Digital Commons Network^™

Comparing The Social Responses Of Aids And Covid-19 Through Oral History, Elise Lee

Women's and Gender Studies Theses

In the past 40 years, the United States has faced 2 major public health crises: the AIDS epidemic, and the global COVID-19 pandemic. In this project I consider the various aspects of these public health emergencies such as sharing the burden of survival, the role of fear, the bastardization of identity politics, and queerness as a political project. I do this by analyzing oral histories and I argue that we can look at the AIDS epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic in parallel. During both AIDS and COVID, despite severely lackluster governmental responses, we saw overwhelming amounts of community organizing and …

I Was Taught To Be A Lady, Katherine Gaylord

Women’s and Gender Studies Student Work

These comics were created by students in Dr. Stella Oh's WGST 3300: Race, Gender, and Graphic Novels exploring thematic topics of identity, loss, illness, disability, and caregiving. After reading creative and scholarly works addressing war, PTSD, social stigma, and graphic medicine, students engaged in creating several comics. Some of the student comics are featured in this collection. Communicating their ideas through the visual-textual medium of comics, students engaged in critical reflection of their readings and class discussions. Students produced their comics through software such as Illustrator, Canva, Procreate, and other media.

Why Are You So Ashamed?, Katherine Gaylord

Women’s and Gender Studies Student Work

These comics were created by students in Dr. Stella Oh's WGST 3300: Race, Gender, and Graphic Novels exploring thematic topics of identity, loss, illness, disability, and caregiving. After reading creative and scholarly works addressing war, PTSD, social stigma, and graphic medicine, students engaged in creating several comics. Some of the student comics are featured in this collection. Communicating their ideas through the visual-textual medium of comics, students engaged in critical reflection of their readings and class discussions. Students produced their comics through software such as Illustrator, Canva, Procreate, and other media.

Female's Digital Self-Making On Tiktok: Identity Construction Through A Framework Of Postfeminist Media And Neoliberalism (2016-2024), Lindsey A. Pritchard

Senior Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between TikTok's algorithmic design, women's identity construction, and the feminist historical context that shapes these constructions. In Chapter 1, "TikTok, Algorithmic Design, and Self-Making," I analyze how TikTok's algorithm functions and how these factors influence the curation and presentation of identity. This chapter establishes the foundational understanding of TikTok as a platform where identity performance is deeply intertwined with algorithmic design.

Chapter 2, "TikTok Feminism and Identity Commodification" examines the commodification of women's identities on the platform. It investigates the historical context of feminism and its evolution into postfeminism, analyzing how these narratives have been …

An Examination Of Food And Alcohol Disturbance Based On Sexual Orientation In A Sample Of Women Who Binge Eat, Alicia M. Moulder

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Food and alcohol disturbance (FAD), characterized by disordered eating behaviors in the context of drinking alcohol to enhance intoxication, counteract alcohol’s calories, or both, is associated with increased risk of negative drinking consequences. Previously established as a phenomenon occurring in college students, research has begun to support that FAD may also occur in nonstudents. Three particularly vulnerable groups for FAD may include women, individuals with history of binge eating, as well as sexual minority individuals. Consequently, the goals of the current study were to elucidate differences in FAD engagement between sexual minority women (SMW) and heterosexual women using a sample …

Weight Bias Internalization And Disordered Eating: Examining The Role Of Sexual Orientation In A Sample Of Women Who Binge Eat, Meredith I. Turner

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sexual minority women and heterosexual women endorse different rates of disordered eating symptoms. Weight bias internalization (WBI), or self-directed negative attitudes and beliefs about oneself due to their weight, is known to be associated with binge eating and other disordered eating behaviors. However, little is known about the influence WBI may have on disordered eating symptoms across various sexual orientations. Therefore, this study examined disordered eating, WBI, and the association between them among sexual minority and heterosexual women. Specifically, the study aims were to (1) compare instances of WBI and disordered eating symptoms between sexual minority and heterosexual women, (2) …

The Infidel “I”, Zahra Taheri

Journal of International Women's Studies

Being a girl in a media-saturated world is one of the hardest situations. Young girls coming of age are bombarded by media feeds that urge them to follow behavioral patterns set by patriarchal culture. Offered as a manual on how to behave like a “good girl,” these patterns direct young girls’ energies towards unattainable ideals they try to live up to throughout their lives. They also offer girls a narrow perspective through which to view life and their identities. This distorted lens foregrounds some aspects of a woman’s life while downplaying others. It gradually naturalizes some patterns as the dominant …

