Digital Commons Network^™

Failed Gay Rights Amendment To Mankato's Human Rights Ordinance In Mankato, Minnesota In 1987, Kellian Clink

Library Services Publications

In 1987, small but passionate people urged the city to pass an amendment to Mankato’s existing human rights ordinance to protect LGBTQ+ communities.   Advocates argued that gays were entitled to the same rights as straight people and were looking for protection in housing and employment, particularly. They demonstrated that people had lost jobs, housing, and access to dance venues. Some opponents equated gays with promiscuity, child molestation, solicitation, sin, and AIDS; some were convinced it was not needed; some pinned their arguments on the existence of laws already on the books.  This narrative is based on articles from the local …

The Negotiated Identities Of Refugee-Background Women During Resettlement, Iuliia Fakhrutdinova

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Refugee-background women experience unique challenges while resettling in the U.S. as they navigate complicated transnational gender roles, education gaps, migration trauma, learning a new language, and literacy in the adaptation process during resettlement, which can derail the productive paths they are on. Therefore, ignoring refugee-background women’s unique experiences and failing to understand their identities prevents our society from doing social justice and creating a space for a smooth adaptation to the new context. Language plays a paramount role in identity formation, as it moves away from the belief that identity is an essential concept. For refugee-background women during resettlement, their …

Well-Being Beyond The Binary In Perinatal Healthcare: An Application Of Reproductive Justice, Orphea D. Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gender diverse birthing individuals face several systemic barriers to accessing affirming and empowering perinatal healthcare. The present study utilizes the term gender diverse and the abbreviation TGE to describe those who self-identify as broadly non-cisgender, an umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth. Gender identities that may be included in this definition include transgender/trans, gender expansive, non-binary, gender fluid, gender nonconforming, gender variant, gender queer/queer, and/or agender. Gender diverse individuals face unique barriers in perinatal healthcare due to the pervasiveness of cisnormativity in perinatal healthcare spaces. Research has documented the harm caused to …

Reclaiming The Silenced: West African Women, Anticolonial Activism, And Storytelling As Historical Resistance, Tahsina Nasir

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

This paper examines the systematic erasure of West African women from dominant historical narratives of anticolonial liberation, focusing on decolonization and post-independence nation building in Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, and Nigeria. Although women played central roles in organizing, mobilizing, and educating during nationalist movements, their contributions were increasingly sidelined once state power was achieved. Drawing on feminist historiography, Black feminist thought, and archival and literary sources, this study analyzes how state actors dismantled autonomous women’s organizations, including the Federation of Ghana Women, and confined women to symbolic roles within party-controlled structures. Figures such as Hannah Kudjoe, once central to political mobilization, were …

Rethinking Women, Peace And Security In Southern Africa: Patriarchy, Policies, And Perspectives, Kgomotso Komane

The Journal of Social Encounters

Southern Africa is a relatively peaceful region, however, it has witnessed a range of diverse, multiple and ongoing conflicts that have prompted various peace interventions from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), neighbouring countries and international actors. An astounding pattern is revealed when observing the involvements of all the actors in the peace interventions. What is revealed is that, till present day, women remain marginalised in peace processes despite existing structures and policies that reaffirm their rightful participation in these processes. Rethinking women’s role in peace and security is necessary because existing approaches to peace are shaped by patriarchal norms. …

Book Review: Unmasking (New) Maternal Realities: Pregnancy, Childbirth, Postpartum In Global Literature, Cinema, And Media, Julie Glickman

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

A Comprehensive Analysis Of Government Initiatives And Microfinance Performance: Economic Empowerment Of Women Through Self-Help Groups In India, Diganta Sarkar, Dileep Kumar Gupta, Shipra Gupta

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study is anchored in feminist understandings of empowerment as a relational process shaped by gendered power hierarchies within households, communities, and financial institutions. We offer a comprehensive analysis of governmental efforts, bank linkages, and economic empowerment of women through micro-finance in Self-Help Groups (SHGs). Although the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) data only provides aggregate financial indicators, we interpret the trends in savings, borrowing, and repayment in dialogue with feminist and intersectional scholarship on microfinance in India. The study provides insights into the role of microfinance in SHGs and the magnitude of support for women’s empowerment, …

Gestation, Savannah Whaley

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

Entry for special issue, 'Keywords for Value and Culture'

Balancing Our Capacity To Serve: A Phenomenological Exploration Of Black Women Navigating Personal, Professional, And Community Leadership Roles, Shemeka K. Brathwaite

