Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This thesis sought to understand the messages Black women receive from contemporary images and how these messages may be used to help them develop a sense of womanhood. The framework for the analysis used in this research lies within the feminist standpoint theory and Black feminist thought. The interviews conducted for this research helped to reveal that young Black women recognize patterns within the images of Black women in contemporary media. The images help them to understand the treatment of Black women and about the Black women they want to be.

The study starts with a historical overview of the notion of gender and sexual identity and belonging in the German Christian church as seen from a queer and intersectional gender studies perspective. The following study moves to explore three individual experiences and encounters with the Christian church. The experiences are contemporary and have been made by queer Christians inside the church and during the creation of a personal faith that is suitable for their needs. With the analytical help of the feminist standpoint theory and queer theory, the researcher examines a limited empirical corpus based on three interviews. The study centers on the experiences of these participants and asks fundamental questions about how to unite two significant belongings that seem to be contradictory. These sample stories include individuals who openly belong to the queer community. They have worked in and for the church or study theology. The stories of such double belonging have been investigated through semi-structured interviews. The discussion and analysis outline similar experiences made by the participants. The main findings include the lack of language and role models that lead to experiences of loneliness and exclusion. How they construe their sense of faith varies as faith is individual. Nevertheless, and as highlighted, is the immense significance of being religious, the importance of spirituality and faith for the inquired members of the LGBTQIA+ community, but not necessarily church as an institution.

Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion have no issues telling men how they can satisfy women. While WAP is considered vulgar and crude by some, the overall message is about outspoken intersectional feminism based on sex positivity and empowerment. Unapologetic of women’s sexuality, Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion promote women’s right to sexuality and pleasure through power. They reject the male gaze and reverse the societal narrative by describing their standards for men’s sexual performance and stature. While the over-sexualization and objectification of women is societally acceptable in the patriarchy, Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion’s rap in WAP aims to encourage the audience to critically think of how to combat and dismantle the power imbalance between genders in the current societal structure. Presenting women being assertive and demanding as a positive thing, as well as empowering women to own their sexuality places them in a dominant position which is uncommon in popular culture, especially in Hip-Hop. It can be debated that the over-sexualization and objectification of men is just as inhumane as it is for women, but is that not how sympathy is created? By putting oneself in another’s shoes? This tactic has been criticized in the media. Within the patriarchy, it is socially acceptable for men to be open about having their sexual needs met by women. The promotion of women owning their sexuality and therefore, advocating for themselves and their desires so that they can be satisfied by their partner, is actively discouraged. What Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion are aiming to portray in WAP is the double standards enforced by men within the patriarchy which frames power as a positive in men and a negative in women, and make a point of this by extensively critiquing this in their song. While men are comfortable objectifying women and holding power over them, women making men feel uncomfortable when their power is stolen, is a means by which men can be compelled to increase their emotional intelligence and social awareness. There is no shame in taking power from men when it comes to the lyrics in WAP, and for research purposes, this makes an interesting and unique dynamic to thematically analyze through sexual script theory.

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The purpose of this study was to expand on the current research pertaining to women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors, better understand the experiences of undergraduate women in the sciences, identify barriers to female persistence in their intended STEM majors, and understand the impact of the STEM co-educational Living Learning Community (LLC) model on female persistence. This study employed a mixed-methods approach that was grounded in standpoint methodology. The qualitative data were collected through focus groups and one-on-one interviews with the female participants and was analyzed through a critical feminist lens utilizing standpoint methodology and coded utilizing inductive analysis. The quantitative data were collected and analyzed utilizing a simple statistical analysis of key academic variables indicative of student success: cumulative high school GPAs, SAT scores, first year cumulative GPAs, freshman persistence patterns in the intended major, and freshman retention patterns at the university. The findings of this study illustrated that the co-educational LLC model created an inclusive academic and social environment that positively impacted the female participants‟ experiences and persistence in STEM. The findings also found the inclusion of men in the community aided in the demystification of male superiority in the sciences for the female participants. This study also highlighted the significance of social identity in the decision making process to join a science LLC.

This dissertation investigates the relationship between social engineering tactics and the facilitation of online sex trafficking, with a focus on prevention strategies. First, the impact of parenting strategies on adolescent run-away behavior, focusing on both physical and online dimensions is explored. Drawing on existing literature, we investigate how parental responsiveness and psychological control influence adolescents' perceptions and behaviors related to physical and online runaway tendencies. The study highlights the nuanced role of parental strategies, emphasizing the importance of coherence and alignment in parental communication to mitigate the risks associated with adolescent runaway behavior. Second, this research investigates how heuristic (e.g., social cues), systematic (e.g., informativeness, persuasiveness) factors and personality impact susceptibility to deceptive job posts. Using the heuristic-systematic model and an experimental design, it examines how these factors influence the likelihood of falling victim to fraudulent job offers on social media, particularly Instagram. Then, objectives are developed to combat online sex trafficking using standpoint theory and value focused thinking. This study prioritizes marginalized perspectives and employs value focused thinking to integrate stakeholder values in the decision-making process to ensure a safer digital environment.

