http://www.womenscenter.emory.edu/
The purpose as it appears on the main page:
There is a place at Emory where women can gather for lively discussion or quiet contemplation. The Center for Women at Emory, established in 1992, offers learning experiences that help Emory women transform themselves and society. Its educational programs link the individual woman’s personal creativity to a life lived in community and reflect the diverse views of women in all walks of life. The center provides advocacy, support, and the opportunity to transform concerns into action.
As a forum for women’s intellectual, cultural, ethical, and spiritual life, the Center for Women is a prototype of interdisciplinary perspective. It serves as an advocate for gender equity throughout the University and encourages inquiry into gender issues. Its programs are about women but relevant to everyone. It is our mission to provide a strong informational network for all members of our community.
This bothers me. This honestly bothers me. As much as the center claims to be open to everyone and accepting of all, the main statement (with a different text color, for the specific purpose of standing out) seems otherwise. While I can understand that the second statement (in the black text) opens the center to all, I still wonder why the main statement on the page limits the center to women. As much as the center tries to get rid of the stigma of the word "women" in its title, and encourage all sexes and genders to explore the center, doing so will be impossible if the first/main statement on the website is as stigmatizing as it is.
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4 comments:
I'm not following your reasoning. How is the word "woman" stigmaizing? Why does using "women" in the title preclude others that don't identify as women from participating?
Have you talked with anyone about how the center for women came to be and why Emory felt it was important to have such a center? Under what conditions was it founded?
Can you provide some more support for your claim that it "bothers you"?
I don’t think that the main statement of the Center for Women (the paragraph in purple) is that unusual or limited compared to similar statements by other forums for discussion and activity. If one substitutes the word “refugees,” “ministers,” “monks,” or any sort of religious, racial, or ethnic group’s name instead of “women,” that opening paragraph has much in common with the mission statements of many cultural and faith-based groups to be found in our community. I think the point with both the Center for Women and the other forums is that while they were designed with the needs of a particular group in mind, they are in no way closed to others who have insightful contributions or wish to learn more.
The following, for example, is a statement that I found on the conference of the student group the Black Think Tank.
“The Black Think Tank at Emory University is a forum through which students may discuss issues affecting Black people throughout the African Diaspora. By exchanging and assessing our opinions, we can heighten our awareness and understanding of Black reality and then have the knowledge necessary to act on our ideas and improve our circumstances.”
It seemed to have a lot in common with the Center for Women statement. I’m still not sure if I understand exactly why that statement about women seemed excluding—if you could point out differences between the two statements (or maybe the Black Think Tank's statement is also excluding?), it might be easier for us to understand why.
I agree with saranya. It is a center for women, since the specific group it targets is women. This is most evident in the line that states that "its programs are about women." I don't see how this specifically restricts others from participating though.
I feel that the inclusion of the word "women" would probably make most males feel uncomfortable partaking in discussions and activities. But, this is due to society's creation of what constitutes being a "manly" man and the fear of being judged by others based on that idea. In addition, uninformed individuals, particularly of the gender opposite females, tend to have a negative connotation with terms like "feminism" and "women studies." These same individuals would probably see any association created specifically for women as associated with the terms above.
As a result, individuals like males would be hesitant in participating in something specifically geared towards women, something that society, not the Center for Women, is responsible for. Perhaps this is the "stigma" that A New View is referring to. But,if the Center for Women took the "women" out of the title, they would first of all lose their specificity, and second of all, perpetuates the "stigma" since it acknowledges the existence of these social constructs and works around them instead of defying them.
Sorry...haven't backtracked my posts in a while :)
I don't think the word "woman" is stigmatizing (luckily, I'm allowed to change my views and opinions in this class :)), but I do think that claiming that the "Center for Women" is open to everyone is stigmatizing. I'm not sure that this prevents others from wanting to participate, but if the place wants to promote more participation, especially among men, why don't they choose a more gender-neutral name? I don't want to stretch my analogy too far (or hit something inapplicable, which I'm afraid I'm about to do...), but looking at the example of restrooms, if a door is labeled women, men will not enter. If a door is labeled men, women will not enter. Socially, this is accepted and promoted. Men are not supposed to use the women's restroom and women are not supposed to use the men's restroom. I believe that using "women" in the title of the center pushes men away from participating. I'm not totally sure why, but I think the reasoning may be similar to why men do not use women's restrooms.
I have not actually talked to anyone about how the center came to by or why Emory felt the importance of having one. I'm honestly very happy that you asked me this question as I will now try to make an appointment with someone at the Center to discuss its creation. I'll discuss it in my activist practicum presentation :)
I understand Saranya and agree with her for the most part. However, can the Center for Women and the Black Think Tank not have their respective purposes while eliminating Women and Black from their title (I propose the Center for Women should be renamed as an advocacy committee.) Another question I will try to answer through my activist practicum is what the Center for Women does that Amnesty International doesn't already do...right now, as far as I know, the Center for Women fights for equality (specifically for women, but should the organization not fight for the rights of all?)
I beleive this conveys my thoughts much more clearly regarding what I was thinking when I originally made the blog post: "I feel that the inclusion of the word 'women' would probably make most males feel uncomfortable partaking in discussions and activities. But, this is due to society's creation of what constitutes being a 'manly' man and the fear of being judged by others based on that idea."
Webster's online dictionary defines feminism as: 1 : the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes 2 : organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests
I can understand how the word relates to the second definition, but regarding the first definition, why can't the word be "masculism"? More importantly, why is the term based off of a gender? Why can't the term simply be gender neutral...a word like an "equalist"? Why is the class called women studies and not gender or equality studies?
Acknowledging an existence of this stigma is the first step to removing it. By acknowledging the stigma and removing the stigmatizing word of "Women" from the "Center for Women," I believe more people will be interested in the organization. I'm not advocating necessarily changing the mission statement (although replacing every place women appears with "men and women" or even better, simply "humans" would be less stigmatizing...), but changing the name of the center will be the first step in acknowledging and getting rid of the stigma.
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