Department of Gender and Race Studies

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Ashri and i: exploring "knowledge" through creative writing
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2014) Rodgers-Farris, Sierra; McKnight, Utz Lars; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
A female protagonist simply identified as "She" remembers and relives acts of violence over a span of years and attempts to cope through poetry and an attachment to an imaginary `other.' Through poetry She imagines Ashri and her kidnap, abused, and descent into madness at the hands of Fin, connecting the pain of her own life with that of Ashri's. This combination of poetry and creative non-fiction is not only about the relation between men and women but also about sharing truths through the retelling of real events. This thesis focuses on the issue of how "knowledge" is created and sanctified by social and academic structures. The story shares the knowledge and the theory explains why it is important.
Fannie Lou Hamer, Dorothy Height and Viola Liuzzo: not just a dream, initiators for equality
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Barnett, Jennifer Michelle; Fulton, DoVeanna S.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This thesis uses the standpoint theory and lived experiences method, introduced by Patricia Hill Collins and Sandra Harding, to examine the lives of three women who were active in fighting for freedom, equality, and a more democratic society for all citizens. It is argued that these women were concurrently combating issues associated with sexism, racism, classism, and disabilities in order to create a more fair society. My research indicates their motives for publicly fighting racism stem from their childhoods, a strong sense of social justice, and the desire to create a safer world. They envisioned a world where nobody feared for their lives simply for casting a ballot or dining at a lunch counter. The first chapter briefly discusses the history of the Civil Rights Movement and actions taken when systematic forms of redress do not create results. The chapter also discusses gender roles, coalition building, the need for allies and their roles, as well as race, class, and gender politics. The discussion of using structural violence, systematic oppression, accusations of mental instability, and disabilities are also introduced; showing how they all intersected during instances of political and social turbulence. The chapter presents the concept as whiteness as property, a concept researched and introduced by Cheryl I. Harris, and how bodies are racialized. The second chapter acknowledges the work of Dorothy Height. Height used her education, class standing, and knowledge to fight for equality for Black people within society and politics. Facing sexism and racism, Height instigated many of the most well-known marches and platforms for equality among races. Sharing the stage with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Height in some ways accepted oppressions of sexism, but rallied against racism. The third chapter recognizes Viola Liuzzo, wife and mother to five children, from Detroit, Michigan. Liuzzo came south to challenge the violence and mistreatment accompanying the struggle for civil rights. Using her voice, dedication, and car to transport marchers, Liuzzo would become noted as the only white woman to lose her life in the Civil Rights Movement. The discussion surrounding Liuzzo will include how bodies are racialized and discredited when white women joined the ranks with Black freedom fighters. The fourth chapter discusses the role that Fannie Lou Hamer had toward empowering Black and poor white people. Hamer had a vision of a more just and democratic society. Facing racism, sexism, classism, and disability issues, Hamer used her experiences and rhetorical talent to break societal barriers. Becoming a victim of structural violence herself, she told her story in order to protect others. The fifth chapter conceptualizes why I chose to bring these three women together for discussion. The chapter discusses common experiences and ideas these women shared and draws conclusions about their similar motivations. Another major aspect discussed in this chapter is how these women crossed class, geographical, and race lines to work toward a common goal. This research suggests that all three women were aware of the dangers they faced when crossing these boundaries, but did it anyway for a need much greater than their own.
Feminisms and fluidity: from breasted existence to breasted resistance in feminist theory and activism
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Sullivan, Maigen; Purvis, Jennifer; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Dominant phallocentric norms call on bodies to fit rigid, static molds that do not allow for any flux or fluidity. It is necessary to note that these standards are a fallacy and that no bodies adhere to such strict structures. However, women's bodies are especially seen as going, and in fact do go, against these standards for what constitutes a proper body. When discussing the ways in which women's bodies act as sites of resistance against heteromasculine norms, their genitalia are often at the center of the conversation. However, we can take the discourse surrounding the fluidity of female genitalia and move it to a higher region--breasts. In Feminisms and Fluidity: From Breasted Existence to Breasted Resistance in Feminist Theory and Activism, I use the language and discourse typically reserved for women's genitalia in relation to breasts by looking at them as fluid sites of control and resistance. I discuss the physicality of breasts as being fluid in that breasts shift their shape with age and movement. I examine the way in which women's breasts are fluid in that they have the potentiality to produce fluids--breast milk. Finally, I expand our understanding of bodily limitations by examining both S/M and Crip Theory as ways to expand the margins of the body.
