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SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

Conference

2016

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But What Does “It” Mean: An Analysis Of Feminist & Mainstream Pornographies, Alexandra S. Melnick 2225930 Apr 2016

But What Does “It” Mean: An Analysis Of Feminist & Mainstream Pornographies, Alexandra S. Melnick 2225930

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

In this project, I am interested in how we as a culture talk and make stories about heterosexual non-fetish pornography that contains fellatio scenes. Fellatio, being a site of social power and relation, can be conceptualized and portrayed in different ways based on the ideology and intentions of the context a text portraying fellatio it is created in. In this project I reasoned that mainstream pornography and feminist pornography would show fellatio in different ways, revealing the basic differences in each genre’s content and execution. To this effect, I analyzed six films from both feminist and mainstream pornographies and have …


Home V. Hospital: Power And Birth, An Examination Of Control Within Birth Models In The United States, Sarah W. Rosene Apr 2016

Home V. Hospital: Power And Birth, An Examination Of Control Within Birth Models In The United States, Sarah W. Rosene

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

In this paper I examine why some women in the United States choose midwife attended homebirth over the medical model of birth. Why do women make this decision and what are the outcomes? I examined both qualitative and quantitative data on homebirths and have identified key reasons why women chose to give birth outside of the hospital. I focused on how the mother's feelings of control impacted her satisfaction with the birth experience, and how women’s control is affected in home versus hospitalized birth. My findings reveal that home births allow the woman more agency and an environment in which …


Transgender Issues In Film, Eulalah R. Prater Mx Apr 2016

Transgender Issues In Film, Eulalah R. Prater Mx

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

The question of gender inequality in film has been widely debated, both within the industry as well as within gender studies, with scholars such as Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Marc Choueiti, Elizabeth Scofeils, Dr. Katherine Pieper and Melissa Rigney arguing about gender inequality in modern popular films. However, these critics ignore the issue of trans-inclusive representation. My paper addresses the issue of trans* representation in modern film through comparative analysis with Greek theatre and early American film. I argue that in order to better understand lack of non-cis-gendered representation, it is instructive to connect this phenomenon to blackface in early …


The Archaeology Of Appetites, Molly S. Schonert Apr 2016

The Archaeology Of Appetites, Molly S. Schonert

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

Through use of examining how food is produced, stored, distributed and consumed, one can take a glimpse into the past, present and even future of this planet–to better understand the complexity of human identity and the social practices or roles that define an individual, community or society. So this begins an exploration of the archaeology of food as a gendered commodity throughout our evolutionary past, emphasizing the infinite ways in which foodway practices exceeds the nutritional value of what our ancestors, family, friends and ourselves consume(d) on a daily basis. Foodways practices is an invaluable tool in any archaeologists’ tool …


The Moral Obligation For Sex Worker Rights, Lori A. Durham Apr 2016

The Moral Obligation For Sex Worker Rights, Lori A. Durham

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

The female body is the site of endless controversy, with sex work as one of the most hotly debated issues. Historically viewed as an ethical and moral issue, arguments to criminalize sex work were dominant until the mid-to-late twentieth century when sex workers began to argue for decriminalization of adult “consensual” commercial sex. As one of the most marginalized populations in the world, sex workers are subjected to a multitude of violations against their bodies and their human rights. They routinely face physical and sexual violence, arrest and incarceration, extortion and harassment (frequently by police and other members of law …


Gender As A Socially Constructed Phenomenon, Jamie Smith Apr 2016

Gender As A Socially Constructed Phenomenon, Jamie Smith

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

In the historical and social landscape that currently exists in America, the concept of gender, and especially the concept of women, has been created and enforced through societal expectations. From essentialism in the past, social and psychological theory has evolved to consider the social impact on gender construction. Foucault’s prison theory, Berger’s theory of surveying, and Mulvey’s theory of the Male Gaze can be used to show that gender, though it used to be viewed as inherent to a person’s identity, is actually a process of social conditioning. Women are shaped by society but continue to follow their roles because …


Clever On Sunday: A Visual Artist Interpretation Of The Post-Wwii Persuasion Of Consumer Marketing And The Gender Gap, Courtney L. Starrett Apr 2016

Clever On Sunday: A Visual Artist Interpretation Of The Post-Wwii Persuasion Of Consumer Marketing And The Gender Gap, Courtney L. Starrett

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

The visual arts transform concepts and philosophies into tangible and aesthetic depictions. Women’s studies and gender issues are common sources of inspiration for artists. This paper will unveil the process and development of an installation inspired by gender roles as defined by the post-WWII persuasion of consumer marketing. Clever on Sunday is an installation of custom, hand-cast, and functional silicone doilies. Each doily pattern is generated by sourced data and statistics reflecting selected information to be presented as implied substance for a potential narrative to be rendered by the viewer. The data sets used range from PhDs Earned by Women …


