http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/feminism Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Mon, 01 Jun 2026 12:26:11 -0400 Mon, 01 Jun 2026 12:26:11 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1962/#itsnotmyperiod-hashtag-activisms-challenge-to-narratives-of-menstrual-stigma By Jessie J. Liu - Perceptions of menstruation as a taboo subject have historically characterized Western and non-Western societies alike and persist today, both perpetuating harmful cultural understandings of women’s abilities and normalizing institutional practices that exacerbate gender disparities. With the advent of viral social media movements or “hashtag activism,” however, challenges to these oppressive, misogynistic mainstream narratives have become increasingly powerful. Centered on menstrual activism and dismantling menstrual stigma, #ItsNotMyPeriod is one such movement. This paper argues... Thu, 22 Sep 2022 11:02 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1962/#itsnotmyperiod-hashtag-activisms-challenge-to-narratives-of-menstrual-stigma http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1959/occupation-and-the-road-not-traveled-in-habibi-rasak-kharban-2011 By Alya Osman - In adapting the twelfth-century story Layla and Majnun, Susan Youssef’s 2011 film Habibi Rasak Kharban re-imagines the Arabic folk tale in the context of Israeli occupation of Palestine, wherein the significance of journeys arises primarily from those not taken. Placing Youssef's film in conversation with Nizami's original poem (composed in 1118), this article examines Youssef's representation of literal and figurative journeys, focusing on the role of nature, mobility, stigma,notions of displacement and encounters with the ‘Other,’ and. Subsequently, I argue... Mon, 19 Sep 2022 02:51 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1959/occupation-and-the-road-not-traveled-in-habibi-rasak-kharban-2011 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1949/the-past-is-female-exploring-the-socio-sexual-liberation-of-historical-women-in-carol-ann-duffys-the-worlds-wife By Nandini Sood - British Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy’s The World’s Wife presents a fresh outlook on myths and fairy tales, by retelling them through sociosexually liberated women. The poems feature many themes such as murder, sexuality and childhood that are presented in a dark light and have been individually studied by previous researchers. Other studies have also investigated the feministic political purposes of Duffy’s poetry, but have disregarded the present liberated perspective of women shown. Consequently, this research focuses on Duffy’s manipulation of well-known texts to induce... Fri, 15 Apr 2022 12:19 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1949/the-past-is-female-exploring-the-socio-sexual-liberation-of-historical-women-in-carol-ann-duffys-the-worlds-wife http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1897/gender-theory-vs-pragmatism-a-point-of-diversion-between-judith-butlers-gender-performativity-and-the-psychosocial-limitations-of-gender-construction By Melissa Padron - The question of what it means to be a gendered individual has been left unanswered in light of its variants. The feminist movement proceeding the Industrial Revolution propelled philosophical and literary works, such as Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, challenging the traditional perception of man and woman and concomitantly advancing the foundation for gender theory. Judith Butler’s Gender Performativity theory proved to be one of the most salient works of the rather unexplored realm of philosophy. This paper confronts Butler’s theory of gender as an individual act and analyzes... Fri, 16 Apr 2021 10:50 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1897/gender-theory-vs-pragmatism-a-point-of-diversion-between-judith-butlers-gender-performativity-and-the-psychosocial-limitations-of-gender-construction http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1888/sisters-in-solidarity-the-fight-for-feminism-in-modern-day-china By Ashley Tan - Feminism has grown to be a complex, multifaceted topic of conversation in China. It has witnessed a series of peaks and troughs that have both advanced and regressed the women’s movement since Mao’s era. This paper aims to evaluate the extent to which feminism in modern day China has been curtailed by the state, and the reasons underpinning this phenomenon. It concludes that the state’s adoption of certain state laws, initiatives and fostering of a culture that normalises working women rather than portraying them as misfits or anomalies have created a more equalised environment... Fri, 12 Mar 2021 09:12 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1888/sisters-in-solidarity-the-fight-for-feminism-in-modern-day-china http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1887/reconstructing-ruin-as-future-rethinking-the-spatiotemporality-of-race-and-gender-in-glissant-and-spillers-middle-passage By Yiyang Chen - Intersecting Edouard Glissant’s poetics with Hortense Spillers’ theory of race, gender, and sexuality alchemizes a new conception of the Middle Passage’s spatiotemporality. With the slave trade haunting the living, this paper attempts to orient a rupture in the fabric of spacetime, through which implosion leads to a new future. The destructive and destabilizing abyss of the Middle Passage, in itself, creates a philosophy of alterity, where linear, universalizing logics