Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Negotiating Desires For Capital Through Culinary Expression In Balli Kaur Jaswal’S Sugarbread, Ira Gore, Aruni Mahapatra

Journal of International Women's Studies

Balli Kaur Jaswal’s Sugarbread (2016) illustrates how race and class are negotiated through culinary practices in a lower-middle-class Sikh family living in Singapore. Through acts of shopping for groceries, cooking local Singaporean cuisine, and rejecting the communal temple food associated with shame and social discrimination, the novel highlights the family’s aspirations of social mobility shaped by the character Jini’s childhood experiences of food and economic scarcity. While the characters in the novel have access to food, their culinary practices are marked by memories of charity and discomfort as a South Asian diasporic family negotiating racialized hierarchies and gendered vulnerability in …

What Shapes Maternal Well-Being? A Feminist Conceptualization Using Walker And Avant’S (2019) Concept Analysis Framework, Huyen Thi-Thanh Nguyen, Van H. Le, Keiichi Ogawa, Manh T. Ta

Journal of International Women's Studies

Despite extensive scholarship on maternal well-being, the concept remains theoretically underdeveloped and lacks a coherent interdisciplinary definition. This study uses Walker and Avant’s (2019) concept analysis framework to clarify maternal well-being as a feminist, role-anchored construct. We conducted a systematic review of literature in PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar from 2005 to 2025, focusing on studies of married mothers who had given birth to and were raising at least one child. Through content analysis, we identified three defining attributes: (1) vitality and positive affect; (2) life satisfaction and meaning grounded in autonomy and competence within the maternal role; …

Experiences Of Women With Neurodevelopmental Disorders In Accessing Sexual Reproductive Health Services In Zimbabwe, Ashely Ropafadzo Tome

Journal of International Women's Studies

Women with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in Zimbabwe are often sidelined from participating in activities that emancipate and educate youth because of their differences from the mainstream population. Although policies and awareness campaigns have been introduced to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities, previous research has not examined the lack of accessibility of sexual reproductive health (SRH) services for women with intellectual disabilities. The cause of this problem is that women with NDDs have been subjected to immense derogatory treatment, stereotyping, and labelling; they have often been regarded as “retarded,” “crazy,” and “inadequate” beings. Women with intellectual disabilities are often …

Nazneen In Ali’S Brick Lane: Achieving Agency Through A Multimodal Praxis Of Care, Sarani Ghosal Mondal

Journal of International Women's Studies

Monica Ali’s novel Brick Lane (2003) is not a definitive portrayal of a geographical location but rather a narrative centered on Nazneen, a Bangladeshi immigrant, and her transformational journey from a silent, passive figure into a self-reliant, successful seamstress. Following her marriage to an older man named Chanu, Nazneen relocates from a remote village in Bangladesh to Brick Lane in London. Her progress towards independence is shaped primarily by her friendship with Razia, a fellow immigrant, and partly by her affair with a young activist, Karim. Additionally, she receives emotional support from her sister, Hasina, which is conveyed through letters …

Girls On Screens And Boys In The Streets: Afrobeats Dance, Gender, And Waithood In Lagos, Nigeria, Gali Kinkulkin, Moshe Morad, Lynn Schler

Journal of International Women's Studies

The global success of the musical genre of Afrobeats has generated substantial scholarly interest in the experiences of singers and musicians within the industry. Scholars of this genre have examined an array of topics, including cultural identity, gender disparities, socioeconomic impact, and the global music industry. However, few studies focus on the experiences of Afro dancers despite the critical role of dance in the genre’s international popularity; those that do centralise dance concentrate primarily on how women dancers navigate an industry that both empowers and objectifies women. This study departs from these earlier studies by examining the lived experiences of …

Special Issue Editors’ Introduction: 11th World Conference On Women’S Studies, Jyoti Rupa Deka, Jaypee S. Yongco, Noma Mguni

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Asia Pacific Perspectives Vol. 19 No. 1, 2025, University Of San Francisco

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Articles

Think Pieces

Photo Essay

Book Reviews

Does Climate Finance Empower Or Exclude Women? Evidence From Bangladesh, Sofia Castelo, Lia G. Antunes, Md. Ashrafuzzaman

