Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

“‘And Númenor Went Down Into The Sea’: Tolkien, Beowulf, And The Masochistic Jouissance Of Westernesse”, Christopher Vaccaro

Journal of Tolkien Research

In Tolkien, Enchantment and Loss, John Rosegrant avers that Tolkien wrote of the downfall and destruction of Númenor in order to release a personal emotional complex (John Rosegrant, Tolkien, Enchantment, and Loss, 118-20). In this essay, I examine in greater detail the emotional power of this story and relate it to the psychological notion of primary masochism (Freud, Deleuze, Bersani) and the pleasures connected to the dissolution of the self. The Beowulf poem renders conspicuous the dependency of heroic Anglo-Saxon male subjectivity on experiences of masochistic desire and the Death Drive, the desire to be unburdened of great …

Illegal, Unreported And Unregulated (Iuu) Fishing As Pathways To Human Trafficking: Navigating The Trafficked State Of Migrant Filipino Fishermen In J.W. Henley’S Migrante, Mary Harmony I. Guevarra

Akda: The Asian Journal of Literature, Culture, Performance

This study focuses on how J.W. Henley’s Migrante (2020) illustrates the synchroneity of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing to the human trafficking dynamics at sea, in which the maturation and onset of its male protagonist’s psychological and physiological damages confirm his trafficked state. This paper offers further scrutiny on the gendered footing of human trafficking and opens a reframing of its discourse. Migrante tells the painful story of Rizal, who finds employment in a fishing vessel on the shores of Su’ao, Taiwan; as his crew go about their routine at sea which is interspersed with illegal trades in the …

Practicing Feminist Disability Pedagogy: Building Interdependence Through A Classroom Participation Menu, Kristen L. Cole

Feminist Pedagogy

Following the lead of Parsloe & Smith (2022), this article explains and advocates possible modes of participation that consider the disabled, chronically ill, and systemically vulnerable students and faculty who are fighting to succeed in higher education. The way participation is measured in college classes is often ableist in nature; thus, it is important to unpack the ableist assumptions that undergird how we arrange and assess participation. Utilizing Knoll’s (2009) explication of interdependency as a practice of feminist disability pedagogy, this article offers a semester long activity called a participation menu, which provides a framework for distributing the responsibility of …

Aging, Empathy, And Cinematic Metamorphosis: Through The Lens Of Agnès Varda, Nam Lee

Film and Media Arts Faculty Articles and Research

This video essay examines Agnès Varda’s intricate portrayal of aging, resonating with Simone de Beauvoir’s call to break the silence on this subject. Composed exclusively of Varda’s film clips, it highlights her enduring engagement with aging and invites viewers to see it as a space of freedom and creative expression.

“And Each Day After They Did Likewise.” Looking At Life Together As The Fulcrum Of Éowyn’S And Faramir’S Love Story, Christian S. Trenk

Journal of Tolkien Research

The love story between Éowyn and Faramir in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is sometimes misunderstood as a patriarchal submission of the Rohirric shieldmaiden. This paper contradicts such interpretations, exploring instead how Tolkien subtly constructs their love as a liberating experience for Éowyn. In the looks they cast separately, at each other, as well as together, Éowyn's inner healing is expressed, enabling the love to Faramir, and both their eventual wholeness.

Female Fandom In The Digital Era: ‘Alternative Universe’ For Promoting Thai Boys Love Drama, Monika Sri Yuliarti

JURNAL KOMUNIKASI INDONESIA

Digital era has changed human’s life, including in the practice of fandom. It results in a much broader dissemination of fans-related products produced by the fans, such as alternative universe (AU) as part of fan fiction. In addition, nowadays, Thailand popular culture is rising, especially with the boys’ love drama series (Thai BL drama) which caught foreign viewers’ interest, including Indonesians. This study explores how AU can be considered as a tool for promoting Thai BL drama which goes to fandom actively involvement in the promotion of a foreign country's cultural product with taboo value. It is a qualitative content …

The Lumbee Tribe And Mmiwg2s: How A Crisis Hides Behind Unreported Data, Daniel Oxendine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S) crisis has existed since European settlers first came to the continent and has the potential to affect all Indigenous communities in the United States (Schilling 2018). Despite what federal data shows, I argue that the MMIWG2S crisis affects the Lumbee Tribe based on conversations on MMIWG2S that are coming from the Lumbee community. The primary objective of this thesis research project has been to conduct exploratory research through a case study to understand how the MMIWG2S crisis affects the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. I use the critical lenses of …

Carceral Liberalism: Feminist Voices Against State Violence, Andrea Michaels

Feminist Pedagogy

The following book review of Shreerekha Pillai’s Carceral Liberalism: Feminist Voices against State Violence (2023) is an expansive and timely collection of essays on the carceral state in its implications for feminist educators. This review focuses on the connections and connectivity of two essays in the collection that attempt to address a minor examination of the person as political.

