Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

2014 Works In Progress: A Regional Interdisciplinary Conference Of Feminist Scholars, Women's Studies Department

Women’s & Gender Studies Works In Progress

No abstract provided.

The Success Of Gay–Straight Alliances In Waterloo Region, Ontario: A Confluence Of Political And Social Factors, Alex St. John, Robb Travers, Lauren Munro, Renato M. Liboro, Margaret Schneider, Carrie L. Greig

Psychology Faculty Research

This article outlines how gay–straight alliances (GSAs) work to connect youth with community resources, and outlines the political and social context of GSAs in Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Fifteen individuals (youth, teachers, and a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer [LGBTQ] youth service provider) participated in interviews about the role of GSAs in creating supportive school environments for LGBTQ youth and their allies. Analyses of the interview data found that, apart from providing direct support to LGBTQ students, GSAs in Waterloo Region decrease isolation by connecting youth with other LGBTQ community members, events, and resources. This article discusses how the …

Two Community Collaborations With Sexual Minority Women’S Ngos In Shanghai & Hong Kong, Connie Chan, Hsin-Ching Wu

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Based on research with sexual minority communities in the United States, Connie Chan, professor of public policy and public affairs, conducted comparative research with community groups in Hong Kong and Shanghai, China. She provided capacity building training and resources directly to the organization which provides outreach and service to sexual minority women and girls in Shanghai, China. Professor Chan also supported Queer Sisters – an NGO that provides advocacy and community outreach to sexual minority girls and women in Hong Kong – by co-creating a needs assessment survey and helping them to interview their membership in Hong Kong.

Connie Chan …

Indigenous Women, Mother Tongues, And Nation Building In New England: A Tribal Policy Leadership Series, Amy Den Ouden, Chris Bobel

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

In collaboration with the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project (WLRP), Indigenous women educators and leaders, the Dept. of Women’s and Gender Studies is redesigning WOST/WGS 270, Native American Women in North America, to incorporate a lecture series on nation building and a semester-long community engagement project fostering student leadership in a research and policy formation project focused on legislating and funding a Native American language education law in Massachusetts.

Pathways To Political Leadership For Women Of Color Leaders, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Women's Pipeline For Change

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

This research partnership was formed to better understand what motivates and sustains−as well as prevents−Asian American women, Latinas, and African American women from achieving greater rates of political leadership in Massachusetts. Five women of color leaders became research fellows and explored pressing issues such as family and cultural expectations, financial resources and fundraising, and the potential for compromised values. After two years of training, data collection, and analysis, online resources were developed and are now hosted on UMass Boston’s website.

Assuming Identities: Gender, Sexuality, And Performativity In The Silence Of The Lambs, Lynne Stahl

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In the introduction to Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick discusses the instability of the ignorance/knowledge binary, which generally equates the latter with power and the former with impotence. She argues that ignorance (or the appearance thereof) can be a tool of power as well, citing as an example the 1986 ruling by the United States Justice Department that employers “may freely fire persons with AIDS” provided that those employers “can claim to be ignorant of the medical fact, quoted in the ruling, that there is no known health danger in the workplace from the disease” (5). That this …

Lg Ms 031 Dale Mccormick Papers Finding Aid, Christina E. Walker

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

Dale McCormick was the first woman in the country to complete a carpentry apprenticeship with the carpenter’s union and is a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters local 1996, having been a carpenter and contractor for 30 years. In 1988, McCormick founded Women Unlimited, a program that successfully trains women on welfare to compete for high-paying jobs in trade and technical occupations. In 1984, McCormick helped found and became the first President of the Maine Lesbian/Gay Political Alliance (now called EqualityMaine), which advocates statewide for civil rights and better treatment for lesbian/gay/bi/transgender/and questioning people. She was a co-founder …

Crescendo!, Spring 2014, Buffalo Gay Men's Chorus

Crescendo! The Newsletter of the Buffalo Gay Men's Chorus

Spring 2014 issue of Crescendo!, the newsletter of the Buffalo Gay Men's Chorus.

Lg Ms 027 Diane Elze Papers Finding Aid, Elizabeth Sistare, Nicholas Martin

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

A 1978 graduate of the University of Maine, Orono, Diane Elze began her volunteer career working for the YWCA Fair Harbor Shelter in Portland, Maine. She was an activist in the LGBT community in the Portland area in the 1980s and 1990s. Among other activities, she was a founding member of the Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance, worked on the AIDS Project, and founded the LGBT youth group, Outright. She also edited the newsletter Moving, The Newspaper of the Maine Association of Handicapped Persons and founded the statewide gay and lesbian newspaper, Our Paper. Elze earned a Master’s Degree …

Men And Feminism: The Art Of Negotiation, Emma Craig

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study is the result of a month-long interview process with seven men living in the Netherlands. It focuses on the feminist experiences of the men as well as the ways in which they enact or embody feminist ideals in their daily lives. Their backgrounds are very diverse. Some are Dutch natives, while others are migrants from other nations. There are diversities in race, sexuality, age, and class as well. Each interviewee negotiates their masculinity and their feminist ideology differently. Specifically, this study examined the pressure to uphold hegemonic masculinity, homosociality as a platform for feminism, and some of the …

The Self-Supporting Women Of Wanita Hindu Dharma Indonesia (Whdi) Province Bali And Their Modern Way Of Thinking, Olivia Gregorius

