The problem addressed in this thesis is cultivating an answer to the question: what creates or comprises the sum total of my Blackness as a modern American woman living in our current political climate? I primarily use a read/call and response methodology, responding to both lived and hypothetical experiences that explore or demonstrate the ways that identity, race, gender, sexuality, regionality, religion, and the historical thumbprint intersect. The results are this collection of poems that is at times mythological, at times irreverent, both abstract and formal as it seeks to fit these pieces into a singular mosaic. The conclusion drawn at the end of this thesis is that Black women's lives and stories have intrinsic value, interpretation, and are deserving of further exploration in both bibliotheraphy, mainstream, and academic writing.

The urge to uncover aspects of human condition permeates my work, from the fundamental curiosity of a child tearing apart their doll to uncover what lies within to continuing a quest in uncovering basic human urges through my puppet animated dramas and tragedies. There is a controversial line between the childlike and the adult-like that can be ambiguous, and at some times more discernible while other times less. I create handcrafted stop-frame puppet animations that explore self-conscious emotions such as embarrassment, shame, and envy within unpredictable life scenarios. These are animations about inner life, attempting to resolve conflicting elements of the human psyche. At first glance, these puppets might appear scary, but upon closer observation the viewer may realize it is the puppet who is scared.

This thesis analyzes the marketing of the Women's Land Army (WLA) using archival sources. I explore how farmerettes, the name given to WLA members, used their patriotic work on the farm as a means of redefining femininity and interrogating the definition of "true womanhood." "That Dame's Got Grit" discusses how the WLA was sold in World War I and World War II. The first chapter describes the press book used to market Little Comrade, a 1919 film about a fashionable farmerette. The theme of uniforms, an idea that weaves throughout the thesis, emerges strongly in this chapter. "A Seductive Smile," the second chapter, discusses the WLA posters in terms of the pin-up genre. The thesis concludes with an analysis of the Oregon State University Extension Service photos. In all of the chapters, farmerettes struggle with crafting an image based on hard work and an attractive appearance.

In this thesis I explore performances of empowerment in the work and artistic persona of Londonbased hip hop duo Poetic Pilgrimage. By using intersectionality, critical race and performance theories, I sketched a possible reading of their performance of religion in the complex context of their positionality as black, british, women, muslim converts and performing artists. I looked specifically at how performance shapes possibilities of cultural and religious interpretations of race, religion, nationality, gender and the arts. The question that guides me is: how do they shape their Empowerment with their Performance? After becoming familiar with the material, I realised that one way of answering this question is by looking into how they relate to an intersectional idea of Empowerment, namely how they relate to race and gender in their islamic art (religion/occupation/class) and how Empowerment is directly connected with Performance, it is the Performance that enables their Empowerment: artistic Performance that shapes their ethnographic Performance of muslimness, womanhood, black womanhood, muslim womanhood, women artistry, britishness, etc. So in this text, it is their Performance of categories and themes that constitute strategies and processes or Empowerment. My focus of Empowerment is on representation, which makes me define Empowerment as the act of learning to Love yourself and others in positive ways. This is inspired in the work of Audre Lorde. And it is reflected in Poetic Pilgrimage's own stance, as revealed by the opening statement of this thesis, We have no LOVE OF SELF. My focus on Performance means that I distance myself from constructs of identity markers that are not sensitive to construction and deconstruction. My underlying approach is to reflect on how Poetic Pilgrimage are and have been constructed by deconstructing them, question them. Taking into account that I cannot not think intersectionally, all themes under scrutiny here deal with ways in which Poetic Pilgrimage expose, explore and create islam and the arts of Performance to forge possibilities of Empowerment, in a way that I attempt to research all categories intersected. In the first thematic chapter (black european islam), emphasis is put on race and in the second thematic chapter (modesty is the new cool), focus turns to gender, though understood in relation to each other and to other categories, such as nationality, class, occupation, ethnicity. In terms of material, I focus on the final product (on stage/videoclips), having Poetic Pilgrimage's Performance on facebook as public artistic persona as a framework for the event of artistic Performance itself. Performing self, or everyday life Performance using artistic means is the trade mark of hip hop culture, which Poetic Pilgrimage are a part of.

The history of women education has been structured by two powerful narratives. The first of these is the tale of the separation of the spheres and the second is the application of the cult of true womanhood to understand women place in the early 19th century. The purpose of this thesis is to examine and analyse the educational ideal for upperclass women in Sweden. By applying an unconventional source material, namely the Swedish lifestyle magazine Magasin för konst, nyheter och moder, a new narrative emerge. The previous research into the topic has mainly used the concepts of the separate spheres and the cult of true womanhood to explain the cultural paradigm that occurred to the hierarchy of genders during the early 19th century. This thesis aims to test if these concepts also can be applied on the previously mentioned source material, and still be viable. This thesis purpose that the previously named historical narratives can not be applied as strictly as it was previously believed. This paper critically reviews the level of education that Magasin för konst, nyheter och moder expected from its female readers, and hope that through this critical review a debate on the topic will emerge.