Peeking Into Closets: A Review Of Danielle Bobker's The Closet: The Eighteenth-Century Architecture Of Intimacy, Karenza Sutton-Bennett

Criticism

A Review of Danielle Bobker's The Closet: The Eighteenth-Century Architecture of Intimacy

Without Knowing What Comes Next: A Review Of Jack Halberstam's 'Wild Things: The Disorder Of Desire', Alexandra Chiasson

Criticism

A review of Jack Halberstam's Wild Things: The Disorder of Desire

Lg-Ms 143 Judith Tator Papers, Zephyros Quinn Craven

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Judith Tator was involved with a group called Sappho's Sisters in Maine. Sappho's Sisters appears to have operated in Maine

from at least 1989 to 2006. Papers include Sappho's Sisters t- shirt, photo transparencies of historical figures, a newsletter

with correspondences and memorials, an event flier, group photos, poems, a play script, song lyrics, group games such as "LESBO" bingo, and drawings.

Animating Feminism, Angella Burgess

Postgraduate

Animation mirrors society, reflecting its values, beliefs and challenges, becoming a tool to enable cultural improvement by recognising diversity and critiquing socio-political issues. Inspired by traditional Eastern European animation, renowned for its surrealism and socio-political narratives, this research aims to expand the medium’s potential. Directors like Jan Svankmajer and Jiri Trnka created masterpieces based on folklore, mythology and political commentary. This research aims to intertwine and shape animated works' content and context by honouring this tradition.

The research explores the multifaceted role of contemporary animation, which embeds Eastern European stylistic techniques to disrupt popular story structures and shape social discourse. …

Trabajo De Auto Y Trans-Ficción En La Narrativa Chilena Reciente: Abordajes Y Tramitaciones Del Yo(T) En Iván Monalisa Ojeda Y Ariel Florencia Richards, Fernando A. Blanco

Other Faculty Research and Publications

This article explores two literary texts written by two Chilean trans or non-binary individuals in which the processes of constructing and subjectivizing the Self are framed by their material and symbolic conditions of existence, differentiated by class, the type of work (labor) performed, and the political and aesthetic expectations of their own writing project. In the case of Monalisa Ojeda, the autofiction narrative (journal) responds to the reality of travesti/trans migrant, sex-working communities in 1990s NYC, while in the case of Ariel Florencia Richards, the novel explores the complex relationships between an upper middle class mother and her trans daughter …

Anti-Transgender Care Bans: The Weaponization Of Disinformation And The Political Ploy To Erase Transgender Youth, Gretchen Delight Larmer

2024 Symposium

Since 2021, the United States has seen the introduction of over 1,000 bills targeting transgender rights and 2024 alone, has seen 133 bills introduced that aim to deny healthcare for transgender individuals. Such bills often prevent access to necessary healthcare, particularly gender-affirming care (GAC) for transgender youth. GAC for transgender youth can include care for mental wellness and puberty blockers which temporarily pause the puberty process. Legislators aim to deny transgender youth access to GAC by criminalizing any support given to youth accessing GAC as well as the medical or psychiatric provision of such care. GAC has been negatively and …

The Ecofeminist And Gaian Spirituality: Subverting The Patriarchal Discourse In Doris Lessing’S Selected Novels, Shereen Mohamed Safwat

Computer Science

Doris May Lessing (1919-2013) lived most her life on the veld of South Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and came back to London in 1949. Her multicultural upbringing allowed her to gain a special connection with nature via her intuitive instinct. This article sheds light on three novels by Lessing namely, The Golden Notebook (1962), The Four-Gated City (1969) and The Memoirs of a Survivor (1974) that are to be tackled within the theoretical frame of ecofeminist and Gaian spirituality. This paper dives into the depth of the Gaian and ecofeminist spiritual realm in the selected novels. It explores the alternative path …

Men And Women In Uniform: Insiders’ Perspectives On Women’S Leadership Status In Tanzania People’S Defence Force, Martin Mujuni, Edwin Babeiya,

