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Women’s and Gender Studies 2024 Conference – Transforming Gender and Society

The Women’s and Gender Studies Spring 2024 Student Conference was held April 20, 2024 at the Iowa State University Memorial Union. The topic of the conference was: Transforming Gender and Society.

Speakers

Opening Speaker: Jordan Mix (they/them) graduated from Drake University in 2016 with degrees in Law, Politics, and Society; Sociology; and Women and Gender Studies. While at Drake they were the president of Drake’s LGBTQ organization, Rainbow Union, helped establish the first all-gender bathroom on campus, and collaborated heavily in writing Drake’s Transgender Inclusion Statement. Jordan also completed their graduate studies in Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of North Carolina Charlotte.

In 2019, Jordan was the head curator of a project called Breathe, Learn, Act — the first ever virtual care package for parents and loved ones of transgender and non-binary kids. Jordan joined the Iowa Safe Schools team in March of 2020, where they work with K-12 educators to develop LGBTQ-Inclusive curriculum, facilitate an online academy for Iowa’s K-12 educators, and lead training sessions for students, educators, and other community members.

When they’re not working, you can find Jordan hiking with their wife, cheering on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team with their cat, and honing their home barista skills.

Keynote Speaker: Meggie Mapes (pronouns: she/her/hers; Ph.D. Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 2016) is the Introductory Course Director and Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas. Her research explores feminist rhetoric and critical/cultural studies, with a particular focus on prison abolition and intimate partner violence. As an award winning author and speaker, her work can be found in Women’s Studies in Communication, Journal of Feminist Scholarship, and Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, to name a few. She is also an open access and open education advocate. Dr. Mapes loves to bake and lives in Kansas City with her partner and two dogs – a rottweiler and a sharpei.

8:30 am-9:00 am: Conference Registration and Breakfast, Room 3580

9:00 am-9:30 am: Welcome-RM 2630

           Dr. Kelly Winfrey (she/her), Director of WGS, ISU

           Bella Hager (she/they), WGS Student Conference Intern, ISU

 Jordan Mix (they/them), Opening Speaker, Educational Programming Director, Iowa Safe Schools

9:45 am -11:00 am:  Session 1-Full Abstract

1A: Exploring Tradition, Queerness, and Spatial Imaginaries, Cardinal Room

Moderator: Dr. Clara Montague

      • Zahara Falsafi (she/her), “Consuming Qashqai dress, or local Iranian dress, in the 21 Century: Space, place, and meanings,” Iowa State University
      • Sophia Strathearn (he/him), “Intersections of queerness and Mormonism student activism: Brigham Young University, the fashioned body, space, and place,” Iowa State University
      • Hayley Carson (she/they), “The Quest for Queer Life Planning on Google Maps,” Grinnell College

1B: Narratives of Resistance, Gold Room

Moderator: Dr. Wenqi Yang

      • Allison Moore (she/her), “Harriet Jacobs and Narrative Restraint: New Insights on an Old Work,” Grinnell College
      • Isabelle Jacqmotte-Parks (she/they), “Spectacular and Grotesque: Queer Appearance in Bleak House,” Grinnell College
      • Korryn Plantenberg (she/her), “The Ecosystem of the Home: The Domestic versus the Wild Spaces in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights,” University of Nebraska at Omaha
      • Nicole Gorrell (she/her), “The Perpetuation of Madness in Wide Sargasso Sea,” Grinnell College

1C: Critiquing Academia: Transnational Gender Studies, Queer Theory, and Agricultural Education, RM 2630

Moderator: Dr. Michele Schaal

      • Chikako Inoue, Mathilda Haddock, Yuzhe (Paul) Xu, “Racial Gender Studies: Beyond Eurocentrism,” Grinnell College
      • Ekta Shaikh (she/her), “Innovative Pedagogies: Designing A Feminist Anthropology Class,” Grinelle College
      • Kaley Mumma (she/her), “Internalized Sexism of Women in School-Based Agricultural Education,” Iowa State University
      • Rowan Apland (he/they), “Hierarchies in Transnational Feminist and Queer Theory,” Iowa State University

1D: Interrogating Queer Rights Advocacy in Politics, Business, and History, RM 3560

Moderator: Dr. Kelly Winfrey

      • Alex Klein (he/him), “Same-Sex Marriage, Judicial Retention, and Political Backlash: Symbolic Constructions of Love at the Heart of a Historic Iowan,” Iowa State University
      • Zoe Jiran (she/her), “The Intersex Loophole in Anti-Trans Legislation,” Grinnell College
      • Conrad Dahm (he/him), “A Critical Analysis of the Human Rights Campaign Company List,” Grinnell College
      • Lauren Sather (they/them), “Fellow Travelers and The Lavender Scare: Constructing the Ideal Sexual Citizen,” Iowa State University

11:15 am-12:30 pm: Session 2-Full Abstracts

2A: Global Conflict to Local Policy: Perspectives on Poverty, Conflict, and Accessibility, Cardinal Room

Moderator: Dr. Carrie Ann Johnson

      • Seraphim Allison, Ciaran Kelly, Mia Mote, Shantal Rincon, “Food Security on Iowa State Campus,” Iowa State University
      • Kaylynn Dresch, Sydney Parizek, Danielle Sanders, Amani Taleb, “Food Accessibility in War Zones: A case study of Gaza,” Iowa State University
      • Josalyn Benson, Breanna Kesler, Gretchen Schwager, “Accessibility and Effectiveness of Nutrition Programs in Iowa for Single Mothers and Children,” Iowa State University

