This study explored and highlighted the experiences of trained Marriage and Family Therapists of Afro-Caribbean descent in working with persons who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Questioning (LGBTQ). The researcher utilized collected data to help to advance our understanding on the potential impact of the cultural experiences and how they may or may not contribute to institutionalized homophobia within the Caribbean, by Mental Health professionals, specifically Marriage and Family Therapists. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with 3 practicing Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) with strong Caribbean upbringing, values, and influences. For the purpose of this study, strong has been defined as having being born and/or raised in the Caribbean. This qualitative study employed the use of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to aid in making sense of the data that was collected. Data gathered from the interviews of three participants revealed two prominent superordinate themes: “Homophobia” and “Evolving Views” with emerging subthemes that explored culture, religion, “checking yourself at the door” and connecting with persons who identify as LGBTQ. The findings from the study helped to add to the limited research available on the lived experiences of Marriage and Family Therapists of Afro-Caribbean descent and their work with persons who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Questioning (LGBTQ).

Drawing on the concept of sexual geography, this study examines the social and political meanings of sexualized spaces in the urban geography of Portland, Oregon between 1970 and 2010. This includes an examination of the sexual geography of urban spaces as a deliberate construct resulting from official and unofficial public policy and urban planning decisions. Sexual geographies, the collective and individual constructions of sexuality, are not static. Nor are definitions of deviant sexual practices fixed in the collective consciousness. Both are continuously being reshaped and reconstructed in response to changing economic structures and beliefs about sex, race and class. Primary documents are used to build a conceptual geography of sexualized spaces in Portland at points between 1970 and 2010 with an emphasis on the policy and urban planning decisions that inform the physical designations and social meanings of sexualized spaces including prostitution zones, pornography districts and gay entertainment areas.

Nights in The City Beautiful is a collection of confessional, free verse poems that explores sexual trauma, mental health, the exigencies of marriage, and the complexities of human desire. These interconnected poems are grounded with a braided narrative and tackle taboo themes. In Part 1: Monogamy, the reader journeys into the world of Vincent and Victoria, their profound love, and their anxiety disorders. In Part 2: Polyamory, Victoria gets caught in a love triangle when she meets her publishing coworker, Peter Langley. The book evokes the movement of Romanticism and first-and-second-generation Romantic poets such as William Blake and Lord Byron. Contemporary influences on this collection include Aaron Smith’s Primer, Stacey Waite’s Butch Geography, and Tracy K. Smith’s The Body's Question. Nights in The City Beautiful merges lyricism with narrative, the ethereal with the physical. It is a novella in verse that delves into the boundaries of sexuality, love, and intimacy.

This project investigates the loss of power on screen for female comic book characters. Specifically, I investigate how scenes create narratives using heteronormativity and over-sexualization of female characters. The artifact of analysis included in this project is Batman and Robin (1997). This text focuses on Poison Ivy, including the background of the character before dissecting her role in the film. Turning to Sonja J. Foss (2009) and her feminist critique as a guide to understanding the implications of this research. Using feminist criticism, I argue that Poison Ivy was put in a lesser position, removed of her power, and was made dependent on men more than she is in comics. Poison Ivy was created from the feminist movement, and Batman and Robin (1997) create tension between the comic book representation and the expectation of gender. Superheroes have skyrocketed in popularity over the past fifteen years, and their narratives are extending to individuals that are not necessarily comic readers. This cultural significance of superheroes suggests that comic books and therefore their characters appeal to a wide audience who has the potential to be influenced, even implicitly, by these messages.