Student Theses

This phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of Black women community leaders as they navigate a balance between their professional, personal, and community leadership roles. The research design uses the theoretical frameworks of Black Feminist Intersectionality and Role Theory, specifically addressing the cultural burdens imposed by the Strong Black Woman archetype, which adds additional role strain. The study began with a questionnaire completed by 54 Black women community leaders, followed by 20 in-depth, semi-structured interviews selected from this pool. The study’s key findings are illustrated in a Black Women’s Sustainable Community Leadership Framework. Black women community leaders exude high self-efficacy, …

Trans And Gender Diverse Experiences With Healthcare Professionals, Victor N. Soto

University Honors Theses

There is a history of state powers working against the interest of Transgender and Gender Diverse (TGD) people, but since the second Trump election attacks on TGD have reached a new precedent; this suggests the state is engaging in necropolitical actions to gain and maintain power. To better understand how the current climate is impacting TGD people, and add to discussions about TGD-centered healthcare research, this thesis interviewed 15 TGD students from the Portland metro area about their experiences with healthcare providers. All fifteen of the interviews were transcribed and coded. Four primary themes were found: 1) bad provider experience; …

Neoliberalism & The Care Economy: Exploring The Gendered Impacts Of Social Protection Systems, Rachel Carruthers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how neoliberal transformation of social protection policy influences gender dynamics within the care economy. Care is necessary for well-being, but traditionally excluded from economic thinking. This thesis completes a historical overview of how care has been incorporated or excluded by different economic paradigms and is anchored in feminist political economy that emphasizes care as a central consideration. A comparative analysis across California, Texas, and Sweden demonstrates how social protection, specifically access to paid parental leave, varies across regimes and results in inconsistent care outcomes. The findings suggest that social protections can reduce some inequalities, but inadequately address …

Defying Impossibility: Critical Qualitative Reorientations To Black Lgbtqia+ Sense Of Belonging, Olivia H. Hunte

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Belonging is a human need central to survival and can be cultivated within all spheres of life. Social environments are vital for experiencing a sense of belonging. In some social environments, Black LGBTQIA+ people encounter greater impediments to their daily lives with consequences for survival, including threatening their belonging needs. Within the United States, systems of oppression create and inform conditions within social environments that can potentially thwart pathways to belonging for Black LGBTQIA+ people. Thus, fulfillment of belonging needs for Black LGBTQIA+ people is one of nuance, pain, resilience, hope, harm, trauma, resistance, and healing; scant research is available …

Red Thread Projects For Placentary Peace, Nané Jordan

Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal

Red Thread Projects are aesthetic expressions of my placental, eco-birthing philosophies as an artisteducator- scholar with lifelong roots reclaiming midwifery, and compassionate mother-centred birth care. Uplifting “birth” within embodied, feminist epistemologies, I aim to re-vision with the Mother, writ large and small. Since 1997, I have been creating textile artworks with red thread, activating these through performances in nature, where artwork, body, and place become interwoven texts, gifting gratitude to and with Mother Earth. My arts-centred research contributes to community education that empowers birth-givers, while advocating for the embodied, love-infused potentials of birth for human thriving.

Policing Sex Trafficking: 'They’Re Never Taught, You Know', Anila S. Duro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research shows that victims of sex trafficking are most likely to first come in contact with the police (Baldwin et al, 2011; Twigg, 2017) and at times police have not been able to categorize cases of prostitution as trafficking even when trafficking elements were very clear (Dank et al, 2017; Dempsey, 2017; Farrell & Cronin, 2015). Despite the legal definition of trafficking, the terms prostitution, sex work, and sex trafficking are sometimes used interchangeably by law enforcement, whereas at other times, these words refer to different sets of circumstances and have different criminalization outcomes.  Research in this area is limited …

Roe V. Wade With Audre And Nikki: Their Social And Political Impacts Following The Landmark Decision, Sharon L. Eaddy

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis analyzes how the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade shaped public understandings of reproductive rights and how those understandings diverged across race, gender, class, and sexuality. Using a qualitative, interdisciplinary design, the study pairs close textual analysis of Nikki Giovanni’s and Audre Lorde’s poems and essays with socio-legal and historical context on constitutional privacy doctrine, the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments, and the Reconstruction legacy of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. The central research question is: what kinds of reproductive “freedom” become legible through Roe’s rights-based framing, and what forms of constraint remain visible when Black …

Book Review Essay: City Of Men: Masculinities And Everyday Morality On Public Transport, Simiran Lalvani

