Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Like Mother, Like Daughter: The Intergenerational Link Between Mother Activists And Their Daughters In Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, Shana Kleiner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The concept of motherhood is often paired with notions of nurturing and caretaking, but it is rarely seen in the context of activism or social and political change. Thus, by researching the relationship between mother activists and their daughters, this paper delves into the concepts of how motherhood is perceived through a feminist lens, and what it means to be a mother while also performing duties as an activist. The research tackles the questions of whether daughters of mother activists become activists themselves, and how they were affected by their mother’s activism during adolescence, if at all.

A narrative approach …

Where Do We Go From Here?: Two Key Informants' Perspectives On How To Address Conscientious Objection In Top Provision In South Africa, Talia Parker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This perspectives research endeavor examines the barriers to TOP access that arise from conscientious objection through the conflicting network of rights and legislation in South Africa. While previous research has evidenced the demonstrable barriers to accessing TOP care in South Africa, this project aims to push the existing literature and the field as a whole one step further to interrogate how to move forward within the realities of conscientious objection.

To do so, I conducted interviews with key informants in the field of reproductive healthcare provision, research, and activism in Cape Town on their perspectives about the practice of conscientious …

"I Have Plenty Of Things To Say:" The Language Choice Of Senegalese Women Writers, Alexander Cullison

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this research is to better understand the forces and motivations that influence Senegalese women writers’ choice to write in the languages they choose. Senegalese women writers began publishing written works in 1976, but the majority of works published by women from Senegal have been in French. While France’s colonization of Senegal has a major role in this, other factors, like the language policy of Senegal, play an important role in decision. Other external forces, like the narratives around what languages one should write in and politics of getting published, also influence this decision. Through the content analysis …

Women In Conservation: A Study Of Effective Community-Based Conservation And The Empowerment Of Women In Tanzania, Ruby Krietzman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The subject of this study is women involved in Community-Based Conservation (CBC) from areas surrounding Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and Mount Kilimanjaro National Park. CBC is a participatory process between people and organizations who have responsibilities affecting conservation. Communities surrounding protected conservation areas tend to experience high levels of poverty and marginalization due to exclusive conservation policies and the lack of co-management principles. Although tourism revenue is abundant in these locations, the benefits rarely impact local community members that disproportionately experience the effects of conservation. This is especially true for women who hold the responsibilities of collecting …

“What Are You?” An Exploration Of Race And Mixed Identity In The Netherlands, Claire Haug

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Netherlands is a country well-known for its multiculturalism and politics of tolerance. But is this the whole story? How do colonial legacies impact the current racial politics in the Netherlands, and how does this framework differ from that of the U.S.? This zine, along with reflective artist’s statement and literature review, provides background in both colonial histories and current language and context around mixed race/bicultural identities and the regulation of interracial relationships in the Netherlands. Furthermore, it explores my own relationship with my mixed identity, as a student coming from the U.S. to the Netherlands.

Archiving Heterosexism: An Investigation Of Gender And Sexuality Politics In Spain's Transitional Justice Movement, Taylor Thompson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper will investigate the ways in which the politics of gender and sexuality during the Franco Regime in Spain (1936-1975) manifest in the transitional justice movement in Spain today. Under the Franco regime, gender and sexuality were policed through a series of ideological and repressive state apparatuses which the current democratic government has attempted to repeal and demolish. Through those apparatuses, bodies were punished, immobilized, and impressed upon in order to sort the demographic into normative hierarchized binaries for the purpose of legitimizing the state and exerting power in the service of domination over the populace. While many of …

Understanding Sexual Pleasure And Health: A Study Of Urban Middle-Class Women’S Narratives In New Delhi, India, Solana Chertow

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The following study seeks to explore how urban-middle class women in Delhi understand, value, and access sexual pleasure. Simultaneously, it looks to understand the relationship between ideas of agency, power, and pleasure. This project was prompted by the lack of colloquial conversation happening on these subjects both globally, and in the communities familiar to the researcher. Although sex and pleasure, in both theory and practice, are extremely prominent in the lives of people around the world, discussion remains stigmatized. With these constraints in mind, this study investigates how a certain population of women became knowledgeable, and are still learning about …

