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Women's And Gender Studies Newsletter, V8, Spring 2022, University Of Northern Iowa. Women's And Gender Studies.

Women's and Gender Studies Newsletter

Inside this Issue

Programming News --- 3
Newsletter Article --- 7
Spring Graduate Students --- 11
Second Year Students --- 12
Minor Student Highlight --- 13
Alumni Update --- 14
Faculty Highlight --- 15
Newsletter Article --- 17
Notables & Quotables --- 18

Factors Driving Changing Community Acceptance Of Gays And Lesbians In Cato Manor, Kwazulu-Natal, Isabella Van Der Weide

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Acceptance of LGBTQ people is an important and encouraging area of social progress. As attitudes change in South Africa and across the world, it is important to understand the drivers of change and how that change is experienced within communities. Using both semi-structured interviews (n=19) and collection of survey data (n=30), this study interrogated the factors that formed and changed views on gay and lesbian people among respondents from a community in Cato Manor, a peri-urban area near Durban, South Africa. About half of all participants reported an opinion change. Interview participants who experienced opinion change most commonly reported the …

Female Victimization In The 1970s And 1980s Slasher Film, Sarah Lukowski

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

To examine this portrayal of women in 1970s and 1980s slashers, I will first provide background on the genre using the influential films The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Halloween (1978), and from there I will define the genre in accordance with its characteristics and formulaic conventions. Clover’s groundbreaking work (1987; 1992), offers a feminist perspective on slasher films and will provide substantial evidence throughout my paper. Then, I will compare and contrast multiple content analyses from the 1980s to the 2000s that use empirical studies to evaluate the degree to which women are victimized in slashers by the …

To Put Her In Her Place: An Interrogation Of Death And Gender In Shakespearean Tragedy, Isabella A. Zentner

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

This analysis investigates the gendered implications of Shakespearean heroines' deaths. Using Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, and Titus Andronicus as case studies, evidence is drawn from the text. This evidence is then supported by extensive historical research and reference to external critical studies of these tragedies. By identifying the gendered aspects of these heroines’ deaths, one can gain a greater understanding of Shakespeare’s view of female autonomy and power. The deaths Shakespeare inflicts often act as a punishment for the heroines' betrayal of traditional gender roles and forcibly return the heroines to the feminine sphere.

In Place/Out Of Place Assignment, Peter Kabachnik

Open Educational Resources

This Geography assignment, ideal for Political Geography, Cultural Geography, Urban Geography, and so forth (and of course other related disciplines like Anthropology and Sociology), undergraduate courses, explores the concepts of in place and out of place. Based on a reading of the introduction of Tim Cresswell's 1996 book In Place/out of Place Geography, Ideology, and Transgression, this assignment is a great way to get students to think about these issues and connect them to their own experiences.

Sexual Violence As A Tool Of Indigenous Genocide, Katherine E. Elser

Student Publications

Throughout American history, sexual violence against Native Americans has been an all-too common phenomenon. This ranges from outright rape to less obvious examples, including the desecration of native bodies and the separation of native children from their parents, such as at the boarding schools. Analyzing "Sexual Violence as a Tool of Genocide" by Andrea Smith, along with a variety of other sources, this article argues that sexual violence against native peoples reinforces the colonial idea that they are subhuman and "rapable." Additionally, I also argue that this violence is used to subjugate not just native women, but all women, particularly …

Lucretia's Hand: The Influence Of Myth And Sexual Violence On Artemisia Gentileschi's Lucretia, Sarah Paul

Student Publications

Artemisia Gentileschi, a female Baroque Artist from the 17th century, was an exceptional artist who dealt with difficult themes and female subjects. While there has been a plethora of analysis of her Judith series, there has been less focus on her Lucretia. I look at Artemisia Gentileschi's "Lucretia" (c. 1621), through the various narratives of Lucretia and the history of sexual violence to analyze the strength and female agency that is emphasized. I argue that the strength and musculature in the hands of Lucretia emphasize her female agency and autonomy to make a choice following her sexual assault. I highlight …

Hidden Secrets And Private Moments In Vermeer’S Paintings Of Women And Letters, Lauren C. Mcveigh

Student Publications

This paper discusses the visual details and symbols in Johannes Vermeer's paintings of women and letters that allude to secret affairs going on behind the scenes.

Integrating Objectification And Social Role Theories: A Proposed Framework For Analyzing Media Objectification Of Female Athletes, Isabella Clemens

Student Publications

Despite the tremendous strides that women have taken in terms of their participation in sports the representation they receive from the media is still lacking. In addition, when they do receive media attention research has found that female professional athletes are more likely to be seen and focused on their appearance rather than their success and capabilities. This is a trend that has been persistent in the sports world. This paper will provide a review of the research by looking at two theories, the objectivation theory, and the social role theory. These theories have helped explain the inequalities that women …

Androgyny In The Ancient World: The Intersection Of Politics, Religion And Gender In The Art Of Hatshepsut, Megan N. Reimer

