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Narratives Of Reproductive Control In The American Eugenics Movement, Cassandra M. Provost
Narratives Of Reproductive Control In The American Eugenics Movement, Cassandra M. Provost
Honors Theses
In this paper, I will explore the eugenics movement as a pseudo-scientific political, social, and legal phenomenon which had a devastating historical impact on America’s most vulnerable women, as well as briefly discuss its residual effects on contemporary reproductive rights conversations, through the lens of literature. Using an interdisciplinary discourse and narrative analysis approach, I identify two distinct themes within the explored narratives: (1) the importance of a government’s attempt to override a person’s autonomy by destroying the person’s ability to reproduce, and (2) the impropriety of actions based on a negative attitude toward disabled or undesirable persons. In my …
“Nails Done, Hair Done, Everything Did!”: Consumption And The Creation Of Black Feminine Selves, Simone Reid
“Nails Done, Hair Done, Everything Did!”: Consumption And The Creation Of Black Feminine Selves, Simone Reid
Honors Theses
This thesis examines how race and gender shape the meaning that Black women associate with their beauty consumption practices and spending. Much of the existing feminist scholarship on beauty has been postfeminist, privileging the concept of agency and empowerment over structural realities. However, the materialist feminist frame has more utility to address how beauty operates within the lives of Black women as a form of distinct gendered racial oppression. The concept of aesthetic capital emerges from the materialist feminist perspective and suggests that beauty demands the investment of considerable economic resources and can deliver economic returns. Despite this, aesthetic capital …
Feminism And Women's Representation In Argentina, Devyn Murphy
Feminism And Women's Representation In Argentina, Devyn Murphy
Honors Theses
The theory of feminism has proved essential in the transformation of the patriarchal society in Argentina. Feminism paved the way for the emergence of various women’s movements, such as the Encuentros and Movimiento Nacional de Mujeres. These movements redefined the roles that women could play in society. It was because of this theory, and the movements, which made the theories a practice that advanced the political rights of Argentine women.
Nasty Woman: An Analysis Of Women's Rage In Popular Culture, Sarah Kee
Nasty Woman: An Analysis Of Women's Rage In Popular Culture, Sarah Kee
Honors Theses
The goal of this senior project was to analyze the underlying cause for why certain female characters in popular culture were villainized for their behavior and generally deemed to be “nasty woman.” After reading numerous books and viewing films that contained “nasty woman”, there was a common denominator that linked their behavior and influenced their decision to enact their often-bloody retribution: the patriarchy. These women were a victim of some aspect of the patriarchy, commonly sexual assault, and could not receive the support they needed, so they decided to take matters into their own hands. The “nasty women” analyzed in …
Clash And Cooperation Of Ecofeminism And Postmodern Feminism: The Intersection Of Two Theories In Dystopic Literature, Ashton Koch
Clash And Cooperation Of Ecofeminism And Postmodern Feminism: The Intersection Of Two Theories In Dystopic Literature, Ashton Koch
Honors Theses
Ecofeminism and postmodern feminism are regarded as opposite theories in their attempts to solve for ecological and patriarchal oppression. This thesis argues that these two theories are not mutually exclusive, and must work together to effectively combat oppression faced by the environment and by women. It uses two works of literature, Our Life in the Forest by Marie Darrieussecq and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood to argue for the combination of ecofeminist and postmodern feminist strategies. Both works are dystopic in nature, portraying the destruction of the environment and patriarchal discourse against women. Ultimately, this thesis analyzes the strategies …
Finding Identity In The Intersections: Transnational Feminism And The Non-Human Primate, Kailyn Carr
Finding Identity In The Intersections: Transnational Feminism And The Non-Human Primate, Kailyn Carr
Honors Theses