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Deconstructing Feminist Perspectives On Work: Insights From Uchoi Indigenous Tribal Women’S Worldview In Northeast India, Linda Uchoi, Biswaranjan Tripura

Journal of International Women's Studies

Women’s work is commonly conceptualized through an economic lens that prioritizes the valuation of paid and unpaid labor and assesses women’s status and empowerment primarily in monetary terms. Such approaches are limiting as a means of understanding the lived realities of Indigenous Tribal women. In contrast, this article adopts a sociological and anthropological perspective to examine the multifaceted meanings of work among Uchoi Indigenous Tribal women in Tripura, Northeast India. The Uchoi community is a recognized Scheduled Tribe (ST) under Article 342 of the Constitution of India. By situating work within its sociocultural, ecological, and communal contexts, this article demonstrates …

Gender And Stress: Challenges Faced By Women Principal Operators In Agriculture In The United States, Bernadette Marson, Roxanne Bruce

Journal of International Women's Studies

Working in agriculture is demanding and complex, which can lead to stress-induced health and mental health problems, including suicide. There is limited scholarly literature on the topic of women and stress in the agricultural industry, so this research study aims to fill this gap by reporting on the challenging lived experiences of women working in agriculture—a frequently overlooked population. We used a phenomenological design to perform semi-structured interviews exclusively with women (at least eighteen years old) who work in agriculture as principal operators—the primary decision-makers of their enterprise. A thematic analysis was conducted with the data from the twenty-five women …

Experiences Of Women With Neurodevelopmental Disorders In Accessing Sexual Reproductive Health Services In Zimbabwe, Ashely Ropafadzo Tome

Journal of International Women's Studies

Women with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in Zimbabwe are often sidelined from participating in activities that emancipate and educate youth because of their differences from the mainstream population. Although policies and awareness campaigns have been introduced to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities, previous research has not examined the lack of accessibility of sexual reproductive health (SRH) services for women with intellectual disabilities. The cause of this problem is that women with NDDs have been subjected to immense derogatory treatment, stereotyping, and labelling; they have often been regarded as “retarded,” “crazy,” and “inadequate” beings. Women with intellectual disabilities are often …

Evangelical Influences On The Prevalence Of Homophobia In 21st Century Brazilian Politics, Griffin M. Bilello

Senior Theses

In recent decades, Brazil has seen a large influx of Evangelical identification among its population, and this religious group has become a prominent political group that has occupied different positions of power in government. This Evangelical prominence has led to the blocking of LGBTQ+ legislative protections, the protection of homophobic governmental policies, and the perpetuation of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric that has threatened the well-being of Brazil’s queer community. This thesis analyzes the social media presence of prominent political figures in Brazil to understand the ongoing discourse regarding homosexuality from different perspectives. Three representatives with varying influences and perspectives were chosen and …

Feminist Solidarities And An Ethos Of Care: Reflecting On Faculty Marshal Experiences At The University Of Denver, Andrea L. Stanton, Dheepa Sundaram

Gatherings

Spring 2024 witnessed student encampment protests around the US and world protesting the ongoing genocide in Gaza and Israeli occupation in Palestine. The University of Denver (DU) became part of this movement in April when students established a Palestine solidarity encampment, permitted by DU's then-current freedom of expression policies. To protect students' free speech rights, we trained as marshals alongside faculty and staff colleagues to ensure student rights, peacefully de-escalate tensions, and keep all community members safe. This essay adopts an autoethnographic approach grounded in our lived experiences and care-based interactions with campus and broader community. Taking an intersectional approach …

Introduction Of Palestine And Campus Movements: Sites Of Transnational Feminist Solidarities, Besan Jaber, Asmaa Malik

Gatherings

Amid a genocide, Gaza called on the world to witness and to act for justice in Palestine. The world responded. A historic mobilization of global campus movements has emerged, generating far more than public protests. This issue of Gatherings documents and analyzes this moment of transnational solidarity and aims to center the voices and experiences of those who organized, resisted, and refused.

Gatherings 3.1 (Complete Issue), Besan Jaber, Asmaa Malik

Gatherings

Acknowledgement / Besan Jaber and Asmaa Malik, guest co-editors -- p. i: Table of Contents -- p. ii: Editorial Board -- p. 1: Introduction of Palestine and Campus Movements: Sites of Transnational Feminist Solidarities / Besan Jaber and Asmaa Malik, -- p. 10: Introductory Remarks on Gendered Anti-Palestinian Racism and Colonial Solidarities / Wafaa Hasan -- p. 24: Against Genocide: Feminist Dissent, Palestine Solidarity, and the Neoliberal University / Azza Basarudin, Araceli Esparza, and Sabrina Alimahomed-Wilson -- p. 46: Confronting the Storm: Dispatches from the Night Watch at the People’s University for Palestine / Leslie Quintanilla -- p. 61: Knock …

Hi Friend! Msw Portfolio Of Community Building And Advocacy, River Gerard Segar

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This MSW Portfolio emphasizes the importance of being rooted in community and demonstrates how to engage in community building in a way that helps center marginalized voices. This portfolio also highlights advocacy in the United States for transgender people and asserts the need for increased cultural competency in clinical practice with people in non-monogamous and/or kink relational structures.

