Matching Items (12)
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- All Subjects: Gender Studies
- Creators: Adelman, Madelaine
- Creators: Vega, Sujey
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
- Member of: ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Description
For many adolescents, high school is a critical period of self-awareness, peer-influence, and identity construction. During this volatile period, young people explore how to express themselves in ways that range from conformity to non-conformity and transgression. This is particularly true when it comes to young people's understanding and expression of gender identity. For some youth, their personal form(s) of gender expression align neatly with social expectations; for others, it does not. When gender expression does not align with social expectations, students may be vulnerable to bullying or harassment by peers or adults. Often, youth who are policed and regulated by their classmates through bullying (or harassment, depending upon the relevant or implemented policy) are targeted based on their perceived identity, be that racial, ethnic, citizenship, or, most frequently, gender and sexuality. This project advances the need for research done from a critical youth studies perspective (both methodologically and ethically) and provides new insight into the types of language and practices used by youth to express, perform and "do" gender. Utilizing qualitative methodology, including participant observation, focus group and individual interviews, surveys, and the collection and content analysis of school ephemera, this research investigated how high school students navigate gender identity amidst other intersecting identities. This project examined how youth both "do" and "perform" gender in their everyday lives as high school students. Their gender identity is frequently understood amidst other intersecting identities, particularly sexual orientation, religion and race. These youth also pointed to several important influences in how they understand their own gender, and the gender identity of those around them, including media and peer groups. Because this research took place at two charter art schools, the findings also provided a framework for understanding how these two schools, and charter art schools more generally, provide alternative spaces for young people to experiment and play with their identity construction. Findings indicate that youth are forced to navigate and construct their gender identity amidst many conflicting and contradictory ideologies. Schools, media, and peer groups all heavily influence the way young people understand themselves.
ContributorsPrior, Sarah (Author) / Cavender, Gray (Thesis advisor) / Adelman, Madelaine (Thesis advisor) / Swadener, Beth Blue (Committee member) / Katsulis, Yasmina (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This study is based on 31 interviews conducted in 2012 with male, female, and transgender sex workers at the St. James Infirmary, a full-spectrum health clinic run by sex workers for sex workers, located in San Francisco, California. My primary goals were, first, to document the lived realities of a diverse range of sex workers who live and work in the San Francisco Bay Area, and, second, to understand the impact of sex work discourse on the facilitation of stigma toward the sex work community and, finally, how that stigma influences the sex worker group identity and individual identity constructions. My primary findings indicate that although sex work discourse has traditionally been constructed within the dominant public sphere and not by sex workers themselves, this discourse has a profound effect on creating and perpetuating the stigma associated with sex work. In turn, this stigma affects both how the group and how individuals construct their identities, often negatively. Alternatively, a benefit of stigma is that it can induce the production of counterpublics which facilitate the emergence of new discourse. However, for this new discourse to gain acceptance into the public sphere, activist organizations must utilize traditional (and sometimes unintentionally marginalizing) strategies that can impact both the identity construction of the group and of individuals within the group. Understanding these complex relationships is therefore essential to understanding how activist organizations, such as the St. James Infirmary, situate themselves within the larger dominant public sphere, their impact on sex work discourse, and their impact on individual sex worker identity construction.
ContributorsRead, Kathleen (Author) / Adams, Karen L (Thesis advisor) / Katsulis, Yasmina (Thesis advisor) / Adelman, Madelaine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
This dissertation considers how adolescent identity is constructed and represented in commercial musical theatre for youth (e.g. Broadway and Disney Theatrical Group) by examining two commercial productions with adolescents in lead roles--Spring Awakening and Disney's High School Musical. My theoretical framework is intersectionality which creates a foundation for my research within the field of childhood studies, gender studies, and performance studies to illuminate current US American trends in youth oriented art and research. My framework extends into a case study methodology exploring the world of childhood and youth sexuality through a close read of the popular Broadway musical adaptation, Spring Awakening. In addition, a second investigation chronicles the world of Disney's High School Musical through my own intersectional tool, the Disney Industrial Complex. I claim that adolescence, as a constructed identity, exists as a multi-faceted intersectional category composed of multiple and conflicting intersections such as gender, race, sex, ethnicity, and so on. These intersections develop over the course of the period known as "adolescence" and "youth." The goal of this dissertation is to serve as a reference for other theatre educators and their work with young people creating art.
