ABSTRACT My project addressed the broad questions of what barriers exist to accessibility for students and staff with disabilities at Arizona State University (ASU) and the reasons both historical and contemporary why those barriers exist. The second objective of my analysis was to provide potential solutions to these problems utilizing the voices and lived experiences of students and staff with disabilities at ASU. In terms of methods, my project employed a mixed methods approach combining historical archival research with individual and focus group interviews with impacted stakeholders. I sought to build community across disciplinary and disability boundaries, as building community represents in my view the greatest asset to create social change. My study found that many of the barriers to accessibility that students and staff with disabilities at ASU face today have much to do with the institution’s historical connection to neoliberalism, ableism and eugenics. Although the task of undermining these systems of oppression may seem daunting at first, the biggest take away from my project is was that small changes can go a long way toward a broader communal understanding of accessibility within the built and classroom environments of Arizona State University. One suggestion that came up repeatedly throughout my interviews was the need for greater disability awareness within the ASU community of students, faculty and staff. In response to this suggestion, myself and my interviewees propose a semester long disability seminar for the ASU community taught by students and staff with lived experience of disability. Another recurring finding was the need for ASU to have greater transparency related to resources for students and staff with disabilities and other intersectional identities. In response to this need, I and two other interested community members have created a categorized list of disability resources that I hope can be updated organically by students and staff with disabilities at ASU as more resources become available. The resource list is included below as appendix E. My hope is that my project can serve as a building block in the ongoing work of envisioning a more accessible Arizona State University.

The process of pathologizing grief and othering grievers is historically situated in white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy and is reproduced socially. ‘Grief norms, gender norms’ explores and complicates the ways that grief and gender are co-constitutive; mediated by social norms; and reinforced through institutions like psychiatry and medicine, workplace policies, and public discourses around grief which all work together to create ‘acceptable’ structures of feeling. This dissertation uses a combination of in-depth, semi-structured interviews and digital grief content across two social media sites: Instagram and TikTok in order to explore various sites of this affective social reproduction and the multi-directional impact of gender and grief when studied side by side. This project is made up of three distinct, but thematically related sections: feminine embodied grief and masking; how the Widow is socially reproduced as ‘Other’; and the intimate publics of female grief influencers on Instagram. Each of these chapters explores a different aspect of the shaping of 'acceptable' grief through valences of gendered norms - which are already raced and classed - and explores the ways that those norms socializes individuals of all genders towards expectations about how grief 'should' be experienced and expressed. Feminine embodied grief is experienced beyond linear temporality, and felt sensationally and relationally. This means that grievers experiencing this kind of feminine embodied grief more readily rely on grief masking to 'pass' in non-grieving society. In the third chapter, the experience of the Widow is the primary focus. This chapter examines the social processes that render the Widow as 'Other', socially, and polices the active grief of the Widow through processes of isolation and exclusion. Each widow in this study experienced such othering, including John, whose partner died of AIDS in the 1990s. The end of this chapter explores his experience of ambiguous widowhood. The final chapter takes a wider view and focuses on the intimate publics formed by female grief influencers on Instagram. This chapter highlights two such influencers and the ways that the discourses about grief that they employ both disrupts and reinforces traditional, Western logics about 'acceptable' grief.

U.S. non-profit organizations (NPOs) offering Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programming, particularly those serving minorities and women, are becoming guideposts that assist academic, government and corporate institutions alike to steer their efforts and investments towards achieving their diversity and inclusion goals. Despite multi-year, multi-billion, and multi-resource investments in broadening STEM access and inclusion, the inequitable representation of young women and girls of color actively participating in school and out-of-school STEM programs continues to persist. The primary aim of this study was to validate a feminist theoretical framework grounded on the constructs of intersectionality, collective impact, and accountability systems, to help inform and disrupt persistent trends for women graduating in engineering and computer science through the third sector’s facilitation of STEM programming. A secondary objective was to understand the history and trajectory of the change and emergence of non-profit STEM Girl-Centered Organizations (SGCOs) and their profiles as a comparative measure of their relative status within the third sector ecosystem, how they serve, and who they serve. By leveraging over twenty-five years of practical experience and applying a mixed-methods research methodology, the research findings pointed to 1) an early adoption of intersectionality concepts into program outreach efforts by integrating cross-elements of race/ethnicity, geographies, and socioeconomic markers of identity; 2) emerging interest in, and incorporation of, culturally responsive programming that is better matched to the needs of diverse program beneficiaries; 3) an increase in equitable program access for participants residing in under-resourced communities; 4) a growing appreciation for the value of partnerships as a precursor to more authentic collective impact collaborations; and 5) priority shifts in systems of accountability from funders to primary programs’ beneficiaries.

