Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Media and Communication

The conceptualization of feminism and rise of feminist individuals and groups in Ghana have evolved within the Fourth Republic era (from 1992 to the present), leading to growing misunderstanding about the nature, role, and scope of the feminist activism in Ghana. This thesis examines how individuals who uphold feminist thought and practice, and gender equity nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Ghana use social media to advocate for women's and children's health and well-being, women's participation in politics and media, and elimination of crises, including rape culture and gender-based violence (GBV). The thesis analyzes how Ghanaian feminists and gender equity NGOs contribute to principles of UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG5): Gender Equality and ascertains how social media is used for gender equity advocacy efforts. In-depth interviews with self-identified Ghanaian feminists and leaders of gender equity NGOs were conducted. Interview data was analyzed using grounded theory. The result of Research Question (RQ1), on how Ghanaian feminist activism has evolved, indicates growing acceptance of feminism during the latter half of the current Republic era. Findings for RQ2, on how feminist and gender equity NGOs use digital platforms to advocate for Ghanaian women and children, indicate digital platforms are used for training women on leadership and entrepreneurship, defending themselves and their children against GBV, and amplifying women's and children's interests. Findings for RQ3, on how Ghanaian feminists and NGOs contribute to UN SDG 5, reveal productive efforts to educate on gender equity, collaborate with women celebrities to take leadership roles on gender equality to broader publics, and advocate for women's representation in Ghanaian institutions. Finally, RQ4, on roles Ghanaian social media play in amplifying Ghanaian feminists, digital platforms are vital to enable collaboration, support change in public policies negatively affecting women, an (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts in English, Cleveland State University, 2019, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Although scholars have examined Mrs. Dalloway extensively in terms of gender performance, few critics of The Great Gatsby have explored Gatsby's masculinity through gender studies. Using Judith Butler's theory of gender performativity, I argue that Mrs. Dalloway and Gatsby represent both actors and directors rehearsing a new gendered identity of the twentieth century. Through their roles as staged performers, I emphasize how seemingly minute tasks connect to larger social and political stakes of memory, celebrity status, and reappraisals of gender identity. I further assert that while both Mrs. Dalloway and Nick Carraway experience revelations and heightened imagination through death, neither achieve non- heteronormative gender identities. Still, Virginia Woolf and F. Scott Fitzgerald draw upon their own image of the artist to playfully tease a new hybrid-femininity and masculinity of self-invention beyond the gilded cage.

Bachelor of Science, Walsh University, 2019, Honors

Based upon data analysis from an extensive literature review, supplemented with interview data from twelve women who gave birth, this study examines the decision-making process behind a woman's pain management methods during childbirth and navigates how gender constructs may have contributed to their decisions. Women may internalize long-standing gender role expectations and allow them to interfere with the way they perceive pain. Females digest these stereotypes, conform to them, and allow them to manipulate the way that they perceive pain. By exploring how societal norms influence women's choices, attitudes, pain management, and experiences of childbirth, healthcare professionals can better understand and support their patients' decisions. The interviews supplemented research collected regarding feminist theory. The following themes emerged from the interviews: 1) women feeling pressured into receiving an epidural, 2) being provided with excessive postpartum pain management, and 3) overall, feeling that there are judgments imposed on women's choice regarding parenting, fertility, pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. The medical professionals involved with caring for a laboring mother should recognize any pre-existing opinions which may have the potential to impede the equal and fair treatment of childbirth pain, the professional can ensure that the mother is receiving care that is free of judgment.

Master of Arts (MA), Wright State University, 2012, Educational Leadership

The number of transgender students on college campuses has been increasing throughout the United States (Schneider,2010). Transgender students face unique concerns in nearly every aspect of campus life. The purpose of this research was to examine the college experiences of transgender students and recommend best practices for making college campuses more welcoming for transgender students. This phenomenological study was conducted using open ended interview questions to collect qualitative data from three transgender students at a large four year public institution in the Midwest. Respondents identified unwelcoming messages in the following areas of campus life: student activities, health services, and through the dichotomization of gender on university forms. Nine recommendations for best practices in creating a welcoming campus environment for transgender students are included in the discussion section of this thesis.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2009, Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures

