Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons^™

Estha And Trans Identity In The God Of Small Things, Clara Reid

Critical Humanities

Gender relationships in The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy change over the course of the book. In many ways, gender and caste are inseparable from one another in how they interact; it is Estha who bridges the gap between both. Whether consciously or subconsciously, he engages in this transgressive behavior in order to become his sister Rahel. This essay positions Estha as a trans woman longing for a becoming, and it is through his successful pursuit of Rahel in both a queer and psychoanalytic sense that he becomes a woman. This pursuit manifests through transgressive behavior, putting him …

Ballroom: An Exploration Of Queer Survival And Self-Sufficiency, Jet Mezini

Rushton Journal of Undergraduate Humanities Research

The AIDs epidemic and its disinformation alienated queer people from U.S culture. As a result, queer people, especially queer people of color, began meeting together to express their self-made culture, a series of competitions among themselves, the underground scene of “ballroom.” Ballroom reveled in self-awareness and bordered on satire, being inspired by Western standards that were unable to be applied to a queer populous. This essay will analyze these cultural norms, understanding how they served as methods of reclamation for queer people, and how ballroom evolved to reflect social progression.

A Quantitative Examination Of The Role Of Relationship Status In Asexual College Students’ Sexual Victimization, Amanda Mollet, Wayne Black, Leslie Shelton

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This exploratory quantitative study examines sexual violence among asexual college students using the Asexual Community Survey. We conducted analyses to examine the coercive tactics used by sexual violence perpetrators against asexual college students with a focus on examining statistical differences based on characteristics of students’ relationships. Findings revealed that across multiple forms of relationships, asexual college students’ relationship experiences were significantly correlated with experiencing higher levels of multiple types of sexual violence. The study challenges existing narratives of campus-based sexual violence while highlighting the unique and specific influences of power on sexual victimization within the context of asexual college students’ …

African Women Custodians: Teaching, Toponymy And Tacit Reverie In Heritage Education, Tokie Laotan-Brown

Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women's & Gender Studies

This paper investigates the critical role of women in African cultures as guardians of cultural heritage. It explores their central function in transmitting traditional ecological knowledge and practices across generations through established pedagogical methods, toponymic knowledge systems (place-names within cultural landscapes), and the cultivation of tacit knowledge. The paper emphasizes the significance of women's contributions to environmental education, often overlooked or undervalued within Western scientific paradigms. This marginalization restricts access to resources and participation in decision-making processes. It argues for the integration of traditional knowledge systems, informed by women's expertise, into formal education and pedagogy. This inclusion serves to validate …

Editorial: Defying Heteropatriarchal Currents, Bekeh Utietiang Ukelina

Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women's & Gender Studies

The strong cultural and political systems that constrain women's autonomy and progress, often rooted in colonial and imperial histories, have shown troubling resilience despite over a century of diverse women's global activism to dismantle them. In the face of these multifaceted attacks on the rights and self-determination of women and LGBTQIA individuals, particularly in the Global South and within marginalized communities globally, it is not the time to retreat into familiar frameworks. Instead, we must resist by taking strong intellectual positions that center postcolonial feminist frameworks, recognizing the diverse and often interconnected forms of oppression women face.

Bechen-Rivera, Liam, Devon Rosano

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Liam Bechen-Munoz is a 38-year-old trans man living in Portland, Maine. He grew up in a conservative Catholic town in Massachusetts before attending the University of Maine in Farmington, where he performed and did activism as a member of the Queer Student Alliance. After coming out, Bechen-Munoz faced discrimination and experienced getting fetishized online. He is a queer musician who has dealt with substance abuse but became sober in November of 2023. In this interview, Bechen-Munoz discusses some of the challenges he has faced, especially around coming out.

