Student panelists and keynote speaker, Kristy Drutman, address gender and sexuality in culture, history, the environment and literature.
This event is free and open to the Rider community, including parents. If you have any questions or are interested in becoming a Gender and Sexuality Studies (GSS) minor, please contact program director Dr. Erica Ryan at [email protected].
Date & Time
No dates or times currently scheduled for this event.
Schedule of Events
9:45 - 11:15 a.m. | Gender & Media, moderated by Dr. Megan Titus
- Klaudine Bessasparis, “Getting Tangled in Anti-Feminism”
- Asha Burtin, “Exploring Black Women’s Sexuality in Hip Hop: The Reclamation, and the Disgust”
- David Collins, Jr., “God of War: Melancholia and Toxic Masculinity”
- Nichole Hall, “Lone Roses Deflowered: The Impact of the Patriarchy on the Girls of Revolutionary Girl Utena”*
12:30 - 5:00 p.m. | Poster Session
Research from students in GSS: 400 Transcultural Seminar in Gender and Sexuality. This year the seminar topic is: “Onna to Otoko: Gender and Sexuality in Japan”
1:10 - 2:50 p.m. | Keynote Address and Awards Presentation
Awards
- 2023 Ziegler-Gee Award presented to Dr. Allison Weidhaas, Associate Professor of Communication
- 2023-2024 Virginia J. Cyrus Scholarship presented to Asha Burtin, ‘24
Keynote: Kristy Drutman, “Owning Your Environmental Story: Feminism as a Tool for Climate Justice"

Kristy Drutman, otherwise known as “Browngirl Green” is a speaker, consultant, media producer, and environmental educator passionate about working at the intersections between media, diversity, and environmentalism. As a young entrepreneur, Kristy has educated hundreds of thousands of people across the globe about modern-day environmental issues through speeches, media content, and workshops centered around environmental media and storytelling. Kristy is also the Co-Founder of the Green Jobs Board, a climate tech start-up bridging the equity and inclusion gap within the green economy through conversations, resources, and pathways to bring more diverse talent into the environmental field.
2:50 - 4:20 p.m. | Historicizing Sex & Gender, moderated by Dr. Allison Weidhaas
- Felicia Betts, “Music Children Deserve: How Two Female Composers are Changing the Landscape of Elementary Solo Vocal Literature”
- Kris Medina, "Queer by Definition: The Liberating Gender Terminology of the 1990’s”
- Makenzie Rodrigues, “Feminist Security Studies: Analyzing the Vietnam War”
- Rebecca Sharp, “The “Hula Girl” and Colonialism: How the Colonialism of Hawai’i Affected Hawaiian Women and Outside Perspectives on Hula Dancers”*
4:30 - 6:00 p.m. | Literary Constructions of Gender, moderated by Dr. Kelly Ross
- Ailyn Del Rio, “Gender Roles and Prostitution in the Victorian Era”*
- Grace Kohansby, “Context Matters: How Socio-Political Movements Reinforce and/or Subvert Traditional Patriarchal Values”
- Aileen Pujols, “Promising Young Women?: The Questionable Feminism of “The Company of Wolves” and Promising Young Woman”
- Emily Porter Siegel, “Then Think You Right: I Am Not What I Am”
*Student panelists who will present their work at the New Jersey Women’s and Gender Studies Consortium Colloquium at Georgian Court University on March 31, 2023.
This event is free and open to all members of the Rider community, including parents. All events take place in Lynch Adler Hall 202. If you have any questions, or are interested in becoming a GSS minor, please contact program director Dr. Erica Ryan at [email protected].