Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

The Villainess Does Damage Control: Cultural Rescue In The Man Of Law’S Tale, Lucy Esplin

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

In the late fourteenth century, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote his masterwork, The Canterbury Tales, a satirical frame narrative centered on English society. The tales follow a group of pilgrims spanning a wide range of English society, who engage in a storytelling contest as they embark on their pilgrimage. One story is the “Man of Law’s Tale,” a crusader romance that follows the pious Constance in her missionary-like journeys. She first travels to Syria to marry a Sultan, after negotiations between the Roman and Syrian rulers demanded the Sultan be baptized and control over Jerusalem would be handed over to Christians (Chaucer …

Mary Ann Shadd Cary And Kit Coleman: The Shifting Public Memory Of Canadian Female Journalism, Josie Smith

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

Susa Young Gates Award Essay

Honorable Mention

On June 30, 1855, Mary Ann Shadd Cary, a free black woman from a prominent black family and editor of The Provincial Freeman (a black abolitionist newspaper printed in Chatham, Ontario, Canada) wrote the following to identify her own achievements in journalism: “To colored women, we have a word—we have broken the Editorial ice, whether willingly or not, for your class in America, so go to Editing as many of you as are willing and able.” Shadd Cary did indeed break the “Editorial ice” as the first black female newspaper editor in both …

Gender Equality And Democratization: How Greater Gender Equality Helps Explain Tunisian Success In The Arab Spring, Hannah Miller

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Lgbt Film Exposure On Policy Preference, Grant Baldwin

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

Conflict Experienced By Lds Working Mothers, Sarah L. Maxfield

Marriott Student Review

This article analyzes and attempts to answer the question of what conflict LDS working mothers experience. It does this through a literature review, analyzing the different studies that have been conducted on the subject by looking at their findings, scope, and assessment of the situation. This article summarizes and extrapolates on the current academic literature surrounding working moms, religiosity, conflict, and the role of sanctification as one method of combating it.

Gender And Religion In A Shifting Social Landscape: Anglo-Saxon Mortuary Practices, Ad 600-700, Caroline Palmer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

My thesis examines seventh-century East Anglian mortuary practices and cross-correlates grave goods and human remains to determine whether there was an expression of the sexual division of labor during this period of social and religious change. I argue that gender roles changed as a result of adopting kingdoms and Christianity. Prior to this time period, Anglo-Saxons were primarily pagan and were buried with extensive burial goods. In addition to changes in religious and burial practices, during the Final Phase (600-700 AD) there appears to have been a division of labor that was not as dichotomous in the Migration Phase (450-600 …

Good Enough To Love, Emma Croft

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

In rare moments, I recall the days of not caring. Imagine: when your favorite shoes were white, Velcro-fastened Mary Janes, worn with lace-trimmed socks and pink, striped Oshkosh overalls. When your hair--a golden curly mess that stood on end each day as you jumped from your bed--never bothered you until your mother tried to fix it, pulling at knots as you wailed and wept.

Stories Of Scribbling Women: Hands-On Research In Book History With Women's Studies Students, Maggie Kopp

Faculty Publications

BYU Special Collections curators taught an Honors Western Civilization survey course with our collections for over two decades, but after a reboot of the Honors curriculum the course was dropped. A new opportunity arose in 2014 when the Women’s Studies program wanted to expand their offerings. But the course needed a major overhaul. This poster describes some of the changes that were made.