In this project I explore the connection between cultural and personal identity in the college classroom. Respondent interviews were conducted using open-ended questions, which began with a broad picture of the role the instructor played in the classroom and then focused more specifically on the issue of sexual orientation and the choices to disclose or not disclose orientation in the classroom. Thematic analysis was used to examine the interviews, upon the completion of the interviews being transcribed. RQ1: Do gay and lesbian instructors disclose their sexual orientation in the classroom? From this question, four themes emerged. These themes were disclosure not relevant, out of the classroom disclosure, students just know, and disclosure in the classroom. RQ2: What reasons do gay and lesbian instructors give for disclosing their sexual orientation in the classroom? Two themes, fears of disclosure and holding back, transpired from this question. RQ3: How do gay and lesbian instructors foster diversity in the classroom related to sexual orientation? Four themes were exposed from the question, and these themes were paradox of diversity, passing, mentoring, and identity not sexuality.

Although the focus of the study was the emotional abuse of women in close relationship, I argue that the patterns and processes in the abusive relationship, the positioning of both players show a close resemblance to abuse and violence on a macro-political scale. When I as a psychotherapist was continuously confronted with an increasing number of female clients relating stories of emotional abuse in close personal relationships, I started questioning the historical context, culture, societal beliefs and time-frame that constructed women to be in such a position. World wide voices are heard questioning the constant abuse of the other, the weaker, the different, and the marginalized, and much has been written about physical abuse, but the question was as to how this macro-phenomenon informs upon the emotional life of the individual woman. When it comes to abuse in close relationships, the victim usually is the female and not the male partner, which makes abuse a woman’s problem. As a result, I was interested in the truths of the woman in the abusive relationship and approached this research from the position of the other and not the oppressor. Feminist standpoint theory formed the basis of my epistemological and methodological thinking. This I practically implemented in my choice of method and my approach to interpretation of the research information. I undertook a qualitative study, utilizing descriptive methods to represent the stories of women from emotionally abusive relationships. The research was historical and location-specific, and led to the description of what I termed the Traditional Afrikaans Family and a legitimizing ecology for emotional abuse against women in close relationships. The experiences collected tell about emotional abuse as relayed by more than forty women in therapy. The data formed the background for the reconstruction and representation of four case studies and a thematic analysis pertaining to the positioning of both partners in an emotionally abusive relationship. A critical deconstruction of the mechanisms of power, domination, and control are explained. In doing so, emerging patterns in the abusive relationship were noted and described. Of particular interest to psychotherapists will be the description and analysis of the process of emotional abuse as played out in close relationships. In conclusion, I argued that emotional abuse in close interpersonal relationships is constructed in the interactions between the partners and within a legitimising context that warrants the male to dominate. The abusive behaviour emerges as a result of the patriarchal male wanting to establish or re-establish his dominant position while the female partner attempts to position him as someone that respects her as a person in her own right. / Thesis (DPhil (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Psychology / unrestricted

Leadership in general is still perceived as individualistic, masculine and hierarchical. Despite fighting against discrimination and for social justice, third sector organizations are themselves often places of entrenched privilege and limited diversity. Leaders with lived experiences draw on their first-hand experience of social issues and/or injustices and attempt to tackle those problems through their work. They represent a diversity of backgrounds, experiences and capabilities that challenge the homogeneity of third sector leadership. Following critical leadership studies this thesis draws from the standpoints of lived experience leaders to offer new, intersectional perspectives on leadership and to expand and diversify understandings of what it is to lead in third sector organizations. The focus of this thesis’s exploration is the experiences and perceptions of 10 individuals who hold or have held leadership positions within third sector organizations in the UK and Germany. Through the analysis of semi-structured interviews, a phenomenology of lived experience leadership is explored. Drawing from feminist standpoint theory, attention is paid to what lived experience leaders think about leadership generally and lived experience leadership in particular, as well as their perspectives on the systemic leadership structures they exist within and challenge. It is found that lived experience leaders acknowledge ‘traditional,’ ‘mainstream’ concepts of leadership and see their own leadership styles and approaches as distinct from these leadership norms. Their approaches and understandings challenge typical leadership constructions and, strongly influenced by their own lived experiences, promote political self-organization, activism and a socio-economic empowerment of people with lived experiences in order to unravel current social power structures and promote social change. With these key findings, the paper suggests further research to test and expand on the conclusions drawn. Ensuring that leadership positions are accessible to all should be a priority for future development of third sector organizations and beyond. Further research should therefore explore how lived experience leadership can help to gain insights about how to remove barriers to leadership positions efficiently.

The following research explores female authority's experiences with gender roles in faith and church and the subsequent handling of gender sensitivity in confirmation work. The qualitative study is conducted based on empirical data to answer the research questions. The chosen feminist standpoint theory assists in identifying the sampling consisting of female authorities as participants who are in charge of the confirmation work. The theory examines resources to create a standpoint through feminist experiences as knowledge, creating feminist solidarity and agency. The constructionist thematic analysis identifies and establishes repeating patterns in combination with the participant's answers and the theory. The lived experiences are gathered through online questionnaires and analyzed and interpreted through the lens of the feminist standpoint theory. The qualitative study shows that women make various experiences based on gender roles in faith and church. Majorly challenging is the normalization of male-dominated structures and concepts. Still, the participants form standpoints concerning the significance of gender-sensitive confirmation work. The study's outcome shows that mainstream knowledge can be opposed by creating feminist knowledge, solidarity, and agency. A broad audience is addressed because the result can be generalized into several fields.