Steven Conn recently argued that as museums change from warehouses of artifacts focused on public instruction to a different model of education by engagement, their emphasis on objects will become less necessary. This dissertation directly engages with that idea and argues that for many local museums objects mean as much as they ever did, maybe even more. My idea, the “currency of authenticity,” builds on two strands of scholarship. One that traces the increasing commodification of history. The other that local museums are just as worthy of study as national institutions. Specifically, I analyze how smaller museums use material culture to convince their audience that their textual narrative and/or oral interpretation is just as truthful as its objects. Using institutional records, newspapers, and oral histories, this dissertation examines how the Stephen Foster Museum and Florida Folk Festival, both in White Springs, Florida, and the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village portray aspects of Southern culture. Each of these places emphasizes different qualities, objects, or ideas as they construct their own brand of authenticity. Simultaneously, these places also all emphasize their own kind of Southern identity, unique to their regions and the people they want to represent. Their exhibits demonstrate that Southern heritage is vast, complex, and more diverse than some people understand. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2016. / July 8, 2016. / Local History, Memory, Public History / Includes bibliographical references. / Suzanne Sinke, Professor Directing Dissertation; Denise Von Glahn, University Representative; Andrew Frank, Committee Member; Jennifer Koslow, Committee Member; Maxine D. Jones, Committee Member.

I urge here for a reconceptualization of such female protagonists’ embodiments of the trope of strong black womanhood that shows the benefit of troubling these rigid narratives of inclusion which have underwritten and, to wit, regulated black women’s purchase on the discourse. Using the works of Nella Larsen, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ntozake Shange, I propose that while, to be sure, the aforementioned characters do not match the physical expectations for membership into what I suggest may be called the cult of strong black womanhood, their performances of fitness, independence and control combine with their collective demonstrations of emotionally defensive postures, self-sacrificing decisions, and alternately demanding and passive performances to adhere to essential criteria of the strong black woman. Even when these performances may, because of the characters’ class positionality and caste, be expected to fall instead alongside discourses of respectability, I propose that study of the women’s affective labor processes reveals an eschewing of vulnerability that is the key identifier of the archetype. Such performances, I emphasize, are especially harmful as they inter-relationally interrupt and obstruct opportunities for connection, demonstrations of vulnerability and need among women. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2016. / April 25, 2016. / affect, African American women, middle class, strong black woman, twentieth century literature / Includes bibliographical references. / Dennis Moore, Professor Directing Dissertation; Maxine Jones, University Representative; Alisha M. Gaines, Committee Member; Rhea E. Lathan, Committee Member; Maxine Montgomery, Committee Member.

It is widely accepted that sexual minority youth (SMY) are subjects of homophobic bullying and homophobic victimization, and they are at higher risk for psychological distress compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Meyer (2003) introduced the minority stress conceptual framework to explain this increased prevalence and its effects. The minority stress conceptual framework proposed that the lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) population is subjected to additional stressors due to its minority status which results in increased psychological distress. The problem addressed in this study was the high incidence of bullying, harassment, social isolation, and violence against SMY, those questioning their sexual identity, and those perceived to be LGB in a large metropolitan school district in South Florida. The purpose of this comparative study was threefold: to compare risk factors for students in Grades 9-12 (a) who identified as LGB to those who identified as heterosexual (straight), (b) who identified as LGB to those who identified as questioning, and (c) who perceived that others identified them as LGB compared to those who did not perceive that others identified them as LGB at a large metropolitan school district in the southeastern United States. Data from the 2015 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was used to further examine how these risk factors, including alcohol and other drug use and abuse, psychological distress, violence, and sexual behaviors, interacted to influence health disparities among youth in Grades 9 to 12 impacted by homophobic bullying. Mann-Whitney U analyses were conducted to detect the differences in health risk behaviors and outcomes among heterosexual and LGB students. Also, logistic regression models were used to examine any sexual identity effects involved in the association between being bullied and health risk behaviors. Findings indicated that students who identified as LGB or gender nonconforming, or who reported being teased because of their perceived sexual orientation (PSO) were at greater risk for negative health outcomes and negative health risk behaviors. More specifically, identification as LGB or gender expansive, or being teased because of PSO was predictive of psychological distress, suicidal ideation, and sexual, alcohol, and drug risk behaviors. This study extends research on risky behaviors among youth who were bullied due to PSO and provides a new perspective on how homophobic victimization may influence these youth’s risk-taking behaviors and health disparities.

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This thesis explores the idea of how people 'do gender' in their online use of avatars, specifically avatar choice. A secondary question of whether or not a chatterbot can be used as a potential interviewer will also be examined as a tool acquiring large amounts of interview data. Gender is one of the ways in which we structure our society, and is completely omnipresent. We cannot opt out of participating in our gender, as we are constantly performing and reaffirming it. Because of this, gender performance and choice spills over into all domains. This includes entertainment such as massively multiplayer online games, both in how the designers make the game, and what the players bring to the game. Deconstructing how and why people engage in these gendered practices and choices becomes an interesting avenue of research, because it allows researchers to partially separate the mental aspects of gender from physical attributes, as the players' physical bodies are not actually in the game. Through the lens of the popular massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft, this thesis will utilize a qualitative user research study to understand how gender affects avatar choices. Prior research identified areas where players brought real world gender norms into the games they played. This research study will extend previous research by having players identify why they made the choices they made for their avatars, and how they feel about those choices. The methodology for this study will also involve using a chatterbot as a way of gathering interviews. In normal person-to-person interview studies, recruiting and organizing meetings for these interviews can often be a difficult task. This thesis brings in the idea of using a chatterbot as a mechanism to gather more interviews in a shorter time span to alleviate the problem of getting these one-on-one interviews in some types of studies.

