Low-income areas with limited access to nutritious foods are referred to as "food deserts" and are commonly found in communities of color. Supermarkets are absent from these neighborhoods, mostly due to the residual effects of redlining which began as early as the 1930s. Alternative food institutions, such as farmers’ markets, attempt but fail to adequately address the problems of food deserts. Grocery delivery services (GDS) reflect another attempt to address the problems of food deserts. Companies like Amazon Prime, Instacart, and Walmart Pickup & Delivery are becoming more popular. It is not known whether GDS improves access to nutritious foods. This study uses geographical information systems (GIS) to map the service areas of GDS and their overlap with food deserts in California. The results demonstrate that 6.56% of the state is comprised of areas that are food deserts served by GDS, while 28.21% of the state is comprised of areas that are food deserts and not served by GDS. Analysis of the racial and ethnic demographics suggests that very few people, regardless of race or ethnicity, are in a food desert that is not served by GDS. Future research can assess the utilization of GDS by low-income households to determine the extent to which access to GDS in a food desert translates to reduced food insecurity.

Extant research on African-American women’s sexuality is typically couched within the public health literature. Evidence of African-American women’s high rates of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and unwanted pregnancies is used to socially regulate and punish women of color, such as through forced sterilization. The construction of African-American women’s sexuality continues to serve as a linchpin of racial difference in a supposedly “post-racial” era. Challenging this line of research, Black feminist scholars have called for more critical research that acknowledges how race, gender, and class profoundly shape matters of sexuality. Past research has tended to focus on African-American women’s sexual attitudes and socialization by family, peers, and media. However, relatively little attention has focused on how intersecting social inequalities shape intimate experiences and more specifically, the social conditions that lead to increased sexual subjectivity for women of color. This study builds on the trailblazing work of Black feminists by identifying social-structural factors that shape Black women’s sexual experiences. Chapter 4 explores women’s conceptualizations of sexual pleasure. Given the taboo of women’s pleasure in society, particularly for racially marginalized women, little research has examined how sexual pleasure factors into women’s sexual lives. Women conceptualize sexual pleasure as partner, purpose, or process. This contributes to the literature by underscoring the variations in Black women’s beliefs about sexual pleasure and challenging the predominant assumptions of Black women’s sexuality as dangerous, risky, or immoral. Chapter 5 examines the cultural stereotypes surrounding Black women’s sexuality and how women manage the stigma of Black women’s deviant sexuality. I find that women contend with cultural beliefs of Black women’s asexuality or hypersexuality, which both construct Black women as not ideal sexual partners. Women draw on one of two techniques to manage negative stereotypes: by minimizing the stereotypes as salient in their sexual lives or by challenging them and subscribing to gendered arrangements in relationships. However, women must perform labor to shed this stigma and decrease their sexual agency. Chapter 6 focuses on Black women’s sexual body image. I argue that Black women contend with the “thick imperative,” or expectations to possess a curvier body. However, the “thick imperative” conflicts with the dominant ideal of thinness, which many voiced as a perennial concern in their lives. Therefore, I highlight how Black women must navigate two opposing ideals, which ultimately leads to increased frustration and body anxieties in their lives.

Research on sense of belonging among Asian Americans in higher education, particularly in institutions with a racially-ethnically and socioeconomically diverse student body, is scarce. Prior research on sense of belonging primarily focused on underrepresented minorities (URMs) and used quantitative methods, thereby not giving attention to the lived experiences of Asian Americans in higher education. As a result, there is a need to examine the various concerns and needs of Asian subgroups which are highly diverse. To fill the gaps in the scholarship, this research employs qualitative methods and Asian Critical Theory to center Asian Americans’ voices. Using three focus groups with diverse Asian Americans and 20 in-depth individual interviews with Korean Americans and Filipino Americans, this study adds to the empirical knowledge on Asian Americans’ sense of belonging in a diverse university and perceptions of the institutional and individual factors that shape it.

