Women's Studies Commons^™

Support, Networks, And Relationships: Findings From A Mixed-Methods Evaluation Of A Mentorship Programme For Early Career Women Researchers In Sexual And Reproductive Health And Rights, Muhammad Asim, Peter Muriuki Gatheru, Joy J. Chebet, Mehr G. Shah, Anna Thorson, Vanessa Brizuela

Community Health Sciences

Low research output among women researchers in health research has been linked to inadequate mentorship opportunities for early career women researchers and particularly in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) field. Mentorship has been recognized as a contributor to strengthening research capacity and as beneficial for both mentors and mentees. Women researchers oftentimes experience negative impacts of organizational and structural gender inequities related to formal and informal mentoring. In 2020, the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction at WHO launched a mentorship programme for early career SRHR women researchers from low- and …

"I Call It Hunting": Centuries Of Violence Against Native American Women, Antonia Felix

Educational Leadership Department Publications

Native American and Pacific Islander women are missing and murdered at an alarming and relentless rate. The history of violence against this population starts with European contact in the fifteenth century and continues to this day with Native women suffering the highest rate of sexual assault per capita in the nation. This panel presentation held in observance of the International Day of Eliminating Violence Against Women concludes with a recognition of Native American resilience and actions all Americans can take to help reduce these crimes.

Undergraduate Experiences Of Black Women At Pwi Campuses, Nilsa Laine

Honors Projects in History, Literature, and the Arts

Black women in modern-day American society face various forms of oppression as a result of misogynoir, the disliking of or bias against black women. A smaller society of our modern societies is college campuses. Predominantly white institutions (PWIs) specifically have a structure that results in a unique yet universal cultural experience for Black women. This research will answer the question: are there commonalities between Black women in their undergraduate experiences at PWI campuses? Qualitative research will be conducted with methodology including archival research and interviews to collect data. Intersectionality theory, Invisibility theory, and Black feminist thought/theory will be used as …

Gardner, Ed, Ethan Bent

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Ed Gardner is a 62 year old gay male currently living in Falmouth and working in Portland. He grew up in Lewiston Maine and moved to Portland as a young adult. Starting from scratch, Ed was able to buy and sell buildings and found tremendous success over his long career as a real estate agent. Over the course of his life, Ed has fundraised and donated to a variety of Maine’s LGBTQ organizations. He was involved directly with the establishment of the Equality Community Center by first hosting LGBTQ tenants in his office space, and then helping to raise money …

Roan, Alex, Paige Ravenscraft

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Alex Roan is a 42 year old trans masc individual who uses he/him pronouns. He was originally from Stoughton, Massachusetts where he grew up with his family before moving to Central Maine for college and living in the Portland area through adulthood. Alex shares his experience with growing up in a Catholic family and finding himself as a trans person in college. He details what it was like to come out to his family, who was in denial at first but later in life became his biggest supporters.

Alex Roan is the founder of MaineTransNet. This interview captures the story …

Smith, T. Love, Kassey Kreer

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

T Love Smith is a 46 year old born in Lincoln, ME, who identifies as non-binary and queer. After coming out to their mom at age 19, who had also come out as gay when T was 5, they were met with an unsupportive, negative response. Going through a tough childhood filled with alcohol abuse and no community for T to confide in about their gender/sexual identity, T found themselves in toxic relationships in their early adulthood. Eventually they were able to come to terms with their identity and came out as non-binary. T discussed their time in the military …

Murray, Evan, O'Connor Matthew

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Evan Murray is a 45 year old nonbinary transman. They were born in Boston, Massachusetts and moved to Windham, Maine. Within the interview, Murray discusses the problems with going to a school that is too small, identity challenges within family, and the love of political activism. He had also discussed how his identity had changed over the years, as a young adult, coming to the identity of nonbinary, and later embracing their more masculine aspects. He attended USM and then later a college in Washington, State. He also discusses the importance of chosen family including his relationship with his three …

Spadafore, Sampson, Benjamin Lachapelle

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Sampson Spadafore is a 27-year-old queer, transmasculine person who currently lives in Westbrook, Maine. They are originally from Syracuse, New York, and attended Nazareth College in Rochester, New York. They graduated with a degree in musical theater. Spadafore discusses shifts in their gender self-presentation and gender fluidity as well as media erasure of trans men. They then moved to Portland, Maine, to work for Maine Boys to Men and have also worked with Speak About It; Maine Renters United; and Democratic Socialists of America. A political current focus is using social media and art to raise awareness about Palestine. Writing …

Burdin, Johannah, Samantha Rouillard

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Johannah Burdin shares her story as a lesbian/queer woman experiencing southern Maine in the 1990s. Her story touches on topics involving coming out, relationships, a traumatic incident that left her disabled, activism, and much more. She was active in her youth in spreading awareness on the AIDS/HIV crisis, education on safe sex, and spent her evenings at popular Portland gay bars, like Sister’s Bar and Limelight/The Underground. Although she is not much into drinking, she recognized these were some of the few spots queer people could go to make community and relationships. Johannah also shares her story of becoming a …