This dissertation examines pro-immigrants' rights activism and advocacy among middle-class White women in and around Phoenix, Arizona, in order to analyze these activists' understandings and enactments of their racialized and gendered citizenship. This project contributes a wealth of qualitative data regarding the operation of race, gender, class, (dis)ability, sexuality, and community in the daily lives and activism of White women pro-immigrants' rights advocates, collected largely through formal and informal interviewing in conjunction with in-depth participant observation. Using a feminist, intersectional analytical lens, and drawing upon critical race studies, Whiteness studies, and citizenship theory, this dissertation ultimately finds that White women face thornily difficult ethical questions about how to wield the rights entailed in their citizenship and their White privilege on behalf of marginalized Latinx non-citizens. This project ultimately argues that the material realities and racial consequences of being a White woman participating in (im)migrants’ rights work in the borderlands means living with the contradiction that one’s specific and intersectionally mediated status as a White woman citizen contributes to and further reifies the gendered system of White supremacy that functions to the direct detriment of the (im)migrants one seeks to assist, while simultaneously endowing one with the advantages and privileges of Whiteness, which together furnish the social capital necessary to challenge that same system of their behalf. The dissertation contends that White women committed to pro-(im)migrants’ rights advocacy and antiracism writ large must reckon with the source of their gendered and racialized citizenship and interrogate to what complicated and unforeseen ends they wield the Master’s tools against the Master’s house. In doing so, the project makes the case that White women's lives, as well as their experiences of citizenship and activism, are inherently and fundamentally intersectional and should be analyzed as such by scholars in Women's and Gender Studies.

Zines have made space for queer, intersectional feminists to bring together academic and artistic knowledge in order to produce a message and inspire readers. In order to criticize the legal definition and practical execution of obscenity in the US, a visual component was a necessity. The use of a Zine allowed for a critical and humorous exploration of obscenity in US law and media. The Zine provides a visual analysis while the companion essay provides a critique of the zine and additional analysis. The Zine brings awareness to ways in which the legal historical objectification of black and native bodies contributed to the creation of modern obscenity laws. These laws are based on racist and sexist ideals of morality and create inherently flawed definitions of obscenity through personal bias. The flaws within the laws allow for exceptions in the legal definition of obscenity which normalizes the commodification of women's bodies. These laws and the exceptions present contribute to the dehumanization of and violence towards women as usefulness is deemed the most important factor when considering the use of women’s bodies in potentially obscene images and films.

This thesis uses the Foucauldian model of the biopolitical state to explain the regulation of refugee women’s bodies who have undergone female genital cutting/mutilation (FGC/M). The main theoretical framework for this thesis is inspired by Dr. Khiara Bridges’ work: Reproducing Race: An Ethnography of Pregnancy as a Site of Racialization (2011). Her book explains how “material and societal conditions appear to affirm the veracity of race” (Bridges, 2011, 10). She describes pregnancy as a “racially salient event” that inevitably engages racial politics. In her book, she illustrates how the material body is the primary sign of racial difference (Bridges, 2011, 47). I argue that race and culture are inscribed in the body, and FGC/M is a physical representation of that inscription. As a result, a physical representation of racialization opens women with FGC/M to far more scrutiny and regulation. I define the United States and France as biopolitical states whose values and agendas regulate and police bodies to behave according to their norms. The value set that underlies the United States is predicated on principles of sovereignty, federalism, and an emphasis on a Puritanical work ethic where an individual must earn their benefits from the state. In France, however, there is less stigma surrounding social welfare but there is forced cultural assimilation that results in a singular, secular French identity. These value systems then inform the tools to police behavior. The tools, or systems, I have identified for this thesis are the adoption of human rights instruments into domestic law, refugee policy, healthcare systems, and regulation of women’s reproductive health. All of these macro-level systems then inform individual patient-provider relationships since those interactions are not independent of these systems. I argue that refugee women who have undergone FGC/M deviate from these prescribed norms and thus are subjugated to overwhelming biopolitical regulation.

ABSTRACT
The right to vote is widely considered as one of the fundamental pillars of a democratic society. Throughout the history of the United States, this pillar has gradually grown in strength as voting has become a far more inclusive and accessible exertion of political power and expression of political will. Currently in the United States, for the first time in decades, that pillar is slowly yet steadily eroding. There is a narrative, one that has been cultivated and carefully constructed for centuries, that the United States is a bastion of democracy. Although various groups have been oppressed and excluded from the voting franchise historically, the narrative promotes the idea that the right to vote is now fully enjoyed. But what does “the right” to vote really mean? Additionally, is the narrative that the United States is a true democracy with robust voter protections a reality, or is it a deceptive tactic meant to shroud the fact that voter power is undeniably waning?
This paper challenges that narrative, as well as argues that having “the right” to vote is hollow. The power of voters has always been diluted by the blanket exclusion of certain groups. Currently, however, the power of voters is being diluted by various forms of political, legal, and financial manipulation. Gerrymandering, voter suppression, and big money all contribute to the distortion and destruction of democracy in the United States, preventing it from fully realizing the ideals that have, ostensibly, guided it since its inception. This paper will examine each of these forms in terms of their history, their implementation, and their effects and consequences on voter power, as well as their influence on democracy in the United States as a whole. Additionally, this paper analyzes the potential solutions to these pernicious forms of voter dilution, seeking to discover if democracy in the United States can avoid becoming unrecognizable from the narrative that has supported it for centuries.

