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Description
This study examines Glamour magazine to determine the messages the publication sends to its readers and to evaluate if such messages align with modern feminist goals. The articles of Glamour's 12 issues from the year of 2016 are analyzed using a framework adapted from previous research on women's magazines. Articles are coded as either positive (feminist, anti-traditional, promotes equality) or negative (anti-feminist, traditional, promotes inequality). Distinct content themes (appearance, dating, home, self-development, career development, politics/world issues, and entertainment) are also examined individually. After the presentation of data, I examine my findings through a feminist lens to determine the nature of the messages being sent to women through the magazine's editorial content, followed by an assessment of the value of women's magazines and how they could potentially shape the beliefs and roles of a 2017 woman. It is found that about half of the articles in Glamour could be considered as having feminist messages, with strong themes of personal choice, individual empowerment, and political involvement or activism in these articles and throughout the magazine. The content also has many blatantly feminist messages, including consistent use of the word itself. Another 40% of the articles are found to be neutral (no clear message to reader), and the remaining are negative. The sexism inherent in these negative articles is critically examined. Finally, the main takeaways of the findings and their ramifications are discussed from both a media consumer and a media producer perspective, with arguments for why it is important to be critical of a magazine's editorial content.
ContributorsAllnatt, Libby Paige (Author) / Pucci, Jessica (Thesis director) / Dove-Viebahn, Aviva (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
With each new Disney princess being hailed as finally representing a strong, positive female role model, the images presented by older princesses come into question. This investigation delves into the messages put forth by the Disney princess films and the way in which these ideas are developed within each of their movies. By defining the core of feminism to revolve around agency and the freedom of choice available to the women in the films, each princess' adherence to feminist values was analyzed. All current and expected Disney princesses were evaluated (Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Anna, and Elsa). The princesses were split into five categories to offer comparison and conclusions between women with similar characteristics: the Traditionals, the Dreamers, the Adventurers, the Rebels, and the Non-Conformists. Major findings include the evolution of the marriage ideal presented by Disney, the issue between race and labor within the princess franchise, and the amount of agency each princess is allowed in her movie. Disney presents many stories where the individual wishes of a princess class with her society or community, but not all princesses are successful in going against their cultural values. A majority of the princesses do exercise their agency in their films, but this is done with varying degrees of freedom and choices available to them. Disney's representation of traditional love stories has slowly evolved, now allowing women to pursue other dreams concurrently with romance, or even dreams entirely devoid of love. Disney has also made an effort to branch out with princesses of color and from other cultures, yet these films often end up presenting a cultural critique as opposed to a feminist critique of gender roles. The franchise also seems to present labor as a form of oppression which white princesses must escape while princesses of color do not receive the same respite or salvation at the end of their films. White princesses end with a life of luxury and relaxation that isn't afforded to Disney's princesses of color. Though there is much room for improvement with future Disney princess films, the past princesses are not necessarily as "anti-feminist" as they have been portrayed. Each princess exhibits more autonomy and agency than the last, providing more paths and options for young girls to consider as they grow up watching these films.
ContributorsFerrero Mendoza, Vanessa Cristina (Author) / Dove-Viebahn, Aviva (Thesis director) / Kitch, Sally (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Poetry serves as a window through which we can convey emotions and experiences otherwise difficult to access and express. This chapbook addresses the moments in life that have dramatic transformational effects and those moments and events we wish to deny. Through my poetry, I reveal the honest revelations of hurt and pain, and the raw emotions evoked from the things that have occurred throughout my life. In doing so, I confront these painful experiences from a place of conscious awareness of the way in which they have impacted my life, and I allow others access to my hurt, self-hatred, and imperfection acknowledged throughout. This chapbook symbolizes the movement from a place of denial to a place of awareness and finally to a place of transformation and growth. As my poetry transformed from weak poems only accessible on an abstract level to powerful poems of honest and tangible pain and hurt, I experienced my own transformation. Allowing myself to candidly share my experiences with others has enabled me to grow from these experiences.
ContributorsLarson, Amanda Beth (Author) / Montesano, Mark (Thesis director) / Comeaux, Alexandra (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
During the time when contemporary feminism was gaining ground in the West, the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church promulgated the encyclical Mulieris Dignitatem (1988), articulating the Church's understanding of women to a culture in crisis. More than twenty-five years post-promulgation of the document, complex questions still linger on the international stage in the realm of femininity, motherhood, and the vocations of women in the world today. While several voices compete to answer these questions, the Catholic Church offers her expert understanding of woman \u2014 indeed, of the human person \u2014 rooted in over 2,000 years of Scripture and tradition \u2014 a comprehensive, life-giving anthropology at the service of Jesus Christ and humanity. In the face of a radically relativistic, ever-evolving culture that continuously presents new challenges and questions, we have the responsibility to assimilate St. John Paul II's teaching in Mulieris Dignitatem in order to cross new thresholds, to further a theology of femininity and "feminism" that all persons can embrace. This thesis examines these crucial issues through the lens of the Church's expertise, the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as the strengths and challenges of the encyclical, arriving at the conclusion that women bear the greater part in redeeming culture through a renewal of authentic femininity.