Teaching Future Clinicians: Curriculum Development Emphasizing The Inclusion Of Trans Individuals And Families In Marriage And Family Therapy (Mft) Education, Eli J. Huffman

Honors Capstones

The field of marriage and family therapy (MFT) is deeply flawed when it comes to the inclusion, representation, and treatment of trans individuals and families. This is despite the fact that MFT could be of unique benefit to the trans community, as they are a community who experience high rates of both familial issues and mental health issues (Katz-Wise, 2021). However, due to education that is often incomplete or inadequate, many mental health providers—including, but not limited to MFT’s—feel they lack the competencies necessary for working with trans individuals and families in practice (Dalton, et al., 2021). This research project …

Analyzing Social Implications Of The Gender Wage Gap, Jessie A. Clarke

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The researcher seeks to understand the gender wage gap in the United States. The research question studied is “Why do women in the United States on average earn less income than men?” Women gain less power and resources as they earn less income than men. The researcher explores the phenomenon in this paper. This research proposal utilizes qualitative methods via interviews, and analysis through coding. In previous research, there is a lack of inclusion on the gender wage gap regarding various identities such as sexual orientation, other gender identities, and race/ethnicity. The researcher hopes to fill in these gaps in …

Female Victimization In Intimate Partner Violence, Phileine Phan

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a widespread issue that disproportionately affects women, causing significant physical, psychological, and economic harm. Although research has explored IPV prevalence and risk factors, fewer studies address how race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and disability intersect to shape women’s experiences and access to support. Generalizing survivors’ experiences often leads to overlooked services and policies for marginalized women. This study addresses that gap through a qualitative systematic review of peer-reviewed research on IPV victimization among women in the United States. A thematic analysis will be used to identify patterns related to systematic inequalities, help-seeking barriers, and the …

Why Keep The Lgbtqia+ Acronym Together – "Wouldn't It Just Be Best To Split The Acronym?", Kim Andreassen, Bri Mckenzie, Julian Chen, Wendy Cumming-Potvin

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

Drawing on the authors' reflections after hosting a community launch event that shared outcomes from research about LGBTQIA+ inclusion in K-12 education in Western Australia, this report examines the importance of keeping the LGBTQIA+ acronym together, emphasizing its role in promoting inclusion, intersectionality, and equitable education. Global legislative actions targeting gender-diverse and queer youth, such as recent restrictive laws in the United States, threaten the fundamental right to education and undermine efforts toward achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 4 of quality education for all. Utilizing relevant education literature, researchers' reflections and introspective questions, this report stressed the interconnectedness …

Engines For Activism: Gsa Advisors Sparking Student Activism For Lgbtq+ Equity, Elizabeth J. Meyer, Rebecca Grace Kaplan, Erin Kurtz

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This article reports on a study on educators supporting student activism for LGBTQ+ equity in schools. The research questions we address are: What impacts do activist-educators have on the activities of the students in their GSA (Genders & Sexualities Alliance)? In what ways do activist-educators support student activism for LGBTQ+ equity? Based on in-depth interviews with seven educators in Colorado, we use grounded theory to present a conceptual model called “Engines for Activism” (EFA). We share data that explain how student and educator interactions within the space of a student club led by an educator-activist can drive advocacy and activism …

Choice, Power, & Care: Crisis Pregnancy Centers And Reproductive Justice In Missouri, Sylvie Richards

Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Senior Honors Papers

Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) are religious organizations with the purpose to dissuade people from obtaining abortions. They often present themselves as authentic reproductive healthcare clinics through medicalized language, services such as ultrasounds and pregnancy tests, promises of information on all pregnancy options, staff dressed as medical professionals, and placement near family planning clinics. In reality, CPCs are medically unlicensed and often spread medical misinformation.

No study has yet focused on CPCs in Missouri, despite providing a critical case study. The state has minimal access to abortion and other components of comprehensive reproductive healthcare and one of the worst maternal mortality …