This project examines how the conversations among feminism and primatology offers a unique critical lens into how “man” dominates other identities, whether that be woman or non-human primate, specifically within the rigid colonial structures of Western society. Donna Haraway’s landmark post-humanist work joins these conversations, especially with her earlier work Primate Visions and Simians, Cyborgs, and Women. While Haraway has changed the narrative surrounding feminist theory within the biological sciences – what has now become recognized as feminist science and technology studies –, this shift in perspective continues to emphasize Western ideological practices and their attention to primatology. My …
Why Myth Matters: The Value Of The Female Voice In Greek Mythology, Kylie Rogers
Why Myth Matters: The Value Of The Female Voice In Greek Mythology, Kylie Rogers
Honors Theses
In this thesis I will primarily examine how the retellings of Greek myths from the female perspective provide insight into the importance of myth and why these stories are still relevant today. Specifically, I will examine three major figures: Circe in Madeline Miller’s Circe, Penelope in Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, and Medusa in Marjorie Garber’s The Medusa Reader, along with a few other minor characters featured in Nina MacLaughlin’s Wake, Siren. By studying the fresh perspectives provided by the narration and journeys of these characters and connecting them to plights and experiences that are currently affecting women as evidenced by …
A Case Study Of French Feminism After The Metoo Movement From The Perspective Of A Feminist Organization, Laura Levensailor
A Case Study Of French Feminism After The Metoo Movement From The Perspective Of A Feminist Organization, Laura Levensailor
Honors Theses
Feminism is the advocacy for gender equality typically through the propagation of women’s rights. Feminism goes back as far as the human race, and it is constantly evolving. The waves of feminism have been well documented and studied, but as time goes on, there is always more research to be done on modern feminism. The MeToo movement became popularized in 2017 and is still settling into history. It is still not fully researched or documented, and its effects on society are still developing. This thesis seeks to contribute to the understanding of the MeToo movement and its global effects.
Specifically, …
Madame Bovary Syndrome: The Female Protagonist's Plight, Audrey C. Giesler
Madame Bovary Syndrome: The Female Protagonist's Plight, Audrey C. Giesler
Honors Theses
The Madame Bovary Syndrome is a phenomenon that occurs among different female protagonists of the nineteenth century. Based on Gustave Flaubert’s novel Madame Bovary, this syndrome was defined by French philosopher Jules De Gaultier to describe chronic affective dissatisfaction with one’s life. The Madame Bovary Syndrome can be applied to the female protagonists in George Sand’s Indiana, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. Each protagonist in these stories exemplifies chronic feelings of dissatisfaction, hopelessness, and despair due to the lack of control over their lives. With the rise of the middle class, women were now …
Sex Education In France: An Imbalanced History, Marisa Peters
Sex Education In France: An Imbalanced History, Marisa Peters
Honors Theses
Although the history of sex education is relatively new, it is very complex. Enlightenment philosophers from Rousseau to de Sade had ideas on what the sex education of girls and of boys should entail, with Rousseau preparing her for marriage, and the latter preparing her to be a libertine! In the late 19th and early 20th centuries there were stereotypes too, of girls in the countryside learning about sex as a result of cramped living and proximity to farm animals. For young bourgeois women in the city, there were manuals on marriage and how to perform their wifely …
Honoré De Balzac’S Portrayal Of The Feminine Condition In The Wild Ass’S Skin, Père Goriot, And The Lily Of The Valley, Brooke V. Musmeci
Honoré De Balzac’S Portrayal Of The Feminine Condition In The Wild Ass’S Skin, Père Goriot, And The Lily Of The Valley, Brooke V. Musmeci
Honors Theses
In 19th century France, women appeared to be second class citizens. They were often limited in their abilities to have independence and secure their own wealth. This perception of women perhaps justifies why, as Honoré de Balzac’s novels illustrated the realities of French society, he attempted to characterize women’s struggles to obtain control and power in their lives. In his novels The Wild Ass’s Skin (1831), The Lily of the Valley (1835), and Le Père Goriot (1835), Balzac sought to prove how women could improve their lot.
