<p> The purpose of this dissertation was to provide a comprehensive understanding of the social construction of authenticity and how this is experienced throughout the stages of adult development, with the specific intent of augmenting women&rsquo;s leadership development programs, and thus preventing further entrenchment of stereotypes. In a culture that is deeply conflicted by women&rsquo;s authority, where men and women, along with the gendered structure of most organizations, hold unconscious biases and stereotypes, a developmental understanding for women&rsquo;s leadership development is necessary. The research question was: How do women develop and experience authentic leading and leadership throughout the adult stages of development? </p><p> This qualitative study used Moustakas&rsquo;s (1994) transcendental phenomenological approach. The sources of data were women participants who had previously completed a developmental StAGES assessment. There were 33 women who completed an initial survey and, utilizing stratified sampling, 10 women were selected for interviews, spread evenly across different developmental levels. The interviews were coded to determine <i>what</i> and <i>how</i> leading authentically is experienced, summarized, and analyzed, creating 4 distinct developmental syntheses: the socialized mind, the self-authoring mind, the self-transforming mind, and the self-transcending mind. </p><p> The results indicate women experience and understand authentic leading and leadership differently throughout the stages of development. They follow a path toward wholeness, a developmental process that can be described as the heroine&rsquo;s journey, where their definitions of authenticity, authentic leaders and leadership, and their experience of leading authentically becomes more complex with ever widening perspectives and understanding, initially intellectual and then embodied. The socialized mind has a theoretical understanding with momentary experiences of the phenomenon, the embodied experience of authentic leading arose in the self-authoring mind, and the awareness of gender and leader biases emerged within the self-transforming mind, thus indicating the very subtle nature of these stereotypes, and the correlation between later developmental levels and greater awareness. </p><p> This study contributes to understanding authenticity as a developmental journey and the pervasiveness of gender and leader biases. This study can augment women&rsquo;s authentic leadership development programs to facilitate authentic leading and vertical development. Deeper inquiry into understanding and preventing the entrenchment of these stereotypes is necessary.</p><p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Syracuse University, 2009. / "Publication number: AAT 3384578."

One resource to which children might look for role models is in the available literature. Stereotypically sexist depictions of girls and women in literature may serve not only to reinforce sexist attitudes in society, but also to impact the psychological development of females. Little Red Riding Hood is a classic example of a stereotypically sexist depiction of the protagonist, whose traditional portrayal ranges from polite and naive, to carnal and seductive. ^ This study is a qualitative critical analysis of the Little Red Riding Hood tale, from its oral beginnings to the latest contemporary retellings of the 1990's, examining the protagonist's depiction through both text and illustration. The retellings span six decades and are separated into three distinct categories to correspond with particular intellectual movements to which they conform; Traditional, Modern, and postmodern. Books which fall into the Traditional by updating the story, but the changes are usually superficial ones. The books in the Postmodern category are retellings that make more meaningful changes to the tale by addressing the political implications of the story, taking a critical look at the protagonist's portrayal. ^ This study examines how Little Red Riding Hood's image has changed over time, rather than asking if she has changed. Change is inevitable and not always a forward progression. Change can be a step backward and serve to reaffirm, rather than to dispel sexist stereotypes. When superficial changes to the story are made, depicting the protagonist in contemporary clothing for example, with no regard to her thoughts and actions, the reader receives a mixed message. The protagonist may look like a twentieth century young girl but may still behave according to 17th Century social standards as set forth by Charles Perrault who purportedly first penned the tale. ^ While Little Red Riding Hood's outward appearance changes (clothing, landscape) sometimes dramatically, throughout her written history, her inner personality characteristics with which we are so familiar, the naiveté, unwavering politeness, and pleasant demeanor, often remain constant and serve to define her as the quintessential victim. ^

<p> Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) &ndash; characterized by deficits in social interaction and communication, and restricted and repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities &ndash;increasingly are being diagnosed in individuals of all ages. However, as children on the autism spectrum enter adolescence, self-report research on ASD and sexuality is currently limited to 14 empirical, peer-reviewed articles, misconceptions are prevalent, and professionals remain underequipped to support their sexuality needs. The goal of the current study was to expand the current knowledge base by exploring multiple aspects of sexuality (including relationship and family status, gender identity, sexual history, sexual orientation, sexual desire, sex education exposure, sexual behavior, sexual satisfaction, sexual victimization, and sexual awareness) and well-being (including symptoms of ASD, sensory sensitivity, depression, anxiety, and social anxiety) in a sample of 18-30 year old women with and without ASD. To capture a wide range of experiences, female-bodied individuals with more fluid gender identities (e.g., agender, genderqueer) and transfeminine women were invited to participate too. Overall, 248 individuals with ASD and 179 individuals without ASD (<i>N</i> = 427) self-reported on their experiences by completing a 20-minute online survey. Results showed a wide range of sexuality-related identities and experiences among women with ASD. Of note, a surprisingly high percentage of participants with ASD reported having a genderfluid identity, a sexual minority identity, and at least one lifetime incidence of sexual victimization. When compared to a non-ASD sample, participants on the autism spectrum reported higher levels of gender fluidity, sexual minority identity, and sexual victimization, and lower levels of romantic partnerships, sexual desire, sexual behavior, sex education exposure, and sexual awareness, including consciousness and monitoring; participants in both groups reported comparable levels of sexual satisfaction. Relations across sexuality-related variables, and between sexuality-related and non-sexuality-related variables, within the ASD and comparison groups also were assessed and many significant correlations were observed. The discussion focuses on how these findings expand the current knowledge base, and how they might inform the work of researchers and clinicians, and support the romantic partners, family members, and friends involved in the lives of young people with ASD.</p>