Browsing by Subject "gender"

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AMS :: ATX February 2012 Blog Archive
(2012-02) Department of American Studies
AMS :: ATX is a blog dedicated to representing the many activities and interests of the department of American Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. Together with the department’s Twitter feed, this blog exists to serve the AMS and Austin communities by acting as a hub for up-to-date information on events and opportunities at UT and beyond. This archive includes the following blog posts: Faculty Research: Dr. Randy Lewis on Unplugging at Flow (February 1, 2012); Grad Research: Bombs and Belvederes (February 8, 2012); Undergrad Research: A Trip to the Archives in NYC (February 15, 2012); Undergrad Research: A Trip to the Archives in NYC, Part 2 (February 16, 2012); 5 Takes on Women and Bicycles (February 23, 2012); Explore American Studies at Explore UT! (February 29, 2012).
AMS :: ATX March 2012 Blog Archive
(2012-03) Department of American Studies
AMS :: ATX is a blog dedicated to representing the many activities and interests of the department of American Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. Together with the department’s Twitter feed, this blog exists to serve the AMS and Austin communities by acting as a hub for up-to-date information on events and opportunities at UT and beyond. This archive includes the following blog posts: 5 Questions with Dr. Elizabeth Engelhardt (March 1, 2012); Grad Research: Reconsidering the Interstate Highway System (March 7, 2012); Faculty Research: Janet Davis lectures at UVA Circus Festival (March 21, 2012); Faculty and Grad Research: Foodways Texas Symposium (March 28, 2012); Faculty and Grad Research: Photos from Texas Restaurants Project (March 29, 2012).
AMS :: ATX November 2011 Blog Archive
(2011-11) Department of American Studies
AMS :: ATX is a blog dedicated to representing the many activities and interests of the department of American Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. Together with the department’s Twitter feed, this blog exists to serve the AMS and Austin communities by acting as a hub for up-to-date information on events and opportunities at UT and beyond. This archive includes the following blog posts: Faculty Research: Randy Lewis' "The Compassion Manifesto" (November 1, 2011); Grad Research: A Map of Classic Arcades (November 3, 2011); Faculty Research: Janet Davis on the Circus (November 4, 2011); Undergrad Research: On Jack Kerouac and Sports (November 8, 2011); 5 Questions with Dr. Janet Davis (November 10, 2011); Watch This: Dr. Julia Mickenberg on Book TV (November 15, 2011); Read this: "Main Currents," American Studies Fall 2011 Newsletter (November 17, 2011); Watch This: Dr. Elizabeth Engelhardt on Fox's Good Day Austin (November 22, 2011).
Beauty as the Beast: Constructions of the Girl in Three Modern Variants of the Tale as Old as Time
(2018-05) Syed, Sarah
This thesis aims to answer the following question: How is the girl constructed across three modern variants of “Beauty and the Beast?” The three primary texts examined in this paper are Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Angela Carter’s short story, The Tiger’s Bride, and Salman Rushdie’s novel, Shame. Each text was analyzed specifically for how it remains consistent with and deviates from Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s “Beauty and the Beast” published in 1756. My aim was to go beyond a sex-role theory analysis and assess how these modern variants revise a traditional plotline to construct the girl in terms of her agency, transformation, and fate. Emphasis was placed not only on comparing and contrasting the girl and the female experience across these three texts, but also on placing these texts within the context of gender studies and fairy tale scholarship at large. A major premise of this thesis is that fairy tales are in an incredibly powerful position to inform, socialize, and re-socialize both children and adults. As a result, this project strives to elucidate what each of the three primary texts conveys about the fictional girl and about the actual girl represented by the fiction. Ultimately, this thesis demonstrates how the fairy tale influences our popular conception of gendered identities and how it can play a role in remedying longstanding and often harmful portrayals of these identities. It shows also how important this research is in today’s social and political climate—where fundamental (if subconscious) misunderstandings of the woman have perpetuated the injustices she faces.
Black Women and Digital Resistance: The Impact of Social Media on Racial Justice Activism in Brazil and the United States
(2019-05) Ganster, Allyson M.; Smith, Christen
This study compares the experiences of Black women activists in Brazil and the United States, in order to understand the role of social media in racial justice activism, and the implications this has for Black liberation in a broader historical and transnational context. Employing a Black feminist anthropological frame, the project uses historical analysis, and semi-structured interviews conducted in Austin, Texas, U.S.A. and in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. This project examines the effectiveness, as well as the risks, involved with digital activism at the intersection of racial justice. Social media platforms have the ability to make information more accessible for Black women activists, provide a space to collectively organize both in a national and transnational setting, and serve as a way to counteract the interpersonal and structural violence Black women face on a daily basis. However, these platforms also function as a surveillance tool that can lead to an increase in state violence. This study emphasizes the importance of understanding Black women’s lived experiences, so as to form a more comprehensive analysis of the transnational and gendered implications of Black women’s resistance in an increasingly digitized and global world.
