Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Biopolitics In The Twenty-First Century: India And The Pandemic, _ Swatie, Rashee Mehra

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

Swatie and Rashee Mehra discuss in their "Biopolitics in the Twenty-first Century: India and the Pandemic”, the rise of the biopolitical state in India in the 2020s. The article emphasizes the relevance of Michel Foucault’s work on biopolitics for the pandemic in India. The biopolitical governmentality of the Indian state operates at several levels to politicize ‘life itself’: racism (the notion that sections of the population are disposable), economics (the notion of privatization of care), and the logic of contagion (based on ideas of threat perception and risk). The article engages with biopolitics in the 21st century and looks at …

Confinement, Care, And Commodification In Mati Diop’S In My Room, Brittany Murray

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article, “Confinement, Care, and the Commodification in Mati Diop’s In My Room,” Brittany Murray discusses a short film released in 2020 by the French and Senegalese director, Mati Diop. Shot in the artist’s studio in a Parisian banlieue during mandatory Covid-19 confinement, the film tackles the issues of grief, isolation, and care. The article shows how the film represents these issues, particularly urgent during the pandemic and yet belonging to longstanding concerns about care work and reproductive labor. To mediate between present crisis and a larger historical framework, the article demonstrates how the film’s formal attributes make a …

Reading The Global City: Crisis, Cognitive Mapping And The “Urban Sensorium” In Tom Mccarthy’S Satin Island And Ben Lerner’S 10:04, Marty Gilroy

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

“What is the role played by the aesthetics and politics of space,” asks Kanishka Goonewardena, “in producing and reproducing the durable disjunction between the consciousness of our urban everyday life […] and the now global structure of social relations that is itself ultimately responsible for producing the spaces of our lived-experience?” (55). Goonewardena’s account of the “urban sensorium” describes the mediatory, ideological role played by space in this “gap,” informing his adaptation of Jameson’s “cognitive mapping” as a hermeneutics of urban experience vis-à-vis totality. This article considers the mediation of these insights as critical aesthetic strategies in two global city …

Literature And Economy In Portuguese-Speaking Southern Africa, Thomas Waller

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In “Literature and Economy in Portuguese-speaking Southern Africa”, Thomas Waller offers a comparative reading of literary responses to neoliberalization in Portuguese-speaking southern Africa. Reading the proliferation of spectral effects in the Mozambican literature of the late 1980s alongside dystopian depictions of societal collapse in contemporary Angolan fiction, he suggests that writers in the two states have used distinctive aesthetic idioms to register the reintegration of southern Africa into the neoliberal world-system. In the fiction of Mozambican writers Aldino Muianga and Aníbal Aleluia, he shows how the legacy of colonial underdevelopment and its role in the transition to neoliberalism in Mozambique …

Conjunctures, Commodities, And Social State Marxism, Stephen Shapiro

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In their article, “Conjunctures, Commodities, and Social State Marxism,” Stephen Shapiro discusses our current moment as the conjuncture of three temporalities: a secular trend of centrist liberalism, a Kress cycle of managerial capitalism, and three Kondratieff waves. These can be understood by the addition of implied terms in Marx’s advanced discussion of the commodity-form through an approach that Shapiro calls Social State Marxism.

Periodizing The Present: The 2020s, The Longue Durée, & Contemporary Culture, Treasa De Loughry, Brittany Murray

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Students Experiencing Homelessness And Substance Use In The School Context: A Statewide Study, Hadass Moore, Kris De Pedro

Education Faculty Articles and Research

PURPOSE

This study explored differences between lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB)-housed and homeless students regarding substance use patterns on and off school grounds and the unique contribution of homelessness to substance use in school.

METHODS

Data were from the 2013-2015 California Healthy Kids Survey, a statewide survey of school protective factors and risk behaviors. A representative sample of 9th- and 11th-grade students (N = 20,337) was used. Comparisons between housed (n = 19,456) and homeless (doubled up: n = 715; acute homeless: n = 166) LGB students were conducted. We used chi-square tests to compare rates of lifetime, past-30-day, and …

Rendering Documentary Portraiture: An Interrogation Of Archival Discourse Through A Critical Exploration Of Nineteenth Century Stage Actress Charlotte Cushman’S Material Memory, Skyler Sunday

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Visual depictions of nineteenth century stage actress Charlotte Cushman, such as photographs, engravings, and painted portraits assist researchers in re-envisioning her both as an actress and as a person, but what do her remaining archival possessions further reveal to researchers about her memory? How do different objects operate as portraits that allow the researcher to tap into and remember specific moments and memory? How does the effort to preserve memory take different forms? This project argues that, when viewing the archive through its stored objects, our collective notion of portraiture can be expanded and used to interrogate existing methods of …

