Brooke Axelson, UW-La Crosse – “The Effect of Ableist and Racist Microaggressions on Bystander Behavior“
Today, explicit prejudicial attitudes have declined, while more subtle prejudicial attitudes, like microaggressions, remain the same. While prior research has focused on racism, less attention has been given to ableism. Findings suggest individuals more negatively perceive racial discrimination over ableist discrimination, and recognition of harm increases the likelihood of bystander intervention. Additionally, those who score high in the Honesty-Humility personality factor—characterized by sincerity, fairness, and cooperation—are more likely to provide bystander intervention. This study examines perceptions of ableist and racist microaggressions, factors that elicit bystander intervention, and the moderating role of Honesty-Humility. It is hypothesized that participants will recognize racist microaggressions as more negative and indicate greater intervention intention than in ableist microaggressions. Approximately 130 undergraduate students participated and data analysis is currently ongoing. Within a laboratory setting, participants completed a mixed-method experiment in which they completed a personality inventory, viewed randomized ableist, racist and neutral vignettes, and rated their perceptions and bystander intervention intentions. Using a 4 (condition) x 2 (Honesty-Humility) design analyzed through a two-way ANOVA, I predict to find significant main effects and an interaction suggesting high Honesty-Humility scores amplify negative perceptions and increased intervention, particularly for racist microaggressions. Findings may inform efforts to foster inclusive environments.
Brooke Axelson will graduate with her B.A. in Psychology and Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in May. During her undergrad, she completed an internship at Aptiv with children with disabilities, was promoted to Lead Peer Health Advocate in the UWL’s Office of Wellness and Health Advocacy, elected Psychology Club President, and maintained Dean’s List standing. She completed an honors project examining how personality influences perceptions of ableist and racist microaggressions and their bystander behavior. Moving forward, she has been accepted into and will attend a doctoral program in Clinical Psychology.
Tyler Borzick, UW-Oshkosh – “Gender is Social and Personal: The Limitations of the Gender Binary System in 19th-century America“
The terms we now use for gender-diverse people were not yet defined before the 20th century, but that did not stop people from expressing their gender in non-conforming ways. The masculinity expressed by people who were assigned female at birth in the 19th century raised questions about the generalizability of the gendered binary system. Physicians came up with explanations that stemmed from theories that correlated gender identity with sexual orientation. The inversion theory explained how homosexuality was caused by the person’s mind being a different gender than their body. While the medical explanations provided some answers, they often left out the individual’s perspective. The focus of this research project is to compare and contrast the general medical profession’s reasons for why people assigned female at birth presented themselves as masculine in the 19th century with the people’s own writings and perspectives on their identity. A thematic analysis approach was used to code for physical and psychological reasoning for the presentation of masculinity among people who were assigned female at birth within 19th-century America. The historical cases of four individuals were reviewed, and the medical reasons for their gender non-conformity were related to sexuality and psychiatric disorders. However, the personal accounts of their gender identity included a wider range of reasons that were less concrete than the scientific explanations. The fluidity of gender that occurred before the twentieth century, before sexologists defined the term transsexualism, shows how the gender binary has limited people from expressing themselves for a long time.
Tyler Borzick is a first-generation college student who is double-majoring in psychology and women’s & gender studies, minoring in sociology, and completing the LGBTQ+ studies certificate at UW-Oshkosh. He strives for a society that welcomes all queer identities, and his first step is to become a McNair Scholar and research factors that affect transgender acceptance in America, such as limited, widely available education on gender identities. He then plans to pursue a PhD in psychology and women’s & gender studies to continue his research.
