Gender and Sexuality Commons^™

Editorial: Sprinkle Throughout The Years, Emma Sturm

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

No abstract provided.

Editorial: Continuing Our Work, Elizabeth Adan

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

No abstract provided.

Does Racial Triangulation Unravel Intersectionality?, Samantha Keng

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

This essay explores how Claire Kim’s idea of racial triangulation complicates intersectionality in its classic sense. Specifically, I argue that the racial triangulation of Asian Americans introduces new dilemmas for intersectional frameworks by destabilizing analyses of subject formation and understandings of privilege and oppression. How, for example, can Asian American complicity in anti Blackness be incorporated into understandings of identity and its mobilization? By expanding discussions of race beyond binary thinking, racial triangulation both poses new questions and creates new possibilities in the realm of intersectional theory. Especially given today’s racial landscape, this paper attempts to engage in the critical …

Banning Blackness: Race, Gender-Based Violence, And Classroom Censorship, Amelia Roskin-Frazee

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

This paper examines how the relationship between race and gender-based violence impacts how schools choose which books to ban. In particular, this paper focuses on Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye (1970) and the novel’s place on the American Library Association’s compiled lists of the most frequency banned books in the United States. Using an analysis of The Bluest Eye in conversation with the work of academics such as Spillers (1987) and Crenshaw (1991), this paper posits the intersection between race and rape in The Bluest Eye — and how that intersection implicates white supremacy in gendered violence —which leads to …

The Challenges Lgbt+ Asylum-Seekers And Refugees Face In The United States, Yordanos Molla

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

The discussion surrounding LGBT+ asylum-seekers and refugees is becoming more prominent as advocacy for LGBT+ rights increases around the world. LGBT+ asylum-seekers and refugees encounter unique challenges due to their identities that shape their journey to find sanctuary, such as history of discrimination, requirement to validate one’s LGBT+ identity, and detrimental issues of mental health. Other problems regarding LGBT+ asylum-seekers and refugees involve mental health and active global legislation prohibiting homosexuality. These problems are analyzed throughout this research paper in order to provide solutions to improve the current resettlement process for LGBT+ refugees. Resolutions that assist LGBT+ asylum-seekers and refugees …

A Gender-Non-Conforming Method: Trans* Methodologies For Trans* Subjects, Ilia Forkin

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

This paper analyses the methodology of sociological studies on gender-non-conforming (GNC) subjects in the context of prominent critiques by GNC theorists who have asserted the necessity of centering the needs, perspectives, and cultural work of transgender (trans*) and GNC academics and subjects. The paper explains how studies which favor an interactionist model of sociology prioritize notions of gender which uphold heteronormativity and erase the lived-experiences of the subjects they concern. As a solution to this obstacle, this paper proposes strategies to assist in the creation of participatory models of sociology which engage with gender in a way which reflects the …

Necrocapitalism And U.S. Imperialism: The Gulf War, Hurricane Katrina, Palestine, Gentrification, And Police, Gianna Bissa

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

U.S. American law has been responsible for slavery and genocide through the use of imperial forces such as the military and policing since the beginning of the formation of this nation. In this essay, I present contemporary forms of State sanctioned violence that have ultimately increased the United States’ economy through rendering particular communities as disposable. I use examples of war, removal, occupation, and murder perpetrated by American law in order to disrupt the notion that law guarantees security. Furthermore; I build from Foucault’s theories of biopolitics and apply a more modern framework of necrocapitalism to further contextualize and problematize …

Decolonizing Gender-Based Violence Advocacy: The Development Of An Undocumented Survivor Resource Training, Zulema Aleman

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

The field of advocacy for the end of gender-based violence has constantly grown. Some could say that there is continual action taking place at multiple levels to ensure the protection of survivors, but the direction is often influenced by the perspective of those in positions of power. Regardless, both the social and legal movements have focused primarily on gender and often disregarded how other social identities, such as immigration status and race, intersect with sexual violence and thus create a range of experiences. The undocumented community is one of these groups who face higher rates of gender-based violence due to …

Do Gender Differences In Perceived Prototypical Computer Scientists And Engineers Contribute To Gender Gaps In Computer Science And Engineering?, Joyce Ehrlinger, E. Ashby Plant, Marissa K. Hartwig, Jordan J. Vossen, Corey J. Columb, Lauren E. Brewer