The aim of the current study is to reveal asymmetries in the linguistic encoding of male and female persons in Slovak by analyzing ample lexical material from a synchronic perspective. Specifically, I examine a corpus of over 60,000 lemmas, document a sub-corpus of approximately 6,000 personal nouns, devise a taxonomy model of sixteen semantic classes based on Dickins (2001), and classify the Slovak personal nouns by semantic class. I further examine in detail the issue of the relationship between significant types of asymmetries (lexical gaps determined by biological, social, cultural and/or historical roles of men and women within the family unit, community, or society; gaps which are attributed to formal constraints; parallel designations for women and men with a semantic difference; epicene nouns; and double-gender nouns) and the semantic classes in which those asymmetries tend to occur. Based on the linguistic evidence, I determine which semantic classes show tendencies towards symmetrical gender relationships, and which classes resist forming parallel terms for male and female referents. The current analysis of the Slovak data contrasts with numerous articles dealing with gender asymmetry in that it shows that the tendency towards gender symmetry is greater than in some other related languages, for instance Czech and Polish.

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Leadership Studies, Xavier University, 2022, Leadership Studies and Human Resource Development

This study investigated the extent to which teacher and staff's gender role beliefs differ from the U.S. population and such beliefs are associated with their preference of leader gender in a P-8 Midwestern school through the lens of Bandura's (1971) Social Learning Theory. Teachers and staff who participated in this study responded to the survey questionnaires pertaining to gender role bias from World Value Survey Wave 7 (2017-2020). A series of one-sample T-test showed that there is not a significant difference in gender role beliefs at the P-8 school in comparison to the World Value Survey results targeting the U.S. population except for the two survey items: 1) Being a housewife is just as fulfilling as working for pay; and 2) When jobs are scarce, men should have more right to a job than women. Regarding the two survey items, the school participants showed a significantly lower level of gender role bias than the U.S. general population. Logistic regression analyses revealed that participants' gender role beliefs are not significantly associated with teachers and staff's preference of leader gender after taking into account the participants' gender, position type, and age. Despite the non-significant findings from the quantitative data, the qualitative data from the survey's open-ended question showed gender role beliefs in favor of female or male leaders, reflecting that gender role bias exist among some teachers. The study's findings could inform best practices for enhancing gender equality in leadership position in a K-12 setting.

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2017, Psychology/Clinical

The transgender community is widely discriminated against for not conforming to cultural expectations of how gender is experienced and portrayed. Living in continuously oppressive social conditions threatens transgender young adults' emotional and mental well-being, as well as their academic success. Colleges and universities are increasing their efforts to create safe and inclusive environments for gender diverse individuals in higher education. Transgender students' viewpoints are critically important in helping universities make informed, sensitive, and meaningful solutions to the systems level barriers that transgender students encounter on campus. The present qualitative study examined the lived experiences of 11 transgender and gender diverse university students regarding various aspects of university life. Transgender students also discussed their viewpoints on and experiences with advocating for social change related to gender diversity issues on campus. Through the qualitative analysis of in-person interviews, eight themes were identified for what aspects of campus life participants desired to be changed in order to improve the campus climate for the transgender community. Findings also provide insights into students' personal beliefs about advocacy efforts related to transgender issues. Implications of the findings for future research and advocacy efforts are discussed.

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2016, Communication

This study examined the impact of gender role orientations on conflict styles used by superiors when in conflict with their subordinates. Previous studies examining differences in conflict styles based on biological sex have been contradictory and inconclusive. However, few studies have examined the conflict styles used based on gender role orientations. This study filled the gap using surveys collected via snowball sampling in order to collect self-reported data regarding the relationships between gender role orientations and conflict styles of superiors. The measures used included the BSRI to measure gender role orientations, and the ROCII-II to measure conflict styles in superior-subordinate relationships. This study found that men are more likely to use the dominating style of conflict and women are more likely to use integrating and avoiding. Masculine individuals were found to use dominating more often, androgynous individuals used integrating more often, and feminine individuals used avoiding more often. Gender role orientation was also found to be a significant predictor of the avoiding and obliging conflict styles.