Student Publications

The Pharaoh Hatshepsut is one of the most well-known rulers of ancient Egypt and she has fascinated historians for decades. She ruled Egypt during the 15th century BCE, coming to power after the death of her husband, Thutmose II. Hatshepsut is particularly interesting to historians due to how she was portrayed in her art. Due to how far in the past she ruled, not many pieces of her art have survived; however, in the objects that we do have she is often shown very androgynously or even in came cases distinctly masculine. My research focuses on the many theories as …

Redefining Gender Roles In Higher Education: Women At Gettysburg College During World War Ii, Addison E. Lomax

Student Publications

Throughout the early 20th century, the role of American women began to change. The U.S. entrance into World War II and resulting draft provided women at institutions of higher education the opportunity to develop their place on college campuses. Through analyzing yearbooks, student publications, and personal testimonies, the case of Gettysburg College provides a lens to better understand the changing dynamics on college campuses during the war years. Although men remained on the campus of Gettysburg College during the war years, the changing dynamics of the College, both academically and socially, allowed women the opportunity to increase not only their …

You Won't Be Alone, Sheila J. Nayar

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of You Won't Be Alone (2022), directed by Goran Stolevski.

Huella, William L. Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Huella (2022), directed by Gabriela Ortega.

Maidenhood, William L. Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Maidenhood (2022) directed by Xóchitl Enríquez Mendoza.

Seeking Reconciliation: An Examination Of Churches' Response To A History Of Lgb Discrimination, Alexandra Kauffman

Senior Theses

The Church’s response to LGB people has evolved quickly in the past century. Gay visibility and understandings of sexuality as it is known today only began to emerge in the mid- to-late 20th century. Within that time, responses to constantly evolving science and shifting understanding of LGB people invoked a variety of religious and political responses to the issue of legal protections of gay people. Theological interpretations of the Biblical passages surrounding same-sex relations have evolved as the church’s response to gay people has shifted from ex-gay therapy, to calls for celibacy or affirming gay marriage. The issues surrounding LGB …

Abundance, Lana Berry

Art and Art History Honors Projects

My Studio Art honors project identifies a parallel between the standards of ceramic beauty and human beauty. Symmetry, a smooth surface, perfect curves, weightlessness and clear functionality all contribute to the “perfect” ceramic vessel and similarly the “ideal” human form. Abundance is a rebellion against these standards. I investigate how ceramic forms can appear heavy and drooping under gravity, and how bumpy textures and speckled glazes intensify forms’ deviation from the standard. Alluding to fatness, my project took the final form of semi-figurative wall-hanging ceramic protrusions, which serve to disrupt the flat, smooth, white gallery wall with overflowing color, texture …

Flippin' Medicine: Reflection And Action In Medical Education, Alison Lawrence

Audre Lorde Prize

Historically, medicine has centered around a single model: that of the white, cisgender, heterosexual, abled, middle-class male body. While it is well known that patients of diverse identities often present differently, medical education continues to use this dominant, normative model as the standard for all patients while ignoring marginalized groups in their descriptions. "Flippin' Medicine" reflects on the prevalence of normative models in medicine, as well as the ways in which these models slip past the notice of providers with privileged identities. The author then describes the process behind creating a resource, titled Flipped Medicine: A Guide to Deconstructing the …

Bisexuality In 21st Century Media, Bethany Abrams

Audre Lorde Prize

This paper sets out to examine bisexuality in 21st century media in order to highlight the importance of good bisexual representation. Media that perpetuates harmful stereotypes only adds to the discrimination that bisexual individuals experience. This paper begins by discussing stereotypes and types of discrimination that are particularly relevant to the bisexual community. After this, pieces of media are analyzed thoroughly for how they portray bisexuality. The three main pieces that are analyzed are Alex Strangelove, Atypical, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. After analyzing each piece, the paper continues to examine audience reactions and discusses the implications of representing bisexuality …

Dismantling Binary Assumptions In Sex Estimation: Uplifting Trans And Gender Diverse Identities In Forensic Anthropology, Audrey Holbeck

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Forensic anthropology is a study within the field of physical anthropology that seeks to apply osteological expertise to legal and criminal situations. One of a forensic anthropologists’ most important jobs is to build a biological profile, consisting of age, biological sex, stature, and ancestry, in correspondence to an unidentified decedent. As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, instances of violence against trans and gender non-conforming individuals are unfortunately prominent, however, there has also been more awareness shed on trans activism. Trans individuals are at a higher risk of being victims of violent crime, and thus, forensic anthropologists …

The Rise Of An Eco-Spiritual Imaginary: Ecology And Spirituality As Decolonial Protest In Contemporary Multi-Ethnic American Literature, Andrew Michael Spencer

English Theses and Dissertations

The Rise of an Eco-Spiritual Imaginary reveals a shared ecological aesthetic among contemporary U.S. ethnic writers whose novels communicate a decolonial spiritual reverence for the earth. This shared narrative focus challenges white settler colonial mythologies of manifest destiny and American exceptionalism to instantiate new ways of imagining community across socially constructed boundaries of time, space, nation, race, and species. The eco-spiritual imaginary—by which I mean a shared reverence for the ecological interconnection between all living beings—articulates a common biological origin and sacredness of all life that transcends racial difference while remaining grounded in local ethnicities and bioregions. The novelists representing …