Without Permanence: Mapping Multi-Genre, Cross-Disciplinary Frameworks For Trans* Studies, Jesse Jack

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project takes a cross-disciplinary and multi-genre approach to Transgender (Trans*) Studies to proliferate diverse and ambiguously-gendered representations of trans* experiences across time. It identifies the emergence of rhetorical intertextuality in recent trans* literatures as a discursive response to the biopolitical regulation and erasure of ambiguously-gendered, trans* experiences. It identifies the intersecting influences of twentieth- and twenty-first-century medical paradigms, surveillance apparatuses, popular trans* autobiographies, and archives in representing and exceptionalizing certain trans* experiences over others. In contrast, this project engages in a close reading of Pajtim Statovci’s Crossing (2016) and Andrea Lawlor’s Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl …

Feminism At The Borders: The Navigation Of Gender Issues By Mexican-American Women Along The U.S.-Mexico Border, Carolina Fuentes

Capstone Collection

Feminist movements have taken on various iterations since they first began, particularly as the movements expanded beyond predominantly Western and white spaces. This research study explores how gender equality is perceived and navigated along the U.S.-Mexico border area, taking into account the various Latin American and U.S. feminist developments that have shaped the current landscape of the border. 11 Mexican and Mexican-American women living in U.S.-Mexico border states were interviewed to gain an understanding of their definitions, perceptions, and opinions on feminism and gender-related issues given their bicultural contexts. These conversations revealed that ideas of rights and equality were central …

No One Should Have To Give Birth Alone: An Analysis Of The Efficacy Of Community-Based Doula Programs Serving Ethnic Minorities In San Francisco, Maria Margaret Nelson

Master's Projects and Capstones

Adverse birth outcomes for both the parent and the child disproportionately affect people of color. Evidence demonstrates that one of the ways to mitigate these negative consequences is through the utilization of a doula, a trained birth companion that is not a medical provider but whose role it is to physically and emotionally support the patient through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Community-based doula programs, where the doula is of the same cultural background as the client, are particularly effective in improving birth outcomes in communities of color by providing culturally competent care and helping to navigate a healthcare system that …

Feder, S. (Director). (2020). Disclosure: Trans Lives On Screen [Film]. Netflix., Galen D. Bunting

Feminist Pedagogy

Sam Feder’s documentary Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen (2020) braids together an overview of trans cinema through the voices of transgender actors, alongside clips from classic and current cinema, and commentary from trans academics. Featuring commentary from an impressive array of voices, including actress Laverne Cox and historian Susan Stryker, the film offers a variety of perspectives on film and representation. Beginning with an impressive timeline of trans representation from the earliest representations of gender crossing in silent movies and ending upon the debut of Pose, in which trans people represent themselves, this Netflix Original offers a comprehensive visual history …

Rand, Sarah. The Small Book Of Hip Checks: On Queer Gender, Race, And Writing., Tl Jordan

Feminist Pedagogy

The small book of hip checks: On queer gender, race, and writing by Erica Rand is an accessible look into the revising process of writing through hip checks and personal stories. This review examines the concept of "hip checks" in writing, personal stories as a reflexive writing tool, and the role of the “hip check” in the feminist classroom. Rand’s book is well suited for educators looking to help their students through the writing and revising process.

Feminism, Interrupted? A Review Of Lola Olufemi's Feminist Primer, Alex W. Watkins

Feminist Pedagogy

This book review discusses Lola Olufemi's recent book, Feminism, Interrupted (2020), and how its project to promote an action-oriented, Marxist, intersectional feminism in contrast to a mainstream white feminism steeped in neoliberal thought might integrate within courses in women's and gender studies.

Crime-Fighting Heroes And Pretty Caped Crusaders: Classroom Content Analysis Of Children’S Halloween Costumes, Alexandra Hendley

Feminist Pedagogy

The content analysis activity described in this article allows students to investigate the gendered meanings in marketing materials for children’s Halloween costumes. What lessons about gender are relayed through materials such as these? Existing research has shown that costumes are often gendered in traditional, stereotypical ways. However, rather than being passive recipients of research findings, students participating in this activity get to “do” scholarly work and examine data firsthand. This process of discovery is the hallmark of inquiry-guided learning and is also central to feminist pedagogy. For this activity, students are provided with a set of children’s Halloween costumes to …

Bad Sex Ed: First-Day Icebreaker For Classes On Sex And Sexuality, Alice Rutkowski

Feminist Pedagogy

The author describes a short teaching activity meant to precede the introduction of assigned course material that includes sexually explicit materials. Students are questioned about their experience with sex ed in their K-12 schooling in order to demonstrate the paucity of vocabulary, evidence-based information and even comfort level that most adults have with this material.