of the West become ruin through which new paradigms emerge. In Poetics of Relation, Glissant delineates three... Wed, 10 Mar 2021 08:59 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1887/reconstructing-ruin-as-future-rethinking-the-spatiotemporality-of-race-and-gender-in-glissant-and-spillers-middle-passage http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1842/the-illusion-of-empowerment-a-feminist-analysis-of-disneys-hercules By Kasandra J. DiSessa - Disney’s Hercules, which features both a strong male lead and a strong female lead, has the potential to appeal to, and therefore influence, a larger group of child viewers than the more gendered movies, such as the traditional Princess movies. Meg, the female lead, is often touted as a feminist character and praised for her independence from men. However, Meg still lacks agency and acts within the confines of traditional gender roles, thus reinforcing stereotypes about gender while seemingly subverting them. This essay includes a feminist media analysis of Hercules, focusing specifically... Tue, 24 Nov 2020 08:08 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1842/the-illusion-of-empowerment-a-feminist-analysis-of-disneys-hercules http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1788/toxic-royalty-feminism-and-the-rhetoric-of-beauty-in-disney-princess-films By Stephanie X. Hu - At Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom, light cascades across the night sky before spiraling down through the stars. The castle that towers within the dark shines bright amongst the fireworks’ sparkling ceruleans and violets. Once the night show rises to a crescendo of color and song, the snaps of cameras coalesce with the symphony as spectators strive to capture the moment in time. Such a scene stands as a cherished childhood dream, cemented at the heart of the contemporary American identity. Since the birth of Walt Disney’s animation studio, countless children have become spellbound... Thu, 23 Jul 2020 02:11 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1788/toxic-royalty-feminism-and-the-rhetoric-of-beauty-in-disney-princess-films http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1782/gender-dynamics-in-the-sheik-as-novel-and-as-film-adaptation By Sophie Hammond - The 1921 Hollywood film The Sheik tells the story of Lady Diana Mayo, a spirited English peeress who, on a trip to the French Sahara, is kidnapped by and eventually falls in love with the Arab sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan. The film made Rudolph Valentino an international heartthrob, showered Paramount Pictures in money, and nearly singlehandedly founded the genre of “oriental romance” Hollywood films. The film’s power over the public imagination relied on American fantasies of the Orient as a place of billowing sands, luxurious silks, and heated, primal romance (Teo 110). But The Sheik... Fri, 28 Feb 2020 08:28 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1782/gender-dynamics-in-the-sheik-as-novel-and-as-film-adaptation http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1770/why-are-women-more-religious-than-men By Mie A. Jensen - Scholars have since the 1980s tried to explain why women are more religious than men, but contradictory evidence complicates a precise answer (Pew Research Center 2016:54), so this essay evaluates some theories to explain women’s increased religiousity. It first critically analyses Woodhead’s (2007) theory of double deprivation. Next, I evaluate gendered religiosity in relation to Judaism. I explain how motherhood makes women more religious due to their socialisation. Then, I show how practices related to behaviour affirm women’s religious role in the family. Finally, I examine... Fri, 04 Oct 2019 08:33 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1770/why-are-women-more-religious-than-men http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1710/come-sir-boy-subverting-masculinity-through-cross-gender-performance By Rachel Chung - I was the wounded soldier in the opening scene of Macbeth, lying spread-eagled on the stage, flaunting my unsightly gashes. I closed my legs self-consciously. Even portraying a hyper-masculine character, I found myself subject to the parameters of feminine performance. Later in the same production, I gave what was, for high school, a raunchy and riotous performance as the Porter. I referenced what would be my male genitalia, indicating what would be a beer belly, leaning heavily into the masculinity of the scene. I found the humor not just in the words themselves, but in the fact that they were... Thu, 30 Nov 2017 10:49 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1710/come-sir-boy-subverting-masculinity-through-cross-gender-performance http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1702/domestic-violence-and-the-indian-womens-movement-a-short-history By Kaamila Patherya - The Indian women’s movement, from the 1920s until the 1970s, was heavily influenced and directed by the external economic and political forces of the nation, to the effect that women’s issues were effectively sidelined, never occupying central concern in the minds of people. The period from the 1920s until Independence saw the imbuement of the women’s movement with nationalist politics, its contours shaped by the on-going struggle for freedom from British imperialism. This period, from the 1920s to the 1970s, was characterized by the inception of various local women’s associations... Wed, 08 Nov 2017 10:33 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1702/domestic-violence-and-the-indian-womens-movement-a-short-history http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1640/mary-magdalene-as-a-renewed-feminist-icon-representations-in-the-christian-tradition-as-a-resource-for-contemporary-liberation-theology By Ellen AJ. Goodwin - Mary Magdalene remains prevalent within Christianity and popular culture. A mysterious and enigmatic figure, she continues to capture people’s imagination as ‘a mix of lust, loyalty, belief, prostitution, repentance, beauty, madness, and sainthood’ (Shaberg. 