Faculty Publications

Women are vastly underrepresented in the fields of computer science and engineering (CS&E). We examined whether women might view the intellectual characteristics of prototypical individuals in CS&E in more stereotype-consistent ways than men might and, consequently, show less interest in CS&E. We asked 269 U.S. college students (187, 69.5% women) to describe the prototypical computer scientist (Study 1) or engineer (Study 2) through open-ended descriptions as well as through a set of trait ratings. Participants also rated themselves on the same set of traits and rated their similarity to the prototype. Finally, participants in both studies were asked to describe …

"This Isn't For You, This Is For Me": Women In Cosplay And Their Experiences Combatting Harassment And Stigma, Christopher M. Lucas

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In the past two decades, cosplay, or “costume play,” has become increasingly popular among fans of anime, manga, and video games. Despite the community’s nature of embracing social difference, problems persist with regard to gender discrimination and breaching of consent boundaries. Discussion in the extant literature on cosplay has yet to address the views of women in the community, specifically the idea of cosplay and popular culture conventions being a “boys’ club.” The principle research questions of this study are: (1) What are the lived experiences of women cosplayers at anime conventions? (2) To what degree have they had to …

Weathered Mountains: A Qualitative Study Of West Virginia Women And Their Perceptions Of Strength, Land, And Womanhood, Danielle Renee Mullins

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Appalachia and those living within the region have been discussed, examined, critiqued, and defined primarily by those living outside of the area, particularly following the 2016 Election. The main narratives of Appalachia form a dichotomous view of the land and its people: beautiful landscapes threatened by resource extraction and a people wrecked by the symptoms of longterm poverty and economic stagnation. Simultaneously, the Appalachian identity has been constructed around a rugged or blue-collar male identity that excludes and makes invisible the female experience. This study seeks to break through the landscape and poverty binary, as well as the male-archetype, to …

In All Fairness: Two Decades Of Cedaw And The State Of Gender Equality In Singapore, Ning Qian

Social Space

In an inclusive society, all women would have equal opportunities as men to participate socially, politically and economically. They would be valued and recognised as individuals in their own right and not primarily defi ned by their marital and reproductive status. Has this been achieved in Singapore? Contrary to common belief, the nation still has some ways to go in this regard, for signifi cant groups of women in Singapore continue to be marginalised and disadvantaged.

Water Scarcity: Sudan, Catherine Priebe

Global Issues in Public Health

Water scarcity is an environmental global problem that will only become more pressing as time goes on. It is a public health issue that affects every continent, although certain areas of the world are facing more serious water scarcity than others such as Sudan. Populations that are more vulnerable to the effects of water scarcity are the poor, women, children, and those living in areas of political unrest. For example, South Sudan’s urban water systems have been damaged during recent warfare. Water scarcity is also an issue that disproportionately affects women who are forced from a young age to travel …

What Is My Role In Changing The System? A New Model Of Responsibility For Structural Injustice, Robin Zheng

Women's and Gender Studies Program: Faculty Publications

What responsibility do individuals bear for structural injustice? Iris Marion Young has offered the most fully developed account to date, the Social Connections Model. She argues that we all bear responsibility because we each causally contribute to structural processes that produce injustice. My aim in this article is to motivate and defend an alternative account that improves on Young’s model by addressing five fundamental challenges faced by any such theory. The core idea of what I call the Role-Ideal Model is that we are each responsible for structural injustice through and in virtue of our social roles, i.e. our roles …

Why Mowing The Lawn Can Be Complicated (Chapter 6 From Worthy: Finding Yourself In A World Expecting Someone Else), Melanie Springer Mock

Faculty Publications - Department of English

In Worthy, college professor Melanie Springer Mock sifts through the shape and weight of expectations that press Christians into cultural molds rather than God's image. By plumbing Scripture and critiquing the ten-billion-dollar-a-year self-improvement industry, Mock offers life-giving reminders that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Set free from the anxiety to conform to others' expectations, we are liberated to become who God has created us to be. If you're worn out from worrying that you've missed God's One Big Calling, and if you're tired of trying to fit yourself into some cookie-cutter Christian mold, step away from the expectations and …

The Legacy Of The Feminist Bookstore Network: Lesbianism’S Indelible Bookstore Beginnings, Hannah Quire

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

In the mid-to-late twentieth century, lesbian feminist bookstores exploded across the United States, facilitating the creation and spread of a network that would be fleeting but impactful for those involved. Through its brief vibrancy, the lesbian feminist bookstore network not only provided an outlet through which women could discover their own local communities, but also served as a catalyst through which lesbian feminist politics was expanded, enforced, and encouraged. The positivity of the movement, however, was branded with a distinct lack of intersectional politics, a move that would ultimately see the movement to its demise.

