WEEKLY MEETING LINK: https://meet.google.com/due-qscf-hty
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
Question: What does NA's GES stand for?
Answer: North Allegheny's Gender Equality Series
Question: What does feminism mean to the GES team?
Answer: Look at our below under "FEMINISM" to see our team's response. But to put it simply, it means equality for everyone no matter their gender, race, sexuality, religion, etc.
Question: Do you have to participate in the discussions or can you just come and listen?
Answer: You can do either! To be honest, we just want the information to pass to everyone and hear everyone's thoughts (if they're comfortable sharing). If you're not much of a speaker, that is totally fine. We would love to have you there no matter what.
Question: When does GES meet?
Currently, we are meeting on Tuesdays from 3:30 - 4:30 PM (or as long as discussions persist).
Question: How to get in contact with GES?
There are many ways to get in contact with us. You can DM our Instagram (@nasd_ges), message the remind (code: @88kc8h), can email us at nasdges@gmail.com, or you can email a member of our team individually (emails in the "About Us" tab).
FEMINISM
Feminism is equality. It is the idea of equal rights for women; but this is for everyone, no matter what gender they identify as, who they love, what they look like, what religion they practice, and more.
There is so much stigma around the word "feminism". One who is not educated on the idea would believe that it only benefits women. But, that is not the case, as it benefits everyone. For example, it benefits males for the pressure of "being a man", and being the breadwinner in their family would be taken off of men if equality was achieved. And that's just one of them.
We need everyone to be a part of and support this. Not just women.
The men's rights movement is, well, pretty much self-explanatory. It is the movement for men's rights; to put it simply, the opposite of feminism, but the people are called masculists (or men's rights activists, MRA). It all started in the 1960s and 1970s, primarily in Western countries, which consists of groups and organizations of men and their allies who focus on gender issues and whose activities range from self-help and support to lobbying and activism.
They cover a large variety of topics like parenting, reproduction, suicides, domestic violence against men, circumcision, education, conscription, social safety nets, and health policies. Though this is largely a misogynist reactionary movement, we must acknowledge that some of their points should be shared and changed (although, some beliefs do seem a little out there...). For example, globally, death by suicide occurred about 1.8 times more often among men than among women in 2008, and 1.7 times in 2015. In the western world, men die by suicide three to four times more often than do women. This greater male frequency is increased in those over the age of 65.
INTERSECTIONALITY
So, what is it?
Intersectionality is the interconnection of social categories and/or constructs, for example, race, gender, class, etc. These factors overlap to create interdependent systems that apply to an individual or group and create systems of disadvantage and privilege.
How does this affect us today?
Intersectionality affects us today because it has created the systems that oppress some and give others advantages! It affects us today because when we try to combat these systems, every system of oppression is affected and effects other systems, showing we need to address them all together.