The thesis explores women's experiencing of menstruation and it compares the experiencing in two groups, one consisting of women who have attended women's circles, and the other of women who have not. In addition to experiencing menstruation, the thesis explores the women's circles themselves as a new social phenomenon. Data collected through interviews with ten women was analysed using grounded theory methods. Menstruation is examined on the level of personal experiencing as well as on the level of a social norm. These levels are seen to show mutual influence. To some degree, women adopt the social perception of menstruation, yet at the same time, it is their experiences and actions that form it. Therefore, women have the potential to change the social norms regarding menstruation. Women outside women's circles accept the social norm and experience menstruation passively. They consider not feeling well a natural side-effect and do not attempt to change it. Women who have attended women's circles counter the social norm and experience menstruation actively. They work with their experiences, both physical and psychological, while menstruating, and they actively adjust their surrounding conditions in order to feel better. KEYWORDS: menstruation, experience, women's circles, womanhood, taboo, gender

A collection of linked stories.

No description available.

The purpose of this project was to examine whether there is a transitional period between Afro-Caribbean girlhood and woman/adulthood that is distinctly different from girlhood and from woman/adulthood. Herein I examine at what point in the lives of Afro-Caribbean girls, do they feel like they have entered adulthood. I also examine what kinds of media the girls find representative of this current stage of their lives. This dissertation is an extension of my master's thesis, which explored the ways in which Afro-Caribbean girls from the island of Sint Maarten narrate, navigate, and negotiate their girlhood experiences. Speaking as a Black woman from Sint Maarten, I affirm that this project is important due to the lack of sociological scholarship surrounding Black girls in the Dutch West Indies. This project utilized a qualitative approach that involved self-selected research participant media and semi-structured audio and video recorded in-depth interviews with 5 out of the 9 girls who originally participated in the master's project. At the time of the interviews presented in this dissertation, the participants were 19 and 20 years old. I developed a transnational Black girlhood feminist framework which I use to analyze and interpret the interview data. This framework draws from and builds upon Black feminist theorizing, girlhood studies, and transnational feminisms. It demonstrates how traditional sociological theory such as life course theory, and studies on emerging adulthood and development do not account for the lives of Black girls from the Caribbean. The data reveal that there is a transitional period between girlhood and womanhood and adulthood, and how the girls experience this period is particular to their own lived experiences. The findings reveal that the overarching themes of this period are "it's complicated," and that the girls are claiming their agency. The research participant media indicate the overarching theme of this period of the girls' lives is what we are coming to know as a "soft girl era". Other primary themes which emerged from this study include attention to and prioritization of self-care, love, and self-affirmations. These data serve as a starting point and experiential reference to understand transitions of Afro-Caribbean girlhood in the Caribbean broadly, and specifically in the Dutch West Indies. Much is left to be explored regarding the life course and transitions Afro-Caribbean girls experience. This research will continue as a longitudinal study where I will continue to engage with the framework I have developed and re-engage with the girls as they continue along their life transitions. / Doctor of Philosophy / The purpose of this project was to examine whether there is a transitional period between Afro-Caribbean girlhood and woman/adulthood that is different from girlhood and different from woman/adulthood. I look at what point in the lives of Afro-Caribbean girls, do they feel like they have entered adulthood. I also look at what kinds of media the girls find to be representative of this current stage of their lives. This dissertation is an extension of my master's project which explored the ways Afro-Caribbean girls from the island of Sint Maarten narrate, navigate, and negotiate their girlhood experiences. Speaking as a Black woman from Sint Maarten, I affirm that this project is important due to the lack of sociological scholarship surrounding Black girls in the Dutch West Indies. This project consists of self-selected research participant media and audio and video recorded interviews with 5 out of the 9 girls who originally participated in the master's project. At the time of the interviews presented in this dissertation, the participants were 19 and 20 years old. I developed a theoretical framework which I use to analyze and interpret the interview data. The data reveal that there is a transitional period between girlhood and womanhood and adulthood, and how the girls experience this period is particular to their own lived experiences. The findings reveal that the overarching themes of this period are "it's complicated," and that the girls are claiming their agency. The research participant media indicate the overarching theme of this period of the girls' lives is what we are coming to know as a "soft girl era". Other primary themes which emerged from this study include attention to and prioritization of self-care, love, and self-affirmations. These data serve as a starting point to understand transitions of Afro-Caribbean girlhood in the Caribbean broadly, and specifically in the Dutch West Indies. Much is left to be explored regarding the life course and transitions Afro-Caribbean girls experience. This research will continue as a longitudinal study where I will continue to engage with the framework I have developed and re-engage with the girls as they continue along their life transitions.

No description available.