Z) Blair, Adrianne
The popular portrayal of the feminine physical ideal in advertisements found in popular fashion magazines is unrealistic, unhealthy, and does not accurately reflect the range of body types and sizes in society. Feminist magazines, such as Bitch and Fierce, challenge these unrealistic ideals by critiquing popular fashion magazines, and by accepting only advertisements that portray a wider and more accurate array of female body types. Readers of popular fashion magazines are more likely than readers of feminist magazines to identify a smaller dress size as ideal, to diet, to consider surgical weight loss alternatives, and to equate thinness with happiness and success.

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