Women's Worlds
Women, Gender, and the Participation of Roma Women in the Aegean Region of Turkey
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Fatma Ilknur Akgul, Omer Caha
Based on the Roma women who live in the Aegean region of Turkey my paper focuses on two issues. First, it analyzes the status of women and the gender roles among Roma community. Second, it reviews the participation of Roma women in social and political life. Regarding the first issue, such points as whether women are perceived in the Roma community equal to men, the violence against women and women’s exclusion are emphasized. In regard to the second issue, my paper sheds light on such questions as how active Roma women are in the domestic decisions regarding to the education of their children, the determination of the place to live and the purchase of household. My paper also emphasizes how active Roma women are through the NGOs that they have established. A new perspective has developed in feminism, which is known as the third wave women’s movement. This movement argues that women are not oppressed by men because of their gender only, but also by the women because of diverse reasons. According to them the essentialist understanding of women ignores the oppression of women by women which is realized in different contexts. This debate seems to give us an important window to understand the relationship between Roma women and other groups of women particularly in respect to their participation in social and political activities.
The First Latina Disney Princess: Elena of Avalor
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Alberto Rodriguez
This research focuses on Elena of Avalor who made her debut as a sixteen-year-old princess that lost both her parents on the Disney Channel in 2016. Although Elena did not have a feature film before her release into a Disney series, her popularity has continued to grow and is now in a third season of production. Elena of Avalor documents the role of a strong Latina that not only has to be a caretaker of her younger sister Isabela but also her kingdom. What sets Elena apart from other works on Latina sheroes is that in every episode she links her history to the indigenous past. Elena is well aware of her long history to the Native Peoples of Latin America and in turn introduces jaguars, Xolo dogs, chocolate, pyramids, native language, indigenous folk stories, and music from her ancestors. Although the history of strong Latinas has been at the center of many Spanish speaking peoples as documented in classic works such as Salt of the Earth, Bless Me, Ultima, and Y No Se Lo Trago La Tierra, few films have set Latina sheroes and Knowledge Keepers as the major narrative that Elena of Avalor has on a running series.