“Burdened”: A Collection of Short Stories about Eldest-Born Daughters in Immigrant Families“Burdened”: A Collection of Short Stories about Eldest-Born Daughters in Immigrant Families
(2021-05) Ameena, Irene
Online discourse often paints eldest daughters in immigrant families as carrying an outsized burden within their homes. Many feel that there is a tendency for a larger portion of responsibility to fall on them, whether that is emotional weight or tangible tasks. The roles assigned to them are influenced by birth order, race, and gender. These factors intersect to give them a unique position in their families, influenced by the challenges of migration, the duties assigned to eldest children, and the patriarchal society around them. This collection of short stories depicts the lives of five eldest daughters in immigrant families: Minahil, Ty, Eniola, Vivian, and Luna. These characters come from different backgrounds and have specific family dynamics that affect the stories I tell about them. By sharing a slice of their lives, these stories function to tell about just a few of the experiences, joys, and pressures that oldest daughters face.
Caution, Student Experience May Vary: Social Identities Impact a Student's Experience in Peer Discussions
(2015-12) Eddy, Sarah L.; Brownell, Sara E.; Thummaphan, Phonraphee; Lan, Mming-Chih; Wenderoth, Mary pat; Eddy, Sarah L.
In response to calls for implementing active learning in college-level science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses, classrooms across the country are being transformed from instructor centered to student centered. In these active-learning classrooms, the dynamics among students becomes increasingly important for understanding student experiences. In this study, we focus on the role a student prefers to assume during peer discussions, and how this preferred role may vary given a student's social identities. In addition we explore whether three hypothesized barriers to participation may help explain participation difference in the classroom. These barriers are 1) students are excluded from the discussion by actions of their groupmates; 2) students are anxious about participating in peer discussion; and 3) students do not see value in peer discussions. Our results indicate that self-reported preferred roles in peer discussions can be predicted by student gender, race/ethnicity, and nationality. In addition, we found evidence for all three barriers, although some barriers were more salient for certain students than others. We encourage instructors to consider structuring their in-class activities in ways that promote equity, which may require more purposeful attention to alleviating the current differential student experiences with peer discussions.
Chilean Women’s Resistance To The Pinochet Regime: How Unified Was Their Movement?
(2018-05) Bonilla, Sofia
General Augusto Pinochet led a military coup on September 11, 1973 that effectively ended the democratically elected socialist government and enforced a dictatorship until 1990. Women across Chile rose up against the oppressive regime in whatever way they could. Some did so overtly, others unintentionally. The diversity within these female acts of resistance complicated the movement when considering it as a whole. Due to its multifaceted nature, I chose to analyze the movement in terms of types of resistance, socioeconomic classes of the female actors, and the role of gender identity. I also investigated how these three factors interacted. I argue that there is sufficient heterogeneity within the women’s movement to push against the classification of Chilean women’s resistance as simply a single women’s movement. Rather, the movement should be considered in all its complexity. The existence of unintentional resistance, intra-movement conflict, and elitism within the resistance merits a closer look at this so-called “unified” women’s movement.
Continuing Uncertainties: Forced Marriage as a Crime Against Humanity
(The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2011-03) Del Vecchio, Jennifer
On 22 February 2008, the Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) delivered its judgment in the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) case. This decision stands out as unique for setting significant precedent in the development of gender-based crimes in international criminal law by holding forced marriage to be a crime against humanity under the “other inhumane acts” category contained in Article 2(i) of the Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Although this recognition of forced marriage signifies the SCSL’s commitment to actively prosecute gender-based crimes, and may further set persuasive precedent for other international adjudicative bodies, there remain certain elements of this crime that, despite the Appeals Chamber’s decision, are unsettled and unclear. The purpose of this paper is to raise, explore, and assess these pressing questions. In the first part of the paper, the author raises three questions concerning the technical elements of the crime of forced marriage. Namely, the author asks: whether forced marriage violates the principle, nullem crimen sine lege; whether forced marriage is an adequately specific and distinct crime to be prosecuted separately from previously enumerated crimes; and finally, whether the definition of forced marriage requires a nexus to armed conflict. The second part of the paper raises questions relating to the implications of defining this crime using the label, marriage. Specifically, the author asks whether this label invokes existing connotations in relation to culture, gender, sexual orientation, and age, and whether these connotations may affect the application of this crime to new contexts. The author concludes that, without addressing these continuing uncertainties in the definition of forced marriage, the force of the precedent provided by the AFRC case is potentially insufficient to prosecute future instances of forced marriages in contexts outside of Sierra Leone, thereby failing to provide justice for all victims of forced marriage worldwide.