Harnessing Your Feminist Rage: A Multimedia Assignment For Upper-Level Courses, Caitlin E. Lawson

Feminist Pedagogy

"Harnessing Your Feminist Rage" introduces a three-part multimedia assignment that encourages students to think critically about feminist anger, particularly as refracted through social media. First, students introduce and analyze a media text or phenomenon that made them angry and reflect upon that anger. Then, using whichever online medium they choose, students call out the offender and express their anger to the audience of their choice in order to meet a specific goal. Finally, students reflect on their expression of anger and their experience creating their response. Overall, the goal is for students to combine their knowledge of feminist theories and …

Health Of Transgender Adults, 2020, Addie Furrer

University Honors Theses

Transgender and gender diverse individuals are known to experience barriers to accessing medical care while also being at higher risk of chronic conditions. In this study, the health conditions, disabilities, and health care access of 1,017 transgender and gender diverse(TGD) respondents to the 2020 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System were examined in relation to both cisgender men and cisgender women. This analysis was done to further the effort of understanding the health disparities experienced by TGD populations. Transgender and gender diverse individuals were more likely to have poor overall health and mental health, have multiple chronic health conditions, and have …

Spa203. ¿Qué Hacemos Con La Lengua? Lenguaje, Diversidad Y Derechos Humanos, Juan Jesús Payán

Open Educational Resources

Descripción del curso

SPA203 - (For native or near-native speakers.) The grammatical structure of today's standard Spanish. Intensive practice in reading, speaking, and elementary composition.

En SPA203 vamos a explorar la relación entre el lenguaje y la diversidad en el marco de los derechos humanos fundamentales. El título del curso, “¿qué hacemos con la lengua?”, nos pregunta dos cosas: qué tipo de prejuicios perpetuamos por medio del lenguaje y cómo hacer para que la lengua albergue de manera efectiva la diversidad de nuestra sociedad. En un contexto actual, sorprendente estancado en la indiferencia, la ignorancia, el prejuicio y estigmatización de …

Feminism, Femininity, And Arkansas First Ladies: Hillary Rodham Clinton And Janet Mccain Huckabee, Spencer A. Hurlbut

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

Through the 1970s and into the 2000s, Hillary Clinton and Janet Huckabee served as first ladies. Their husbands were elected and ran campaigns for Arkansas Governor and President of the United States. While the two men were the elected officials that constituents cast their votes for on election day, Hillary and Janet were beside the men playing a tremendous role in securing or discouraging votes. Third wave feminism ran rampant throughout these two decades and resulted in higher numbers of women in the workforce, later years of marriage, less children, and greater awareness of sexual harassment and sex discrimination. Hillary …

Deconstructing Gendered Vumilia (Perseverance) Theology In Times Of The Gender-Based Violence Pandemic, Esther Mombo, Heleen Joziasse

Journal of International Women's Studies

During the COVID-19 pandemic, cases of gender-based violence (GBV) dramatically increased. While the Kenyan governmental bodies are held responsible for their inadequate response to this “national disaster of GBV”, the role of the Kenyan churches is hardly criticized. The churches neither spoke out against this prevalent injustice, nor did they openly support the victims of GBV. Furthermore, it could be argued that churches, through their patriarchal structures and cultural and doctrinal teachings, have contributed to this disaster. This article is written from a woman’s perspective and focused on the notion of vumilia, or perseverance, an important notion in the lived …

Discourse(S) Of Identity: Precarity And (In)Visibility In Farida Karodia’S Daughters Of The Twilight, Goutam Karmakar, Rajendra Chetty

Journal of International Women's Studies

Apartheid South Africa witnessed the forming of cultural and sexual identities within political strategies that were designed to categorize and regulate “non-white” individuals. By dealing with interactions between white men and black women, South African literary works in the penultimate years of apartheid demonstrate apartheid’s structural viciousness and gendered hierarchy through certain innovative deviations. Daughters of the Twilight (1986) by Farida Karodia is one such text that not only sheds light on the masculine, racialized, and patriarchal apartheid structure of the male gaze, but also inherently disallows the female characters of Karodia’s narrative to inhabit neither day nor night, as …

African Moral Fibre As The Lost Glory In Combating Violence Against Women, Lilian Cheelo Siwila

