Mary Griffin Essay Award
Mary Griffin Award Winner
“Queerness in Islam: Hijab Butch Blues and Redefining Queer Muslim Identity With the Help of Chosen Family” by Maryam Rizvi is proudly our winner of the Mary Griffin Essay Award!
This essay aims to explores the complex, often silenced intersection of queerness and Islam through a literary analysis of Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H, a queer, non-binary Muslim writer. By examining Lamya’s personal reflections and struggles with their Muslim identity, I highlight how queer Muslims navigate the liminal spaces between faith, community, and queerness. Drawing from queer theorists such as Sara Ahmed and Marcella Althaus-Reid, the paper dives into the discomfort queer individuals experience in both heteronormative religious contexts and Western queer spaces, while emphasizing the transformative potential of "queerifying" religious texts such as the Quran. Through a queer lens, I explore the concept of "coming in" rather than "coming out" as a culturally important and emotionally resonant framework for queer Muslims who risk losing family, language, and culture in the pursuit of authenticity. This essay is a call for greater visibility, representation, and advocacy in discussions of queer Muslim identities, hoping for the inclusion of these voices in academic discourse.
Curious. Creative. Transformative.
The Mary Griffin Essay Award is designed to honor excellence in scholarship and writing among the graduate students in the Women’s Studies and Gender Studies Program.
The award is endowed in the name of , a member of the order of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (B.V.M.), who was an English professor at Mundelein College and, later, 蜜芽传媒Chicago. She was an innovator in education and an advocate for social justice, participating in both the Civil Rights Movement and the Feminist Movement in the 1970s.
This is an annual award. Students are encouraged to submit to the Graduate Program Director their best essay written as part of their WSGS coursework during the current calendar year. The award recipient will receive a stipend and opportunity to present their research in the WSGS Feminist Lecture Series.
The deadline for 2026 submissions will be posted during the Fall 2025 semester.
Mary Griffin Award Winner
“Queerness in Islam: Hijab Butch Blues and Redefining Queer Muslim Identity With the Help of Chosen Family” by Maryam Rizvi is proudly our winner of the Mary Griffin Essay Award!
This essay aims to explores the complex, often silenced intersection of queerness and Islam through a literary analysis of Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H, a queer, non-binary Muslim writer. By examining Lamya’s personal reflections and struggles with their Muslim identity, I highlight how queer Muslims navigate the liminal spaces between faith, community, and queerness. Drawing from queer theorists such as Sara Ahmed and Marcella Althaus-Reid, the paper dives into the discomfort queer individuals experience in both heteronormative religious contexts and Western queer spaces, while emphasizing the transformative potential of "queerifying" religious texts such as the Quran. Through a queer lens, I explore the concept of "coming in" rather than "coming out" as a culturally important and emotionally resonant framework for queer Muslims who risk losing family, language, and culture in the pursuit of authenticity. This essay is a call for greater visibility, representation, and advocacy in discussions of queer Muslim identities, hoping for the inclusion of these voices in academic discourse.
Curious. Creative. Transformative.
The Mary Griffin Essay Award is designed to honor excellence in scholarship and writing among the graduate students in the Women’s Studies and Gender Studies Program.
The award is endowed in the name of , a member of the order of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (B.V.M.), who was an English professor at Mundelein College and, later, 蜜芽传媒Chicago. She was an innovator in education and an advocate for social justice, participating in both the Civil Rights Movement and the Feminist Movement in the 1970s.
This is an annual award. Students are encouraged to submit to the Graduate Program Director their best essay written as part of their WSGS coursework during the current calendar year. The award recipient will receive a stipend and opportunity to present their research in the WSGS Feminist Lecture Series.
The deadline for 2026 submissions will be posted during the Fall 2025 semester.