Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Femicides: The Other Growing Epidemic We Don’T Want To See, Natalia Gutierrez

Capstones

This report analyzes how gender-based killings is a growing topic within the feminist community of New York and Mexico City and how the use of the right terminology is essential to understand the scope of the problem. I worked for 18 months with the feminist community in both cities and the term ‘femicide’ came over and over in the interviews Femicide, how it is referred in the rest of the world, is the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female, and it is a growing epidemic in the U.S. and in Mexico. I interviewed more than 40 …

Hannah & Nana: A Personal Memoir On Appalachian Intergenerational Trauma, Womanhood, & Family, Hannah Dunn

Honors Projects

I was deeply affected by the death of my beloved nana in 2018. After her death, my family asked me to be the storyteller for us. Thus, for my Honors Project at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), I decided to write a personal memoir on my family. This memoir explores how we fit into notions of womanhood and family in Appalachia, as well as studying the effects of intergenerational trauma on us. Qualitative research, in the form of the autoethnography, serves as the methodology for this project. In writing a creative memoir, I have transformed my personal to the academic.

“We Are Working For A Caste-Free India”: An Interview With M. M. Vinodini, Bonnie Zare

Journal of International Women's Studies

The present interview with M.M. Vinodini extends the context of her two stories printed in this issue, “Block” and “Villain’s Suicide” and the contemporary context for Telugu Dalit women writers. It enables readers to consider the combination of factors that must align for a woman and therefore, a secondary citizen of a severely stigmatized community to take action and protest through activist organizing and creative storytelling. Discrimination, self-respect, and assertion are repeated themes in Vinodini’s body of work and here she discusses changing views of caste among young people, the reception of her work, the ongoing mistreatment of sanitation workers, …

Ann Flood, Mairéad Farrell, And The Representation Of Armed Femininity In Irish Republican Ballads, Seán Ó Cadhla

Articles

This article critically considers the representation of armed femininity within the attendant song tradition of Irish physical-force Republicanism, with specific focus on the personal and cultural consequences for two prominent female Republican activists, both of whom successfully traverse the gender demarcation lines of war. While noting the didactic, often misogynistic, trajectory of works narrating ‘transgressive’ females within the broader ballad tradition, this article seeks to determine whether or not the interwoven essentialist tropes of death, martyrdom and resurrection — all deeply-embedded ideological constructs within the framework of Irish Republicanism — successfully supersede calcified patriarchal mores and in so doing, facilitate …

Patriarchal Limitations Imposed On African Women: A Deconstructive Reading Of Chinweizu’S Anatomy Of Female Power, Itang Ede Egbung

Journal of International Women's Studies

Patriarchy is one of the crippling limitations that women face in contemporary societies despite the effects of modernism. Patriarchy is a system that thrives on the domination of women and promotes the superiority of men. The system places so many limitations on women to the extent that the subversion of these limitations is considered a violation of social norms and values. This paper discovers that patriarchal limitations have confined unassertive women to be at the whims and caprices of men and their domination. Using deconstructive critical theory, this paper deconstructs Chinweizu’s Anatomy of Female Power which claims that women wield …

If I Knew What My Mother Was Going Through. Book Review. Not Dead Yet: Feminism, Passion, And Women's Liberation. Edited By Renate Klein And Susan Hawthorne, Dana Vitalosova

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Autobiographical Narratives Of Sexual Violation: Trauma, Genre, And The Politics Of Telling, Sarah M. Hildebrand

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation engages with literary trauma theory and rape studies by investigating how scholars through the 1990s theorized the relationship among trauma, narration, and silence, and how the #MeToo movement causes us to rethink these views. Attending to the specific silence generated in the wake of sexual violation reveals how power structures influence the act of telling, challenging the idea that trauma is untellable. I argue that literary trauma theory needs to push beyond its foundation in biomedical models of trauma—in which the (in)ability to recall or articulate traumatic events is rooted in neurology—to examine the ways traumatic narratives are …

Put Yourself First (In A Sexy Way): Postfeminist Beauty Messaging And Resistant Media Texts, Margarita Artoglou

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The makeover montage trope is one of the most recognizable in media content aimed at young women, sending the message that social status and acceptance are only a new outfit and face of makeup away. While this trope and its message have been heavily critiqued by scholars, the message that beauty—and all its social benefits—can be achieved through consumerism has not disappeared, though the means by which this message is conveyed has changed. As a result of companies co-opting feminist rhetoric, conforming to standards of beauty has been recast as a “choice” one makes for herself, often wrapped in the …

The 1848 Declarations Of Sentiments: Usurpations And Incantations, Leah Shafer

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

Three video recordings of participants reciting the "1848 Declaration of Sentiments" at the Seneca Falls Dialogues conferences. In the first video titled "Sentiments and Usurpations", an excerpt is repeated over and over until it begins to sound like an incantation. In the second video, "Declaration of Sentiments 2014", still images accompany an audio track featuring the voices of the participants. The third video, "Declaration of Sentiments Wesleyan Chapel" uses the 2014 audio track for an avant-garde exploration of the interior of the Wesleyan Chapel.

