Student Social Action Against Discrimination related to Gender

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Tell us what it is to be a woman so that we may know what it is to be a man. What moves at the margin. What it is to have no home in this place. To be set adrift from the one you knew. What it is to live at the edge of towns that cannot bear your company. ~Toni Morrison (Nobel Lecture, 1993)

"Bit by bit . . . she had claimed herself. Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another." ~Toni Morrison

Sexism and Gender Discrimination

Definition

Sexism and Gender Discrimination are issues that have faced women and men in the United States and all over the world for ages. Sexism is defined as "discrimination based on gender, especially discrimination against women; and attitudes, conditions, or behaviors that promote stereotyping of social roles based on gender." Sexism is prevalent in contemporary society. Through the depiction of male and female roles in the media, gender opression persists and continues to weave itself into global culture through this avenue. In a more specific sense, on college campuses, sexism presents itself in many forms. It could present itself in the administration and the representation of gender and sexual orientation amongst administrators and faculty. It could also present itself in the representation of gender and sexual orientation in the student body. Fraternities and the rape culture with which they are associated could also contribute greatly to the sexist atmosphere of a campus. It also presents itself in the statistics that depict sexual harrassment on campuses and the extent to which they occur.

Sexism on College Campuses

Sexism is an issue that can be so invisible that it seems non-existent. Once one begins to understand the meaning of the word and the many ways in which it applies to society, its existence becomes clearer.

Students

Sexual Harrasment

The case of sexual harassment is one that permeates throughout college and university culture all across the United States.

The issues with lesbians, gays and bisexuals

Activism for Gender Equality and Anti-Sexism

Take Back the Night Take Back the Night is an annual march that unites women, men and children, as feminists, contesting violence against women. The march often takes place in the darkness and when it originally began, it was open to women only in order to emphasize the idea that women, when united, are strong and can stand together against rape and other forms of violence against women. However, now the march serves to stand up against any violence committed against any person(s). The first Take Back the Night rally took place in Germany and the first one in the United States took place in California.

SpeakOut: The North American Student Coalition against Sexual Violence.

Feminist Majority Foundation

National Organization for Women

NYU Queer Union