Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Dawnbreaker Vol 60 No 2 (Winter 2012-2013), Dawnbreaker Staff

Maine Women's Publications - All

No abstract provided.

Dog Woman And The Complexities Of The Maternal Instinct In Jeanette Winterson's Sexing The Cherry, Heather Brown Hudson

Faculty Scholarship

In Sexing the Cherry, Jeanette Winterson’s Dog Woman is a gigantesque weapon yielding force to be reckoned with. As the title teases with the notion of gendering within language, both her physical appearance and actions beg for a reevaluation of what has been defined as both maternal and instinctual. She is at once a stable and loving, yet in order to protect her son from harm, she revolts against the powers that be and oscillates between time and place in both a self-made utopia as well as a force-fed dystopia. To her son, she is shelter, to her enemies, menacing …

Cultural Models Of Bodily Images Of Women Teachers, Christine A. Mallozzi

Gender and Women's Studies Faculty Publications

Cultural models are simplified images and storylines that encapsulated what is regarded as typical for a social group. Cultural models of teachers include body images of dress, adornment, and comportment, and are useful in examining society’s standards and values. Two participants, Erin and Gabbie (pseudonyms), shared stories about their tattoos, which in the U.S. have historically been seen as a mode of resistance. These tattoos that reflected the teachers’ personal lives were regarded in light of the cultural model of the U.S. teacher, a typically conservatively dressed and coiffed female. According to discourse analysis of the participants’ stories, each teacher’s …

Works-In-Progress Conference 2012, Women's Studies Department

Women’s & Gender Studies Works In Progress

No abstract provided.

Joan Rivers And Queen Elizabeth, Marleen S. Barr

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Introduction: Sex, Sexuality, And Gender As Useful Categories In Environmental History, Nancy Unger

History

This book is an effort to explain these kinds of extreme gendered divisions and to offer an enriched understanding of the powerful interplay between environment and sex, sexuality, and gender. The synergy produced by that interplay has been significant throughout American history, but it cannot be adequately understood and appreciated as long as those fields are discussed as discrete entities. The fields of gender and environment are growing, but scholars have seldom joined them together in analysis or heeded historian Carolyn Merchant's call that a gendered perspective be added to conceptual frameworks in environmental history.5 They have not offered a …

Will Women Gain Seats?: The 2012 Election And The Representation Of Women In The Massachusetts Legislature, Paige Ransford, Meryl Thomson

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

The Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston released this fact sheet just prior to the November 2012 general election. Currently, just less than one quarter (24.5%) of Massachusetts legislators are female, putting Massachusetts behind all other New England states when it comes to the election of women to state legislative office. Vermont has the highest percentage (38.9%) of women in its legislature in the New England region.

Female Flesh And Medieval Practice In The Later Middle Ages, Megan E. Marzec

Mid-America College Art Association Conference 2012 Digital Publications

My work explores the importance and presence of the female body in medieval religious practice as exemplified in medieval art, religious texts and hagiographies. My research shows that while the reasoning behind female imagery and imagery of the nude is disputed, the prevalence of mandorla-like images, images of the female nude, and images displaying the femininity of Christ suggest the meaningfulness to the medieval viewer. I discuss extensively Julia Kristeva’s writing on the woman as abject and the artistic experience as an element of religiosity. For this research I analyzed works by various artists including Robert Campin, Jan Gossaert and …

Philosophische Figuren, Frauen Und Liebe: Zu Nietzsche Und Lou, Babette Babich

Articles and Chapters in Academic Book Collections

No abstract provided.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back? Egyptian Women Within The Confines Of Authoritarianism, Nadine Sika, Yasmin Khodary

Political Science

This paper examines the pre and post January 25th political dynamics in Egypt, how these have affected the role of women in the private, public and political spheres. It analyzes the dynamics of the development of Egyptian women’s organizations, and the extent to which these may develop into an Egyptian feminist movement. An overview of historical, political, and social contexts of the role of Egyptian women’s organizations will provide an understanding of their main accomplishments from Nasser to Mubarak. The study shows how the early women’s organizations were directly linked with the ruling authorities and how these have added to …

Brazen (Fall 2012), Hollins University

Brazen - Gender & Women's Studies Department Newsletters

No abstract provided.

University College Connection Fall 2012, Dennis K. George, Dean, Wendi Kelley

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Female Voice And The Ideology Of Sound: A Study Of Stanley Kwan's Film Center Stage (1992), Li Guo

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

The article presents criticism on the film "Ruan Lingyu" ("Center Stage"), focusing on director Stanley Kwan's depiction of the female voice in terms of a feminist analysis of the body and voice of Ruan Lingyu, the silent film actress whose life is the focus of the film. Kwan's use of sound editing is highlighted, and special attention is paid to actress Maggie Cheung's portrayal of Ruan. Other topics include Ruan's suicide and China's transition to sound motion pictures.