ContributorsOtlewski, Maggie Elizabeth (Author) / Strafaci, Christina (Thesis director) / Barker, David (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This thesis looks at how feminist biography is used as a part of mainstream feminism in the United States. In particular, I look at how Sheryl Sandberg and Anne-Marie Slaughter share their experiences in the workplace in an effort to illuminate the struggles they have faced as women and to justify the changes they see necessary for the success of women. They base their argument for these changes on their own social assumptions about women in the private sphere and women at work. Their feminist biography may serve to help a small set of individuals, but overall the solutions they provide are applicable to only a limited demographic of women. The ultimate goal for both Sandberg and Slaughter is to achieve equality, although they base their call for change on a normative understanding of the world. In the end, I look at how a broader view of feminism that takes into account the intersection of race, class, gender, and politics can enrich popular forms of feminism in the U.S.
ContributorsSteffens, Jane Melissa (Author) / Popova, Laura (Thesis director) / Ingram-Waters, Mary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Language is powerful. The words we use define our perceptions. They label what we see and paint a picture for those with whom we are communicating. Words serve as heuristic when assigning value to an object, experience, or person. My thesis, Eye of the BeholdHer, focuses on the language used in American pop-culture to describe women. I comment on the dehumanization of women through the use of animal names used to describe personality, appearance, and genitalia, as well as the way the English language implies domestication and inferiority of women through the use of the certain words. Examples include, but are not limited to: bitch , chick, pussy, beaver, cougar, catty, heifer, old bat, mousy, foxy, and vixen. Eye of the Behold(her) reflects upon my observations and calls for social change. Eye of the BeholdHer is a call for action. It is time to make conscious word choices and realize the impact words have on shaping our society. It is time for us to empowHer through words.
ContributorsGibly, Sophia (Author) / Maxwell, Kathryn (Thesis director) / Ellsworth, Angela (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Abstract The Space Between Us is a poetic project about the grieving process. Formally, the piece is seven sections of prose couched within a crown of seven sonnets. The first-person sections of prose allow for personal discussion in the confessional tradition of my own lived experience of grief, while the sonnets are a fictional conversation between David Bowie and Stephen Hawking in 1973. The claim of this piece is that death creates space. When a loved one passes away, what we inherit is a gap. What is the role of this gap in the world? How do we interact with it, see it, interpret it, or touch it? Can we put our hands on its form? Can we put it into words? And if the exploration of this space does lead us to words, should they be shared? The round form of the sonnet crown echoes the cyclical motion of questioning, and its allegorical themes: grieving as a black hole, the boundaries of language, the subjectivity of conversation, the limits of space, the dehumanization of obsession, the space between you and who you are perceived to be, and the clash between artistic desires and scientific discoveries.
ContributorsVan Slyke, Laura Marie (Author) / Hogue, Cynthia (Thesis director) / Ball, Sally (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
When communist leader Ceaușescu was overthrown in the Romanian revolution of 1989, Romania reinstated reproductive freedoms that had been denied under communist policy. This study looks at reproductive health in Romania in 2013, examining the progress in reproductive healthcare made since 1989 while looking at lingering barriers to resources and education. Thirty-five pharmacists were surveyed to collect information on pricing and accessibility of contraceptives in pharmacies. In addition, interviews were conducted with the director of Societatea de Educatie Contraceptiva si Sexuala (SECS), a reproductive clinic healthcare provider, a professor of philosophy and feminism at Babeș-Bolyai University, and four young Romanian women.
ContributorsZack, Lauren (Author) / Katsulis, Yasmina (Thesis director) / Orlich, Ileana (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / College of Public Programs (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Within the vast array of classical literature, many authors still have not been thoroughly examined. Among these, Palladas of Alexandria, a prominent epigrammatist in the Palatine Anthology, seems to import Epicurean themes. Based on the content and motifs of his poetry, I argue that Palladas leaned on Epicurean philosophy as presented in Lucretius's De Rerum Natura to salvage pagan identity in the midst of Christianity's increased popularity.
ContributorsNikpour, Rodmanned Arya (Author) / Tueller, Michael (Thesis director) / Lynch, John (Committee member) / Bing, Peter (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Japanese animated film director Hayao Miyazaki is famous for his numerous film featuring female protagonists. These protagonists have been examined for their conformance and deviance with regard to widespread stereotypes of masculine and feminine traits. Miyazaki's female characters tend to exhibit nuanced and varied traits, with a balance of traditionally masculine and feminine characteristics. They also tend to demonstrate and moralize on larger social issues such as environmentalism and gender equality, advancing ideals for both Japanese and Western feminism. The status of these female protagonists as cultural icons is contrary to wider film trends that exclude women from the spotlight except when they conform to rigid gender roles.
ContributorsNevitt, Stephanie Nicole (Author) / Facinelli, Diane (Thesis director) / Creamer, John (Committee member) / Whitesman, Linda (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2013-05