Women's, Gender. and Sexuality Studies

EVENTS CALENDAR

ONGOING Club Meetings

WGSS networks and coordinates with 3 clubs that focus in part on gender and sexuality equity. Students are encouraged to work with these clubs to broader their knowledge of issues and their activism in our communities. Please check in on GetInvolved for more information on group activities and plans. 

• The American Association of University Women (AAUW) Club focuses on equity for women.
  They meet in McComsey Conference Room in the English wing on the main floor. Check Instagram @villeaauw for updates.
  Contact Allison Mengel. GetInvolved Page.

• The Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) focuses on equity for LGBTQ+ individuals.
  They meet every other week on Tuesday evenings from 6-8pm in the Student Memorial Center Room 118 starting September 3, 2024.
  Contact Maple Brulia. GetInvolved Page.
  
  
• The Trans Action Group (TAG) focuses on equity for transgender individuals.
  They meet Mondays from 6-7 in SMC 18.
  Contact Elliot Simcoe. TRANS @ MU

ONGOING Who's Afraid of Gender Book Club

Join others in reading Judith Butler's book Who's Afraid of Gender.
Email: Jill.Craven@millersville.edu to participate! Meeting times to be determined by club members.

From the MacMillan website:

National Bestseller. Named a Best Book of 2024 (so far) by NPR, Harper's Bazaar, W, and Esquire, and a Most Anticipated Book of 2024 by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, Los Angeles Times, ELLE, Cosmopolitan, Kirkus, Literary Hub, Autostraddle, The Millions, Electric Literature, and them.

"A profoundly urgent intervention.” —Naomi Klein

"A timely must-read for anyone actively invested in re-imagining collective futurity.” —Claudia Rankine

From a global icon, a bold, essential account of how a fear of gender is fueling reactionary politics around the world.

Judith Butler, the groundbreaking thinker whose iconic book Gender Trouble redefined how we think about gender and sexuality, confronts the attacks on “gender” that have become central to right-wing movements today. Global networks have formed “anti-gender ideology movements” that are dedicated to circulating a fantasy that gender is a dangerous, perhaps diabolical, threat to families, local cultures, civilization—and even “man” himself. Inflamed by the rhetoric of public figures, this movement has sought to nullify reproductive justice, undermine protections against sexual and gender violence, and strip trans and queer people of their rights to pursue a life without fear of violence.

Learn More

September 3, 11:30-1:30: CHEP's Mental Health Matters

Interactive tabling event to help students prioritize ongoing mental health/wellbeing and prevent suicide. Tables will have an educational activity for students to complete as well as resources/services and mental health information.

CHEP's goal is to raise awareness about Mental Health and empower students to take action in positive mental health behaviors. Students will learn warning signs to watch out for in their peers and how to help someone they are concerned about. Mental health screenings will also take place with students being referred to supportive services. 

SMC Atrium and MPR

September 9, 6pm: Name Change Clinic

Name Change Clinic at the Transgender Action Group (TAG) Meeting. 6pm in SMC 18.
Angry Gay Grandpa will talk about or show his new PSA on Trans acceptance. 7pm.

Email the TAG president below for more information.

Learn More

September 10, 4pm: GAY TRIVIA

WGSS is so happy to invite you to join Dr. Liam Lair to have some fun with GAY TRIVIA!!
Test your knowledge of LGBTQ+ history, politics, sex, media, and people!

Location: To Be Determined

Dr. Liam Oliver Lair (he/him) is a feminist scholar with a PhD in Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. He teaches classes on feminism, gender, queer activism, and trans studies at West Chester University. His research focuses on gender, race, identity, and anti-racist pedagogy, particularly as it pertains to being a white and masculine-presenting teacher. Dr. Lair also works with faculty, staff, and students to make the academy more affirming for historically marginalized students.

September 12, 6pm: Book Club @ Pocket Books

League of Women Voters will host a book club on Thursday, 9/12 to discuss Sarah Sobieraj’s Credible Threat: Attacks Against Women Online and the Future of Democracy at Pocket Books, 903 Wheatland Avenue. Click the link below to register (it’s free, there will be refreshments). The book is available  for 10% off at Pocket Books through 9/12 (just mention the book club to get the discount). 6pm.

This event is sponsored by the League of Women Voters, our partner in presenting Dr. Sobieraj at the Kenderdine Lecture. All are welcome. Please put it on your calendar.

Register for the Event

September TBD: SILENT WITNESS Training

Join Dr. Blaise Liffick for training on how to protect members of the LGBTQ community from harassment.

October 3, 11am: CHEP's Purple Carnival

The Purple Carnival is an interactive resource fair to educate the campus community about healthy relationships. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, with domestic violence comes several other topics that we would like to bring attention to including affirmative consent, sexual assault, reporting options and supportive services.

