TAYLOR CENTER FOR WOMEN & GENDER EQUITY @kuetcwge
EMILY
The Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity (ETCWGE) at the University of Kansas (KU) seeks to challenge patriarchal norms that impede full access to the university. ETCWGE works to engage and empower members of our community to act in ways that promote intersectional feminist change through expansive programming around gender and identity. We envision a KU where women and people of all gender identities are able to learn and thrive in a safe and affirming community.
Zine Contributors PATRIARCHY IS HORRIFYING sisterly burden The Beauty Monster ANGELA IS BEAUTIFUL This Zombie is Non-BINARY Possessor Clotho, Heavy MADDISON FELTON she/her DIANA A. RAMIREZ she/her ISAAC THOMAS RAINE FLORES-PEÑA they/them MEGAN WILLIAMS she/her ze/zir & he/him & they/them QUINN PAGONA she/her MEAGAN DERMODY she/her
Angelaisbeautiful.Eveniftheendof
SleepawayCampwantstoframeherasgrotesque,as somekindofunhumanmonsterpreyingonitspoorcisgendercharacters,sheisbeautiful.I don'tsaythattomeanthatpatriarchalstandardsofbeautyultimatelymatterwhenwe're discussingtranswomen,butratherthatAngelaandwhosheisandwhatsherepresentsfor transviewersendupbeingdeeplypersonalformyself,agenderqueertransman. Whilemanyhaveunderstandablyaccusedthismovieoftransmisogyny,actuallywatchingitto makeupmyownmindaboutitprovedtobeoneofmyfavoritehorrormovieexperiences. EverysinglemomentofthismoviepriortotheendingisincrediblysympathetictoAngela,as sheregularlyexperiencesabarrageofverbal,physical,andsexualabuse.Allofthecharacters victimizingherarepreoccupiedwiththewayshepresentsherselfasagirlandhowshe engageswithhersexuality,despitethefactsheisnomorethan13yearsold.Herquietnessand submissiveness,rolesthatareassociatedwith"correct"performancesoffemininity,gether punishedandlabeledasmentallyillandaprude.
isanevenfurthermarginalizedformof femininity,onethatispunishedbybothcisgendermenandwomenforneverbeingquitegood enough.Whileciswomenhavealwaysbeenmalignedfortheirwomanhood,thereisnoroom inacisnormativegenderbinaryforanypersonwhodefiesrolesassignedtothem,resultingin abusivedynamicslikethatbetweenJudy,whoiscomfortableinherwomanhood,andAngela, whoisnotawomanadequatelyenough.Thus,ourinabilityastranspeopletoproperlyadhere tocisnormativityrendersusasvillainous. Andyet,Angelaneverhurtanyonewhodidn'talreadyhurthertobeginwith.Eveninthemidst ofakillingrampage,sheremainsultimatelysympathetic;allthecharactersthatmeettheir demisesareshowntobealmostcartoonishlyevil
toherspecifically.Whilethefilmoperates interpersonallyonasurfacelevel,there'sapoliticalsubtextaboutamarginalizedperson fightingbackagainstthestructuresthatoppressher.Andforthesereasons,Angelais liberating,Angelaiscathartic,andaboveall,Angelaisbeautiful.
isaacthomas
Theplottwistattheendofthemovie,wherehertransnesstransformsherintoaliteral monsterintheeyesofcisgenderonlookers,forcestheviewertore-evaluatetheentirefilm. AccusationsofAngelabeingqueerbecomeparticularlypertinent;sceneswheresheshiesaway fromsexualadvances,swimming,andshowersbecomepainfullyfamiliarmemoriestotrans viewers.Mostimportantly,however,thereisasensethattransfemininity orevenforced femininityperformedbyclosetedtransmen
FILM SCREENINGS Wednesday, October 6th, 7 pm Bit Post-Screening Discussion with Katie Hinders & An Sasala DEPARTMENT OF FILM & MEDIA STUDIES SOUNDSTAGE SUMMERFIELD HALL, ROOM 125 Co sponsored by Center for Sexuality & Gender Diversity and Department of Film & Media Studies Wednesday, October 20th, 12 noon Hair Wolf Post-Screening Discussion with Jessina Emmert & Cierra Roberson TACO BAR LUNCH PROVIDED RSVP REQUIRED: HTTPS://BIT.LY/HAIRWOLF-RSVP Co sponsored by Office of Multicultural Affairs and Lawrence Public Library Wednesday, October 27th, 7 pm Unsafe Spaces The Stylist Panel featuring local filmmakers Jill Gevargizian, Eric Havens, and Connor Sandheinrich Moderated by Megan Williams DEPARTMENT OF FILM & MEDIA STUDIES SOUNDSTAGE SUMMERFIELD HALL, ROOM 125 Co-sponsored by Department of Film & Media Studies
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night the Iranian ghost-town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, the townspeople are unaware they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire.
Bit A transgender teenage girl on summer vacation in Los Angeles fights to survive after she falls in with four queer feminist vampires, who try to rid the city's streets of predatory men.
