VOL. 3, ISSUE 4
March/April 2014
WILKES UNIVERSITY
P3| Find out how members of the
Wilkes Business School took their
talents and ideas and helped empower
women in Afghanistan.
P7 | Issues surrounding pregnancy are the
number one killer of women worldwide.
Learn about Dr. Winkler’s revolutionary
work to combat this killer in Tanzania.
From the Director
Welcome to our annual Conference Edition Newsletter! I hope the articles highlighting
some of this year’s WGS conference sessions pique your interest. The big event will
take place Thursday, March 20th and Friday, March 21st at Wilkes University.
Sessions will be held on the second floor of the Henry Student Center.
Help us kick off the conference on Wednesday, March 19th at 7pm as Melinda
Henneberger gives her timely keynote address, "Revolution Needed: The Ongoing
Wrong of Sexual Violence on College Campuses.” See page 10 for more details!
.
In this issue, we spotlight WGS faculty Naomi Hatsfelt Baker and bid her farewell after
eight years of service to the Wilkes community. Find out more about how she shatters
gender stereotypes on page 2.
P9 | Do TV shows, movies, and music
influence our understanding of gender?
Communications majors investigate this
question for their capstone projects.
Faculty Spotlight
We Bid Farewell to Prof. Baker….PG. 2
Empowering Afghan Women
Wilkes Women Make Change ……PG. 3
Revolutionize Yourself!
S.W.A.G. Movement ............. …..PG. 4
New Club on Campus
Get involved ........................ PG. 5
WS 301 Capstone
Did you know that a number of Wilkes’ faculty are helping the world understand some of
the complex issues women in developing countries face? Find out more about how
women in the business school helped empower women in Afghanistan on page 3 and Dr.
Winkler’s crusade to reduce maternal and infant mortality in Tanzania on pages 7-8.
Focus on activism ................ PG. 6
Want to stand out from the rest at a job interview or in a graduate school application?
Come to Jocelyn Tejeda interactive conference session on March 20th at 5pm and
revolutionize yourself with the S.W.A.G. movement (see page 4 for more details).
Want to be entertained?
Support the WS301 students as they present their projects at this year’s conference.
See page 6 for more information.
Focus on Student Research
Get involved! Interested in issues related to social justice and human rights? This new
club may be just for you (see page 5).
Enroll in a WGS Class
Looking for a WGS eligible class for Fall 2014? Check out the listing on page 11.
Keep up to date on WGS events and news by liking us on Facebook!
Hope to see you at this year’s conference!
Dr. Jennifer Thomas
Combating a Deadly Killer
Dr. Winkler’s efforts .............. PG. 7-8
Watch Maria Costa ............... PG. 8
Comm. Capstone Projects .... PG. 9-10
Fall 2014 Course list .............. .PG. 11
Contact WGS
Dr. Jennifer Thomas
Director of Women’s & Gender Studies
jennifer.thomas@wilkes.edu
WOMEN’S & GENDER STUDIES | March/April 2014
|2
Faculty Spotlight: Naomi Hatsfelt Baker
Dedicated WGS Faculty Member
Uses Theater to Shatter Gender Stereotypes
field overflowing with women and gay
men. While that may be the case, the
positions of power still fall primarily to
white males. They are often the ones
who own the theaters, who are cast as
the leads, and who write the best
known plays. Men often have far more
parts in plays than women, forcing
women to be cast as men (if the
production will allow it).
By: Alysha Bixler
Naomi Hatsfelt Baker, Associate Professor of
Performing Arts and dedicated WGS faculty
member, is entering her final semester at
Wilkes University. Her departure is a
significant loss not only to the Performing Arts
program but also to WGS and the entire Wilkes
community. It is with heavy hearts that we
bid farewell to Professor Baker, and express
our sincere gratitude for her contributions to
WGS, in particular her deep commitment to
helping create a more just and equitable
world.
In honor of Professor Baker’s contributions to
WGS and the Wilkes community, this issue’s
faculty spotlight showcases her achievements at
Wilkes University. Dr. Baker has dedicated
eight years to Wilkes University. She divides
her time among teaching all the performance
classes in the theater department and directing
shows including: Bat Boy: The Musical and As
You Like It. Before coming to Wilkes, Baker
spent time teaching at the University of
Alabama at Birmingham and Southern State
Community College. She is experienced in her
field and spent many years working as a
professional actress and singer before pursuing
an MFA in Acting from the Ohio State
University. Most of this professional work was
done in the Dallas/ Fort Worth, Texas area and
included productions such as Kurt Weill: A
Musical Odyssey, A Funny Thing Happened on
the way to the Forum, and La Cage Aux Folles.
She also performed in Hello, Dolly in Paris,
France and has been in several commercial and
industrial videos!
While at Wilkes, Professor Baker has proven to
be a crucial member of the WGS faculty. As a
feminist, she has noticed that many plays have
been written to place the male actors in
positions of dominance while female actors
hold the subordinate roles. These portrayals are
dangerous and limiting as they continue to
perpetuate gender stereotypes and traditional
gender roles. Seeing a need for change and
action, Professor Baker often has her students
Wilkes’s Own “Revolutionary” Woman:
Naomi Hatsfelt Baker
challenge gender roles in their
performances, changing the male parts to
female parts and female parts to male parts.
