{"id":{"repo_id":"uwtsd","oai_identifier":"oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:2408"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwtsd/oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:2408","repository":{"repo_id":"uwtsd","name":"University of Wales Trinity Saint David","base_url":"https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/cgi/oai2"},"display":{"title":"A feminist anthropological study on women's mediumship in Florida","abstract":"Throughout history women have faced (and continue to face) marginalization in religious settings, exhibited through such power plays as control over their bodies (rules for dress and behavior in church and home) and prohibitions from formal leadership positions. It is now the role of feminist scholars to undertake research into religious movements and activities to consider how religious marginalization affects practitioners. Historically, American mediumship (through the religion of Spiritualism) provided an outlet for women to take autonomy of their religious goals and step into leadership positions as mediums. Through an anthropological lens (and in conjunction with the burgeoning field of paranthropology), this research approaches the experience of mediumship through a feminist analysis of the practice of mediumship as it exists today. This study further explores how women’s mediumship experience differs from men’s mediumship, and explains how location in Florida is beneficial to many mediums. Surveys and interviews were conducted with mediums who are either currently practicing in or had previously practiced in Florida. These methods embrace an empathetic approach which is especially helpful in feminist research, and provide a safe, positive environment for research. This study reveals that mediumship is an activity in which practitioners retain their overall autonomy while practicing. Ultimately, this research concludes that mediums in Florida enjoy good reputations, and while mediumship institutions may skew towards male leadership, women mediums experience a level of spiritual autonomy within their practice that has yet to be discovered in wider religious circles.","abstract_html":"Throughout history women have faced (and continue to face) marginalization in religious settings, exhibited through such power plays as control over their bodies (rules for dress and behavior in church and home) and prohibitions from formal leadership positions. It is now the role of feminist scholars to undertake research into religious movements and activities to consider how religious marginalization affects practitioners. Historically, American mediumship (through the religion of Spiritualism) provided an outlet for women to take autonomy of their religious goals and step into leadership positions as mediums. Through an anthropological lens (and in conjunction with the burgeoning field of paranthropology), this research approaches the experience of mediumship through a feminist analysis of the practice of mediumship as it exists today. This study further explores how women’s mediumship experience differs from men’s mediumship, and explains how location in Florida is beneficial to many mediums. Surveys and interviews were conducted with mediums who are either currently practicing in or had previously practiced in Florida. These methods embrace an empathetic approach which is especially helpful in feminist research, and provide a safe, positive environment for research. This study reveals that mediumship is an activity in which practitioners retain their overall autonomy while practicing. Ultimately, this research concludes that mediums in Florida enjoy good reputations, and while mediumship institutions may skew towards male leadership, women mediums experience a level of spiritual autonomy within their practice that has yet to be discovered in wider religious circles.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Porch-Lee, Sarah"],"institution":"University of Wales Trinity Saint David","degree_name":"mres","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-05","date_published":"2023-05","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:52:56Z","subjects":["GN Anthropoleg"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.grantnumber","label":"Dc Identifier Grantnumber","values":["UWTSD"],"render_values":[{"text":"UWTSD","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.82227/repository.uwtsd.ac.uk.00002408","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.doi"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.sponsor","label":"Sponsor","values":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Porch-Lee, Sarah"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2023-05-02"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2023-05"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.commercial","label":"Dc Publisher Commercial","values":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Traethodau Meistr","Institute of Education and Humanities: Academic Discipline: Humanities and Social Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby","values":["https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/2408/"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Gosodiad"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["masters"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["mres"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["GN Anthropoleg"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["10.82227/repository.uwtsd.ac.uk.00002408"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.grantnumber","label":"Dc Identifier Grantnumber","values":["UWTSD"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/2408/1/Porch-Lee%2C%20Sarah%20%282023%29%20MRes%20A%20Feminist%20Anthropological%20Study%20on%20Women%27s%20Mediumship%20in%20Florida.pdf"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Throughout history women have faced (and continue to face) marginalization in religious settings, exhibited through such power plays as control over their bodies (rules for dress and behavior in church and home) and prohibitions from formal leadership positions. It is now the role of feminist scholars to undertake research into religious movements and activities to consider how religious marginalization affects practitioners. Historically, American mediumship (through the religion of Spiritualism) provided an outlet for women to take autonomy of their religious goals and step into leadership positions as mediums. Through an anthropological lens (and in conjunction with the burgeoning field of paranthropology), this research approaches the experience of mediumship through a feminist analysis of the practice of mediumship as it exists today. This study further explores how women’s mediumship experience differs from men’s mediumship, and explains how location in Florida is beneficial to many mediums. Surveys and interviews were conducted with mediums who are either currently practicing in or had previously practiced in Florida. These methods embrace an empathetic approach which is especially helpful in feminist research, and provide a safe, positive environment for research. This study reveals that mediumship is an activity in which practitioners retain their overall autonomy while practicing. Ultimately, this research concludes that mediums in Florida enjoy good reputations, and while mediumship institutions may skew towards male leadership, women mediums experience a level of spiritual autonomy within their practice that has yet to be discovered in wider religious circles."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["text"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A feminist anthropological study on women's mediumship in Florida"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.sponsor":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"],"dc:creator":["Porch-Lee, Sarah"],"dc:date":["2023-05-02"],"dc:date.issued":["2023-05"],"dc:description.abstract":["Throughout history women have faced (and continue to face) marginalization in religious settings, exhibited through such power plays as control over their bodies (rules for dress and behavior in church and home) and prohibitions from formal leadership positions. It is now the role of feminist scholars to undertake research into religious movements and activities to consider how religious marginalization affects practitioners. Historically, American mediumship (through the religion of Spiritualism) provided an outlet for women to take autonomy of their religious goals and step into leadership positions as mediums. Through an anthropological lens (and in conjunction with the burgeoning field of paranthropology), this research approaches the experience of mediumship through a feminist analysis of the practice of mediumship as it exists today. This study further explores how women’s mediumship experience differs from men’s mediumship, and explains how location in Florida is beneficial to many mediums. Surveys and interviews were conducted with mediums who are either currently practicing in or had previously practiced in Florida. These methods embrace an empathetic approach which is especially helpful in feminist research, and provide a safe, positive environment for research. This study reveals that mediumship is an activity in which practitioners retain their overall autonomy while practicing. Ultimately, this research concludes that mediums in Florida enjoy good reputations, and while mediumship institutions may skew towards male leadership, women mediums experience a level of spiritual autonomy within their practice that has yet to be discovered in wider religious circles."],"dc:format":["text"],"dc:identifier.doi":["10.82227/repository.uwtsd.ac.uk.00002408"],"dc:identifier.grantnumber":["UWTSD"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/2408/1/Porch-Lee%2C%20Sarah%20%282023%29%20MRes%20A%20Feminist%20Anthropological%20Study%20on%20Women%27s%20Mediumship%20in%20Florida.pdf"],"dc:publisher.commercial":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"],"dc:publisher.department":["Traethodau Meistr","Institute of Education and Humanities: Academic Discipline: Humanities and Social Sciences"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"],"dc:relation.isreferencedby":["https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/2408/"],"dc:subject":["GN Anthropoleg"],"dc:title":["A feminist anthropological study on women's mediumship in Florida"],"dc:type":["Gosodiad"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["masters"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["mres"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:52:56Z"}