Do Men and Women Both Enjoy a Wage Premium for Working in Finance?
(University of Texas at Austin Population Research Center, 2017-04) Lin, Ken-Hou; Neely, Megan Tobias
Enhancing Women’s Rights and Capabilities: An Intersectional Approach to Gender-Based Violence Prevention
(The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2011-01) Corser, Maggie
Drawing on post-colonial feminist theory, this thesis provides a critical assessment of United Nations (UN) gender-based violence theory and practice. Chapter One provides epistemic critiques of UN agencies’ current theoretical framework, paying particular attention to the concepts of gender, power, and culture. In order to help redress the problems identified in Chapter One, I argue in Chapter Two that we must look to the feminist theory of intersectionality. With its nuanced conceptions of oppression and privilege, intersectionality provides analytic depth to discussions of gender, power, and culture, which I argue can improve the practical effectiveness of gender-based violence prevention efforts. Chapter Three outlines the UN’s shortcomings in practice and illustrates how intersectionality can help remedy the problems identified. Drawing on the case of refugee camps in Ngara and Kibondo Tanzania, I highlight how specific programs and policies informed by the UN’s framework prove inadequate in both decreasing rates of violence and providing services to survivors. Finally, I discuss future implications of an intersectional approach to gender-based violence prevention and how it makes an invaluable contribution to established UN practice.
Experimenting with Cigarettes and Physical Activity Among Mexican Origin Youth: A Cross Sectional Analysis of the Interdependent Associations Among Sensation Seeking, Acculturation, and Gender
(2012-05) Wilkinson, Anna V.; Okeke, Nnenna L.; Springer, Andrew E.; Stigler, Melissa H.; Gabriel, Kelley P.; Bondy, Melissa L.; Prokhorov, Alexander V.; Spitz, Margaret R.; Wilkinson, Anna V.; Okeke, Nnenna L.; Springer, Andrew E.; Stigler, Melissa H.; Gabriel, Kelley P.
Sensation seeking tendencies tend to manifest during adolescence and are associated with both health-compromising behaviors and health-enhancing behaviors. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between sensation seeking and physical activity, a health-enhancing behavior, and between sensation seeking and experimenting with cigarettes, a health compromising-behavior, among a cohort of Mexican origin adolescents residing in the United States with different levels of acculturation. Methods: In 2009, 1,154 Mexican origin youth (50.5% girls, mean age 14.3 years (SD = 1.04)) provided data on smoking behavior, physical activity, linguistic acculturation, and sensation seeking. We conducted Pearson's chi(2) tests to examine the associations between categorical demographic characteristics (i.e. gender, age, country of birth and parental educational attainment) and both cigarette experimentation and physical activity and Student's t-tests to examine mean differences on the continuous variables (i.e. sensation seeking subscale) by the behaviors. We examined mean differences in the demographic characteristics, acculturation, and both behaviors for each of the sensation seeking subscales using analysis of variance (ANOVA). To examine relationships between the sensation seeking subscales, gender, and both behaviors, at different levels of acculturation we completed unconditional logistic regression analyses stratified by level of acculturation. Results: Overall, 23.3% had experimented with cigarettes and 29.0% reported being physically active for at least 60 minutes/day on at least 5 days/week. Experimenting with cigarettes and being physically active were more prevalent among boys than girls. Among girls, higher levels of sensation seeking tendencies were associated with higher levels of acculturation and experimentation with cigarettes, but not with physical activity. Among boys, higher levels of sensation seeking tendencies were associated with higher levels of acculturation, experimenting with cigarettes and being physically active. Conclusions: Our results suggest that interventions designed to prevent smoking among Mexican origin youth may need to address social aspects associated with acculturation, paying close attention to gendered manifestations of sensation seeking.