A Forbidden Act: Illicit Sex And The Colonial Heterosexual Matrix, Rain Tiller

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

This paper will discuss the cases in which illicit sex becomes mechanisms of disruption. The first section will explore the theoretical underpinnings of sex and the body as an access point to politics and normative critique. Then, I will discuss the examples of illicit sex in the novels Women of Sand and Myrrh and Woman at Point Zero. It is important to study the role of sex in literature to expand the symbolic understanding of sex and sexuality. It is also necessary to bring an analysis of colonial dynamics to sexuality studies in order to fully critique the racial and …

The Only Thing We Have To Queer Is Queer Itself: Naming The Cultural Machine Of Radical Sexual Politics, Cassiopeia Mulholland-London

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

Language is a machine, and words are individual technologies within that machine. Sociocultural theory applied as activism is also a machine. Over the course of the past thirty years, the linguistic technology of “queer” has been recalibrated, moving from naming a cultural machine of radical, anti-capitalist sexual politics to naming a cultural machine of assimilationist, identity-based sexual politics. This has left the machine of radical sexual politics without a name, making it more difficult for people to find it and integrateitinto their technological existences. The machine of radical sexual politics is essential because it focuses on dismantling the societal systems …

Cyber Fantasies: Rina Sawayama, Asian Feminism, And Techno-Orientalism In The Age Of Neoliberalism, June Kuoch, Allegro Wang

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

In the 21st century, neoliberalism and technological innovations in Asia produce techno-Orientalism, a "new" framework by which the West dominates Asia. In this process, Asian bodies are configured as inherently technological beings who exist solely for the production of information and neoliberal goods. Techno-Orientalism is a byproduct of the violence wrought by modernity. Yet, Rina Sawayama, a British-Japanese music artist, produces a new form of resistance that can be characterized as diasporic Asian cultural production. Her work challenges the white hegemonic masculine gaze by interrogating modernity in her lyrics, aesthetic, and performance. Sawayama's aesthetic and music videos produce a new …

Early Contributions To Infants’ Mental Rotation Abilities, Mihaela Constantinescu, David S. Moore, Scott P. Johnson, Melissa Hines

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Some cognitive abilities exhibit reliable gender differences, with females outperforming males in specific aspects of verbal ability, and males showing an advantage on certain spatial tasks. Among these cognitive gender differences, differences in mental rotation are the most robust, and appear to be present even in infants. A large body of animal research suggests that gonadal hormones, particularly testosterone, during early development could contribute to this gender difference in mental rotation. Also, substantial evidence supports an influence of socialization on mental rotation performance. The present study investigated the relationship of two types of factors, early postnatal testosterone exposure and parental …

Women Vs. Men—Who Makes Better Use Of Financial Aid?, Colton Keddington, Nichole Keddington

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

Incivility In The Workplace: The Experiences Of Female Sport Management Faculty In Higher Education, Elizabeth A. Taylor, Robin Hardin, Natalie Welch, Allison B. Smith

Faculty Publications

Access to higher education for women has dramatically increased in the United States during the past 50 years. Female college graduates have reversed the figures and gone from being outnumbered by their male counterparts 3 to 2 in the 1970s, to now outnumbering male college graduates 3 to 2. Women also graduate from masters and doctoral programs at a higher rate than men.

However, increases in the number of women obtaining college and advanced degrees has not translated to comparable representation in faculty positions or leadership roles in higher education. This lack of women in leadership positions, as well as …

Review Of A Medical Pre-Clinical Curriculum For Competencies In Caring For Patients Who Are Lgbt, Gender Nonconforming, Or Born With Dsd, Nina Abon, Mandi L. Pratt-Chapman

GW Research Days 2016 - 2020

This review aimed to assess whether the George Washington University medical, pre-clinical curriculum met any of the Association of American Medical College’s (AAMC) 30 professional competencies to improve health care for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), gender nonconforming, or born with disorders of sex development (DSD).

Methods:

Relevant sessions were reviewed based on instructors’ PowerPoint slides, audio recording of sessions (when available), assigned pre-session material, and notes taken by a student. Content and objectives from each session were mapped to corresponding AAMC competencies, and each competency was qualitatively graded as completely met, partially met, or unmet.