ContributorsBliznik, Sean J (Author) / Etheridge-Woodson, Stephani (Thesis advisor) / Saldana, Johnny (Committee member) / Adelman, Madelaine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Sexual assault is a very serious social issue, one that has recently had a resurgence of interest within the context of college campuses. Studies have shown that the prevalence rates of woman abuse in university and college dating are alarmingly high. Historically, fraternity and sorority members have had a reputation for maintaining what has become known as "rape culture" by creating environments in which underage, binge or competitive drinking and unhealthy interactions and inequality between men and women are the norm. Research suggests this combination contributes to the number of known-assailant sexual assaults on or associated with campus life. The main objective of this project is to identify effective ways to foster an anti-sexual violence and pro-sexual wellness culture within ASU's Greek community by observing and analyzing student interactions with and opinions on these issues. This study aims to examine the attitudes of university students toward sexual assault, to learn how students navigate a culture in which sexual assault exists (the ways they respond to, seek to prevent, and learn about sexual assault). Additionally, this study examines student awareness, accessibility, effectiveness, and reach of current sexual violence prevention initiatives on ASU's campus. After conducting interviews with Greek students and performing direct observation during sexual wellness related events, the researchers of this project have determined that ASU has created an environment in which the student population is sufficiently aware of the sexual assault on campus and definitions of campus, but they are not familiar with nor do they often utilize or suggest that their friends utilize the many resources ASU and the Tempe community provide related to sexual health. Students tend to feel that sexual health programming is informative, but not personally relevant to or engaging to them. Feedback would suggest that the bystander intervention curriculum currently being developed in the ASU Fraternity and Sorority Life office would better address student need for relevant, engaging, and culturally-targeted sexual-health programming.
ContributorsHynes, Braxton Victoria (Author) / Adelman, Madelaine (Thesis director) / Vega, Sujey (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Sexual harassment has emerged as a widespread problem facing women in public space in Egypt. Activism to combat sexual harassment began in 2005. However, just prior to and in the years following the January 25, 2011 Egyptian Revolution, which witnessed an increase in the collective sexual harassment, assault and rape of women, this activism has increased. Subsequently, scholarly attention to sexual harassment and public sexual violence has also expanded. Much of the attention in scholarly analyses has been directed toward politically motivated sexual violence, focused on understanding the state commissioning of sexual violence against female protestors to drive them from protest participation. There is an emerging critique of activist approaches that seems to ignore the politicalized nature of sexual harassment to focus instead on “cultural” targets. The early work of the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR) and current work of HarassMap have been criticized for depoliticizing sexual harassment by failing to include an analysis of state-commissioned sexual violence in their work. Similarly, both have been accused of expanding the scope of the security state by calling for increased policing of public space to protect women from “culturally-bad” men.
With data collected through one year of participant observation with HarassMap, interviews with activists from eleven anti-sexual harassment initiatives and advocacy NGOs, and community-level surveys with non-activist individuals, this dissertation argues that “cultural” work undertaken through the community-based approaches by entities like ECWR and HarassMap is, in fact, an inherently political process, in which political engagement represents both an attempt to change political culture and state practice and a negotiative process involving changing patriarchal gender norms that underpin sexual harassment at a society-wide level. New conceptualizations of sexual harassment promoted by anti-sexual harassment initiatives and NGOs in Egypt frame it as a form of violence against women, and attempt to make sexual harassment an offense that may be criminalized. Yet, this dissertation contends there is a tension between activist and widespread public understandings of sexual harassment, predicated on the incomplete framing of sexual harassment as a form of violence.