Angel Bronk, UW-Stevens Point – “Now Only Dogs Will Follow Me: A Digital Humanities Analysis of Online Feminine Horror”
Traditional horror cinema remains steeped in the regressive gendered tropes and expectations of its inception. In the wake of such stagnation and the advent of online video, a new genre has come to the surface. Commonly shared via creator-driven platforms like YouTube, online horror has opened the doors for feminine-identifying creators of all backgrounds to throw their hats into the ring, promote the voices of the marginalized, and redefine a genre with a history of fetishized gender violence and restrictive social norms. Through analysis of three online horror projects spanning several decades, including the legendary Possibly in Michigan, the unfiction vlog series Daisy Brown, and the digital horror darling Lacey Games, this project articulates how digital spaces shift the paradigm for horror’s representation of femininity. By imbuing their work with the experiences and terrors of womanhood, the creators examined in this presentation are reaching new audiences and reenvisioning the genre’s political possibilities. I explore the dichotomy between traditional media and the online world, analyze how digital horror serves the project of representational and social justice, and answer the age old question of “what if the final girl became the main character?”
Angel Bronk is a senior student at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point studying English literature, Race and Ethnicity, Social Justice and Equity, and Women’s and Gender Studies. He works as the Programming Specialist for the Queer Resource Center and is currently leading the third annual Drag Me to Finals Amateur drag show. Angel also works as a Student Manager, Writing Tutor, Academic Coach, and Tech Tutor in the Tutoring-Learning Center. In his free time, Angel likes to create cosplays to compete in competitions around the Midwest. He recently won first place Journeyman at Anime Milwaukee’s 2025 cosplay competition for the second year in a row, now working toward his first master build. Angel continues to fight for social justice and EDI on his campus, working with students and faculty to ensure that, even in a world that seeks to erase them, trans people will always have a place in Stevens Point.
Madyn Dron, UW-La Crosse – “Modern Day Marketing: Marketing Experts’ Choices on the Over Sexualization of Women“
It was in the early 1900s that businesses used creativity in their targeting marketing communications en masse, as they discovered that brands could command higher prices than unmarked commodities as long as consumers perceived the brand to solve problems that they were either already aware of or were generated by these marketing communications (Schwarzkopf, 2009). Women in sexualized contexts comprised a notable proportion of the creativity in these ads, and while it has changed forms across the decades, these images are still just as present in the marketing communications that reach consumers today. Although experts acknowledge that women are routinely subjugated in and by these images, the underlying question remains: why do sexualized images of women to sell products persists? This study examines the intersection between the sexualization of women in advertising and the ethical or even unethical decision making of marketing professionals who continue to uphold these practices. Building on existing multi-disciplinary research, individual interviews with marketing experts were collected and analyzed to understand why marketing teams veer away from their moral compass on this issue. The findings in this study point to insufficient education in university marketing departments that perpetuate a cycle of anti-intellectual business demand and hyper-normalization of the sexual objectification of women among consumers which can led to these unethical decisions made. These results are discussed, including implications for and guidance on more socially responsible marketing strategies.
Madyn Dron is a student at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse with academic interests in business, feminism, and media critique. Her work focuses on equity, representation, and social justice, particularly through interdisciplinary research. She is honored to receive this award and is grateful for the mentors and communities that continue to support her academic journey.
Hannah Grotto , UW-Green Bay – “Pre-Third Wave Feminism: Connections to the Riot Grrrl Movement“
This presentation will discuss the ways in which the third wave feminist movement Riot Grrrl connects to previous forms of feminism in terms of topics, ideas, and some of the ways the movement didn’t meet the needs of some feminists within the movement. This project seeks to cover topics that were similar across various waves of feminism to highlight how feminists learned from each other. It also seeks to highlight the areas that had been unaddressed throughout these waves and what some Riot Grrrls did to obtain representation. The centering of Riot Grrrl is utilized as a lens that we can view what those at the front of the movement took from other movements and how they sought to use their knowledge from former waves create an alternative view to feminism at the the time.
Hannah Grotto is a 4th year undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin- Green Bay double majoring in Psychology and Democracy & Justice Studies and double minoring in Criminal Justice and Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. She has plans to go to graduate school for Library Science and wants to continue to highlight the importance of feminist movements and literature in politics and social activist movements.