Integration and transformation: an examination of the role of sexuality in formulating a queer/crip subjectivity for people with disabilities
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2013) Wiggins, Meredith Joan; Purvis, Jennifer; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This thesis investigates the current cultural discourses surrounding sexuality in persons with disabilities and argues that in order to move away from existing conceptions of personhood and citizenship that are rooted in ableism and are thus possibilities only for nondisabled persons, persons with disabilities and their nondisabled allies must embrace the queer potential advocated by crip theorists, who have so usefully applied the insights of queer theorists to the field of disability studies. I will begin by interrogating the relationship of disability studies and feminist theory by examining the societal/cultural construction of normative bodies. Next, I will focus on how notions of citizenship and who constitutes "proper" or "acceptable" political actors are rooted in ideologies of ability, ideologies which are themselves often predicated on the assumption of "normal" sexual functioning, among other normative assumptions. Then I will explore the historical policing of the sexuality of disabled persons and argue that access to sexual knowledge and expression is crucial to helping disabled persons create positive self-identities and a sense of themselves as subjects. Finally, I will conduct a critical reading of these issues on the television show Glee, which exemplifies the failings of the existing cultural models of disability and sexuality but also provides examples of the power and promise of a queer crip subjectivity, and briefly compare Glee to other televisual representations of disabled sexuality.
Interventions in woman as spectacle: the political economy of desire in late capitalist societies
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) Cunningham, Scarlett; Pierman, Carol J.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
How do we discuss female sexual empowerment as feminists in this third wave political moment given the multiplicity of female sexual desires and the multiplicity of women's identities? To what degree can women make spectacles out of themselves and such a project be read as transgressive? This thesis examines debates surrounding feminist visions of female sexualities. The project questions the concept of desire as a self producing entity resistant to social critique in late capitalist contexts and examines how desire has replaced labor as commodity in late capitalist societies. It shifts the discussion on desire away from conceptions of it as autonomous performance and towards materialist feminist understandings of desire as materially produced. Must desire be historicized in the third wave political moment? Besides addressing these questions, this thesis attempts to radically divorce desire, lust, and pleasure from biological, ahistorical, free-standing conceptualizations and view them as historically and culturally constructed rather than as natural, trans-cultural phenomena. This thesis is a nexus of conversations between materialist feminists and poststructuralist feminists to better understand critiques of western sex radical movements as well as the tension regarding where the economic and the discursive belong in politics of revolt. This thesis attempts to reclaim a radical sense of sexual ethics in feminism. To this end, this project engages feminist discussions concerning sexual freedom and sexual justice.
Living incubators: arguing for pregnant women's autonomy and bodily integrity in an age of ever-increasing reproductive technology
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) DeMaeyer, Meanie Jo; Purvis, Jennifer; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
In this thesis I evaluate the medicalization of birthing bodies through the use of reproductive technologies. This thesis argues that the best solution for ensuring the bodily integrity and autonomy of pregnant and birthing people is through midwife-assisted births. Midwifery provides a compelling opportunity to subvert and challenge the medical-industrial complex and its invasive reproductive technologies, which extend beyond the hospital to promote socio-political and cultural ideologies surrounding the bodies of pregnant women and other pregnant subjects. I argue that elements of a do-it-yourself (DIY) feminist consciousness present in the practice of midwifery makes midwives uniquely positioned to encourage and sustain ethical embodied communities. Within these communities pregnant and birthing people are provided opportunities for autonomy, and, thus, midwives and the choice to employ them play a vital role in the establishment of reproductive justice for all.

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Browsing Department of Gender and Race Studies by Author "Erevelles, Nirmala"

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