26th February - 4th Reading Group Meeting

7pm Tuesday 26th February, 317, 43 Gordon Square

Reading:

Niva Piran. 'Reinhabiting the Body.' Feminism and Psychology. 2001. 11 (2): 172-176.

Email me (bigs.postgrads@googlemail.com) if you would like a Pdf of the article.

Here are some questions to help guide your reading:

1) How significant is location in these teenage girl's experiences of their bodies?
2) Is Piran's description of the female body as 'a silent and oppressed domain' accurate?
3) How might Piran's position as a middle-aged, white immigrant to North America' feminist researcher impact on the participants telling of their experiences?
4) How can the body be 'reinhabited' by women?

BIGS Seminar Series - Normativities Tuesday 4th March

Birkbeck Institute for Gender and Sexuality (BIGS) is pleased to present the first in a series of seminars designed to provide a forum for postgraduate students working on issues relating to gender and sexuality to present their ideas to one another in a relaxed and supportive environment. The first of these seminars takes place on Tuesday, March 4th from 6:30pm - 8:30pm in 354 Malet Street.


'Normativities'

Caroline Walters
'Safe, Sane, Consensual': A discourse that attempts to normalise BDSM?

Carly Guest
'Heterosexual Bodies: Women's Discussion and Construction of Their Heterosexualities'

Eleanor Wilkinson and Katherine Ludwin
The Annual Festival of Homosexual Misery: Taking Pride in Gay Shame


BIGS will hold a postgraduate seminar every two months and we are currently seeking contributions from presenters for the next session to be held on the evening of Thursday, May 8th. If you are interested in presenting please submit the title of your paper along with a brief abstract (100 words max) to bigs.postgrads@googlemail.com. Submissions relating to issues of gender and sexuality from a broad range of disciplines are welcomed, as are works in progress and 'alternative' style presentations.

Please forward this to anyone that you think would be interested.

3rd Reading Group 12/2

3rd Reading Group Meeting: 7pm Tuesday 12th February, 317, 43 Gordon Square

Reading: Alexandra Bogren, 'Women's intoxication as 'dual licentiousness': An exploration of gendered images of drinking and intoxication in Sweden'. Addiction Research and Theory, 16.1: 95-106.

Email me (bigs.postgrads@googlemail.com) if you would like a Pdf of the article.

Some things to think about:
- Does everyone desire to transcend reality? Is this a need?
- Some examples of different gendered responses to alcohol/drug consumption. Why and where do these occur?
- What is meant by 'dual licentiousness'? Does Bogren's concept provide us with a useful critical tool to approach this problem?
- Is it possible to apply Bogren's analysis beyond Sweden?