JJ Irons, UW-Platteville – “Women, Gender, and Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville”
After conducting a qualitative analysis of interviews with engineering students at the University of Wisconsin–Platteville, three main points about the success of women and other underrepresented genders in engineering programs can be concluded: Women (and other underrepresented genders) who pursue engineering degrees are more likely to graduate with their intended degree than their male counterparts. Students agree that university administration and professors are doing their best to support women and other underrepresented genders in engineering. Male students are frequently unaware of the issues faced by their female peers and are generally unsure how they can help address these challenges. Despite the apparent success of women and other underrepresented genders, most non-male students interviewed identified at least one instance of mistreatment from their male peers that they perceived as being based on their gender identity. Conversely, the majority of male students interviewed could not identify a time when they had seen their non-male counterparts being treated differently.
JJ Irons is a senior at the University of Wisconsin- Platteville majoring in Applied Engineering and Tech. Management with minors in Women’s and Gender Studies as well as Plastics Processing. Next year he will continue his education at the University of New Brunswick working towards a masters in Engineering Management.
Lee Kessler, UW-Madison – “‘The Pink Opaque Feels More Real than Real Life’: Microcosmic Utopias in ‘I Saw the TV Glow’ (2024)”
Contemporary queer theory scholarship continues to explore the question of utopia: what might an ideal world look like for queer people, and how might we make these visions come to fruition? Many current explorations of queer utopias draw from José Esteban Muñoz’s seminal monograph, “Cruising Utopia” (2009). Building on his theory of “disidentification”—how one might “transform a cultural logic from within” by challenging and subverting dominating ideologies (Disidentifications 12)—Muñoz situates the realization of utopias as in the future, describing them as both “beyond the quagmire of the present,” and a “[queer] doing for and toward the future” (Cruising Utopia 1). Building on this foundation, in this paper, I join other scholars who challenge the temporal restraints of Muñoz’s utopian frameworks, asking how we can ensure the existence of queer utopias in the now? Therefore, I introduce the concept of microcosmic utopias: temporary but vital spaces that encourage one to safely explore one’s queerness, navigate one’s identity, and form lifesaving communities. Through an analysis of microcosmic utopias in Jane Schoenbrun’s film, “I Saw the TV Glow” (2024), I argue microcosmic utopias offer more accessible sites for utopian creation, inherently bridging desired futures to the present. At the time of submitting this proposal, I am in the process of advancing this paper, planning interviews with trans/non-binary people ensconced in fan culture/communities to further explore the material reality and implications of microcosmic utopias in our current moment.
Lee Kessler is a queer poet, writer, and editor from Wisconsin.
Jenna Lassiter, UW-Milwaukee – “Struggling for Safe Spaces: A Discussion of Sapphic Spaces, Inclusivity, and Feminism“
My talk addresses the debate over inclusivity, safe spaces, and feminism in higher education. In my position at UW-Milwaukee’s Women’s Resource Center, I aim to welcome and be inclusive to all who enter and attend our programs. Recently, conflict arose when I planned a Sapphic Speed-Dating event, as it was deemed exclusionary by students and student resource centers. Although our campus has many LGBTQ+ events, there are few sapphic-specific opportunities. I wanted to foster a supportive environment where sapphics could connect, sharing similar experiences and identities, and create new platonic and romantic social bonds among sapphic students. However, we received a range of feedback on the issue: some community members felt that deeming the event “sapphic” was exclusionary. Furthermore, some said that women’s spaces rightfully are for (all) women, and that these events sound create an environment where women can be free from the pervasive effects of patriarchy and sexism. This conflict speaks to a larger issue in the academy: how do student-centered spaces carve out places for specific groups—in this case, for queer women—without being exclusionary? My paper will explore these struggles in the academy among queer communities and student resource centers, while defending feminist spaces and the right of women to have safe events of their own. I aim to work towards future solutions that address potential concerns in higher education through the use of clarifying language, the creation of intersectional spaces, and by analyzing who is allowed to create space.
