Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Stratifikasi Sosial Warga Binaan Wanita Di Rutan Pondok Bambu, Reni Kartikawati

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

Basically, social stratification does not occur in a total institution like detention. If it does, it only occurs between the officers and the convicts. However, social stratification apparently occurs among female convicts in Rutan Pondok Bambu. Based on that fact, this research tried to discover the real image of social stratification in Rutan Pondok Bambu; the factors that form the social stratification, and the people who form that social stratification. By using qualitative approach, this research showed that social stratification does occur among convicts in Rutan Pondok Bambu, which, at some level, is the same with the stratification found in …

Water Security And Management In Burkina Faso: How Socio-Political And Cultural Complexities Affect Development, Megan M. Godfrey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Burkina Faso is currently ranked as the 175^th poorest country out of 177. In addition to over 50% of the population living in poverty, Burkina Faso is challenged with droughts and lack of adequate water system infrastructure. The agricultural nation is dependent on water to grow and harvest crops, as almost 80% of the farming done in the nation is for sustenance. This paper will address the role culture plays in water systems; how gender relations, and cultural practices influence water management and sanitation systems. In addition, this paper will examine how current systems in place are changing and …

"Nudge A Mexican And She Or He Will Break Out With A Story": Complicating Mexican Immigrant Masculinities Through Counternarrative Storytelling, Berenice Villela

Scripps Senior Theses

In this thesis, I explore Latino masculinities and contest their uniformity through transforming an oral history conducted with my father into a collection of short stories. Following storytelling traditions of Latino/Mexican culture, I converted an oral history interviews with my dad into a collection of short stories. From these short stories I extracted themes relating to the micro and macro manifestations of gender policing. Drawing from Judith Butler's Theory of performativity and Gloria Anzaldua's theory of Borderland identities, I rethink masculinity and offer Jose Esteban Munoz's theory of disidentification. With these theories in conversation, I analyze the themes of the …

Efectos De La Redaccion De Leyes Y Campanas Sobre Violencia De Genero: Cómo La Redacción De Las Leyes Y Las Campañas De La Violencia De Género Afectan A La Comunidad Española - How The Writing Of Laws And Campaigns Against Gender Violence Affect The Spanish Community, Taylor Leen

Spain: Language, Community, and Social Change

The idea for this project came from many influences. Firstly, my deep love for language has been one of the sole motivators for this project. From a very early age, I grew an appreciation for learning other languages. I was always fascinated by words and expressions. Learning how to say something in another language was like learning a secret code for me. My studies of the Spanish language only fomented my passion for learning. Having been abroad for a year, first in Madrid and now in Granada, I have realized the deep connection between language, culture and society. One can …

Lo Personal Es Político: La Lucha Por La Legalización Del Aborto En Chile, A Través De La Organización Feminista, Católicas Por El Derecho A Decidir, Gavin Odabashian

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper investigates the work of a small collective of women—Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir—and the practice of their activism in Valparaíso, Chile. I focus on the ways in which these women are strategically mobilizing as an organization to fight for justice for women in Chile—more specifically, for gender equality, access to reproductive rights, and the legalization of abortion in all cases. I examine the history of the organization, its form and structure, the projects and campaigns they are currently working on, the individual experiences of the women working within the organization, their perspectives on their work, …

Whose Gay Town Is Cape Town? An Examination Of Cape Town’S Gay Village And The Production Of A Queer White Patriarchy., Mollie Beebe

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My ISP works to illuminate the diversity of LGBTQI experiences and lives in Cape Town. I do this through discussing the privilege necessary to "come out" in Cape Town and, subsequently, have access to The Pink Village, Cape Town's gay district. By Bringing in theory on "coming out" as a white experience and the queer movement as re-centering white normativity, I work to openly discuss how a history of exclusion has lived on in Cape Town's gay district and pushed the more marginalized gay communities out of the city center. Through academic research, participant observation in both the gay village …

