Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Beyond The Surface: Understanding The “Blurred Lines” Of Sexual Dynamics And Consent In Trinity College's Hookup Scene, Zoe Kon

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis explores the complex interplay of sexual behaviors, consent, and campus culture at Trinity College through qualitative ethnographic research. Delving into the nuances of hookup culture, a prevalent social phenomenon, the research examines how it often blurs the boundaries between consensual and non-consensual sexual interactions. Thirty in-depth interviews with Trinity College students reveal the intricate dynamics of consent communication and understanding within this context. The findings highlight significant gaps in students' communication about boundaries and consent, driven by the pressures of social capital and the normalization of alcohol-fueled encounters. The theme of blurred lines emerges as a central issue, …

From Maiden To Malevolence: Marriage, Motherhood And The Descension To Evil, Emma B. Viens

Senior Theses and Projects

In the realm of folklore and storytelling, fairy tales have long captivated audiences with their enchanting tales and timeless themes. Originating from oral tradition and having been passed down from generation to generation, these short stories have evolved into a cornerstone of literature and culture, helping nurture the imaginations of children and adults alike. However, fairy tales have never been mere bedtime stories. They have become a very effective means of exerting power over women and maintaining gender inequality, for beneath the surface of these seemingly innocent narratives lie carefully crafted and deeply rooted misconceptions about both sex and gender, …

Zamrock: Negotiating Masculine Urban Identity In Zambia And Music Success In A Postcolonial World, Emeline Avignon

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis analyzes, through predominately an ethnomusicologist approach and methodology, the lyricism, instrumentation, performance, and album art of the movement of Zamrock in Zambia from 1970 to the mid-1980s. I explore the agency and construction of urban youth masculinity by Zamrock artists in the context of Zambia’s colonial history of the Copperbelt, into its decades after independence. First, I look at the socio-political and economic context of colonized and independent Zambia, and how out of these conditions Zambian rock music was fused and forged. I break down the negotiations and desires of Zamrock artists in their identity construction via their …

Gender Stereotypes And Representation Of Women In Roald Dahl's Books, Sarah Hunt

Senior Theses and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the role and representation of women in Roald Dahl’s children’s novels. To do this, I conducted a document analysis of five of Dahl’s books - “James and the Giant Peach” (1961), “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (1964), “Danny, The Champion of the World” (1975), “The Witches” (1983), and “Matilda” (1988) - in order to answer the following questions: How does Roald Dahl portray women and girls in his novels? What gendered stereotypes are present, and how does this portrayal change over time? I was able to answer this question through utilizing …

How Activist Groups Use Human Rights Rhetoric In The Fight For Reproductive Rights And Abortion: The Cases Of The United States, Germany, And The Netherlands, Esme Ostrowitz-Levine

Senior Theses and Projects

Human rights advocates often argue their primary power is that claiming them and deploying human rights rhetoric adds legitimacy and authority to a cause. Yet our understanding of if, how, and why human rights language is used in the political struggle for equality is incomplete. In this thesis I examine the key question of the use of human rights rhetoric and claiming by activists and governmental actors via the struggle for reproductive rights, especially for access to abortion. Through a comparative case study of the United States, the Netherlands, and Germany, this paper finds that legislative bodies tend to utilize …

The Feminist Gothic Journeys Of Shirley Jackson, Grace Sanko

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Gender Performance In Contentious Politics: A Case Study Of The 2020-2021 Protests In Belarus & The 2013-2014 Euromaidan Protests In Ukraine, Darya Maliauskaya

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis aims to explore women’s participation in contentious politics in post-Soviet Eurasia states. In both Belarus and Ukraine, women were both visible and invisible drivers of demonstrations: attending marches, creating solidarity chains, supporting other protestors, providing medical assistance, participating in peace-keeping, etc. By performing different gender roles and utilizing particular gender symbols, women were able to claim their presence in these protest spaces. However, such moments of upheaval tend to create both opportunities and threats for women. The thesis will identify what gender roles, symbols, and discourses women utilized in the 2020-21 Belarus uprising and the 2013-14 Euromaidan protest …

"You're So Pretty For A [Insert Racial Slur]" - A Study On Hookup Culture At A Small Pwi, Simran Subramaniam

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

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 …

Women In Charge: An Examination Of Normative And Non-Normative Islamic Faith-Based Gender Justice, Courtney Robb

Senior Theses and Projects

Islamic Feminism is a developing field that emerged in the 1990’s, arising out of debates surrounding engagement or lack thereof with dominant forms of feminism. Based on research conducted in Jordan in the Fall of 2019 and America in the Spring of 2021, this thesis employs a regional comparison to the emergences of leadership and faith-based gender justice in Islam, and further how this either supports or contests existing gender structures. In these interviews I identify two overarching approaches to Qur’anic interpretation and knowledge production. I labeled the first approach as a normative approach to faith-based gender justice and the …