Jenna Lassiter is a double major in Women’s and Gender Studies and Communication, and am additionally pursuing the LGBTQ+ studies certificate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. As a queer, disabled woman, I am deeply committed to community activism and passionate about advocating for the communities closest to me. Academically, my focus is on the fundamentals of feminist/queer theory, intersectional feminism, and the histories and impact of both large-scale and grassroots activism. I am eager to pursue courses and career opportunities that empower and support marginalized groups.
Halcyon LeRoy, UW-Eau Claire – “Rebuilding a Resilient Community Healthcare Apparatus after the Sudden Closure of Multiple Healthcare Facilities in Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties“
Our qualitative research project applies a feminist, queer, and anti-racist lens to disentangle the impact of healthcare facility closures on marginalized communities (including, but not limited to, people of color, LGBTQ people, low-income people, and people with disabilities). Following the feminist principle of community engagement, we interviewed local community leaders of health-related organizations, healthcare providers, and public health officials about healthcare equity in the Eau Claire Metropolitan Area, which includes both Eau Claire and Chippewa counties. In mid-2024, two local hospitals in the Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) and nineteen Prevea urgent care clinics suddenly closed, leaving people in both suburban and rural areas without adequate access to healthcare. Our study seeks to examine how health equity suffers when people lose access to treatment for emergencies and chronic conditions. Our study offers critical insight given that Wisconsin is one of only ten states in the nation (and the only state in the Midwest) that has opted against Medicaid expansion, despite the fact that Medicaid expansion is critical to improving access to essential treatment and care. By gathering perspectives of community leaders, our interviews illustrate how vulnerable populations have been impacted by the HSHS/Prevea closures and our state’s refusal to expand Medicaid. We will conclude by discussing these leaders’ recommendations for improving health equity to better serve marginalized Wisconsinites in this precarious moment for healthcare access.
Halcyon LeRoy is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. They are a double major in Psychology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and are excited to pursue a master’s degree in clinical Mental Health Counseling upon graduation in May 2026. Halcyon’s advocacy is rooted in and inspired by disability justice (especially the autistic self-advocacy movement), Black lesbian feminists (notably Audre Lorde, bell hooks, and Chanda Prescod-Weinstein), transfeminists (notably Susan Stryker and Dean Spade), and anarcho-Marxist traditions. Halcyon’s current research centers on geographic disparities in mental healthcare access.
Alex Morris, UW-La Crosse – “Louisiana’s Cancer Alley and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)“
Louisiana’s Cancer Alley and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) provide interconnected examples of ongoing environmental injustices. Cancer Alley is an 85-mile stretch, from Baton Rouge through the River Parishes to New Orleans, heavily polluted by petrochemical plants. This industrial pollution generates high rates of cancer and other health issues for the residents, who are predominantly African American. Additionally, recent U.S. federal action has increased the numbers of detainees being sent to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in or near Cancer Alley. The DRC is rich in cobalt, a core component of electronics, batteries, and petrochemical refining processes. Multiple social, political, and economic interests contribute to the exploitation of the Congolese laborers who are forced to mine cobalt in unsanitary, abusive conditions. This paper uses the theoretical lens of critical environmental justice (Kojola & Pellow 2021) to argue that these phenomena (Cancer Alley, ICE, and cobalt extraction) are interconnected. Through qualitative methods, including content analysis of activists’ publications and in-depth interviews with activists in Cancer Alley and the DRC, I examine the intersecting racial and colonial histories, human rights violations, and carceral systems within Cancer Alley and the DRC. I aim to establish international solidarity and accountability by promoting current activists and organizations actively fighting for justice.
Alex Morris recently graduated from University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a Bachelors of Science in Race, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. As a student, Alex was involved with Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT), Black Student Unity, and other campus groups focused on racial and social justice. Alex embodies courage, authenticity, and advocacy in action. Alex uses their voice to uplift marginalized communities, create meaningful dialogue, and educating others. Currently, they work at UWL in the Office of Multicultural Student Services and McNair Scholars Program as the Admin Assistant.