The sex work industry has evolved with the emergence of internet marketing, but little research examines sex workers who advertise online (i.e., online sex workers). This study is based on semi-structured interviews conducted in Southern California in 2014, with twenty-seven female online sex workers who provide mainstream sexual services to a male clientele. It focuses on sex workers’ perceptions of exit from sex work, and examines factors related to exit intentions, including relationships with sex work consumers, other sex workers, friends, family, and intimate partners (i.e., differential association), definitions of sex work, the perceived benefits and costs of sex work (i.e., differential reinforcement), and the prominence of and commitment to the sex worker identity. Participants varied in their perceptions of exit meaning, desirability, and feasibility. Of the 27 participants, 16 intended to exit sex work within 5 years whereas 11 had no such intentions. The study tested hypotheses informed by social learning theory in criminology and identity theory in social psychology. Support was found for most hypotheses, except those regarding the relation of differential association to other factors. In each instance, some cases deviated from the expected pattern, indicating that an expanded theoretical model is needed to explain exit from sex work.

Using a sample of 32 Asian-heritage young adults, between 19 to 24 years of age, from Southern California, this qualitative study examined the motivations for participation in raves, all-night, electronic dance music events. Results based on semi-structured, in-depth interviews suggest that stress, particularly associated with cultural issues, was a major motivation for participation. Cultural stressors included expectations to be a model minority, high expectations from family, parent-child acculturation differences, and discrimination due to sexual orientation by one’s own ethnic community. Music, collective experience, and drug use at raves were the mechanisms by which stress was reportedly reduced. These findings suggest that raves may provide positive mental health benefits for Asian-heritage young adults.

This study explores the impact of drug courts through the lens of narrative identity theory. Through the analysis of qualitative interviews with drug court staff and clients, this study examines cultural and organizational narratives shape perceptions of drug use and success within the drug court system. Staff narratives reveal a rejection of the cultural narrative that all drug use is immoral, instead viewing drug use as a health issue that is acceptable under certain circumstances. This perspective contrasts with the drug court's abstinence-focused model, which assumes all drug use is problematic due to its illegality. Staff believe that drug use should be addressed as a health issue but acknowledge the legal consequences of drug use. Client narratives similarly reflect a conditional acceptance of drug use, dependent on the absence of adverse consequences. Clients distinguish between problematic drug use and recreational use, with some perceiving drug addiction as a disease that compromises personal choice. These views align with staff perspectives but often diverge from the drug court's strict abstinence requirements. The study highlights a fundamental disconnect between the drug court's organizational narrative and the personal and cultural narratives of staff and clients. Staff emphasize personal growth and transformation as indicators of success, a more nuanced approach than the court's official mission statement. Clients' perceptions of success in drug court vary based on their self-identification as addicts or recreational users. Those who identify as addicts tend to view the program more favorably, while non-addict clients often see it as punitive. The findings suggest the need for a more tailored approach within drug courts, possibly incorporating harm reduction strategies and alternative models, such as arrest diversion programs. Such approaches could better address the diverse needs and perceptions of drug court participants. Future research should explore the alignment between staff and organizational philosophies and the potential for program modifications to enhance effectiveness and client satisfaction.

While feminist and critical criminologists have studied the “war on girls,” little attention has been given to violence experienced by gang-involved Chicana mothers. To date, most empirical research has focused on the immediate correlates of gang membership, such as psychosocial risk, delinquency, and victimization, but little research has examined women’s experiences after they have ceased to be active gang members. Similarly, prior work has found that gang-affiliated women experience high rates of interpersonal and community violence, but it has not examined violence, especially institutional violence, after leaving a gang. Thus, it is crucial to understand the post-gang consequences of gang-involvement for mothers. This study addresses this gap by 1) focusing on the role of a former gang affiliation in the experience of institutional violence after gang involvement and 2) highlighting the trails of violence that result from that institutional violence. It draws from life course and intersectionality theories to understand how race, gender, and class statuses relate to violence in the life trajectories of mothers after leaving the gang. The qualitative findings of this work are based on photo elicitation interviews of 13 formerly gang-involved Chicana mothers from Los Angeles, California. The findings indicate that gang-affiliated mothers employ survival strategies at the level of their individual and collective agency to resist and cope with violence from the criminal justice and child welfare systems. This study’s findings include recommendations for prevention and intervention that can be used to interrupt trails of violence for formerly gang-affiliated Chicana mothers and their children.