Bilodeau, Richard, Maggie Powers

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Richard Bilodeau is 54 years old and identifies as a gay man. He grew up in Portland, attending Deering High School. He is married to his partner Scott and they went on their first date in 1988. He studied applied clinical chemistry at the University of Vermont and began his career in the Maine Medical Center lab. He earned his bachelors and master's in business from the University of Southern Maine. Currently, he works as a professor in the School of Business and Honors Program. Over the years, he also had ownership in alternative health and TV programming businesses. He …

Hua, Donovan, Megan Molloy

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Donovan Hua is a queer, non-binary artist and advocate in Portland Maine. Donovan was born in China and was adopted when they were two years old. They moved to Portland and have lived in the area since. They were raised primarily by a single mother who greatly influenced their relationship with Catholocism and spirituality. Donovan later attended Casco Bay High School where they came to terms with their gender identity and sexual orientation. Hua speaks about their chosen family of friends and the sense of community they offered through their navigation of both their identity and their disability.

Hua discusses …

Michaud, Jim, Angelli Bishop

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Jim Michaud, (he/him), was born in 1964. Jim is a local Mainer, born and raised in Lewiston, Maine. He was born into a middle-class family with his siblings, was raised Catholic, and even attended Catholic school in his earlier years. Since the late eighties, Jim has identified as a gay man. He is a USM alumnus and attended the USM Gay Men's Alliance, which was his first ever encounter participating in an LGBTQ-organized environment. Being proactive in his political activism, Jim annually attends the Pride Parades in Boston, New York, and Maine. He stresses the importance of creating open space …

Smith, Betsy, Kayla Graffam

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Betsy Smith is a 63 year old lesbian woman who was born in Bangor and grew up in Exeter Maine. She was raised by her mother and father on a potato farm with her three siblings. She attended Jacksonville University, where she came to terms with her sexual identity and received a degree in physical education. She eventually was hired as a math teacher in Vermont and later Portland, Maine. After moving to Portland, Smith became involved in volunteering for gay rights activist groups like the MLGPA. She was involved in multiple campaigns, including the various Maine Won’t Discriminate campaigns …

Barkley Roy, Jill, Rachel Gilbert

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Jill Barkley Roy is a 42-year-old woman from Sault, Ste. Marie, Michigan who moved to Maine in 2004. A self-described “democrat from birth”, Jill grew up in a small conservative town with her sister older sister Christine. She attended the University of Michigan Ann Arbor as a women’s studies major. Jill found herself surrounded by new and exciting opportunities in college, becoming involved in several LGBT organizations that would eventually bring her to the East Coast. At age 23, Jill began working with Family Crisis Services, now known as Through These Doors, a domestic violence resource center. Upon working as …

Brodack, Jason, Emily Cook

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Jason Brodak is a 44 year old man of Polish heritage, currently working at the University of Southern Maine and living in Bath, Maine, with his husband. Brodak discusses living in Detroit Michigan, Chicago Illinois, and New York. He attended Michigan State University and later received his bachelor's degree in Interior Design from an arts school in Chicago. He discusses his childhood, coming out, briefly joining the Navy, the role of gay bars and gay chatrooms in his life, gay marriage, and the HIV AIDS epidemic.

Please cite as: Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection, Lesbian, Gay, …

In Yellow: A Solo Poem-Play, Emily Kitchens

Faculty Articles

“In Yellow” was developed in the INKubator residency at Art House Productions (Jersey City, NJ) in 2019 with the following blurb:

In Yellow is a solo poem-play about a relationship between a young woman and a ceramic doll her grandmother made that she has just accidentally broken. It is about grief. It is about breaking out of generationally instilled feminine values. It is about the color yellow. It’s all true.

“In Yellow” is an experiment of a poem and play for one voice. I was in New York City for about 10 years, before that The Bay Area, but am …

Poulin-Burrage, Edward "Teddy", Brendan Mcbrine

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Edward “Teddy” Poulin-Burrage is a biracial queer man who has lived in the Portland area for just about his entire life. Teddy has been deeply involved in the world of activism for more than half his life at this point, including with the Southern Maine Workers Center, Sexual Assault Response Services, Portland Racial Justice Congress, Pride Portland, Equality Maine, and other groups. Teddy has mostly done behind the scenes work for these organizations, usually focusing on coalition-building and forging relationships with other organizers. On top of this, Teddy has been a regular in the local gay bar scene for quite …