Book Review Essay: Manufacturing Celebrity: Latino Paparazzi And Women Reporters In Hollywood, Muhammad Asad Latif

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review Essay: Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, And The Fight For Women’S Rights, Madhavi Venkatesan, Rory Armstrong

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Why Men Rape: An Indian Undercover Investigation, Gorky Sinha, Pushpinder Singh

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Smart Wife: Why Siri, Alexa, And Other Smart Home Devices Need A Feminist Reboot, Alyona Ushakova

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Invisible Women: Data Bias In A World Designed For Men, Zeynep Arzu Kelani

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Gendered Fortunes: Divination, Precarity, And Affect In Postsecular Turkey, Canan Tanir

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Film Review: How To Sue The Klan: A Documentary On Five Women Who Fought For Racial Justice, Motahar Hossain

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Film Review: Mothering A Disabled Child, Euthanasia, And Media Intervention In Salaam Venky, Pratyusha Pramanik

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Women And Queer Researchers Cited, But Not In Sight: Rethinking Apa Citation Style, S.V. Chetan

Journal of International Women's Studies

In this article, I reflect on the APA citation practice of using last names and initials in references for psychological research. This practice reduces authors to their last names in the guise of gender-neutrality, thus making women and gender non-binary authors invisible despite being cited. Decades after Nancy Russo’s commentary recommending the use of first names along with last names, there have been no changes in APA style, while other citation styles have incorporated the practice of using first names and last names in references to address this issue. In the changing global socio-cultural landscape that acknowledges gender fluidity, including …

A Socioecological And Maqāṣidi Analysis Of Domestic Gender-Based Violence In Yemen, Belqes Al-Sowaidi

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study uses an integrated multidimensional lens to investigate the ongoing issue of domestic gender-based violence (DGBV) against women in conflict areas of Yemen, with a specific focus on the city of Taiz. Yemeni society has historically operated within a framework emphasizing traditional gender roles, which can unfortunately lead to situations where women bear the brunt of societal pressures and misattributed blame. Against this backdrop, this study explores the nature and causes of violence faced by Yemeni women during the period 2021-2023, as well as the role of Islam in addressing and curbing violence against women in Muslim societies. Through …

Gender Portrayal In A Nursing Textbook In Oman: Striving For Equality, Adnan Mohammed Bataineh, Ebrahim Douzandeh, Kashif Ali Sabiri

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper aims to analyze gender representation in English for Nursing 1: Vocational English Course Book (Ros et al., 2012) used to teach English for Specific Purposes courses to nursing students at the University of Buraimi in Oman. Quantitative and qualitative content analyses were used to investigate the following categories: images, occupational roles, names, pronouns, and gender firstness. Study findings show that women, in general, are more visible than men in the following categories: images, gender firstness, terms of address, and names. Pronouns are the only category in which men outnumbered women. Although traditional gender norms in the workplace are …

Toxic Masculinity And Passive Femininity: A Content Analysis Of Pakistani Television Dramas, Iqra Iqbal, Tülây Atay

Journal of International Women's Studies

When analyzing Pakistan’s current media scene, toxic masculinity in Pakistani television dramas is essential to discuss. This study explores portrayals of toxic masculinity and how women characters respond to them within Pakistani television series. Furthermore, this study is closely aligned with UNSDG 5 to promote gender equality by critically analyzing media representations and societal norms. A qualitative content analysis was used to address this issue. This research aligns with the social cognitive theory that suggests that individuals learn and adapt their behaviors by observing others. It examined the behavioral patterns of the main characters by highlighting toxic actions across the …

Swiping The Norms: Feminist Dating Apps And Indonesian Women’S Dating Scene Realities, Anastasia Cindy Marco, Virienia Puspita

Journal of International Women's Studies

This research aims to investigate the dynamics of gender roles by focusing on the standpoint of women users of the feminist dating app Bumble. This app has emerged in Indonesia as one of the most popular platforms to meet potential partners, and it has provided a unique setting to examine how traditional and evolving gender roles manifest in online dating. By first analyzing women users’ behaviors, preferences, and interactions, this study sheds light on how gender roles and cultural norms influence the dating experience in the digital realm. Qualitative interviews were conducted with ten dating app users to gain deeper …

#Arewametoo: Localized Resistance To The Abuse Of Women In Northern Nigeria, Ololade Afolabi, Hauwa Nuhu Shaffi