“The Scourge Of The Bourgeois Feminist”: Alexandra Kollontai’S Strategic Repudiation And Espousing Of Female Essentialism In The Social Basis Of The Woman Question, Hannah Pugh

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

In The Social Basis of the Woman Question, Bolshevik feminist Alexandra Kollontai responds to bourgeois feminists’ essentialist calls for female solidarity to resolve the “woman’s question”—the question of women’s status in society— by presenting the woman question as a struggle defined not by gender but by the intersection of class and gender. Kollontai appropriates and extends their essentialist rhetoric, engaging in the classed and gendered essentialism of the particular socioeconomic position of the female worker. I argue that, by placing the essentialized woman worker at the heart of the woman question, Kollontai suggests that the woman question is an economic …

Una Guerra Contra La Mujer: Chicana Feminism And Vietnam War Protest, Arica Roberts

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

Chicana women, especially those in the East Los Angeles chapter, began this autonomous feminist consciousness to challenge sexual oppression within cultural nationalism as they resigned from the Brown Berets, created their own organization, Las Adelitas, continued antiwar efforts with the National Chicano Moratorium Committee and fought for the social, economic, and political liberation and equality of the whole Raza.

Faroosh And Elina, Faroosh, Elina, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Faroosh was a cameraman for a private television program in Afghanistan working on a documentary about the Taliban. When he and his crew were discovered, the Taliban attacked them and he and his wife fled to Turkey, walking 12 hours to get there. Upon arrival the police arrested and harassed them. Turkey was not a safe place. After several suicide bombings in the area, they decided to move on to Greece, where they are in a refugee camp without any progress in their situation. They have no money to move forward and no ability to work and the economic situation …

Fawad And Zakeela, Fawad, Zakeela, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Fawad and his wife, Zakeela, have three children. Zakeela was a beautician, and Fawad was a singer in the Baghlan district in Afghanistan. The music he produced was not in accordance with the strict restrictions of the Taliban. They threatened his life and assaulted him many times, so he decided to leave with his family to Kabul. Fawad’s day job was as an FM radio producer; at night, he moonlighted as a singer and musician. He produced music for ceremonies and weddings, often performing for the women’s part, which the Taliban did not accept. Eventually, his life was again threatened, …

Ilhan, Nura, Radwa, Ziagull And Children, Ilhan, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Ilhan, his wife Nura, and their children resided near Kabul, in a region where both the Taliban and ISIS were active. As Shias, Ilhan’s family faced numerous menaces, including threats from ISIS that they would be beheaded if they did not display ISIS flags. Ilhan’s sister Radwa, who is deaf and mute, was forced to marry a regional leader. In addition to being threatened on religious grounds, Ilhan’s family was also threatened by an elder of their town. Out of desperation, Ilhan’s family sold their house appliances, escaped Afghanistan, and arrived at the …

Feminism, Breastfeeding, And Society, Jen Bracken-Hull

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

A dichotomy exists among feminists regarding the views and contributions of breastfeeding. Across several waves of feminism women have argued for and against breastfeeding. Until recently, breastfeeding (regarding the bearing and nurturing of children) was seen as a responsibility that prevented women from participating in public circles. This article delineates the general contributions made by women who breastfeed including biological, social, emotional, and personal factors. Changes and accommodations are required for women who choose to breastfeed to not be disadvantaged.

The Feminine Peter Pan, Felicia Jones

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

Cross-casting in performances has effected outrage and social dilemmas in audiences, despite the important cultural messages those characters display. Since its beginning as a play, women have been cast as the young boy Peter in Peter Pan. J.M. Barrie wrote Peter Pan through inspiration from the young deaths of his brother and childhood friend, who will always remain in their youth. In order to capture that youthful innocence, females have been cast as Peter. This choice in casting was also made to achieve androgyny and transcend gender by blurring gender lines.

A Bridge To The Eifel: Clara Viebig And Her Literary Style, Nathan Bates

Student Works

Clara Viebig was a woman author in Germany at the end of the nineteenth century, transitioning into the twentieth century. Viebig was born in Trier at the southern end of a region in western Germany known as the Eifel. Her works often utilized the landscape and countryside of this area, which has given them a unique dynamic. Although Viebig's technique has been examined in light of various literary styles, including naturalism (Krauss-Theim), neo-romanticism (Fleisscher), and Heimatkunst (Ecker), it has never been examined for its own unique merit. I believe that landscape plays a particularly profound role in shaping and influencing …

"Woman Arise!": Political Work In The Writings Of Lu Dalton, Sheree Maxwell Bench

