Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Teaching Equality: An Analysis Of The Treatment Of Gender In A Popular High School, Hana Hartman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The system of popular education in Argentina consists of community based- schools affiliated with social movements that seek to subvert the power structures that dominate the state-run education in order to promote a new generation of activists. Although the schools receive government funding, they exist more or less outside the regular educational system, which gives them a unique opportunity to form their own community norms in order to create an educational environment that reflects their leftist ideals. The present work seeks to explore the definitions of respect and equality between the genders within the community of the school “Vientos del …

There Are No Fat People In The Netherlands: Embodied Identities, Hypervisibility, And The Contextual Relevancy Of Fatness, Jean Ochterski

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research is the product of a month long exploratory study on fatness in the Netherlands and how it intersects with other marginalized identities, including race, class, and queerness. The primary question it answers is the ways in which hypervisibility of fat bodies interplays with the silences surrounding size as an axis of identity. The research removes fatness from solely conversations in the public health field and re-situates it in a feminist, academic framework. Data was obtained through oral history interviews with seven self identified fat people currently living the Netherlands. The results show that childhood, dieting practices, standards of …

Living Openly: 2 Narratives Of Black And White Lesbians Living In Cape Town, Rebecca Gant

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

After apartheid, South Africa created an amazingly progressive Constitution that was one of the first in the world to include gay rights. The passing of a law legalizing same-sex marriage, as well as the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act work to create a world of equality and acceptance of homosexuality, at least on paper. Unfortunately, a far different reality exists, as the failed implementation of these provisions has created a large dichotomy between Constitution and public opinion, with many individuals remaining unsupportive of gay rights. My project originally sought to explore the effects of this discrepancy …

“The Gift Of Gab”: An Investigation Of Self Help Groups As Sources Of Women’S Empowerment In Udaipur, Rajasthan, Leigh Thomas

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

India as a rising global superpower continues to be plagued by rampant poverty and gender inequality that has left it ranked 136th on the UNDP’s Human Development Index (UNDP). In its attempts to counter these trends, an assortment of development schemes have historically been employed to varying degrees of success. Recently, the grassroots model of the Self Help Group (SHG) has been widely adopted by government programs and NGOs alike as a community-based development model that can be especially utilized to address the status of women. SHGs are broadly defined as small informal associations formed so members can gain economic …

Public Perceptions On Family Planning And Birth Spacing In The Cultural And Religious Context Of Senegal: A Case Study In Dakar, Senegal, Heidi Kahle

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Much prior research has examined the prevalence rates of family planning and contraceptive use in Senegal, as well as the importance of family planning for reducing maternal and infant mortality, improving the well being of families, and improving the national economy. Few studies, though, have captured the perspectives of Senegalese persons and their attitudes and beliefs toward family planning, rumors and stigmas that surround it, and how different actors can work together to dispel rumors and encourage the use of family planning. I conducted my research in Dakar, Senegal, where I interviewed a variety of persons – two gynecologists, a …

Una Lucha Contra La Corriente: Análisis De La Ley 779 Ley Integral Contra La Violencia Hacia Las Mujeres En Nicaragua, Christina Brown

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En ese mundo existe muchísima violencia contra las mujeres, y a veces tenemos la tendencia de tratar ese dato como un tabú, como algo de lo cual no podemos hablar en público. Sin embargo, el hecho es que en cualquier sociedad necesitamos tener conversaciones más difíciles de este tipo para encontrar la manera de prevenir la violencia y abordarla. Al lado de esa violencia existe también una grandísima lucha en que las mujeres de todas las edades, clases, y todas partes del mundo están uniéndose para defender su derecho de vivir sin violencia. En Nicaragua esa lucha se había logrado …

La Feminización De La Especialidad De Pediatría En La Ciudad De Buenos Aires, Argentina / The Feminization Of The Specialty Of Pediatrics In The City Of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jessica Wilder

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: In the context of feminization of pediatrics that is occurring rapidly worldwide, this investigation seeks to determine the underlying causes of the phenomenon in Argentina. It focuses on the field of pediatrics because pediatrics is one of the most feminized medical specialties. Through this narrowed focus, the investigation intends to suggest causes for the feminization occurring in all of medicine. It studies the pediatricians of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires in order to illuminate the social, logistical, and personal motivations that attracted them to pediatrics. It is very important to discover these motivations and causes because they reflect …

How Far Would You Go With Him?: Interethnic Romantic And Sexual Encounters And Relations Among Men In The Dutch Context, Dillon C. Harvey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This report seeks to explore the experiences and complications men face romantically and sexually when ethnicity and race are used as focus lenses to reflect upon the participants' past interpersonal interactions. The interviews and analyses within this article reflect the ways in which Dutch ethnic/racial norms and stereotypes shape attraction and desire, and how men who pursue other men romantically and/or sexually negotiate with said external constructions of identity. Research in this paper provides the reader with insight into race relations on an intimate level through the participants' personal narratives, revealing the complexity of Dutch race relations on the most …