Confronting Student Resistance To Ecofeminism: Three Perspectives, Jennifer Browdy De Hernandez, Holly Kent, Colleen Martell

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

Teaching ecofeminism is a dynamic, vital practice, demanding a great deal of both educators and students. At the heart of this essay is the question: how can we teach ecofeminism effectively? In this work, we reflect on our successes and failures teaching ecofeminism within various topics and in different settings. While each co-author of this piece brings ecofeminism into our classrooms, we do so in very different ways and have diverse approaches to making ecofeminist theories and ideas feel vital, necessary, and relevant for our students. In our essay, we aim to offer some productive and provocative suggestions and ideas …

Black Lips Don't Turn Blue: A Womanist Critique Of Discriminatory Language In Medical Education, Alison Lawrence

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

This paper examines race and gender inequities in healthcare as it pertains to the unequal presentation of descriptors of illness in medical textbooks. The author adopts a womanist perspective to criticize the use of the white male body as the standard for all patients, which causes signs and symptoms in women and people of color to be dismissed as less important. Following an analysis of normalizing language in current medical texts as well as its consequences for patients, the author calls for a system-wide shift to more inclusive, intersectional medical education that not only acknowledges differences among patient groups, but …

Negritude Feminisms: Francophone Black Women Writers And Activists In France, Martinique, And Senegal From The 1920s To The 1980s, Korka Sall

Doctoral Dissertations

Negritude Feminisms: Francophone Black Women Writers and Activists in France, Martinique and Senegal from the 1920s to 1980s reframes debates about the participation and conversation of francophone women writers in the Negritude movement. I use the Negritude movement as a model to highlight its capacities and limits. Through an intergenerational analysis of the writings and personal experiences of Paulette Nardal and Suzanne Césaire from Martinique, Annette Mbaye d’Erneville and Aminata Sow Fall from Senegal, my dissertation charts common themes of racial consciousness, gender issues and the colonial problem developed by these women. Nardal, Césaire, Mbaye d’Erneville and Sow Fall played …

Empirical Analysis On Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices (Kap): Puberty And Menstrual Hygiene, Jisha V. G., R. Rupashree, T. Somasundaram

Journal of International Women's Studies

Puberty and menstruation bring major physical and mental changes in a girl’s life; they mark the beginning of procreation. In many countries lackof knowledge and poor hygienic practices during menstruation lead to serious illness ranging from genital tract infections and urinary tract infections to bad odor. This study on Knowledge Attitude and Practice (KAP) aims to understand the awareness level of menstrual health and hygiene among adolescent girls, and the study also focuses on identifying the average age of attaining menarche among early adolescent girls and the problems associated with menstruation. To meet the above objective, a sample of 187 …

«Cuida Tu Alma Y Tu Cuerpo Por Dios Y La Falange»: Women’S Education And La Sección Femenina In Franco’S Spain, Madeleine Fontenay

College Honors Program

My thesis exploration is on La Sección Femenina and its diffusion of female cultural guides and shaping of female education in the early francoist period, from 1939 to 1959. The Sección Femenina and its field offices published work in many facets of women's lives to influence and reeducate women or their values and place. The contrast of rhetoric and reality gives insight into the values and upbringings of generations of Spaniards. By setting the female figure as the foundation of their francoist society, the Sección Femenina held immense cultural power. I am approaching the topic from an educational perspective, focusing …

“It Could Have Happened To Any Of You”: Post-Wounded Women In Three Contemporary Feminist Dystopian Novels, Abby N. Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My goal for this thesis is to investigate the concept of (mis)labeling female protagonists in contemporary British fiction as mentally ill—historically labeled as madness—when subjected to traumatic events. The female protagonists in two novels by Sophie Mackintosh, The Water Cure (2018) and Blue Ticket (2020), and Jenni Fagan’s 2012 novel The Panopticon, are raised in environments steeped in trauma and strict, hegemonic structures that actively work to control and mold their identities. In The Panopticon, this system is called “the experiment”; in The Water Cure, it is personified by the character King and those who follow him; …

