STUDENT RESEaRch SympoSiUm 2010 - Graduate and Research ...

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increasing emphasis on physical attractiveness as the core value
of a woman. The boundaries that surround and encompass what
is considered beautiful in our society have been molded by an
internalized system of oppression that is dictated by patriarchal
demands. These dominant discourses are manifested through
repetitive positive reinforcement of confining ideals expressed
in popular culture, giving birth to a whole new era of extremely
narrow standards. Television shows, movies, advertisements,
commercials, magazines, and other media encourage socially
constricted interpretations of beauty, and massive business
ventures are centered at making a profit by stabilizing these
paradigms. This paper explores how women are affected in these
regards, and how defiance and compliance with these structures
impacts mainstream culture. An increasing amount of women are
resorting to body modification as an outlet geared toward striking
control over their social roles. The majority of body modification
practices actually contribute to the demolition of personal agency,
encouraging women’s conformity to idealized projections of femininity
and, as a result, devaluing their individual worth.
#418 10:45
Let’s Go Home
Jenny Woudenberg, Women’s Studies (U)
Doreen Mattingly, Women’s Studies
This project seeks to help one widow at a time leave the IDP camp
and return to her homeland so she may be able to finish her life
with dignity. Since there is now peace and people are allowed to
return to their homelands, most of the NGOs are leaving the IDP
camps, which has left the most vulnerable widows still stranded.
Because these women have lost their sons and husbands due
to the conflict, society has ignored their cries for help. This is an
atrocity. Their cries must be heard because every human has the
right to proper shelter. This project is benefiting all of society. It
has most importantly helped the most vulnerable return to their
homes. This project has also empowered the community to be
self-reliant - not NGO dependant – and is reinstating the Acholi
culture of community that was lost during the war. We all see
millions of dollars being poured into fancy NGO cars, offices, and
staff, so why not use a little of that money to help real beneficiaries’
human interests at the grassroots level? Currently a few
members of this project are collecting data for the Parliamentary
Performance Scorecard to asses the work of the elected Members
of Parliament at constituencies in the districts of Kitgum, Pader
and Abim as assigned by Africa Leadership Institute (AFLI).
STUDENT RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM 2010
#419 11:00
Sexualized Violence and Economic Exploitation: Rape as a
Strategic Weapon of War in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo
Moriah Meeks, Women’s Studies (M)
Dr. Elizabeth Colwill, Women’s Studies
A long history of economic exploitation, coupled with the internal
struggles over resources amongst various ethnic groups, has created
an increasingly militarized society in central Africa, specifically
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These factors all
contributed to the outbreak of multiple wars in this region from
1996 to the present. One strategy employed by all parties during
these wars is the endemic rape of women and girls, estimated in
February 2009 as anywhere from 200,000 to 500,000 women
and girls. This paper draws upon women’s and grassroots
organizations’ websites, a 2007 documentary, as well as the
transcript of a 2008 Senate Subcommittee hearing on rape as a
weapon of war to address both the causes and consequences of
this epidemic of sexual violence. It finds that the widespread rape
of women and girls is used as a form of genocide, as a way for
an individual soldier or a group to gain power over an enemy, and
as a strategy for fostering instability in the region. Consequences
include increasing rates of sterility and AIDS, infanticide and
abandonment of children born of rape, a decrease in food production,
and the breakdown of family ties.
#420 11:15
Feminist Zine Making as a Tool for the Production of
Feminist Knowledge, the Dissemination of Feminist
Knowledge, and the Creation of a Transnational Feminist
Community.
Jessica Spain, Women’s Studies (M)
Elizabeth Colwill, Women’s Studies
The activism of today’s young feminists is often held in comparison
to the tactics utilized by their foremothers who organized to
resist oppression in the 1960s and ‘70s. The strategies of these
women, while perhaps less radical than those employed by second
wave feminists, do not, however, result in more limited social
transformation. The global activism of the “third wave,” through
its communicative vehicle of choice, the feminist zine, has unique
potential for recruiting members to a transnational movement
toward social equality. Feminist zines—do-it-yourself minimagazines
that combine elements of personal journals, newsletters,
and collages—have become increasingly popular due to
the accessibility of Xerox machines and cheap copies (Bates