The term “female sportscaster” elicits a broad range of feelings among the sports media consumer base. Many of the women who fall into the category of “female sportscaster” appear to be greatly admired while many others evoke considerable scorn, making the electronic sports media industry a seemingly dangerous and often vitriolic environment for women. The gendered mistreatment of women sportscasters is not unfamiliar to sports media scholars. Indeed, phenomena such as sex biases, double standards, and harassment have been documented, primarily through positivistic or quantitative research. What has not been investigated, however, is how these phenomena persist and evolve despite the extant research.

This dissertation employs Michel Foucault’s power/knowledge paradigm to take a discursive analytic approach to understand how the “female sportscaster” subjectivity, or imagined idea, is constructed through statements, images, and practices. That is, this dissertation investigates the way society “talks about” the “female sportscaster” and how those discussions affect the experiences of women sportscasters. Using one-on-one interviews with 10 women sportscasters, focus groups with sports media consumers, netnography, and textual analysis under the umbrella of a feminist methodological approach, this dissertation finds that the American female subjectivity is constructed through postfeminist and neoliberal discourses. These discourses “empower” women sportscasters to be responsible for their own success but, in doing so, normalize the obstacles women in sportscasting endure.

As a result of this normalization, the electronic sports media industry is seemingly justified in taking little to no meaningful action toward improving conditions for women sportscasters. Specific manifestations of these discourses are traced across phenomena such as double standards, bias in hiring and development, harassment, and the expectation of affective labor. Suggestions are made for improving conditions for women sportscasters.

This study asks the question: does gender-based discrimination exists within Arizona State University's Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), and if so, what are the effects of such discrimination? Within this study, discrimination is defined as: the treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs, rather than on individual merit. The researcher predicted that this study would show that gender-based discrimination operates within the masculine military culture of Army ROTC at ASU, resulting from women's hyper-visibility and evidenced by their lack of positive recognition and disbelief in having a voice in the program. These expectations were based on background research claiming that the token status of women in military roles causes them to be more heavily scrutinized, and they consequentially try to attain success by adapting to the masculine military culture by which they are constantly measured. For the purposes of this study, success is defined as: the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence . This study relies on exploratory interviews and an online survey conducted with male and female Army ROTC cadets of all grade levels at Arizona State University. The interviews and survey collected demographic information and perspectives on individual experiences to establish an understanding of privilege and marginalization within the program. These results do support the prediction that women in Army ROTC at ASU face discrimination based on their unique visibility and lack of positive recognition and voice in the program. Likewise, the survey results indicate that race also has a significant impact on one's experience in Army ROTC, which is discussed later in this study in regard to needs for future research. ASU Army ROTC includes approximately 100 cadets, and approximately 30-40 of those cadets participated in this study. Additionally, the University of Arizona and the Northern Arizona University Army ROTC programs were invited to participate in this study and declined to do so, which would have offered a greater sample population. Nonetheless, the results of this research will be useful for analysis and further discussion of gender-equality in Army ROTC at Arizona State University.

This thesis examines the lived experiences of nine Eritrean refugee women resettled in Phoenix through personal narratives to understand their struggles towards achieving economic empowerment. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, the women shared their upbringing, resettlement journey, adjustment in Phoenix, Arizona, and reflections on gender and cultural issues that impact their lives. The women interviewed were between ages 18-46 with varying levels of English, education, and work experience. Interviews with agency staff members and volunteers familiar with refugee women's empowerment and/or Eritrean refugee women were also conducted. By evaluating the women's voices and stories, this thesis aims to propose relevant, culturally appropriate, and sustainable services that can effectively address the women's needs and understand the factors that can empower them in their new communities. Major themes that emerged from the women's narratives include the desire to organize and reach out beyond the refugee community, the importance of English language, mixed expectations of assistance and life in the U.S, and the social status of women in Eritrean culture. Based on the women's feedback, a meaningful group would incorporate elements such as improving language, connecting with culturally-familiar mentors, flexible scheduling, developing small businesses, and resources for income generation and educational opportunities. Eventual participation in the women's empowerment programs offered by local agencies is also recommended.