My Body, Their Choice: Childbearing Attitudes And Practices In Jamkhed, Maharashtra, Sienna Sewell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Understanding the beliefs and practices of women and their families during pregnancy and childbirth is fundamental to the creation of successful public health interventions that target maternal and infant mortality. This study explores the childbearing practices of women in rural Jamkhed, as well as the social and economic factors that influence family planning, reproductive health-seeking, and delivery. Interviews and quantitative surveys were conducted with women in villages that have partnered with the Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) to examine how and why women access prenatal care during pregnancy. The influence of CRHP’s “Jamkhed Model” on healthcare access is considered in …

Unfair Standards: Media Influence On The Fairness Paradigm In India, Sahana Heiderscheidt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper aims to study the fairness paradigm in India and how the media influences women’s perceptions of beauty. It aims to answer a main question: How does the media influence the cultural obsession with fairness and ultimately perpetuate a market for dysmorphic beauty ideals among women in India? The paper is structured to discuss three topics: How has fairness as a beauty ideal evolved? How does advertising and the film industry portray women? How do they influence young girls’ perceptions of beauty and self? While most studies have focused on college-educated, middle class women, this study focuses on women …

El Rol De Los Agentes Sanitarios Para Mejorar El Acceso A La Salud Sexual Y Reproductiva Para Mujeres En San Carlos, Mendoza. / The Role Of Agentes Sanitarios In Improving Access To Sexual And Reproductive Health For Women In San Carlos, Mendoza., Laura Hult

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Introducción: Es evidente que Argentina tiene un enfoque que atiende a la salud sexual y reproductiva, dado que tiene cobertura universal y la ley de Programa Nacional de Salud Sexual y Procreación Responsable que establece un estándar de cuidado para toda la población. Sin embargo, cobertura universal no implica acceso universal, el cual que está determinado por el transporte, el idioma y la cantidad de recursos de la región. En lugares como San Carlos, Mendoza, donde no hay transporte regular y hay pocos recursos, existe inequidad en la salud, lo que puede aumentar las tasas de embarazos no intencionales y …

La Comida, La Identidad Y La Migración: Un Caso De Estudio De Inmigrantes Femeninas Y Su Relación Con La Comida, Susanna Morales

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta corta investigación se enfoca en cómo la comida, la migración y la identidad se entrecruzan dentro de la vidas de las mujeres involucradas en el Sindicato de las Trabajadoras del Hogar de la ciudad de Cochabamba. La mayoría de ellas han migrado del campo a Cochabamba en búsqueda de un trabajo. El enfoque está en cómo ellas recuerdan sus pueblos y cómo su identidad se expresa a través de la comida. Mi pregunta de investigación es la siguiente: ¿Cómo se entrecruza la comida, la migración e identidad en la vida de una inmigrante femenina? Respondo a estas preguntas usando …

“Existen Tantos Géneros Como Personas Hay En El Mundo”: Un Estudio De Las Visiones De La Inclusión De Géneros Diversos En Una Escuela Alternativa De Santiago, Chile, Sarah Mele

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta investigación se trata de las visiones de la educación inclusiva con respecto a identidades de género diversas según les actores escolares de la Escuela Amaranta Gómez, un proyecto educativo alternativo ubicado en la ciudad de Santiago. Guiado por las teorías de Bethy Leonardi, Elizabeth L. Meyer, y sj Miller, se enfoca en definiciones de seguridad física y emocional en ambientes escolares. A través de las experiencias y opiniones de personas que tienen experiencia personal con la educación de estudiantes trans, se exploran los temas de la aceptación al nivel individual y societal. Ambas, las condiciones de las escuelas y …

La Situación Actual Del Lenguaje Inclusivo De Género En Valparaíso, Chile, Madison Liistro

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the last three or so years, the concept of a gender inclusive language has begun to take form in Chile for the first time. The juxtaposition of the prevalence of gender in the Spanish language with a society that is slowly learning to accept the existence of gender in more than two forms and the equal recognition and treatment of people of all genders is striking. This phenomenon has led to proposals for an inclusive language in various government institutions and activist groups. These proposals vary from using the letter x or e to replace the gendered a/o in …

Pasantía En Red Oss: Más Que Una Clínica, Saad Ehsan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