The Evolution Of Title Ix And Transgender Rights- A Comparative Study Of Title Ix Debates With Recommendations For Integrating Transgender Rights Into Title Ix Legislation, Jaymie Bianca

Senior Theses and Projects

This project views Title IX through a lens pertaining to transgender rights. It examines the historic adaptation and expansion of Title IX, and how it historically has not expanded to include transgender individuals. The project pays particular attention to the difference between the definitions of sex and gender, the bathroom and athletic debates in relation to transgender rights, and includes recommendations in order to properly include transgender individuals in Title IX legislation.

The Twentieth Century Downfall Of Professional Midwifery In Britain And Its Gendered Connotation, Katherine Epstein

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Les Femmes Algériennes, Le Patriarcat Et Les Féministes Blanches Dans Inch’Allah Dimanche Et Viva Laldjérie, Bailey Cook

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis explores the politically charged topic of the representations of Algerian women in contemporary Franco-Algerian cinema. Yamina Benguigui’s Inch’allah Dimanche and Nadir Moknèche’s Viva Laldjérie were both released in the early 2000s, in the midst of debates around feminism, secularism (or laïcité) and the so-called Islamic “veil.” At a time when some white French feminists were speaking on behalf of Algerian women, claiming they were “oppressed” while glorifying French culture, these films highlight a plurality of Algerian women’s experiences in a postcolonial context. Inch’allah Dimanche depicts women’s immigration during France’s policy of regroupement familial in the early 1970s, …

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 …

Expressions Of Female Power Within The Patriarchal Etiquette: The Portrayal Of Ruth And Other Biblical Women, Philip Jaeggi-Wong

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Gender-Based Violence: A Global Crisis That Is Handled Ineffectually, Marlén Miranda

Senior Theses and Projects

This research seeks to outline the current understandings of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in academic literature and how it contrasts from the ways governmental and non-governmental bodies interpret and address GBV. A little more than a yearlong investigation in Chile, Nepal, Jordan, Spain, and the United States serves as the foundation of the research. The researcher uses the ethnographic method (Draper, 2015) and the interpretive approach (Schwartz-Shea & Yanow, 2012) to interview individuals successfully and to comprehend better how GBV operates within each of the countries. The study focuses on answering the research question: How is GBV understood, and do current …

Hell Hath No Appetite Like A Woman: Food Imagery In The Lives Of The Wife Of Bath And Margery Kempe, Rhone O'Hara

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis focuses on the medieval texts of Chaucer’s “Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale” and The Book of Margery Kempe. Specifically it analyzes The Wife of Bath, as one of Chaucer’s most famous literary characters in The Canterbury Tales written in 1387 and Margery Kempe, a medieval mystic whose story is known as the first autobiography written in English in the 1432. Furthermore, this thesis explores how the Wife of Bath and Margery Kempe's relationships with literal and figurative food define their experiences as middle-class medieval wives. It is through food that the Wife of Bath and Margery …

Marriage And Motherhood: The Moral Connection Between “The Heptameron” By Marguerite De Navarre And “The Lessons Of Anne Of France”, Sophie Klieger

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Fomo, Liquid Courage, And The Intoxicated Self, Lindsay Pressman

Senior Theses and Projects

“Binge-drinking” cannot simply be recognized as a feature of campus culture, but as the product of a profoundly alienating one, made strikingly evident by our creation of a separate world (“drunk world”). We have created a small world of impossible possibles that exists in the corners of the actual; a separate world, in which the imagining of the self, other, and the world, is not only permissible but promoted. At the heart of college students’ “partying hard” is a longing, hope, and dogged determination that the liberating and unifying aspects of this world can overwhelm the actual...and in the meantime …

Title Ix In The Age Of Trump: An Evaluation Of Institutional Administrators’ Responses To The Proposed New Guidelines, Brooke M. Lepage

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis examines the impact of the Title IX proposed new guidance that Secretary of Education under President Trump, Betsy DeVos, released in November 2018 as well as institutional administrator’s responses regarding how these proposed changes will impact their students and their ability to do their jobs. Ultimately, the answers to these questions are used to evaluate the level to which institutional administrators are committed to the Obama-era guidance in light of the new proposed guidance. In order to assess these questions, this thesis utilizes an IRB-approved survey about the proposed change in definition of sexual harassment, change in an …

Bodies And Borders: Navigating Colonial And Capitalist Desires In Trinidad And Tobago, Hannah Grosberg