This forces the students, as well as those
watching, to respect the play for its content
and to consider the strong impact gender
roles have. The most recent example of this
was in the performance of scenes from the
play Oleanna by David Mamet. In these
scenes, a male professor is accused of
sexually harassing a female student.
However, the female student is never
portrayed as the victim and is instead
portrayed to be vindictive and deserving of
what has happened to her. By changing the
gender of both the professor and the
student, Baker and her students challenge
this misogynistic view. We all know the
media has an impact media our values,
beliefs, and perceptions so it is refreshing
to see these stereotypes being challenged to
allow individuals to form more accurate
opinions.
While it is obvious that Baker challenges
gender stereotypes in her plays, we also
wanted to learn more about her field and
any discrimination that may take place
within it. Theater is often thought of as a
Bakers explained that while there are
more women in the field than men,
there are far fewer parts for women
compared to men. She recalled going
to auditions with 300 other women
who were all vying for the same two
parts! At the same time, 50 men would
try out for 10 or more parts. Also,
women are rarely ever cast in a leading
role unless it is a stereotypical
‘women’s story’. Clearly the odds
favor the men, even in a field filled
with women!
Luckily for those theater majors and
enthusiasts here at Wilkes, Baker has
not let traditional gender roles and
misogynistic content stymie her
commitment to gender equality! She
has always tried to choose plays that
offer powerful roles for women, have
many female roles, or male roles where
women can easily be substituted. She
is certainly doing her part to help not
only the theater program, but also the
entire Wilkes community move in a
direction where men and women are
shown as competent and capable –
where both genders are seen as
valuable. We can only hope that
someone as compassionate and aware
of women’s and gender issues fills her
position. She is definitely leaving some
big shoes to fill and will be missed by
her fellow faculty members as well as
her students!
Thank you Professor Baker!
We appreciate you and wish you the best of luck!
WOMEN’S &&GENDER
STUDIES
| March/April
2014
WOMEN’S
GENDER
STUDIES
| FALL 2012
FALL 2012
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Empowering Women in Afghanistan
Wilkes Faculty Use their Talents to Affect Change!
By: Alysha Bixler
Ideas are great, but often what we find is
that people struggle to turn these ideas into
actions. Starting in 2002, a group of
dedicated, revolutionary individuals including members of the Wilkes
University Business School- worked
hard to turn an idea to empower women
in Afghanistan into reality. Specifically,
they helped women who were illiterate
learn how to run their own businesses! At
this year’s WGS conference, professor
Ruth Hughes, Dr. Anne Batory, and Dr.
Marianne Rexer will share their
experiences in a presentation entitled,
“The Beauty Academy of Kabul and the
Roles of Wilkes University.” For those of
you who would like to learn more before
this presentation, I encourage you to read
the article below. You can also read the
New York Times best seller Kabul Beauty
School by Deborah Rodriguez which
chronicles this project.
In 2002 Afghanistan was still under
Taliban rule. Women living in this county
experienced great oppression and
mistreatment. They were forbidden from
receiving an education or working to earn
an income. Nearly 60% of these women
were widows who desperately needed to
provide for not only themselves, but for
their children as well. Risking being
beaten and imprisoned, some women
chose to defy Taliban rule and run
underground beauty parlors. Women who
chose not to run the parlors still visited
them. They were all desperate for some
color and light in their lives and what
better way to beat depression than
focusing on beauty and wellness. Luckily
for these women, CNN recognized their
hardships and created a program to share
their struggles while operating these
forbidden salons with the rest of the world.
This program inspired three revolutionary
women who partnered with PARSA
(Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Support
for Afghanistan) to set up the Kabul
Beauty School. The project was named the
Body & Soul Program. It was a huge
endeavor to undertake and required the
organized assistance of many individuals.
In fact, the expertise of individuals from
our university was sought to help
implement the program!
After Taliban rule ended, there was a short
supply of beauticians. Courageous women
who had chosen to continue their trade
under Taliban rule faced punishment and
many were frightened to start back up
again. The brave women who continued to
operate their shops had to use outdated
and dangerous equipment. Imagine
needing a hair cut or being the beautician
for shop that only had rusty scissors, relied
on a single, unsanitized comb, and lacked
running water. To make matters worse,
many customers (and then shops) were
infested with lice. To add to this, the
women who ran the salons were often self-
Want to learn more?
Check out the conference
presentation!
When: March 21st,
12:30 p.m.
Where: SUB Ballroom
taught because there was no one else to
teach them. They were doing what needed
to be done, but had no techniques; what
they needed was an education. The goal
of the Body & Soul Program was to solve
these problems by opening a beauty school
in Kabul, Afghanistan to provide training
along with business building programs.
Women would learn haircutting, makeup
artistry, and the techniques behind
manicures, pedicures, and waxing. At the
same time they would also be instructed
on proper ways to start a business utilizing
manuals, instructional videos, and
exercises created for the program. Once
women completed this curriculum they
would be given start-up funds to help them
open salons in their local communities;
creating a brighter, self-reliant future for
them, their families, their community, and
their country. This program not only
empowered women to become selfsufficient and provide for themselves and
their families, it also helped women in the
community feel and look better!