Creating Dignity Out Of Despair: The Impact Of The 2009 Decriminalization Of Homosexuality In Delhi, Diana Boesch

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was created in 1860 and outlawed “carnal intercourse against the order of nature.” In the following years, even after independence, India used Section 377 to prosecute child sexual abusers. While the law was rarely used to prosecute adult same-sex intercourse, it created widespread homophobia and harassment for LGBT Indians. Finally, in 2001 the Naz Foundation filed a petition against Section 377. On July 2, 2009 the Delhi High Court struck down Section 377 in its application to adult consensual same-sex intercourse. The decision sparked celebration within the LGBT community, a massive media response, …

Taking Action Against Gender-Based Violence: Bringing Men And Women Together In Wentworth Through The Prevention In Action Movement, Silpa Srinivasulu

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project is an exploration with the KwaZulu Natal Network on Violence against Women and its activities and relationship with grassroots-level organizers regarding the Prevention in Action movement in Wentworth to unite men and women in a movement to end gender violence and protect health and safety. Gender-based violence is a particularly tragic health and justice issue in South Africa. While most interventions attempt to raise awareness and empower women to stand up against gender violence, recently organizations have understood the need to engage men in the dialogue, mobilize them to take action, and foster true changes in social norms …

Goals, Challenges, And Successes Of A Girls Development Organization In Kenya : A Case Study Of Moving The Goal Post (Kilifi, Kenya), Madeline Boston

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Girls and Women in Kilifi District, Kenya are some of the world’s poorest and most disadvantaged people. Low retention rates in school, early and unintended pregnancies, and vulnerability to HIV/AIDS trap them in a cycle of intense poverty. Moving the Goalpost (MTG) in Kilifi uses football to empower girls and young women, helping them to fulfill their potential by engaging them in sport and educational development projects. This report analyzes the goals, challenges, and successes of MTG through understanding its organization capacity, and offers recommendations for improvement.

Women In Post Revolutionary Tunisia: Political Inclusion And Prospects For The Future, Courtney Joline

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the world turns it attention to Tunisia as the first state to undergo the democratic transition in the phenomenon known as the Arab Spring, women’s status has been a dominant theme among policy analysts, journalists, and scholars. As people debate their means of mobilization, I sought to document how women see their futures and their opinion of the democratic transition, and most importantly what this holds for women. This piece seeks to give women agency and a forum for them to share their stories, opinions, and perspectives of the future. In a time when so many thinkers are getting …

El Microcrédito Como Herramienta Para Promover La Autonomía Económica Y El Empoderamiento Social En Mujeres De Bajos Recursos En El Conurbano Norte: El Caso De “Mujeres 2000” / Microcredits As A Tool To Promote Economic Autonomy And Social Empowerment In Women With Few Resources In The Northern Metropolitan Area: The Case Of “Mujeres 2000”, Stephanie Allen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In recent years, Argentina has been faced with many economic downfalls, specifically the economic crisis of 2001. These economic hardships led to higher rates of poverty and unemployment throughout the country. The populations most affected but such harsh economic downturns were the already vulnerable; one of which being women. Many women in Argentina and throughout Latin America occupy a lower position in society and often bear most of the burden of poverty and unemployment.

As a response to the isolation of some groups from the formal economic system, the idea of microfinance took shape. Presently in Argentina there exist over …

Study Guide For United In Anger: A History Of Act Up, Matt Brim

Open Educational Resources

The United in Anger Study Guide facilitates classroom and activist engagement with Jim Hubbard’s 2012 documentary, United in Anger: A History of ACT UP. The Study Guide contains discussion sections, projects and exercises, and resources for further research about the activism of the New York chapter of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power). The Study Guide is a free, interactive, multimedia resource for understanding the legacy of ACT UP, the film’s role in preserving that legacy, and its meaning for viewers' lives.

