Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Reese Witherspoon: A True Role Model, Vanessa Hemmen

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

A profile of Reese Witherspoon.

Lg Ms 028 Robin Lambert Collection Finding Aid, Elizabeth Sistare

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

Robin Lambert was politically active in Maine for more than 40 years, was for many years the most prominent Republican to publicly support LGBT civil rights, and persuaded many in his party to join him in that struggle. He was one of the founders of the Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance (MLGPA)(now EqualityMaine) in 1984, and was twice recognized by MLGPA for his outstanding work for civil rights. As an early advocate of addressing the issues surrounding HIV and its impact on the state, Lambert was a founding member of both The Maine Health Foundation and The AIDS Project …

Professional Staff Competencies In Women's Centers, Amber L. Vlasnik, Melissa D. Debutz

Women's Center Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Performative Gender And Pop Fiction Females: "Emancipating" Byronic Heroines Through A Feminist Education, Joy Smith

Masters Theses

"I can be a regular bitch. Just try me." With this phrase emblazoned across her t-shirt, Lisbeth Salander, pierced, tattooed, and bedecked in leather, waltzes from the pages of Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. This woman who subverts authority, maliciously tattoos and sodomizes a man, and intentionally distances herself from close relationships of any kind has somehow managed to capture both the attention and admiration of the American audience. This disheartening phenomenon stems from a renewed interest in the Byronic heroine, a female possessing those traits traditionally assigned to Byronic heroes and men, and the rise of …

Our Gendered Food Chain, Jasmine T. Colahan

SURGE

Over the past four decades, the number of women-operated farms has nearly doubled. Including both primary and secondary operators, one million women make up thirty percent of all U.S. farmers.

Headlines such as “Females Take the Reins,” “Meet the New face of Agriculture,” “Old McDonald Might Be a Lady” demonstrate this gender shift. And, it is true in my life too. As I worked on the Painted Turtle Farm this summer, the majority of my role models, co-workers, and mentors working in agriculture, whether rural or urban, were primarily women. [excerpt]

Fearless: Kaleigh Sosa, Kathryn E. Bucolo

SURGE

Fearlessly organizing events on campus addressing issues of sexual assault, serving the campus community by raising awareness of gender, bias, and violence issues, and helping first-years and sophomores as part of Residence Life staff, Kaleigh Sosa ’14 passionately leads her peers toward understanding. [excerpt]

A Common Man Trapped Inside The Queen’S Body, Alexandra Sofia Palacios

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis proposes a feminist-queer reading of Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene in response to Julian Wolfreys’ “The ‘Endlesse Worke’ of Transgression”.

I examine the challenges to male authority that the low-born poet, Spenser, faced when he presented his manual for the formation of new English subjects to his sovereign queen, Elizabeth I. The Prefatory Letter to Raleigh and passages from the 1590 version of the epic provide evidence to support the view that traditional hierarchical male/female binaries may have been destabilized by the presence of an unmarried queen. My thesis also supplements Wolfreys’ essay with historical information regarding Mary …

Twice As Likely To..., Adrienne M. Ellis

SURGE

TRIGGER WARNING!

I am white. I am bisexual. I am female. I have been sexually assaulted. Three times. [excerpt]

What I'Ve Learned To Expect, Natalie S. Sherif

SURGE

“Hey bitch!” someone yelled.

“Biiitttch!” I heard again from the car.

Music blared from inside. I pretended not to notice. Don’t give them the satisfaction, I thought. Don’t do something you’ll regret. So I stood there until the cars stopped whizzing past, pretending to ignore a car of boys yelling insults.

When the light changed, I hurried across Carlisle Street, got into my room, and lost it.

I was furious. Being reduced to an insult while walking home from a movie for class is infuriating. But, what really got under my skin was that incidents like this seem commonplace. While …

Fearless: Sexual Assault Survivors, Kathryn E. Bucolo

SURGE

TRIGGER WARNING!

Raped, abused, molested, assaulted. Every other day on this campus.

Grabbed, touched, hit, down. Not a person. Skirt going down, shirt coming up.

Led behind locked doors, poured another drink.

“Not sure if it counted as assault.”

Every. other. day. [excerpt]

The Strong Silent Type, Alyssa L. Bosold

SURGE

Speak up. Be assertive. Lean in. Take up space. However it’s said, there is a stream of discourse telling women that we should be louder and prouder in order to succeed.

As the argument goes, we, as women, are silenced by oppression. Society tells us to be quiet, politely agree, and make ourselves as small as possible. So naturally, we should resist this social pressure by being more vocal, more extroverted, and more assertive. [excerpt]

Lg Ms 026 Michael Martin Papers Finding Aid, Nicholas Martin

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

Print materials collected by this AIDS activist, primarily about the AIDS epidemic and treatment, including The AIDS Project in Maine.

