Student Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
Spring 5-21-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Honors Designation
yes
Program of Study
English
Language
English
First Advisor
Mary M. McGlynn
Second Advisor
Laura Kolb
Third Advisor
Rick Rodriguez
Abstract
Woman FlyTrap is a short story zine collection that explores the topic of sexual violence through the perpetrator and victim relationship with an explicit lens. Replete with cultural and entomological themes and motifs, Woman Flytrap seeks to remind survivors that we are not alone. In our bodies or in our lives. Neither in the world. There are over a million insects to every human, proving that there is strength in numbers. All five stories in the collection present different abstracts: revenge, transformation, justice, healing, body image, self-harm, mourning, etc. There is also a playlist and a section about the author. All the stories are interwoven by an introductory author’s note, zines, commentary, and text snippets, all of which are provided by the author.
Recommended Citation
Hobson, Brianna Jo, "Woman FlyTrap" (2023). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/bb_etds/165
Included in
African American Studies Commons, American Film Studies Commons, American Literature Commons, American Popular Culture Commons, Animal Studies Commons, Fiction Commons, History of Gender Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Political History Commons, Public History Commons, Social History Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Psychology Commons, Women's History Commons, Women's Studies Commons
Comments
In "Pupa" --a woman's body transforms itself in order to escape sexual assault and punish her attacker. "Silk" -- explores the suicidal tendency of spidery maternal care and expectations of the human female body through the eyes of a newlywed woman. In "Cocoon" -- a woman tries to cope with the trauma of sexual violence, eating disorders, and body dysmorphia by cocooning herself, much to the dismay of her loved ones. "Sting" --follows a beekeeping woman who utilizes self-harm as a coping mechanism while mourning the recent death of her father. And the final story, in the collection, "Imago" --presents a very unique take on healing from sexual violence, incest, and familial estrangement, through the resurrection of one woman's sister.