How Porous Are The Walls That Separate Us?: Transformative Service-Learning, Women’S Incarceration, And The Unsettled Self, Coralynn V. Davis, Carol Wayne White

Faculty Journal Articles

In this article, we refine a politics of thinking from the margins by exploring a pedagogical model that advances transformative notions of service learning as social justice teaching. Drawing on a recent course we taught involving both incarcerated women and traditional college students, we contend that when communication among differentiated and stratified parties occurs, one possible result is not just a view of the other but also a transformation of the self and other. More specifically, we suggest that an engaged feminist praxis of teaching incarcerated women together with college students helps illuminate the porous nature of fixed markers that …

Homeless Mothers As Parent Leaders, Dorothy Ann Milligan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Presents a qualitative study examining the general conditions that lead to single mother homelessness and the impact of being homeless on their ability to parent effectively, based on interviews with mothers who are clients of First Place, a Seattle, Washington, social service agency. The purpose of the study is to identify different paths of life stabilizing strategies and parenting of women who have been in touch with the same agency. The research attempts to determine how the mothers achieved stability amid daily stress through examination of how the stories reflect decisions, initiatives, and commitments that helped them reach a level …

Mecanismos De La Participación Política El Movimiento Para Reformar El Sistema De La Licencia Postnatal En Chile, Lucas Hernández

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This essay is intended to accomplish a systematic presentation of the postnatal debate that occurred in Chile from 2009-2011 with a specific focus on the role played by social organizations to organize and mobilize the political participation of the citizenry. The thought of an extension of post-natal leave was born in the 2009 election campaign where all candidates, including the current president Sebastian Piñera, advocated for an extension of this coverage. Sebastian Piñera, the first conservative president since the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, not only promised to make maternity leave longer and more flexible, he also pledged to remove obstacles …

Economic Empowerment And Hiv Prevention Among Young Women And Girls In Kenya: Lessons From The Study Of Economic Empowerment Programs, Samantha Van Putten

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

One of the major issues facing Kenya is HIV/AIDS. With recognition by the global community that providing women with economic opportunities can help both those who are HIV positive, as well as in prevention for those who are not infected, programs combining microfinance and HIV education have started to emerge. While women in these programs 3 3 have shown preliminary signs of success, young girls did not respond as well in part due to lack of interest in the particular programs themselves. As such, this study examines two economic empowerment programs for girls and young mothers at the non-governmental organization …

La Reproducción De Desigualdad De Género En Los Liceos, Rebecca R. Miller

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper looks at how gender norms and thus gender inequality is reproduced in public schools in Valparaiso, Chile. In 2009 a study conducted by the United Nations Development Program found that 62% of Chileans, both male and female, “are opposed to full equality between the sexes” (Estrada 1). While the women’s participation rate in the paid labor fore has risen to 49% it is still behind other countries in Latin America (Estrada 1). While the country currently faces a 7.1% unemployment rate and roughly 11.5% percent live below the poverty line, women have a unemployment rate of 8.6 while …

The Rise Of The Last Woman: An Analysis Of Women’S Independence In 21st Century Rajasthan, Anita C. Foster

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research assembled around women’s accessibility and accountability is most essential when considering possibilities for future development. Understanding that women of any society make grand impacts on their family and surrounding community, women’s stories must be tracked as primary considerations of the development needs and changes of any society. This research focused on 21^st century educated Rajasthani women’s aspirations, challenges and development goals. The study revealed that “the new woman” in the 21^st century is taking a new stance on self-identity and women’s independence. Conditioned with multi-facet complexities, these independent mothers and daughters are claiming their right to literacy …

The Perfect Storm: How Pro-Abortion Activists In The Netherlands Incite Social Change From International Waters, Julia Ellis‐Kahana

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project is a sociological ethnography of the Women on Waves foundation, founded in 1999 by Dr. Rebecca Gomperts. As an international non-profit organization, they employ a direct action method: sailing to countries where abortion is illegal and providing safe abortion access. Local women board the ship that then travels 12 miles to international waters, where Dutch law applies, and the abortion pill can be administered legally. Using a feminist perspective, I interviewed five of the women at the organization in addition to the ship’s captain in order to understand the ideological beliefs about the reproductive rights that have inspired …

