Matching Items (14)
Description
This dissertation examines how direct selling organizations compel women to believe that direct selling is, among other things, centered on the needs of women. Drawing upon feminist interdisciplinary methodologies, this dissertation brings together qualitative, archival, and ethnographic materials to analyze direct selling through a technologies of gender framework. I argue that multi-level marketing direct selling companies (like Avon, Tupperware, Mary Kay, etc.) are able to turn belief into profits because they strategically tap into gender ideologies. I show that discursive technologies of gender coalesce with race and class discourses and are put to work by direct selling companies to construct a specific type of direct seller. This dissertation attempts to unpack the complex technologies of gender that direct selling women engage with while constructing their identities as workers and women. I argue that the companies in this study deliberately tap into women's anxieties and desires to blend their perceived gender roles with their need for income. I find that direct selling companies are exceptional at branding their businesses as uniquely suited for women and that this branding hinges upon the construction of a direct sales imaginary. I argue that the direct sales imaginary taps into powerful discourses of race, class, and gender to market the American dream to women who are seeking out a space that is empowering and inclusive. Because the direct selling industry tends to see an increase in profits and recruitment during economic recessions, it is likely that the current economic situation has channeled even more women toward direct sales as a fallback for uncertain economic futures. While some women may be inclined to view direct sales as an attractive employment alternative it is not a realistic means of supporting families during difficult economic times and this study might help some women make more informed decisions. Furthermore, this study brings to light how gender might be used to organize structural relationships between markets, people, and businesses.
ContributorsLamoreaux, Tiffany (Author) / Hibner Koblitz, Ann (Thesis advisor) / Fonow, Mary M (Committee member) / Leong, Karen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
This research examines the experiences and perceptions of immigrant and refugee women social entrepreneurs located within a context of economic instability, as well as the strategies that they develop to cope with such crises and volatility. To conduct this research I used a mixed-method, qualitative approach to data collection, including semi-structured, open-ended interviews and a focus group. I used feminist theory and a grounded theory approach to inform the design of my study; as such I acknowledge the participants as knowledge producers and allow for them to add in questions to the interviews and focus group and to comment on drafts of the written portion of the dissertation. The findings have indicated that these women are surviving the economic crisis by combining different income streams, including social entrepreneurship, traditional jobs and state and non-profit-aid. Moreover, the participants have found that besides monetary value, social entrepreneurship also provides alternative benefits such as personal sovereignty in their work environment, work-life balance and well-being. Also, personal history, and family and community embeddedness contribute to women's decisions to pursue social entrepreneurship. This research contributes to the growing body of research on gender and work and fills the gaps in literature currently existing in social entrepreneurship.
ContributorsBauer, Carrie (Author) / Jurik, Nancy (Thesis advisor) / Leong, Karen (Committee member) / Kerlin, Janelle (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to evaluate a dramatic arts curriculum focused on building protective factors including resiliency, cognitive flexibility, self-efficacy, and hope in eight to ten adolescent male sex offenders undergoing treatment at a residential behavioral health facility in Mesa, Arizona. The impetus for this research was suicide prevention efforts. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 15-24 in the United States (CDC 2013), and prevention efforts demand complex approaches targeting major risk factors like lack of belonging and hopelessness. Arts-based prevention efforts have shown promise for building pro-social preventative factors.
ContributorsSchoenfelder, Joseph (Author) / Etheridge Woodson, Stephani (Thesis advisor) / Kelly, Anne (Committee member) / Leong, Karen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Social media is an increasingly pertinent facet of popular culture. Research has found that a rape culture, a culture that tolerates and condones sexual assault, is evident in many forms of pop culture. This study looks at the way sexual assault is discussed in social media through an examination of Internet memes, trends and images that go viral online. The study found that there is evidence to belief a rape culture exists online. It offers solutions for decreasing incidences of gender-based attacks online.
ContributorsOrtiz, Analise Tomai (Author) / Durfee, Alesha (Thesis director) / McGibbney-Vlahoulis, Michelle (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Since her debut in 1930, Nancy Drew has been an extremely popular character and icon for adolescent girls. Created by Edward Stratemeyer and developed by Mildred Wirt Benson and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, Nancy Drew continues to influence and inspire generations of readers. Readers are drawn to Nancy Drew's character and her ability to escape into the world of River Heights, away from the tumultuous climate of the Great Depression and ensuing wars. Significantly, Nancy Drew's enduring power and influence stems from five cultural and social paradoxes: child v. adult, masculine v. feminine, independent v. dependent, single v. couple, and classic v. modern. This thesis explores how throughout the series, Nancy embodies each extreme of these dualities, which gives her the power to be everything to everyone. Nancy derives power from these five paradoxes, which by definition are contradictory, but afford her special privileges in her fictional world. In embodying these binaries, Nancy Drew provides adolescent readers with an escape from and a role model for adolescence and future adulthood.