Questioning Appropriation: Agency And Complicity In A Transnational Feminist Location Politics, Joseph D. Parker

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

In feminist circles agency is often opposed to complicity and associated with resistance to sexism and patriarchy, yet such binary oppositions make the political stakes of their presumed boundaries difficult to interrogate. By bringing location politics into dialogue with agency theory, boundaries of same/Other and location categories may move from a naturalized ground for political work to the contested center of a politics of resistance. I follow a Foucauldian interpretation of agency to reconsider the ethico-politics of established divisions of self and Other both individually and in terms of social movements. By following Gayatri Spivak, Meyda Yeğenoğlu, and Chandra Mohanty's …

Beyond The Research/Service Dichotomy: Claiming All Research Products For Hiring, Evaluation, Tenure, And Promotion., Laura L. Ellingson, Margaret M. Quinlan

Women's and Gender Studies

As qualitative communication researchers, we encounter daily stories of the persistent reluctance in the academy to vaue work that steps outside of the traditional report format for hiring, evaluation, tenure, and promotion. Devalued genres include writing for the general public (e.g. op-eds, blogs), embodied performancees, reports for community organizations, and non-profit website material. Yet dismissing these "other" necessary creative products of our research reinforces a dichotomy between research and service. Although the former is valued almost exclusively as legitimate scholarship and its boundaries carefully patrolled, the latter is devalued and disparaged, ironically amid increased demands for such work as resources …

Engendering The Classroom: A Look At Constructions Of ‘Gender’ And Empowerment Within Teachers’ Trainings In Northern India, Martha Snow

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Education for girls in India has been a crucial area of study for the past 20 years; however, the main focus of attention has been on issues of girls’ access to school only. This study moves beyond this, seeking to gain critical insight into how ‘gender’ is being understood within the classroom via teachers. Teachers’ trainings conducted by the government and by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) were examined through interviews with teachers and coordinators of teachers’ trainings, along with experts on gender and feminism in Delhi and Jaipur, Rajasthan. These interviews focused on the content and quality of teachers’ trainings, and …

Pepfar Problems: How Does The United States’ Presidential Emergency Program For Aids Relief Empower Women?, Caitlin H.

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study looks to examine how the Presidential Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) works to achieve one of its key goals, the empowerment of women, in the Western Cape. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affects women disproportionately, around the world and in South Africa. Thus, women should be a key focus of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) relief and HIV prevention. This paper analyzes the work of PEPFAR to empower women through three lenses. Women’s empowerment in general is discussed, to see how organizations view their own methods of empowerment. PEPFAR’s work with sex workers is examined, as they are often …

The Role Of Mothers In Muslim Families In Ouakam, Dakar: Navigating Traditional Gender Roles In A Modern Context, Emily Goodhue

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My study is on the role of women in Muslim families in Dakar, Senegal. What are they expected to do for their families? How do these women feel about their position and role in their families? What aspects of their role in the family do they enjoy and which do they wish were different? How is their role changing as more women enter the workforce? This topic interests me because many people in the United States have a negative perception of the position of women in Muslim societies. They claim that these women are oppressed and that the women suffer …

Beauty In The Indigenous Pageant The Cultural And Social Relevance Of Miss Samoa, Mariko Hamashima

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper investigates the Miss Samoa pageant’s historical origins, cultural relevance and preservation, the ways in which it empowers women, the public’s perspective, and future development. Secondary sources on the pageant were limited to eight pieces, so interviews with judges, contestants, winners, and participants were sources of information. Sixty surveys were also conducted to gain the public’s perspective of the pageant. The study found Miss Samoa is more popular for its entertainment value than cultural relevance. The Miss Samoa pageant has been utilized as an agent of empowerment for individual women but is not necessarily influential on a larger social …

Himali Didi: Finding The Strength In The Women Of Nepal, Emily Cheung

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The intent of this project is to bring to light the role of Nepalese women in adventure sports; a phenomenon that has existed in Nepal for the past few decades but has been widely unappreciated, if not unnoticed. In this study, women from various adventure companies in Nepal were interviewed to reveal the experiences and obstacles these women face in these occupations during their lifetimes. Some of them agreed to share their stories.

Their journeys have taken them on (quite literal) climbs that have proven their physical strength and made tremendous moves to achieve gender equality in Nepal. Through this …

Accessing Justice, Evaluating Agency: How 12 Women In Cape Town Perceive Their Local Police Services With Respect To Their Race, Class, Gender, And Geographic Location, Ellen Moore

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Policing in South Africa has a long, twisted history that is still evident in some current police practices and especially in the public’s perceptions of the police. In addition to historical factors such as colonial rule and apartheid, people’s perceptions of the police are also affected by their race, class, gender, and geographic location. Although these factors’ can be considered to have an individual effect on perceptions, it is through a complex understanding of how they relate to one another that a true understanding of a person’s perception can be reached. The inspiration for this study stemmed from these concepts …

La Brecha Salarial Entre Hombres Y Mujeres: La Situación Y Los Factores Que Influyen En La Brecha En Los Altos Cargos De Trabajo En Chile, Kaitlin E. Thompson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Many reports and measurements show gender equality in Chile is very poor and the country is lagging behind on the world and regional scale. Opportunities as well as the number of women in the work force are few. The inequality is obvious in the gender wage gap in which men earn on average 20 to 30% more than women. Furthermore, in upper level positions the wage gap is even more profound, reaching almost 40%. This report investigates the topic of gender in Chilean society and specifically, the factors that influence the profound wage gap in high level job positions. In …

