Feminist Keywords

In this episode, Karma Chávez talks with Dr. Chandan Reddy, author of the "queer" entry of Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies. Dr Reddy talks about his own history as a queer activist, the development of the concept of queer of color critique, and the many usages of queer both theoretically and politically. Karma R. Chávez (she/her) is Chair and Bobby and Sherri Patton Professor in the Depa...

In this episode Karma Chávez talks with Harvard professor Durba Mitra, author of the "sexuality" entry in Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies. Dr. Mitra discusses how ideas about sexuality shape modern society, the ubiquitousness of sexuality as a concept, sexuality and identity, and some of the problematic ways sexuality gets taken up to justify war. Karma R. Chávez (she/her) is Chair and B...

In this episode, Kyla Wazana Tompkins talks with Heather Berg, author of "sex work" entry of Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies. Berg emphasizes the importance of sex work in feminist discussions and the lessons it can teach us about power, the state,  and care. Overall, the conversation highlights the intersection of gender, sexuality, sex work, disability studies and labor in academic and...

In this episode, host Mishuana Goeman interviews Manu Karuka, an expert in settler colonialism, Imperialism, and Indigenous studies. They discuss the importance of settler colonialism in gender and sexuality studies and the relationship between settler colonialism, the African diaspora, and Indigenous Studies. They also explore the concept of imagining alternative histories and the role of feminis...

In this episode, Mishuana Goeman talks with Dr. K. Sue Park, author of the "property" entry of Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies. Dr. Park talks about the legal uses of law and how the word has reverberations of colonialism and enslavement of black people into present day organizing around land use and housing. Mishuana Goeman (she/her), daughter of enrolled Tonawanda Band of Seneca, Hawk...

In this episode, Karma Chávez talks with Professor Lisa Sun-Hee Park, author of the "migration" entry of Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies. Dr. Park discusses the challenging issues facing migrant communities, the way immigration history gets deployed in US society, and the urgent need for feminist and queer methodologies for understanding migration processes and migrant experiences. Karma...

In this episode of Feminist Keywords, host Amber Musser interviews Jennifer Nash, the author of the keyword 'Intersectionality.' They discuss the definition and utility of intersectionality, its global travels, and the anxiety and contestation surrounding the term. They also explore the politics of intersectionality, its relationship to Black feminist scholarship, and its misinterpretation by the...

In this episode, Amber Jamilla Musser talks with Dr. Jane Ward, author of "heterosexuality" entry of Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies. Dr. Ward talks about her own interest in witches and racial justice as part of a decolonial practice to decenter whiteness, the importance of connecting the cultural attachment to heterosexuality with the gender binary, the way that the gender binary is ra...

In this episode , host Kyla Wazana Tompkins interviews Professor Scott L. Morgenson about the keyword 'heteronormativity.' They discuss the origins of the term in queer theory, its significance in gender and sexuality studies, and how it is intertwined with settler colonialism and white supremacy. Kyla Wazana Tompkins is Professor and Chair of Global Gender Studies at the University at Buffalo. Sc...

In this episode, host Aimee Bahng interviews Jenna Lloyd, author of the "health" entry in Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies. They discuss how health is often used as a nonpartisan marker of political issues, such as the economy and the environment. They also delve into the concept of healthism, the profitable form of medicalization that emerged in the 1970s, and its collusion with capitali...

In this episode of Feminist Keywords, host Amber Musser interviews Tiffany King, author of the entry 'Flesh' in the book Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies. They discuss the intersection of Black and Indigenous feminisms, the significance of the term 'flesh', and its resonance in the current political moment. They also explore the connection between flesh and cultural texts, as well as the...

In this episode, host Karma Chavez interviews Virgie Tovar, author of "fat" entry of Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies. They discuss the three dimensions of weight discrimination: institutional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. They also explore the intersection of research and activism, the feminist politics of fat acceptance, and the corporealization of feminism. Additionally, they delv...

In this episode of Feminist Keywords podcast, Aimee Bahng talks with Mimi Thi Nguyen about the keyword 'experience' and its significance in gender and sexuality studies. She explores the limitations and misuse of the concept, emphasizing the need to destabilize and recognize the changing nature of experience. Overall, the episode reflects on the importance of recognizing change in experience, femi...

In this conversation, host Kyla Wazana Tompkins talks with Sharon Patricia Holland, author of "the erotics" entry in Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies. They discuss the significance of the keyword 'erotic' in Black feminist discourses, activism, and animals studies. The conversation also touches on the historical context of Audre Lorde's essay 'The Uses of the Erotic' and its relevance dur...

In this episode, Aimee Bahng talks with Dr. Sami Schalk, author of the "disability" entry in Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies. Dr. Schalk talks about how disability studies and gender studies have been long-time sibling disciplines, the ways that disability studies will have a transformative effect on higher education, and why pleasure activism might be an important element of disability...

In this episode, host Kyla Wazana Tompkins interviews Kemi Adeyemi, author of "deviance" entry of Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies. The conversation covers the politics of the dance floor, the history and significance of the term deviance, and the relationship between deviance and resistance. Adeyemi emphasizes the importance of understanding the complexities and nuances of deviance, and...

In this episode, host Mishuana Goeman interviews Hōkūlani K. Aikau, the author of the keyword "decolonization." They discuss the challenges and complexities of decolonization, including the need to dismantle and reimagine institutions, the relationship between decolonization and feminism, and the importance of everyday acts of change. Hoku emphasizes the need to provide an alternative to colonial...

In this episode, Karma Chávez talks with University of Illinois-Chicago Professor Beth Richie, author of the "carcerality" entry in Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies. Dr. Richie discusses her life long work challenging prisons and mass incarceration, the importance of challenging carceral logics through teaching inside and outside of prisons, and the necessity of a feminist abolitionist po...

In this episode of the Feminist Keywords Podcast, host Karma Chavez interviews Kyla Wazana-Thompkins about her keyword, biopower. They discuss the concept of biopower as coined by Michel Foucault. They explore how biopower has been used to regulate and control bodies, particularly in relation to race, gender, and sexuality. Karma R. Chávez (she/her) is Chair and Bobby and Sherri Patton Professor i...

In this episode, host Kyla Wazana Tompkins interviews Hershini Young, author of "agency" entry of Keyworkds for Gender and Sexuality Studies. They discuss the complexities of agency and its relationship to freedom, liberation, and feminism. They also delve into the tensions and challenges in studying agency, particularly in relation to race and gender. The conversation concludes with a discussion...

Karma R. Chávez, Aimee Bahng, and Mishuana Goeman, talk with Karen Tongson about the process of making the book, working with authors, and the importance of this kind of feminist collaboration. 

Kayla Wazana Tompkins, Aren Aizura, Karma R. Chávez, Mishuana Goeman, and Amber Jamilla Musser talk with Karen Tongson about the process of making the book, working with authors, and the importance of this kind of feminist collaboration.