Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

The Actions Of A Lonely Woman And The Effects Of Online Incel Communities On Society, Antara Dabral

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

In recent years, the resistance to women’s rights movements has started to shift from only being based on gender roles and has started to take root in insecurity and anxiety surrounding a dating life. This phenomenon has been further exacerbated with the advent and growth of the internet, where ideas are allowed to spread across the world rapidly which has created online forums where people known as incels gather.

In this paper, I ascertain that these online forums have a broad incel culture and community founded on victimhood and frustration and how they were formed as a consequence of a …

Fantasy Escapism: Using Role-Playing Games To Explore Mental Health And Gender Identity, Aidan Cipolla

English Summer Fellows

This project analyzes how escapism through the use of role-playing games can be used as a coping mechanism for those struggling with a variety of topics, including gender dysphoria and mental health issues. The project takes an ethnographic approach to data gathering, consisting of interviews with a small group of Dungeons and Dragons / video game players, and personal anecdotes regarding the author’s experience with escapism.

Consent In Conversation: Education Of Sexual Violence In Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Emily Benning

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

Maya Angelou’s memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, is just one of many titles challenged and banned in public schools for “sexually explicit” content. On page 71 of her 281 page autobiography, Angelou discloses that she was raped at 8 years old by her mother’s boyfriend, and despite it being followed with scenes that emphasize the value of healing through literature, public attention has been directed to the (non-consensual) intercourse itself as a reason for censorship. As censorship efforts have expanded in the past two decades, challengers have continued to add more ban-worthy qualities to the list …

Unchallenged Myth: Abolish The Family And Structure, Julian Barocas

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

There are aspects of society we are taught not to question: government, education, capitalism. These are portrayed as immutable truths that, if presented with a gap in their logical system, are dependent on sidestepping them, referring to the aforementioned immutability, and relying on the status quo to keep their position as societal structures. Sophie Lewis’s most recent case for phasing out the nuclear family structure, Abolish the Family: A Manifesto for Care, demonstrates how the family is another one of these seemingly universal concepts. The unacknowledged reality of the family is historically one a tool of control rather than …

Sexing The Stage: Designing Sets For Queer Plays, Elliot Cetinski

Theater Summer Fellows

How can we design queer plays in a way that acknowledges challenging content and celebrates queer theater history? How does a set designer use the research on a play’s challenging content and its historical relevance to influence the design and aid in telling the story? What are the tools and processes indispensable to a scenic designer’s creative process? Answers to all of these questions are the goal of my project, where I am exploring the queer plays of 1920s’ playwright Mae West and designing the set for her play The Pleasure Man through a modern queer lens. As a queer …

Pride And Prejudice: A Modern, Queer Retelling For The Stage, Kate Isabel Foley

Theater Summer Fellows

In the course of studying LGBTQ topics in a queer drama class, I noticed that there was a glaring omission in our readings: the “B.” However, this lack of bisexual representation wasn’t due to a poor syllabus, but to a dismaying lack of bisexual representation in theatre as a whole. This observation, as well as my own experience as a bisexual woman, motivated me to use my love of writing and theatre to fill the void. After performing in Pride and Prejudice at Ursinus, I knew that Jane Austen’s story was the key to me bringing visibility to an underserved, …

Watch Your Language! A Foundational Course Exploring Language Of Gender And Sexuality, Raeann Risko

Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies Summer Fellows

How do language and word choice influence the way people think about gender and sexuality? This question is addressed through a syllabus for an entry level college course, which includes suggested readings and activities along with explanations and advice for instructors. This course provides a foundation for understanding the power of language and the impact that the vocabulary used to describe people in relation to their gender and sexuality has. The purpose of the course is to offer an interactive guide for students to consider the many different ways that words may be used or misused, understood or misunderstood. This …

A Silent Voice (Koe No Katachi): The Intersection Of Gender And Disability In Japanese Society, Amanda Weber

East Asian Studies Summer Fellows

Nishimiya Shōko is the female protagonist in the hit Japanese manga and anime film adaptation, A Silent Voice. She is introduced as a transfer student to a sixth-grade classroom and is immediately ‘othered’ for her deafness. Nishimiya goes on to suffer from relentless bullying at the hands of classmates she tries to befriend with little to no intervention from the homeroom teacher. Doing her best to participate in everyday classroom and extra-curricular activities proves fruitless, and her mother pulls her from school. Seven years later, several former classmates attempt to reconcile with Nishimiya and seek redemption and forgiveness for their …

A Gap In The Narrative: Exploring The Experiences Of Trans Dancers Today, Erica Best

Dance Independent Study Projects

The scarcity of trans dancers in dance history, dance spaces, and dance research suggests a need for greater understanding of this group and how their needs are and are not being met in dance. This qualitative study explores the experiences of transgender, nonbinary, and otherwise gender-nonconforming dancers in concert, commercial, and social dance forms. Interviews with 10 participants from the US and Australia emphasize dance as a valuable space for gender exploration, but also highlight a lack of media representation for this population and argue that what representation does exist is often objectifying and tokenizing. Participants also shed light on …

Look Over Here: A Brief History And Exhibition Of Black Women In Photography, Millie Drury

English Presentations

This is an informative online photography exhibition. It contains a brief history of black women in photography before presenting ten black female photographers in chronological order according to years active with a short profile and examples of their work. This exhibition is meant to give students and faculty exposure to the work of black female photographers and understand the history behind their present status in the field.