Marcous, Dana, Robben Harris

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Dana Marcous is a spiritual, successful and fascinating man who at times lives in the extremes, but always seems to maintain his balance. His life story and his spiritual path are so closely intertwined, it might appear as if he has eclipsed the spiritual and physical world. From being a world-class hairdresser and opening one of the most successful hair salons in Maine, to pursuing a career as an actor in L.A., Dana is a person who always follows his dreams and looks for the signs. This interview contains stories of Dana’s early life, including his process of coming out …

Leighton-Cory, Jocelyn, Bella Shannon

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Jocelyn identifies as a Queer woman but also aligns with the label Gender-Queer. They are 40 years old and currently live in the city of South Portland where they serve as a member on the City Council and also work as a managing director at Space Gallery in downtown Portland. Jocelyn was born in Bangor, Maine, and lived there for a year before moving briefly to South Princeton, Maine, and eventually settling in Princeton, Maine, where they grew up. Jocelyn was raised by their single mother along with their older brother and younger sister. They received their B.A. in Arts …

Cadwallader, Megan, Gretchen Thiele

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Meghan Cadwallader was born in 1976 in a small, rural town in Upstate New York. She grew up with a stable family and surrounded by the Catholic religion. Cadwallader realized she was lesbian around her junior year of high school. However, her sexuality was never a huge deal, more just another part of her. She went to college at Holland’s University, and all-girls school, in which she initially came out to people resulting in mixed responses. Meghan then went to Bucknell University In Pennsylvania. She received a degree in French and English with a concentration in creative writing. She talks …

Parker, Heidi, Tegan Bryne

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Heidi Parker is a 47-year-old lesbian, who uses she/her pronouns. Heidi Parker grew up in the South and Seventh-Day Adventist. One of her favorite parts about living in the South and still one of her favorite things today is the mountains. Heidi Parker has moved to a few places around the United States; including New York, Maine, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Morrow Beach. Heidi Parker worked as a PE teacher before getting a higher degree in Sports Management. After getting her degree, she moved to New York and worked at Syracuse and then moved to Maine to work …

Poetic Portraits Of Older Women In The Great Black Swamp, Sandra L. Faulkner

ICS Fellow Lectures

Dr. Faulkner discusses the importance of oral histories and listening to older women by presenting poetic portraits of older women in the Bowling Green area that she co-created from oral histories. This was a collaborative project with The Wood County Committee on Aging, the BGSU archives, and local women Faulkner interviewed about their experiences across their life course and contributions to our community. These poetic portraits and oral histories will be archived at the BGSU libraries for all of us to learn from.

Seeking Sisterhood: An Exploratory Qualitative Inquiry Into The Sorority Rejection Experiences Of Black Women, Jasmine Michelle Pulce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In response to a call to fill the gap left by previous studies on collegiate sorority rejection, this study explored the meaning Black women ascribe to experiences of rejection from historically Black sororities. Using Black feminist thought and sista circle methodology, this study introduced narratives from five Black women who came together to comprise a collective standpoint. To better understand this phenomenon, study participants completed individual interviews, two Sista Circles, and one reflection survey. Three main findings were the interconnectedness of Black Greek-letter organizations and Black subcommunities at predominantly white institutions, the nonlinear nature of the Black sorority rejection experience, …

Mothers In Law: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Mothers In Law School, Sarah M. Jordon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mothers are an increasing student population in higher education but an extensively under-researched population. While research examining motherhood is limited, the dearth of studies examining motherhood in higher education is especially limited, with even less available in the legal field and the institutions that provide legal education. This study examined how mothers in law school made meaning of their experiences utilizing a postmodernist epistemological framework, postmodernism and performance as a theoretical framework, and critical discourse analysis as a methodology. Data collection took place over the 2022-2023 academic year. Eight mothers participated in this qualitative study representing a range of ability …

Shall Her Eyes Rest: A Story Of A Syrian Refugee, Hamza Qasem, Manal Al-Natour

Journal of International Women's Studies

“Shall Her Eyes Rest” is a short story about a Syrian refugee woman, Maryama, who overcomes challenges in her journey as a refugee in the USA through hard work, dedication, and resilience. The story reveals how she displays agency by asserting herself in a foreign community, becoming independent, and sharing her Syrian cuisine and culture with the American society. Moreover, Maryama’s story reveals a nightmare that some refugees face—family separation. She and her children and husband were able to board their flight to the United States, but one of her sons was denied entry and was not allowed to join …

Book Review Essay: A Kick In The Belly: Women, Slavery, And Resistance, Alexandra Smithie

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review Essay: Feminist City: Claiming Space In A Man-Made World, Hale Demir-Doğuoğlu

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review Essay: Race And Reproduction In Cuba, Zyanya Gutiérrez

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review Essay: The Transnational Redress Movement For The Victims Of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery, Boram Yi

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Daddy Issues: Love And Hate In The Time Of Patriarchy, Andrea Rosales

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.