Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Gaslight, Gateway, Girlboss: The Empowering Possibilities Of Bimbo Feminism, Nicole Raine Foster

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a new trend arose from the social media platform TikTok called Bimbo Feminism. Bimbo Feminism is marked by an authentic embrace of femininity and the democratization of knowledge through generational slang. Through the explanation and analysis of Bimbo Feminism’s three spearheads, Chrissy Chlapecka, Nikita Redkar, and Scene Queen, this thesis defines Bimbo Feminism and explains its possibilities as a gateway feminism. Through its position on TikTok, Bimbo Feminism is able to bring new people into the world of activism. However, Bimbo Feminism must address its internal issues before it can be used as a catalyst for …

The Shame Of (Be)Longing In Jamaica Kincaid's Lucy, Grace S. Miholic

All Theses

This thesis examines the role of shame in Kincaid's Lucy. Separated into four separate sections, the thesis moves through Lucy’s relationship with her boss, Mariah, her Antiguan mother, and the shame that is identified at the end of the novel. In the introduction, I identify the passage that frames the novel around shame. I then identify my thesis, which centers around Lucy’s shame and her inability and refusal to situate herself with neither Mariah nor her mother’s expectations. The second section of the thesis revolves around Mariah and the form of feminism that skews her perception and expectations of …

Bathrooms As Borders: Moms For Liberty And The Policing Of Women’S Spaces, Eva Burklund

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

As debates about transgender identity and inclusion influence discussions and policy across the United States, it is important to understand the rhetoric and manifestations of transphobia and trans exclusion. One organization advocating for the exclusion of transgender individuals is Moms for Liberty which is dedicated to preserving parental rights. On their official X (formerly Twitter) account Moms for Liberty often voices their opposition to the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sports and women’s private spaces, justifying their exclusive stance by denying transgender women’s womanhood. They additionally cast themselves as the authorities on who is a woman and who is …

Examining Portrayals Of Gender In The Design Of Ai Voice Assistants, Olivia Fratangelo

Student Theses

This capstone project provides a theoretical framework for shifting the ways in which we think about and discuss anthropomorphized features of technological products, focusing specifically on applying this framework to the gendered design of AI voice assistants. The goal in providing this framework is to prompt readers to consider how we can think more critically about technology beyond our “preferences” and biases. Our roles as consumers of technology do not have to be passive ones. In fact, the dialectical relationship between humanity and technology makes everyone who contributes to society not just a consumer, but a developer of technology in …

Is Love A “Pathological Condition Of The Soul”? Joyce Carol Oates's Beasts And Rape: A Love Story, Nicolas P. Boileau

Bearing Witness: Joyce Carol Oates Studies

This paper seeks to address the question of Oates’s relation to feminist and gender theories by looking at two novellas published consecutively, Beasts and Rape: A Love Story in the beginning of the 2000s. The short texts share a common storyline based on rape, which is far from uncommon in Oates’s fiction. However, I argue that there is something very specific in these two novellas in the way Oates chooses to handle the testimony of the rape, both overtly and covertly, both in graphic details and in repressed forms of expression, giving way to a reflection on women’s vulnerable position …

Winter's End: Stopping The Rite And Reclaiming Spring, Jessica Wilson

Theatre & Dance ETDs

This dissertation examines intersections of patriarchy, feminist movements, and the recurring theme of women’s sacrifice, through an artistic lens. Using The Rite of Spring as a central subject, I explore the societal expectation of women’s sacrifice and its persistent representation in art. By analyzing two pivotal interpretations, Vaslav Nijinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps (1913) and Pina Bausch’s Das Fruhlingsopfer (1975), within the chronological context of feminist waves in the United States, I investigate how these works reflect and critique cycles of violence against women. Four core patterns emerge as focal points: tradition, autonomy, witnessing, and betrayal. Additionally, my choreographic reinterpretation …

Manifesto Of An Arab Female, Diditta Rizk

Amplify: A Journal of Writing-as-Activism

In this manifesto, the author provides a window into her gendered experiences growing up female in the Middle East. In identifying the ways that women encounter obstacles to expressing their full agency in male-dominated societies, the author invites the reader to join her in redefining the narrative of what it is and means to be a woman. The manifesto ends with a call for us to become architects of a new perspective through which equity becomes reality, one where we strive collectively for peace, freedom, and the pursuit of the common good.

Feminist Stories: Then And Now, Brooke Kelly

FUSION

This short essay explores the connections between themes in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 1892 short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" and the 2024 film, Immaculate, specifically focusing on each story's affect on feminism.