False Dichotomies of Transitional Justice: Gender, Conflict and Combatants in Colombia
(The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2011-02) Tabak, Shana
In Colombia’s decades-long armed conflict, between one-fourth to one-third of combatants are women. This paper addresses the problem of reintegrating female combatants in Colombia’s violent conflict into civil society after they have left armed groups. It argues that many transitional justice mechanisms rely on the notion that certain dichotomies exist between an era of conflict and a post-conflict era. Reflecting on the experiences of female combatants, this paper exposes those dichotomies as inaccurate reflections of the realities of many individuals affected by conflict. In doing so, it aims to synthesize contemporary feminist scholarly work on transitional justice with detailed research on gender in Colombia. This paper traces the evolution of feminist thinking on transitional justice mechanisms: a first generation focused on developing international criminal law to recognize the special character of sex crimes against women; a second generation was concerned that women in post-conflict societies may not consider that sexual violence is the most serious harm that they suffer, when compared to the murder of their children or the destruction of their communities; and finally, a third generation of scholars now caution that women during conflicts often, paradoxically, experience greater autonomy and less domestic violence than the post-conflict status quo. It then contributes to the existing feminist scholarship on transitional justice by examining the additional complication of women who may have suffered the horrors of conflict, but who have also been perpetrators of some of these horrors. Utilizing detailed research on the experiences of both Colombian women and men, it critiques transitional justice approaches from a gender-oriented perspective, and seeks to imagine what a gender-inclusive strategy might look like in Colombia.
Gender and Race/Ethnic Representation in STEM Fields
(2020-05-13) Sucoff, Perri; Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Holme, Jennifer
The STEM fields have become increasingly popular due to the relevance, competitive, and rigorous nature of the fields as well as the availability of jobs in the workforce. The most common and traditional path to enter the STEM workforce is to major in one of the many STEM disciplines. Despite overall increased interest in STEM, women and people of color are still significantly underrepresented. It is essential to increase diversity and representation in STEM careers because diversity is proven to increase creativity, productivity and uniqueness of thought. Many longitudinal studies have investigated specific factors that influence disproportionate representation in STEM. Although there is not one clear cause of inequality, research finds that student and teacher attitudes, the availability of STEM role models, and academic preparation have had significant impact on this in the past. After analyzing the current literature regarding factors contributing to underrepresentation in STEM, this thesis analyzes current longitudinal data from US public high schools. The level of high school mathematics offered and taken by students has a significant impact on their preparedness to enter STEM fields, and this has implications for increasing racial diversity. The underrepresentation of females and racial/ethnic minorities in STEM is apparent to experts in the field, and many current solutions have been instituted in order to attempt to increase diversity in the field. However, no existing solution is perfect due to the complexity of the issue.
Gender and Sexual Minority College Students: The Risk and Extent of Victimization and Related Health and Educational Outcomes
(SAGE Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2019-11) Kammer-Kerwick, Matt; Wang, Alexander; McClain, T'Shana; Hoefer, Sharon; Swartout, Kevin; Backes, Bethany; Busch-Armendariz, Noël
A multisite survey conducted at eight campuses of a southwestern university system provides the data for the present study, total N = 17,039 with 1,869 gender and sexual minority (GSM) students. Sexual violence was measured using the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES), and analysis included both the participant’s risk of experiencing sexual violence and the extent (or total count) of sexual violence experienced. This study poses the following research questions: What effects do gender identity and sexual orientation have on the risk and extent of sexual violence among students and, among victims, what is the relationship between gender identity/sexual orientation and mental health (posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], depression) and academic environment (disengagement and safety) outcomes for university students? Multilevel, random effect hurdle models captured this sequential victimization dynamic. GSM and cisgender heterosexual (CH) female students are predicted to be 2.6 and 3 times, respectively, as likely to experience sexual violence compared with CH male students. In addition, GSM students experiencing sexual violence are also expected to experience a greater number of sexually violent acts (74% more) over their college career compared with victimized CH male students. The models confirm that the risk of victimization increases over time (13% per year for CH male students), but GSM students are expected to experience an additional (10%) increase in risk of victimization per year compared with CH male students. GSM and CH female students are also predicted to be more likely to have PTSD and experience more severe depression symptoms than CH male students. GSM students are expected to experience significantly higher rates of PTSD, worse depressive symptoms, and greater disengagement than CH female students. The discussion explores how institutions of higher education might recognize the resilience of GSM students and consider the protective potential of social and community support when developing programs or interventions for diverse populations.
Gender Differences in Daily Emotional Reactivity in Late Life
(2020) Tran, Elizabeth; Fingerman, Karen
Research has shown varying results for gender differences in emotional reactivity. While some studies have found that women have greater negative affect than men, others have found no difference. Likewise, other studies have also found contradicting results for positive affect. Furthermore, as people age, affect variability towards both positive and negative stimuli diminish for both men and women. This suggests that gender differences in reactivity may be different in older populations than younger populations. Using data from the Daily Experience and Wellbeing Study (DEWS) involving 313 older adults aged 65 and older, the present study examines the gender differences in the association between positive or negative encounters and the mood these encounters may elicit in older adults. Participants first provided their background information and identified their social partners using the social convoy measure. Then, they completed Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) surveys every 3 hours throughout the day, reporting their social encounters and evaluating the pleasantness and any stressful discussion during each of these encounters and rating their mood. Through multilevel models, this study found that for older adults, men have a more significant improvement in mood after positive encounters than women. This contradicts our hypothesis that there would be no gender difference in reactivity after positive encounters. In addition, the multilevel models showed that for older adults, there is no significant gender difference in change of mood after negative encounters despite previous research that has shown that women have greater variability in negative affect than men.