With data collected through one year of participant observation with HarassMap, interviews with activists from eleven anti-sexual harassment initiatives and advocacy NGOs, and community-level surveys with non-activist individuals, this dissertation argues that “cultural” work undertaken through the community-based approaches by entities like ECWR and HarassMap is, in fact, an inherently political process, in which political engagement represents both an attempt to change political culture and state practice and a negotiative process involving changing patriarchal gender norms that underpin sexual harassment at a society-wide level. New conceptualizations of sexual harassment promoted by anti-sexual harassment initiatives and NGOs in Egypt frame it as a form of violence against women, and attempt to make sexual harassment an offense that may be criminalized. Yet, this dissertation contends there is a tension between activist and widespread public understandings of sexual harassment, predicated on the incomplete framing of sexual harassment as a form of violence.
ContributorsAbdelmonem, Angie (Author) / Eder, James (Thesis advisor) / Adelman, Madelaine (Thesis advisor) / Hjorleifur Jonsson (Committee member) / Rizzo, Helen (Committee member) / El-Meehy, Asya (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
The requirements for a gender dysphoria diagnosis, and therefore access to medical interventions such as surgeries or hormones, reinforce a male/female binary and do not allow room for variability in how a transgender person identifies. Transgender individuals who wish to access medical interventions must reflect these regulatory requirements in order to receive a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. So what is the experience of transgender individuals who do not reflect this narrative? How do they develop identity, form community, and make decisions regarding their transition? Using feminist methodology and grounded theory methods, I conducted a research study with ten transgender-identified individuals from Phoenix, Arizona in order to address these questions. In interviews with these participants, I found that perceptions of others, normativity, and horizontal transphobia all affected how participants identity and decision-making. Further, I also found that these themes contributed to creating transgender authenticity, or the false sense that there is only one way to be truly transgender.
ContributorsHudson, Wallace J (Author) / Leong, Karen J. (Thesis advisor) / Bailey, Marlon M. (Committee member) / Vega, Sujey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
ABSTRACT
For almost a decade now, the Greek economic crisis has crippled the Greek nation and its citizenry. High unemployment rates as well as increased levels of homelessness and suicide are only some of the social repercussions of the collapse of the economic system. While we know much about the impact of this crisis on Greek citizens, the literature surrounding the crisis lacks a full range of perspectives and experiences. This project works to fill-in the gaps surrounding the Greek economic crisis and the specific experiences of undocumented, immigrant, domestic workers. Looking at the ways in which these women exist in a constant state of violence, fear, and suffering I identify normalized violence in two main arenas: state/institutional and quotidian/everyday acts. Borrowing from Cecilia Menijvar’s pillars of normalized violence (2011), this work identifies the ways in which state-sponsored bureaucratic violence leads to real suffering and fear exemplified in moments of quotidian violence. Understanding the unique experiences of these women, works to weave together a more nuanced understanding of the impacts of the Greek economic crisis. Along with these moments of violence, this ethnographic inspired project highlights modes of survival, resistance, and resilience employed by these women in response to their violent circumstances.
For almost a decade now, the Greek economic crisis has crippled the Greek nation and its citizenry. High unemployment rates as well as increased levels of homelessness and suicide are only some of the social repercussions of the collapse of the economic system. While we know much about the impact of this crisis on Greek citizens, the literature surrounding the crisis lacks a full range of perspectives and experiences. This project works to fill-in the gaps surrounding the Greek economic crisis and the specific experiences of undocumented, immigrant, domestic workers. Looking at the ways in which these women exist in a constant state of violence, fear, and suffering I identify normalized violence in two main arenas: state/institutional and quotidian/everyday acts. Borrowing from Cecilia Menijvar’s pillars of normalized violence (2011), this work identifies the ways in which state-sponsored bureaucratic violence leads to real suffering and fear exemplified in moments of quotidian violence. Understanding the unique experiences of these women, works to weave together a more nuanced understanding of the impacts of the Greek economic crisis. Along with these moments of violence, this ethnographic inspired project highlights modes of survival, resistance, and resilience employed by these women in response to their violent circumstances.
