Women, Gender & Sexuality
Women's Studies Certification
I was raised by a very feminist single mother who taught me that there's no difference between me and any boy in my life. I was taught to aspire to be anything I wanted, and was never allowed to feel limited by my gender. From a very young age, therefore, I was interested in women's issues. It was natural, therefore, for me to gravitate towards certification in women's studies. At SIUC, I took graduate classes in The Psychology of Gender, Feminist Methodologies, Feminist Philosophy and Third Wave Feminism, as well as several courses devoted to female authors. My dissertation is about the works of three southern female authors, Flannery O'Connor, Fannie Flagg, and Beth Henley, focusing on gender, race and social class.
Though the department was called Women Studies when I attended, there was always an emphasis on gender studies, as a whole. We examined the concept of social construction and studied works of influential theorists, such as Judith Butler, Luce Irigaray, Hélène Cixous, Julia Kristeva, and more. I learned a great deal about the way our society views gender and the importance of figthing those viewpoints.
Teaching Gender & Intersectionality
Inspired by my Women's Studies courses, I immediately began to incorporate questions of gender into my English courses, by having my students read model papers that were primarily focused on gender. This became a staple of my composition courses for a while, and when given the opportunity to teach literature courses, gender has also become the focus. I feel it is very important to discuss "gender" rather than "feminism" because all students have a gender, and my courses look at the plight of men, women, transgendered and queer individuals, and all other aspects related to the LGBTQIA community.
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I have also had a longstanding interest in race relations due to the childhood experience of moving from an all-white community in the suburbs of Houston, TX to a school that was 94% African American, and 6% "other" (including caucasians) in University City, MO. This experience gave me a major culture shock at the very young age of 11, and has inspired my interest in how race works in our society. This experience, combined with my study of Third Wave Feminism has made the study of intersectionality very important to me and to the format of my courses.
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I have been fortunate to be able to teach an advanced composition course on Gender, Sexuality & New Media at CU Boulder, where students are asked to interrogate not only gender, but the role race, ethnicity, and class play in identity and issues of gender conformity.
The Vagina Monologues
V-Day 2008
I was cast with the best ladies on earth for this V-Day celebration performance of The Vagina Monologues at SIUC.
In 2008, I was cast in the V-day performance of The Vagina Monologues at SIUC. As part of a Psychology of Gender course, one of my classmates and I made a video where we interviewed the cast asking the questions Eve Ensler used in her monologues (see documents below). We showed this video on a loop before each performance of the play.
Recommended Readings
The Current State of Feminism
Third Wave Feminism
By Rebecca Traister
In her book about the 2008 presidential election, Traister gives incredible insight into the media bias, cultural zeitgeist, and lasting legacy of that tumultuous year. Even though I remember it well, her take on the events was eye-opening and lends some much-needed insight into the current election cycle.
I first heard of Lindy West when she was on This American Life. The episode was on internet trolls, and it became a staple of my Gender, Sexuality & New Media class reading list. In her book, she discusses what it's like to be a woman on the internet, as well as delving into some other very personal areas such as the stigma of being a fat woman and the complicated debate over rape jokes. I highly recommend!
This collection of essays is a must read for the already-feminist reader. Gay does an incredible job of discussing the complexities and contradictions of being a feminist in this day and age. Just be prepared to question your own beliefs and contribution to issues of race and gender in today's society. You will definitely look at popular culture in a very different way after reading this book.
By Jennifer Baumgardner & Amy Richards
This book examines the complicated relationship between second and third wave feminists. The third wave movement was notably dismissive of the contributions of second wave feminists, claiming that their movement was primarily white and middle class. Third wave feminists were concerned with the plight of women of all races, ethnicities, social classes, and sexualities. The most important aspect of this book, in my opinion, is their discussion of how and why women feel the need to distance themselves from the label of "feminist."
Not My Mother's Sister: Generational Conflict and Third-Wave Feminisim
By Astrid Henry
This is a compelling argument for why there is such conflict between second and third wave feminists. She recognizes the legitimacy of the claims of the third wave movement about the lack of diversity in the second wave movement, but also discusses how important it is for every generation of women to define feminism in their own, personal way. She also gives a strong history of feminism up to the third wave.