Dissenting Voices: Recent submissions

Now showing items 61-80 of 129

    • Dissenting Voices Volume 6 Issue 1 (Spring 2017) Complete Issue
      2017-09-07
      Dissenting Voices Cover Art Design by Mel Brown, WMS ’18 Calligraphy by Sara Connor, SOC, WMS ‘16 The cover portrait is a photographic composite of one identity characteristic of each person in the WMS 421 Senior Seminar course. The abstract painting of vivid colors that frames the portrait represents the brilliant minds that have intertwined to create this volume. The use of different colors represents our diverse backgrounds, that when put together, become radiant. The handprint placed on the chest represents our extension to others and prompts readers to join us in the fight for social justice. The knuckles with the word “feminist” written in calligraphy are positioned on the back journal cover to leave readers with something other than a blank ending. This photographic composite is meant to create a new face of dissent. Table of Contents Opening Voices: - Our Voices. Mel Brown, Julia DeGroff, Rachael Fort, Audrey Lai, Becky Luxon, Annette Maldonado, Maggie Rosen, Tambria Schroeder, Alise Tallents, Amber Wilk, Kelsey Wright. p. i - Note from the Editor (Barbara LeSavoy), p. iii More Voices: - Make America Curious Again: Integrating Feminism into Undergraduate International Relations Studies. Tambria Schroeder. pp. 1-32, - A Feminist Perspective on the History of Women as Witches. Maggie Rosen. pp. 21-32. - A Face of Poverty. Mel Brown. pp. 33-48. - The Complexities of Being a Pro-Choice Catholic: How Religion and Politics Collide. Alise J. Tallents. pp. 49-60. - Coming Out in Asian American Culture. Audrey Lai. pp. 61-82. - Deconstructing the Nuclear Family Through Adoption. Julia DeGroff. pp. 83-98. - Oppression or Opportunity: The Selling of Mail-Order Brides. Amber M. Wilk. pp. 99-114. - I am Not Barbie and I Don’t Need a Ken. Annette Maldonado. pp. 115-124. Closing Voices - Sexual Objectification of Female Bodies in Beauty Pageants, Pornography, and Media. Kelsey Wright. pp. 125-146. - Double Standards in Everyday Life: Book Reviews on Jessica Valenti's “Sex Object: A Memoir” (2016) and “He’s a Stud, She’s a Slut and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know” (2008). Becky Luxon. pp. 147-154. - WMS 421 Spring 2016 Activism Photo Essay. Julia DeGroff. pp. 155-157.

    • Sexual Objectification of Female Bodies in Beauty Pageants, Pornography, and Media
      Wright, Kelsey; The College at Brockport (2017-09-07)
      Have you ever watched a beauty pageant contest? What about mainstream pornography? These two capitalistic industries continue to enforce the misogynistic view that the female body is to be consumed by the male population. I argue that the societal standards we commonly consider to be the norm affect female embodiment and what it means to be a woman in contemporary society. Beauty standards, gender roles, sexualization, objectification, and the male gaze all point towards this ideology that the female body is to be consumed by men. I argue we need to abandon these societal standards that control female bodies and behaviors in a heteropatriarchal world and advocate freedom from the male gaze for all women.

    • Oppression or Opportunity: The Selling of Mail-Order Brides
      Wilk, Amber (2017-09-07)
      It is the memory of my aunt that inspired my research of mail-order brides. I was curious as to what factors encourage women to leave their families and home to come to another country as a mail-order bride. The international trafficking of mail-order brides is not a new phenomenon, but since the advent of technology the capitalistic industry has exploded. In this paper, I discuss the oppressions and opportunities that the potential mail-order brides have to consider. Since the mail-order bride industry is continuously growing, it needs to be monitored to minimize the violence against women.

    • I Am Not Barbie, and I Do Not Need a Ken
      Maldonado, Annette (2017-09-07)
      Throughout history, women have faced unfairness and gender inequality. Women are stereotyped and mistreated every day. Some examples are, women are paid less than men, and women have to cover their bodies in public (if not, it is their fault if something dangerous happens to them). Home is supposed to be a safe haven for women, but what about if the unfairness happens at home by the people we love the most? Mistreatment can come from our parents. As a young woman who was treated differently than my brother, I talk about my experiences and how they have shaped my life. I strive to help others understand and be more aware of the inequalities between siblings and parents.

    • Cyberbullying: Feminine Vulnerability in Anonymous Spaces
      Mahagan, Christina A.; The College at Brockport, State University of New York (2016-08-24)
      In this paper, I examine the need for research on how cyberbullying and cyber victimization affect women and girls along with what tools women and girls use to cope with these affects. I also look at how ideas about the performance of gender and related societal norms exacerbate the problems of cyberbullying and cyber victimization for women and girls. In addition, I explore the theory that early lessons of gender affect identity and relationships in ways that matter in relation to cyberbullying and cyber victimization vulnerability, responses, and accessible networks of support.

