Audre Lorde Writing Prize winners announced

The Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program has announced the winners of the 2021 Audre Lorde Writing Prize.

The awards are named in honor of Audre Lorde (1934-1992), an intersectional feminist writer and civil rights activist who wrote the foundational text "Sister Outsider" (1984). Awards are given annually.

The awards are designed to recognize excellence in scholarship in women, gender and sexuality studies at the undergraduate level.

The winners were selected in three categories by outside judges from the 22 submissions for this year's contest.

Long analytical essay

First place: Vanessa Iroegbulem, a senior from Streamwood, Ill., majoring in neuroscience and women, gender, and sexuality studies, for "Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere: Why Mass Incarceration is a Feminist Issue, Too."

Second place: Cassandra Karn, a senior from Brimfield, Ill., majoring in English and theatre arts, for "Avoiding the Singular Narrative: Applying Womanism to Depictions of Women in African Novels." 

Third place: Jaclyn Hernandez,, a senior from Palatine, Ill., majoring in English and creative writing, for "Asexual Protagonists: What Their Patterns Reveal About the Representation of Asexuality in Current Literature."

Short analytical essay

First place: Iliana Smiser, a senior from Normal, Ill., majoring in biology, for "Why the Binary?: Cisnormativity in Athletics."

Second place: Maddie Schaefer, a senior from Elgin, Ill., majoring in psychology and communication studies, for "Impact of LGBTQ+ YouTube: Coming Out Videos."

Third place: Sophie Rhodes, a first-year student from Avon, Ill., majoring in sociology and anthropology, for "The Inequalities Women Face In STEM: From Their Education To The Workplace." 

Personal or reflective prose

First place: Brie Kunstman, a sophomore from St. Charles, Ill., majoring in psychology and women, gender, and sexuality studies, for "ABVD."

Second place: Lalini Shanela Ranaraja, a senior from Katugastota, Sri Lanka, majoring in anthropology and creative writing, for "Treatise, Scripture, Manifesto: Reckoning with Love Cake."

Third place: Moreen Akomea-Ampeh, a sophomore from Accra, Ghana, majoring in chemistry, for "Zeroed Out."