Maëlle Rihouey, UW-Superior – “Secularism and French Minority Women: How Women’s Exclusion from Sports Affects French People’s Perception of a Minority“
This presentation explores the impacts of secularism on French minority women and how their exclusion from sports influences broader societal perceptions, a topic of growing relevance in discussions on gender, religion, and social integration. This discussion focuses on four main arguments: absence from the mainstream, gender specific discrimination, nationalist stereotypes, and religious stereotypes. This analysis is based on a mixed method approach, including a review of the literature on secularism, and gender in French society. But also a review of existing literature and previously conducted surveys on minority women’s participation in sports and public attitudes toward them. Key findings indicate that exclusion from sports not only limits opportunities for minority women but also reinforces stereotypes and biases among the broader French population.
Maëlle Rihouey is a junior at UW-Superior, studying Public Leadership and Changemaking for my major with a double minor in Communication and Gender Studies. I am an international student from France, and am very interested in women’s related issues.
Cate Ritchie, UW-River Falls – “Effects of Conservative Rhetoric on Public Perception of Trans Issues”
In a recent release from the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, several genocide scholars warned that the United States is currently in the early stages of a genocide against transgender Americans. A large part of their claim points to the “eliminationist” rhetoric conservative forces have been aiming at trans people for years. Youth sports, gender-affirming healthcare, gendered bathrooms, and other key talking points have been used to frame the conversation around trans issues as one of protecting women, children, and traditional values—and they have been used to garner support for legislation stripping trans Americans of fundamental rights. We must shine a light on this rhetoric to fully understand the mechanisms of trans oppression, so we can be better equipped to combat it and protect our trans community members. I want to examine the rhetoric the Republican party uses to discuss trans issues, the motivations behind that rhetoric, and the ways in which it affects public perception of the trans community. My research will answer the question: What kinds of rhetoric has the Republican party used to speak about trans issues since the 2024 election, and how has that rhetoric translated to the wider public opinion and discourse surrounding these issues? I will be conducting a rhetorical discourse analysis of Republican speeches mentioning trans issues. Then, using Google Trends data, I will see how much Americans use conservative key words/phrases (identified in the discourse analysis) to look up information about trans issues. This will provide an idea of how much Republican rhetoric is shaping the wider public conversation about these issues.
Cate Richie is a double major in political science and communications studies, and I’m on the board for three student orgs on campus: President of the Student Feminist Org (SFO), Treasurer for the Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA), and Treasurer for Asigi’idiwag Anishinaabekaa (ASI ANI). I plan to work in the nonprofit sector after I graduate this semester.
Emily Roemer, UW-Madison – “‘Palestine Is a Feminist Issue’: An Analysis of Feminist Organizations’ Solidarity with Palestine “
Since October 2023, the “Free Palestine” movement has emerged as a key issue in the global sociopolitical landscape. This thesis focuses on how Western feminist organizations conceptualize Palestine as a feminist issue and articulate solidarity with the Palestinian people and liberation movement. Using a slideshow activist framework (Dumitrica and Hockin-Boyers 2022) and rhetorical analysis, I analyze the textual and visual elements of 152 Instagram statements regarding Palestine from four organizations (@palestinianfeministcollective, @codepinkalert, @feminist, @unwomen), spanning October 2023 to December 2025. I also analyze the ways in which organizational structure and relationship to Instagram negotiates their politic of solidarity. This analysis analyzes feminist organizations’ commitments to liberal or revolutionary politics, which shapes their political analysis of Palestine and the efficacy of their solidarity. I argue that liberal feminist politics limit solidarity by preserving colonial hegemony through co-optation of radical language and suppression of revolutionary politics. Contrarily, revolutionary feminist solidarity resists the normalization of capitalist colonialism by centering anticolonial struggle and decolonial feminist futures.
Emily Roemer (she/her/hers) is a Senior majoring in Gender & Women’s Studies and Social Welfare with certificates in Political Science and Public Policy at UW-Madison. Her academic and research interests broadly include revolutionary feminist theory and praxis, with a specific focus on decolonial and transnational feminisms.