Fros, Weaves, And Kinks: The Social And Political Significance Of Hair For Black And Coloured Women In Cape Town, Carol Antunez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project seeks to explore and understand hair performance by black and coloured females in Cape Town and understand 1) its possible political significance and 2) its social role. This ISP will attempt to explore the construction of hair as a symbol of class and beauty by looking at its historical significance. In this paper, I will investigate how young women in Cape Town, specifically black and coloured women, choose to represent themselves through hair and explore the connotations attached to their particular hairstyle choice. Furthermore, in this paper I will try to answer the following questions 1) Do black …

La Opinión Pública Sobre El Aborto En Chile: Conceptos Públicos De Moralidad Y De Derechos De Las Mujeres En Relación Con Aborto, Sarah Smith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: Abortion legislation in Chile is among the most restrictive in the world, with abortion being illegal without exception. However, while abortion remains completely illegal in Chile, there are an estimated 125,000-175,000 clandestine abortions being carried out each year. Illegal abortions account for about 30% of maternal deaths in Chile. It is important to understand public opinions on abortion in order to understand this discrepancy between legislation and reality.

Research Objectives:What is the public opinion of Chileans on the legal and moral status of abortion in Chile? Do Chileans relate the topic of abortion to the theme of women’s …

Elle Doit S’Épanouir: The Women’S Entrepreneurial Program And Women’S Empowerment In Dschang, Melanie Meisenheimer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper provides a field study of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Program (WEP) in Dschang, Cameroon. It looks at the obstacles that impede women’s involvement in Cameroon’s economic development and that keep them trapped in a cycle of poverty, especially their access to financing and socio-cultural influences. Notions of ‘women’s empowerment’ are discussed and an overview of the WEP’s functions and goals is provided. This study seeks to explore how access to micro-finance in conjunction with entrepreneurial training has impacted the economic situation of WEP participants as well as any corresponding changes in their culturally dictated roles and responsibilities. The gendering …

“Queering The Rainbow Nation”: An Analysis Of 11 Gay And Lesbian Capetonians’ Perceptions Of Lgbt Identity In Cape Town And The South African Government’S Commitment To Lgbt Equality, Ryan Sasse

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The South African government has made vast strides in the fight for LGBT equality, strides that are unparalleled by any other nation on the African continent. Unfortunately, the lack of hate crime legislation within the country—as well as the government’s unwillingness to address the nation’s resulting violence—often overshadows the accomplishments that have been made over the last few years. Keeping in mind that “[f]eminist research goals foster empowerment and emancipation for women and other marginalized groups, and feminist researchers often apply their findings in the service of promoting social justice for women,” we can see how the LGBT community is …

Fractioned, Fissured, And Framed: Considering Public Versus Private Constructions Of Muslim Women’S Identities In Indian Partition Literature, Mccaulay Singer-Milnes

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This Independent Study Project examines the depiction of Muslim women in Indian Partition literature as a means of understanding the relationship between public and private identity. It analyzes the manners in which female Muslim characters respond to and negotiate modes of categorical identification, namely religion, surrounding Partition. Furthermore, this study juxtaposes these generalized accounts present in literature with individual responses from interviews with Muslim women living in New Delhi today. The women spoke regarding their conceptions of Islam and the manner in which they incorporate faith into their overall negotiation of private identity. The project finds that Partition, one of …

Effective And Sustainable Programs Of Change: A Case Study Of Gulu Women’S Economic Development And Globalization (Gwed-G), Kristen Hochreiter

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research explores the concepts of effectiveness and sustainability in the non-governmental organization (NGO) development sector by looking at two of the youth empowerment programs in the case study organization, Gulu Women’s Economic Development and Globalization (GWED-G). GWED-G is a women’s’ rights organization that works in the Amuru, Nwoya, and Gulu districts of northern Uganda and implements various different programs all with vulnerable individuals. The reason that this organization has chosen to work with empowering youth is due to the dismal conditions that these youths faced during their upbringings, which occurred during the 20-year-long conflict that affected much of the …

Femininity, Dependency, And Patriarchy: The Marginalization Of Women With Japanese Encephalitis And Neurological Sequelae In The Northern Terai Region Of Uttar Pradesh, Katherine Ehrenreich

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The present study seeks to determine how girls and women who have suffered from neurological sequelae after a Japanese encephalitis (JE) infection are marginalized in the Northern Terai region of Uttar Pradesh, India. Societal and familial values were studied in comparison to behaviors towards a neurologically disabled girl after a JE infection in order to determine how women infected with JE are excluded from cultural practices and norms. The 4 study was conducted in the Northern Terai region of Uttar Pradesh in the districts of Bahraich and Shrawasti under the guidance of DEHAT and Dr. Jitendra Chaturvedi. Semi-structured interviewing was …