Size of Collection:

1 ft.

Women’S Political Leadership In Boston, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

The center tracks the status of women at all levels of government in the New England states. It also provides dynamic web resources to inform and support public leadership of women of color.

This fact sheet presents information and statistics following the 2013 municipal elections in the City of Boston.

Distancing The Past: New Forms Of Discomfort With Aids In The U.S, John C. Hawley

English

In his Introduction to this collection, Gustavo Subero makes reference to the AIDS Quilt, a reference made especially significant since the year 2012 marked its 25th anniversary. The whole quilt had been last displayed in 1996; in the summer of 2012, 8.000 panels were rotated each day in the National Mall in Washington, DC. The quilt, composed of thousands of 3’ x 6’ panels (intentionally the size of a human grave), currently consists of over 48.000 panels honoring more than 94.000 individuals who have died of AIDS. In the early days of the quilt, in the 1980s and 1990s, the …

Original Plumbing: Performing Gender Variance Through Relational Self-Determination, Raechel Tiffe

Communication and Media Faculty Publications

In 2009, Amos Mac and Rocco Kayiatos, two transgender men, created Original Plumbing (OP) magazine, in an effort to “[document] diversity within trans male lifestyles through photographic portraits, essays, personal narratives and interviews.” In this essay, I argue that OP becomes a platform from which to understand the relational performance of transmale life. The magazine provides a foundation for transmen to take ownership of self-determination by constructing identity through a non-heteronormative framework, made possible through the queer worldmaking practices of an exclusively FTM (female- to-male) space. Throughout this essay, I critique what the magazine elects to value as “diversity,” tackling …

Every Other Day, Sarah M. Connelly

SURGE

There is a problem on our campus—a problem of sexual assault and its perpetuation due to unnecessary silence. Current compulsory education on the topic through AlcoholEdu and First-Year Orientation are often turned into jokes because of course everyone knows not to rape and not to put yourself in a dangerous situation. The concept doesn’t seem real until a Campus Safety Alert reports that one of our students has been sexually assaulted. But even then, we get those so infrequently that it couldn’t be that much of an issue, right? [excerpt]

Fearless: Adrienne Ellis, Adrienne M. Ellis

SURGE

Taking the initiative to change college policies related to LGBTQ issues, restructuring a sustainable community garden in Gettysburg over the summer, and continually being motivated to change and challenge the powers that be through her love of people, Adrienne Ellis ’14 fearlessly fights for what she believes to help the people she loves— everybody. [excerpt]

Gay After Graduation, Laura J. Koenig

SURGE

I first went public with my sexual orientation over Surge last spring–my last semester at Gettysburg before graduation. I was scared, but ultimately lucky to be met with support from my friends and family. People generally accepted my sexuality and then moved on. Actually, life went on so quickly that it took me some time to catch up. [excerpt]

Atkins, Gail And Gwen Demeter Interview About Silver Circle, Gail Atkins, Gwen Demeter, Rose Norman, B. Leaf Cronewrite

Queer Mississippi (Complete Collection)

Rose Norman and B. Leaf Cronewrite (Mary Ann Hopper) interviewed Gwen Demeter and Gail Atkins at Womonwrites on Saturday, October 13, 2013. Despite serious memory problems from diabetic dementia, Gail Atkins did participate in this interview, though Gwen does most of the talking.

This is not a comprehensive transcript but several sections of the interview have been transcribed. The full audio interview is in the repository at Duke University.

This interview is referenced in the article "Silver Circle Sanctuary: Beginnings and Legacy" by B. Leaf Cronewrite in Sinister Wisdom No. 98: Landykes of the South.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 89, No. 13, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

• McKay, Michael. AT&T Service Rerouted as Repairs Are Made
• Holloway, Kaely. WKU Functioning Despite Government Shutdown
• Matchen, Quiche. Group Looks to Help Former Incarcerated Persons Get on Their Feet – We Stay Free
• French, Jackson. Stock Ticker to Give Grise Hall a Business School Feel
• Holloway, Kaely. Student Business Accelerator Aids Student Entrepreneurs
• Holloway, Kaely. Student Government Association Budget Finalized
• Bratcher, Nick. The Kitchen Table Beckons
• Kriz, Lindsay. Not Supporting Feminism Equals Not Supporting Women
• Freeman, Demetrius. Mammoth Cave Shut Down Photo Spread
• Mathews, Mackenzie. Greeks Get Down – …

Bi The Way, I'M Queer, Chelsea E. Broe

SURGE

363 days ago, on October 11, 2012, I came out as bisexual.

