Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Editorial Introduction: We All Write: Reclaiming A Sacred Space, Deborah Uman, Barbara Lesavoy

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

The project of the Seneca Falls Dialogues is founded on hope in the face of continued discrimination and inequities, and the essays in this journal continue to move that agenda forward.

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal, V. 3, 2019 (Complete Issue), Deborah Uman, Barbara Lesavoy

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

No abstract provided.

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 …

“Gender (As Constant) Labor”: A Consciousness Raising Dialogue On Transfeminist Scholarship And Organizing, Melissa Autumn White

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

This co-authored essay draws on student research conducted for an upper-level course called Trans*Studies that was originally presented at the Seneca Falls Dialogues Conference in October 2016. Drawing on Jane Ward's generative concept of "gender labor", our Dialogue highlights the material effects of representational politics, and articulates the need to centre a transfeminist critique of normative regimes of power, including the representation of "women's" history in the United States.

Intersectionality And Feminist Pedagogy: Lessons From Teaching About Racism And Economic Inequity, Lisa J. Cunningham, Pao Lee Vue, Virginia B. Maier

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

This paper utilizes Rochester, NY, as a case study to argue that approaching race intersectionally and across disciplines creates a stronger model of feminist pedagogy. It is based on our work in the classroom and on the Fisher Race Initiatives—a series of three interactive workshops we created on our campus to create change in the aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, MO, and in the subsequent rise of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Our goals were to promote dialogue on race, to expose participants to factual information on race, and to emphasize the intersectional causes of poverty in the Rochester …

The New Normal: Wgs Programs And Professionally-Driven Students, Kathryn I. Sheffield, Elizabeth Ursic

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

In today’s volatile economic climate, students are increasingly choosing courses and majors that are primarily focused on professionally valuable skills and employment opportunities. This trend poses challenges for Women and Gender Studies programs, calling for a shift in both instructional and institutional strategies within the field. Yet, far from finding this a detriment, we have found that Women and Gender Studies courses have considerable value for professionally-driven students. In addition, we have found that the presence of professionally-driven students in Women and Gender Studies courses present opportunities for WGS programs. This article discusses the instructional and institutional implications of the …

Empowerment Through Dialogue: Women’S Experience With Division Of Labor As A Leisure Constraint In Family Life, Sarah Agate, Joel Agate

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

Women in American society experience high levels of stress and the resultant physical and psychological challenges. While leisure is often seen as a context for stress relief, a variety of leisure constraints make it difficult for many women to have this experience. A focus group was conducted with five women who are mothers of young children to explore the division of labor in family travel. This paper reports on the experience of participant empowerment, which occurred through the dialogue that took place. Findings from this study have implications for those seeking to empower people who experience discrimination and marginalization in …

Constructing Sexuality And Fetishizing Women In American History: Debunking Myths In Popular Culture From Pocahontas To The Cold War, Jamie Wagman, Katlynn Dee, Alison Tipton, Adrienne Whisman

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

This paper features recent teaching and scholarship produced in U.S. Women’s History and Women’s History coursework at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. We discuss using visual culture analysis and intersectionality in the U.S. History and Women’s History classroom to produce scholarship that interrogates the intersection of race, class, gender and sexuality at a particular historical moment and examines visual primary sources. We give examples of scholarship produced in coursework using these methods, from studying the Lavender Scare and popular culture’s constructions of Democracy that equated communism with homosexuality to the ways in which middle class social reformers used …

Appearance Discrimination: Lookism And The Cost To The American Woman, Alyssa Dana Dana Adomaitis, Rachel Raskin, Diana Saiki

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

Lookism, or ranking an individual based on attractiveness, is a prevalent employment prejudice. Research has shown that looks influence salaries, career growth and even hiring (Warhurst, van den Broek, Hall, & Nickson, 2009). Because it is difficult to prove, there is no legislation that specifically addresses lookism. The current economy gives employers a vast selection of job applicants and candidates for open positions and “beauty premiums” (individuals considered above average with pretty faces) may have a better chance at being hired. According to a Newsweek national survey (2010) of 202 human resource staff which revealed that corporate hiring managers indicated …

Add Women And Stir: Female Presidents In Pop Culture, 2012-2016, Angela Laflen, Michelle Smith, Kristin Bayer, Riana Ramirez, Jessica Recce, Molly Scott