Results: …

Characterizing The Unmet Hiv Prevention Needs And Hiv Risk Vulnerabilities Of Adolescent Girls And Young Women In Ethiopia, Project Soar

HIV and AIDS

Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Ethiopia, as well as across Eastern and Southern Africa, experience a disproportionate level of new HIV infections. AGYW who are out of school face a particular set of vulnerabilities, especially those living away from parents. Unfortunately, data characterizing unmet HIV prevention needs and risk vulnerabilities among AGYW, especially out-of-school AGYW, are lacking given the challenges in reaching and studying this population. To address this gap, Project SOAR is conducting an integrated HIV biobehavioral survey focused on out-of-school AGYW in three high HIV prevalence settings of Ethiopia. Study findings will inform HIV prevention and …

Does A Community-Based, Hiv Service Delivery Model Improve Female Sex Workers’ Care And Treatment Outcomes In Tanzania?, Project Soar

HIV and AIDS

Female sex workers living (FSWs) with HIV face significant challenges in accessing HIV care and, once started on antiretroviral therapy (ART), remaining in care and adhering to treatment. These challenges include attending regular medical appointments because of time and cost constraints, providers’ stigmatizing attitudes, and poor service quality due to crowded ART clinics, long waiting times, and a lack of clinicians. This brief describes a community-based model of ART delivery THAT Project SOAR, Sauti, the National AIDS Control Programme, and the National Institute of Medical Research are designing, implementing, and evaluating, in order to help mitigate the barriers HIV-positive FSWs …

Male Partners Of Adolescent Girls And Young Women: Relationship Characteristics And Hiv Risk—Findings From Dreams Implementation Science Research, Population Council

HIV and AIDS

Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in South Africa, as in many countries, are particularly vulnerable to HIV for a variety of reasons, including economic disadvantage and unequal power dynamics in sexual relationships with their male partners—many of whom are older and engage in high-risk behaviors. In an effort to learn more about men’s relationships with AGYW and how HIV services can better engage them, the Population Council is conducting implementation science research in KwaZulu-Natal Province. This brief reports findings from a 2017 baseline survey with nearly 1,000 men. An endline survey is planned for mid-late 2018, and will focus …

Optimizing Implementation Of Universal Hiv Treatment Coverage For People Living With Hiv In Senegal, Project Soar

HIV and AIDS

Senegal plans a rapid scale up of HIV treatment for all people living with HIV (PLHIV), regardless of CD4 count or viral suppression. However, limited data exist on how to achieve sustained viral suppression among PLHIV in real world contexts where significant barriers to effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) delivery, uptake, and adherence persist. This brief describes a universal coverage ART intervention Project SOAR is conducting among PLHIV who are not virally suppressed. The findings from this study will inform the rollout of Senegal’s national test and treat strategy.

Strengthening Capacity To Prevent Hiv Among Adolescent Girls And Young Women: Supporting Dreams-Like Programming, Project Soar

HIV and AIDS

Many adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) lack opportunities and access to resources, and experience the harms of discriminatory gender norms. Despite decades of investment in HIV prevention, many AGYW remain invisible, underserved, and at disproportionate risk of HIV infection. The DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe) Partnership aims to significantly reduce HIV infections among AGYWs. DREAMS originally launched in 2014 focusing on 10 high-burden countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2017, five additional countries known as DREAMS-Like countries—Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Haiti, Namibia, and Rwanda—received support for DREAMS activities. This brief describes the technical assistance Project SOAR is providing …

Lgbtq Commission 2018 Open Forum Report, Joshua Morgan, David Neyens

Publications

The purpose of a Clemson University President’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Commission is to serve in an advisory capacity to the university administrators, faculty, staff, and students regarding matters which affect the LGBTQ people, and make recommendations based on the commission's engagement with the community and feedback from university organizations involved in LGBTQ programming and services. One forum was held in March to hear directly from the constituency the commission represents.

The Harsh Reality: A Feminist Perspective On The Experiences Of Women Coaching Male Athletes, Emilee Shearer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study, using a qualitative approach, examines the impact of patriarchy on females who coach a male-dominated sports team. The purpose of the study is to identify and examine the experiences of females who coach a male-dominated sports team in order to have a better understanding of the impact of the gender binary and patriarchy in the sport field. A qualitative approach was used in this study to gain an understanding of the individual and commonality of the experiences of women coaches. There were five female coaches interviewed; one was a high school basketball coach, two were high school football …