Journal of International Women's Studies

Africa, like any other society, embodies moral responsibilities that govern the way society is to be ruled. These morals, which are embedded in people’s belief systems and worldviews, are transmitted from generation to generation. The gendered nature of these morals can be reflected in the way women and girls are protected and respected in their communities. Since the holistic mothering roles of women are viewed as the highest order of society, heinous crimes like violating a woman are seen as taboo in that society. Among the Tonga people of Zambia, where this study is located, raping or beating a woman …

Ndwae Ngone Mwaitu: A Postmodern Cultural Phenomenon Of Dowry Among The Akamba And Its Influence On Spousal Violence, Telesia Kathini Musili

Journal of International Women's Studies

Dowry, also referred to as bride wealth or bride price, is a consultative, amicable, and quantifiable summation of goods exchanged between the groom’s and bride’s families. Traditionally, dowry (ngasya) payment among the Akamba was an obligation for the parents-in-law (husband’s parents), but that has in the recent past transitioned to the husband paying the dowry himself. An emerging trend is, however, catching up with married women budding together and opting to pay the dowry for themselves, which is not only a cultural shock and an empowering paradigm shift but also a ceremony that could be riddled and clouded …

Formation Of Positive Organizational Climate: Integration Of Ubuntu Diversity Management In Banks, Surjit Singha, R Sivarethinamohan

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Physical Abuse In The Absence Of Ubuntu, Ranjit Singha, Yogesh S. Kanna

Journal of International Women's Studies

Students in Africa and worldwide should learn about Ubuntu at the school, secondary school, college, and university levels. It should be incorporated into the educational process. Tobacco-free days, alcohol-free (dry days), and drug-free days could all be ways to commemorate Ubuntu. Female smokers are at a higher risk than male smokers. Following such measures may aid in raising awareness. Legislators in Africa need to employ incentives to amend legislation to fully integrate Ubuntu into society. It is possible to prevent violence against women and children by instilling Ubuntu principles in the community and society. It is sufficient to refer to …

Vatsonga Cultural Practices And Their Impact On The Health Of Widows And Significant Others, Fanisa Baloyi, Jabulani Owen Nene, Azwihangwisi Helen Mavhandu-Mudzusi

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper presents the Vatsonga cultural practices regarding widowhood and how those practices impact personal health. The purpose of the study was to gain an in-depth understanding of how the Vatsonga manages widowhood and how those practices affect the management of HIV/AIDS. This ethnographic study was conducted in Bushbuckridge and is grounded in Leininger’s theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality. Data was collected from participants using individual face-to-face interviews and observation. In addition, ethnographic content analysis was utilized for data analysis. Results indicate that there are practices such as widow cleansing and widow inheritance that the Vatsonga people practice …

The Angst Of The Dehumanized: Ubuntu For Solidarity, Lillykutty Abraham, Krishna V. P. Prabha

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article attempts to delve into the multiple forms of violence experienced by South African women, within the theoretical framework of the ecological model of abuse proposed by Lori L. Heise (1998). The objective of the article is to explore how the communitarian dimension of ubuntu is absent when the womenfolk is in question. Their existence itself appears to be insignificant compared to their counterparts. Ubuntu cannot be lived or practiced while some are excluded from this concept. Gender inequality and inequitable status of existence cannot be part of ubuntu, as “I am, because you are” or the meaning …

Women, Security, And Gender-Based Violence In The Northeast, Nigeria, Abidemi Abiola Isola, Adeogun Tolulope

Journal of International Women's Studies

Gender-based violence is inevitable in every armed conflict zone. To survive, every human being, including women and girls, requires security. In armed conflict zones, however, women and girls are more vulnerable to the dangers of insecurity. These difficulties may influence them physically, psychologically, economically, and educationally. They may also have to live with the effects of their trauma for the rest of their lives. The effects of the Boko Haram insurgency on women’s security in Nigeria’s northeast are the subject of this study. This investigation relied on structural violence theory. It’s a meta-analytical study based on secondary sources like books, …

Stitching Narratives Of Gender-Based Violence: Meaning-Making Through Embroidery, Puleng Segalo

Journal of International Women's Studies

COVID-19 has altered how we engage with one another. With social distancing as the new norm, and the prolonged lockdown having affected people at various levels of their lives, life has had to be reimagined and reconfigured. One of the things that has remained stable, if not worsened, is the challenge of gender-based violence. In South Africa and many other countries in the world, when strict lockdown rules were introduced, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) started making headlines on many media platforms, sparking protests, online dialogues, and online support networks for those affected. While people were worried about protecting themselves against COVID-19, …