Theses and Dissertations

In 1872, Mormon plural wife, educator, and suffragist Lucinda Lee Dalton began writing fiery political essays and insightful poetry for the Woman's Exponent from her small community in southern Utah. Through her writings Dalton endeavors to shape the opinions of Exponent readers by working within public discourse toward the goal of equality for women. At times both optimistic and troubled, she uses the rhetorical strategies of humor, irony, reason, identification, and persuasion to educate men and women on disparities and to encourage women to participate actively in their own emancipation. She often engages in a dialogical process with other writers …

President Mrs. Kimball: A Rhetoric Of Words And Works, Janelle M. Higbee

Theses and Dissertations

Scholars of rhetoric and speech communications have suggested that the study of a women's rhetoric should focus on the "distinctly female modes of leadership" that may be found among women in "out-groups" that challenge established political authority. Such leaders must be especially inventive to be effective, and are thus likely to be talented rhetoricians. In looking for such leaders, the religious and political rhetoric of early Latter-day Saint women provides a noteworthy, unique study. Nineteenth-century Mormon women not only battled discriminatory political norms—arguing fervently for both universal woman's suffrage and for the freedom to practice polygamy—they did so from their …

Oral Performances As Ritual: Animating The Invisible In Mormon Women's Miscarriage Stories, Kristin Leifson Ballif

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is comprised of ten Mormon women's miscarriage stories and it is their stories that are used as the text for my analysis. The purpose of the study is to provide a space for these women to share their experiences and to reveal their cultural values and beliefs. Because the women are all Mormon, there are some distinctive cultural and religious values that are shared within their stories and it is these aspects that are analyzed and discussed within the text.

Women need to be able to share their miscarriage stories so as to alleviate feelings of isolation and …

The Influence Of Out-Group Network Ties On The Television Usage And Attitudes Of Mormon Women, Lois D. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Analysis of survey data collected from more than 400 LDS women (n=429) indicates that as the number of non-LDS or inactive LDS network associates increases, so does the women's identification with modern female TV characters. The frequency of network conversations about television also correlates to several television behaviors and attitudes such as watching entertainment and informational TV programming, identifying with modern characters, and regarding TV as useful. Mirroring the national trend, LDS women who are more educated use television less. A model is presented which details the flow and impact of personal network influence on the television habits and attitudes …

Mormon Women's Sense Of Empowerment, Stace Hucks Christianson

Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on the empowering experiences of LDS women within the patriarchal structure as organized by the LDS church. Women in the LDS church empower themselves by drawing both external and internal resources. The degree of flexibility that leaders and member of the LDS church adopt externally influences the degree of empowerment that LDS women. The more internal factors an LDS woman adopts the greater her internal sense of empowerment.

Christian Feminist Publications And Structures Of Constraint: A Comparison Of Daughters Of Sarah And Exponent Ii Within The Contexts Of Neo-Evangelicalism And Mormonism, Sasha S. Cluff

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses content analysis to compare two conservative Christian feminist publications: Daughters of Sarah, produced by neo-evangelical feminists, and Exponent II, produced by Mormon feminists. Findings are based on insights from three main theories: Debra Minkoff's organization-environment perspective, Nancy Folbre's model of collective action based on structures of constraint, and the church-sect typology from the sociology of religion literature. Although both organizations similarly endeavor to integrate feminist and religious identities, the loose boundaries of evangelicalism allow Daughters of Sarah to explore a more liberal feminist agenda and interact with broader feminist sources while still remaining within the …

A Qualitative Study Of Interpretive Communities Among Lds Women, Oleah Clegg

Theses and Dissertations

Recent studies have shown that a number of researchers have turned to the concept of the interpretive community to explain how audiences interpret the media within the context of their everyday experiences (Biocca, 1989; Gunter, 1989; Lindlof, 1989, 1992; Radway, 1984; Schrøder, 1994). D. A. Stout (1993) conducted a study that discovered three interpretive communities among LDS women who watch television, establishing that interpretive communities do exist among religious media audiences.