Mindfulness Matters: Addressing Anxiety And Navigating Toward Wellbeing Through Miea Mindfulness Practices, A Mixed-Methods Study Of Lgbtiq Graduate Writing Students, Kim Westerman

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Mindfulness Matters: Addressing Anxiety and Navigating Toward Wellbeing Through MIEA Mindfulness Practices, a Mixed-Methods Study of LGBTIQ Graduate Writing Students

Anxiety has always been a part of the human experience, even before the phenomenon was conceptualized in the 17^th century and named by Freud in the 19th. And human beings have devised many strategies for addressing anxiety: reducing it, ignoring it, distracting oneself from it, despairing over it, medicating it, engaging with it, moving through it, co-existing with it. The current zeitgeist, more than four years into the COVID-19 global pandemic, situates anxiety as a central facet of …

Challenging Myths & Addressing Intimate Partner Sexual Violence In Lgbtq+ Relationships, Nora K. Whitten

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Intimate partner violence (IPV), including intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV), is a public health crisis that disproportionately affects members of the LGBTQ+ community. This paper draws upon related, though limited, research to identify the five prevalent myths surrounding IPSV in LGBTQ+ relationships, addressing the following misconceptions: 1) IPSV can only occur in heterosexual relationships, 2) IPSV in LGBTQ+ relationships is not as severe, 3) Women cannot commit acts of sexual violence, 4) The more “masculine” partner is always the perpetrator, and 5) IPSV is a “mutual fight” among partners of the same sex. These myths perpetuate victim-blaming, minimize the severity …

Story Of Everything, Mariana Romo-Carmona

Publications and Research

Story of Everything, by Mariana Romo-Carmona. Translated by Caragh Barry.

Original title: Cuento de todas las cosas.

Ephemeral Legacy, Allison Hall

Master's Theses

Recently, my thoughts have centered on the problem of legacy. How do we forge bonds with other humans? What happens on an interpersonal level when these humans pass away, or when we pass, and they continue in life? How do queer spaces consistently offer deeper phenomena of interpersonal legacies; how does death operate as generational catalyst? I am particularly interested in putting these questions in the context of queer spaces. In queer culture, kinship is formed in ways that break from typical western notions of kinship. Despite being incoherent to western notions of family, queer bonds are extremely strong (Bradway …

Victims Unknown: An Evaluation Of The Way Louisville, Kentucky Communicated About Aids At The End Of The 20th Century, Alexander M. Vernon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is thesis examines the way that printed news sources reported on AIDS during the height of the epidemic in Louisville, Kentucky. It compares between mainstream and grass-roots sources to work to identify shortcomings in reporting, and how reporting on a public health crisis can be improved upon in the future. It uses an intersectional framework to deconstruct why certain news sources reported on specific demographics of the population, across racialized and gendered lines. Chapter One analyzes the epidemic and then contextualizes the language that was used. Chapter Two focuses on mainstream local newspapers, while also defining demographics of AIDS …

Señoritas On And Off The Silver Screen: How Chicana Women Organized For Equality And Challenged The Cultural Prison Of Sexualized Media Representations In The First Half Of The Twentieth-Century, Rossandra Paloma Martinez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research is personal for me due to lived experience and day-to-day situations where I have felt the pressures of unattainable beauty standards and society’s fluid definition of beauty and femininity surrounding Chicana, Latinas, Mexican, and Mexican-American women. What inspired me to pursue these issues and topics was the work of Dr. Vicki Lynn Ruiz in her book From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth-Century America. This research focuses on rival and contested images of Chicana, Mexican, Mexican-American and Latina labor advocates and activists from the early twentieth as opposed to sexualized and eroticized packaged caricatures that Hollywood …

Rai, Shaunna, Kylie Cloutier

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Shaunna Rai, or Daniel Shackley, was born in Killeen, Texas in 1972 to a military family and moved near the Augusta, Maine area during their school years. They grew up as a cisgender man in Bridgeton, Maine and attended Lakes Region High School. Shaunna fathered a child as a teen in high school and is now a grandparent. Shaunna moved out to live independently at 16 and utilized the group Outright! In the Lewiston/Auburn area as a support group for LGBTQ+ youth. Shaunna discovered drag in their early 20’s because of roommates, friends, and the active gay bar scene in …

Kidman, Cathy, Sadie Mcnish

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Cathy Kidman, is a 60-year-old lesbian activist who has been involved in LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS advocacy work in Maine since the 1990s. Kidman first became involved in activism through her work at The AIDS Project in Portland in the late 1980s, during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This led her to become an adult advisor for the LGBTQ youth organization Outright, which she helped build into a nonprofit organization. Kidman describes how the AIDS epidemic catalyzed LGBTQ activism, bringing together the gay, lesbian, and bisexual communities that had previously been more separate. She talks about the importance of creating …