The essay was originally written in response to a discussion post where students were asked to pick one American literary text and one piece of contemporary media that addressed the same issues/character types/ plot/ideas, etc. of today.

Painting Stories And Filming Change, Coralynn V. Davis

Faculty Contributions to Books

Mithila Art has helped illuminate various aspects of the relationship between gendered Maithil social roles and Maithil women’s narratives in connection with a feminist participatory action research project conducted primarily in 2016-2017 in and around the northern Bihari town of Madhubani. While participatory action research philosophically and methodologically attends to process as much as product, Mithila Art played a role in the process and product of making a documentary film and in our capacity to understand and communicate with varied audiences about shifting Maithil gender norms. The research and filmic project provided insight into the complex relationship among the stories …

Painting The Other: Mary Cassatt's Spanish Portraits And The Feminine Gaze, Delaney Batter

Undergraduate Theses in Art History

The historical viewing of women artists, in conjunction with Mary Cassatt’s biography and later depictions of women and children, suggests that Cassatt's gender is identified within the art historical canon as an essential component to the interpretation of her work. The language attached to Cassatt's work is most often taken from discourses surrounding female-produced artwork of the nineteenth century, attaching passive and stereotypically feminine attributes like 'delicate,' 'light,' and 'tender' to the style, composition, and subjects of her works. These characteristics were among the accepted nineteenth-century descriptions of artworks, with inherent femininity translating to inherent domesticity.

Rather than further reducing …

Deconstructing Ancient Allegories: Eleanor Antin’S 'Historical Takes' On Subverting Classical Motifs And Typologies, Lainey Tomasoski

Undergraduate Theses in Art History

The New York-born artist Eleanor Antin erupted into the male-dominated American conceptual photography art scene in the 1960s and 70s with feminist works that reimagined the female body in terms of representation and history. In congruence with the feminist and civil rights movements, conceptual photography represented a shift in how art was utilized to criticize the social and political institutions in which it is rooted. Antin and other feminist artists engaging in conceptual photography and video played with the embodiment of characters, performance of the body, and an intrinsic “self-reflexivity” of subject, viewer, and artist. However, Antin pivoted her work …

Uncovering Artemisia: Turning Rage Into Fame, Sophie Longo

Undergraduate Theses in Art History

During the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries in Italy - more commonly known as the Italian Renaissance and early Baroque periods - masters like Titian, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Caravaggio made a name for themselves and secured legacies through the widespread popularity and study of their masterpieces. As time progressed, however, more artworks have been found, and more histories, especially by women Baroque artists, have been explored. With the rise of women’s rights movements and social justice campaigns from the mid-20th century on, stories of female artists and figures have further emerged from the woodwork and hold greater precedence in …

Rising From The Ashes : How African American Women From North Tulsa Overcame The Oppressions Of Race, Gender, And Class And Achieved Success, Cynthia A. Talley

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Empowerher:A Digital Mosaic Celebrating Six Black Feminist Icons, Jessica M. Mcguire

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Abstract

EmpowerHer: A Digital Mosaic of Six Black Feminist Icons is a research project that explores the lives and work of Angela Davis, Patricia Hill-Collins, bell hooks, Sojourner Truth, Audre Lorde, and Anna Julia Cooper. This digital project expands our knowledge of feminist theory beyond the women's words to encompass information about their education, work, motivations, and areas of focus. It also expounds on why they are important and highlights their accomplishments. This project was completed by researching these women’s lives, primarily with the use of biographies, journal articles, and online resources. In addition to the narrative provided for each …

Cultural Representations Of Obstetric Violence In Contemporary Italy, Veronica Frigeni

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article is the first examination of a hybrid corpus of cultural narratives of obstetric violence in contemporary Italy. Adopting a reproductive justice approach, the paper considers obstetric violence as gendered, intersectional, and ontological violence against reproductive subjects over the course of their lived reproductive experiences. Combining personal and cultural narratives, the article examines the 2022 comic “Da Che Mondo È Mondo,” written by Irene Caselli and illustrated by Rita Petruccioli, Alberto Basaluzzo’s 2018 short film Si È Sempre Fatto così, and Antonella Lattanzi’s 2023 novel Cose Che Non Si Raccontano to assess how and to what extent they …

Motherhood, Infertility, And Femininity In Fadia Faqir’S Pillars Of Salt, Fozia Sheikh, Munejah Khan

Journal of International Women's Studies

In the patriarchal tradition of the Arab world, women are often treated as commodities, and their autonomy and choices are disregarded. Family honour is tied to women’s virginity, leading to strict control over their desires and sexuality (Khan 3). Moreover, women are confined to roles as biological and cultural procreators, reinforcing a narrow understanding of femininity (Chouiten and Khireddine 40) and tightly weaving womanhood with motherhood. This essay examines Fadia Faqir’s novel Pillars of Salt (1996) by using a feminist framework, particularly Adrienne Rich’s theory of motherhood. The narrative reveals the brutal realities faced by Arab women, particularly those incapable …