Genius or Madness: The Gendered Public Discourse of Kanye West & Lauryn Hill
(2021-05) O’Neill, Connor
Kanye West and Lauryn Hill are hip-hop superstars. They’ve cemented their legacies among the all-time greats of the genre. Both artists grew up closely tied to American education but decided to forego higher education in order to pursue music careers. Both began their careers as hip-hop became the mainstream music, fashion, and cultural phenomenon in the 1990s. Both expressed their disdain for institutions through their music, whether it was education, the legal system, the music industry, or pop culture. Both could be considered modern American prophets. Both are highly-successful, renowned artists. And most importantly, both have been characterized as “genius,” “mad,” or some combination of the two. However, there is one stark difference between Kanye West and Lauryn Hill that affected the trajectory of their careers – their gender. I explore the intimate connection between “genius” and “madness” and place it in context with the development of hip-hop and its entry into mainstream pop culture in order to compare the characterizations of genius and madness between hip-hop artists Kanye West and Lauryn Hill. Though the characterization of “genius” was both equally and aptly applied to West and Hill in public discourse, I argue that the characterization of “madness” was much more of a detriment to Hill’s career than West’s because of her gender. While hip-hop has been used as a vehicle to push the boundaries of pop culture since its inception, it has not been invincible from sociopolitical limitations. Namely, Hill’s attempts to experiment with hip-hop and pop culture were met with extreme misogyny, an unfair public treatment that West has never had to face. The combined stories of West and Hill are a lens through which we can see yet another example of misogyny in America, but from the current cultural, mainstream phenomenon of hip-hop.
The Hallyu Latin Wave: A Study of Cultural Adoption and Adaptation Through Music and Performance
(2023-05) Camarillo, Sandra
Cultural globalization refers to the idea of cultural adoption and adaptation that occurs through the rapid movement of ideas, attitudes, behaviors, and cultural products that span across national borders. This paper will focus on the music industry and how it has transformed the spread of culture on a global scale. It will offer a cross-cultural comparison between three distinct cultures and examine how the music industry offers an avenue for artists to express their cultural differences while adopting musical techniques and genres that have been prevalent in other cultures outside of their own. This comparison’s central focus will be on two main artists: BTS and Bad Bunny. It will examine how their artistic expression reflects both the cultural hybridization and increased cultural awareness that has resulted from the spread of culture through the globalization of music. It will explore how and why these artists managed to acquire significant international success in comparison to other non-Western artists. Through a focus on sexuality, gender identity/expression, it will provide more insight into the cultural contributions and consequences of a globalized music industry. This thesis’s overall aim is to contextualize the unparalleled success of these non-Western artists in a music industry that has historically been dominated by the West and the unintended consequences that impact cultural reception and appreciation.
How to Stop the Endangerment of Gender-Affirming Resources
(ORANGE Magazine, 2021-05-21) Dorantes, Vio
Human Security and Women’s Human Rights: Reinforcing Protection in the Context of Violence Against Women
(The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2014-02) Estrada-Tanck, Dorothy
Considering the human security approach to critical risks and vulnerabilities, this paper explores violence against women as one of the most pervasive and widespread threats worldwide. While there is a general understanding that the human security analysis and the human rights legal framework intersect, so far the ways in which the two concepts can mutually reinforce each other has rarely been assessed. Thus, this paper looks more closely at the UN conception of human security in relation specifically to violence against women. It reflects critically on how a gendered human security would have to be shaped and studies its connection with human rights, covering the UN and regional normative landscapes and reviewing paradigmatic cases by the Inter-American and European Courts of Human Rights as exemplifying some of the potentials of the human security-human rights symbiosis. The concept of violence against women, strongly developed by international human rights law, has seldom been contemplated explicitly in human security concerns of violence. This text then examines the consequences of applying a human security lens to the legal analysis of violence against women and their human rights, and of including the human rights definition of violence against women within the human security sphere. In doing so, it spells out the added value of this dialogue and brings to light the synergies between human security and the human rights of women experiencing structural vulnerability in everyday life.