Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Geography

Introduction Much is known about human trafficking, but alarmingly little is known about anti-trafficking practices. In general, and without substantive investigation, the anti-trafficking movement is taken-for-granted as a force for good, beyond reproach, and somehow magically uncoupled from trafficking per se. Yet the animating logics and practices of the anti-trafficking movement reproduce some of the very same violences of trafficking itself. By investigating the mechanics and logics of anti-trafficking, as well as the ways in which gendered and sexual violence constitutes both illicit and licit forms of gendered and sexualized labor related to human trafficking and rescue, this project pushes back against the normative logic of much of the trafficking research which to date has exempted anti-trafficking from serious, sustained critical analysis. My dissertation research remedies this situation by subjecting recent federal anti-trafficking legislation SESTA/FOSTA to rigorous social scientific scrutiny and specifically by learning from the people who occupy the liminal space between victim and worker, in order to situate anti-trafficking efforts in their historical, economic and political contexts. Chapter 1: Sex, Labor and the Consent Gap Despite many shared goals and investments, the anti-trafficking movement has long been at odds with the sex worker's rights movement. The anti-trafficking movement is characterized by a commitment to radical feminist values which view heterosexual sex as inherently violent and consent to paid sex impossible. In this view, the sex industry is painted as uniformly violent and exploitive. For this reason, the anti-trafficking movement has advocated the increasing criminalization of the sex industry (what Elizabeth Bernstein calls “carceral feminism”). Taking seriously the implications of an emerging sex worker literature which is critical of work, I argue that to understand consent when sex is work, the term's component (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mathew Coleman (Advisor); Madhumita Dutta (Committee Member); Jennifer Suchland (Committee Member); Joel Wainwright (Committee Member) Subjects: Geography; Womens Studies

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2022, Sociology (Arts and Sciences)

In building from the #MeToo movement, this thesis aims to understand textual, online allegations made publicly by survivors of gendered violence within the specific scene of alternative music. The purpose of this research is to explore themes within these online posts, as well as responses made by alleged perpetrators who are alternative musicians. This research answers questions concerning how survivors and alleged perpetrators construct their narratives of gendered violence, as well as how gender hierarchies are invoked within these accounts. This study uses a qualitative thematic content analysis. Findings suggest that alleged perpetrators construct their responses by using techniques of neutralization and participate in some degree of denial of allegations. On the other hand, survivors construct their allegations through explicit and implicit discussions of consent--specifically about age and use of alcohol or drugs. Lastly, survivors build a community of solidarity through their allegations. These findings indicate how abuse continues to take place within progressive spaces such as alternative music, as well as the importance of survivors' voices in communicating that harm.

Committee: Holly Ningard (Committee Chair); Rachel Terman (Committee Member); Cynthia Anderson (Committee Member) Subjects: Gender Studies; Sociology; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2015, American Culture Studies

This dissertation employs a mixed-method approach to explore the experiences and perceptions of domestic and sexual violence victim advocates. Advocates are trained professionals who provide support, information, and resources to victims who have experienced gendered violence. Little research examines domestic and sexual violence victim advocates despite the thousands who work across the United States. The existing literature research primarily uses quantitative methods to examine the negative emotional impact of employment. Few, if any, studies ask questions about how external factors and experiences of every day life affect advocates, on or off the job. As a result, this research investigates what it means to be an advocate in a socio-relational context by exploring advocates' experiences of occupational identity when interacting with strangers or new acquaintances. Occupational identity is a primary point of interaction within the social world, and advocacy is a complex, politically, and culturally situated occupation within the United States. Advocates are subject to a host of reactions when they introduce their jobs to strangers or new acquaintances—many of these experiences communicate stigma based on occupational choice rather than personal identity. Thus, this dissertation examines the presence and effects of occupational stigma on advocates, which is most clearly seen through the deployment of positive and negative stereotype and the relational process of Othering. Using data gathered from 21 in-depth interviews with advocates as well as a survey with 221 respondents, this study uses cultural studies, feminist methodology, and sociological theory to demonstrate that occupational stigma experienced through short introductory interactions has an effect on advocates' sense of self, sense of work, and willingness to share their occupational identity. Advocates and advocacy organizations have few resources to consider and prepare their employees (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Sandra Faulkner Dr. (Advisor); Madeline Duntley Dr. (Other); Jorge Chavez Dr. (Committee Member); Lisa Hanasono Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Gender Studies; Sociology; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2016, History

My dissertation is a world history project that offers an historical perspective for understanding the existence and meaning of honor crimes. I focus on the history of honor-related violence in Turkey, which I contend can only be understood within the international context of twentieth-century modernization, state-formation, and nationalist projects. The Turkish nationalist state initiated an intensive process of modernization beginning in the late 1920s and lasting through the majority of the 20th century. My project examines the impact the nationalist modernization project had on the culture of honor and the existence of honor-related gendered violence, and argues against the ahistorical portrayal of Middle Eastern societies as “backward” bastions of patriarchy. Instead, I propose that honor-related violence has a very specific, yet complex recent history that has as much to do with “modernization” as it does with tradition. Although my project focuses on Turkey, I include a case study of honor crimes as discussed in Brazilian legal codes that were created or preserved by nationalist “modernizing” regimes. This study offers a nuanced historical explanation, on the one hand, of the ways in which the culture of honor and the nationalist state overlapped and often supported one another, and on the other hand, of how nationalist modernizing projects created the environments in which honor crimes tended to proliferate, such as during periods of civil war and in communities that are marginalized due to institutionalized racial, gendered, and ethno-nationalist discrimination.

Committee: Janet Klein Dr. (Advisor); Tracey Jean Boisseau Dr. (Committee Member); Martha Santos Dr. (Committee Member); Richard Steigmann-Gall Dr. (Committee Member); Maria Alejandra Zanetta Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Comparative; Gender Studies; History; Latin American History; Latin American Studies; Middle Eastern History; Middle Eastern Studies; World History

Master of Arts in History, Youngstown State University, 2012, Department of Humanities

Rape was a constant topic in the Early Republic, whether in legal cases, factual newspaper articles, or fictional novels. This thesis examines the legal, popular, and gendered perceptions of rape in the Early American Republic (1790-1850) and demonstrates how the period's legal and social systems constantly influenced one another's conception of rape. Moving beyond the conclusions of previous scholars, this thesis argues that conflicting variations of rape existed in the Early Republic and that rape in this historical context cannot be simply defined as the male population's exercise of patriarchal power over the female population. Chapter one analyzes rape from a legal perspective and examines cases of rape and attempted rape and the laws and statutes that governed them. It argues that the prosecution of rape in the Early Republic was extraordinarily arbitrary and greatly influenced by the popular perception of rape and sexual behavior. Chapter two examines from a social and cultural perspective and analyzes popular representations and perceptions of rape and sex in novels and newspapers. It argues that the legal and popular perceptions of rape in the Early Republic were more heavily rooted in fiction than in fact, creating a rape narrative that permeated rape prosecutions. Finally, chapter three addresses the role of gender and power in the legal and popular representations of rape in the Early Republic. It argues that in the process of being further victimized, Early Republic rape victims exercised agency through the legal and social systems' perceptions and expectations of them.

Committee: Diane Barnes PhD (Advisor); G. Mehera Gerardo PhD (Committee Member); Martha Pallante PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; Gender; Gender Studies; History; Law; Legal Studies; Womens Studies