Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

No Human Right To Sodomy: Christian Conservative Opposition To Sogi Human Rights, Cynthia Burack

The Social Practice of Human Rights: Charting the Frontiers of Research and Advocacy

The American Christian conservative movement is the most consistent and persistent adversary of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) civil rights in the US. In recent years, the Christian right has responded to changes in attitudes to same-sex sexuality in the US by relocating some of their attention and operations to issues and arenas of contest outside the US that hold more promise for implacable antagonism to rights and recognition for LGBTQ people. In some parts of the world, these US-based anti-LGBTQ actors have become recognized as “experts” on gender and sexual minorities and the dire consequences the existence of ...

Gender, Displacement And Transitional Justice, Sinead Mcgrath

The Social Practice of Human Rights: Charting the Frontiers of Research and Advocacy

In the past fifteen years, there has been huge emphasis on the need for gendered mechanisms dealing with both forced migration and peacebuilding. The UN landmark resolution on Women, Peace and Security (S/RES/1325) and the gender-mainstreaming of the 1951 Refugee Convention have urged all actors to increase the participation of women in peacebuilding and their protection in instances of displacement. An underdeveloped link between these issues has not been addressed by the academic community, particularly when looking at societies in transition and the relationship of displaced women to international migration organisations in the context of transitional justice. This ...

Enrique García. The Hernandez Brothers: Love, Rockets, And Alternative Comics. Pittsburgh: U Of Pittsburgh P, 2017., Magda Garcia

Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature

Review of Enrique García. The Hernandez Brothers: Love, Rockets, and Alternative Comics. Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh P, 2017.

Cruzando Fronteras De Género(S): La Dislocación Del "Bildungsroman" Y La Construcción Política Del Sujeto, Silvia Roig

The Coastal Review: An Online Peer-reviewed Journal

This study shows that Aurora Bertrana’s novels subvert the traditional Bildungsroman and uses the techniques of the Novel of Female Development with (auto) biographical characteristics. The core of my analysis is in the friction, the disruption and the confrontation between the subject and the social system represented by the family, the school and the community. Bertrana’s novels underline that men, similarly to women, are under a strong pressure to adopt a specific role according to heterosexual norms. Bertrana’s work demonstrate that women writers, like men, can introduce social, cultural and political innovations and experiment with a new ...

Photo Essays: Wms 421, Julia Degroff

Dissenting Voices

Two photo essays document some of the gender-inspired activism of undergraduate Women and Gender Studies majors as an extension of their Women and Gender Studies Senior Seminar at The College at Brockport.

Double Standards In Everyday Life: Book Reviews, Becky Luxon

Dissenting Voices

Review of two books by Jessica Valenti: Sex Object: A Memoir (2016), and He’s a Stud, She’s a Slut and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know (2008).

Sexual Objectification Of Female Bodies In Beauty Pageants, Pornography, And Media, Kelsey Wright

Dissenting Voices

Have you ever watched a beauty pageant contest? What about mainstream pornography? These two capitalistic industries continue to enforce the misogynistic view that the female body is to be consumed by the male population. I argue that the societal standards we commonly consider to be the norm affect female embodiment and what it means to be a woman in contemporary society. Beauty standards, gender roles, sexualization, objectification, and the male gaze all point towards this ideology that the female body is to be consumed by men. I argue we need to abandon these societal standards that control female bodies and ...

I Am Not Barbie, And I Do Not Need A Ken, Annette Maldonado

Dissenting Voices

Throughout history, women have faced unfairness and gender inequality. Women are stereotyped and mistreated every day. Some examples are, women are paid less than men, and women have to cover their bodies in public (if not, it is their fault if something dangerous happens to them). Home is supposed to be a safe haven for women, but what about if the unfairness happens at home by the people we love the most? Mistreatment can come from our parents. As a young woman who was treated differently than my brother, I talk about my experiences and how they have shaped my ...

Oppression Or Opportunity: The Selling Of Mail-Order Brides, Amber Wilk

Dissenting Voices

It is the memory of my aunt that inspired my research of mail-order brides. I was curious as to what factors encourage women to leave their families and home to come to another country as a mail-order bride. The international trafficking of mail-order brides is not a new phenomenon, but since the advent of technology the capitalistic industry has exploded. In this paper, I discuss the oppressions and opportunities that the potential mail-order brides have to consider. Since the mail-order bride industry is continuously growing, it needs to be monitored to minimize the violence against women.

Deconstructing The Nuclear Family Through Adoption, Julia Degroff

Dissenting Voices

Adoption tends to be described as an alternative form of family, but for a mother or father, family has no restrictions. This paper looks at the ways adoption deconstructs and recreates the idea of family. Existing research across fields of study surrounding family fails to cover specific research on adoption and lacks the research that looks at the ways adoption and other alternative family forms disrupt and distort the biological family unit. The word “family” can be defined in many different ways, and is a specific and individualistic concept. However, within the cultural sphere of family, biogenic families tend to ...