Changing The Very Fabric Of Society: A Case Study Of The Fundación Entre Mujeres Holistic Empowerment Model, Briana Frenchmore

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The women of rural northern Nicaragua live in a context that is shaped by the inequalities of gender and class that originate in machista culture and the dominant economic system. To confront this reality, the non-government organization, Fundación Entre Mujeres (FEM) works from the “Gender and Development” (GAD) approach using a model of holistic women’s empowerment. To create social change, FEM’s programs focus on ideological, economic, and organizational empowerment. This investigation seeks to understand how FEM carries out its holistic empowerment model within communities, while reflecting on the strengths of their methodology and the challenges they face in creating social …

The Implications Of Privileged Gay Politics On Queer Aberrations: Interrogating South Africa’S Nongovernmental Industrial Complex, Vijay Sachdev

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The phenomena to address and confront social issues as a career path has shifted the way communities experience the realm of activism. This research addresses the effort emphasized in gay and lesbian activism on the Nongovernmental Industrial Complex as a platform for social transformation. These structures have notably been co-opted by neo-liberalism and the State. In South Africa, the gay and lesbian movement have its roots dug into legal reform which becomes conservative and relies on the rhetoric of identity politics to gain recognition without addressing redistribution and systems of oppression. Through three case studies culminating in a comparative study …

Los Factores Sociales Que Influyen En El Embarazo Y En El Uso De Anticonceptivos De Adolescentes En El Barrio 25 De Mayo, Maipú, Mendoza., Isabel Odean

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: Adolescent pregnancy is a common phenomenon among those living in poverty. Adolescent pregnancy is influenced by many social and cultural factors, leading to lack of use of contraceptives. This study took place in the neighborhood 25 de Mayo, in the city of Maipú, Mendoza in Argentina. This community is mostly composed of people with low incomes and limited education. Socioeconomic and the attitudes toward teenage pregnancy, as well as the use of contraceptives by adolescents, are distinct from those in wealthier better educated groups. This neighborhood is approximately 10,000 people, the majority of whom are women. Most of the …

Social Learning Theory In The Frontline Documentary “The Merchants Of Cool”, Alixe A. Wiley

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

In the Frontline documentary The Merchants of Cool, the relationship between major media conglomerates and their hedonistic teenage customers is examined through exploring the different tactics industries use to discover and market the next “cool” thing. Industries maintain what the documentary refers to as a “feedback loop” with their customers, which is a cyclic, supply-and-demand relationship that blurs the line between fiction and reality. It has become impossible to tell which side is imitating the other: who do the products and trends that define popular youth culture belong to? What's more, are the sexual and aggressive hormone-fueled behaviors on …

Gender-Based Perceptions Of The 2001 Anthrax Attacks: Implications For Outreach And Preparedness, Christopher Salvatore, Brian J. Gorman

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Extensive research dealing with gender-based perceptions of fear of crime has generally found that women express greater levels of fear compared to men. Further, studies have found that women engage in more self-protective behaviors in response to fear of crime, as well as have different levels of confidence in government efficacy relative to men. The majority of these studies have focused on violent and property crime; little research has focused on gender-based perceptions of the threat of bioterrorism. Using data from a national survey conducted by ABC News / Washington Post, this study contrasted perceptions of safety and fear in …

Foodwork Or Foodplay? Men’S Domestic Cooking, Privilege And Leisure, Michelle Szabo

Publications and Scholarship

Market research documents a rising passion for cooking among men. Yet, some feminists argue that men see cooking as ‘leisure’ in part because they have distance from day-to-day care obligations. However, empirical research on men’s home cooking is still limited. This article investigates the relationship between cooking and leisure among 30 Canadian men with significant household cooking responsibilities. Drawing on interview, observational and diary data, and poststructural conceptualizations of leisure, I ask, to what extent do these men understand cooking as leisure and why? Opposing the notion that women’s cooking is ‘work’ and men’s, ‘leisure’, I find that these men …

Women’S Political Leadership In Massachusetts, Paige Ransford, Meryl Thomson, Sarah Healey

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

The Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy (CWPPP) at UMass Boston’s McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies has been tracking the election of women at the municipal level in Massachusetts since 1996. In 2003, the Project expanded to include all New England states. CWPPP remains the only research center in the United States that regularly tracks women’s political representation at the local level.

Women Smuggling And The Men Who Help Them: Gender, Corruption And Illicit Networks In Senegal, Cynthia Howson

SIAS Faculty Publications

This paper investigates gendered patterns of corruption and access to illicit networks among female cross-border traders near the Senegambian border. Despite a discourse of generosity and solidarity, access to corrupt networks is mediated by class and gender, furthering social differentiation, especially insofar as it depends on geographic and socio-economic affinity with customs officers, state representatives and well-connected transporters. Issues of organisational culture, occupational identity and interpersonal negotiations of power represent important sources of corruption that require an understanding of the actual dynamics of public administration. While smuggling depends on contesting legal and social boundaries, the most successful traders (and transporters) …