Journal of International Women's Studies

Despite the formal adoption of gender policies by significant climate funds and international agreements aimed at promoting equity, only 2.3% of global climate finance is explicitly allocated to gender equality, and women remain significantly underrepresented in climate-related decision-making processes. Although several climate funds, such as the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund, have successfully integrated gender components, implementation often remains symbolic rather than transformative. Drawing on a critical ecofeminist framework, this article examines how climate finance mechanisms, particularly in the Global South, can inadvertently reinforce existing gender inequities. Using Bangladesh as a case study, this analysis synthesizes existing literature …

Beyond The Ban: Chhaupadi Abolition And The Governance Of Menstrual Autonomy In Western Nepal, Nikita Paudel

Master in Public Policy Theses

This thesis examines how two decades of efforts to abolish chhaupadi have shaped the everyday conditions under which women and girls experience menstruation in western Nepal. Chhaupadi, commonly understood as menstrual seclusion, has been addressed through Supreme Court directives, national policy, criminal law, municipal implementation instruments, hut demolition campaigns, public health programming, and rights-based advocacy. Yet the practice has persisted, adapted, and in some cases moved into less visible spaces. Rather than treating this as a simple gap between law and practice, this thesis asks how abolition efforts themselves have become part of the regulatory regime through which menstruation is …

Re-Painting Motherhood: A Community-Based Expressive Arts Project Exploring Motherhood’S Myths, Realities, And Hopes Through A Narrative Therapy Lens, Lauren Grignaffini-Morris

Expressive Therapies Theses

This thesis examines how socially constructed ideals of motherhood shape maternal identity, distress, and isolation, and explores the potential of addressing these experiences through a community-based expressive arts project. Drawing on motherhood studies, expressive arts therapy, and narrative therapy, the project highlights the potential benefits of utilizing expressive arts in a community setting to ease the tension between romanticized cultural narratives and the lived realities of mothers. Conducted with a support group for mothers in rural Vermont, the project used visual art, movement, creative writing, and collaborative mixed-media painting to examine problem-saturated motherhood stories, connect through embodied experience, and explore …

Evangelical Influences On The Prevalence Of Homophobia In 21st Century Brazilian Politics, Griffin M. Bilello

Senior Theses

In recent decades, Brazil has seen a large influx of Evangelical identification among its population, and this religious group has become a prominent political group that has occupied different positions of power in government. This Evangelical prominence has led to the blocking of LGBTQ+ legislative protections, the protection of homophobic governmental policies, and the perpetuation of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric that has threatened the well-being of Brazil’s queer community. This thesis analyzes the social media presence of prominent political figures in Brazil to understand the ongoing discourse regarding homosexuality from different perspectives. Three representatives with varying influences and perspectives were chosen and …

Weaving In The Ends: Analyzing Fiber Art As A Subversive Symbol In Virginia Woolf’S To The Lighthouse And The Years, Samantha J. Klein

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Scholars have long overlooked the role of fiber arts in Virginia Woolf’s fiction, treating the artform as acts of ‘women’s work.’ In an attempt to fill this gap, I posit that fiber arts operate as subversion of the Victorian ‘Angel in the House’ trope within two of Woolf’s novels, To the Lighthouse and The Years. While scholarship on To the Lighthouse cites Mrs. Ramsay’s perpetual status within the home as proof of her role as an ‘Angel in the House,’ her preferred hobby of knitting actually subverts this. Most Englishwomen during the Victorian era chose to follow their Queen’s example …

Eat Or Be Eaten: A Posthuman Ecofeminist Reading Of The Vegetarian And Organ Meats, Erin Grace Elizabeth Kostic

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

As two novels that feature the reformation and reconstruction of the female body, both Han Kang’s The Vegetarian and K-Ming Chang’s Organ Meats emphasize the posthuman existence of women seeking to break free from the gender-based shackles that constrain them, leading to a striking rejection of the anthropocentric and patriarchal worldviews that plague contemporary society. My thesis comparatively examines each novel through an ecofeminist lens in an attempt to prove that it is only when a woman is able to reframe her existence outside of a male-centric worldview that she can truly find freedom. The Vegetarian’s Yeong-hye loses her …

Nathaniel Hawthorne And The Limits Of Half-Feminism, Jessica Mckenzie

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This project argues that while Nathaniel Hawthorne creates intellectually complex and emotionally resilient female heroines in The Scarlet Letter and The Blithedale Romance, he ultimately reinforces the patriarchal structures he appears to critique. Through the figures of Hester Prynne and Zenobia, Hawthorne demonstrates a deep awareness of women’s societal oppression and the limitations imposed upon them within nineteenth-century America. However, despite moments of resistance and autonomy, these women are never permitted full liberation, agency, or lasting fulfillment. Their narratives ultimately become constrained by the patriarchal power that denies them independence and sustaining love. Thus, Hawthorne’s work coincides with the …

