Women's Studies Commons^™

Introduction: The Salon And The Senses In Eighteenth-Century France, Jennifer M. Jones, Rebecca Cypess

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

An introduction to a special collection of essays exploring the salon and the senses in eighteenth-century France. Provides an overview of the critical historiography on the salon and the role of salon hostesses. Explores new approaches to salon within the context of the history of the senses, with attention to the role of art, music, and sociability in salon culture. Provides an overview of the essays in the collection.

"Does Anyone Believe Me"?: The Traumatization Of Domestic Violence Survivors In The Criminal Justice System, Olivia Depalma

Master of Arts in Human Services

Survivors of domestic violence are often subject to chronic trauma as well as a heightened risk of injuries and mental health problems and disorders. The intention of the author is to focus on how trauma impacts a survivor’s ability to maneuver and interact with the criminal justice system (CJS). Prior studies have shown how survivor’s behaviors, usually the result of trauma, can lead to misconceived notions and beliefs in court officials and those involved in the CJS. Survivors will often face judgment, doubt, and criticism in the CJS, and this can impact their willingness to come forward, report the abuse, …

Good For Her: Catharsis And Empowerment In Contemporary Literature, Jessica Lynn Vaught

Online Theses and Dissertations

A recent trend in readership within online discourse communities is the emergence of the genre called “Good for Her,” which contains themes of transgression beyond traditional expectations of socially acceptable feminine behavior by situating revenge arcs to celebrate actions that otherwise would have been perceived as reprehensible. The emergence and popularity of the genre in the post-2016 sociopolitical climate in the United States reflects the demand for marginalized communities to see versions of themselves represented in texts in which the protagonist avenges herself in the face of patriarchal oppression. The genre stems from canonical literary tropes also created in the …

Do Clothes Make The Feminist?, Jiana N. Smith

Capstones

In September 2024, New York fashion brand Sandy Liang faced backlash online for its girlish style codes as part of a broader debate about trends that reinforced gender stereotypes, like tradwives, “girl dinner” and the coquette aesthetic. However, critics misjudge the brand, which is grounded not in internet trends but in the designer’s real-world experiences. In addition, thanks to the complex fashion landscape, no garment is inherently political but dependent on the wearer’s intentions and styling choices.

LINK: https://medium.com/@jiana.smith80/does-clothing-make-the-feminist-62ae6ec8f063

Is Sexyy Red Minstrelsy, Or Are We Overreacting?, Malik Brizan-Reed

Capstones

This criticism piece explores the controversial female rapper Sexyy Red. It challenges negative perspectives about her persona, primarily based on respectability politics. It highlights Sexyy Red's ability to capitalize on a moment and business savviness. The article has themes of racial double standards and classism. Sexyy Red is more than the "ghetto Black girl," aesthetic. She's a mother and entrepreneur who is authentic to herself.

Accounting For The Harms Of Image-Based Sexual Abuse In Ireland’S Harassment, Harmful Communications And Related Offences Act, Lorraine J. Hayman

Journal of International Women's Studies

With the ubiquitousness of technology and advancements in Artificial Intelligence image manipulation, Image-Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA) is increasing worldwide. IBSA refers to the creation and/or distribution of sexual images without consent or the threat to create or distribute such images. Technological developments make it challenging to keep pace with the nature and extent of technology-facilitated crimes and their harms. In this paper, I utilise a feminist lens to examine and synthesise the existing literature on IBSA and its harms. Using this synthesis, I critically analyse the Republic of Ireland’s Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act (HHCRO), colloquially called Coco’s …

Women’S Employment In Croatia From A Historical Perspective, Ljubica Kordic, Višnja Lachner, Dubravka Papa

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article analyzes the employment of women in the city of Osijek, the fourth biggest city in the Republic of Croatia, using a diachronic approach. The paper’s main goal is to analyze the social position of women in Croatia in relation to employment and their right to work and to examine whether that position has changed in the last two centuries. As exact and reliable historical data are limited, the authors analyzed job announcements and employment offers relating to women in two local newspapers in Osijek. The newspapers were printed from 1870 to the 1930s in the German language, which …

