Dissenting Voices: Recent submissions

Now showing items 81-100 of 136

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Fat Body Politics
      Coleman, Jeri; The College at Brockport (2012-08-21)
      Society at large disparages people who can be classified as obese or even overweight, and within smaller social circles, the “fat” friend (by comparison) suffers the stigma. Behaviors and other factors influenced by society's attitudes towards fat individuals are explored.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • WMS 421 Spring 2015 Activism Photo Essay (The College at Brockport)
      2015-09-10
      This photo essay documents women and gender-informed activism by undergraduate students enrolled in WMS 421 at The College at Brockport, State University of New York. The students staged several activist projects including a One Billion Rising Revolution flash mob, a trans-awareness Origami Swan Project, an International Women’s Day salon, a collaboratively designed Clothesline Project installation, and a worker’s rights rally for the Fight for15.

    • Our Voices
      Walser, Anna M.; Gazda, Courtney; McNeil, Christopher; Mogavero, Taryn; Richens, Sarah Mae; Posluszny, Nicole; Tanner, Emily; The College at Brockport, State University of New York (2015-09-10)
      We invite you to join us, many voices as one, to challenge those systems that oppress us all. In this work we aim to discuss the place that we hold within our community, focusing on identity, choice, ownership, and the mass media. Let us dissent against the social limitations and expectations and raise awareness of the intersectional ties that connect all people. Through our own feminist research, we use Dissenting Voices to highlight the social issues of today.

    • Girls, Instagram, and the Glamorization of Self-loathing
      Tanner, Emily; The College at Brockport, State University of New York (2015-09-10)

    • Dissenting Voices Volume 4 Issue 1 (Spring 2015) Complete Issue
      2015-09-10
      Table of Contents: Opening Voices - Our Voices: Anna Walser with Courtney Gazda, Christopher McNeil, Taryn Mogavero, Sarah Mae Richens, Nicole Posluszny, Emily Tanner, i - Note from the Editor (Barbara LeSavoy), ii - Adiposity and Anarchism: Exposing and Examining Fat Oppression in a Capitalist Society (Sarah Mae Richens), 1 - The Color of Postfeminism: Representations of Black and White Women in Popular Music Videos (Anna Walser), 13 More Voices - The de(Evolution) of the Disney Princesses (Courtney Gazda), 29 - Voices Carry: Understanding Rape Culture's Identity in Society (Nicole Posluszny), 47 - The U.S. Military's Invisible War: Midshipmen Perspectives (Christopher McNeil), 69 - Title IX: What Students Think They Know (Taryn Mogavero), 87 - Girls, Instagram, and the Glamorization of Self-loathing (Emily Tanner), 120 - WMS 421 Spring 2015 Activism Photo Essay, 121

    • Peppermint Patty: A Mint or a Vagina
      Haddad, Michele; The College at Brockport (2014-08-20)
      Sex education is a subject that all adolescents inevitably encounter. Abstinence-only and comprehensive sex educations are the two core foundational curricula that are being taught to most high school students in the United States. On the surface, both of these methodologies teach conflicting information about sex which perpetuates gender inequality and rape culture. Abstinence-only programs’ emphasis on women’s purity stigmatizes teens through heterosexual normative teachings and misleads teens and young people on the logistics of sexual health. Conversely, comprehensive sex education does not teach “real” sex education because it includes very basic understandings of human sexuality rather than teaching about men’s and women’s sexuality equally. Analyzing the flaws in both teachings can be a step forward in decreasing adolescences’ pregnancy rates, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, rape culture, and gender inequality.

    • Violence in Deaf Culture: My Story, My Voice
      Watson, Cherrie; The College at Brockport (2014-08-20)
      I am a survivor of domestic violence. I also am Deaf. Domestic violence is an aggressive behavior within the home, typically involving the violent abuse of a spouse or partner. It can come in many forms: physical, mental, verbal, and emotional abuse. Most commonly, domestic violence is targeted against women. I am sharing my story as a survivor because of my time in Vera House, which is a shelter for battered women. My time at Vera House fired my passion to correlate my personal experience and informative research to raise awareness by educating others about the unique needs of Deaf domestic violence survivors. I hope that my story will awaken the hearing community to the fact that Deaf victims need allies on their side to make a change for Deaf domestic violence survivors.

