Book categories

Commodification of Sexual Labor

Contribution of Internet Communities to Prostitution Reform

by Jeffrey R. Young

2016

Most feminists agree that successful prostitution reform requires that prostitutes be respected by their clients, peers, and the community. Although respect is not the only criterion necessary for acceptable reform, many feminists believe that the absence of stigma would be a sufficiently fundamental improvement to merit the reconsideration of policies that severely restrict prostitution. The aim of this study is to show that certain online prostitution venues contribute to acceptable prostitution reform by fostering trust and respect between the participants. My hypothesis is that when commercial sex is conducted in an open atmosphere of respect and mutual understanding, within certain economic parameters, beliefs and practices that stigmatize prostitutes and prostitution are potentially ...

Villains, Victims, and Violets

Agency and Feminism in the Original Sherlock Holmes Canon

by Resa Haile and Tamara R. Bower

2019

Modern writers have reconsidered every subject under the sun through the lens of Sherlock Holmes. The overlooked subject is agency: the opportunities available to these women for independence and control. What we find all too often are the silences around them. And yet, these clients--villains, victims, and Violets--are pivotal in the world of Sherlock Holmes. Perhaps more enigmatic than Holmes' methods is what Watson sees: the woman in the shadows. Whether lady or lady's maid, if she does speak, it's often not recorded in her words. That was life for half the population of Victorian England. A woman's role was written before she was born; it merely required her to don the starched white apron of a maid, or the rough, stained skirts of a "char"--who did the dirtiest of household jobs--o...

Disrupting Fraternity Culture

Folklore and the Construction of Violence Against Women

by Brandy Taylor Fink

2010

Disrupting Fraternity Culture explores how young men and women perform male and female roles to "fit in" during the college or young adult years. It is arguable that many young men "perform" the role of the hegemonic male to fit in among peers, and that performing the hegemonic male is to perform acts of violence against women. This project actively examines university organizations and institutions, such as fraternities and sororities, which can encourage anti-female attitudes. All of the narratives used in this study were given willingly and given primarily by peers. The names of the individuals and the names of the fraternity and sorority houses the individuals belong to will not be revealed in this project. Fraternities and sororities are useful institutions to study because so many yo...

Cracking the Glass Ceiling

Factors Influencing Women's Attainment of Senior Executive Positions

by Carole K. Adair

1999

Barriers which hinder career advancement of women are complex and varied. They have become top agenda items for most corporations and the gov-ernment. The "glass ceiling" is a term that symbolizes a variety of barriers that prevent qualified individuals from advancing higher in their organization. Although many women hold management positions, few have made the breakthrough to top-level positions. To determine what conditions are required for women to attain top executive positions, an ethnographic study was conducted at a hospital. The study was limited to four women who held executive positions: one associate administrator, one interim associate administrator, one director and the CEO. An in-depth data gathering technique using observation, interviews and documentation was used to ...

Woman X Turns Thirty

Myths, Mysteries and Mental Meltdowns

by Heidi E. Rehmann

2000

According to seventeenth century epigrammatist La Rochefoucauld, "The hell of women is old age." For many women, turning thirty opens the gates to the hell that La Rochefoucauld defines. It is a universal, painful rite of passage that strips her of her youth and exposes a woman with no more excuses. Every woman eventually turns thirty, and it just so happens to be Generation X's turn. Woman X Turns Thirty: Myths, Mysteries, and Mental Meltdowns is a humorous, non-fiction account of one Generation X woman's journey to and through thirty. Her experiences are relayed through a variety of vignettes dealing with sex, mortality, stress, and surviving "the big one", to name a few. For the woman who will soon find herself in the throes of thirty (or has been there already), this book offer...

An Examination of the Concrete Ceiling

Perspectives of Ten African American Women Managers and Leaders

by Dr. Nadine M. Johnson

2006

Research indicates that although women have progressed in their representation in management positions in corporate organizations, they are still subject to gender inequality (Cohen & Huffman, 2003; Gazso, 2004; Karlin, England, & Richardson, 2002). For African American women, they are further subjected to race and class inequalities. The proposed research is intended to examine the unique personal and professional views and experiences of 10 African American women managers and leaders working in White, male-dominant cultures. It will further determine if these African American women working in such a culture agree in their perceptions of inequalities contributing to the low representation in managerial and leadership positions within their respective organizations.

The Psychodynamics of First Generation Arab-American Muslim Women

by Amal Hassoun Nardi

2007

This causal-comparative study explores the acculturation and its affects on the psychodynamics of first generation Arab-American Muslim women born and raised in the United States. Torn between the Old World customs of their parents and modern American traditions, first generation Arab-American Muslim women face a major identity challenge in trying to balance their two worlds. Developmental psychologist E.H. Erikson (1970) proposed a theory of psychosocial development based on six basic concepts: stages of development, developmental task, psychosocial crisis, the central process for resolving the psychosocial crisis, the radius of significant relationship and coping behaviors. Coupled with Erikson’s theory is Young Yun Kim’s theory of acculturation (1977), which posits that accultu...

Weeping Widows and Warrior Women

A Feminist Reading of Shakespeare's First Tetralogy

by Corey Lynn Hutchins

2011

Weeping Widows and Warrior Women will consider the plays of Shakespeare's first tetralogy, which includes 1, 2, 3 Henry VI and Richard III, through a feminist critical perspective. It will assess the female characters of these plays through their speech and actions rather than giving credence to external evaluations of them, whether from other characters or a perceived stance of the playwright. The goal throughout is to divorce previously seldom-studied characters from oppressive patriarchal interpretations of their actions in order to bring them in line with a feminist understanding of fully individuated women. This thesis will explore issues of sexuality, witchcraft, war-mongering, widowhood, mourning, and scolding through the characters of Joan la Pucelle, the Countess of Auvergne, E...