Image courtesy of
http://www.moreintelligentlife.com/
How did some of the female faculty in the
Wilkes Business School contribute to the
empowerment of women in Afghanistan?
First, funding, products and equipment were
provided by large beauty companies such as
MAC Cosmetics, Matrix, and Vogue
Magazine. Teachers were found in the form of
visiting exiles who had fled Afghanistan years
ago and resettled in the US to pursue their
dreams of becoming beauticians. Wilkes
faculty provided the business training so that
Afghan women could develop the skills
necessary to open and profitably operate their
own salons. Faculty created videos to help
train women who were illiterate. Essy
Davidowitz, a Wilkes Trustee, recommended
that Wilkes become part of this effort after she
learned about it at the Global Peace Initiative
of Women in Geneva. Over 40 volunteers from
Wilkes worked together to create videos that
focused on three skills necessary for running a
successful business: Developing a business,
marketing, and accounting. Specifically,
Professor Hughes wrote and presented the
video on developing a business while Dr.
Rexer wrote and directed the video on
accounting. Dr. Batory, an expert in
marketing, created this video. The scripts were
written and read to the camera by the
professors, but a translator, Seema, translated
the videos into Dari. The videos were then sent
to Kabul to be used in the school.
As you can image, the faculty members had to
overcome many challenges and put in a great
deal of work to make this project a success.
They had to assume that the women were
(continued on page 5)
WOMEN’S & GENDER STUDIES | March/April 2014
|4
Become a Trailblazing Agent of Change!
Check out the S.W.A.G. Movement at this year’s WGS Conference
By: Alysha Bixler
Will you be graduating soon and looking for a job to pay off your student loans? Have you put
together a resume that highlights how you stand out from other applicants? Maybe you’re
considering graduate school. How do you make your application stand out from the hundreds to
thousands of other applications the program reviews each year? Do you have a mentor who you
trust to help you find your way professionally? If you want suggestions and guidance for how to
put your best foot forward in securing a good job or place in a graduate program, then you
should definitely attend the interactive presentation that will be put on by Jocelyn Tejeda,
Director of Traditional Programs and Student Leadership Initiatives at Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey! Her session entitled, “Leading the S.W.A.G. Movement ‘Successful
Women Achieving Greatness’,” has the power to transform your life! She will share seven basic
principles and strategies that “will support women in feeling empowered, motivated, and
confident” and will “awaken the leader within.” You don’t want to miss this session!
To learn more about the “S.W.A.G. Movement” and what Ms. Tejeda will be sharing at the
conference, we asked her to tell us more about her presentation. Check out her response below.
So what is S.W.A.G? Well, before we discuss how these principles can transform your life it’s
important that we begin with a base definition. According to Dictionary.com “Swag” is
categorized as a noun and is defined as “a suspended wreath, garland, drapery, or the like,
fastened up at or near each end and hanging down in the middle; festoon”. In my world,
S.W.A.G. describes a MOVEMENT of empowered women who are committed to their personal
and professional development, striving to uplift others while embarking on their journey to
greatness, and embracing who they are as leaders, trailblazers, and agents of change.
Jocelyn Tejeda, Director of Traditional
Programs and Student Leadership
Initiatives at Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey
Join the S.W.A.G.
Movement!
th
When: March 20 , 5 p.m.
Where: SUB Ballroom
In 2014, women still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns and hold less than five percent
of CEO positions in Fortune 400 companies. As we move into the 21st century, women and
girls’ empowerment is quickly becoming the #1 priority on our national and global agenda.
Being part of a collegiate community gives you the ability to exercise your S.W.A.G. by getting
involved with student organizations, research opportunities, internships, and establishing a
mentor. These experiences prepare young women to take on leadership roles within the
workplace, gain confidence, increase self -esteem, and play an active role in making their
communities better. Investing in youth is the catalyst to creating economic empowerment and
world change.
Creating this worldwide impact starts now and the opportunities in higher education are
endless. Although the gender gap is still very present WE have the power and responsibility to
believe and achieve greatness collectively!
This presentation is sure to be interesting, informative, and may even transform your life. In
today’s competitive marketplace it’s essential that students have a record of academic success in
addition to leadership skills. Find out how S.W.A.G. can help you become a better, more
effective, and empowered leader!
WOMEN’S & GENDER STUDIES | March/April 2014
|5
Kabul Beauty School Continued
illiterate (more than 70% of the population at
that time was illiterate; remember the Taliban
forbade women from receiving an education).
This made developing exercises to coincide
with the videos rather difficult. Our faculty
were not deterred by these obstacles. Instead
they created pictures and utilized verbal
instruction to convey the messages necessary
for each training video. Dr. Rexer found it
particularly difficult to teach accounting to
women who did not have a concept for basic
math skills. If fact, there is not even a word in
Dari for accounting so each time it was
translated, Seema had to fully explain what it
was. Nonetheless, our faculty were determined
and their perseverance resulted in the
successful creation of videos that added to the
success of the school and to the
empowerment of women.