The advent of social media enabled sexual minorities, as LGBTQ+ people, to find a community online. However, it can be difficult for transgender people to express their gender identity without risking a form of social injustice, as transgender people are not included in the prevailing gender binary. This thesis explores how transgender people present gender on the hashtag #TransIsBeautfiul on Instagram and to what extent to what extent can a form of ‘passing’ be seen in how transgender people adhere to expressing societal gender norms. Goffman’s (1979) theory on gender display is adapted as a main framework to analyse 346 posts with a qualitative content analysis. The theories of gender display (1979) and self-presentation (1956) by Goffman and the concept of passing by Serano (2007) are also employed for a deeper understanding of the social construction of gender. Findings show a great diversity of gender self-presentations. Transgender people tend to express their masculinity and femininity in an exaggerated way, by emphasizing certain masculine and feminine aspects according to societal gender norms and therefore ‘pass’ as a ‘natural’ member of the gender binary. In complete contrast, there are also transgender people who challenge the gender binary by expressing themselves as non-binary. They represent themselves within and outside the gender binary by mixing and minimizing feminine and masculine aspects. These results show that for transgender people there are two ways of coping with societal gender norms and put the gender binary model into question.

Creative Gender Expression Performativity may be a coping mechanism for dealing with minority stress in sexual and gender minority populations. The current study suggests the creation of a new scale that measures effortful presentation rather than directional presentation. Rather than examining whether someone identifies as masculine or feminine – the proposed model would instead look at how much effort an individual is putting into their gender expression. In this mixed methods study, participants (N = 187) completed a survey based on gender expression, minority stress, and mental health, while 10 participants completed a qualitative post-survey interview via email. Multiple regressions were performed to examine the relationships between gender expression and negative health outcomes. Tests performed examined relationships amongst factors such as positive gender expression outlook, gender congruence, and self-esteem; and outcomes including depression, anxiety, and anticipated discrimination. Multiple regression analyses revealed that positive perceptions of gender expression acted as a buffer to anticipated discrimination. TGNC individuals experienced lower self-esteem and higher depression levels than cisgender individuals. Qualitative themes uncovered motives behind gender expression, such as coping with minority stress.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The thesis that is to be presented discusses the performance of drag and gender in Cape Town – namely Bubbles Bar. I argue that the performance of gender on stage through the performance of drag challenges the norms and ideas of gender in South Africa. Through the act of non-normative staged gendered performance, the participants of this study also challenge stereotypes and stigma around this in relation to the social norms and regulations that are asserted on the individual presentation and performance of gender and sexuality. I argue that the performance of gender in relation to the stage asserts the situational character of gender performance through the staged performance of drag. I assert that the staged performance of gender is made authentic by the audience who views and understands the performance as a performance of drag, and a performance of gender. The performance of drag is considered an act of transgression. Transgression in South African society is policed through acts of oppression, social and sometimes physical violence. This act of transgression is performed through drag which is viewed as an act of nonnormative gender performance. The perception of transgression places those who perform gender in a non-normative fashion upon the margins. However, that the performers are acting above gender places the performance on a higher plain. The theatrical methods, and inclusion of the audience in the performance that are used as a form of entertainment allows the participants in this research project to humanize the gendered performance of non-normativity by education through the art of their performance. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die tesis wat aangebied word bespreek die vertoning van “drag” en geslag in Kaapstad - naamlik in Bubbles Bar. Ek voer aan dat die opvoering van geslag deur “drag” op die verhoog normes en idees van geslag in Suid-Afrika uitdaag. Deur hierdie nie-normatiewe geslagsopvoering daag die deelnemers van hierdie studie ook stereotipes en stigma rondom geslag uit, met spesifieke betrekking tot die sosiale normes en regulasies wat op die individuele aanbieding en vertoning van geslag en seksualiteit geplaas word. Ek argumenteer dat die uitbeelding van geslag in verhouding tot die verhoog die situasionele karakter van geslag deur die opgevoerde vertoning van “drag” handhaaf. Ek voer aan dat die verhoogvertoning van geslag eg gemaak word deur die gehoor wat die vertoning aanskou en verstaan as 'n vertoning van “drag”, en ook 'n vertoning van geslag. Die opvoering van “drag” word beskou as 'n daad van oortreding. Oortreding in die Suid- Afrikaanse samelewing word gepolisieër deur dade van onderdrukking, sosiale en soms fisiese geweld. Hierdie daad van oortreding wat opgevoer word deur middel van “drag” word beskou word as 'n daad van nie-normatiewe geslagsgedrag. Die persepsie van oortreding plaas diegene wat geslag opvoer op 'n nie-normatiewe wyse, op die kantlyn. Deurdat die deelnemers/kunstenaars optree buite die normatiewe idee van geslag, plaas dit die vertoning op 'n hoër vlak. Die teatriese metodes, en die insluiting van die gehoor in die opvoering wat gebruik word as 'n vorm van vermaak, laat die deelnemers aan hierdie navorsingsprojek toe om die geslagtelike vertoning van nie-normatiwiteit te vermenslik met opvoeding deur middel van die kuns van hul vertoning.