Marginality, Social

This thesis explores the implications of visibility and invisibility of transgender people, their constructed bodies, and how these bodies are used for both personal
empowerment and education. By using various gender theorists for support, I argue that
the transgender male body obtains power through visibility. Despite the many obstacles
transgender males face, putting their bodies in a space of visibility gives them both
personal power and the power to educate others about their bodies and sexuality. In doing
a study of the human body and the different definitions applied to it, I show how we, as a
society, are restricted by gender binaries and how the transgender body serves as a gap
between the socially-constructed terms. Ultimately, transgender people are able to break
through these barriers by subverting the definitions and meaning of “male” and “female.”

Can the subaltern really speak? Invoking Gayatri Spivak's post-colonial theory on the subaltern, this study aims to highlight the necessary, yet problematic relationship between intellectuals and the marginalized groups they seek to represent. This study argues that in the last chapter of Julia Alvarez's How the Garcâia Girls Lost Their Accents, the image of the wailing cat becomes a haunting image regarding Alvarez's own subject-position as a writer, a role that often places her in the center of harsh criticism. Consequently, this project traces the subaltern figures through three of Alvarez's texts -¡YO!, In the Time of the Butterflies, and Saving the World - in order to reveal the paradox that defines their relationship with the privileged body that seeks to be their representative. The subaltern cannot speak beyond the margins without the help of the elite; however, the same position of privilege and power that enables the intellectual to write can quickly become the factor that discredits their right to speak. Consequently, this study also attempts to reclaim the voice of Julia Alvarez, who is herself silenced and thus, rendered subaltern in the literary market by critics who feel that her privileged position complicates her ability to represent the collective.

This study detected and explored the existence of two proposed school cultures, the use of leader actions by principals, and the relationships between them, of a sample of 42 public schools in Southeast Florida. A quantitative non-experimental design was used, guided by eight research questions. One instrument, the BSJQ, was created for the purposes of detecting school normative cultures and another, the SLQ, was refined and used to detect principal leader actions. The existence of Business and Social Justice cultures was confirmed, and three latent cultures of Standards Performance, Democratic Community and Equity Curriculum were discovered. Of the schools participating, 74% had at least one of these cultures. The use of four leader actions was measured and statistically associated with different detected cultures. Managing/Transforming and Bridging actions were associated with all, Bonding was associated with all except the Equity Curriculum culture, and Bartering was associated only with the Business/Standards Performance culture. The schools' context had limited impact on the relationship between actions and culture.

This thesis is a profoundly personal one. It examines the role of context in creation (authorship) and perception (reading an image) of representation. Born in Sri Lanka during the emergence of one the world's longest lasting civil wars, I never recognized my love and concern for the Island and its ancient history and culture until I traveled to America to pursue a higher education. Ever since, I have constantly found myself in situations where I am regarded as the 'other' or the 'outsider' ; I seem to not fit in completely in this country as well as in my own. In the US I am considered 'eastern' or 'exotic', whereas in my own country, I am considered 'westernized', no longer looked at as a typical Sri Lankan woman. This thesis examines and explores marginalization, orientalism, deconstruction theories, semiotic studies, dialect as well as attire, in the specific context of Graphic Design.