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

During my independent study period, I spent four weeks with the members of WHDI Province Bali. During this time I was able to participate in their organization’s activities and events in order to gain first hand knowledge about what programs the women are involved in. Some of the events I attended include cultural activities such as seminars about traditional hair and makeup as well as marriage preparation, etiquette discussions, gamelan and traditional singing lessons and religious ceremonies such as weddings, cremations, a mediksa the blessing of new houses and shops and visits to different temples such as Batur temple and …

Challenges To Women In Political Leadership In Samoa, Kiki Martire

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Samoan women hold an integral and valued place within their families and communities. Despite this, Samoa continues to report some of the lowest representation of women in political office in the world. The newly instated Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing 10% of Parliamentary seats for women will bolster female political involvement in the upcoming 2016 elections. An investigation into the challenges that face women entering political leadership roles at the village and Parliamentary level will bring awareness to the struggles encountered by women and contribute to dismantling the barriers which stand against them. Fourteen female politicians and experts in the field were …

High-Impact Women Entrepreneurs In Argentina: A Study Analysed Through The Endeavor Model, Stephanie Soussloff

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Latin America and the Caribbean women represent 41.6% of the population active in the economy. Among those women, 15% identify as entrepreneurs. Yet even a smaller percentage are able to become high impact entrepreneurs, whose businesses reach international levels, create jobs and stimulate the economy of their regions.

The organization Endeavor is founded around the principal idea that entrepreneurship is a catalyst for economic development. Endeavor is committed to boosting the impact of entrepreneurs in emerging markets through giving them a support network of experts in their field to help expand their business. In exchange the entrepreneurs are expected …

Coming Into Consciousness Women’S Empowerment Projects In Chinandega, Nicaragua, Brittany Wightman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Nicaraguan people are gridlocked into various oppressive hierarchies. Those who find themselves at the bottom of these hierarchies face what Paolo Freire calls “dehumanization”, because they are unable to engage in the inquiry and praxis of their realities. Through my independent study project, I address the hierarchical system of patriarchy in Nicaragua, and highlight the ways in which women empowering themselves are reclaiming their humanity through increasing consciousness. I was fortunate enough to work with two organizations in Chinandega: El Movimiento de Mujeres de Chinandega, and El Grupo Crecer. In working with these organizations I became immersed in the the …

Cosaan To Tostan: The Evolution Of Wolof Women’S Verbal Art As A Means For Social Empowerment, Iana Robitaille

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For Wolof women, verbal art has always been an important tool for negotiating power. In a public context, griottes have lent their voices to traditional ceremonies such as marriages and baptisms; in a private context, all women have used songs as accompaniment to daily tasks and as an informal way to comment on the society in which they live. This paper explores the way that certain Wolof songs, sung by and for women, simultaneously challenge and adhere to traditional Wolof culture—that is, the way their texts and performances both contradict and perpetuate traditionally mandated gender codes. In order to achieve …

Slachtofferhulp: An Analysis Of The Amsterdam Police Department’S Response To Lesbian Domestic Violence, Taylor Sczymecki

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This independent study project examines the role that the Amsterdam Police Department plays in the context of lesbian domestic violence. Amsterdam is a city well-known for its tolerant culture and large LGBT community, yet there is little to no discussion between the government, the police, and the citizens of Amsterdam. This article examines the taboos surrounding lesbian domestic violence, perceptions of how the police are handling such cases, and asks who should be initiating discussions. Although the research looks at lesbian domestic violence as a general topic, it looks specifically at the way the Amsterdam Police Department networks Roze in …

Ua41 University College Connection, Dennis K. George, Dean, Wendi Kelley, University College, Western Kentucky University

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

She Shoots, And She Scores: Women And Sports In Samoa, Taylor Thorp

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Samoa, female athletics are shaped by a variety of factors such as gender issues, health, and the interaction of sports with education and family obligations. This paper explores the experiences of Samoan female athletes in order to identify strengths and weaknesses of sports in Samoa. Surveys, interviews, and observations were used to collect data about women in sports. Cultural constructs such as fa’samoa and education expectations help and hinder athletic experiences of Samoan women. Gender inequality also proves to be an issue, preventing women from participating in sports. Despite shortcomings of athletics in Samoa, women enjoy playing sports because …

An Intersectional Approach To Latino Anti-Violence Engagement, M. Cristina Alcalde

Gender and Women's Studies Faculty Publications

Men’s perspectives on nonviolence is a relatively rare topic of feminist research. This article examines Latinos’ pathways to a commitment to nonviolent masculinities within intimate relationships. Examining literature on nonviolence and drawing on interviews with six Latinos the article uses a feminist ecological approach to identify and examine contributing factors to “emergent masculinities” characterized by a commitment to nonviolence in intimate relationships. It examines experiences of marginalization, exposure to domestic violence, and the influence of a close woman mentor as factors that contribute to a commitment to nonviolence. It also critiques the common equation of the absence of physical violence …

Young Women’S Perceptions And Narratives Of Intergenerational And Transactional Sexual Relationships In Durban, Kwazulu-Natal, Mckenzie Leier

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Transactional sexual relationships are argued to be a potent driver of the HIV epidemic among young women in South Africa. KwaZulu-Natal bears the heaviest burden of the epidemic. The practice has roots in South Africa’s social and political history of oppression, as well as the tides of post-apartheid globalization. Through a combination of individual interviews and focus groups discussions (FGDs), this study explores 21 young women’s perceptions and narratives of transactional sex from an ‘othered’ perspective. Individual interviews were conducted in the township community of Cato Manor; FGDs were conducted with the assistance of OneVoice South Africa (OVSA) in KwaMashu …