2004. P.9). Mary Magdalene’s complexity is in no small part due to the ambiguity and controversy of her various representations. Her continual and varied presence within the Christian tradition demonstrates her resistance to attempts, made by various patriarchal structures such as the Bible, Hebrew society, the early... Tue, 02 May 2017 11:58 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1640/mary-magdalene-as-a-renewed-feminist-icon-representations-in-the-christian-tradition-as-a-resource-for-contemporary-liberation-theology http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1632/arab-feminism-in-the-arab-spring-discourses-on-solidarity-the-socio-cultural-revolution-and-the-political-revolution-in-egypt-tunisia-and-yemen By Stephanie Maravankin - Over the last couple of decades, women-spearheaded social movements have mobilized to leave a lasting impression on civil societies across the globe. The Arab Spring challenged old ideas of oppressive regimes and signaled possibilities for change, originating in Tunisia and spreading to Arab countries throughout the Middle East. This paper explores the existing literature on political opportunity structure, resource mobilization theory, and framing theory as a means to understand the question: How did collective action frames during the Arab Spring shape the discourses on Arab feminism? My research... Sun, 30 Apr 2017 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1632/arab-feminism-in-the-arab-spring-discourses-on-solidarity-the-socio-cultural-revolution-and-the-political-revolution-in-egypt-tunisia-and-yemen http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1539/gender-equality-in-international-institutions-progress-and-challenges-in-moving-toward-gender-parity By Lyndsay B. Thompson - The International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda, for the first time in international law, recognized sexual violence in conflict as crimes against humanity and grave breaches of international law. Subsequently, the International Criminal Court was created with a gender-mainstreamed focus on international issues, and UN Resolutions required states to make gender parity in representation and gender equality national goals. However, when faced with changes in formal rules, institutions often react to reinforce old traditional gender norms... Sat, 18 Feb 2017 09:01 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1539/gender-equality-in-international-institutions-progress-and-challenges-in-moving-toward-gender-parity http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1508/juxtaposing-sexist-and-feminist-understandings-of-pro-life-an-analysis-of-reproductive-rights-rhetoric By Caroline B. Connor - Near the end of 2015, in the midst of recent presidential and congressional debates, House Republicans proposed a bill to defund Planned Parenthood, blocking all of the organization’s federal funding, after the release of videos discussing Planned Parenthood allegedly selling fetal tissue. Sources suggest that after the release in these videos, there was also a rise in death threats against abortion providers, which has been primarily linked to the rhetoric revolving around the fetal tissue controversy (Alter). After a shooting in a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic in November of 2015... Fri, 16 Dec 2016 04:24 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1508/juxtaposing-sexist-and-feminist-understandings-of-pro-life-an-analysis-of-reproductive-rights-rhetoric http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1467/intersections-of-gender-race-and-nation-in-cloud-nine-and-m-butterfly By Miriam Cummins - This article contributes to the debate as to whether Cloud Nine by Caryl Churchill and M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang are ultimately essentialist or anti-essentialist, accentuating or disavowing difference. It argues that both plays are successfully anti-essentialist by examining the discursive relationship between categories of gendered, racial and national identity. For both Churchill and Hwang, categories of gender, race and nation can be mutually deconstructed in the same way that they are mutually constructed because their foundation in discourse is fundamentally unstable. Thus, when fluid... Tue, 25 Oct 2016 09:56 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1467/intersections-of-gender-race-and-nation-in-cloud-nine-and-m-butterfly http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1462/can-marxist-thought-successfully-accommodate-radical-feminism By Bohdana Kurylo - The relationship between feminism and socialism is extremely intimate but also immensely intricate. According to feminist poet Adrienne Rich (1977, p. 285), ‘the repossession by women of our bodies will bring far more essential change to human society than the seizing of the means of production by workers. Indeed, it is work that has a special significance