Racial Identity In Horror: The Fear Of Black Female Sexuality, Charniece D. Bacon

Honors College Theses

The Jezebel stereotype is a racial stereotype with biblical ties that portrays black women as seductive, sexually insatiable beings. The horror genre explores humanity’s biggest fears and anxieties by looking at subgenres such as blaxploitation and vampirism. In this essay, I'll explore the intersectionalities of race, gender, and religion through the portrayal of black female sexuality in the horror genre. In films such as Ganja & Hess (1973), Abby (1976), and Def by Temptation (1990), they all depict the Jezebel stereotype. In an in-depth analysis of these films, I'll go over the ways in which they reinforce the Jezebel stereotype, …

Thomas Mann’S Unbound Bodies: A Formal Analysis Of Disease In The Magic Mountain, Julia Shi

Student Theses and Dissertations

My senior thesis argues that disease is a formal element in Thomas Mann’s novel, The Magic Mountain, through the lens of a newly theorized genre: the “Bindungsroman” (“binding-novel”). The scholar Jonas Rosenbrück proposed the Bindungsroman as the successor genre to the Bildungsroman after the latter fell out of public favor after World War I.  Whereas the Bildungsroman narrates its hero’s maturation as a process of integration into society, the Bindungsroman’s hero is ontologically unstable and does not achieve normative resolution. This paper examines The Magic Mountain’s protagonist’s development as defined by the doubled play of binding and …

Read The Fine Print, Kayla Lockwood

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

read the fine print is a two-floor art installation that investigates how midcentury domestic ideology structured bodies, behavior, and perception through visual, spatial, and material systems. Rather than recreating a home interior, it examines how domestic order was engineered across the United States through color coding, planning diagrams, model environments, controlled decoration, and institutional messaging. The two-floor arrangement mirrors the operation of these systems across registers, moving from overt structures of order to quieter, often obscured consequences. By rendering policy, hierarchy, and expectation materially, the installation invites viewers to consider domesticity as a designed system: a set of practices, forms, …

Queerscape: Transcending Urban Division, Alex Blake

Hospitality Design Graduate Student Capstones

The project seeks to demonstrate how infrastructure can act as a symbolic anchor, offering a framework for queer urban design that simultaneously addresses safety and cultural visibility. While site-specific, the methodology is intended to inform future interventions in districts for queer and other marginalized communities.

Miss Ogilvy Does Not Find Herself: The Repression Of Queer Expression Post World War I, Kennedie Krieger

2026 Symposium

World War l was a historical period of intense societal change, and although it brought upon a lot of devastation, there were also groups of people that experienced liberation because of the war. Radclyffe Hall’s short story “Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself” is an example of the ways in which the war offered relief for queer women who had previously been expected to exist within rigid gender roles. Through an uncommon perspective, readers are able to get a sense of the ways in which gendered societal expectations shifted during the war and the positive outcomes this brought about. Although these hopeful …

Toward A Corporeal Materialism. Response To Reviewers, Banu Bargu

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Embodying The Masses. Review Of Banu Bargu's Disembodiment: Corporeal Politics Of Radical Refusal (Oxford University Press, 2024), James Martel

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Worldmaking Against Disposability: Review Of Banu Bargu’S Disembodiment: Corporeal Politics Of Radical Refusal (Oxford University Press, 2024), Daniel Loick

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Toward A Non- Or Post-Historical Materialism. Review Of Banu Bargu'sdisembodiment: Corporeal Politics Of Radical Refusal (Oxford University Press, 2024), Amy Allen

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

From Beirut To Montreal, En-Camp-Ment-S On The Fringes Of Society, But What Society, Soñar Soñar

Gatherings

This text is a prose that retraces my experience as a researcher and activist in three camps, between April 2024 and July 2024 : the Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, Bourj El Barajne, and the pro-Palestine encampments in Montreal, Al-Aqsa and Al-Soumoud. The text is a continuation of writings of different genres, particularly creative, which relate facts and lived experiences around liberation struggles. This writing constitutes “a method of inquiry”, “a way of “knowing” – a method of discovery and analysis. By writing in different ways, we discover new aspects of our topic and our relationship to it” (Richardson 516).