Gender issues in the landscape, for a long time, have belonged to the fields of social and political science, which remain relatively unfamiliar to both practitioners and students in the discipline of landscape architecture. Previous scholars have put effort into examining questions of gender, culture and landscape in order to clarify the issues that researchers may encounter in today’s field of study. Among these gender classifications, questions in feminist inquiry have provided a historical setting to this study: what are the forms, transitions and design approaches that women employ as creators of the built landscapes? Through reviewing the past literature and surveying today’s practitioners, an understanding emerges of how female landscape designers think about their gender identity as a variable in the design process. In addition, several issues are further identified, including the female awareness of their gender identity in the workplace, types of female work, transitions in design approach since the 1899 American Society of Landscape Architects was founded to the present day, cultural discourse in female landscape forms, and so on. The major goal of this study is not to build a description of history that asks how women may design differently than men, but to reexamine the idea that has made such stereotypes invalid; gender may influence design approaches but not outcome. Furthermore, this study also attempts to identify the potential gender issues in today’s profession, and to provide a viewpoint to landscape designers of any gender: How does our innate gender identity potentially influence design thinking? Finally, as a designer who is drawn to the cultural dimension of landscape architecture, I hope this study will be helpful to landscape professionals in developing a more complex approach and critical eye for looking at designed landscape forms as cultural vehicles for gender construction.

"Mama's Boy" is a book of fiction and nonfiction by Jamie Berger. It deals with mothers and sons and feminism and pornography and poker and love and New York and San Francisco and Western Massachusetts.

Nigerian immigrant women undergo constant navigation of their personal identities when conflicting cultural dynamics sometimes engender a balancing act between their personal beliefs and the ongoing process of acculturation. Their new Southern environment offers its own traditional mores, as well as greater opportunities for economic advancement. This places Nigerian Immigrant Women in a position where they must reconcile their desires for personal independence and empowerment with societal expectations that emphasize more traditional gender roles. This study explores the interview narratives of Nigerian immigrant women, reinforced by fictional accounts from prolific African women writers, which provides a more nuanced discussion of the female experience within the Western Nigerian diaspora. Highlighted within this study are the ways in which these women navigate and reconcile their indigenous norms, religious beliefs, and gendered expectations with the different cultural understandings of the host diasporic spaces.

Female survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Nigeria endure harsh and traumatic experiences that affect their rights as women and their well-being. As the phenomenon of IPV persists in Nigeria, it is not only a family problem but a critical social and psychological problem. This study examined Nigerian female survivors’ hidden strength, agency, and resilience, rather than their powerlessness and vulnerability. Analysis of survey questionnaires, interviews, and secondary scholarship reveals that some Nigerian female survivors of IPV are able to cope whilst navigating stressful and traumatic experiences. The results also show that survivors’ ability to thrive and cope under stress not only results from individual traits and use of agency, but also from external support. This study infers sociocultural change and female empowerment. The results propose a need for interventions and further research on the development of the concept of resilience in female Nigerian survivors of IPV.

No description available.

Purpose of the Study The thesis of this study is that personality characteristics can be shown as factors in the variation of behavior which occurs during labor and childbirth. It is felt that if personality traits can be measured by a standard device they will correlate with various types of behavior expressed during labor. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory is one instrument which tests all of the more important phases of personality. This test was chosen as the device to be used in this study to determine the personality traits of the women involved. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine if the scores obtained in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory can be used to correlate personality traits with the behavior expressed during labor. Assuming that behavior can be predicted, it can be hypothesized that doctors could use the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory or some other personality test to study their patients personalities early in pregnancies and could counsel them in overcoming emotional and personal problems. This should make the patients labors and deliveries much easier. With the increased interest during the past few years in the psychological factors involved in pregnancy, it is felt that a study of personality traits might point a way to further study in this field. To this end the chief objective of this research has been to determine whether a positive correlation can be found between observed types of behavior during labor and delivery and scores on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Method of procedure Seven basic behavior types showing reactions expressed during labor and delivery were devised by six nurses with obstetrical experience. Patients were chosen who had no previous childbearing experience and who received a limited amount of medication. The patients were observed during labor and then placed in one of the behavior categories. The day after delivery the patients were given the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. This method of procedure is discussed more fully in Chapter Three.