The following CLAHS students participated in the 2023 Women’s and Gender Studies Undergraduate and Graduate Conference with the theme “Feminism is for EveryBody: Global Citizenship and Sustainable Change.” Presenting papers were:

  • Candy Beers, Human Development doctoral student, “Mothering, Bodily Autonomy, and Sexuality: A Somatic Analysis”
  • Casey Anne Brimmer, ASPECT doctoral student, “Time Outside of Time: Chrononormativity and the Marginalized and Minoritized Among Us”
  • Marie-Lys Chambraud, ASPECT doctoral student, “Why Is Love Blind: Representations of Disability and Physical Impairments in Victor Hugo’s The Man Who Laughs and Its Adaptations”
  • Ellie Colonna, English, “Pressure to Pass: The Consequences of Defying Gender Norms”
  • Amber Dispanet, Criminology and Sociology, “Contraception and the Effects of Sexual Education on Adolescents in Virginia”
  • Lane Early, Political Science, “Rocky Horror Picture Show: An Example of Feminist Theory With a Liberatory Lens”
  • Priyanka Ganguly, Rhetoric and Writing doctoral student, “Tweeting Reproductive Justice (RJ) Advocacy Through #AbortionMeraHaq”
  • Anja Hemesath, Creative Writing, English, and Professional and Technical Writing, “Nancy Drew: The Original Girlboss?”
  • Sierra Hensley, Sociology, “Intersections of Oppression in the Sports Industry”
  • Sydney Hinkey, Human Development, “Gender as an Act”
  • Sahajiya Nath, Rhetoric and Writing doctoral student, “Shaheen Bagh: A Feminist Counterpublic”
  • Temitope Ojedele, Rhetoric and Writing doctoral student, “Strangers and Familiar Spaces: Online Support Initiatives and Traditional Postpartum Practices Among Nigerian Mothers”
  • Amanda Roberson, Creative Writing and English, “Queerness and Transness in Heartstopper”
  • Danny Robertson, Public Relations, “The Transgender TikTok Pipeline: TikTok and Influences on Transgender GenZ Perceptions”
  • Courtney Ross, Sociology doctoral student, “From ‘Goodbye Earl’ Through ‘Janie’s Got a Gun.’ Utilizing Music to Explore the Criminality and Victimity of Women and Gender”
  • Molly Ryan, master’s student in English, “Wicked, Messy, and Queer: Building a Pedagogy of Compassion and Radical Accompliceship in First-Year Writing”
  • Olivia Stacy, Sociology, “Rethinking Forensic Exams for Transgender and Non-Binary Patients”
  • Hannah Steinhauer, ASPECT doctoral student, “Transmedia Organizing and Grassroots Movements”
  • JaneAnne Tvedt, Public Relations, “Christian Fundamentalism: More Than a TV Show”
  • Tyler Wynnyk, Human Development and Psychology, “Gender Performance in a Media Context”

In addition, Emma Kennedy, Humanities for Public Service and Sociology, presented the poster “Reproductive Healthcare Access in [Three] Disadvantaged Communities [of Color, in the U.S.].”

These graduate students presented these reflections on activism: Beers, with Hannah Peacock, Sexual Citizenship Task Force; Jack Leff, Science, Technology, and Society doctoral student, Living Wage for Grad Students Campaign; and Muhammed Shajahan, ASPECT doctoral student, and Vik Velraj, History and Philosophy, Understanding Caste Privilege workshops.

Olivia Stacy was the winner of the Barbara Ellen Smith Student Essay Prize for undergraduate students and Beers and Ganguly were the winners for graduate students.

The conference took April 14 in the Newman Library Multipurpose Room.