In
Director
Director
Director
Hair Wolf The staff of a Black hair salon fend off a monster: white women intent on sucking the lifeblood from Black culture. / Brad Michael Elmore 2020 / 1h 30m, USA / Ana Lily Amirpour 2014 / 1h 41m, Iran / Mariama Diallo 2018 / 12m, USA
Unsafe Spaces When getting off the late shift, what looks like 50 feet, feels like 50 miles to a woman alone in a parking lot The Stylist A lonely hair stylist becomes obsessed with the lives of her clients and descends into madness.murderous Director / Connor Sandheinrich 2021 / 3m, USA Director / Jill Gevargizian 2020 / 1h 45m, USA
KATIE HINDERS (she/her) AN SASALA (they/them) CIERRA ROBERSON (she/her & they/them)
Jessina Emmert is a Chancellor Doctoral Fellow and PhD student in the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at KU. She focuses on how conceptions of race change over time, which includes the phenomenon of racial passing in the United States, as well as contemporary performances of blackface that are illustrated on social media and in film. Cierra Roberson is the Program Coordinator for Identity and Social Justice Programs with the Office of Multicultural Affairs at KU. She holds a Bachelor's in African American Studies and Master’s in Women Studies from The University of Alabama. A lover of practically all horror films, Cierra loves to use a Black Feminist perspective to explore the genre. This perspective allows for an investigation of how Black women are portrayed within cinematic horror, serving as a method to further articulate the particularities of race and gender within cinema.
JESSINA EMMERT (she/her)
Katie Hinders is a doctoral student in the Department of Film & Media Studies at KU. She earned her Master's in Media Theory & Research from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and her Bachelor's in Communication Studies with an emphasis in Media Studies at Bridgewater College. Katie was a Summer 2021 Hall Center for the Humanities Fellow with ETCWGE and a co-organizer of this year's FEMINIST FRIGHT FEST. She continues to research feminist praxis and queer futurity in narrative media. An Sasala graduated from KU in 2020 with MAs in Film & Media Studies and Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies. An is a trained and practicing experimental and documentary filmmaker. Using cutout, stop motion, and handmade animation, An explores their own embodiment and emotional experiences and plans to expand this project into an experimental documentary series of queer and trans folks living in rural areas and the US heartlands. Generally, An is not a horror movie fan, but they fell in love with vampires watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the rest is history!
Discussants
Bit Hair Wolf
Jill"Sixx"Gevargizianisadirector,producer,writer,andhairstylistfrom Kansas HollywoodexploringformerCertificateUniversityAssistantMeganKansasplacesfilmmakersawardsFEMINIST2020.ConnorsuchinasANDSTYLIST,EricinspirationscreenedproducedproductionsbyCity,Missouri.In2012,shedecidedtobringindependentgenrefilmstoherhometowncreatingamonthlyshowcasecalledSlaughterMovieHouse.ShefoundedSixxTapein2014withherdirectorialdebut,CALLGIRL.Sincethen,shehaswritten,andhelmednumerousshortfilms-mostnotablyTHESTYLISTin2016.Thefilmatgenrefestivalsacrosstheglobeandwon20awards.ThatshortwasalsotheforherdebutfeatureofthesametitlereleasedbyArrowVideothisyear.Havensisanaward-winningscreenwriterandnovelistwhoseworkincludesTHECALLGIRL,AMESSAGEOFHOPEFROMTHETERMINALLYDEPRESSED,andTHEDEVILME.Theyhavewonseveral“BestScreenplay”awardsfromanarrayoffilmfestivalswellasplacinginthequarterfinalsoftheprestigiousAcademyNichollFellowshipsScreenwriting.EricisalsoalongtimecriticandjournalistforseveralfilmsitesasDownrightCreepyandBoomHowdy.SandheinrichgraduatedwithaBAinFilm&MediaStudiesfromKUinDecemberSheisthedirectorofUNINVITED,ashortfilmfeaturedduringlastyear'sFRIGHTFEST,aswellasUNSAFESPACES,whichwonBestFilmandBestEditinginArrowFilms'THESTYLISTShortCutsCompetition.ShehasworkedwithfromKansasCity,Atlanta,TheLondonFilmSchool,andcountlessotherthroughouttheMidwest.Atpresent,ConnorworksforaproductioncompanyinCityasaProductionCoordinatorandCopywriter.Williamsisthecreatorandco-organizerofFEMINISTFRIGHTFEST.SheisDirectoroftheEmilyTaylorCenterforWomen&GenderEquityatTheofKansas.SheearnedherPhDinAmericanStudiesandaGraduateinWomen,Gender,andSexualityStudiesfromKU.Afeministscholarandprofessor,Meganhaspublishedacademicworkandtaughtcollegecoursesrepresentationsofgender,race,class,sexuality,anddisabilityinfilms. PANELISTS Unsafe Spaces & The Stylist ERIC HAVENS (they/them) CONNOR SANDHEINRICH (she/her) MEGAN WILLIAMS (she/her) - Moderator JILL GEVARGIZIAN (she/her)