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 …

Disparities In Sports Media Representation, Madison Handwerger

Media and Communication Studies Presentations

My research focuses on the differences of representation of genders in sports media. Being a collegiate female athlete myself, this topic really hits home for me, and is a big passion of mine. The primary text of my project is the ESPN television talk show, First Take. The show in itself reinforces a gender ideology with the way it is formatted, having two male analysts and a female host, however the host is not allowed to speak and share her opinions on the topic or issue at hand. That job is left for the male co-analysts. Before beginning my research, …

The Real 1920s: How The Immigration Act Of 1924 Empowered And Encouraged Organized Nationalism, Amanda Pawling

History Presentations

The 1920s were a key era for women and women’s rights. It was also a key era for immigration reform and antiimmigrant sentiment. My research is asking if and how there is a correlation between these different takes on one decade. What my research has shown is that while women were fighting for equality and their right to vote, many were also fighting for traditional family values, family roles, conservatism, and nativism. When it comes to the KKK and its rhetoric of America first and anti-immigration, women were not only in the background but front and center in the fight. …

Hoop Dreams: An Empirical Analysis Of The Gender Wage Gap In Professional Basketball, Hailey Dicicco

Business and Economics Summer Fellows

The gender wage gap is a very prominent point of discussion in the professional world, but in the sports world, it has taken the spotlight in recent years. One sport that has seen discussion and debate over salary differences is the National Basketball Association and Women’s National Basketball Association. In 2018, the average salary in the NBA was 6.4 million dollars, while the average salary in the WNBA was 71,635 dollars. A reason why these salaries are so differently is due to the amount of revenue that each league brings in. The NBA brings in roughly 7.4 billion dollars a …

The Personification Of The Perfect Citizen: The English Political Cartoon, Colonial Anxiety, And Identity During The American Revolution, Sarah Johns

History Summer Fellows

When studying the American Revolution, there is a variety of written source materials from the actors involved that have been used to decipher the many social and political changes that occurred throughout the conflict; however, imagery, especially political cartoons, can be key to uncovering avenues of cultural debate that highlight these changes in new and more detailed ways. With Great Britain experiencing its golden age of political caricature during the late 18^th century, what might these images have to say about gender and race during this tumultuous period? In this project, I argue that British political cartoons were essential …

Oppression Or Occupation: An International Analysis Of Sex Work And Sex Trafficking, Carver Wolfe

International Relations Summer Fellows

Although there is some debate over the exact number of victims of sex trafficking, it is agreed that it is an issue that affects primarily women and girls around the world. This paper will examine modern-day slavery and the unresolved, century-old debate surrounding sex trafficking and sex work. While abolitionists advocate for the total eradication of all sex work, whether it is consensual or not, libertarians support the right to voluntary sex work while condemning the coercion and exploitation that surrounds all forms of trafficking. I will use an analysis of international conventions and will begin a comparative analysis by …

Hoop Dreams: An Empirical Analysis Of The Gender Wage Gap In Professional Basketball, Hailey Dicicco

Business and Economics Presentations

The gender wage gap is a very prominent point of discussion in the professional world, but in the sports world, it has taken the spotlight in recent years. One sport that has seen discussion and debate over salary differences is the National Basketball Association and Women’s National Basketball Association. In 2018, the average salary in the NBA was 6.4 million dollars, while the average salary in the WNBA was 71,635 dollars. A reason why these salaries are so differently is due to the amount of revenue that each league brings in. The NBA brings in roughly 7.4 billion dollars a …

Oppression Or Occupation: Conflicting Views On The Nature Of Sex Work In France And Under International Law, Carver Wolfe

Politics and International Relations Presentations

Although there is some debate over the exact number of victims of sex trafficking, it is agreed upon that it is an issue that affect primarily women and girls around the world. This paper will examine modern day slavery and the unresolved, century-old debate surrounding sex trafficking and sex work. While abolitionists advocate for total eradication of all sex work, whether it is consensual or not, libertarians support the right to voluntary sex work while condemning the coercion and exploitation that surrounds all forms of trafficking. I will use an analysis of international conventions and will begin a comparative analysis …

What Makes A Mad Genius? The Sociopolitical Role Of The Mad Genius Label In United States Early Modern Dance, Erica Best

Dance Summer Fellows

This project explores the sociocultural and political implications of the use of the labels “mad” and “genius,” as they relate to two prominent 20th-century modern dance choreographers – Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham. Martha Graham is in multiple writings called a genius, both by critics and dancers. However, although a similarly prominent figure in the canon of modern dance, Alvin Ailey is not called a genius nearly as often. This is notable given the many parallels in their artistic and personal lives. Both artists contributed significantly to the history of modern dance in the 20th century, were sponsored by the …

Spiritual Exploration: Gender, Human Frailty And Interfaith Realities, Elizabeth Iobst

Charles Rice Post-Graduate Research Fellowship

This collection of essays details personal experiences, religious beliefs, gender roles and interviews conducted during a research fellowship in England and Israel.