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2010, Geography (Arts and Sciences)

This research seeks to explore the ways in which the women of Ciudad Sandino have participated in community-driven development (CDD) and what impacts this participation has had on the gender relations between men and women. I am able to address this by using qualitative methods to conduct a case study of the Genesis spinning cooperative, which is part of the Jubilee House Community – Center for Development in Central America. I have found that for members of the Genesis project there have been significant changes in their lives due to their participation, however the implications of these changes is different for men than it is for women. Similarly, although gender ideologies have been challenged at the individual level due to participation, in this context, participation does not necessarily challenge the structural system in place which upholds societal views of gender roles.

Master of Education (MEd), Bowling Green State University, 2008, Reading

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between gender and reading performance on the Ohio Fourth Grade Reading Achievement Test that was given to all fourth grade students in May of 2007. The statewide results showed that females outperformed males at all grade levels (three through eight) on the test (Ohio Department of Education, 2007a). The main focus of this study was to identify relationships that may exist between gender and each of the reading standards that were assessed (Acquisition of Vocabulary, Reading Process, Informational Text, and Literary Text) on the test. This study also examined gender differences among students' overall reading scale scores on the test. A sample of 88 students' (56 males and 32 females) scores from the Ohio Fourth Grade Reading Achievement Test were collected and analyzed from three schools. For each standard and overall reading score that was provided, the number of males and females who performed above, at, and below the proficient levels were identified. After running statistical tests, the only standard that showed a significant difference between gender and performance was the Informational Text standard. This finding showed that twice the number of females scores fell in the below proficient range on the Informational Text standard when compared to the number of males.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Drawing from two years of interviews, in-person participant observation, and digital fieldwork with the parents' rights group Moms for Liberty, this dissertation explores the growth of the anti-gender movement in the United States. I explore how and why Moms for Liberty has so quickly succeeded in their efforts to ban gender affirming care for trans youth, bar the discussion of LGBTQ identities and race in K-12 schools, and remove books about race and gender from school and public libraries. Moms for Liberty members situate the hierarchy of the Christian nuclear family as a roadmap for political hierarchy, using their roles as mothers to enshrine the familial subject positions of the Christian nuclear family as the basis for societal order. Arguing that the group achieved mainstream success by mobilizing the figure of the Child in danger, I demonstrate that Moms for Liberty uses normative ideas about childhood innocence and childhood development to radicalize parents into the anti-gender movement. By focusing on how M4L activists construct the Child as the private property of the nuclear family, I further explore how far-right groups situate public institutions as violations of their right to ‘ownership' over children. I conclude by demonstrating how Moms for Liberty's advocacy has contributed to a movement for the partial privatization of the education system at the state level.

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2024, History

This dissertation offers a new look at the Age of Jackson to better understand the influences that women and gender roles had on American politics during the 1820s and 1830s. It offers a counternarrative to a historiography that has focused predominately on Whig Womanhood, which developed in opposition to Andrew Jackson's presidency. Instead, it looks at the women who were passionate supporters of Jackson to see what drew the “common woman” to the complicated figure who was once heralded as being a champion of the “common man.” Additionally, this research looks at how conforming to normative gender roles was a useful political tool. Jackson's reputation as a martial figure often came coupled with the idea that he was a protector of women, and his supporters responded to this narrative. At the same time, Jackson's opponents argued that he was dangerous to women, while also denigrating the womanhood of female figures close to him. This dissertation thus argues that women were integral to the electoral strategies of the Democrats as well as the Whigs during the Jacksonian period, which, therefore, cannot be fully understood without far greater attention to the neglected Jackson women.

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, 2024, Sociology

In the past decade, the number of studies of transgender individuals has grown exponentially, but specific research into subcommunities under the broader transgender label is lacking. Most studies focus on either binary transgender individuals (transgender women and transgender men) alone, or combine all persons identifying as any gender other than their gender assigned at birth into one large group of “transgender people.” However, the limited intragroup research that has been done suggests that experiences vary drastically depending on one's gender identity, and we can imagine that the experience of binary transgender individuals would be very different than the experiences of nonbinary transgender individuals. This study reports on the lived experiences of nonbinary people – individuals identifying as neither men nor women, but rather existing outside of the gender binary. Qualitative interview methods were used to gather information from nonbinary individuals about their personal experiences with identity development, external experiences of stress from other people, and the internalized impacts of minority stress. Based in grounded theory, the subsequent report on these interviews includes discussion and analyses of the data collected. This discussion utilized a newly suggested framework – the Respect, Support, and Perception Theory – for analyzing interpersonal relationships with genderqueer individuals and the potential internalized effects that these relationships have on nonbinary individuals.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, EDU Teaching and Learning

