Thesis (M. A.)--Florida State University, 2006. / Advisor: Mary Karen Dahl, Florida State University, College of Visual Arts, Theatre and Dance, School of Theatre. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 14, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 93 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

"Unsex Me Here…" is an examination of our bodies, what they mean in terms of gender and power, and why they mean what they do. Plucked from Lady Macbeth’s infamous soliloquy, the title suggests the stripping away of something essential that transforms. Sex is not the right word, but gender is. Often, these two are mistaken and interchanged. Myths that support our social structure exist at the intersection of sex and gender. In this production, I collaborated with Pete Guither of the Living Canvas to challenge notions of gender in different textual mediums (via the written text of Shakespeare’s "Macbeth" and the text of the body itself) ultimately moving towards a space in which greater body understanding and acceptance exists. Our goal was a theatrical event that was both artistically beautiful and transformational not only for the artists involved in the process of making the piece but the audience as well.

Nigerian sculptor Peju Alatise and British/Kenyan video artist Grace Ndiritu create works centered on the female form. In these works the artists turn to flesh, their own and representations of, in order to expose prevailing notions of the black female body. Peju Alatise’s mixed-media sculpture, 9 Year Old Bride (2010), depicts the hollow bodies of seven small female figures created from fabric and frozen in motion by resin and white paint. Ndiritu’s video paintings, Still Life: Lying Down Textiles (2007)and Still Life: White Textiles (2005-2007) similarly employs cloths as means of covering and creating the body. In Still Life: Lying Down Textiles, Ndiritu reclines on the floor amongst a rich array of fabrics. Completely covered by cloth, except for her right arm, Ndiritu breathes heavily and twitches for entirety of the five-minute film. In her second film, Still Life: White Textiles, Ndiritu manipulates a large piece of fabric between her bare legs and arms which hints at, but never grants nudity. This thesis argues that both Alatise and Ndiritu incorporate wax-printed fabrics to conceal/reveal and construct/deconstruct the female form. Both artists do so as means of destabilizing dominant essentialized notions of black womanhood rooted in colonial visual practices. The paper draws similarities between Alatise and Ndiritu’s works to colonial photographic practices and historical figures of curiosity, such as Sara Baartman, which both inform contemporary understandings of the black female body. Rather than simply repeat—and therefore perpetuate—Western imagined qualities of deviant sexualities and sexual availability, this thesis asserts that Alatise and Ndiritu allude to and ultimately undermine these notions through a careful control of nudity. The last section of the thesis distinguishes the artistic practices of Ndiritu and Alatise from artists working in similar mediums. Though artists like Yinka Shonibare and Lalla Essaydi incorporate textiles into their works, Ndiritu and Alatise are unique for their use of textiles as extensions of the body rather than simply coverings for the figure. Lastly, the thesis argues that Alatise and Ndiritu straddle both Orientalist and Occidentalist understandings of African culture, incorporating elements of both, seemingly inverse, theories into their artistic practices. / text

Honors Project--Smith College, Northampton, Mass., 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.

This study examined if college students supportive of social nudity would differ from students opposed to social nudity on self-acceptance, acceptance of ethnically diverse others, social development, and on secularism/liberalism. Using data from 384 participants, pro- and anti-nudity groups were formed based on students scoring in the upper (n = 59) and lower (n = 64) quartiles on a measure assessing attitudes toward social nudity. Results indicated that pro-nudity students did not significantly differ from antinudity students on self-esteem, self-acceptance, or on body image. Pro-nudity students were significantly more accepting of other religious groups and gays and lesbians compared to anti0 nudity students, although the two groups did not differ on their tolerance for ethnically dissimilar others, the disabled, or in their interest in other cultures. The two groups did not differ on independent thinking or in social development, although the pro-nudity students had modestly higher scores on a measure of psychopathic features. Finally, pro-nudity students were less religious, more open to sexuality, and more liberal in political ideology relative to anti-nudity students. Although the findings were somewhat mixed, overall these results suggest that pro-nudity college students are not vastly different from anti-nudity students.