Did The Shrew Tame You: An Exploration Of Sexual Politics In Shakespeare's The Taming Of The Shrew, Marisa Stickel Apr 2016

Did The Shrew Tame You: An Exploration Of Sexual Politics In Shakespeare's The Taming Of The Shrew, Marisa Stickel

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

This paper explores the sexual politics present in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, examining the gender roles that influence the relationship between Katherine and Petruccio. By analyzing Petruccio’s attempts at taming Katherine, in comparison to the ending of the play where she is supposedly tamed, I will emphasize Katherine's abilities to manipulate a patriarchal society’s rule over women. While she seems to demonstrate acquiescing full sovereignty to her husband, my argument will pose that Katherine assumes the role of a proper wife to trick Petruccio, allowing her access to marital dominance. By examining the patriarchal society of the time …


Rebuilding A Bridge Burned, Lamonica J. Jones Apr 2016

Rebuilding A Bridge Burned, Lamonica J. Jones

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

The purpose of this essay is to explore intersectionaility and shine a light on the plight of marginalized groups of women. Much too often are women grouped together in this assumed sisterhood, and people automatically assume that just because we are all women, we are all the same. There are many factors that affect many different women, and the reliance on a common biological make up alone will not change that. A white woman will not experience the same struggle as a black woman; an upper middle-class woman will not experience the same struggles as a working-class woman; and a …


Exploring And Navigating Lgbt Identity In Fandom, Shannon Morrison, Idee Winfield Apr 2016

Exploring And Navigating Lgbt Identity In Fandom, Shannon Morrison, Idee Winfield

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

To date, very little qualitative research has been completed and published on how exactly those who identify as LGBT use the internet to explore and define their own identities. My research aims to fill this gap by studying how LGBT members of fan communities explore, navigate, and define their personal identities through their experience in the community and work in the realm of speculative fiction (“fan-fiction”). I will accomplish this through interviewing a number of LGBT-identified members of this community and asking about how their interaction with their community in addition to their personal work affected them in their personal …


Gay Doesn’T Begin To Cover It: Non-Binary Sexuality In Community’S Dean Pelton”, Jessica Mae Harmon Apr 2016

Gay Doesn’T Begin To Cover It: Non-Binary Sexuality In Community’S Dean Pelton”, Jessica Mae Harmon

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

In modern media, characters whose sexuality lies outside of binary gender and sexuality representations are few and far between. Most queer characters in mainstream American television are labeled as either gay or lesbian, and in a few rare cases bisexual. Bisexuality, while least visible among sexual minorities that fit within the prescribed LGBT acronym, is most visible outside of the gay/straight dichotomy. Meanwhile the spectrum of non-binary sexualities is largely ignored. In this essay I will examine one character that breaks this mold and forces the modern viewer to consider non-binary sexuality, Dean Craig Pelton of NBC/Yahoo’s Community. The …


Femme-Ing The Fandom: A Cross-Cultural Approach, Lynslei Harris Apr 2016

Femme-Ing The Fandom: A Cross-Cultural Approach, Lynslei Harris

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

In our ever-global society, fandoms, with their ability to reach and reproduce across cultures, have emerged as an important new media worthy of study. As the participatory practices of fans are explored, it is necessary to also apply the intersection of gender. Although each fandom constitutes a public, female members often participate in ways that allow them to form an artistic counterpublic. While male fans tend to gather data and act as gatekeepers of the fandom, their female counterparts engage in dress up or cosplay (costume play) and produce almost all of current fan fiction. These kinds of participatory practices …


Masks And Performance As Representations Of Gender Oppression And Repression In Edith Wharton’S The House Of Mirth And Nella Larsen’S Passing, Carrie A. Wilson Apr 2016

Masks And Performance As Representations Of Gender Oppression And Repression In Edith Wharton’S The House Of Mirth And Nella Larsen’S Passing, Carrie A. Wilson

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

Edith Wharton and Nella Larsen’s literature focus on metaphorically representing gender oppression and repression as masked social performances that result in death being the ultimate release from the drama. Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth depicts the heroine Lily Bart who, in the public social realm, attempts to mask herself as a disturbingly superficial character. Wharton’s masquerade imagery demonstrates the extent to which Lily socially capitalizes her beauty. Lily fixates on "clearness" and "lucidity" in events leading up to her death, which shows how dying releases her from the dishonest social masquerade (260). Nella Larsen’s heroine Irene Redfield similarly uses …


Consumed By The Broken Staccato: A Feminist Reading Of Zelda Fitzgerald’S Save Me The Waltz, Caitlin Mcgraw Apr 2016

