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I assessed influences on women's attitudes toward and experiences with menarche and menstruation using feminist qualitative methodologies. Bronfenbrenner's ecological model interpreted through a feminist lens was the organizing framework for the study, focusing as it does on the sociohistorical and multilayered context wherein the women developed. Fourteen college women between the ages of 18 and 25 completed the Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire (MAQ) for Adult Females and engaged in open ended, tape-recorded interviews. Information was gathered related to their first menstrual period their current attitudes about menstruation, and factors they felt had influenced their beliefs about menstruation. Special attention was focused on women who have reclaimed menstruation as a positive, natural event. Four groups of women were created along the continuum of menstrual attitudes. Those categories included; (a) reclaimers, (b) positive, but not reclaimers, (c) middle, and (d) negative. Scores on the MAQ and interview transcripts were used to support my classification of women as reclaimers or as occupying another place along the continuum of menstrual attitudes. The aim of this study was to examine women's views of menstruation, with a focus on the aspects of a woman's life that have led her to possess reclaiming views or views elsewhere on the continuum of menstrual attitudes. Key factors in leading women to become reclaimers, included exposure to nontraditional attitudes and alternative menstrual products from one's peers in late adolescence or early adulthood. Reclaiming women also tended to be feminists and concerned about the environment. Knowing the factors in a woman's life that lead her to possess reclaiming views, makes it possible to develop educational programs that will help other women to view their bodies and natural bodily functions in an affirmative light. When women are able to accept their bodies and reject cultural messages that menstruation is a dirty event and something to be hidden, there is potential for all women's lives to be improved. It is time for more women to believe menstruation is a natural event, worthy of celebration and pride. / Graduation date: 2004

The present study is designed to take a new approach to studying gender differences in reactions to partner infidelity by measuring attitudes toward partner infidelity. No previous studies have directly examined attitudes toward partner sexual versus emotional infidelity, nor have studies assessed the strength of these attitudes. Thus, this study was designed as an initial investigation of overall evaluative differences between men and women. It was found that women held significantly more negative attitudes towards emotional infidelity than did men, with no gender differences in attitude held towards sexual infidelity. For sexual infidelity, more positive attitudes toward partner sexual infidelity were associated with lower reported distress for both men and women, with the relationship being significantly more pronounced for men. For emotional infidelity, attitude strength moderated the relationship between attitude towards emotional infidelity and distress about emotional infidelity. There was a significant relationship between attitudes toward partner emotional infidelity and distress when attitude strength was high but not when attitude strength was low. / Department of Psychological Science

The purpose of this research is to examine women‟s attitudes toward homosexuality by religiosity, and how these attitudes may vary across denominations. To examine this, I will use the General Social Survey to analyze the extent to which women‟s attitudes toward same-sex relations vary by denominational affiliation, religious participation, and spirituality. Based on the current literature, women are generally considered to be more tolerant than men regarding homosexuality. However, research has not examined the extent to which their attitudes vary across denominational affiliation. This research will contribute to the current literature by examining variations by denomination, religiosity, and spirituality in regards to women‟s attitudes on a controversial, hot-button issue in our society. Following the analysis and explanation of the results, directions for future research are discussed.

In this qualitative, phenomenological study I employed oral history methodology, grounded in a life-span developmental and feminist approach, to explore the developmental importance of menarche in twenty older women's "bodily histories." Menarche is an important developmental event in the female life course because it represents a major point of confluence where the various streams of what it means to be female coalesce. Menarche is not only a biophysical phenomenon originating from inside a girl's body, but is a psychosocial transition as well. Further, menarche is a biopsycho-social event which is shaped by sociocultural and historical discourses and may have life-span developmental implications. Qualitative analyses of the bodily histories revealed that the older women remembered their first menstrual periods very clearly. The women spoke of menarche as an abrupt and disruptive event symbolic of adult fertility and sexuality and surrounded by silence. They associated menarche with the imposition of menstrual taboos and rules of adult femininity which restricted their behaviors. Many of the themes that emerged from the women's memories of menarche were also present in their narratives about subsequent menstrual and menopausal experiences. There was a continuation throughout their menstrual careers of the restrictions on their behaviors as a result of menstrual bleeding; the silence and confusion associated with processes of the female body; and the sexualization of their fertile bodies. Further, there was evidence of a continuity well into later-life of the medicalization of their bodies, as well as their use of language suggestive of a separation between their bodies and their selves. The generalizability of these findings is limited; the study sample was small, homogenous, and self-selected, and the bodily histories were collected retrospectively. Implications of these findings and directions for research, theorizing, and action are discussed. / Graduation date: 1996

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This study examined sex differences in attitudes and attributions of responsibility in acquaintance rape situations. The existing literature in this area has focused solely on examining explicit attitudes, or those attitudes that are within an individual's conscious awareness. No attention, however, has been focused on the implicit attitudes that individuals have in acquaintance rape situations. Implicit attitudes are those that operate outside of an individual's awareness and reflect his or her underlying attitudes and beliefs about an object. In an effort to examine implicit attitudes in acquaintance rape situations, a variation of Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz's (1998) Implicit Associations Test was utilized. Additionally, Burt's (1980) Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and an Attribution of Responsibility measure were administered. It was hypothesized that responses to these measures would predict participants' sex. A stepwise discriminant function analysis was conducted. Age and attributions of responsibility were identified as the factors that best predicted sex. Significant relationships were identified between Rape Myth Acceptance and Attributions of Responsibility. Those participants who adhered to rape myths were more likely to attribute responsibility for the acquaintance rape to the survivor than were those who did not adhere to rape myths. Significant sex differences were also identified on the Attribution of Responsibility measure, with men being more likely than women to attribute responsibility for acquaintance rape to the survivor. Limitations to generalizability of these results and implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Utilizing subcultural identity, scripting, and reference group theories, this study analyzes 21 young adult, evangelical Christian women’s attitudes toward sexuality, and how they utilize messages regarding sexuality from their pastors and parents. Although the women in this study perceive that messages from their pastors and parents regarding sex are unclear and at times inconsistent, their attitudes still particularly fit into the well-known strict sexual “norms” for evangelical Christians. However, the women’s understanding of sexuality did not always include messages from a pastor or parent. Though messages from the participants’ pastors and parents are not irrelevant to the women in this study, the ambiguous nature of their messages offers the participants a unique opportunity to construct their own definitions of sex. Most participants consider procreation to be an important purpose of sex, but they also believe enjoyment and intimacy are important purposes. Additionally, while most of the women in this study consider oral sex and anal sex to count as a loss of virginity, participants also noted many gray areas when considering virginity loss and sexual purity. / Department of Sociology

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Weight and body image are issues many females face that can lead to unhealthy exercising and extreme dieting. This paper examines the relationship between perceptions of mothers’ attitudes and behaviors regarding weight and body image and their 18-25 year old daughters’ attitudes and behaviors. This research utilizes a survey of 876 females at a Midwestern university. Respondents report being at least somewhat uncomfortable with their weight and report a lack of confidence with their weight. Regression results indicate that females’ attitudes and behaviors are somewhat explained by perceptions of their mothers’ attitudes and behaviors. Mothers making negative comments about their own weight, mothers telling their daughters to lose weight and mothers’ weight loss behaviors significantly influence respondents’ weight satisfaction, self-esteem, weight loss and weight control behaviors. This research identifies factors contributing to unhealthy eating behaviors and poor body image, and suggests how mothers can help improve their daughters’ body image. / Department of Sociology