By August 13, 2003, after countless hours of hard work from numerous dedicated individuals,
everything was in place, and the school was ready to open its doors. There was room for 20
students, 18 of whom had already been accepted. On the first day of class, approximately 50
enthusiastic women showed up to apply for the two open spots! Listening to each woman’s
story – what lead her to wanting a spot in the program – was often heartbreaking. Some were
widows with multiple children to feed and no way to support them, some had husbands who
were injured under Taliban rule and were unable to provide for their family, some were sick,
and many were depressed. All these women had one thing in common: They wanted an
opportunity to make more out of their lives, to fight through oppression and discrimination,
and to express themselves creatively while developing the knowledge and skills to earn an
income. A lottery was held for the final two spots, and sadly, many of the women had to be
turned away and encouraged to try again the following year. Those who were lucky enough to
get admitted to the school received a quality education and learned essential skills to become
not only a successful beautician, but also a successful business women. There would be many
more like them to follow, in total the school assisted about 180 women. While the Kabul
beauty school had to close in June 2007 due to concerns for the safety of the instructors and
students, it was still a great success! Many lives were forever changed during the four years it
was operational. All this could not have been accomplished had it not been for the numerous
revolutionary women who saw a problem, found a solution, and took the initiative to bring the
solution to life. It is amazing what can be done when individuals work together toward one
common goal!
Care about Human Rights and Social Justice Issues?
New Club Just Right for You!
By: Alysha Bixler
Are there causes you’re passionate about? Ending sex trafficking?
Making sure women have access to safe, effective, affordable birth
control? Reducing incidents of sexual assault on college campuses
and making sure the perpetrators are brought to justice? If you said
“yes” to any of these questions then a new club may be just the place
for you to openly express your passions with other likeminded
students.
As the popularity of the WGS minor continues to grow, it has become
apparent that students would enjoy opportunities outside of their
classes to voice their gender-related issues and concerns. Perhaps you
recognize other students around campus who are in your WGS classes,
but have never been able to have a discussion with them. Maybe
you’re interested in human rights and social justice and would like to
be given the chance to talk to others who share your concerns. Well,
we’re interested in starting a student club that would address these
issues – this is your chance! The club would be organized in
coordination with the Feminist Majority Foundation whose mission is
to raise awareness about social justice, human rights, and female
equality. Last semester the WGS program was very proactive in
raising awareness about social justice related specifically to gender;
particularly issues surrounding young girls.
this to be a serious issue, we wanted to educate those in the Wilkes
community who may have been unaware that this was occurring. By
providing information about this disheartening topic, we offered a
way for others to learn, get involved, and be proactive. We also held
a tie-dye cupcake bake sale in support of She’s the First, a nonprofit
organization that sponsors girls’ education in developing countries.
Through the efforts of the WGS program, we were able to raise
enough money to fund almost an entire year of education for a girl in
a developing country! These are just two examples of ways we have
chosen to spread awareness about social problems in today’s society.
Through holding these events and many more like them over the
years, we have realized that simply educating others on issues often
is not enough. Plans, organization, and action need to occur if we
ever want to see any real change. We have many more ideas that we
would like to peruse; however, we need your help! Our efforts
would be magnified with the help of dedicated students who want to
take what they have learned and make a difference. If you are
passionate about achieving equality for all and fighting to end the
injustices that so many individuals face, I encourage you to learn
more about the possibility of establishing a new club. Email me
(alysha.bixler@wilkes.edu) or Dr. Thomas (jennifer.thomas
@wilkes.edu) for more information. While we are not yet an
organized club, we are looking for passionate and dedicated students
We had a film screening of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into
to help bring this vision to life. We need your help in recruiting and
Opportunity for Women Worldwide to spread awareness about the sex
inspiring others to fight for social justice and to end discrimination
trafficking of young girls in Cambodia. According to the International
for not only women but all minorities. It is clear that social injustices
Labor Organization, approximately 98% of all female slaves are sex
exist, and it is our duty to come together to empower each other and
trafficking victims. This industry thrives on the exploitation of
fight for the change we want to instill.
women; netting between $7 and $19 billion every year! Realizing
WOMEN’S & GENDER STUDIES | March/April 2014
|6
WGS Minors’ Capstone
Presentations:
Creating a more Just World through
Activism
By: Alysha Bixler
WGS minors enrolled in WS301 are busily
preparing to present their capstone projects at
this year’s WGS conference. Students will
examine a variety of topics including sex
trafficking, rape, reproductive rights, maternal
mortality, and empowerment through
education – and will discuss how activist
organizations are currently working to combat
gender inequality. These projects fulfill a
requirement for the WGS minor and are
closely tied to the goals of the WS301 course.