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article explores the development of the #ArewaMeToo movement in Northern Nigeria. The study is contextualized within the theory of transnational feminism to argue that digital practices among non-Western women are more than merely a technological advancement and are significantly attuned to the socio-political climate of their societies. Therefore, as the #MeToo movement which began in the West goes global, women in Northern Nigerian have found a space to effect social change by resisting socio-cultural practices that challenge their social agency. Using the interview method, we articulate the uniqueness of #ArewaMeToo as a movement that is rooted in specific sociocultural …

Women, Militarism, And Political Representation: The Case Of Armenia, Valentine M. Moghadam, Marisa Goolgasian

Journal of International Women's Studies

How does militarism affect women’s presence in the political process? Through a focus on the Republic of Armenia during the period 1990-2020, we examine the puzzle of women’s political representation. The country’s legacy of communist-era ideology of women’s equality, its democratic transition, women’s high levels of educational attainment and labor force participation, and the 2007 gender quota adoption should have served to place Armenia in the top 50 countries in women’s political representation. Yet for two decades, the country appeared low on international rankings of women’s political empowerment. To unpack this puzzle, we revisit two strands of the women-and-war literature—one …

Queering “Lesbian” And “Writing”: Facing The Mirror As “Arche-Writing” Of Indian Queer Women, Kasturi Das

Journal of International Women's Studies

Facing the Mirror: Lesbian Writing from India (1999), edited by Ashwini Sukthankar, anthologizes short personal writing and fictional pieces, memoirs, poems, essays, letters and more, all produced by Indian women-loving-women (WLW) (an umbrella term for women with queer sexualities and romantic interests in women). The back cover of the book is blazoned with the quote: “A groundbreaking book where lesbians found their voice for the first time.” Even more than twenty years after its publication, there is not much scholarship on this book despite it being one of the first few publications to assert and embody the existence of a …

Menstrunormativity In India: Deconstructing The Concealment Imperative And The Politics Of Social Respectability, Shahida Shahida

Journal of International Women's Studies

The issue of menstrual health management (MHM) is a significant concern that has garnered attention from menstrual activists due to its profound impact on the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of menstruators. This study delves into how menstruators navigate their SRH in India by examining how they adhere to traditional menstrual practices to uphold concealment norms and the politics of social respectability. The aim of the study was to analyze menstrual practices, explore the socio-cultural factors shaping the choice of menstrual products, and assess awareness regarding the toxicity of disposable menstrual products. The findings indicate that a product-centric approach to …

Executive Editors’ Introduction, Catherine Ndinda, Priyanka Tripathi, Kimberly Chabot Davis

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

A Review Of Neurodivergent, Madison Marshall

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Practicing Feminist Disability Pedagogy: Building Interdependence Through A Classroom Participation Menu, Kristen L. Cole

Feminist Pedagogy

Following the lead of Parsloe & Smith (2022), this article explains and advocates possible modes of participation that consider the disabled, chronically ill, and systemically vulnerable students and faculty who are fighting to succeed in higher education. The way participation is measured in college classes is often ableist in nature; thus, it is important to unpack the ableist assumptions that undergird how we arrange and assess participation. Utilizing Knoll’s (2009) explication of interdependency as a practice of feminist disability pedagogy, this article offers a semester long activity called a participation menu, which provides a framework for distributing the responsibility of …

Underrepresentation Of Women In Stem, Ella Asare Afortor

JWU Dissertations & Theses

Despite a plethora of initiatives undertaken by the U.S. government, corporate entities, nongovernmental organizations, and the society at large, the representation of women across various Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields remains dismally low (Martinez & Christnacht, 2021; Srivastava, 2019; Swafford & Anderson, 2020; Wright, 2018). This situation is compounded by a high attrition rate with about 50% of women leaving STEM careers by the age of 35 (Maynard, 2021). Numerous studies have highlighted the underrepresentation of women in various STEM disciplines, raising concerns about the missed opportunities for societal progress and the need for comprehensive strategies to address …

Aging, Empathy, And Cinematic Metamorphosis: Through The Lens Of Agnès Varda, Nam Lee

Film and Media Arts Faculty Articles and Research

This video essay examines Agnès Varda’s intricate portrayal of aging, resonating with Simone de Beauvoir’s call to break the silence on this subject. Composed exclusively of Varda’s film clips, it highlights her enduring engagement with aging and invites viewers to see it as a space of freedom and creative expression.

Trans And Genderqueer Subjects In Medieval Hagiography, Erik Wade

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.