Firstly, in studying how women had been relegated to second-class citizens under their …
Feminism And Low Breastfeeding Rates In France, Megan Wadsworth
Feminism And Low Breastfeeding Rates In France, Megan Wadsworth
Honors Theses
Breastfeeding rates in France are among the lowest in high-income countries, indicating that French mothers do not breastfeed for nearly as long as is recommended by healthcare professionals and international health organizations. French government, society and conflicting feminist perspectives all influence the likelihood that mothers will breastfeed. The French government has regulations in place to protect women’s right to breastfeed in public and in the workplace, but it is unclear if these are truly beneficial for French women. French society is a seemingly inhospitable environment in which mothers do not feel safe and secure to breastfeed publicly. Motherhood and feminism …
“Part Of That (Man’S) World”: Analyzing “Cinderella” And “The Little Mermaid” Fairy Tale Variants Through A Feminist Lens, K. Morgan Mitchell
“Part Of That (Man’S) World”: Analyzing “Cinderella” And “The Little Mermaid” Fairy Tale Variants Through A Feminist Lens, K. Morgan Mitchell
Honors Theses
Fairy tales are often reduced to nothing more than the moral lesson that can be taught to children. However, when we move past the impulse to search for the simplified moral of the story, we can begin to ascertain the impact of fairy tales on different audiences. This thesis uses both impact theory, which yields a close reading of the textual and cinematic evidence, and reception research, which provides an opportunity to discuss the significance of the material by speculating about the message that readers receive. Under consideration are four variants each of the “Cinderella” and “The Little Mermaid” fairy …
Effects Of Sexualized Images In Media On Attitudes Toward Public Breastfeeding, Hannah J. Powell-Yost
Effects Of Sexualized Images In Media On Attitudes Toward Public Breastfeeding, Hannah J. Powell-Yost
Honors Theses
Although breastfeeding is known to promote both physical and emotional health in both infant and mother, many women are hesitant to breastfeed in public due to perceived attitudes toward public breastfeeding. This research explores the relationship between frequent exposure to sexuality in mass media and people's positions regarding breastfeeding. It was hypothesized that sexualized portrayals of the female body perpetuated in mass media would negatively impact individuals’ attitudes toward breastfeeding. No significant correlation was found between media exposure and negative attitude toward public breastfeeding. However, a few interesting results were observed. Individuals who responded positively to sexual media were more …
Academic Feminists Analyses Of Female Celebrities From The 1980s To Today, Brittany A. Carey
Academic Feminists Analyses Of Female Celebrities From The 1980s To Today, Brittany A. Carey
Honors Theses
This thesis examines the history of academic feminists and their changing debates over race, class, sexism, and sexual preference from the 1980s to the present. In the 1980s, white feminists tended to focus on sexism in the workplace and class discrimination, while black feminists focused instead on the racism and classism that black women faced both inside and outside of academia. More recently, millennial feminists, in both third- and fourth-wave feminism, have continued to focus on racial discrimination within feminism (and broader society) while also examining women’s sexual preferences. However, they have stopped focusing on sexism in the workplace and …
Overstimulated - An Immersive, Multimedia Art Installation, Quinn Devlin
Overstimulated - An Immersive, Multimedia Art Installation, Quinn Devlin
Honors Theses
This thesis provides the explanation, inspiration, research and progression of an immersive, multimedia art installation that emulates the idea of a “sexual dystopia.” It explores how our dichotomy of inadequate sex education and hypersexual, gender-based media is resulting in a dystopian sexual reality for women in particular. The work portrays a future world in which sexual and fertility technology is so advanced and accessible that real men and women no longer interact. As a result, women and objects become one in the same.
Female literary icons are over-sexualized to suggest that porn-culture is a by-product of a historical framework that …
The Rise And Fall Of Gilmore Girls' Feminist Legacy, Mckenna Ahlgren
The Rise And Fall Of Gilmore Girls' Feminist Legacy, Mckenna Ahlgren
Honors Theses
This thesis explores the feminist legacy that the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007, 2016) built during its original airtime and how its later revival diminished that legacy. Gilmore Girls’ main characters are three generations of women within the Gilmore family, providing a unique opportunity to analyze their feminist identities and characterizations relative to different iterations of feminism. This paper examines how the youngest Gilmore, Rory, is influenced by her mother’s and grandmother’s embodiments of feminism. Their expressions of femininity and sexuality, their approaches to motherhood, and their behaviors in their romantic relationships throughout the series correlate with the predominate feminism …
A Woman's Gaze, Emily Fiore
A Woman's Gaze, Emily Fiore
Honors Theses
My work merges my passion of thinking politically and artistically. This series, A Woman’s Gaze, is an extension of my Political Science thesis, where I focused on artists who combat the male gaze by representing women’s lives realistically, from a woman’s perspective. These paintings focus on intimate scenarios from women’s lives where the male gaze is absent. The large scale imagery brings visibility to these otherwise private moments.