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This paper examines the leadership status of women in the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF). It was guided by three specific objectives: to understand the position of women’s leadership role; identify the challenges constraining women from holding leadership positions; and to examine the measures being taken to enable women hold leadership positions in the TPDF. It collected opinions from the research participants serving—or who served—in the military regarding the position of women as leaders. The study leading to the paper employed a qualitative research approach to collect data from 22 purposively selected respondents. The study found that women hold low …

Miss Americana: Taylor Swift As A Battleground For Feminist Discourse, Juliet Eklund

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

The United States finds itself at a historical moment in which feminism is perhaps more polarizing than ever before. On the one hand, it is no longer taboo to identify as feminist; in fact, men and women alike are embracing feminist perspectives. A recent Pew Research survey found that 61% of American women identified as feminists, with this proportion even higher among Democrats and those who had received higher education (Barroso, 2020). At the same time, women are faced with more opportunities and fewer barriers to achieving success than ever before. Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the 2020 election …

Saint Brigit And Her Habits: Exploring Queerness In Early Medieval Ireland, Jacqueline K. Stephenson

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Saint Brigit's behavior and reception by society highlight an avenue by which women in the early medieval period could escape societal strictures, exercising agency over their bodies and their romantic choices, and carve out a distinct and unexpected place for themselves in a Christian patriarchal society. In Saint Brigit’s case, this is especially demonstrated by the breadth of her portrayed power as not just a nun but a saint, her extreme resistance to marriage, and her frequent comparisons to men. Indeed, her hagiography, written by Cogitosus in the seventh century, positioned her as one of the three principal and earliest …

A Call To Examine Queer Instructors’ Identity Disclosures In The Classroom, Mac Clark

Feminist Pedagogy

Despite the academy and students’ attitudes progressing towards queer instructors (Boren & McPherson, 2018), there is limited scholarship regarding the disclosure of queer identities in the classroom. In ignoring issues of queer disclosure, the communication discipline fails to challenge heteronormative assumptions of instructor identity. My Critical Commentary asks feminist scholars to go beyond traditional conceptions of instructor identities to combat this marginalization. I assert researchers should prioritize deconstructing heteronormativity, apply queer theory, and revisit notions of the classroom closet in their scholarship. By doing so, I argue communication scholars will equip institutions to better support queer faculty and students alike.

A Journey To A Black Woman’S (Read Black Girl’S) Joy And Her Story Of Coming Home, Brittany Lauren Brock

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This is an auto/ethnography about the self-actualizing journey of reclaiming storytelling as my native tongue and my journey to joy. Throughout, using my story and the stories of so many others, I not only lay out the wounds (the pain, the loss, then the hope that comes) within the academy and outside in the world but I also use storytelling as a tool of healing—my tool of healing—to show how I wrote myself free.

When Black women (read Black girls) go through The Reckoning (the moment we realize something isn’t right with how we are perceived by others) …

Building The Body, Jasmine Flowers

Masters Theses

Bodies and space co-produce each other and the process of co-production originates racializing and gendering work.

The concept, thesis, and subsequent design are informed by the historical context around the House for Josephine Baker by Adolf Loos. Presented here is the culmination of research which grounds itself in the relationship between Primitivism and Modernism, theory on the body and flesh, architectural graphic standards, spectacle, gaze, surveillance, hypervisibility, invisibility, implications of privacy versus publicity, expressions of Blackness and its place in femmehood (a neologism that expands “womanhood” to be trans-inclusive), all of which directly engage in co-production.

This co-production changes how …

Utilizing Existing Postfeminist Framework To Explore A Sexualized Media Test Case: “Man Needs A Woman” By Maty Noyes, Nicole Doris

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Postfeminism is simply referred to as the most recent wave of feminism, but feminist scholars have failed to reach a standardized definition that recognizes the nuances of sexuality, media, and culture present within the field. This paper utilizes the postfeminist framework of two prominent feminist scholars: Rosalind Gill and Feona Attwood. Specifically, this paper draws from Gill’s interpretation of postfeminism and Attwood’s interpretation of the sexualization of culture and the overlap between the two theories. Rather than attempt to offer a concrete definition in such a rapidly evolving field, this paper offers a music video from a lesser-known pop artist, …

Medieval German Christian Women’S Religious Experience, Elliot Knell

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

In the medieval period, both professed women and laywomen were deeply involved in manuscript production, and the use of books was often a vital part of their religious practices. In order to fully understand the value that manuscripts held for medieval women it is important to understand the medical and philosophical understandings of sex that permeated medieval society in order to better understand gendered experiences within Christian spaces. Additionally, examining how vision was understood as both a physical and spiritual process allows for a deeper understanding of how visual art is used in religious contexts. In the medieval period, understandings …