Beyond Pink And Plastic: A Critical Analysis Of Barbie (2023) Through The Lens Of Gender Performativity, Intersectionality, And Diverse Cultural Perspectives, Nelly K. Abdelwahed

The Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper critically examines Barbie (2023), directed by Greta Gerwig, through the frameworks of Judith Butler’s gender performativity and Kimberlé Crenshaw’s intersectionality. By analyzing qualitative data from interviews with Egyptian university students, the study explores how the film challenges traditional gender norms while addressing its polarizing reception globally. While Barbie (2023) succeeds in sparking conversations about gender, identity, and societal expectations, its Western-centric narrative limits its resonance with non-Western audiences, particularly in the Middle East. The findings reveal a dichotomy: the film effectively critiques systemic inequalities and empowers women but simultaneously overlooks intersectional and diverse lived experiences. This analysis highlights …

Struggles Around Transgenderism In Hungarian Feminism: An Autoethnographic Account, Dalma Feró

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

In this autoethnography, I am using my personal experiences as data to examine the inextricable personal, political, social, and cultural aspects of one of the most decisive ruptures in Hungarian “progressive” activism of the second half of the 2010s. In the mid-2010s, I was part of an informal collective of women that started to outline a feminist approach critical of mainstream individualistic renditions of women’s rights as social progress, thereby diverging fundamentally from the country’s institutionalised feminism. As I and the circle of women I worked with focused on women’s reproductive autonomy, we encountered central feminist questions about sex and …

A Reconstruction Of Gender: Implications Of Social Construct And Gender Structure Theories, Bethany Rozario Steinhagen

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The relationship between gender and social construction has long been discussed in feminist and gender studies scholarship. However, the current discussion on gender has run up against a blockage of misapplication of social construct theory. To untangle this blockage, my analysis applies the philosophy of social construction as explained by Ian Hacking in his 1999 book The Social Construction of What? and the framework of gender as a social structure as put forth by feminist sociologist Barbara Risman since the early 2000s. I apply these frameworks to elucidate better the logical implications that follow from a social construct thesis about …

“Change Is Brewing”: Women Finding Liberation In The Performative Rituals Of Modern Paganism And The Witch Organization, Katie Nelson

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project analyzes elements of performative Modern Paganism and Wiccan rituals used by the Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell (WITCH) group to determine how these performance practices can provide comfort and agency to those who have been systemically oppressed, particularly women in the United States. The project will focus on WITCH’s activist work, especially during the second wave feminist movement of the 1960-1970s, which used elements of Modern Paganism for social justice purposes by implementing them through guerilla theatre and zap actions. Methodologically, I will be reviewing sources such as performance photos, news articles, and testimonies from the women …

Shapes That Hide Their Shadows, Jennifer Blaine

Theses and Dissertations

shapes that hide their shadows concerns itself with the mutability of memory. The complexities of girlhood to womanhood, and the way we are shaped by place and space, are explored through the artist recounting childhood memories connected to her grandparents' hometowns. Divided into three different sections, the artist discusses drawing as medium, creating a lexicon through using visual symbols, and the logistics of building your own archive.

“Et Les Filles”: Le Féminisme Subtil De Françoise Hardy, Charlotte Aexel

World Languages and Cultures Senior Capstones

This article focuses on “yéyé” music, in particular the music of Françoise Hardy. I examine the feminist themes in the songs found on her first album, Tous les garçons et les filles. The majority of critics view her first album as immature, but I suggest that it shows a subtle but powerful feminism. For me, Françoise Hardy’s first album shows depth and advanced perception of social dynamics. In particular, Hardy demonstrated an awareness of the experiences of young women in her time. From her first album, Hardy presented herself as independent and intelligent. I cite critics from Hardy’s time and …

Avant Et Après : Examen Du Proto-Féminisme À Travers La Résistance Littéraire En France Au Xve Siècle Et Au Mexique Au Xviie Siècle, Madison Coleman

World Languages and Cultures Senior Capstones

This essay seeks to understand the implications of a “before” distinction in the feminist canon— i.e., why is there “proto-feminism”, and not just “feminism”? This essay will explore the works of “proto-feminist” writers, Christine de Pizan and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, and examine how the feminist themes and issues prevalent throughout their respective works are in response to the respective and collective inequities and injustices they experienced. Their oeuvres provide insight into what advocacy for women and other marginalized peoples looked like outside of the modern understanding of the historical “waves” of feminism. This essay seeks to examine …