Watermelon Peels, Watermelon Peels

Gatherings

This piece comprises critical commentary by six students and two faculty who began a collaboration under urgent and difficult circumstances after October 7, 2023, when Israel intensified its genocide in Gaza. Writing from the University of Toronto, Mississauga — a campus situated on treaty lands and with a significant Palestinian student population — the eight contributors reflect on their solidarity work for Palestine between October 2023 and May 2024. The commentaries share this time frame and a commitment to Palestinian liberation, but they are different in voice, focus, and experience. Calling themselves the "Watermelon Peels," the group reflects on how …

Feminist Solidarities And An Ethos Of Care: Reflecting On Faculty Marshal Experiences At The University Of Denver, Andrea L. Stanton, Dheepa Sundaram

Gatherings

Spring 2024 witnessed student encampment protests around the US and world protesting the ongoing genocide in Gaza and Israeli occupation in Palestine. The University of Denver (DU) became part of this movement in April when students established a Palestine solidarity encampment, permitted by DU's then-current freedom of expression policies. To protect students' free speech rights, we trained as marshals alongside faculty and staff colleagues to ensure student rights, peacefully de-escalate tensions, and keep all community members safe. This essay adopts an autoethnographic approach grounded in our lived experiences and care-based interactions with campus and broader community. Taking an intersectional approach …

Knock To Disrupt, Knock To Make Visible: Writing And Teaching About Architecture And Palestine Amidst The Ongoing Genocide, Nama'a Qudah

Gatherings

In his seminal novel Men in the Sun (1970), Palestinian author Ghassan Kanafani poses a haunting question: “Why didn’t they knock on the walls of the water tank?”.  This paper reflects on that question and how it became the compass guiding my writing and teaching about Architecture and Palestine amidst the ongoing genocide. Knocking here is more than an act of refusal; it is a demand to rupture domination, insisting on justice and on noise against the enclosures that prefer quiet compliance. Kanafani’s question echoes beyond fiction, exposing the asymmetry between oppressor and oppressed, and the violence embedded not only …

Confronting The Storm: Dispatches From The Night Watch At The People’S University For Palestine, Leslie Quintanilla

Gatherings

As a strategy for transterritorial freedom and dialogic world-building, the People's University for Palestine across campuses became a seedbed for exchanging knowledge, tactics, and strategies, with clear goals to "disclose, divest, defend, and declare" for a free Palestine. At San Francisco State University, the student encampment achieved divestments from four corporations — Lockheed Martin, Leonardo, Palantir, and Caterpillar — all supporting Israel's genocide in Gaza. This article highlights the feminist space, politics, and pedagogies of gathering that created the infrastructure of the People's University for Palestine—the watchtower (EZLN 2015) of analysis that students, faculty, and community members created together. The …

Against Genocide: Feminist Dissent, Palestine Solidarity, And The Neoliberal University, Azza Basarudin, Sabrina Alimahomed-Wilson, Araceli Esparza

Gatherings

In the context of the increasing nationwide repression of free speech and academic freedom, this article emerges from the collective scholarly and activist commitments of three women of color feminist faculty teaching at a large public university. Amidst our participation in anti-genocide organizing, we have been targeted by our university’s administration for our critiques of settler-colonial and genocidal violence in Palestine. Our intervention foregrounds an anti-war feminist ethic that insists on integrity and justice in confronting the university administration’s power to discipline faculty dissent, as well as our support for students’ political activism. Within this repressive context, we articulate a …

Introductory Remarks On Gendered Anti-Palestinian Racism And Colonial Solidarities, Wafaa Hasan

Gatherings

This piece introduces a critical framework for understanding how feminism — particularly Western and settler-colonial feminisms — operates as both a site of solidarity and a mechanism of domination in relation to Palestinian women. Delivered at the inaugural Palestinian Feminist Conference at the University of Toronto (Oct. 10, 2025), the address examines how Palestinian feminist scholars and activists center epistemic resistance and collective feminist self-determination. Through the notion of Gendered Anti-Palestinian Racism (Gendered APR), the work extends analyses of Orientalist and imperial feminisms to describe a trinity of how Palestinian women are simultaneously hyper-visible — as dangerous mothers and divisive/disruptive …