Author ORCID Identifier
Date Available
9-3-2021
Year of Publication
2021
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
College
Arts and Sciences
Department/School/Program
Gender and Women's Studies
First Advisor
Dr. Cristina Alcalde
Abstract
This dissertation focuses on experiences of belonging among lesbian and queer feminist activist women in the women-only organization Isha L’Isha. As the oldest feminist organization in Israel, Isha L’Isha was established in 1983 and has roots dating back to the 1970s. I spent one year (2017-2018) engaging in participant observation and conducting 40 interviews with current and former members of the group. Using Isha L’Isha as a lens through which to examine the multilayered ways in which gendered activism shapes experiences of belonging, this project centers the experiences and narratives of four women: Talma, Sophie, Amira, and Maya.
This work centers belonging around the idea of safety at three levels: physical safety, emotional safety, and philosophical safety. I view safety through an experiential lens wherein physical and mental landscapes are dependent on each other. I argue that much of the belonging the women at Isha experience is rooted in physical safety from gendered violence. In each of the six chapters, I explore how women of differing class, race, ethnicity, and age build affective worlds through physical, emotional, and philosophical safety.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2021.377
Funding Information
College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Competitive Graduate Fellowship, University of Kentucky; 2018
Jewish Studies Research Award, University of Kentucky; 2017
Bonnie Jean Cox Graduate Research Award, University of Kentucky; 2016; 2017
Recommended Citation
Copeland, Lauren, "WOMAN TO WOMAN: COMMUNITY AND BELONGING AMONG LESBIAN AND QUEER FEMINIST ACTIVISTS IN HAIFA, ISRAEL" (2021). Theses and Dissertations--Gender and Women's Studies. 6.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gws_etds/6