WS301 is designed to heighten students’
awareness and understanding for how systems
of privilege, oppression, and discrimination
are perpetuated, maintained, and shape and
constrain the lives of women and men. One
way this is accomplished is by having students
intensively research an area of inequality
and social injustice such as rape or sex
trafficking. While it is often disheartening
to examine such subject matters, WS301 is
also meant to empower students to take
meaningful steps to end gender inequality
and to help create a more just and equitable
world. Thus, students’ WGS capstone
presentations will focus on solutions to
these areas of inequality by discussing
activist organizations. Through developing
these projects, students will learn how to be
proactive. This is especially important
because many of us tend to be reactive
instead of proactive. In other words, once a
problem is exposed we jump into action,
instead of anticipating the problem and
working to prevent it. Another common
reaction to learning about injustice is to
become overwhelmed and paralyzed –
issues of social justice are so complex and
multifaceted – how can one person make a
difference? By participating in this
project, students learn more about
activism. By sharing information about
activist organizations with others, they
develop a sense of agency and a belief that
they and others can make meaningful
contributions toward the achievement of
social justice.
Please support our WGS minors by
attending one or more of their conference
sessions! You won’t be disappointed!
Not only will you learn more about a
current issue in Women’s Studies, you
will also discover what activism is and
how to make meaningful contributions to
affect social change. Who knows, you
may even develop a new passion in the
process!
This Year’s WGS Minor Capstone Presentations:
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Haley Adam and Katie Hughes: Forced Domestic
Servitude
Alyssa Amerosa and Kate Lynn Augustine: Sex
Trafficking: One Man’s Dream, Another Woman’s
Nightmare
Brittany Battista and Laura Preby: The Unrealistic
Portrayal of Women in Media
Holly Boyer and Leah Marchise: Women Portrayed
Poorly
Leanna Brisson and Birjukumer Patel: Sex Trafficking
- A Closer Look at Ending the Oppression in Nepal and
Camobodia
Ashleigh Crispell and Jessica Gorts: Intimate Partner
Violence
Hayley Dutka and Ellen Riley: Victimology: Avoiding
Blaming the Victim
Christina Emmer and Paige Sankey: Maternal
Mortality
Morgan Evans and Jeanine Manta: Importance of
Access to Clean Water
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Amanda Fleig and Jesse Kuffa: Intimate Partner
Violence
Michael Kapolka: Forced Prostitution and
Intergenerational Prostitution
Nicole Krappa and Hailee Politz: Women and
Equality in Sports
Tyler Lauchaire and Nimita Patel: Sexual Assault in
the Military
Cody Logan and Shaney Rivers: Women’s Rights and
Access to Birth Control
Gift Magomero and Ashely Scott: Women’s Rights to
Birth Control Access and Education in the U.S.
James Moran and Matthew Transue: Sexual Assault
on College Campuses
Lauren Odland and Victoria Rendina: Women’s
Empowerment through Education
Kathryn Roshong and Sarah Simonovich: Sexual
Harassment in the Workplace
Jessica Scott and Richelle Smith: Feminization of
Poverty
WOMEN’S & GENDER STUDIES | March/April 2014
|7
Leading Cause of Women’s Death Worldwide:
Maternal Mortality
Learn about Dr. Winkler’s Revolutionary Efforts to Reduce
Maternal Mortality in Tanzania at this year’s conference!
By: Alysha Bixler
Did you know that approximately 529,000
women die from pregnancy-related causes every
year; making maternal mortality the leading
cause of death world-wide?! And one woman
dies giving birth every 60 seconds. Each day
enough women die having children to fill three
jumbo jets! The majority of these deaths occur in
developing nations. While these alarming
statistics may not be known by many, they have
been catching much needed attention in the last
couple of years. One of the United Nations’
Millennium Development Goals is to reduce the
maternal mortality rate by 75% by 2015. With
only a year left to complete their goal, now more
than ever we need to educate others of this crisis.
Here at Wilkes, one of our own faculty members,
Dr. Linda Winkler, is taking up the UN’s call by
working to combat maternal mortality in the
African country of Tanzania. She will be sharing
more about her efforts at this year’s WGS
conference! Excited to learn more about her
research, we interviewed her to gain some insight
about her “revolutionary” work. We discovered
that Dr. Winkler exemplifies the theme of this
year’s conference; she is truly a “revolutionary
women.” She is a living example of how just one
person has the power to enact change and to
make the world a more equitable place.
Dr. Winkler has been dealing with the issues
surrounding maternal morality for over a decade.
For the past 13 years, she has partnered with
Nyakahanga District Hospital, the only
government run hospital in the rural Karagwe
area of Tanzania. When they came to her and
asked her to help them develop a project to help
keep women from dying during pregnancy, she
gladly agreed. This endeavor began by assessing
medical records from the obstetric ward.
Specifically, addressing how many women were
dying, what the causes of their deaths were, how
many infants were dying, and how these
mortality rates compared to the national average.
This information was paired with interviews with
hospital staff and observations. Upon
assessment, Dr. Winkler was able to identify
problems underlying maternal and infant
mortality and provide the hospital information to
help them determine ways to save lives. Through
these efforts, the hospital was able to save the
lives of woman and their babies! In fact,
through the hospital’s efforts, the hospital’s
rate of maternal mortality is now far below
the national average.
