Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Popular Culture

It is important to acknowledge and observe common themes that have continued to present themselves over time throughout the history of Black performance. A theme that is in need of recognition in order to move forward as a society is the hypersexualization of Black female artists in the hip-hop industry. The current generation of Black female hip-hop artists have continued to utilize the theme of hypersexuality in correlation with the “Body Positivity Movement”. Within this acknowledgement it is important to include the icons that are choosing to freely express their bodies, sexuality, and share this influence with society in a positive light. This framework will focus on icons such as Melissa Jefferson known as Lizzo, and Megan Pete known as Megan Thee Stallion. Black female bodies have gone through a continuing pattern of being scrutinized by society throughout generations, specifically broken down into body parts rather than the whole body. This results in the dehumanization of black female bodies that are often treated like a souvenir or an animal. The 1996 play “Venus'' written by American playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, will be used in this framework to paint the clear picture of hypersexualization that is apparent in contemporary life. This thesis will also be utilizing theories and schools of thought such as Bell Hooks and Kimberle Crenshaw's intersectional feminist frameworks, Susan Bordo's gender studies approach and Lev Vygotski's sociocultural theory. These frameworks will be applied to contemporary pieces created by Megan Thee Stallion and Lizzo such as songs, interviews, TikToks, and health resources.

Committee: Jeffrey Brown (Committee Chair); Lara Lengel (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; African History; Gender; Gender Studies; Marketing; Mass Communications; Mental Health; Music; Theater; Womens Studies

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Popular Culture

The horror genre is infamous for its representation of marginalized groups, such as women, people with disabilities, and people of color. Though this was most prominent in historical contexts, these negative images associated with marginalized groups are still heavily ingrained in the genre. Using Julie Krestvias' Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection, this thesis focuses on how the genre's abject female bodies are villainized. Marginalized groups of women, such as Transgender, Fat, and Black women, are all treated as villains, with their bodies being the center of their evilness. Though their villainization is shown differently throughout the texts, they are still displayed as negative stereotypical images of the groups they belong to. Transgender women's bodies in horror have a focus on their masculinity, while Fat women are more closely connected to the idea of gluttony and sin. Black women, however, have limited appearances in horror, though what is displayed in horror has continued to be the same throughout film history.

Committee: Becca Cragin Ph.D (Committee Chair); Jeffrey Brown Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Gender Studies; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2008, American Culture Studies/Ethnic Studies

The bodies of African American women athletes have historically constituted a site where the vast, and largely problematic, complexities of gender and race are revealed and contested. I approach this study through an interpretive textual analysis that examines how representations of black female sporting bodies – Wilma Rudolph in the early 1960s, Debi Thomas in the late 1980s, and last, Serena Williams in the late 1990s signify cultural messages. Specifically, I turn to mainstream media such as magazines, newspapers, and commercial advertisements to unpack the meanings constructed around their bodies and to interrogate dominant discourses about race and gender. Ultimately, this project argues that representations of Black female sporting bodies are sites of ideological conflict over the construction of social identities between dominant and historically marginalized groups: African American women. The significance of this study lies in how perceptions of the bodies of African American women athletes allow the therorizing of citizenship, race, gender and nation. By turning to representations of black female athletes, I examine how the intersection of race, gender, class, nation, and sexuality frames the black female subject and how these women constantly negotiate and navigate these discursive boundaries to make rightful claims to society resources. In negotiating space in American society, Black women have had to employ various strategies such as the politics of race and respectability. Individual Black women understood respectability in different ways depending on their social, political, and cultural context. The reconfiguration of the discourse of respectability speaks to the ways in which race and gender are rearticulated around the Black female sporting body throughout different historical moments.The two themes that have emerged and remained constant are the persistence of racism – blatant racism in the 1960s, color-blind racism in the 1980s, and commodity rac (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Eithne Luibhéid Phd (Committee Chair); Ellen Berry Phd (Committee Member); Halifu Osumare Phd (Committee Member); Peggy Giordano Phd (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; American Studies; Mass Media; Womens Studies