RED OSS es una organización en Conchalí, Santiago que provee pruebas rápidas de VIH y actualiza otras pruebas para ETS en una manera gratuita desde 1991. Durante mi pasantía, investigué como una organización disminuye las desigualdades de salud. También aprendí sobre el financiamiento de RED OSS, las pruebas rápidas y el nicho de RED OSS en un país con un sistema pública. Utilicé observaciones y entrevistas para estudiar la clínica. Tuve oportunidades para asistir los talleres para prevenir homofobia y ver las consejerías con un voluntario. También actualicé el sitio web para reflejar los servicios que RED OSS ofrece. En …

Indonesia’S “Fresh Meat”: Lgbtq Activism Amid Political Homophobia And Transphobia, Catherine Cho

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In 2016, Indonesia—the fourth most populous country in the world—received international attention for what the Human Rights Watch calls an LGBTQ “Crisis” (2016). Sparked by high ranking officials publicly declaring homophobic and transphobic sentiments, a wave of intolerance, fear, and hate disseminated throughout the country. Gender and sexual minorities became “fresh meat” for political players—government officials, military leaders, religious figures, and other social agents competed to take a stand against an “impeding” LGBTQ threat. These dialogues catalyzed into action as zealous anti-LGBTQ campaigns staked violence and discrimination against gender and sexual minorities across Indonesia.

The “Crisis of 2016” cannot be …

Harold, They're Lesbians!: Interrogating And Understanding The Histories Of "Lesbians.", Chloe Sheraden

History Presentations

No abstract provided.

Exploiting The Patriarchy: Privilege, Context, And Masculine Accomplishments, Elizabeth Iobst

History Presentations

No abstract provided.

False Advertising: A Look At Crisis Pregnancy Centers, Morgan Gale

Honors Projects

A crisis pregnancy center (CPC) is an anti-abortion organization that “counsels” pregnant individuals while pretending to be pro-choice, often giving out false or misleading medical information and discouraging sex outside of marriage. These centers are usually affiliated with evangelical Christian groups and outnumber actual abortion clinics: it is estimated by pro-life groups that over 2,500 CPCs currently operate across the United States.

This project aims to make the anti-abortion bias of CPCs more visible to BGSU students by presenting research in a format that is easy to read. The project also investigates the practices of Her Choice (The BG Pregnancy …

"La Llorona": Evolución, Ideología Y Uso En El Mundo Hispano, Raquel Sáenz-Llano

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis studies the evolution, ideology and use of the myth of La Llorona through time in the Hispanic World. Considering this myth as one of the most known traditional narratives of the American continent, I begin by providing visual, ethnohistorical and ethnographical insights of weeping in Mesoamerica and South America and the specific mention of a weeping woman in some Spanish chronicles to say how western values were stablished in “the new continent” through this legend. I suggest that during the postcolonialism the legend did not tell anymore about a mother that cries and search a place for their …

Exploring Pronatalism And Assisted Reproduction In Uk Medicine, Alexa Warnes

Journal of International Women's Studies

Globally, procreation is highly valued, and motherhood has long been seen as the normative role for women. Production of a biologically-related family in keeping with social norms is a key driver of the growing demand for assisted reproductive technologies as a ‘cure’ for infertility, which includes the provision of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) within the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).

In this paper I argue that pronatalism – a social bias in favour of biological motherhood – entrenches harmful social norms for women as a group. I will question whether assisted reproductive technologies in the form of IVF bring radical …

Scripting Resistance: Rape And The Avenging Woman In Hindi Cinema, Isha Karki

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article considers how contemporary Hindi cinema engages with traditional cinematic representations of rape and the extent to which it inscribes resistance by rewriting dominant cultural scripts. It analyses Pan Nalin’s Angry Indian Goddesses (2015) and Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Pink (2016) by locating them within the tradition of the avenging woman genre in 1980s Hindi popular cinema. It argues that the historical avenging woman genre was unable to successfully dismantle dominant rape scripts, and that these contemporary films, by subverting the genre, offer alternatives to the problems inherent in the visualisation of rape. It explores issues of eroticisation and spectacle …

‘Red Amazons’? Gendering Violence And Revolution In The Long First World War, 1914-23, Matthew Kovac

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article seeks to position gender theory as critical to making sense of one of the First World War’s largest remaining historical problems: the persistence of mass violence after November 1918. While Robert Gerwarth and John Horne’s pathbreaking work on veteran violence has challenged the standard 1914-18 periodisation of the war, their focus on military defeat and revolution obscures the centrality of gender relations to the continuation of violence after the formal end of hostilities. By putting their work into conversation with that of feminist theorists, I argue that countries which experienced more extreme gender dislocation or ‘gender trouble’ witnessed …

