Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

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 Genevieve Szczybak 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.
  Contact gsamillersvilleuniversity@gmail.com 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

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.

February 11, 6pm | McComsey Building, Myers Auditorium (Room 260)

A true twentieth-century trailblazer, Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world.

The Oscar-winning The Times of Harvey Milk was as groundbreaking as its subject. One of the first feature documentaries to address gay life in America, it’s a work of advocacy itself, bringing Milk’s message of hope and equality to a wider audience. 

INTERACTIVE DISCUSSION TO FOLLOW

LGBTQ individuals recounting their experience of gay rights during their lives.

This interactive panel will invite audience members to ask questions about the experiences of LGBTQ individuals as they navigated the different cultural scenes and legal issues surrounding queer life.

The Film Club will present Moonlight in McComsey 260 (Myers Auditorium) with discussion afterward. All are welcome.

A timeless story of human connection and self-discovery, Moonlight chronicles the life of a young black man from childhood to adulthood as he struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami. At once a vital portrait of contemporary African-American life and an intensely personal and poetic meditation on identity, family, friendship, and love, Moonlight is a groundbreaking piece of cinema that reverberates with deep compassion and universal truths. Anchored by extraordinary performances from a tremendous ensemble cast, Barry Jenkins’s staggering, singular vision is profoundly moving in its portrayal of the moments, people, and unknowable forces that shape our lives and make us who we are.

WGSS and Lancaster Public Library present Documentary and Discussion

February 25, 6pm | McComsey Building, Myers Auditorium (Room 260)

The film pulls back the curtain on two of the most controversial issues in America today: book bans and curriculum censorship in public schools. Banned Together follows three students and their adult allies as they fight to reinstate 97 books suddenly pulled from their school libraries. As they evolve from local to national activists – meeting with bestselling/banned authors, politicians, Constitutional experts, and more – the film reveals the forces behind the accelerating wave of book bans in the U.S.

With a power panel of librarians including:

• Sarah DeMaria, president elect of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association Advocacy Committee (this MU alumna helped establish the statewide coalition, Pennsylvanians for Welcoming and Inclusive Schools).
  
  
• Coreena Byrnes, Director of Library Services at the Lancaster Public Library (which faced a bomb threat and reduced funding over Drag Queen story hour), and
  
  
• Matthew Good, awarded the 2024 John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award by the American Library Association (Good resigned his position to bring to light the restricted access at his junior high library. (ALA Press Release)

Do you have concerns that you might want to advocate for in public? Learn how to do so safely.

Join us to learn how to practice non-violent resistance at the Non-violent Direct Action Clinic led by Malinda Harnish Clatterbuck, pastor, therapist, and Associate Director at the Center for the Sustainable Environment at F&M.

Event starts in McComsey Auditorium and moves to Ford Atrium after 7pm.

 

 

Photo credit: Carolmooredc, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Wellness presents a documentary about older adult women preparing for the Lancaster County Senior Games, with discussion by the director.

This documentary follows 64-year-old bodybuilder Sally Winchell and her team of senior women as they defy age-related stereotypes, embrace their strength, and prepare for the Senior Games in Lancaster, PA. Witness their transformative journey, filled with laughter, tears, and triumphs. From early morning workouts to the exhilarating Senior Games, "Sally's Iron Mustangs" showcases the power of community, resilience, and the limitless potential that lies within us all. Join us in celebrating the extraordinary spirit of women.

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.

1-3 pm Women Owned Business/Tabling,

3-4:30 Theodora Talks and Performances 

Confirmed speakers: Kate Zimmerman from United Way Lancaster, Joanne Carroll from TransAdvocacy PA, Dr. Damaris Rau 

Confirmed performers: Ville Harmonics, MamboJaz 

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

Join Dr. Fredericka Schmitt (Sociology) and Margo Thorwart (Center for Health Education and Promotion) to learn how to train for Violence Prevention. 

The goal of Green Dot is to implement a bystander intervention strategy that prevents and reduces power-based personal violence. Power-based violence includes: sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. A Green Dot is a behavior, choice, or action that promotes safety for everyone on campus.

This day-long session is for staff and faculty interested in training others for Green Dot Violence Prevention.

"No one has to do everything, but everyone has to do something."  

For more information contact CHEP.

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)

Join Dr. Fredericka Schmitt (Sociology) and Margo Thorwart (Center for Health Education and Promotion) to get trained on Violence Prevention. 

The goal of Green Dot is to implement a bystander intervention strategy that prevents and reduces power-based personal violence. Power-based violence includes: sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. A Green Dot is a behavior, choice, or action that promotes safety for everyone on campus.

"No one has to do everything, but everyone has to do something."  

For more information contact CHEP.

March 25, 6pm | McComsey Building, Myers Auditorium (Room 260)

1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture follows the story of tireless researchers who trace the origins of the anti-gay movement among Christians to a grave mistranslation of the Bible in 1946.

This feature documentary chronicles the discovery of never-before-seen archives at Yale University which unveil astonishing new revelations, and casts significant doubt on any biblical basis for LGBTQIA+ prejudice. Featuring commentary from prominent scholars as well as opposing pastors, including the personal stories of the film’s creators, 1946 is at once challenging, enlightening, and inspiring. 

DISCUSSION

• Greg Carey, Professor of the New Testament, Lancaster Theological Seminary
• Reverend Kathryn Kuhn, Senior Pastor, Church of the Apostles
• Individuals impacted by conservative Biblical teachings

Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism's Unholy War on Democracy will be the final film of the Reel Courage film series this spring. It is particularly relevant in Lancaster, where elements of the New Apostolic Reformation movement have been active.

BAD FAITH reveals how Christian Nationalist leaders have spread fear and anger for decades, distorting political issues into Biblical battles between good and evil. Discover the origins of this organized grasp for power and the grassroots coalition of secular and interfaith leaders confronting the forces threatening democracy.

Discussion featuring

• Greg Carey, Professor of the New Testament, Lancaster Theological Seminary
• Malinda Clatterbuck, Pastor and Therapist

This Hollywood feature film presents the story of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) and provides a wonderful complement to the documentary scheduled in February. Discussion after the film. McComsey 260 (Myers Auditorium).

Film Club meets at 6pm in McComsey 260, aka Myers Auditorium.

Film Club will be screening The Lost King in Myers Auditorium (McComsey 260). In this inspiring true story, amateur historian Philippa Langley (Sally Hawkins) believes she has made the archeological find of the century: the lost burial site of King Richard III. She takes on Britain's most eminent historians, forcing them to rethink the legacy of one of the most controversial rulers in English history. As a disabled woman, she confronts the prejudices and endures the condescending remarks to emerge triumphant.

Join the Center for Health Education and Promotion (CHEP) for activities promoting awareness of concepts and issues related to sexual assault.