Kasey Waite (University at Albany, SUNY )
Eugene Pae (University at Albany, SUNY )
How do female characters employ their bodies to navigate, process, and challenge the cultural and socioeconomic structures of their times? Under the antagonistic system where the pursuit of “good life” is no longer plausible, how do women across different cultures, historical periods, and geopolitical contexts respond by utilizing their bodily autonomy and agency? This panel invites papers that critically investigate female bodily representation in the context of empowerment and change. In particular, this panel is interested in literary analyses that focus on the subtle yet tangible (dis)orientation of female bodies in and out of public spaces. Gestures, clothing, behavior, decorum, and adherence to social respectability are tactical ways in which female characters maneuver the contours of their precarious belonging to the surrounding environment. We welcome papers that extend the existing scholarship on female agency and bodily autonomy as a crucial means of cultural transformation.