This dissertation is a conglomerate of three distinct, yet related, studies each exploring the question: How do the gendered experiences of a man elementary school teacher as well as portrayals of fictional men teachers in middle-grade novels contribute to the conceptualization of the gendered identities and masculinities of men who teach in the predominantly female environment of an elementary school? The first study is a content analysis of 85 middle-grade school stories using gender theory to analyze the gendered identities of 357 fictional teachers across the text set. In this analysis, I found that 40.34% of these 357 fictional teachers were constructed as men, with no transgender or nonbinary teachers in the text set. Over 90% of the teachers were constructed as White, and when they had an identified sexuality, they were most likely to be heterosexual, with only four teachers constructed as homosexual. Men teachers were most likely to be portrayed teaching P.E. or after-school classes. The teaching roles they were most likely to be shown performing included the delivery of content, the disciplining of students, and the daily management of the classroom. They were more likely than women teachers to be portrayed as fun and to give their students life advice. The second study in the dissertation is another content analysis with a much smaller text set, this time comprised of 10 middle-grade books. In this second analysis, I employ masculinity theory to examine various patterns of masculinity in the portrayals of 10 fictional teachers, each constructed as a man. In this analysis, I found that most of the fictional men teachers were constructed as successfully navigating between hegemonic and subordinate masculinities. At the same time, half of the teachers also operate to an extent within marginalized masculinities, two as gay men, two as Latinx men, and one as a Black man. These portrayals promote some gendered stereotypes of men teachers, specifically portra (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2022, Sociology

The “gender gap” refers to the differences in crime rates between men and women. Criminologists have historically examined sex differences in crime using this binary male vs. female approach. Although sex – which is what the “gender gap” historically captures – is a salient and strong predictor of offending, much less attention has been given to understanding how gender identity relates to offending behaviors. Using data from a convenience sample of college students at a midsized Midwestern university, I examine how both sex and gender identity relate to offending behaviors, and if gender identity mediates the previously well- established relationship between biological sex and offending behaviors. Findings suggest that neither biological sex, nor gender identity, significantly predict decisions to engage in violent crime, property crime, or general deviant behavior. Given the critical gap in the literature, implications of this study are important for understanding the relationship between sex, gender, and crime.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2022, Counselor Education (Education)

The dissertation investigated the experiences of six counselors located in the Midwestern region of the USA and how their experiences influence intervention strategies when providing support for GBV (Gender-Based Violence) survivors. The purpose of the study was to explore the counselors' experiences and to see how these affect the strategies that they use. The hermeneutical phenomenological approach was used as a methodology, with six participant counselors who were from agencies and shelters that house gender-based violence survivors. The researcher recruited the participants using convenience sampling and snowballing strategies, and analyzed data from semi-structured interviews, fieldnotes, and document analysis, using the Bronfenbrenner Model as the conceptual framework. The data analysis yielded seven main themes: experience of counselors, interventions for GBV, negative impacts of therapy on counselors, counselors' needs in GBV work, coping strategies for counselors, types of abuse in clients, and the effects of covid on GBV work. Implications for these findings on counselor educators, clinical supervisors and future research within the mental health field are discussed.

PHD, Kent State University, 2022, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Sociology and Criminology

