Eden Ball expertly navigates the nuance of sociocultural influence on the female orgasm. Ball examines the multipronged way by which social media, scientific bias, and social standards of sexual interaction impact a culture’s view of female pleasure. Ball links her own experience as a young woman participating in Western culture with larger trends and evidence […]
Aurezuh Sikes expertly articulates the parallels between the zealous practices of drag and traditional religion. This work is a beautiful representation of the intimate exercises that bind our Smith community together, and through Sikes’ work, we are able to examine and appreciate the differences and, more importantly, the similarities we have with one another. Sikes […]
Corin Ford’s essay explores Beyoncé’s groundbreaking visual album, Lemonade, and its themes of Black unity, empowerment, and resilience. Ford walks us through Beyoncé’s sources of inspiration, which include both her own personal experiences and the work of other black activists, such as Joan Morgan and Audre Lorde. Ford also emphasizes Beyoncé’s inclusion of Black men […]
Referencing Virginia Woolf’s work Mrs. Dalloway, Boulanger eloquently carries the reader through a current critique of societal takes on feminine consumerism. Since Woolf’s times, she argues, the reductionist, frivolous views of stereotypically feminine shopping habits actually map quite clearly onto both the feminist pursuits of belonging, agency, and emotional freedom as well as onto the […]
Weaving together archival documents and keen analysis, Sarah Mitrani’s investigation examines Smith students’ balance between traditional and modern femininity throughout World War 1. Mitrani inspects all facets of student life on campus, expertly detailing the changes Smithies faced from 1917-1919, from wardrobe to academic endeavors, religious life to community building. Beyond describing the Smith experience, […]
Shalom Mhanda’s essay offers a comprehensive look into an often neglected issue: menstrual hygiene management in Zimbabwe. Growing up in Zimbabwe herself, Shalom uses both research and personal anecdotes to illustrate the ways rhetoric surrounding menstrual hygiene has hindered young women. Ultimately, she advocates for a versatile approach, recognizing the way in which different communities […]
Through a cross-disciplinary analysis of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, Shivani Sawant investigates themes of domestic melancholia, patriarchal oppression, class structure, and intersectional identity. Engaging texts from queer feminist scholar Sara Ahmed and Freudian scholar David Eng with Woolf’s narrative, Sawant highlights main character Mrs. Dalloway’s privilege in her coinciding ignorance and romanticization of her unfulfilled […]
Incorporating both personal anecdotes and culturally relevant works such as Ban Zhao’s “Lessons for Women,” Grace Huang reflects on the significance of femininity in her life. She skillfully addresses intergenerational differences in perspective regarding what it means to be a woman, inspiring an important discussion about the limitations of the gender binary. Huang also reflects […]
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