The first problem that was identified was
that many women simply do not seek
prenatal care. The culture of Tanzania is
much different from what we are
accustomed to here in the US. Prenatal care
is difficult to receive. Hospitals are often
long distances from these women, who
rarely own cars, and there is no public transit
system. Even if pregnant women were able
to find a way to the hospital, the structure of
their families often keeps them at home.
Living primarily off the food they produce,
pregnant women are needed at home to tend
to the farm or other children. Husbands, who
have most of the control, would rather their
pregnant wives remain home doing their
duties than spend an entire day traveling
long distances and standing in lines at
hospitals to receive the care they so
desperately need. Unfortunately for these
women, there is a relationship between
seeking prenatal care and increasing the
chances of surviving child birth. The lack of
education that many of these women and
their husbands have further contributes to
the high rate of death among pregnant
women.
Coupling with the issue of maternal
mortality, Dr. Winkler has also examined
infant mortality. The same underlying
problems that were found to influence
maternal mortality rates were also found to
influence infant mortality rates: Lack of
education and cultural dynamics. HIV,
which has reached epidemic levels in areas
of Africa, was also found to play a vital role
in explaining the high levels of infant death.
Photos courtesy of Dr. Winkler
When women are unable to come to the
hospitals or clinics to receive the care they
need to combat HIV, and when they do not
have access to the drugs needed to suppress
the virus, it is spread to their baby. Each
year more and more babies are being born
with HIV, thus they are dying at a very
young age. HIV has a profound effect on
maternal mortality and a very profound
effect on infant mortality.
Identifying these issues and underlying
causes was only half of Dr. Winkler’s
mission. She and her team next needed to
develop a plan of action to stop this vicious
cycle from continuing into the future.
Some of the ideas they are currently
looking to implement are funding solar
panels so women can have cell phones in
times of emergencies (much of Tanzania
does not have access to electricity so cell
phone use is scarce), creating village-based
support groups using community health
volunteers to educate the village elders of
the issues surrounding maternal and infant
mortality, and also developing an education
program for both husbands and wives so
they can see the importance of receiving
adequate prenatal medical attention. These
are just a few of the ideas that are currently
being discussed.
(continued on page 8)
WOMEN’S & GENDER STUDIES | March/April 2014
|8
Combating Maternal Mortality Continued
Dr. Winkler will be heading back to Tanzania this June. Two Wilkes
nursing students, two medical students from TCMC, a local nurse, and
four other faculty members will be joining her on this trip. They will
be working with the same government hospital, specifically in its
prenatal and healthy baby clinics, to continue to work towards
reducing the maternal and infant mortality rates. The hospital’s
dedication and efforts have already been a great success, reducing the
maternal mortality ratio by 64% over the 12 year study period! If you
are interested in learning more about the strides made thus far and
what you can do to help combat this issue, I encourage you to come to
her presentation entitled “Reducing the Death of Women and Their
Babies during Pregnancy and Birth: A Case Study in Tanzania”. You
can also learn more about the UN’s efforts by following this link
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/maternal.shtml.
Dr. Winkler and those who are working with her to combat the
problems of maternal and infant mortality are certainly revolutionary.
They serve as inspirations for us all to fight for causes we are
passionate about. Nothing will change if individuals are not willing to
get involved. Getting involved does not even have to be as extensive
as the work that Dr. Winkler has done. Simply think about a cause
you are passionate about and what you, as an individual, can do to
help. Taking these steps to become more active is what this year’s
conference is about. We all need to do our part to achieve a more just
and equitable world.
Learn more about Dr. Winkler’s work at the Conference!
When: March 20th, 3:30p.m. in SUB Ballroom
Maria Costa: Macho Men and the Women Who Love Them
Performance: Thursday, March 20th at 7pm, Burke Auditorium, King’s College
By: Alysha Bixler
On Thursday, March 20th at 7pm we invite
you to join us for a hilarious performance
by renowned comedian and actress, Maria
Costa. Find out why she is referred to as
“a female John Leguizamo”. You will not
be disappointed! She will entertain us
with her acclaimed show, “Macho Men
and the Women Who Love Them.”
We are excited to be able to bring Costa to
the WGS conference because she
embodies our conference theme
“Revolutionary Women.” As a
revolutionary, she has found fame and
fulfillment in the entertainment industry –
an industry that is notoriously dominated
by wealthy, males of European-American
decent. She is also daring and courageous.
Costa, who is of Cuban and Hungarian
decent, has exposed and poked fun at
traditional gender roles and stereotypes. In
particular, she has focused on how these
beliefs are related to those of Latino
decent. For instance, we are all familiar
with how Latin women are portrayed on
TV. The beloved character of Gloria on
the hit show Modern Family, portrayed by
Columbian actress Sophia Vergara, is
sexy, sensual, and loud. Much of Costa’s
show will scrutinize these cultural gender
roles. For example, she will portray the
outrageous attempts career women take to
honor tradition roles – housewife - while
also assuming modern gender roles –
being career driven. And while the show
centers primarily on the Latino culture, the
ideas and themes are transferable to
women in other cultures. She will argue
that while it is important to honor cultural
traditions, being a women means more
than being a sexually-available object
meant for male pleasure. It also means
having the choice to hold adult roles other
than “mother”. It means being a human
being who may find fulfillment in a career
and family life.