Bridging The Gap: An Action Research Pilot Study On Confidence Building For Women Design Students In Higher Education, Pia Mcfindlay, Ashton Margarete Moseley, Oratile Rose Mokgatla

Journal of International Women's Studies

Women are significantly underrepresented in the design industry globally, particularly in tech-driven industries like industrial design, despite an increasing number of women design graduates. While there are various factors that influence this underrepresentation, recent studies identify a general lack of confidence among women as a major contributing aspect. Women students tend to have lower self-assessments compared to their male peers, leading to limiting behaviours and barriers to pursuing opportunities in tech-based fields, which thus perpetuates gender disparity in design fields and STEAM. To address this disparity, the Industrial Design department at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa launched the …

Gender Inequality In The House Of God: Comparing Islam And Traditional Religions In Yorubaland And Lome In West Africa, Habibat Oladosu-Uthman

Journal of International Women's Studies

Comparative studies on gender among Muslims and worshippers of other traditional religions in West Africa are limited in number. The paper makes use of a combination of social sciences and humanistic research instruments through structured interviews and participant observation to study gender politics within Islam, Vodun (a traditional religion in Lome, Togo), and Sàngό (or Shango, one of the deities in Yoruba culture) in Western Africa. This study reveals that gender inequality transcends all barriers, be it the profane or the sacred. In fact, in large parts of West African societies where traditional and Islamic norms and values hold sway, …

The Role Played By Non-Governmental Organisations In The Protection Of Refugee Women In Greece, Rippy Das, Divya Rani

Journal of International Women's Studies

Although the refugee and migration crisis in Greece has intensified over the last decade, its gender dimensions are often overlooked. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Greece, however, have initiated efforts to address the rights and needs of refugee women. Despite being a prominent host nation for refugees, Greece faces challenges compounded by the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and its role as the primary EU entry point during the 2015-2016 refugee crisis. The 2020 Greek asylum law and subsequent revisions have reduced safeguards for asylum seekers, disproportionately impacting marginalized groups such as women. Due to the Greek government’s limited resources …

The Maltese Gender Corrective Mechanism—Dashed Hopes And Aspirations?, Josann Cutajar

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper explores the media discourse surrounding the implementation of the gender corrective mechanism in Malta, focusing on online English-language newspapers from March 26, 2019 to May 2022. The study analyses how women journalists, experts, and politicians perceived and reported on this legislative initiative, which aimed to address the underrepresentation of women in Maltese politics. By conducting a reflexive thematic analysis, the paper identifies recurring themes related to the historical context, barriers to women’s political participation, and the effectiveness of the quota system. The findings reveal varied perspectives among women on the mechanism’s potential to foster gender equality in parliament, …

Pink Hair As A Cyberfeminist Symbol: Online Gender-Based Violence And The “Pinkup” Movement In China, Yuchen Viveka Li

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper investigates online gender-based violence (OGBV) in China using the perspectives of queer feminism and cyberfeminism. As a case study, it examines the cyberviolence against the “Pink Hair Girl” on Xiaohongshu (a popular Chinese social media platform) and the subsequent resistance by women. The study focuses on the following questions: How does the symbolic use of pink hair represent queerness and challenge gender norms in cyberspace? What are the power dynamics and types of violence faced by women in this situation? The research employs a case study method, incorporating qualitative data such as interviews and evaluations of social media …

Unpacking Affect In Taylor Swift’S Feminism, Ophelia Xiner Tong

Journal of International Women's Studies

While affective feminism and Taylor Swift’s feminist engagement have been explored in various contexts, there remains a gap in scholarly research examining how Swift transitions affect into explicit feminist practice. This paper aims to investigate how Swift utilizes a range of emotions, from negative to positive, to express her feminist sentiments, while also examining the limitations of these expressions and possible complementary strategies from her fanbase. The first section of the paper employs a theoretical framework based on affective feminism by incorporating Chadwick’s (2021) concept of “discomfort” as a valuable epistemological tool in feminist practice to contextualize Swift’s political emergence …

Feminist History: Forgotten Women Writers Of The Generation Of 1927 In Spain, Feixiang Liu

