ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

     This paper would have not been possible without the consistent support of several faculty members at the University of Florida. First and foremost I would like to thank Kendal Broad for helping spawn my interest in gender and sexuality research, in addition to always making herself available for both personal and professional advice. Secondly, I wish to thank my committee members, Constance Shehan and Charles Peek. Charles has always been there to shed light where there was empirical darkness, aiding me in my growth as a graduate student and quantitative researcher. Connie has always been there to offer both moral and emotional support. She has had the ability to give my work substance and ground when I was at a loss for direction. Finally, I wish to thank John Henretta. As the former Graduate Coordinator of the Department of Sociology, John has offered me both logical and hard-to-come-by advice, guiding me into the transition of becoming a graduate student. As the departmental chair, John has expressed a superior sense of responsibility and moral obligation to all graduate students. He has always pointed me in the right direction, whether in life or academically. In total, I would not be where I am today without the combined support of Chuck, John, Kendal and Connie. Distinctively and profoundly, they have influenced my past and shed light upon my future.