While you will surely enjoy the hilarious
nature of this show, you may also walk
away with knowledge about how to better
your own life! First, those who attend will
learn how to develop healthy relationships
and Costa will share tips for balancing work
and social lives. With our busy,
overscheduled lives who doesn’t need help
with balance!? Second, the show will help
us gain an appreciation for diversity.
Costa’s insights can lead to a better
understanding of the Latino Culture as well
cross-cultural women’s empowerment
issues. Third, after the show, Costa will
engage the audience in an open discussion
about the topics presented. She will also
discuss her rise to fame as a creative
entrepreneur/writer/ performing artist, and
how she uses that fame to shine light on real
world issues, particularly issues related to
gender.
Please join us for a performance by a true
revolutionary and activist! If you are a
woman who one day plans to try and
balance a career and family or a man who
reveres women who are able to do this, I
encourage you to come and learn more on
this topic. We all could use a little more
balance. And who doesn’t love to learn
while simultaneously being entertained?
WOMEN’S & GENDER STUDIES | March/April 2014
|9
Student Research Front and Center at this Year’s WGS Conference!
Senior Communications Majors Present their Capstone Projects
The Gendered Nature of the Media
By Alysha Bixler
Media is omnipresent. In fact, children
and young adults are exposed to more
than 10 hours of media a day! It takes
many forms including television, music,
magazines, and advertisements. Given
that young people spend more time
engaged with media than they do in
school, important questions arise about
the impact that the media has on one’s
values, beliefs, and behaviors.
You don’t have to spend much time
watching popular sitcoms such as Two
and a Half Men or the Big Bang Theory
or popular reality programs such as The
Bachelor or The Jersey Shore to realize
that the media perpetuates stereotypes.
Popular programs overflow with
stereotypic information about gender and
other social categories including race,
sexual orientation, and social class.
Women and girls are frequently portrayed
as sexually available objects who are
valued for their youth and beauty. While
men go out and accomplish things,
women obsess about their appearance and
pleasing potential romantic partners. Are
these the messages we want children and
young people – anyone for that matter exposed to hour after hour? Numerous
research studies have shown that those
who are exposed to more hours of media
hold more gender-stereotypic views
compared to those who do not watch as
much media. And girls who are exposed
to more images of sexually objectified
women are more likely to suffer
psychological distress and low selfesteem.
At this year’s WGS conference, we are
excited to welcome presentations by four
senior communications majors! Their
research projects are certain to add to our
understanding of the gendered nature of
the media and its real-world
consequences. Dr. Mia Briceno, assistant
professor of communication studies, will
serve as the discussant. Her expertise in
this area is certain to enhance the
discussion.
We asked these students to tell us about
their projects in their own words.
Jack Cochran (below),
“Gender and Eating Disorders as
Portrayed in Modern Media”
My research is about the way various
television programs and one film portray
characters who were stated or implied to be
dealing with an eating disorder ranging from
Anorexia Nervosa to EDNOS (eating disorder
not other specified). I assessed each character
using a list of questions that I created that
looked at their interactions in social situations,
as well as their physical appearance. I came to
find that most TV series that had chosen to
make the disorder a part of the storyline did it
effectively; however, there are still
misrepresentations and exaggerated found
among many of these portrayals.
Morgan Evans (upper right),
“College Female Self-Esteem Issues
Linked to Fat Talk”
According to the National Association of
Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders
(2013), “91% of women surveyed on a
college campus had attempted to control
their weight through dieting with 22% of
them dieting ‘often’ or ‘always’. These
staggering statistics are an example of what
can be found in the current literature, which
demonstrates that college-aged females,
even of “normal weight”, feel pressured to
be a certain body size or even diet for weight
loss. This desire to become thinner often
leads to the phenomenon that has become
known as Fat Talk. Fat Talk was originally
defined by researchers Nichter and
Vuckovic as a highly ritualized type of
conversation that occurs among groups of
female peers where women and girls talk to
each other about the size and shape of their
bodies. It is important to keep in mind that
this type of interaction is characteristically
negative in nature, focusing on being
overweight or weighing more than one
wishes. Fat talk is a cultural phenomenon
used in interpersonal communication among
peer groups affecting females’ self-esteem.
Ultimately, fat talk influences social
interactions and engagements in peer groups
due to the negative impacts it entails. Today
in our society, young women are bombarded
with culturally ideal standards of the perfect
figure. Fat talk particularly runs rampant in
college-age females during the confusing
time in which individuals are between the
life stages of teens and adults.
In my research I made an effort to
understand this phenomenon. I began by
developing an understanding of female
college-age perceptions of a “healthy
lifestyle” by conducting interviews using a
semi-structured questionnaire with seven
female college-age participants. The
interviews lasted twenty to thirty minutes
and questions involving topics of family life,
friendships, self-perceptions, participants’
perceptions of others, and recollection of
events and emotions. Themes concerning fat
talk and its effects emerged. Four
overarching themes emerged: flaws in body
image, perception impacts self-image, fat
talk is common talk, and fat talk’s influence
in redefining our culture. One subtheme
emerged from perceptions of others
impacting self-image of the other gender.