ContributorsPetersen, Monica Leigh (Author) / Blasingame, James (Thesis director) / McGibbney-Vlahoulis, Michelle (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
The selfie craze has taken over smartphone users. Despite a wealth of published opinion pieces on the matter, there lacks a constructive and academically-based dialogue about selfies. "Presentation of Selfie" is a creative, interactive space that analyzes a sample of collected selfies. The project takes a look at how age, relationships and identities play a role in the social significance of selfie culture.
ContributorsJeffords, Alison Rae (Author) / McGibbney-Vlahoulis, Michelle (Thesis director) / Leong, Karen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2015-05
ContributorsDolan, Kattie (Author) / Leong, Karen (Thesis director) / Wilson, Bradley (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This qualitative study examines how fathers, who stay home with their children and identify as the main care-giver within their family, construct their role as the primary caregiver. I analyze the narratives of stay-at-home fathers focusing on the thematic areas of isolation, resistance and the division of household labor. Unlike previous research, I examine the ways in which fathers construct their position as a stay-at-home father separate from the traditional stay-at-home mother role. Consequently, I focus on the constructions of masculinities by stay-at-home fathers that allows for the construction of the stay-at-home role to be uniquely tied to fatherhood rather than motherhood.
In this research, I explore three questions: 1) how do stay-at-home fathers construct their masculinity, specifically in relation to their social roles as fathers, partners, peers, etc.? 2) Is the negotiation of household labor, including care work and household tasks, in these families a reflection of shifting gender roles in the home where the primary caregiver is the father? 3) In what ways does social location and intersecting identities influence the ways in which fathers construct this stay-at-home identity?
My research emphasizes how these fathers understand their role as a stay-at-home father while challenging some traditionally dominant expectations of fatherhood. Specifically, I use themes of isolation, resistance, and the division of household labor in order to understand the multiple ways fathers experience their roles as stay-at-home parents.
In this research, I explore three questions: 1) how do stay-at-home fathers construct their masculinity, specifically in relation to their social roles as fathers, partners, peers, etc.? 2) Is the negotiation of household labor, including care work and household tasks, in these families a reflection of shifting gender roles in the home where the primary caregiver is the father? 3) In what ways does social location and intersecting identities influence the ways in which fathers construct this stay-at-home identity?
My research emphasizes how these fathers understand their role as a stay-at-home father while challenging some traditionally dominant expectations of fatherhood. Specifically, I use themes of isolation, resistance, and the division of household labor in order to understand the multiple ways fathers experience their roles as stay-at-home parents.
ContributorsSnitker, Aundrea Janae (Author) / Durfee, Alesha (Thesis advisor) / Jurik, Nancy (Committee member) / Menjivar, Cecilia (Committee member) / Leong, Karen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Armed violence is a contemporary global challenge especially in the developing world. It impacts immigration policies locally and internationally. Uganda experienced a twenty-four year -long civil armed conflict, which the president of Uganda declared ended in 2008. Following government instruction, displaced persons have been returning home since then. Despite this official closure, in the course of resettlement, youth specific needs and concerns have been ignored. Female youth have been the most affected due to the interlocking nature of their undervalued gender, age, and marital and reproductive statuses. Despite the complexity of female youth’s social location, research and frameworks about armed violence have focused on men as the perpetuators, marginalizing the impact armed conflict has on young women. Using the case of northern Uganda, this dissertation draws on feminist and indigenous epistemologies to examine the experiences of formerly displaced female youth. First, I deconstruct the western dominant construction of the stages of human growth and development including childhood, youth and adulthood. In this research, I prioritize local perspectives on human development; emphasizing the ambiguity of the concept youth, highlighting its age and gendered limited applicability to northern Uganda. I also examine the local understanding of armed conflict centering its forms and causes. Further, I explore the challenges female youth face, and the strategies they adopt to cope in situations of distress. I argue that studying formerly displaced female youth from their standpoint is critical since female youth have been marginalized in previous research and programs with gender-neutral perspectives. They thus provide a new perspective to armed violence given their multi dimensional standpoint. Female youth have different needs and concerns, which may not feature in mainstream programming largely informed by traditional male dominated systems and structures. Young women’s experiences thus deserve to be acknowledged if female youth are to benefit from the post-conflict reconstruction phase. To fulfill this objective, I used qualitative methods of data collection and analysis.
ContributorsNamuggala, Victoria (Author) / Leong, Karen (Thesis advisor) / Swadener, Beth B (Committee member) / Anderson, Lisa M. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Female celebrities are commodified by the entertainment industry at every stage of their lives. The industry's expectations of female celebrities reflect society's expectations for women. From girlhood to adulthood, women are expected to follow particular scripts of femininity. These scripts are promoted and perpetuated by the entertainment industry. Women are used as commodities for consumerism by both the industry and the media alike. Female celebrities have higher expectations today than ever. With the modern phenomena of reality television and social media, the public demands a new level of authenticity and transparency from celebrities. In this thesis, I explore three womens' lives and careers: Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, and Demi Lovato. I discuss the ways in which these three women have been commodified by the industry at each stage of their lives, as well as how they have, over the course of their careers, attempted to regain control of their images.
ContributorsHoltz, Alexis Paige (Author) / Vlahoulis, Michelle (Thesis director) / Leong, Karen (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05