Puerto Disperso: La Existencia O No De La Comunidad Y El Espacio No-Heteronormativa En Valparaíso, Chile, Rebecca Raymond-Kolker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The social and political reality of contemporary Chile continues to be characterized by hegemonic social conservatism and restrictive and often violent government. Within this context, studies of sexuality and deviations from normative sexuality in Chile have historically focused on certain identity groups—namely gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual/gender populations—in relation to this conservative context. Previous work on specifically lesbian and gay individuals focus on the relationship between identity formation and social realities. Gay and lesbian studies in Chile are often based in Santiago; as the capital and the largest metropolitan area, the 15th Region is the site of the most GLBT …

Moms Behind Bars: Motherhood In Eshowe Correctional Center, Indiana Gowland

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Motherhood represents a integral part of human life. In South Africa particularly, mothers are primarily responsible for caring for their families, often with little or no help from a male partner. But what happens to the notion of motherhood when women find themselves separated from their children or raising children in a restrictive and harsh environment? This study looks at the construction of motherhood within Eshowe Correctional Facility for Women. I conducted research as an attachment to Phoenix Zululand, an organization that provides rehabilitation services to inmates in the prisons of Zululand. For two weeks, I lead Phoenix's program “Starting …

Differentiating The Vulnerability Of Kothis And Hijras To Hiv/Aids: A Case Study Of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Poonam Daryani

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The present study aims to begin the process of differentiation between the various subpopulations that fall under the agenda of interventions targeted at Males who have Sex with Males (MSM). This separation is accomplished though an investigation of the sociocultural factors and behavioral patterns impacting the vulnerability of MSM and transgender (TG) 5 communities to HIV/AIDS. Specifically, the situation of kothi and hijra populations are compared in order to understand how the differences in their cultural practices and lifestyles create unique sexual health needs. The study was completed in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh under the guidance of Bharosa Trust and MAAN …

Reconstructing The Farm: Life Stories Of Dutch Female Farmers, Marisa Turesky

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My research asks: what are the lived experiences of female farmers within the hegemonic construction of the Dutch farmer and how have their roles shifted through time? Popular culture has implanted stereotypes that most female farmers are uneducated, low-class individuals but the six women whom I interviewed present life stories that complicate this. How did these women come into their roles as farmers? Once they became such entrepreneurs, what were their challenges in a potentially male-dominated profession? While there has been extensive research on rural women’s historical roles in farming, I analyze the personal experiences of a small sample of …

“El Tema No Existe”: La Salud Sexual Lésbica En Valparaíso, Chile, Isabel Osgood-Roach

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This independent study project investigates the status of lesbian health care in Valparaíso, Chile. Over the course of three weeks, I conducted interviews with six women who engage in non-heterosexual intimate relationships. These individuals identify on a spectrum of sexual orientation that includes lesbian, bisexual and hetero-dissident. I also participated in a political demonstration organized by Acción Gay supporting a proposed Anti-Discrimination law. Finally, I attended a meeting of the recently formed lesbian health group Colectivo Ropa Tendida to gain insight into an organization working towards visibilizing lesbian realities. To contextualize my investigation, I worked with theories regarding essentialist and …

Women’S Organizations In Tunisia: Transforming Feminist Discourse In A Transitioning State, Caitlin Mulrine

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

On October 23^rd, Tunisians voted in their first democratic election in the state’s history with much at stake after overthrowing the 23 year reigning dictator. As the era of Ben-Ali politics and social policy unraveled, Tunisians began to develop their own sophisticated political discourse as they collaborated to decide the direction of their state. Within this discourse, there emerged a sharp divide within the population, masked by Ben-Ali’s suppressive politics, over the issue of religion. Islamists, organized under Al-Nahda and other independent parties, stood in opposition to secularists who aimed to maintain a separation between religion and state. …