Through my research, I hope to bring this
phenomenon to light for women to
understand its impact on our society today.
Student research continued on next page
WOMEN’S & GENDER STUDIES | March/April 2014
Student Research Continued
appearances and defined "role" on the show,
the interactions among the characters, the
script, and dialect used on the show and the
show's plot line.
I became interested in looking at this topic
because I grew up watching "Spongebob
Squarepants" and looking at it on the surface,
it has a vast appeal and popularity among both
boys and girls and the characters don't appear
to fit the mold of the stereotypical gendered
cartoons such as "Batman" or "My Little
Pony." In doing my research I've found that
there isn't a lot of research done on Spongebob
and gender so I thought I would look into the
show from that angle and how it is unique
from a gendered perspective.
Christine Lee’s (above)
“A Content Analysis of Gender
Socialization in Nickelodeon's
Spongebob Squarepants:
Transformation from 1999-2013"
My research specifically will examine how
the long-running Nickelodeon television
program "Spongebob Squarepants" teaches
children gendered social expectations and
attitudes associated with their particular sex.
The research will be a content analysis of
the first five episodes from the series' first
year and five from the past year to identify
how gender socialization of characters and
themes have evolved over time. The
rationale will look at gender identity,
relationship interactions, and plot.
What I hope to identify through my research
is how gender identity is defined in
Spongebob and how has gender identity
changed over time on the show. What I will
be looking for in the content analysis
research is gendered identity of the show's
characters, specifically their names,
Laura Preby (above)
"Women and their Portrayal in Popular
Music"
My paper and presentation focus on the
portrayal of women in music from 1958
until 2013, and shows the patterns of
misogyny in the lyrics of top 40 songs. My
research shows that in the last 20-30 years,
the derogatory terms used to describe
women in pop music have increased in
numbers even though the number of female
artists who chart on the Billboard Hot 100
have gone up.
Support these seniors and join in the discussion!
When: March 20th, 2:00pm
Where: Savitz Lounge
|10
Keynote Address:
Revolution Needed
Don’t miss this year’s keynote address!
It will be given by Melinda
Henneberger, a reporter for the
Washington Post and anchor of the
paper’s She the People blog. The title
of Henneberger's keynote address will
be, "Revolution Needed: The Ongoing
Wrong of Sexual Violence on College
Campuses.” The talk will focus on
"sexual violence on college campuses:
the culture that permits it; the underreporting of numbers; the typical failure
of colleges to respond adequately to the
needs of victims (instead responding
only with attention to legal matters); and
the fact that, if colleges report very low
numbers, that indicates a grave problem,
not a success." The talk will be given
on Wednesday, March 19th at 7pm in
the Burke Auditorium, McGowan
School of Business, at King's College.
Henneberger recently drew attention to
the problem of sexual assault on college
campuses by writing about the
University of Notre Dame's attempts to
bury reports of sexual assault perpetrated
by its football players. You may recall
that last winter the media focused its
attention on a fictitious woman a Notre
Dame football player was "dating."
Unfortunately, the suicide of an actual
young woman after being sexually
assaulted by one of the university's
football players was effectively ignored.
Ms. Henneberger has had an extensive
career as a political writer. Prior to her
position at the Post, she was a reporter
for The New York Times, where she
worked for 10 years as a Washington
correspondent and as the Rome bureau
chief. Henneberger was also the editorin-chief of PoliticsDaily.com and has
written a weekly column for
Newsweek.com. She has contributed
pieces for numerous publications
including The New York Times
Magazine, GQ, The Huffington Post,
Slate, and Reader’s Digest.
Note: All images of communications students were
provided by the respective student.
WOMEN’S & GENDER STUDIES | March/April 2014
|11
Fall 2014 WGS Courses
Art
ART 141: History of Art II
Anthropology
ANT 101: Introduction to Anthropology
ANT 211: Anthropology Through Film
Marketing
MKT 321 A&B: Marketing
MKT 328 A: Consumer Behavior
Nursing
NSG 220: Care Childbearing Family
Business
BA 364: International Business Experience
MGT 358A&B: International Business
Political Science
PS 232: A&B: Criminal Law
Communications
COM 202A: Interpersonal Communication
COM 303A: Organizational Communication
COM 398T: Gender & Communication
Psychology
PSY 221A&B: Developmental
Psychology
PSY 242 A&B: Personality
Education
ED 180A: Educational Psychology
ED 220: Teaching Culturally and
Linguistically Diverse Learners
English
ENG 101 G, N, S & T: Composition
ENG 120 A: Reading Great Works
ENG 120 J&E: Reading American Experience
ENG 233: Survey of English Literature I
ENG 282: American Literature II
History
HST 125: American History
Sociology
SOC 101: Introduction to Sociology
SOC 211: The Family
SOC 215: Family Violence
SOC 222: Criminology
Women’s and Gender Studies
WS 301: Introduction to Women’s Studies
Have questions about the WGS minor?
Contact Dr. Jennifer Thomas at
jennifer.thomas@wilkes.edu