The Sea Calls: A Selkie's Liminal Existence, Frances Avery

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Traditionally, the selkies (or seal people) of Scottish-Irish lore exist between spaces: the land and the sea, human and animal, childbearing and childless. Their existence at sea is voluntary but their existence on land is forced. Once the selkie has left behind its sealskin and both the literal and metaphorical sealskin has been stolen, the selkie becomes subject to human will. The lenses of body, reclamation, violation, and abuse prove that the reason why selkies have faded from popularity is because the lessons are too mature for a young audience. A feminist and queer reading and interpretation of this traditional …

A Study Of Young American Women, Conservatism, And Feminism, Laurel Lux

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

As of June 2020, only 31% of self-identified conservatives in the United States were women. Modern political conservatism is known for rejecting modern feminism as well, which is often stereotyped as a women’s issue. With such a small percentage of women identifying as conservative, the question arises as to why young American women reject modern feminism and identify with modern political conservatism. In this study I examined the literature comparing modern conservatism, conservative women’s movements, and modern feminism, and conducted a small questionnaire of conservative women 18-24. I concluded by describing three generalized schools of thought regarding conservative women’s views …

An Analysis Of Symbolic Violence In Classical Texts Comparatively To Modern Feminist Adaptations, Marisa Berner

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis explores the symbolic violence and misogyny present in Classical texts, and then compares them to modern feminist adaptations or retellings of the same stories. We explore the treatment of Briseis and other enslaved women in the Greek camp throughout the Iliad, and compare Homer’s perspective to Pat Barker’s in her book Silence of the Girls. We then look at Ovid’s Metamorphoses compared to Wake, Siren by Nina Maclaughlin, and finish with the comparison of Euripides’ plays Iphigenia at Aulis, Iphigenia Among the Taurians, and Hecuba to A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes. The thesis …

Gender Inequality In The Workplace, Katelyn Barger

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper analyzes the history of gender inequality in the workplace, the detailed nature of issues that society faces, research in today’s world, and how to aid in the removal of gender stereotypes and thus removing consequences, unbeknownst to women a lot of the time. The goal of this analysis is to broaden the view of the reader and gain perspective into a world, which may or may not be familiar to them.

"What Camelot Means": Women And Lgbtq+ Authors Paving The Way For A More Inclusive Arthuriana Through Young Adult Literature, Jeddie Mae Bristow

MSU Graduate Theses

Arthurian literature has long been regarded as the domain of “dead white men,” dominated by Thomas Malory and Lord Alfred Tennyson. However, since medieval times, women have also been producing Arthurian literature that not only treats the women characters of the story more equitably, but makes social commentary on how the marginalized of their societies are treated. More recently, women and LGBTQ+ authors (basically, authors who are not cisgender white men) have answered the call for more diverse Young Adult literature with an Arthuriana that has a place for all, both creating a more diverse and equitable Camelot and giving …

Space-Praxis: Towards A Feminist Politics Of Design, Mary C. Overholt

Masters of Environmental Design Theses

Outside of the academy and professionalized practice, design has long been central to the production of feminist, political projects. Taking what I have termed space-praxis as its central analytic, this project explores a suite of feminist interventions into the built environment—ranging from the late 1960s to present day.

Formulated in response to Michel de Certeau’s theory of spatial practices, space-praxis collapses formerly bifurcated definitions of ‘tactic’/‘strategy’ and ‘theory’/‘practice.’ It gestures towards those unruly, situated undertakings that are embedded in an ever-evolving, liberative politics. In turning outwards, away from the so-called masters of architecture, this thesis orients itself toward everyday practitioners …

Intersectional Alliances To Overcome Gender Subordination: The Case Of Roma-Gypsy Traveller Women, Laura Corradi

Journal of International Women's Studies

By linking the oppression of women with other axes of oppression, the intersectional theories and methodologies employed in the last few decades have proved to be strategic in building awareness, forming alliances, and influencing transversal politics. In this paper, the case of Roma/Gypsy/Traveller (RGT) women is discussed through the multiple discriminations they suffer from, the birth of feminism and gender activism in the communities, intersectional alliances with non-Gypsy feminists, and the anti-racist and LGBTIA-Queer movements. In the second part of the paper, I offer a focus on shared political ‘emotions’, ‘fluid identities’, ‘travelling activism’, and the need for decolonization of …

Amanda Baldwin's Master's Portfolio, Amanda Baldwin

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This is the final portfolio for my Master's of Arts in the field of English. It includes an analytical narrative along with four projects that I feel best illustrate my knowledge, skills, and growth. These four pieces are entitled "Putting a Feminist Twist on Classic Literature," "Teaching Antigone in the Modern Classroom," “Feminism and Racial Studies in Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees,” and “Literacy Narrative Analysis.”