    • Reframing Sexual Responsibility: Hooking-up
      Moore, Andrea; The College at Brockport (2014-08-20)
      “Hook-up” culture can be seen as an outlet for women’s sexual freedom. For centuries women have not been allowed to express or have equal rights as men. Some feminists believe that women have grasped this “hook-up” culture as a way to gain sexual freedom and thus become more equal to men, but did this phenomenon backfire? This paper traces the historical emergence of “hooking-up” as a courtship ritual, explaining where it came from as well as what is new about it. The paper addresses the three themes of drugs and alcohol, sexual satisfaction, and the psychological well-being as lenses to assess hook-up practice and its relationship with sexuality. The paper also examines whether or not hook-up culture is empowering or disenfranchising for women.

    • Silence Because of Fear
      Rolls, Sara; The College at Brockport (2012-08-21)
      The poem, "Silence because of Fear", expresses the poet's own experiences with domestic violence. Domestic violence occurs in varied contexts and degrees of severity. Victims of domestic violence are not the only ones affected or caught in a cycle of abuse. Family, friends and children also are greatly impacted.

    • Microcredit: A Model of Empowerment for Women?
      Mahoney, Kelsey; The College at Brockport (2014-08-20)
      Patriarchal cultures all over the world oppress women within their communities and their own homes. Microfinancing and microcredit show potential as ways to help women empower women. However, one must question if microfinancing and microcredit are as promising as they seem to be. This paper looks at case studies and analyzes different aspects of microcredit programs and concludes that microfinancing and microcredit are not the answer to women’s economic problems. Microcredit programs have some promising aspects. For example, they give individual women financial security and more respect within their communities and families. Overall, however, microcredit can do more harm for women than good, as it can lead to an increase in domestic violence, and in some instances, greater debt for certain women.

    • Lay Down Your Cross
      Cooper, Celeste; The College at Brockport (2014-08-20)
      If the strong Black woman is to ever gain visibility, then we need to be strong enough to allow ourselves the opportunity to rest. The implications that we are insurmountable beings have meant that Black women are routinely denied considerations by society. A host of Black feminist thinkers have indicated the unique spaces of oppression which the Black woman has occupied and continues to struggle within because of this institutional neglect. Black women have been the bridge which, not only supports the change that we wish to see, but also maintains the disparaging stereotypes which obstructs our efforts towards self-definition. The frustrations weigh heavily upon Black women, as they are forced to surrender need and charity in order to protect the utility of our families and communities. It is my belief that Black women need to lay down this burden of being everything to everyone, if we have any hope of experiencing the kind of freedom which have been liberally extended to others. Cast-off the shame that has silenced the strong Black woman; there is power to be gained when we stop allowing others to determine our worth.

    • Dissenting Voices Volume 3 Issue 1 (Spring 2014) Complete Issue
      2014-08-20
      Table of Contents: Opening Voices - Our Voices: Celeste Cooper, Michele Haddad, Kelsey Mahoney, Andrea Moore, ’Lucienne Nicholson, Ben Roberts, Cherrie Watson, i - Note from the Editor Barbara LeSavoy, ii - Gay New York: From Bars to Bathhouses Ben Roberts, p. 1 - Lay down Your Cross Celeste Cooper, p. 19 - Microcredit: A Model of Empowerment for Women? Kelsey Mahoney, p. 33 - Reframing Sexual Responsibility: Hooking Up Andrea Moore, p. 51 - Peppermint Patty: A Mint or a Vagina Michele Haddad, p. 65 - Violence in Deaf Culture: My Story, My Voice Cherrie Watson, p. 81 - Pink Transgressions: Black Girl and the Intra-feminist Politics of Place Lucienne Nicholson, p. 81 - WMS 421 Spring 2014 Activism Photo Essay , p. 119

    • Our Voices
      Cooper, Celeste; Haddad, Michele; Mahoney, Kelsey; Moore, Andrea; Nicholson, Lucienne; Roberts, Ben; Watson, Cherrie; The College at Brockport (2014-08-20)
      In declaration, we come together, calling for all who experience the intersection of oppressions to have the opportunity to claim and use their own Voices.