In 1994, K. Schrøder showed that the interpretive community can be further understood by taking a "social semiotic" approach to analyzing interpretive community members' social interaction with other communities. …

Employment And Happiness Among Mormon And Non-Mormon Mothers In Utah, Kimberly Grace Andersen

Theses and Dissertations

The effects of maternal employment status on the happiness and/or unhappiness of married Utah women with children were studied. The independent variables were employment status, age, and denomination. Covariates were health, husbands income, and number of children. Denominational differences were not found to impact happiness, but age and employment status were related to happiness, with non-employed and younger mothers being happier.

Age, Gender, And Religious Differences In Moral Perspective, Samuel L. Clay

Theses and Dissertations

An investigation was conducted to see if age and gender are related to a preference for a caring versus a justice morality. The World View Questionnaire with 40 word pairs was used to measure a preference for a caring morality. It was found that there was a significant gender difference in the caring score, with the females scoring higher than the males. There also was a significant religious difference in the caring score with religious and especially Mormon subjects scoring higher than non-religious subjects. There was not, however, a significant age difference as was predicted.

Strengthening The Family: A Guide For Lds Single Parent Mothers, Jane C. Beuhring

Theses and Dissertations

Raising a family as a single parent is difficult at best. As an LDS single parent, these difficulties take on a unique challenge. The purpose of this project is to offer specific, LDS related guidelines to assist the LDS single parent mother in strengthening her family and thus acquiring the skills needed in handling the unique challenge of raising a family in a gospel oriented society. A variety of resources were used to include theorists, practicioners, scriptures, and personal experiences. Examples and case studies demonstrate the integration of gospel principles and family practices as they relate to LDS single parent …

Belle S. Spafford: Leader Of Women, Gayle Morby Chandler

Theses and Dissertations

This historical/descriptive study analyzes the speaking career of Belle S. Spafford and attempts to document the relationship between her speaking and her influence with her peers. For over fifty years, the dedicated woman served as a spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the National Council of Women, briding the gap between the secular and religious world of women. A rhetorical analysis of four speeches indicates the following findings: Mrs. Spafford appealed to her audiences through a focus on shared values; she had credibility because of her positions of authority and used it wisely; she effectively …

Residency Differentials In Mormon Fertility, Brian Leroy Pitcher

Theses and Dissertations

Although one of the most consistent findings of recent fertility research is the convergence of the religious differentials in fertility, little data have been analyzed to discover the Mormon fertility trends and differentials. This study, based on data obtained on 1,001 Mormon couples, is concerned with describing the effects that the dispersion of Mormon families from the Mormon center in Utah to surrounding areas with various social conditions is having on the fertility of the relocated Mormon families. Data presented clearly show that such families do, on the average, have a lower fertility than do their Mormon contemporaries residing in …

The Lord's Definition Of Woman's Role As He Has Revealed It To His Prophets Of The Latter Day, Mildred Chandler Austin

Theses and Dissertations

The Lord has not left women to wonder how to perform during mortality. The teachings of the ten presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have given very satisfying answers to most questions, and have invited women to ask God for inspiration of their own for further, personalized direction.

The counsel of the prophets gives women directions concerning whom, when, and where to marry. However, if the proper opportunities for a Church-recommended marriage don't present themselves, women are told to be patient and to spend their time giving one of the several services for which they are …

Attitudes Concerning Birth Control And Abortion As Related To Lds Religiosity Of Brigham Young University Students, Erlend D. Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

This study was an analysis of the relationship between LDS religiosity of college students and their attitudes concerning birth control and abortion.

The respondents in this research were LDS college students attending Brigham Young University Fall Semester 1970. Goodman and Kruskal's gamma and a difference of means test were used to measure association and difference to determine the statistical significance of the responses as related to religiosity and attitudes concerning birth control and abortion.

The results of the study showed that (1) there was a positive relationship between conservative attitudes toward birth control and abortion and one's degree of measured …