Penny, Pollard, Sarah Winn

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Penny Pollard is a 71-year-old lesbian, who grew up in a middle-class Catholic family in Massachusetts and is the youngest of three children. She discusses her coming out process, her experiences in the LGBTQ community in San Francisco during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and her career path which included various jobs such as furniture making, and speech-language pathology. Penny describes facing some discrimination and backlash when coming out, particularly from old friends and coworkers but also finding acceptance and community, especially after moving to Portland, Maine. She shares the story of how she met her now-wife when moving to Portland Maine. …

Gonzalez- Rodriguez, Alex, Robert Mitchell, Devon Rosano

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Alex Luna Gonzalez Rodriguez is a 25-year-old transgender woman who was born in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. She first came out as bisexual to the only “out” gay person in high school before later discovering she was trans while attending college. She went to the University of Southern Maine after hearing about it on the radio in Austin, Texas. When she came to Maine, she discovered what she described as “the real me.” She discusses her journey of self-discovery and the challenges and support she has faced along the way. She discusses how life was different in Mexico, Texas, and Maine, …

Schoeller, Margaret, Samantha Bender

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Margaret “Margie” Schoeller is a 65-year-old newly-wed lesbian, retired OB/GYN, LGBTQ+ activist, and aspiring interfaith chaplain. Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Schoeller reflects fondly on her upbringing in a progressive Presbyterian community, as well as her exposure to the arts and access to excellent education. In 1977, she moved to Maine to attend Bowdoin College, where she came out in 1981 during an era of significant cultural and social transformation for the gay and lesbian community.

Schoeller’s medical career stands as a testament to her unwavering commitment to dignity, inclusivity, and compassionate care. After earning her medical degree from …

Brown, Brandy, Atlantis Martin

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

In this interview with Brandy Brown, a queer social worker originally from Georgia, they discuss such topics as family of origin, education (including getting a GED and later a doctorate), religious conversion therapies, overcoming estrangement with their family, parenting, and queer youth. Dr Brown also discusses their important role in creating the first gender clinic for trans youth at Maine Health in the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital.

Humphries, Tara, Fatima Hagi

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Tara Humphries uses they/them pronouns. They identify as queer, trans, nonbinary, and lesbian. They were born in Portland, Maine, but grew up in North Yarmouth and Durham. Tara Humphries received their bachelor’s degree in sociology at Bates College. They completed their Master of Divinity at Yale Divinity School, a program to prepare people for ordination to the Christian ministry. They work as a Minister at the Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church in Portland, Maine. In this interview, Humphries shares how their Unitarian Universalist faith has shaped their perspective on their queer identity in their personal life and professional settings. They …

Rovelto, Hope, Dakota Desantis

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Hope Rovelto’s oral history offers a compelling narrative of her experiences as a queer person, illustrating her journey of self-discovery, relationships, and dedication to activism. Growing up in a Catholic family, she encountered difficulties in reconciling her queer identity with her family's expectations, particularly those of her father. Nevertheless, Hope embraced her identity and turned her challenges into activism, advocating for issues such as abortion rights, gun control, Black Lives Matter, and prison reform. Her screen-printing business in Portland, Little Chair Printing, acts as a center for her advocacy, providing support to LGBTQ+ and minority-owned businesses through discounts and partnerships …

Hendricks, Kaycee, Katlyn Marcin

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Kaycee Hendricks (she/her) is a 33-year-old media professional born and raised in South Portland. She discusses the intersection of personal identity, sexuality, and community. Hendricks was raised in a close-knit, two-parent household, with a mother and father and younger brother. She developed a strong bond with her father as they shared an interest in photography. She completed an Associate’s degree at Southern Maine Community College and earned a BA from Emerson College in Boston, with a final semester in Los Angeles. Hendricks was inspired to move to Los Angeles after graduating to work within the media industry. Her professional journey …

Shearman, Patricia, Larisa Filippov

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

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Pat Shearman is a 75 year old lesbian currently living in Norway, ME. Although she was born in Waterville, she has lived in other places around the country such as Massachusetts and Ohio. Born to an American Baptist minister, Pat eventually distanced herself from religion as a college student despite her father’s liberal attitude. Years later, she began going to church again, and now identifies as a Unitarian Universalist. Pat was very involved in multiple types of activism during and after college, including antiwar activism and women’s rights activism. Although she does not march anymore, Pat is still politically …