in the socialist tradition, playing a key role in making people who they are and shaping social relations. In the capitalist world, class becomes its structure, production its aim, and alienation its consequence. In the alternative world... Tue, 18 Oct 2016 04:20 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1462/can-marxist-thought-successfully-accommodate-radical-feminism http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1352/the-development-of-modern-feminist-thought-a-summary By Saarang Narayan - This paper looks to trace three broad themes in the scholarship of feminism: the conceptualization of women as a socio-political category, the various ideas of women’s oppression, and the idea of emancipation. In particular, the work of four influential scholars—Mary Wollstonecraft, Friedrich Engels, Emma Goldman and Simone de Beauvoir—is used to provide a brief summary of the subject and its development. Each provides foundational ideas in the scholarship of feminism, in addition to representing the shifting discourse in the two major waves of feminism in modern history. Excerpts... Wed, 10 Feb 2016 09:20 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1352/the-development-of-modern-feminist-thought-a-summary http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1314/islamic-feminism-in-egypt-toward-a-reconceptualization-of-social-movement-theories By Sabrina Moro - A review of literature on social movements highlights its many and sometimes conflicting definitions. Relying on Saba Mahmood’s Politics of Piety (2005) – an ethnographic account of grassroots women’s piety movement in the mosques of Cairo – and literature on Islamic feminism, I ask whether religious movements are social movements and show that social movement theories and concepts such as ‘feminism’, ‘secular’ and ‘religious’ are the product of a specific set of discourses inscribed in western academic history. This paper thus calls... Wed, 25 Nov 2015 10:11 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1314/islamic-feminism-in-egypt-toward-a-reconceptualization-of-social-movement-theories http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1236/why-are-gender-relations-important-to-include-in-the-study-of-politics-and-society By Michael Rose - Alternatively, gender refers to the manner in which individuals define themselves, based on a scale of feminine to masculine. The title ‘man’ has been socially constructed to describe the masculine end of the spectrum, just as the term ‘woman’ has been to describe the feminine. Throughout history, the two titles have been seen as tantamount to sex. From birth what is called a male is then dubbed a man (or boy) and what is called female is called a woman (or girl). Not only is the notion of gender enforced from birth, but the true gender of the child, which most likely is... Mon, 19 Oct 2015 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1236/why-are-gender-relations-important-to-include-in-the-study-of-politics-and-society http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1235/how-important-are-masculinity-and-femininity-in-the-culture-of-militaries By Ciaran Kovach - This debate raises a further question: just how important a role does sexuality and gender play within modern military culture? In this essay, the roles of masculinity and femininity, particularly in the context of the modern US military culture, shall be examined through a series of issues in military culture related to gender. An issue that will see particular scrutiny is the role and impact of gender roles and gendered behaviour within militaries. The role of debates on biology and sexual orientation, as well as scrutiny from civilian society of military culture will also be used to explore... Mon, 19 Oct 2015 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1235/how-important-are-masculinity-and-femininity-in-the-culture-of-militaries http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1052/feminism-in-death-and-the-maiden-and-like-water-for-chocolate By Justine M. Baek - Tita, the protagonist from Esquivel's novel, grows from a submissive, suffocated girl into a strong, independent woman. In contrast, Paulina, the progtagonist of Dorman's play, becomes suffocated and paranoid after her torture. However, interestingly, through torturing Roberto, Paulina demonstrates her abrupt change into a dominating, vindictive woman through her possession of a gun. But in spite of the restrictions they are subjected to because of their gender, the female protagonists of both works are able to overcome their limitations and become strong and independent women. The two heroines... Sat, 27 Jun 2015 09:17 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1052/feminism-in-death-and-the-maiden-and-like-water-for-chocolate http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1133/faux-activism-in-recent-female-empowering-advertising By Alyssa Baxter - This study content analyzed six brands from Unilever and Procter & Gamble, whose advertisements promoted both male-targeted products and female-targeted ones. The study examined three female-empowering advertisements and three male-targeted, or “opposition” advertisements. It concluded that companies producing these female-empowering advertisements are not truly supporting the feminism activist movement, but are manipulating consumers for bigger profits with faux activism for feminism. By shedding light on this recent trend of “ad-her-tising,” this study found that... Sat, 30 May 2015 11:59 