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

In this article, we argue that there was a representational shift in popular culture representations of female presidents following Hillary Clinton’s 2008 primary run, from earlier representations that were entirely preoccupied with gender to more recent depictions that tried to set aside “the gender question.” We explore three representations of female presidents produced since 2012 that can illuminate popular understandings of gender and the presidency between the 2008 and 2016 elections: Veep, State of Affairs, and Scandal. While all three texts attempt to normalize images of female presidents and break from earlier representations by treating a female …

Disrupting The Lean: Performing A 2016 Declaration Of Sentiments, Tambria Schroeder, Barbara Lesavoy, Melissa Brown, Brooke E. Love, Maggie Rosen, Brooke A. Ophardt, Audrey Lai

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

Inspired by the spirit of disruption, this article narrates the making of a “2016 Declaration of Sentiments,” invented in a roundtable, “Disrupting the Lean: Performing a 2016 Declaration of Sentiments,” at the fifth Biennial Seneca Falls Dialogues (SFD). We open the essay with a brief theoretical overview that informs manifestos written in a feminist theory or senior seminar course that take up questions of gender equity, labor, and acts of resistance. We follow with excerpts from these manifestos as read in the roundtable, closing the essay with a “2016 Declaration of Sentiments,” collaboratively authored and recited by roundtable participants. Looking …

Remembering Kate Gleason: Introducing A Twentieth-Century Businesswoman To Twenty-First Century Students, Michael J. Brown, Rebecca Edwards, Tina O. Lent

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

In the fall of 2015, the faculty of the Museum Studies Program at RIT mounted an exhibition titled "Kate Gleason, Visionary: A Tribute on Her 150th Birthday." While Kate Gleason’s name is familiar on the RIT campus because the College of Engineering is named for her, this association obscures recognition of her many and varied accomplishments. The challenge we undertook was to contextualize her work in engineering within her other entrepreneurial endeavors in manufacturing, banking, and building, focusing on the innovation and vision that united them. In addition, we wanted Gleason’s career and accomplishments to be compelling and relevant to …

Editorial Introduction: Women Have Achieved This, I Follow: What If?, Deborah Uman, Barbara Lesavoy

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

In turning to questions of gender, economics and entrepreneurship, the 2016 Seneca Falls Dialogues asked participants to explore how various forms of labor and compensation affect individual lives, societal movements, and institutions. One of the sub-themes for the conference was “Arts and Activism,” which led to our choice of keynote speaker Brenda Ann Kenneally and inspired Eastman professor of music education, Philip Silvey, to propose a performance of the University of Rochester’s women’s chorus at the Dialogues. With the full support of the Department of Music at University of Rochester, chaired by Professor Honey Meconi, and the full enthusiasm of …

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal, V. 2, 2017 (Complete Issue), Deborah Uman, Barbara Lesavoy

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

Memory. Disruption. Presidential. Underrepresented. History. Empowerment. Sustaining. Intersectionality. Transfeminism. These words capture the breadth and scope of essays in volume 2 and bring us back to the 2016 Biennial Seneca Falls Dialogues conference. Photojournalist, activist, and 2016 Seneca Falls Dialogues keynote Brenda Ann Kenneally uses her artistic work to explore the how and why of class inequity in America. Her project, Upstate Girls, set in Troy, NY, followed seven women for five years as their escape routes out of generational poverty led to further entrapment. Pictured on the journal cover, one of seven upstate girls, is Kayla and mom before …

Hummingbird, Sheala J. Dunlap

Toyon: Multilingual Literary Magazine

This illustration can be found on my website: https://shealadunlapart.com/monochromatic/

On my Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAdYFrQn6hd/

And on my Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/sheala.dunlap.art/photos/a.107953577593493/112175557171295

This is my original work and I give permission to Toyon for re-publishing.

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.

The Disproportionate Impact Of Toxins In Consumer Products, Meredith Bollheimer, Elissa Reitz

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

The number of chemicals used in everyday products has grown exponentially over the last century. Many of these chemicals are known endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC’s) and they have not been proven to be safe for humans or for the environment. Rather, many of these chemicals have been linked to negative human health outcomes and damage to the environment. Corporate America is responsible for the production and liberal use of these chemicals in consumer and personal care products. The federal government has failed to provide effective or meaningful standards or regulations for the myriad chemicals of concern that make their way …

Sisterhood & Feminism: Engaging Gender And Women’S Studies Students In The Community, Angela Clark-Taylor, Jane L. Bryant, Susan Storey, Julianne Lawlor Nigro

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

No abstract provided.

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 …