2B: Speaking Out: Feminist Reflections, Gold Room

Moderator: Christiana Langenberg

      • Elizabeth Jones (she/they), “Silenced Voices, Reclaiming Speech,” Iowa State University
      • Maren Ronald (she/her), “Cathy Arellano’s “Lesbiana”: Decolonial Empowerment in Language,” Grinnell College
      • Shannon Clendenen (she/her), “Breaking the Shackles of Domesticity: Exploring Cyclical Feminine Artistry in Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street,” Iowa State University
      • Rowan Apland (he/they), “Now This is What I Call Service,” Iowa State University

2C: Artistic Resistance: Queer Interpretations of Dominant Culture, RM 2630

Moderator: Dr. Leah Allen

      • Caitlin Moran (they/them), “Can I Get an Amen?: Religious Disidentification on RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Iowa State University
      • Kristen Neumann (she/her), “Content Analysis of IVF Portrayals and Information Sharing: Influencer vs. REI Specialist on TikTok,” Iowa State University
      • Madeline Thompson (any/all), “The Walrus and the Podcaster, Trans Figures in Tusk,” Grinnell College
      • Sydney Casey (she/her), “And they were teammates: Exploring sapphic representation in Crush,” Iowa State University

2D: Insights on Gender in Agriculture and Public Health, RM 3560

Moderator: Dr. Kelly Winfrey

      • Elizabeth Martinez-Podolsky (she/her), “Gender Perspectives in Latine History in American Agriculture,” Iowa State University
      • Phil Tyne (he/they),“The Garden as Pedagogy,” Grinnell College
      • Rebecca Fox (she/her), “COVID-19’s Impact on Women in South Africa & Uganda,” Grinnell College

12:30 pm-1:00 pm: Lunch, Pick-up in Room 3580

Lunch will be picked up in room 3580 at 12:30pm, folks can sit in 3580 or 3560 

1:00 pm-2:00 pm: Keynote Speaker 

Dr. Kelly Winfrey (she/her), Director of WGS, ISU

          Rylee Foreman (they/them), WGS Student Conference Intern, ISU

Dr. Meggie Mapes (she/her), Associate Teaching Professor, University of Kansas

        • Keynote Address, “Beyond Bars: Interrogating Carceral Feminism and its Impact on Justice.”

2:15 pm-3:30 pm: Session 3-Full Abstract

3A: Beyond Stereotypes: Masculinity in Visual, Literary, and Athletic Spaces, Cardinal Room

Moderator: Dr. Cassandra Collier

      • Kenaiya James (she/her), “Mass Incarceration and Masculinity: Public Health and Community-based Solutions,” Iowa State University
      • Kian Witherspoon (they/them), “Black and in Queer Love: Pynk, Hood Masculinity, and the Aesthetics of the Genderqueer,” Grinnell College
      • Ellis Deputy (he/him), ” Queer(ed) Male Voices in The Exterminating Angel (1962 & 2016): Francisco, Countertenors, and Constructing Normative Masculinity,” Iowa State University
      • Haley Greer (she/her), “Basketball and Bodies: the Pressure to Perform Femininity in a Masculine-Dominated World of Sport,” Iowa State University

3B: Cultural Liberation: Activism through Personhood, Art, and Theory, Gold Room

Moderator: Dr. Abby Dubisar

      • Elizabeth Martinez-Podolsky (she/her), ” An Introduction to Jewish Peoplehood and Discussion on the Impact on Jewish Women and Communities after October 7, 2023,” Iowa State University
      • Marielle Macdonald (she/her), “The Interlockings of Theory and Practice,” Iowa State University
      • Tianyu Zhang (she/her), “Compare and contrast: feminist activists in art,” Grinnell College
      • Kaley Mumma (she/her), “The Personal IS Political,” Iowa State University

3C: Analyzing Gendered Boundaries, RM 2630

Moderator: Dr. Alissa Stoehr

      • Saja Abd El Hai (she/her), “Symbols of Resistance: The Case of Abu Akleh,” University of Northern Iowa
      • Carnycia Royce (she/her), “Gender Stereotyping in Typography,” Iowa State University
      • Fynn Wadsworth (he/him), “MEAT BOX: An Artist Exploration of Horror, Girlhood, and the Trans Experience,” Central College
      • Preston Martens (he/him), “The Role of Music in the Bisexual Chic Era of the 2000s,” Iowa State University

 

Frequently asked questions

The Memorial Union is located on Iowa State University Campus at, 2229 Lincoln Way, Ames, IA 50011.

  1. There is paid parking at the MU parking garage, $17.00 is the fee for the whole day, we will be validating parking, so make sure to get a validation ticket before you leave!
  2. For additional parking information please follow this link: Iowa State Visitor Parking

There will be a registration table outside of Room 3580. Once registered staff or volunteers will direct you to where you need to go

Schedule will be updated once proposals have been accepted and sorted. The conference will run from 9 AM-4 Pm and registration will begin at 8:30 AM.

Each student will have 15-20 minutes to present and there will be time at the end of each session for questions.

No, it is in-person only.

Yes, a light continental style breakfast and box lunch will be provided. Dietary needs will be taken into account based on registration responses

Each room is fully equipped with computers, projectors and screens for presentations. There are also microphones to amplify speakers.

No, any undergraduate or graduate student is welcome to participate in the conference as long as their presentation relates to the topics of gender, sexuality or feminism.

Anyone! All students, faculty, staff and community members from across the state of Iowa are welcome to attend this conference. We ask that you register if you plan to attend, but registration will be available on the day of the event.

Still have questions? Please e-mail wgsconference@iastate.edu.