Women's Studies Commons^™

Scripting Resistance: Rape And The Avenging Woman In Hindi Cinema, Isha Karki

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article considers how contemporary Hindi cinema engages with traditional cinematic representations of rape and the extent to which it inscribes resistance by rewriting dominant cultural scripts. It analyses Pan Nalin’s Angry Indian Goddesses (2015) and Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Pink (2016) by locating them within the tradition of the avenging woman genre in 1980s Hindi popular cinema. It argues that the historical avenging woman genre was unable to successfully dismantle dominant rape scripts, and that these contemporary films, by subverting the genre, offer alternatives to the problems inherent in the visualisation of rape. It explores issues of eroticisation and spectacle …

Her-Story: Black, Middle-School Girls Exploring Their Intersectional Identities, Crystal Latanya Edwards

Theses and Dissertations

While intra-racial-group comparisons have lead scholars to argue that Black girls are succeeding academically and therefore require less explicit focus in educational research, there is little literature that focuses on the ways that Black girls’ experiences in formal educational spaces shape their emotional wellbeing and sense of intersectional identity—specifically, from their own perspectives (Paul, 2003; Townsend, Thomas, Neilands, and Jackson, 2010). In recognizing this relative invisibility, my research redirects focus to obstacles that typically go relatively unnoticed and unaddressed. Utilizing focus groups and diary/follow-up interviews as methods, I explore the subjective experience of Black girls within the educational context. Placing …

Sex In Japan: It’S A Straight Man’S World, Kaileigh Nicklas

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

Japanese feminism directly impacts the social image of non-male sexuality in Japanese literature and pop-culture through highlighting gender roles, ingrained misogyny, and violence toward non-male oriented sex. This project will specifically focus on the power dynamics of sex in Japanese society through gender roles, female sexuality, and the rise of Japanese feminist movement. An observation of sexuality in Japan from such female works as The Apprenticeship of the Big Toe P and Snakes and Earrings in contrast to male works such as Norwegian Wood and Memoirs of a Geisha provide further insights to the role that sex plays in the …

Extending Bell Hooks' Feminist Theory, Hazel T. Biana

Journal of International Women's Studies

In Feminist theory: from margin to center, feminist theorist bell hooks questioned the existing feminist discourses during her time by pointing out the lack of a solid definition of feminism and the predominance of white, privileged feminists in the movement. Although several other feminist theorists have made the same criticisms, what sets hooks apart is her invitation to a revolutionary feminist outlook, which uses a pluralistic lens to recognize the absence of oppressed groups and the interrogation of cultural representations. Even before “intersectionality” became a buzzword in feminist circles, hooks has already been talking about the interlocking webs of …

Changing Ideals Of Womanhood During The Nineteenth-Century Woman Movement, Susan M. Cruea

University Writing Program Faculty Publications

This article focuses on the Woman Movement, an organization which was developed as a result of the effort of women to improve their status in and usefulness to society. The objectives of the movement were to initiate measures of charitable benevolence, temperance and social welfare and to initiate struggles for civic rights, social freedoms, higher education, remunerative occupations, and the right to vote. The setting of these goals resulted from women's rising awareness of the precariousness of their situation in the patriarchal society of the 1800s.

Masking Femininity: Women And Power In Shakespeare's Macbeth, As You Like It, And Titus Andronicus, Kelly Sorge

Honors Theses and Capstones

This paper analyzes the power that Lady Macbeth from Macbeth, Rosalind from As You Like It, and Tamora from Titus Andronicus assert and answers the questions of how women assert power in Shakespeare and the role gender plays in power.

Fuitina: Love, Sex, And Rape In Modern Italy, 1945–Present, Antonella Vitale

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The term fuitina in Sicilian dialect is a word used to describe a form of abduction, and is a variation of the more formal Italian term fuga, meaning a flight or escape. Fuitina, was essentially a sanctioned bride theft. Often, after the abduction of a woman, the abductor would seek a reparatory or rehabilitating marriage that would restore the woman’s “honor” and absolve the man of bride theft. Until 1981, the Italian legal system supported the practice of fuitina and rarely prosecuted men who kidnapped and raped women under the guise of this tradition. The practice of fuitina and …

Women’S Movement And Change Of Women’S Status In China, Yuhui Li

Journal of International Women's Studies

Introduction:

The year 1999 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. Achievement of women’s liberation has been on the agenda of the Chinese Communist Party since the beginning of the PRC. This research studies the women’s movement and changes in women’s status in China. The first part of the paper reviews the history of the women’s movement in China and relevant theoretical perspectives on gender stratification. The second part examines empirical and secondary data to demonstrate the transformations of women’s status in China. The final section examines some conclusions emerging from the data. The findings show that …

Role Portrayal Of Women In Advertising: An Empirical Study, Sangeeta Sharma, Arpan Bumb

Journal of International Women's Studies

One of the sensitive areas in the world of advertising and marketing is the portrayal of women. Women are an indispensable part of Indian society as they constitute half of the population and play critical roles. However, the depiction of women as sex symbols, objects of desire, and as having subservient behaviours has presented a great concern to feminist scholars, activists, and researchers. The objective of this research paper is to study how women’s role portrayal impacts consumers’ willingness to buy and to identify the difference in views of Indian men and women when it comes to the stereotypical role …

Japanese Gender Role Expectations And Attitudes: A Qualitative Analysis Of Gender Inequality, Melanie Belarmino, Melinda R. Roberts

Journal of International Women's Studies

Due to current technology and the third wave feminist movement, gender inequality in other countries now has a global, socially aware platform. However, due to non-reporting, the voices of women experiencing violence and inequality in Japan are largely unheard. The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate the gender role expectations in Japan that lead to inequality and victimization inflicted on Japanese women. Data was obtained through interviews with all available and consenting bilingual speakers at a Japanese University, and findings reveal that there are very specific expectations for Japanese women in the home, at work, and in society. …