Women's and Gender Studies Awards Fraker Prize

Author: Tom Drescher

On March 7, the Women's and Gender Studies Department awarded the Alison Fraker Prize to Margot Simpson '03 for her paper "Sex and the City: A Cultural Forum on Gender Dynamics."
The Fraker prize is presented annually to a Middlebury student for the best work, excluding theses and senior projects, on a topic related to Women's and Gender Studies, said Chellis House Director Deborah Grant. The Prize is named for Allison Gwen Fraker, who died during her final semester at Middlebury in 1989 while pursuing a concentration in Women's Studies. The Gensler Prize is also awarded annually for best thesis or senior project related to Women's and Gender Studies.
Simpson, a senior from West Hartford, Conn, is an English major with a minor in American Civilization. In her paper, Simpson argues that the television program Sex and the City stimulates discussion of gender and relationship dynamics. "The focus of the program is to raise questions instead of provide answers," asserts Simpson in her introductory paragraph. "Sex and the City challenges, questions and redefines societal norms," she writes later in the paper.
"It was a great honor to be nominated," said Simpson, "an especially to have my piece selected as the winner. Women's rights and issues of gender roles are important to me -- whether the issues are involved in politics or in popular culture -- and this paper was a great opportunity to take a fun element of popular culture and examine it with a critical eye."
The Fraker Prize Reception is held annually on March 7 to honor International Women's Day. "Hopefully in the future, Middlebury will do more to showcase and celebrate the significance of the occasion," said Simpson. "The purpose of the Day is to emphasize the effect that ordinary women can have (and have had) on history. It's not only important to recognize individual achievements, but also to question the roles and boundaries that are currently ascribed to women."
That is exactly what Simpson did in her award-winning paper. Next year, the senior English major is planning to move to North Carolina, take a year off, and eventually attend graduate school in either English or American Studies.
Currently, Simpson is involved in a number of organizations on campus, including Operation Smile and FAM. She is also a research assistant for Professor Jason Mittell in the American Civilizations Department and a head mentor for the Foundation for Excellent Schools.
Other nominees for the Fraker Prize were Allyson Burke '05 for "Hush," Alexandra Castillo-Kesper '05 for the web project "Sophie Calle totally WIGS out," Rebecca Evans '06 for "The Controversial Brett Ashley: A Hemingway Heroine," Erin Kunkel '03 for "Sarah Kane" and "Crave," Miranda Lantagne '05 for " A week in the Life of Margherita Datini" and Hannah Osier '04 for "Pulcheria and Theotokos: Reflections of the Female Divine."
In addition to the award, there is also a reading room at Chellis house named for Alison Fraker.