<p>This study looks at print media projects by and for people with HlV/AIDS. Three types of publications are examined: newsletters; treatment publications; and general interest magazines. Each of these media began as part of political organizing by people with HIV in the context of the community-based response to the AIDS epidemic. The argument is made that those involved in contemporary social movements produce their own media as a means of constructing an alternative public sphere. The significance and function of this public realm is twofold. First, it is a social space for people with HIV/AIDS that is independent of forms of institutional influence and control. Second, it invites not only the articulation of opposition to the dominant social order but an alternative to the status quo. This study demonstrates the role of communication media - forums through which people can share their experiences and knowledge - in the struggle for self representation and survival among people with HIV/AIDs.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Due to the patriarchal and racial hierarchies that structure education, girls, and specifically girls of color, occupy a marginalized space within it. This is in contrast to boys, who are considered more intellectually gifted, yet held to lower academic and behavioral standards. This study explores the impacts of gender, racial, and ethnic stereotypes perceived by 30 white, Black, and/or Latinx women (ages 18-22) during their experiences in U.S. public middle schools (grades 6-8). Participants were surveyed to ascertain general information about them and their middle school experiences, then invited to participate in focus groups to share their individual narratives. In total, seven focus groups were conducted with 17 women. Utilizing intersectional feminist and constructivist grounded theories as frameworks, this mixed methods research concentrates on the multiple, intersecting barriers, including complex expectations regarding their academic and social-emotional performance, that challenge girls in education compared to boys generally. The survey results suggested a positively correlated relationship between girls' socioeconomic status and perceived positivity of middle school experience. The coded data procured by the focus groups, once organized into categories and analyzed for themes and subthemes, indicated girls' propensity to monitor perceptions of themselves by eight mechanisms: limiting their self-expression, seeking to please others, trying to fit in, worrying about what others think, self-inflicting pressures, struggling with identity, avoiding getting in trouble, and seeking to appease their families. Advancing the representation of girls' internalization of these individually and institutionally conveyed stereotypes is a primary aim of this thesis.

This study examined the biases of individuals regarding what is perceived as feminine and what is masculine, as well as the freedoms and limitations of being labeled a tomboy. This research examined the associations among several factors: perceptions of masculine and feminine traits, perceptions of lesbian and gay identity, self-identification, and the confluence of tomboy and lesbian identity. Students in high enrollment psychology courses at a large southeastern metropolitan university (N = 385) participated in an anonymous online survey. A series of hypotheses were generated but results were highly inconsistent. Possible reasons for these inconsistencies are explored with an eye toward the need for future research in this area.

This thesis explores and describes key factors in my process of designing the costumes for In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play by Sarah Ruhl. The document encompasses justification of decisions made through the researching and producing of period costumes for live performance and the challenges and obstacles faced to make seamless transitions during performance.

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In this thesis I will look at Disney/Pixar’s creation and portrayal of gender in the film WALL-E. In particular I will be looking at two areas of interest: (1) The ways in which Disney/ Pixar anthropomorphizes and creates gender for WALL-E and EVE, the two main robots featured in the movie, and (2) whether or not Disney/Pixar’s representations of masculinity and femininity follow the stereotypical representations of male dominance or if this representations challenge this stereotype. In this chapter, I will begin with a brief overview of previous studies in the areas of anthropomorphism, gender representation in children’s media, and the effects of gender portrayal in children’s media. In Chapter 2 I will then move into a description of feminist criticism, the method by which I plan to analyze WALL-E. In Chapter 3, my analysis will be looking at Disney/Pixar’s creation of gender for WALL-E and EVE, the degree of male centeredness and male dominance present in WALL-E, and the ways in which females are marginalized and femininity is portrayed as non-normative.

Written early in the 11th century, the Tale of Genji is considered to be the world's first novel. Women's issues and relationships between men and women are central themes in the tale. In fact, in the last couple decades some critics have come to see the women of the Genji Monogatari as the novel's intended focus rather than Genji himself. Through Genji, the reader is able to experience the sad, interconnected fates of a host of women and thereby share in their trials and tribulations.

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