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study primarily focuses on the women writers of the Generation of 1927 in Spain who rose to prominence in the 1920s. Often referred to as Las Sinsombrero, these women writers have made significant contributions to gender equality and literature; however, despite their outstanding achievements, knowledge of this literary movement tends to focus only on the male writers, and it is only in recent years that the women writers in this generation have been rediscovered. The historical context in which these writers emerged—a period marked by the rise of feminism in Spain—is considered as an important part of understanding the …

Cultural Linguistics And Identity Negotiation Within The Singaporean Chinese Diaspora In Hwee Hwee Tan's Mammon Inc., Hanwen Wang, Halimah Mohamed Ali

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study explores the representation of Singaporean Chinese diasporic identity in Hwee Hwee Tan’s novel Mammon Inc. with the help of cultural linguistics. This article seeks to analyze how the novel contributes to understanding diasporic identity and cultural negotiation, with a focus on how the portrayal of the main character reshapes the delicate equilibrium between traditional values and global capitalist pressures. Drawing on Farzad Sharifian’s cultural conceptualization framework and Gary B. Palmer’s ethnosemantic analysis, this study focuses on cultural schemas and metaphors in the novel. We identify passages in Mammon Inc. that illustrate themes of identity negotiation, cultural displacement, and …

“We Haven’T Our Feet In The Soil”: Jamesian Feminism And Cosmopolitanism In The Portrait Of A Lady, Dong Xiaoshuang

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article reconsiders feminist themes in Henry James’s The Portrait of a Lady by analyzing American expatriate women characters who experience liminal situations that create both alienation and opportunity. James’s expatriate women feel displaced and marginalized, yet this othering also allows them a freedom from European customs. This position of alterity or liminality allows for the women characters in James’s work to develop independence and confidence not just in themselves but also in their native culture. James’s nuanced observation and sympathy with his women characters result in an androgynous literary expression, intricately connecting his feminism and cosmopolitanism. By examining the …

Screaming In Silence: Narrative Voice In Latvian Writer Gundega Repše’S Fiction, Sandra Meskova

Journal of International Women's Studies

The contemporary field of narratology delineates narrative voice as a complex effect of formal and pragmatic elements such as the point of view presented, focalization, tone, modality, and the spatiotemporal models of narrative. The intricate nature of narrative voice arises from its reliance on pragmatic parameters through which it articulates the author’s intentions, ideologies, and values. Consequently, the narrative voice reaches into the extratextual realm, assuming the role of a medium for thematization and value judgement. With a focus on the contemporary Latvian writer Gundega Repše’s novels Īkstīte (Thumbelina) (2000) and Alvas Kliedziens (The Tin Scream) (2002), this paper investigates …

5th Global Conference On Women’S Studies: Knowledge, Production, And Representation In Transnational Women’S And Gender Studies, Josann Cutajar

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

African Women Custodians: Teaching, Toponymy And Tacit Reverie In Heritage Education, Tokie Laotan-Brown

Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women's & Gender Studies

This paper investigates the critical role of women in African cultures as guardians of cultural heritage. It explores their central function in transmitting traditional ecological knowledge and practices across generations through established pedagogical methods, toponymic knowledge systems (place-names within cultural landscapes), and the cultivation of tacit knowledge. The paper emphasizes the significance of women's contributions to environmental education, often overlooked or undervalued within Western scientific paradigms. This marginalization restricts access to resources and participation in decision-making processes. It argues for the integration of traditional knowledge systems, informed by women's expertise, into formal education and pedagogy. This inclusion serves to validate …

Editorial: Defying Heteropatriarchal Currents, Bekeh Utietiang Ukelina

Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women's & Gender Studies

The strong cultural and political systems that constrain women's autonomy and progress, often rooted in colonial and imperial histories, have shown troubling resilience despite over a century of diverse women's global activism to dismantle them. In the face of these multifaceted attacks on the rights and self-determination of women and LGBTQIA individuals, particularly in the Global South and within marginalized communities globally, it is not the time to retreat into familiar frameworks. Instead, we must resist by taking strong intellectual positions that center postcolonial feminist frameworks, recognizing the diverse and often interconnected forms of oppression women face.