El Peso Profundo De 9 Millones De Toneladas: Un Análisis De Los Efectos Del Modelo Sojero Paraguayo En Las Vidas De Mujeres Campesinas = The Heavy Weight Of 9 Million Tons: An Analysis Of The Effects Of The Paraguayan Soy Model On The Lives Of Rural Women, Abigayle Dolmseth

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

A partir de los años 50, Paraguay ha tenido como objetivo una forma de desarrollo basada en la exportación de productos agropecuarios. Históricamente, Paraguay ha estado asociado a la imagen de un país “eminentemente agropecuario,” cuyos cultivos principales han variado con la demanda del mercado externo. En los años más recientes, la producción del monocultivo de soja ha llegado a dominar este modelo “agroexportador,” lo que ha causado y continúa causando, junto con el advenimiento de las políticas neoliberales de los años 90, gran cantidad de problemas climáticos y políticos dentro de las comunidades campesinas. Pero los problemas del modelo …

Mujeres Mozonteñas: Liderazgo, Tierra E Identidad En El Pueblo Indígena De Mozonte, Nueva Segovia, Karla Jiménez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

La desigualdad entre mujeres y hombres es algo contra lo que los movimientos sociales luchan a nivel mundial. En Nicaragua, el machismo es un aspecto que aparenta estar arraigado en la cultura. Sin embargo, algunas mujeres han logrado crear espacios de participación, donde sus derechos e intereses son tomados en cuenta y respetados dentro de una sociedad patriarcal. ¿Cómo se estudia la desigualdad que han tenido las mujeres, junto con la desigualdad que han tenido las personas indígenas, al trabajar con mujeres indígenas? Hay una complejidad que existe al trabajar dentro de un Pueblo Indígena, ya que tienen dos gobiernos …

What Happens After Chelibeti Bechbikhan: A Study Of The Reintegration And Rehabilitation Process For Women Who Have Been Trafficked Or Sexually Exploited In Nepal, Mary Mackenna Bowles

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

When it comes to the trafficking of women, I have read many articles about the tragic stories of the trafficked. The sad turn around from returning home to returning to the brothels. The obvious next addition to this literature is how do we prevent it. Again, I have read countless articles addressing just this. What I have read much less on and what is often skipped over is the reintegration and rehabilitation process for the women who are “saved” and returned to their community. In my research, I look at the challenges that survivors face upon returning to their community. …

Preserving Tradition: Analyzing The Commoditization Of Cultural Identity Through Beauty Pageants Among Ethnic Minority Groups In Kathmandu, Martha Oster-Beal

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research primarily focuses on the “cultural talent contests” enrolling contestants who are members of the numerous minority ethnic groups residing in Kathmandu. In a growing metropolis, these beauty queens are often seen as symbolic representations of collective cultural identities, and the pageants as fields of active ‘cultural production’. This author surveys the growing literature on beauty pageants and several opinions of organizers, community members and the contestants themselves to better understand how culture is produced within the contexts of pageants. The study examines how beauty pageants operate as locations of commodification and consumption in a world increasingly influenced by …

Bhikshunis And Breaking Barriers: The Changing Status Of Women In Monastic Life, Mckenna Leclear

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My research focuses on the recent changes in ideology and policy that have taken place in regards to the status of Tibetan Buddhist nuns and their monastic lives. I chose to focus on the nuns at Dolma Ling nunnery in Dharamsala, India who will be sitting for their geshema degree examinations in a few weeks time. These women are among the first nuns to be taking this examination because it was, until very recently, open only to Buddhist monks. This revolutionary change was accomplished in part by the efforts of the leaders of the Tibetan Nuns Project, who have also …

Economic Empowerment And Gender-Based Violence: A Practicum Study Of Action Against Hunger In Post-Conflict Northern Uganda, Laura Simmons-Stern

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project is an exploration with Action Against Hunger (ACF) on gender-based violence and economic empowerment of women in northern Uganda. The two-decade long civil war in northern Uganda has dramatically affected the lives and livelihoods of the population, creating the situation of a basic need for livelihood enhancement. The program that is analyzed utilizes cash transfers for the most vulnerable populations in thirteen sub-counties in the region in order to address the issues of both gender-based violence and lack of reliable economic production. This project realizes the realities of the relationship between gender-based violence and livelihood enhancement and aims …

“For All The Women You Are”: National Identity, Gender, And Tradition/Modernity In Indian Women’S Magazines, Dana Mclachlin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As a remarkably diverse nation of various ethnic, religious, and language groups, “Indian” identity is tenuous and ever-shifting, informed by both India’s colonial past and rapidly changing, ‘globalizing’ present. Economic liberalization within India has created vast economic changes in a relatively short period of time, sparking rapid cultural and social transformations. These changes are especially noticeable within the media, as the idea and figure of the “New Indian Women” was born from the transformations liberalization and globalization brought. This gendered construction serves to manage the conflict between modernity and tradition within post-colonial nationalisms, as the figure of the modern women …

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 …

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 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 …

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 …

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 …