    • Women and the Black Lives Matter Movement: Relevance Past to Present
      Burns, Ronieka; The College at Brockport, State University of New York (2016-08-24)
      Traditional white American society wonders why the Black Lives Matter Movement is even taking place, since many Americans argue that racism doesn’t exist. This paper explores why women in the Black Lives Matter Movement are needed and relevant. This paper sets out to open readers’ eyes to the fact that, although this is the year 2016, the same trials and tribulations that have taken place throughout our nation’s history are still taking place. We still have a long way to go to end racism and sexism.

    • Body Autonomy During Pregnancy: Where Did It Go?
      Ophardt, Brooke A.; The College at Brockport (2016-08-24)
      This paper takes a personal yet informative look at body autonomy during pregnancy, examining the laws that remove autonomy from pregnant women with a look at how that affects women overall. The paper uses feminist theory to examine how the commodification of reproduction has stripped women of their body autonomy during their pregnancies and argues how women throughout history have largely been valued only for reproductive purposes.

    • Women in Medicine: Excluding Women
      Manhertz, Natalia; The College at Brockport (2016-08-24)
      Throughout history, society has pushed women out of the public sphere of work and into the private sphere of home. The medical field is one example of this gender segregation of work. Even though the medical field today is not as male-dominated as it once was, different sub-specializations in medicine are gender segregated. My goal for this essay is to focus on gender segregation in the workplace to show how the field of medicine has been masculinized with a particular focus on the subspecialty area of surgery. This paper will discuss these two points from a personal point of view and explain how this affects me, being a woman of color who one day plans to be a part of the medical field. This research will look at the gender segregation of medicine and examine what factors, if any, are shifting to allow more women to enter male-dominated professions such as surgery.

    • Medicine and Transgender Identities: Poet/Artist Statement
      Sparrow, Johnny; The College at Brockport (2012-08-21)
      Poem ("Plague") and artwork ("Enter Death, Exit Cure") explore healthcare issues and the “sickness” a transgender individual may feel. There is a need for improved transgender healthcare. Doctors should not treat transgender individuals like they have the plague, but learn about their needs and concerns.

    • Title IX: What Students Think They Know
      Mogavero, Taryn; The College at Brockport (2015-09-10)
      Students often hold a misconception or are completely uninformed as to what is Title IX. Currently, under Title IX, all students have the right to receive an education in an environment free from sex discrimination. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the institution to take the necessary measures to comply with any student who chooses to file a report of gender discrimination. Title IX was implemented as a memorandum to promote gender equality, but over the years it has developed into not only a law but also an important piece of educational rights and standards. It is important to assess gender discrimination in relation to Title IX, because equality is the basis for this law.

    • Note from the Editor (DV5)
      LeSavoy, Barbara; The College at Brockport, State University of New York (2016-08-24)
      Dissenting Voices volume five showcases five diverse authors who employ traditional essay format to analyze an array of topics important to the Women and Gender Studies discipline. Opening the volume is a remarkable essay that uses a queer lens to examine ways concepts of female masculinity and male privilege operate in lesbian identity and lesbian relationships. A well-timed critique of cyberbullying in feminist spaces follows, where the author interrogates ways performance of gender norms exacerbates cyberbullying and cyber victimization among women and girls. Centering the volume is an important reading of women and the Black Lives Matter movement where the author considers the significance of past and present Black feminist activism. Bookending the volume is a reflective essay that examines the exclusion of women in the medical field, closing with a powerful writing on body autonomy during pregnancy where the author argues that market and government commodification of reproduction are increasingly stripping women of personhood rights.

    • Lesbians, Masculinities, and Privilege: The Privileging of Gender and the Gendering of Sexuality
      Love, Brooke E.; The College at Brockport, State University of New York (2016-08-24)
      Though LGBTQ individuals, experiences, and communities have been increasingly recognized as valuable subjects of research, the existing body of research on and about this population is still significantly lacking. In a field so young and full of controversy, it is vital that research be done that gives voice and agency to LGBTQ individuals, their experiences and lifestyles. This paper will introduce readers to the concept of “female masculinity” and, specifically, the complicated relationships many lesbian identities have with different configurations of masculinity. I will introduce the concepts of “butch” lesbian identities and “femme” lesbian identities as well as their relation to one another. I will dispel stereotypes about butch/femme identities and behaviors, and explore some of the diversity of lesbian identities and gender performance in which gay women have participated within the community. Using existing research and scholarship on the subject of lesbian masculinity, this paper expands the academic discussion on the ways that gender identity is performed in lesbian spaces. I will explore and explain the current theoretical and empirical research related to the subject of lesbian masculinity, summarize contributions to this scholarly dialogue, and incorporate my own vision for the future of queer studies.