Consumed By The Broken Staccato: A Feminist Reading Of Zelda Fitzgerald’S Save Me The Waltz, Caitlin Mcgraw

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

Zelda Fitzgerald’s Save Me the Waltz is a novel in which art, text, and body intersect to become one. Her writing techniques, though often criticized, preserve the artistic liberation and affective state for which Fitzgerald seems to strive. She eliminates the line between the artist and her work, creating a novel that opens up to aspects of feminist theory. Zelda Fitzgerald’s texts become performative, constructing her own identity through her writing and painting, just as Alabama, the main character of Save Me the Waltz, strives to do so with her dancing. Like Fitzgerald herself, Alabama removes the barrier between …


"Silence Laps Smooth Over Sound': Sound, Gender, And War, In Jacob's Room", Betsy Lawson Apr 2016

"Silence Laps Smooth Over Sound': Sound, Gender, And War, In Jacob's Room", Betsy Lawson

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

In A Room of One’s Own, as well as in Three Guineas, Virginia Woolf contends that the devaluing of women and the perpetuating of women’s inferiority facilitate all heroic and violent action (A Room of One’s Own, 36). In this paper, I’ve applied Woolf’s argument to her 1922 novel, Jacob’s Room, and focused on the ways in which certain sounds become gendered as masculine or feminine and devalued accordingly, leading to a masculine society that operates on masculine ideals. In Jacob’s Room, women’s voices are characterized as chatty and empty, where men’s voices exude authority and …


Combatting Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv) In Islam: Muslim Religious Leaders As The Bridge Between Misinterpretation And Resolution, Mediha Salkic Apr 2016

Combatting Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv) In Islam: Muslim Religious Leaders As The Bridge Between Misinterpretation And Resolution, Mediha Salkic

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

This paper provides evidence from initiatives taken by various Islamic religious leaders (imams) in North America to demonstrate their potential in prohibiting the practice of IPV in Muslim communities. In the paper, the foundations for legitimization of IPV in Muslim societies, prevalence of IPV in Muslim communities, the role of the imam in Islam, and the various applicable processes of mediation which imams actualize or are suggested to actualize in engaging in cases of domestic abuse within their communities are explored. Substantial empirical evidence is presented to illustrate the constructive role of imams as the critical link between faltering misinterpretation …


Black Women Matter: Assessing Scales To Examine Minority Stress And Intersectional Microaggression, Vanessa N. Jones Apr 2016

Black Women Matter: Assessing Scales To Examine Minority Stress And Intersectional Microaggression, Vanessa N. Jones

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

Greater understanding of minority stress and intersectional microaggression in African American women’s lived experience may contribute to improved health outcomes. To date, there is a scarcity of research exploring intersectionality and psychometric instruments. This review examines purpose, format, psychometric properties, and cultural applicability of seven measurement scales that assess gendered racism and sexual identity. Future research should include diverse samples of African American women to improve external validity. In clinical practice, measurement scales provide an objective tool to evaluate and differentiate minority stress.


Sexual Assault Prevention & Education Within Purity Culture: A Process Evaluation Of An Intervention Conducted With Community Partners At A Christian University, Kate Hendricks Thomas, Maggie Shields, Alycia Johnson Mar 2016

Sexual Assault Prevention & Education Within Purity Culture: A Process Evaluation Of An Intervention Conducted With Community Partners At A Christian University, Kate Hendricks Thomas, Maggie Shields, Alycia Johnson

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

Background & Purpose: Many victims of sexual assault are rising to advocate for sexual assault prevention on college campuses, including Christian college campuses. Some reports indicate that Christian campuses shy away from the topic and refuse to allow needed programs on sex or sexual assault to be introduced to their campuses, even though it is so adamantly needed. The purpose of this study was to increase the promotion of sexual assault awareness and prevention to students on the campus of Charleston Southern University.

Methods: A one-day seminar was offered in partnership with a community health organization on campus. Over 75 …


From #Blacklivesmatter To #Sayhername, Aitza B. Burgess Mar 2016

From #Blacklivesmatter To #Sayhername, Aitza B. Burgess

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

Sanford, Ferguson, Long Island, and Baltimore are all cities that have become known nationally and internationally in households. This attention has not been about their nature of offering reasonably priced hotel lodging for tourists visiting the neighbouring major cities, but due to the killings of black men in America. Since the election of President Barack Obama in 2009, the notion of a post-racial America has circulated. With Congress members referring to the president as a tar baby to the numerous killings of black people by law enforcement and civilians these actions contradict this notion.

Between the years of 2012-2015, America …


The Three Graces Of Intersectionality: A Curious Journey Across Cultures And Time, Jennifer C. Solomon Mar 2016

The Three Graces Of Intersectionality: A Curious Journey Across Cultures And Time, Jennifer C. Solomon

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

No abstract provided.