The Female Gaze

In this episode of Harrisonburg 360, the Female Gaze, we aim to give insight into the diversity of the female immigrant experience by highlighting two resilient women who immigrated to the United States- Lynn Buchanan from the Phillipines and Hiba Ali from Syria. Hiba is an immigrant from Syria who describes her experience coming to the U.S as a woman who had just gotten out of a domestic violence situation with her husband. Hiba also describes her strong connection with Syrian culture, with an intense urge to stay in touch with her roots even in a new country. While Lynn also had to find ways to become more independent after the death of her husband, she differs from Hiba in that in many ways, she chose to assimilate more to American culture. By sharing the stories of these women, we hope that we highlight not only the strength and connections of the female perspective and experience, but also the diversity and uniqueness among them.

Links for this episode:

For Lynn’s full interview: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/slalitv/16/

For more information about Syrian Culture: https://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Syria.html#ixzz6rI0arsra

For more information about domestic violence: https://www.thehotline.org/stakeholders/domestic-violence-statistics/

For more information about assimilation: https://www.britannica.com/topic/assimilation-society

Harrisonburg 360: The Female Gaze was produced by: Elainah Elkins, Electra Ellis, Gabriela Powell, and Jordan Zapp