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Ho Chi Fun, Edward. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references. / ABSTRACT --- p.i / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.iii / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Title of the project --- p.1 / Literature Review --- p.1 / Effectiveness of Nude Models --- p.2 / Statement of the Problem --- p.6 / Purpose of the Study --- p.6 / Objectives --- p.6 / Justification --- p.7 / Scope of the Study --- p.7 / Hypotheses --- p.8 / Methodology --- p.9 / Types of Data --- p.9 / Primary Data --- p.9 / Sources --- p.9 / Sample Design --- p.9 / Sampling Plan --- p.9 / Advertising Agents --- p.10 / Female Magazine Readers --- p.10 / Large Scale Questionnaire Survey --- p.10 / Procedure --- p.10 / Chapter II. --- INTERVIEW WITH THE WRITERS IN CREATIVE DEPARTMENT OF ADVERTISING AGENTS --- p.13 / Interview with a Senior Writer in DDB --- p.13 / Interview with a Writer in DMB --- p.15 / Chapter III. --- QUANTITATIVE QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY --- p.17 / Basic Analysis of the Responses from Questionnaires --- p.18 / Some Statistical Results of the Responses on Selected Advertisements --- p.20 / Advertisement 1 : Frederique French Beauty Salon --- p.21 / Advertisement 2 : Claris Paris (Skin Care Product) --- p.23 / Advertisement 3 : Palmer's FadeCream (Skin Care) --- p.24 / Advertisement 4 : Triumph Daily (Undergarment) --- p.25 / Advertisement 5 : Outspan Grapefruit --- p.26 / Advertisement 6 : Ferre Fragrance --- p.27 / The Summary Table of Mean Scores on Different Construct --- p.29 / "The Results on the most Favourite, least Favourite and the most Striking One" --- p.29 / The Difference in Opinion among Students From Different Faculties --- p.30 / The Summary Table for Opinion among Students from Different Departments --- p.32 / Chapter IV. --- T H E RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS --- p.33 / Implications from the Contrast of Opinion --- p.33 / The Conclusion on Hypotheses --- p.34 / Recommendations for Future Research --- p.36 / Limitations --- p.36 / Recommendations --- p.37 / Chapter V. --- MARKETING IMPLICATIONS --- p.38 / APPENDIX --- p.39 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.86 / QUESTIONNAIRE --- p.88

M. Tech. Drama / Obscenity in the realm of theatre is certainly not new. More recently, an explosion of provocative plays by young British writers, confront the taboo of obscenity, eminently reflected in Sarah Kane's Phaedra's Love. These plays have been aptly dubbed "In Your Face theatre". Grootboom's productions share similarities with these global trends as they are reflexive of this definition in portraying this type of theatre. With the rich history of obscenity in theatre, it should come as no surprise that in reflecting more open current trends, obscenity is perceived as increasingly more tolerable in South African theatre. Grootboom's plays have managed to edge closer to controversy visible in the local furore. The reactions to Grootboom's productions have to do with the fact that full frontal nudity is unacceptable in African culture (except of course during traditional ceremonies and protests). This study seeks to discover why Grootboom's obscene theatre is so popular amongst black South Africans though at odds with their cultural perceptions of respect, relationship boundaries, communal address and personal demeanour rather than exhibitionism. It also seeks to contribute to a clearer understanding of what theatrical content current South African audience prefers.

The purpose of this research was to better understand the situational factors involved in date rape. Following the Inhibition Model of Sexual Aggression, I asked Can we observe disinhibition of sexual arousal to nonconsensual cues in heterosexual sexually nonaggressive men by introducing a strong excitatory cue, that is, female nudity? In the first study, young heterosexual men were presented with aural narratives depicting consenting and nonconsenting sexual interactions and nonsexual interactions while their genital sexual arousal was measured. Participants were also presented with pictures depicting clothed and nude women. A second study used videos depicting clothed and nude women exercising. Results suggest that nudity is an excitatory cue that elicits genital arousal; it might also have a small disinhibitory effect for nonconsenting cues, but only for moving images. A discussion of the research findings, implications for future research, and limitations to the research is presented. / viii, 146 leaves ; 29 cm

Thesis (M.A.)--Liberty University, 2007.