Category: Gender & Sexuality
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Mug vs. Mugshot: The Unspoken Privilege of Cis-Passing Trans Femininity
In December 2024, the British Fashion Council awarded Alex Consani, a 21-year-old openly transgender model, the prestigious Model of the Year award. Alex has modeled for major luxury fashion houses such as Chanel, Versace, Alexander McQueen, and Marc Jacobs, among others. She is presented not as a “trans model,” but simply as a model—an artist…
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Agents, Not Victims: Faith-Based Feminism and the Muslim Women Leaders of Northern Nigeria’s NGOs
Introduction In one of my ethnographic visits, in a modest office in Kano, northern Nigeria, I see Aisha scanning over a project budget on her tablet. Her hijab is carefully styled, and her voice is calm and strong as she tells her staff how to use their resources for a new maternal health program. Later…
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Lilith & Ancient Origins
Any discussion of female oppression and vilification would be incomplete without including Lilith. You may have read of her as the villain, a succubus, mother of demons, a winged she-demon who preys on men and children, or a nocturnal force that delivers impure dreams. These are all stories of her, yes, but she started as…
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Not a conclusion, but a pause
As much as this project has been about telling other women’s stories, this has also been about telling my own. I have delved into the origins and mythologies of the madwoman. I’ve explained the subjective definitions and looked at how madwomen are portrayed across various mediums and genres. But I can hear my skeptical readers…
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“Buzzfeed Feminism” and Feminist Discourse on Social Media Applications
When you search the word “feminism” on apps such as Tiktok and Twitter, you are met with tweets, images, and videos of mostly white women and some men, discussing how the definition of feminism is simply equality for women, consent is key, and body positivity. You are also faced with many statements titled “why…
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The Anti-Gay Agenda: The Rise of Political Homophobia in Eastern Europe
Though eastern Europe has never been an exemplary model for human rights, the past few years have engendered major concerns for the LGBTQIA+ (LGBT) community within this region. Key political leaders across eastern Europe have chosen to use the LGBT community as scapegoats for underlying societal issues and to bolster campaign platforms to garner the…
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Lessons from Rhythms of Anger(s): Learning to Listen to them
Lessons from Rhythms of Anger(s): Learning to Listen to them Anger is my crutch I hold myself upright with it —Chrystos, I Walk in the History of My People Women of Color in America have grown up within a symphony of anger at being silenced at being unchosen, at knowing that when we survive,…
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Why Do We Need Comprehensive LGBTQ+ Sex Education in the United States?
Upon graduating in the spring, I hope to pursue a career that focuses on community building and support for LGBTQ+ youth, by ensuring that they have access to comprehensive sexual health education. There are many misconceptions about the age-appropriate content that youth should be exposed to, and I hope to close that gap to…
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Power of the P*nis: Gender Performance within Women’s Prisons
Introduction At of the end of 2019, the United States had a total of 1,430,800 individuals incarcerated under state and federal jurisdiction with approximately 107,955 of them being identified as female[1] (Carson, 2020). The leading literature on the carceral system is disproportionately focused on the experience of men within the prison system as they make up…