Black Women’S Wellbeing: The Intersections Of Race, Immigrant Status, And Mental Health Among African Diasporan Women In Houston, Texas, Sianneh Vesslee

African American and Africana Studies Summer Fellows

My central research question is: how has white supremacy impacted African Diaspora women’s mental health, access to mental healthcare, and identities as mental health patients in the United States as discernible in advertisements and state policies for psychological wellness? More specifically, I will investigate whether and/or how white supremacy shapes the ways in which advertising and state policies for mental healthcare address the particular needs of black women who immigrate to Houston, Texas from Lagos, Nigeria and Coahuila, Mexico. I choose those geographies because Houston is a U.S. city with one of the highest populations of black immigrants from Nigeria …

Matriarchs And Martyrs: Women In Early Christian Apocrypha, Robert Wilf

Religious Studies Summer Fellows

"The Master Narrative of Christianity" as outlined by Karen King states that Jesus Christ passed down the one true gospel to his apostles who then spread it throughout the world among a sea of dissension. But exactly which texts contained the true gospel, and even who counted as an apostle, is far less cut and dried than the early church fathers would have you believe. In fact, many narratives involving powerful women preaching, baptizing, and facing down execution had been lost or purposely neglected from most canons. I looked at just a few of these works; The Gospel of Mary …

Harold, They're Lesbians!: Interrogating And Understanding The Histories Of "Lesbians.", Chloe Sheraden

History Presentations

No abstract provided.

Exploiting The Patriarchy: Privilege, Context, And Masculine Accomplishments, Elizabeth Iobst

History Presentations

No abstract provided.

Understanding The American Subaltern: An Exploration Of Complex Literary Characters Through Socio-Cultural Lenses, Sophie Gioffre

English Summer Fellows

This project involves the analysis of three novels — Stephen Crane’s Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, Ann Petry’s The Street, and Toni Morrison’s Sula — featuring main characters who are forced to navigate realistic socio-economic environments rooted in racist, sexist, and classist systems of oppression in the United States of America. Through the process of completing close-readings of the novels, conducting extensive secondary research on historical contexts, and examining other scholarly criticisms and interpretations of these novels, I develop new insights into the main characters’ plights. To transfer this conceptual understanding into a more personal and empathetic …

Complete Bosoms, Incomplete Men: Reading Abstinence In Measure For Measure, Joseph Makuc

English Summer Fellows

Measure for Measure has often been called one of Shakespeare’s problem plays, and as recent productions show, Measure’s problems — including sexual coercion and governmental corruption — resonate with readers and audiences today. Recent scholarship has examined sexual abstinence in Measure for Measure in terms of its historical economic and religious context, arguing that protagonist Isabella represents a radical break from merchant economics by opting out of the sexual economy. However, Angelo and the Duke, the play's other central characters, also make claims about the values of abstinence, and those claims are at odds with Isabella's claims. My research will …

The Journey Of An Emotional Black Boy, Alonzo Elias

Philosophy Summer Fellows

The title of my project is "Emotional Nigga" a.k.a. "Emotional Black Boy" because people would be comfortable if I called it so. The audience for this project may want to think of it this way. The title I chose is meant to express the struggles I faced in my journey to self-awareness. I decided to share my story through fifteen topics, which have brought me a better understanding of myself and will hopefully help the audience as well. These topics are Self-Love, Prelude: Intimacy and Attachment Theory, Relationships, Sex, Beauty, Sexuality, Love, Self-Love, Spirituality, Religion, Astrology, Psychology, Self-Care, and Life. …

Intersectional India: Caste, Feminism And Development In The 21st Century, Anika Backelin-Harrison

International Relations Summer Fellows

My paper explores the intersections between caste and feminism in the 21^stcentury, questioning India’s future if it remains divided by ascribed status. Beginning with independence in 1947, I dissect India’s history post-colonialism and how the feminist movement gained headway during periods of political upheaval. Within the feminist movement, Indian women remain divided on the basis of caste, therefore stalling gains for true equality. India’s hope for development, increased security and peaceful negotiations will not come to fruition if the caste system persists, especially in the feminist movement.

Following India’s independence, women have been used as a marker for …

Us Too? The #Metoo Movement And Its Critics, Thea Pastras

CIE Essay Writing Contest

No abstract provided.

The Narcissistic Gaze In Pipilotti Rist’S Video Work Mutaflor (1996), Yanlin Li

Art and Art History Summer Fellows

The project focuses on the research of the visual culture in the context of western societies from the 1970s to the 1990s and the art criticism on video art during that time. The final product of this project is an art criticism on the video artwork Mutaflor, made by Pipilotti Rist, an internationally renowned contemporary video and installation artist.