“Kenough”: What Greta Gerwig’S Barbie Film Has To Teach Us About Social And Distributive Justice Related To Masculinity And Positive Masculine Qualities, B.D. White

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Beyond Barbie’s feminist messages, the academy award winning film gently nudges the viewer to consider “male fragility,” prompting a deeper exploration of male role norms (MRNs) and masculine expression among cisgendered, American men. Conforming to these norms is linked to societal issues such as higher rape myth acceptance, homophobia, transphobia, and gender role strain. This analysis underscores the necessity of challenging traditional male norms for a more just society. This paper redefines MRNs, arguing that they are not a blueprint for healthy masculinity but a distortion rooted in a culture that restricts men's experiences. Norms are scrutinized, offering definitions, social …

A Trauma-Informed Socially Just Approach To Working With Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth Utilizing Expressive Arts Therapy, Ciara Carr

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Youth involved with the juvenile justice system often have a history of trauma and oppression resulting from their positionality and circumstances. Most juvenile justice-involved youth are boys, youth of color, low-income, LGBTQIA2S+, disabled, and traumatized. This literature review explores the history of the juvenile justice system, issues with the present-day model, and trauma-informed and transformative justice approaches to practice. The implementation of socially just, trauma-informed expressive arts therapy programs is proposed as a more equitable practice to replace commonly used punitive practices across the United States. More research is needed to understand the impact of such programs on this population …

Perreando To New Lyrics: Integrating Feminist Reggaeton In Expressive Art Therapy A Literature Review | Perreando A Nueva Lírica: Una Revisión Literaria Sobre Integrar El Reggaetón Feminista A Las Terapias Con Artes Expresivas, Marilina Arsuaga

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper presents how feminist reggaeton can be used as a creative tool for women's empowerment. The literature review explores the work that has been done with feminism in expressive arts therapies, defines what feminist reggaeton is, and presents different considerations to incorporate the musical genre into a therapeutic intervention. Among these considerations, there is the social stigma that is held about the musical genre and female gender; the community-based work; the importance of cultural identity centered on the Latinx, more specifically Puerto Rican; and recognition of the LGBTQ+ community in the creative spaces. To navigate these issues, the author …

Silent, Or Silenced: Repression Of The Middle Eastern Subaltern, Amanda Arodes

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This paper employs subaltern theory to examine the socio-political landscapes of Palestine and Syria within postcolonial discourse. Drawing from the works of scholars like Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Ranajit Guha, and Juan R. Cole, this study uncovers the silenced narratives and marginalized perspectives of the Palestinian and Syrian people. Through a critical analysis of historical, cultural, and political dimensions, the basis of this research explores how subaltern groups in Palestine and Syria navigate structures of power, resistance, and identity formation. The experiences of various subaltern groups, including refugees, women, and ethnic minorities whose voices often remain obscured within dominant discourses are …

Gender And Social Media: Delving Into Young Adults’ Daily Participation On Facebook, Masa Tantawy

Culture, Society, and Praxis

With the prevalence of social networking platforms, it is crucial to study the role that gender plays in its use, for gender, which is continuously shaped by society, plays a critical role in our identities and daily lives. This paper explores how the social construction of gender affects and is affected by social media through discussing the usage of Facebook by young adults, especially Middle Eastern cisgender males and females, and women’s limited freedom on this social networking site in the Arab countries. It is argued that despite individuals having some freedom online compared to offline, their choices, specifically that …

"Because They Recognized Us": Triangulated Perspectives Of Syrian Mothers' Resettlement Experiences In The Eastern United States., Kayte Thomas

Journal of Applied Disciplines

Research indicates that post-resettlement experiences can be particularly challenging for people with refugee status. Despite finding safety in and adjusting to their new home, former refugees have indicated that this time can be stressful and even traumatic. The current Syrian crisis has created the largest wave of refugees ever known, and Syrian women are amongst the most vulnerable. However, women’s needs and preferences are often not taken into consideration during the resettlement journey and when they are, there is no distinction between mothers and their childless counterparts. As social workers strive to empower the individual person within their environment, it …

Eng 155: Introduction To Literary Studies, Joseph Donica

Open Educational Resources

An OER syllabus covering the ways humans have read and continue to read literature from a variety of critical and theoretical perspectives. An emphasis is placed on the application of critical thought to writing expository essays and responding to readings.