The Sword And The Serpent, Gina Dittmeier

Children's Book Writing and Illustrating (MFA) Theses

This project provides insight into the monstrous bridegroom trope in fairytale and its influence in modern fantasy literature. The monstrous bridegroom trope has several different variations, but all of these variations result in a young and innocent woman marrying a monster. Through my critical essay, I look at this trope through a modern feminist lens, exploring the different variations of the trope in fairy tales, modern fairy tale adaptations, and fantasy literature. The essay brings in modern ideas of toxic masculinity and toxic femininity and applies them to the fairy tale inspiration of fantasy literature. The monstrous bridegroom trope and …

Voices Of Rebellion: A Lesson On Feminism, Identity, And Popular Music, Michelle Vasquez

ENGS 15.11: Design and Education

This lesson focuses on the rise of the feminist punk rock movement Riot Grrrl, and the political, social, and cultural conversations brought about by the band that created the genre, Bikini Kill. Students will explore the history of the genre and how its emergence had a great influence on political movements, female empowerment, the 3rd-wave of feminism, as well as the punk rock scene as a whole. Through engaging discussions, lyrical and performance analysis, and scholarly research on popular music, the lesson will highlight the ways in which artists have represented, subverted, and critiqued societal norms and politics surrounding gender …

“Some Vague Utopia”: Searching For Urania, Moira L. Neve

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the global pendulum swing of gender trouble marked by the United States’ President’s declaration that there are only two sexes, activists have been rejecting assimilation (ie. defining equality as gay marriage or queer people in the military) within queer studies long before 2025. In the first half of the 20th century, a journal by the name of Urania (1916-1940), privately published and circulated to their home base in the United Kingdom and beyond, five editors (Esther Roper, Eva Gore-Booth, Jessey Wade, Dorothy Cornish, and Irene Clyde/Thomas Baty), challenged the gender binary and the resulting assumptions of heterosexual marriage. This …

Somewhere Between Feminism And Misogyny: Classic Updike On The Modern Syllabus, Sue Norton

Articles

Beginning with a retrospective approach, this essay navigates key works of literary criticism relevant to a small selection of John Updike’s most well-known fiction, his novel Rabbit, Run (1960) and two of his short stories “A&P” (1961) and “Separating” (1975), the three of which have frequently appeared on college syllabi. Through close readings, its aim is to provide a basis for classroom discussion about the misogynistic tone of Updike’s works so that professors of English and literary studies can confidently adapt their lesson plans and approaches in ways that are cognizant of today’s sensibilities on issues pertaining to girls, women, …

How To Eat Right And Why We Ask That Question, Heather N. Carpenter

Theses and Dissertations--Gender and Women's Studies

What does it mean to “eat right?” The notion is, of course, culturally, historically, nationally, politically, ethnically, and class determined. For the purposes of this project, however, I am particularly interested in changing notions of what it means to “eat right” within the post-World War II to the early new millennium American context, as such notions are represented within the prescriptions of popular culture. I turn to popular culture because this is the commons of the hegemonic call to “normalcy”—this is where we all learn to imitate, aspire, or rebel against a generic American consumer-self in conformity with the biases, …

Miss Usa Meets Feminism: A Qualitative Study Exploring Contestants’ Thoughts On Feminist Ideals, Julia Van Steenberghe, Sandra Caron

Journal of International Women's Studies

This qualitative study explores pageant contestants’ views on feminism. A total of twelve state titleholders, aged 22-29, from the 2020 Miss USA Competition were interviewed about their motivations for participating, their own views on feminism, and their opinions about whether beauty pageants align with feminist ideals. The initial analysis of the interview transcripts revealed sixteen coding categories. A secondary analysis of these coding categories identified three overarching themes: “Pageants are Empowering,” “Swimsuit is Complicated,” and “Pageantry Has Evolved.” This study revealed that participants had many reasons for entering pageants, the least common of which related to beauty. Most …

The Maiden’S Tower Of Femininity, Amrita Dhar

Rushton Journal of Undergraduate Humanities Research

This paper examines portrayals of femininity within “Maiden in the Tower” tales. It analyzes the means by which maturation, sexuality, reproduction, and female agency contribute to the shaping of femininity. Via Petrosinella by Giambattista Basile, Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm, and Tangled by Disney, the paper explores how variations portray historically unique interpretations of ideal, female traits that defy common assumptions. The evolution of perspectives across “Maiden in the Tower” tales help us grasp how gender ideologies are communicated and how women are socialized.