La Genara: La Libertad Falsa De La Mujer Elite En México, Emily Sullivan
La Genara: La Libertad Falsa De La Mujer Elite En México, Emily Sullivan
Honors Theses
The goal of feminism is to ensure the equality of all genders. This goal means that women are supposed to be seen as equal to men in society. However, despite the many feminist efforts to bring this equality into reality, many in the world still believe that women are inferior to men. This belief stems from historical oppression of women that has continued up until modern day times. In Mexico, there is still strong beliefs that exist that prevent women from achieving liberation and freedom in society. Ideas related to traditional family values, machismo, and internalized misogyny all act as …
Nasty Women: Television Portrayals Of Societal Anxieties Toward Female Leaders, Emily Sullivan
Nasty Women: Television Portrayals Of Societal Anxieties Toward Female Leaders, Emily Sullivan
Honors Theses
Historically, women have been excluded from leadership positions around the world, while instead men occupy the highest positions of power in society. The lack of female leadership is especially prevalent in the United States, where there has never been a female president, and the majority of high political offices are still held by men. In a similar manner, women have also been excluded from the sphere of comedy throughout history. Women have constantly had to deal with the assertion that women are not funny. This double exclusion from both leadership and comedy has led to the development of my concept …
Naturalism And The New Woman: Fated Motherhood In Kate Chopin's The Awakening And Edith Wharton's The House Of Mirth, Lindsay J. Patorno
Naturalism And The New Woman: Fated Motherhood In Kate Chopin's The Awakening And Edith Wharton's The House Of Mirth, Lindsay J. Patorno
Honors Theses
Proto-feminist novels have garnered great critical attention in recent decades, largely owing to the reclamation efforts of feminist scholars from the 1960s onwards. These feminist scholars have remarked the fin-de-siècle emergence of a recurring narrative archetype: the unabashed New Woman, whose exploits in what were traditionally male-dominated spheres distinguished her from the domesticated matrons and sentimental bachelorettes of past literary paradigms. While the New Woman is now a commonplace among feminist critics, the following thesis uniquely interprets this feministic archetype in conjunction with the concurrent movement of American literary naturalism—a genre that proffers a deterministic worldview and is often regarded …
American Muslim Women: Feminism, Equality, And Difference, Amber Coniglio
American Muslim Women: Feminism, Equality, And Difference, Amber Coniglio
Honors Theses
American Muslim women face constant surveillance, stress, and pressure to change and adapt to mainstream society. In the United States, Muslim women find ways to negotiate their identities, express their concerns, and learn through their faith by means of Islamic scholarship, Islamic feminism, and reinterpretations of the Quran. They are reconciling their multifaceted identities with better understanding of sacred text as well as solidifying their desired gender roles within their communities. They are challenging norms and creating new spaces for themselves within the ummah as well as the United States. American Muslim women find courage, strength, and autonomy through Islamic …
Breaking The Glass Slipper: Analyzing Female Figures' Roles In Disney Animated Cinema From 1950-2013, Brianna Prudencia Gutiérrez
Breaking The Glass Slipper: Analyzing Female Figures' Roles In Disney Animated Cinema From 1950-2013, Brianna Prudencia Gutiérrez
Honors Theses
In this study, heroines and villainesses in nineteen Disney animated films from 1950- 2013 are characterized as traditional, complex, or non-traditional. A total of twenty-four female characters are classified based on their representation, actions, personality traits, appearance, and relationship status. Traditional female figures are beautiful dependent on male figures and engage in a heterosexual relationship as part of their "happily ever after." The traditional female figures in this study are Cinderella from Cinderella (1950) Lady from Lady and the Tramp (1955) Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) from Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Duchess from The AristoCats (1970). Complex female figures are, in the …
When Worlds Collide: Feminism, Conservatism And Twentieth Century Authors, Madison Cooney
When Worlds Collide: Feminism, Conservatism And Twentieth Century Authors, Madison Cooney
Honors Theses
Two streams of literary narratives appearing during the Great Depression grew from personal and historical experiences of their women authors with overlapping but very different perspectives on American cultural history. These were: 1) The accounts of rural frontier Midwestern regional experiences of Laura Ingalls Wilder, as edited and shaped in part by her daughter and writing partner Rose Wilder Lane, in retrospect during the New Deal era; and 2) the 1920s urban African-American experience of Zora Neale Hurston in the context of an emerging national black artistic and intellectual scene. Through a shared feminism emphasizing freedom for women, these authors …