Alex Salmi, UW-Green Bay – “Lavender Salon Reader: The Making of a Nationwide Community“
In 1993 a small group of gay and lesbians in the Fox River valley gathered together to form a book club, and later on a newsletter discussing their clubs activities. This article explores the creation of said newsletter and its impact on the creation of other similar book clubs across the nation, encouraging the building of community far beyond the initial club.
Alex Salmi (They/Them) is a senior student at the University of Wisconsin-Green bay majoring in History, and minoring in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Next fall, they will be attending the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign for their masters in Library and Information Science, with a focus on archives and special collections. They hope to work further in increasing accessibility of archival spaces and material beyond academia.
Evelyn Schmidt , UW-Whitewater – “F*ck the ‘Swedish Model’: Sex Work Policy in Ireland Negatively Effects Sex Workers ”
Developed as part of an advanced Special Studies course titled “Queering Sex Work” at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, this paper explores the public policy approach to sex work in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland from the 1920s to the present. Sex workers in Ireland have long felt socially and culturally isolated from Irish culture. This is in part due to the Catholic Church’s historic influence over how sex and sexuality are viewed in Irish culture, including the use of Magdalen Laundries to “rehabilitate” Irish working-class women. As the people of Ireland’s views progress and modernize, the support for sex workers has remained low, heavily focusing on criminalization and forced rehabilitation of this marginalized population. In 1993, a brief decriminalization of sex work was implemented in the Republic of Ireland. However, as the Swedish Model gained traction in Western Europe, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland passed similar legislation in 2014 and 2017, respectively. This public policy analysis demonstrates the unique implementation of the Swedish model in Irish settings, recognizing the long history of criminalization of sex workers, and constructions of those workers by the Roman Catholic Church.
Evelyn Schmidt is a senior from UW-Whitewater, double-majoring in Political Science & Women and Gender Studies. She currently serves as Chair of College Democrats of Wisconsin and Co-Chair of UW-Whitewater College Democrats. She is an active volunteer in local advocacy efforts such as Warhawks Vote, Whitewater Immigrant Support Coalition, & UWW’s American Sign Language Club. Additionally, she currently serves the people of Wisconsin in the State Capitol for State Reps. Brienne Brown & Vincent Miresse as a fellow.
LG Sebayan, UW-Milwaukee – “‘For the Indigenous Girl in Fig. 7’: Poetry, Photographs, and a Counter-Archive As Resistance“
American colonial photographs held in archives and collections at institutions outside of the Philippines played a propagandistic role in shaping views of the archipelago and Filipinos. This impels my research and creative work, which presents a counter-archive and counternarrative of American colonial photographs and similar images still in circulation. An extension of work by Nerissa S. Balce, Tina M. Campt, Adrian De Leon, Benito M. Vergara, Jr., among others, my project offers creative writing — such as ekphrastic poems responding to photographs, and found poems made with words written by ancestors — alongside personal photographs. Rather than anonymous, two-dimensional colonial subjects, this counter-archive — including “For the Indigenous Girl in Fig. 7,” which responds to one such U.S. colonial photograph — depicts women of the Filipino diaspora who are empowered, transnational, and recontextualized, and who reinterpret, disrupt, intervene, and challenge colonial representations and perspectives. This project explores themes of nationalism, race, identity, and silences in multigenerational, American, Philippine, and colonial contexts. I discuss how photographs were used to advance America’s imperial objective, and how my counter-archive resists them.
LG Sebayan is a PhD candidate in English and creative writing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where also she is pursuing a graduate certificate in women’s and gender studies, her work was selected for the Creative Writing Faculty Legacy Award for Poetry, and she is a poetry editor at cream city review. She is a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet whose poem, “For the Indigenous Girl in Fig. 7,” received honorable mention in the 2025 Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) Intro Journals Project literary competition. Her poetry has been published in Pleiades, CALYX Journal, Midwest Review, and elsewhere.