Cardoza, Janice, Silvio Morales

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Janice Cardoza is a 73-year-old lesbian woman from Norway, Maine. She has lived in many places around New England and went to college in Boston, at the University of Massachusetts. She is a quiet woman and the youngest in the 3-child family. Cardoza grew up in a Catholic household but, as she matured, became disillusioned with the Catholic church and religion. She considers herself a Unitarian Universalist and attends a church in Norway, though she describes her relationship as more spiritual than religious. She met her wife at The Underground bar in Portland 40 years ago and they’ve been inseparable …

Moore, Raminta, Alex Kuvaja

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Ramona Moore is a first generation Lithuanian-American immigrant in her 40’s. She works as the Arts & Culture librarian at the Portland Public Library on Monument Square in downtown Portland, ME. During this interview, she discusses themes of coming out, representation, and her work experience at the library. The beginning of the interview focuses more heavily on her personal experiences as a young lesbian growing up in the 1990’s. She explores her own experiences with her sexuality, representation of queer people in her generation, the importance of having role models, and ends talking about coming out. She has worked at …

Hanson, Scott, Joel Kerins

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Scott Hanson is a 62 year old gay man originally from North Conway, NH who now lives in Topsham, ME. Hanson moved from North Conway to New York City at 18 to study art. Hanson later moved to Portland, ME in 1983 where he discovered the local gay community. Hanson’s interview highlights the Portland of the 80’s and 90’s, notably many LGBTQ bars that have long been closed.

Hanson’s story highlights his journey of sobriety that started in 1985 and how he found support outside of the bars, most notably in the local AA community of North Conway. Hanson’s story …

Emery, Kasie, Madison Strout

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Kasie Emery (they/them) is a 31-year-old, asexual, non-binary individual who discovered their asexual identity during their college years and discovered their non-binary identity a few years later. Emery has experienced many instances of asexual erasure in queer communities and speaks on the differences in the perceptions of their gender identity vs their sexual identity both in and out of LGBTQ+ spaces. They emphasize that discovering aspects of identity and self-expression is non-linear and how experimentation has been important in the learning process for them.

Throughout the interview, Emery displays their passion for queer representation in the media, describing LGBTQ+ characters …

Danvers-Kidman, Bre, Eddy Dakota

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Bre Danvers-Kidman is a queer, transmasculine non-binary individual currently living in Saco, Maine, and raised in Rhode Island. They attended Loyola University in Chicago. They go in depth about their experiences growing up as a queer person, including being outed at a young age, dealing with mental health struggles, and finding community through organizations like M.E.S.H. and the burlesque scene in Portland, Maine.

Bre also discusses running for the U.S. Senate in 2020 in Maine as the first non-binary candidate to run for that office, as well as their current role as the development director at MaineTransNet, a transgender advocacy …

Lyon, Lex, Oliver Eaton

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Lex Lyon is a 48 year old queer transgender man living in Portland, Maine. He is a multilingual language learner teacher and was a leader of the Welcoming and Safe Schools Youth Conference. Lyon speaks about the course of his life, identifying different ways and finding joy in different queer scenes. He transitioned during his teaching career, teaching middle schoolers. He has a strong passion for music and has good memories of the Michigan Women’s Music Festival. One of his role models is Nicole Maines, a transgender activist who stood up for herself at a very young age. Lyon recalls …

Patrick, Michelle, Julia Scavello

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Michelle Patrick is a 60-year-old lesbian woman born in Bethesda Maryland, but who mostly grew up in Washington D.C. Metro area. Patrick came out as a lesbian at age 15 in the late 1970s. Her mother initially reacted negatively but later became an advocate for her after a tragic accident. Patrick, who was openly gay in high school and college, faced some challenges but also found support from teachers and peers. She discusses the bar scene in Washington D.C and her experiences sneaking into some of them underage. She was involved in political activism from a young age. Moving to …

Munderback, Lisa, Noam Albion

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Lisa Munderback is a 68 year old lesbian who grew up in Pleasant Valley, New York and is currently married to her wife, Susan. Having grown up a Christian, Munderback attended seminary school with the intent on becoming a pastor, however after graduating decided not to. After being involved with a Jewish woman, she began attending the reform Jewish synagogue, Congregation Bet Ha’am, connecting particularly with the Jewish concept of Shekhinah, or the feminine aspect of G-d.

Munderback also spent time with the National Organization of Women, supporting the Anti-Proliferation movement, and still regularly contributes to LGBTQIA+-supporting organizations such as …