Using Technologies To Commemorate International Day To End Violence Against Sex Workers In The North East Of England, Angelika Strohmayer

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article explores the use of digital technologies at the commemoration of International Day To End Violence Against Sex Workers in the North East of England in 2016 and 2017. Learning from sex work research and Human-Computer Interaction literatures, this feminist exploration of the day provides opportunities for more nuanced and contextualised discussions of digital technologies that are used with, and for sex workers and sex work support services. In the paper, I provide an overview of how this day is commemorated internationally before providing a detailed overview of a hyper-localised day organised by Changing Lives, a charity supporting sex …

Walking Out Of Dualisms: Material Ecofeminism In Olivia Laing’S To The River (2011), Sarah France

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article positions Olivia Laing’s novel To The River (2011) as a feminist alternative to the patriarchally-coded concepts of psychogeography and flânerie, which, I argue, do not allow for female inclusion. By demonstrating how the text displays theories of material ecofeminism, I establish how To The River works to determine commonly accepted ontological binary divisions as, in fact, permeable. That is, instead of rejecting her female connection to the body and to nature, Laing fully embraces it, walking into nature and writing her lived experience. By walking into nature specifically, Laing is able to walk out of phallogocentric urban space, …

Far From The Factory? Investigating How Women Travel To Work In Rural Cote D’Ivoire, Rijak Grover

Journal of International Women's Studies

Sociologists have long argued that spatial mismatch, or costs for workers associated with the distance from home to work, determines the extensive margin of labour supply of urban areas in developed countries (Kain 1968; Wilson, 1987). But what about in rural contexts where labour supply vastly exceeds demand? Using data from fieldwork in Findon, Cote d’Ivoire, this article examines an unexplored aspect of spatial mismatch theory, namely, its application to a rural context in the developing world. Sociological research has suggested the best way to correct spatial mismatch is by either bringing people to jobs or jobs to people. The …

Cartographers Of Disrupted Belonging: Sudanese Mothers Drawing Maps Of Portsmouth (Uk), Charlotte Sanders

Journal of International Women's Studies

Map-making is an everyday practice for Sudanese women in Portsmouth. Arriving to the city within the last twenty-five years, women continue to work hard to reconfigure their sense of place, to reorient themselves in urban space, and to relearn the landmarks of everyday life so as to produce comfortable homes and lives for their families. Through the methodology of ‘mental mapping’, in which women sketch the city from memory, their practices of everyday cartography are revealed. This invests women’s mundane movements in unfamiliar – and frequently hostile – urban spaces with agential power. At the same time, these visual articulations …

"New Writings In Feminist And Women’S Studies Winning And Short-Listed Entries From The 2018 Feminist And Women’S Studies Association’S (Fwsa) Annual Student Essay Competition", Laura Clancy, Irralie Doel

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

#Blackqueerlivesmatter: Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Black Gay Male Leaders In Los Angeles, Christopher Jackson

Education (PhD) Dissertations

The Black community and the gay community have historically experienced marginalization from society, public and private institutions, federal government agencies, and law enforcement. Black gay male leadership is not a conversation within leadership academia. This phenomenological study focuses on understanding the lived experiences and leadership among Black gay men who are leaders in Los Angeles County. This study found that the lived experiences such as oppression, mentorship, community involvement, and advocacy have influenced their leadership development and leadership identity. This study identifies how Black gay men define leadership, based off their lived experiences. It also identifies themes of leadership development …

"The Most Difficult Vote": Post-Roe Abortion Politics In Oregon, 1973-2001, Tanya Trangia Monthey

Dissertations and Theses

The abortion debate in the United States has come to split the contemporary electorate among party lines. Since the late 1970s, the Republican Party has taken a stand against abortion and has worked through various routes of legislation to pass restrictions on access to the procedure. Oregon however, provides a different interpretation of this partisan debate. Though Oregon has seen both Republican and Democratic leadership in all houses of state government and pro-life conservative groups have lobbied to restrict the procedure, no abortion restriction has been passed in the state since the United States Supreme Court invalidated many state abortion …

A 'Feminine Utopia': Mountain Climbing And Women's Rights In Nineteenth Century America [Poster], University Of Northern Iowa. Women's And Gender Studies Program.

Women’s and Gender Studies Program Documents

No abstract provided.