We Came! We Stripped! We Conquered! The Sextremist Feminists Of Femen In Ukrainian Historical Context And Contemporary Controversy, Jayeon Kim
Honors Theses
In 2008, Anna Hutsol, an economist by training, founded feminist organization FEMEN (Megginson 2011). Comprised mostly of university-educated women, FEMEN has received international media coverage, encountered controversy, and received death threats for their topless protests. For their activism, French magazine Madame Figaro ranked one of the founding members Inna Schevchenko on the 13th position in their list of Women of the Year (Madame Figaro 2012). They have delivered lectures on their movement at international forums and universities. FEMEN now has chapters in Brazil, Tunisia, France and Germany. FEMEN activists attribute their visibility to “sextremism,” their tactic of using the …
Remapping Nature: Motherhood, Autonomy, And Anti-Mining Activism In Íntag, Ecuador, Ellicott K. Dandy
Remapping Nature: Motherhood, Autonomy, And Anti-Mining Activism In Íntag, Ecuador, Ellicott K. Dandy
Honors Theses
This honors thesis explores the social changes that women engaged in anti-mining activism bring to a region in rural Ecuador. I discuss the ways in which they incorporate their activist techniques into everyday life, using their status as mothers to access public discourses of environmentalism, and ultimately rewrite gender roles locally. Framing the mining conflict as a catalyst for social change, I draw parallels between this movement and indigenous politics in Ecuador, propose new interpretations of the mestizo ethnic identity and assimilation in the Spanish Empire, and finally, make the case for a nature-centric cultural analysis in anthropology.
The Politics Of Sex: Analyzing The Relationship Between The State And Gender Identity And Desire, Rachel Mayer
The Politics Of Sex: Analyzing The Relationship Between The State And Gender Identity And Desire, Rachel Mayer
Honors Theses
The disenfranchised experiences of women are central to feminist understandings of identity. Crucial to this understanding is the question of what is the cause of female oppression and how to remedy the situation. This introduces the concept of state power and its relationship to women. The state, as the seat of legal and political power, has the ability to serve as both protector and oppressor. The thesis is devoted to exploring feminist perspectives and critiques on state power such as arguments for state intervention in the protection of women through concrete action such as gender-specific laws. Opposing this view is …
The Body Of Margaret Atwood: Sex Work And Prostitution Within Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Oryx And Crake, And The Year Of The Flood, Tyler Dinucci
Honors Theses
In this paper, I will argue that Canadian author Margaret Atwood uses fiscal and socially conservative dystopias to show how sex work and prostitution are choices that women would never have to make in a world with true gender equality. In these radically different worlds, women have no agency beyond their sexuality and no ability to express themselves as equals within either society. And while the structures of both societies, the society of The Handmaid’s Tale and that of both Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood, are inherently different, they both stem from modern conservative philosophies: for …
The Quest For Identity: Human Rights In The Aftermath Of El Proceso In Argentina, Jennifer F. Dalenta
The Quest For Identity: Human Rights In The Aftermath Of El Proceso In Argentina, Jennifer F. Dalenta
Honors Theses
My thesis involves an analytical study of the Madres and the Abuelas of the Plaza de Mayo and a documentary on these two human rights groups framed around the issues of identity and human rights and their importance for all individuals in both a political and personal respect. Through my research, I concluded that the Madres must be conceptualized as a revolutionary organization that combines both feminine and feminist elements in order to achieve its ultimate goals. I argue that the Madres must be interpreted and understood as a combination of these two frameworks, and that due to the complexity …
The Female Language Barrier: A Close Reading Of The Poetry Of Emily Dickinson And Adrienne Rich, Annmarie Faiella
The Female Language Barrier: A Close Reading Of The Poetry Of Emily Dickinson And Adrienne Rich, Annmarie Faiella
Honors Theses
Historically, the First Amendment right to free speech was limited to certain groups. Language, although constitutionally guaranteed since 1776, has not always been a freedom for everyone. Among those at language's mercy are immigrants, slaves, and women. Women's speech was limited not by a lack of knowledge, but by a societal acceptance of women as inferior.
What then do women do to overcome this ever-present chasm? What women did in the nineteenth century, the 1960s, and are still doing today is: write more creatively. The tighter the restraint of language, the more inventive the woman must be to use it …