Undoing The Unhinged Woman: An Examination Of Contemporary Media Representation Of Women And Ideology, Alyssa Scanlon

Media and Communication Studies Presentations

The unhinged woman is a character trope that has popped up frequently in mainstream media for the past few years. This trope is utilized as a way to present an alternative representation of women; one that functions as being empowering, complex, and overall a new and positive representation of a constant misrepresented minority in media. Proceeding with a textual analysis of the 2014 film Gone Girl and the 2020 miniseries The Undoing, I was able to examine the salient attributes through a feminist lens. Further discovering that the unhinged woman trope is actually detrimental to the overall representation of women …

An Exploration Of Voice, Kristyn Montgomery

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This combination of four pieces reflects an overarching theme of researching the ways that our foundations and experiences shape us, either by our own hands or by the hands of others. This is a final portfolio that was submitted to the English Department of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the field of English.

Quest For Selfhood: Women Artists In The South Asian Visual Arts, Prachi Priyanka

Journal of International Women's Studies

There has been a recent increase in country-focused publications on women artists in Southeast Asia that highlight the newfound interest in feminist-inspired discourses and histories of women artists. India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh have shared a common history and culture for millennia. The socio-economic cultural patterns in these three countries are very similar, particularly when it comes to the status of women. Notwithstanding the difference in religions followed and practiced in these countries, the women here more-or-less experience similar challenges in their advancement. These three countries have traditionally suffered from poverty, illiteracy, health and infrastructure issues, and are bracketed as third …

Naming And Re(Claiming) Feminism In Orthodoxy: Voicing The Gender And Religious Identities Of Greek Orthodox Women, Anne Marie Adams

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a qualitative study of the effects of Greek Orthodoxy on the gender and religious identity meaning-making of five Greek-American women. The emergent themes from this study indicate that participants’ gender and religious identities were heavily influenced by the dueling tensions and contradictions between patriarchy and feminism, conservative traditionalism and modernity, and secular life and the religious community (i.e., family and church). Underpinning this study are Narrative Identity Theory and Feminist Standpoint Theory. Portraiture methodology was employed across three semi-structured interviews, as well as three written/video reflection journals to reveal how women, as articulated through their own perspectives, …

Modern-Day Fantasy: The Progressive Role Of The Active Female, Elizabeth Turello

Sacred Heart University Scholar

Compared to other genres of literature, modern-day fantasy is often disregarded as Eurocentric and homogeneous. In this article, I argue such critiques fail to take stock of the influential and progressive role women have played within modern-day fantasy since its creation by J.R.R. Tolkien. This article primarily focuses on modern-day fantasy works from three decades that coincide with a wave of feminism, beginning with Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings in the 1950s and continuing with J.K. Rowling’s early nineties and aughts Harry Potter series as well as Leigh Bardugo’s mid-2010’s duology, Six of Crows. This article discusses the direct …

L’Universalité De La Voix Féminine : Interprétations Genrées De La Poésie Romantique Française Et Allemande, Mimi Mackilligan

Senior Theses and Projects

Contemporary French feminist literary critics have debated whether the category of woman is an empowering or limiting paradigm through which to analyze women writers. Hélène Cixous coined the term "feminine writing [écriture féminine]" in order to link femininity to a radical particularity, whereas Monique Wittig has asserted that this concept confines women writers to their minority identity rather than allowing them to be read universally. Such discussions serve as a useful lens through which to analyze women writers who grappled with their gendered position far before the advent of 20^th-century feminism.

Despite the abundance of woman …

Abenomics’ Effect On Gender Inequality In Japanese Society And The Workplace, Arianna C. Johnson

Honors College Theses

In this study, I determine the extent to which Japan’s shrinking workforce population has been affected by gender roles. Many Asian countries are experiencing a prominent decline in birth rate and population, which has increased global interest in these issues. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Japanese government officials have eagerly responded, pushing Japanese women into the labor force as a possible solution. However, this decision has unanticipated drawbacks, which require officials to address Japanese women’s concerns in and outside of the workplace. I argue that the Japanese government will have more success by addressing these needs, creating a more gender-equal …