Register for a Table

October 8, 7pm: The Body Politic: Women, Digital Harassment, and Democratic Life

Join us in the Winter Center for the Harriet Kenderdine Lecture at 7pm in the Biemesderfer Auditorium to hear Dr. Sarah Sobieraj discuss her work on women, politics, online environments, and democracy. 

Sarah Sobieraj is Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology. Her research focuses on US political culture, extreme incivility, digital abuse and harassment, and the mediated information environment. Her book, Credible Threat: Attacks Against Women Online and the Future of Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2020), examines the impact of identity-based digital abuse on women’s participation in social and political discourse.

Sobieraj is also the author of The Outrage Industry: Political Opinion Media and the New Incivility(Oxford University Press, 2014) with Jeff Berry, and Soundbitten: The Perils of Media-Centered Political Activism (NYU Press, 2011). She also edited (w/ D. Rohlinger) the Oxford Handbook of Digital Media Sociology (Oxford University Press, 2023), and (w/ R. Boatright, D. Young, and T. Schaffer) A Crisis of Civility?: Political Discourse and Its Discontents (Routledge, 2019).  

Sobieraj’s most recent journal articles can be found in Information, Communication & Society, Social Problems, PS: Political Science & Politics, Poetics, and Political Communication. Her work has been featured in venues such as The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, Politico, Vox, CNN, PBS, NPR, the American Prospect, National Review, The Atlantic, Pacific Standard, and Salon.

Learn More

October 17, 4pm: CHEP's Student Green Dot Training

October 17th from 4-7p.m.; Location: TBD

Greendot Training to help prevent sexual violence. Join the international movement to create safe campus cultures.

Rika Schmitt and Margo Thorwart will lead this training to prepare students to interrupt patterns that provide the opportunity for or lead to sexual violence. 

October 23, 11-1:30: CHEP's Fall Into Wellness Fair

The Fall Into Wellness Fair is an event that brings together the entire Millersville campus community in an effort to educate students, faculty, and staff on the various dimensions of wellness. Tables are hosted by a variety of on-campus and off-campus organizations. Tables provide resources and educational information through interactive activities and games.

Each table at the Wellness Fair will provide information on a topic that relates to one (or more) dimension(s) of wellness such as emotional wellness, physical wellness, environmental wellness, spiritual wellness, financial wellness, occupational wellness, intellectual wellness, social wellness, and multicultural wellness. Information on disability and the ADA will also be available.

Register for a Table

October 29, 4pm: Gender Issues and the 2024 Election

In this open forum, Dr. Frederika Schmitt (Sociology) and Dr. Nivedita Bagchi (Government) will share their expertise with regard to proposed political policies related to gender, including issues like no-fault divorce, women's health, and gender-affirming care.

Election Day: November 5

So many policies connect to gender and sexuality this election cycle. Please make your voices heard by voting.

Bad Faith Documentary and Discussion

Date TBD

Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism's Unholy War on Democracy will be shown in spring. 

March 5, SMC MPR: International Women's Day 2025 Events

The President’s Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) is planning International Women’s Day 2025 celebrations in the Student Memorial Center Multipurpose Room (SMC MPR).

Student clubs/organizations, on-campus departments and programs, and community organizations are invited to table and highlight how their group embraces and promotes equity on campus. 

The International Women’s Day Theodora Talks event usually occur at the Ware Center. Theodora Talks feature guest speakers and various performing arts groups. This years Theodora talks have yet to be determined.

Questions? Email PCSW's Planning Committee member Jackie.Aliotta@millersville.edu

March 12-15: AAUW Trip to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

CSW 69/Beijing+30 (2025)

Dr. Craven and members of the American Association of University Women and other interested students will travel to New York City for 3 Days to attend sessions at the 69th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women meetings. As this is the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaraion, the meeting will focus on its implementation and progress.

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality, the rights and the empowerment of women. A functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), it was established by ECOSOC resolution 11(II) of 21 June 1946. (United Nations CSW website)

The CSW is instrumental in promoting women’s and girls' rights, documenting the reality of their lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. (United Nations CSW website)

The main focus of the sixty-ninth session will be on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly. The review will include an assessment of current challenges that affect the implementation of the Platform for Action and the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and its contribution towards the full realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. (United Nations CSW website)

For More Information

The Lost King: Film and Discussion

Can a woman with a disability change the history of England? 
Yes. She. Can.
Let's discuss the cultural assumptions about gender, disability, and competency that underlie this fanciful portrayal of a real-life story--starring Sally Hawkins.
AAUW, WGSS, and the ADAPT club join forces to talk about privilege, power, and patriarchal assumptions.