Senior Theses and Projects

Colonialism/capitalism1 continue to create and exploit a dehumanised labour population in the pursuit of profit and power. The current formation of such a population is formed through heterosexist, xenophobic and racist ideologies revealed in the discourses and practises surrounding the (mis)treatment of refugees, as well as sex tourism and human trafficking in Trinidad and Tobago. The legal backbone of these three modern expressions of colonialism/capitalism in Trinidad and Tobago are the Sexual Offenses Act, the Trafficking in Persons Act, and the Immigration Act. In effect, undocumented migrants, refugees, and sex workers are criminalised, barred access to human rights, and become …

God The Father Or Mother Divine? : Subversive Theology In John Milton's Paradise Lost And Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, Jordan Pace

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

America Through Rose-Colored Glasses: How American Girl Dolls Shape American Girlhood And Identity, Kelly M. Vaughan

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis examines the contributions that American Girl dolls make to the development of girlhood, as well as doll and toy culture. I argue that the BeForever collection of historically centered dolls both informs consumers of United States history while instructing them of what it means to be a wholesome, virtuous girl. American Girl provides timeless stories about overcoming hardship in various periods of U.S. history while utilizing common themes in children’s literature to construct an attractive narrative. These dolls and their stories contribute to consumers’ understanding of girlhood, their sense of self, and broad comprehension of history. Recent developments …

“Tell All The Truth But Tell It Slant—”: An Exploration Of The Role Of Gender In The Formal Experimental Poetry Of Emily Dickinson, Gertrude Stein, And H.D., Madeline Burns

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

The View Of Women In Buddhism - From The Comparison Between The Bhikkhu And Bhikkhuni Precepts, Shuaiyu Chen

Senior Theses and Projects

In Buddhism, monks and nuns or bhikkhu and bhikkhuni in Pali refer to those who leave their homes to practices Buddhism and live ascetic lives with other monks or nuns. Monks and nuns play important roles in Buddhism, because they are considered to be the successors of the Buddha dharma after the death of the Sakyamuni Buddha and therefore are responsible for teaching and passing on the Buddha dharma.

Precepts are the rules that the Buddha made to prohibit the behavior that may obstruct the experiencing of enlightenment. By upholding the precepts strictly, people can experience nirvana. In …

Jeune, Jolie, Et Genrée : Adaptations De L’Espace Féminin Dans Les Versions Cinématiques Des Contes De Fées (La Belle Et La Bête (Gans, 2014) Et Barbe Bleue (Breillat, 2009)), Kiely S. Macmahon

Senior Theses and Projects

Fairy tales exist outside of time and space: they begin with the vague allusion “once upon a time”. Women created the genre of fairy tales in order to control the narrative of stories when they could not control the patriarchal order of the society in which they lived. The tales functioned as a means of explaining rites of passage to girls, and they are continually retold because although they exist in a vague past, the female protagonists are universal. Girls continue to mature and to be socialized into womanhood. The tales themselves are cross-cultural because the subject matter is concerned …

Ordinary Women: Female Perpetrators Of The Nazi Final Solution, Haley A. Wodenshek

Senior Theses and Projects

This Thesis, by examining the roles of three Nazi women, Herta Oberheuser, Irma Grese, and Ilse Koch, as well as understanding the various women’s programs that helped to cultivate and further racism and violence against Jews and others “unworthy of life,” aims to paint a more complete picture of the true role played by Nazi women during the second world war, as well as argue that women were not only victims of the Nazi regime, nor were they solely bystanders. Rather, this thesis will demonstrate that women were not only complicit, but were also accomplices, aiding German men in facilitating …

From Housewife To Sex Goddess: The Shifting Portrayals Of Females On The Covers Of Sports Illustrated Magazine, 1954-2000., Alison Blaine

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Once Upon A Time To Happily Ever After: Enduring Themes And Life Lessons Of Fairy Tales In “Snow White” And “Beauty And The Beast”, Alexandra J. Deluse

Senior Theses and Projects

An investigation of fairy tales through case studies of two versions of “Snow White”, one by the Brothers Grimm and one by The Merseyside Fairy Story Collective, and three versions of “Beauty and the Beast", one by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s two by Angela Carter: “The Courtship of Mr Lyon” and “The Tiger’s Bride”.

Edna St. Vincent Millay: Artisan Of Violent Feminine Agency, Carolina Galdiz

Senior Theses and Projects

For decades, scholars have understood Edna St Vincent Millay in two fairly distinctive patterns as either a classical romanticist or ephemeral rebel. This dual reputation has been crafted from the obvious presence of natural imagery, sexual dynamism, feminine voice, and romantic yearning in her work. What critics have failed to see in her poetry are the potent sinister undertones that claim violence as a means to power. I will argue that Millay narrates the gendered struggle that takes place in this violence, in order to ultimately assert feminine agency in the process of forming a cultural identity. Thus, rather than …