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1133/faux-activism-in-recent-female-empowering-advertising http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1039/feminine-agendas-the-historical-evolution-of-feminism-as-reflected-in-the-content-of-american-womens-magazines By Kyra Gemberling - The purpose of this research is to identify trends and themes that reflect feminist values in American women’s magazines throughout history. The goal is to show that feminism was an frequently discussed topic in American media as it gained prominence and validity over time. This research draws primarily upon secondary sources, such as scholarly journal articles. Most research on this topic was conducted by analyzing magazines published during various time periods and by discovering general themes. By showing how feminism was represented in women’s magazines, this research highlights... Sun, 30 Nov 2014 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1039/feminine-agendas-the-historical-evolution-of-feminism-as-reflected-in-the-content-of-american-womens-magazines http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/927/revisiting-footbinding-the-evolution-of-the-body-as-method-in-modern-chinese-history By Huy Anh S. Le - Less ethnographically intensive, and more attentive to a historical trajectory of the nation-state, the second line of studies revolved around the roles of the twentieth-century Communist revolution in the liberation of women from a feudalistic Confucian tradition. It also embroiled many scholars in heated debates over the nature of this revolution, and if the progressive and emancipatory ideologies it espoused indeed liberated women. The final line of inquiry began to pay more attention to areas otherwise obfuscated by an over-emphasis on ethnography and ideological narratives such as women&rsquo... Tue, 21 Oct 2014 12:29 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/927/revisiting-footbinding-the-evolution-of-the-body-as-method-in-modern-chinese-history http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/915/holly-golightly-and-the-endless-pursuit-of-self-actualization-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys By Zachary B. Wunrow - By one interpretation, Blake Edwards’ comedy Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) conveys the disillusionment experienced when the prize of the Cracker Jack box – and correspondingly the film itself – cannot be equated with surprise. When an astute Tiffany’s salesman is presented with a ring from a Cracker Jack box, he remarks that the continued existence of such prizes “gives one a feeling of solidarity, almost of continuity with the past, that sort of thing.” In Tiffany’s, the prize does not represent the thrillingly unknown, but instead the comfortably... Sat, 20 Sep 2014 12:37 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/915/holly-golightly-and-the-endless-pursuit-of-self-actualization-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/892/visibility-for-women-in-the-works-of-george-eliot-and-virginia-woolf By Emily Caliendo - When examining the works of both George Eliot and Virginia Woolf, many critics are quick to assess the credibility and quality of characters based on how they react to the external experiences they are faced with in their imaginary worlds. However, this way of thinking serves as an injustice to both authors. Rather than finding truth in what goes on externally in these imagined worlds and judging characters’ perceptions by their relative proximity, readers should instead understand that Eliot and Woolf’s works demonstrate that subjective experience determines reality. These authors... Mon, 28 Apr 2014 09:38 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/892/visibility-for-women-in-the-works-of-george-eliot-and-virginia-woolf http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/885/jane-eyre-as-a-female-gothic-novel By Aparna Srivastava - Charlotte Brontë invests gothic elements in Jane Eyre with a symbolic meaning to create a new, ‘female’ language. It is through this female Gothic language that Brontë creates a heroine whose autobiographical mode of writing is used to trace a story of female rebellion and search for identity. Although the use of gothic as the new ‘female’ language is a subversion of the predominant phallocentric language of the time, the need for a woman writer to make her assertions through the gothic, the symbolic and therefore the indirect implies that this new female gothic... Mon, 07 Apr 2014 10:08 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/885/jane-eyre-as-a-female-gothic-novel http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/827/testing-the-appeals-of-feminist-ideologies-in-female-athletic-advertising By Leigh Burgess - The purpose of this study was to determine whether Generation Y women respond more to athletic ads that embodied a second-wave feminist ideology or a third-wave, post-structuralist ideology. A focus group was conducted and its findings revealed that the women's ideological preferences were not based on their generation, but their lifestyle. In other words, the Generation Y women did not unanimously identify with one feminist ideology over the other. Instead, the ideology they responded to in the athletic ads was based on their athletic lifestyle. This ultimately indicates that Generation Y females... Mon, 09 Dec 2013 02:42 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/827/testing-the-appeals-of-feminist-ideologies-in-female-athletic-advertising