    • The U.S. Military’s Invisible War: Midshipmen Perspectives
      McNeil, Christopher; The College at Brockport, State University of New York (2015-09-10)
      Sexual assault is an issue that seems to be swept under the table rather than eliminated in our military. In other words, it is handled and we are aware of it, but we try to hide and mitigate the reality of how bad sexual assault is. We find that those in charge want to maintain an image of heroism and portray military members as almost perfect. In reality we know that military members are people too, and they may not be as perfect as made out to be. We all have goals and aspirations that we want to achieve, and sexual assault is something our military needs to focus on more in order to help us excel towards those goals.

    • Dissenting Voices Volume 5 Issue 1 (Spring 2016) Complete Issue
      2016-08-24
      Table of Contents - Our Voices. Ronieka Burns, Brooke Love, Christina Mahagan, Natalia Manhertz, Brooke Ophardt. p. i. - Note from the Editor (Barbara LeSavoy), p. iii - Lesbians, Masculinities, and Privilege: The Gendering of Sexuality and the Privileging of Gender. Brooke Love. pp. 1-24. - Cyberbullying: Feminine Vulnerability in Anonymous Spaces. Christina Mahagan. pp. 25-42. - Women and the Black Lives Matter Movement: Relevance Past to Present. Ronieka Burns. pp. 43-62. - Women in Medicine: Exclusions in Practice. Natalia Manhertz. pp. 63-78. - Body Autonomy During Pregnancy: Where Did It Go? Brooke Ophardt. pp. 79-94. - WMS 421 Spring 2016 Activism Photo Essay. pp. 95-96.

    • Our Voices (DV5)
      Burns, Ronieka; Love, Brooke E.; Mahagan, Christina; Manhertz, Natalia; Ophardt, Brooke A.; The College at Brockport, State University of New York (2016-08-24)
      Through our eyes, Dissenting Voices Volume 5 gives readers a chance to see how race and gender have played a role in our lives. This work seeks to give voice and agency to those of us whose experiences and wisdom have been historically cast aside, and to empower writer and reader alike through the sharing of knowledge.

    • The Color of Postfeminism: Representations of Black and White Women in Popular Music Videos
      Walser, Anna M.; The College at Brockport (2015-09-10)
      The sexualization and objectification of women in popular music videos has acted as a consistent obstacle for the feminist movement. Within a postfeminist framework -- postfeminism being a rejection of feminist ideas and a belief that the activist feminism of years past no longer serves a purpose -- music video viewers are able to see both positive advances and negative reversals. One problem often associated with the postfeminist movement is the lack of acknowledgment of race, as has historically been the case for the feminist movement, white, middle-class women are almost always the largest representation, with non-white women more often than not forgotten. The world of the popular music video is certainly no exception to this rule. Although postfeminism boasts many advances for women -- an increase in choice, a strong sense of independence and freedom, along with sexual liberties -- most of these advances are limited to white women. Despite these advances, postfeminist ideas are further limited by capitalism, consumerism, and white patriarchy, calling into question the legitimacy and efficacy of postfeminism.

    • Adiposity and Anarchism: Exposing and Examining Fat Oppression in a Capitalist Society
      Richens, Sarah Mae; The College at Brockport (2015-09-10)
      This is an auto-ethnographic essay looking at the ways in which fat oppression is linked to capitalism. This research looks at oppression and discrimination stemming from adiposity (fatness) through an anarchist and queer theory perspective. There is a void of research and writing on the intersections of fat oppression, from an anarchist and queer theory perspective, yet many fat studies researchers have found that fatness is oppressive, discriminating and affects ones socioeconomic status. In the white supremacist, capitalist heteropatriarchy that we live in, there is a systematic ‘othering’ of anyone who does not fit inside the mold that society lays out for us. This work looks at the binary systems that society is built around and aims to disrupt them.

    • Note from the Editor
      LeSavoy, Barbara; The College at Brockport, State University of New York (2015-09-10)
      Dissenting Voices volume four captures seven diverse authors who employ traditional essay format to straddle an array of topics important to the Women and Gender Studies discipline.

    • Voices Carry: Understanding Rape Culture’s Identity in Society
      Posluszny, Nicole; The College at Brockport (2015-09-10)

    • The (de)Evolution of the Disney Princess
      Gazda, Courtney; The College at Brockport, State University of New York (2015-09-10)
      The Disney Princess franchise does a remarkable job of asking girls to picture themselves as princesses, reinforcing the question: What else would a little girl want to be? The reality of this Disney fantasy is one of gendering young girls to embody a social construction of hyper-femininity through misguided film representations and princess play toys. This research looks at media influences on girlhood through a close reading of the Disney princess. I argue that Disney has focused less and less on the genuine qualities and faithful morality of their princesses, and instead, on the prince-princess dichotomy of finding true love.