Why We're Expanding Our Offerings Beyond Cis Women
Women’s spaces were originally created because historically women were excluded from male-dominated spaces and institutions. This is particularly true for schools and universities. As our collective understanding of gender has expanded beyond the women/men binary, it is clear that people of various genders experience exclusion from male-dominated spaces. So in the original spirit of women’s spaces, we welcome people of all marginalized genders to a space where they can learn, grow, and support one another.
We recognize a person’s gender to be what they know it to be, rather than what any doctor or state-issued ID says.
It is important to name two things: 1) Patriarchy hurts people of all genders, and 2) The gender binary (“the cultural belief that there are only two distinct and opposite genders: man and woman”) is made up. But the discrimination based on these two things is real. And it’s upheld by the way our social, political and economic systems are currently set up.
So sometimes, our programs will be for the people most impacted by gender discrimination: cis and trans women and girls, and all gender expansive people (for instance, folks who are non-binary, gender-nonconforming, genderfluid, genderqueer, and/or trans). And sometimes, our offerings—like our speaker series—will be open to everyone.
Why Intersectional Feminist Leadership
First, what is intersectionality? What is intersectional feminism?
Intersectionality is a term coined by legal scholar and critical theorist Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 to describe how different forms of discrimination—like sexism and racism—can interact and compound. Crenshaw was referring to a court case where several Black women sued General Motors for discrimination: the company only hired white women as secretaries, and Black men on the factory floor. Black women were considered for neither job, because racism and sexism were happening at the same time, and Black women could not separate their race from their gender.
Intersectionality names that people’s overlapping identities impact the way they experience discrimination and oppression—the way they (are allowed to) move through the world.
Feminism is “a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression” - bell hooks.
Intersectional feminism recognizes that, as Audre Lorde noted, “There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.” In other words, nothing is just a “women’s issue.” Gender, sexuality, race, class, ability, citizenship status, religion, language, age, nationality, and more are all, always, at play.
Intersectional feminism also recognizes the historical context that got us here: why sexism, racism, and classism exist and interact (because of systems of oppression).
As such, intersectional feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and all forms of oppression, a movement that centers the voices of people experiencing overlapping oppression, and focuses on the priorities of these most-impacted communities.
And because as civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer reminds us, no one is free until everyone is free—or as Murri visual artist Lilla Watson put it, because our liberation is bound up with each other—intersectional feminism is grounded in solidarity:
“The idea of solidarity describes the ways in which we are bound together and how we can act, in concert, to change our circumstances. It is a form of reciprocity rooted in the acknowledgment that our lives are intertwined.
Unlike identity, solidarity is not something you have, it is something you do—a set of actions taken toward a common goal.
A solidarity aiming at transformational change demands we not just recognize and sympathize with the plight of others but also join them as equals, reaching across differences without erasing them. Solidarity in its sublime form shatters the boundaries of identity, connecting us to others even when we are not the same.
Solidarity both produces community and is rooted in it, and is thus simultaneously a means and an end.” - Astra Taylor & Leah Hunt-Hendrix
So Why Intersectional Feminist Leadership?
As Maya Angelou teaches us, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
Once CWL learned about intersectional feminism, we realized a focus on women’s leadership alone was no longer enough. We thank our student leaders, as well as the racial and gender justice organizers who have elevated these issues in the national conversation, for helping us deepen our analysis these past few years.
CWL is shifting from a focus on women’s leadership to a focus on intersectional feminist leadership because our work demands it. The urgency of this moment demands it. Our duty to our community demands it. We simply cannot and will not leave anyone behind.
The shift to intersectional feminist leadership builds on CWL’s outstanding legacy. It celebrates our past while expanding our offerings to meet the needs of the future. We couldn’t be more excited to embrace this transition, and we hope you are too.
Language Matters
“Language can harm or heal; it can further oppression or create liberation—the choice is ours.”
We love this quote from queer and genderqueer spiritual activist, educator, organizer, and radical copyeditor, Alex Kapitan.
Language is powerful, yet it is imperfect. It is ever-evolving, especially around gender and gender identity. Words that one person finds affirming and empowering, another person may experience as dismissive or dehumanizing. Words that were common last year, people may no longer be using this year. Slurs can be reclaimed. Meanings can change. We’re all learning together.
The Center for Women’s Leadership strives to use inclusive, affirming language so that women and people of all marginalized genders feel like they belong here, have a home here. We know we will stumble. When we do, we will own it, seek to repair the harm, and change our language and behavior moving forward. If you have feedback on the words we’re using, we would love to hear from you.