Coming Out In Asian American Culture, Audrey Lai

Dissenting Voices

The purpose of this project is not to speak on the experience of all lesbian Asian Americans, but only the experiences of three lesbian Asian Americans: Sam, Jesse, and Sophie. The experiences of three individuals cannot be applicable to all lesbian-identified Asian Americans as their stories do not provide full understanding of the influential culture sanctions. This essay is merely an attempt to bring the invisible stories of these three women to the forefront, thus allowing the stories to become accessible so others can recognize that identifying as lesbian is not a betrayal of Asian American culture and identity. “Coming ...

The Complexities Of Being A Pro-Choice Catholic: How Religion And Politics Collide, Alise Tallents

Dissenting Voices

The separation of church and state has been indicated in the United States Constitution since the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791. Ideally, this was intended to ensure that no one religion would receive privilege over another in the political arena, and that citizens have the freedom to practice their own faith without fear of persecution. In contemporary United States, religion has become a powerful influence in modern day politics and the line distinguishing church from state has become hazy. This is especially prevalent in the realm of reproductive rights. The fight for access to reproductive healthcare, such ...

A Face Of Poverty, Melissa Brown

Dissenting Voices

The circumstances are different for every individual who lives in poverty. Society foremost believe the information about poverty from people who have not experienced it, as opposed to the people who have. When people in poverty try to defend themselves from societal stereotypes, they are pushed back and told to know their place. It is as if we have zero credibility in our experiences living in poverty. The policies targeting people in poverty do not include us in the decision making. We are told to just get up and walk out of poverty. We are stereotyped and shunned from the ...

A Feminist Perspective On The History Of Women As Witches, Maggie Rosen

Dissenting Voices

This paper explores the ways that women have been deemed witches throughout history. Salem, 1692, was a heightened time for witch accusations. The women accused left a mark on history and their identities became the mainstream stereotype of witches seen in media and pop culture. Transgressive women and women in power are called witches in contemporary United States as they were hundreds of years ago. The witch image is used to reinforce gender inequality and marginalize women who push back against our patriarchal society.

Make America Curious Again: Integrating Feminism Into Undergraduate International Relations Studies, Tambria Schroeder

Dissenting Voices

The systems and institutions that exist in our country are strategically designed to maintain patriarchy and privileged masculinity. Complacency of the majority ensures that these structures remain intact. In this paper, I consider the exclusion of feminism and discussions of gender from undergraduate political science and international studies courses, and why it is critical for us to be paying attention to it now perhaps more than ever before. I suggest that this exclusion only helps to ensure that patriarchal dominance continues into the future. We have the potential to change by adopting a more curious mindset.

Note From The Editor, Barbara Lesavoy

Dissenting Voices

Dissenting Voices volume six is the largest volume to date, representing ten authors who write across a wide span of topics important to the Women and Gender Studies discipline.

Our Voices, Melissa Brown, Julia Degroff, Rachael Fort, Audrey Lai, Becky Luxon, Annette Maldonado, Maggie Rosen, Tambria Schroeder, Alise Tallents, Amber Wilk, Kelsey Wright

Dissenting Voices

Our voices are about rediscovering our curiosity and exposing that capitalism is the tragedy in society that distances women from equality.

Dissenting Voices Volume 6 Issue 1 (Spring 2017) Complete Issue, Women And Gender Studies Senior Seminar At The College At Brockport

Dissenting Voices

Dissenting Voices Cover Art

Design by Mel Brown, WMS ’18
Calligraphy by Sara Connor, SOC, WMS ‘16

The cover portrait is a photographic composite of one identity characteristic of each person in the WMS 421 Senior Seminar course. The abstract painting of vivid colors that frames the portrait represents the brilliant minds that have intertwined to create this volume. The use of different colors represents our diverse backgrounds, that when put together, become radiant. The handprint placed on the chest represents our extension to others and prompts readers to join us in the fight for social justice. The knuckles with ...

The Child To Come: Life After The Human Catastrophe By Rebekah Sheldon, Nathan Tebokkel

The Goose

Review of Rebekah Sheldon's The Child to Come: Life after the Human Catastrophe.

The Aryan- And Polish-Passing Women And Girl Couriers Of The Jewish Resistance Movements In Nazi-Occupied Poland, Farrel Brenner

Syracuse University Honors Program Capstone Projects

In the fight against Nazi occupation, underground Jewish movements in Polish ghettos sought to mount resistances through illegal educational and cultural activity, trafficking individuals and families to safety, and armed resistance. Key to these efforts