ContributorsLinos, Viviane (Author) / Durfee, Alesha (Thesis advisor) / Vega, Sujey (Committee member) / Adelman, Madelaine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Legal narratives obtained from forensic interviews of twenty sexually abused children were analyzed concerning gender differences in disclosure patterns and narrative elaboration. Quantitative analysis of the children's disclosure of sexual abuse revealed that boys made prompted disclosures to caretakers, primarily mothers. Girls more often made purposeful disclosures, and revealed the abuse to caretakers as well as other supportive individuals. Quantitative analysis of the children's forensic interviews revealed that girls provided more coherent, elaborate, structured, and contextually detailed narratives than boys did. Children's accounts of their disclosures were qualitatively analyzed. Results indicated that fear was the primary reason children delayed abuse disclosure. Qualitative analysis also found that the children's narratives revealed several common themes including themes of force and resistance. Implications for legal interventions on behalf of children and the effectiveness of abuse prevention programs were discussed.
ContributorsDutton, Wendy Allison, 1960- (Author) / Adelman, Madelaine (Thesis advisor) / Durfee, Alesha (Committee member) / Krysik, Judy (Committee member) / Roe-Sepowitz, Dominique (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Throughout history, social movements have been a key tool for socio-political transformation. One way that they achieve this is through their ability to educate significant numbers of people in short periods of time. The study of “social movement learning” helps to explain how and why the exchange of knowledge powers social movements. This research seeks to understand how sex workers engage in social movement learning in the pursuit of labor rights, using a descriptive case study of the North Hollywood Stripper Strike (March 18, 2022-2023). Drawing on interviews with local organizers, this thesis analyzes the Stripper Strike’s union campaign through the lens of knowledge exchange. The resulting seven-part model of social movement learning expands Hall’s (2009) model to include 1) formal learning, 2) nonformal direct learning, 3) nonformal direct education, 4) nonformal indirect learning, 5) nonformal indirect education, 6) informal learning, and 7) informal education as relevant typologies. By creating an amended social movement learning model, this research seeks to facilitate social movement-driven socio-political transformation, specifically within the sex worker’s rights and labor movements.
ContributorsEsch, Maria (Author) / Adelman, Madelaine (Thesis advisor) / McQuarrie, Michael (Committee member) / Schugurensky, Daniel, 1958- (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Deeply entrenched eugenic values overdetermine who is treated with care and dignity and who is treated with violence. These eugenic values inform and are informed by settler colonialism, patriarchy, and ableism. Carceral locales such as nursing homes, hospitals, and jails enact specific kinds of harm onto disabled people and rely on their convoluted and self-serving bureaucratic processes to evade responsibility. Given my interest in the indivisibility of carceral logics, spaces of capture, and ableism, my focus in this dissertation is both the real-life contexts of the individual incidents and the systemic, cross-institutional patterns evident in each of the three incidents analyzed.I take a modified case study approach to three incidents in which disabled people in carceral locales experience tremendous harm. The first incident is about the gross medical neglect and rape of a San Carlos Apache disabled woman at a skilled nursing care facility in Phoenix, Arizona. The second incident occurred at a hospital in Austin, Texas where doctors worked hastily to killing a Black disabled man within only days of his arrival and change his code status to Do Not Resuscitate against his family’s will. The third incident focuses on duty of care violations and disability-based discrimination against a white disabled man at a Chicago jail. These situations, when analyzed individually and with/against one another, identify important connections relating to institutional power and cross-institution patterns of harm. I find that the paternal dynamics of medical[ized] facilities, the pervading anti-disability sentiments in US society, and bureaucratic violence make accountability and justice impossible.
ContributorsPeer, Victoria (Author) / Swadener, Beth B (Thesis advisor) / Vega, Sujey (Committee member) / Gomez, Alan E (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022