Every year, the queer community observes October 11th as National Coming Out Day, a day when queers of all kinds can openly acknowledge and celebrate their sexual orientation and gender identity. [excerpt]

“A Southern Expendable”: Cultural Patriarchy, Maternal Abandonment, And Narrativization In Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out Of Carolina, Natalie Carter

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Bastard Out of Carolina is a remarkable text for many reasons: Allison’s unsentimental portrayal of profound poverty in the Old South; her unflinching depiction of incest; and the conclusion—devastating for character and reader alike—all contribute to the “flawless” nature of this novel. Perhaps most remarkable, though, is Allison’s ability to seamlessly weave a particularly Southern tradition of masculinity and violence into this heartbreaking tale of a daughter’s trauma and a mother’s abandonment. In this article, I will investigate Allison’s multifaceted portrayals of trauma in Bastard Out of Carolina, which—when combined with an analysis of social and economic traditions in …

Women's, Gender, And Sexuality Studies Newsletter Fall 2013, Susana Peña

Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Brazen (Fall 2013), Hollins University

Brazen - Gender & Women's Studies Department Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Shieldmaiden, Allison A. Taylor

Student Publications

"Shieldmaiden" is a poem that examines J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series from a feminist perspective, focusing on the character of Éowyn and her influence on female readers of Tolkien's novels.

There Are No Fat People In The Netherlands: Embodied Identities, Hypervisibility, And The Contextual Relevancy Of Fatness, Jean Ochterski

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research is the product of a month long exploratory study on fatness in the Netherlands and how it intersects with other marginalized identities, including race, class, and queerness. The primary question it answers is the ways in which hypervisibility of fat bodies interplays with the silences surrounding size as an axis of identity. The research removes fatness from solely conversations in the public health field and re-situates it in a feminist, academic framework. Data was obtained through oral history interviews with seven self identified fat people currently living the Netherlands. The results show that childhood, dieting practices, standards of …

Fros, Weaves, And Kinks: The Social And Political Significance Of Hair For Black And Coloured Women In Cape Town, Carol Antunez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project seeks to explore and understand hair performance by black and coloured females in Cape Town and understand 1) its possible political significance and 2) its social role. This ISP will attempt to explore the construction of hair as a symbol of class and beauty by looking at its historical significance. In this paper, I will investigate how young women in Cape Town, specifically black and coloured women, choose to represent themselves through hair and explore the connotations attached to their particular hairstyle choice. Furthermore, in this paper I will try to answer the following questions 1) Do black …

“The Gift Of Gab”: An Investigation Of Self Help Groups As Sources Of Women’S Empowerment In Udaipur, Rajasthan, Leigh Thomas

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

India as a rising global superpower continues to be plagued by rampant poverty and gender inequality that has left it ranked 136th on the UNDP’s Human Development Index (UNDP). In its attempts to counter these trends, an assortment of development schemes have historically been employed to varying degrees of success. Recently, the grassroots model of the Self Help Group (SHG) has been widely adopted by government programs and NGOs alike as a community-based development model that can be especially utilized to address the status of women. SHGs are broadly defined as small informal associations formed so members can gain economic …

La Feminización De La Especialidad De Pediatría En La Ciudad De Buenos Aires, Argentina / The Feminization Of The Specialty Of Pediatrics In The City Of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jessica Wilder

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: In the context of feminization of pediatrics that is occurring rapidly worldwide, this investigation seeks to determine the underlying causes of the phenomenon in Argentina. It focuses on the field of pediatrics because pediatrics is one of the most feminized medical specialties. Through this narrowed focus, the investigation intends to suggest causes for the feminization occurring in all of medicine. It studies the pediatricians of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires in order to illuminate the social, logistical, and personal motivations that attracted them to pediatrics. It is very important to discover these motivations and causes because they reflect …

How Far Would You Go With Him?: Interethnic Romantic And Sexual Encounters And Relations Among Men In The Dutch Context, Dillon C. Harvey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This report seeks to explore the experiences and complications men face romantically and sexually when ethnicity and race are used as focus lenses to reflect upon the participants' past interpersonal interactions. The interviews and analyses within this article reflect the ways in which Dutch ethnic/racial norms and stereotypes shape attraction and desire, and how men who pursue other men romantically and/or sexually negotiate with said external constructions of identity. Research in this paper provides the reader with insight into race relations on an intimate level through the participants' personal narratives, revealing the complexity of Dutch race relations on the most …