Gender scholars contend that accountability for "doing" gender within interactions between individuals is how the gender structure can be challenged or "redone" (Connell 2010; Hollander 2013, 2018; Risman and Davis 2013; West and Zimmerman 1987). Some scholars point to consent culture practiced by the BDSM (Bondage/Discipline, Domination/Submission, Sadism/masochism) community, as a model to teach consent and accountability (Buchwald, Fletcher, and Roth 2005; Cagwin 2018; Dixie 2017; Harding 2015; Pitagora 2013; Stryker, Queen, and Penny 2017). Other research indicates that the BDSM community might "undo" gender, but more likely simultaneously challenges and reproduces gender inequality (Banerjee, Merchant, and Sharma 2018; Deutsch 2007; Simula and Sumerau 2017). However, little literature focuses on how consent is socially constructed to include interactional accountability that might challenge gender inequality within BDSM. In this research, I consider how interactional consent scripts socially construct consent culture, how "doing" consent in the kink community provides an empirical example of "redoing" gender across the gender spectrum, and how BDSM identifying individuals and communities experience the conflict between consent culture and the hegemonic gender structure. I found that socially constructed interactional consent scripts guide interactions in BDSM through stringent rules that aim to maintain agency and bodily autonomy through enthusiastic consent, boundaries, and limits. The BDSM community reinforces consent scripts with strict social control and accountability through formal and informal methods including social sanctions and reputations. I found that interactional consent scripts form the basis of "doing" consent, where individuals enact consent scripts in their interactions to uphold consent culture much like "doing" gender upholds the gender structure. Individuals in BDSM across the gender spectrum shared how “doing" consent allowed them to "r (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts in Professional Communication, Youngstown State University, 2021, Department of Communicaton

In this study I explored communication interactions between K-12 teachers and principals. I reviewed previous studies regarding multiple related topics including school leadership, educational climate, and gender communication to identify multiple factors as influential contributors to the positive or negative communication interactions between K-12 teachers and principals and the ultimate influence of communication on teachers' commitment to their jobs and teacher retention. Results from a participant pool of 11 teachers suggest that teachers view administrative support as an important aspect of positive communication and relationship building and that while this study did not find that gender was a clear influencer of communication breakdown, this study did confirm the existence of the glass escalator described by Williams (1992) and the existence of gender-stereotypes related to leadership and the resulting gender double bind for women.

BA, Kent State University, 2021, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of English

The posthumous publication of Ernest Hemingway's The Garden of Eden raised questions within the academic community surrounding the topics of gender and sexuality. Though he is typically known as a writer who favors heterosexual and heavily masculine themes, this novel challenges those notions by introducing aspects such as same-sex experimentation, gender role reversal, and the complicated dynamic of a three-person relationship. The first portion of this thesis focuses on the establishment of the aforementioned qualities within the novel, supporting and further arguing that the elements blatantly reject what is typically discussed about Hemingway's works. In addition, the film adaption of the novel is evaluated at length in order to understand a more modern response to his work within popular culture. Finally, this thesis explores two short stories, Mr. and Mrs. Elliot and The Sea Change. As both of the stories are cited as early blueprints to The Garden of Eden, their inclusion suggests Hemingway began thinking of these time-period taboos long before the 1986 publication of the novel. The overall argument emphasizes the importance of rereading and revisiting the Hemingway canon in order to bring more continuous and evolved conversation into academia and popular culture at large.

Master of Science (M.S.), Xavier University, 2021, Psychology

Gender has historically been measured using a binary male/female forced choice format. However, research has shown that binary gender measurement formats (i.e., male/female forced choice) cause harm directly and indirectly to gender-diverse individuals by potentially misgendering them, excluding them from representation in research, and more. While a body of research on best practices for gender measurement exists, there has not been research done on the intersection between mood and different methods of measuring gender. This mixed-methods study examines affective reactions from LGBT+ and non-LGBT+ individuals to a binary gender measurement format and an alternative, inclusive gender measurement format. Participants completed either the binary or inclusive gender measurement item followed by the Positive Negative Affect Schedule. Qualitative data were gathered from gender-diverse participants regarding their personal experiences with gender euphoria. Results showed LGBT+ participants had higher negative mood than non-LGBT participants when presented with the binary gender measurement format; however, LGBT+ participants displayed higher negative mood in general than non-LGBT+ participants regardless of gender measurement format. Gender-diverse participants displayed significantly higher negative mood than cisgender participants when presented with a binary gender measurement format. A working definition of the phenomenon gender euphoria was created from the qualitative data gathered from gender-diverse participants. Future research should explicitly address individuals' feelings about different gender measurement formats. Additionally, future research should be conducted by a more diverse research team, as well as sample from a more diverse pool of participants. Finally, organizations should make an effort to address LGBT+ job satisfaction specifically.