WGSS 351
Trans/national Femininities Fall 2024
Division II D Difference, Power, and Equity

This course studies femininity in a trans/national context. Here, trans suggests that we will not be looking at femininity as necessarily or inherently attached to the biological category “female.” Instead, we will think about femininity as a gender performed by and written on many kinds of bodies, with specific attention to trans feminine experiences. The term “transnational” suggests that we will attempt to talk about femininity not only in the context of the US and the “western” world but across different nations and within a broader socio-cultural framework. We will consider a broad range of disciplinary accounts of femininity in the US and beyond. We will discuss how class, bodily comportment, ability, and other facets affect feminine performance and feminine/feminist/queer politics. Our course materials include scholarship, film, art, and literature. Finally, this course centers the voices of trans and cis women, femmes, and queer BIPOC (black, indigenous, and/or people of color).