Gender & Sexuality Week 2024
October 21-25th
“Savor the moments when you finally thrive” (Bespoken Islands, Sylvir ft. Slyleaf & Leopold)
In the world we live in, we often get caught up in fighting against the tides and forget to celebrate the wins, joys, and growth. Inspired by a quote from “Bespoken Islands” by Sylvir ft. Slyleaf & Leopold, the 2024 Gender & Sexuality Week theme invites us to consider what does thriving look like for me? For my communities? Where are the spaces where I am able to be who I truly am and feel loved by others? How do we build more of those spaces, systems, and relationships where all can thrive? And most importantly, it is a reminder to center joy and create intentional moments to celebrate and savor the moments when you/we finally thrive.
Gender & Sexuality Week Punch Card Challenge
Attend programs from 3/4 of the G&S Week themes listed below and receive a coffee credit!
Queer Coffee
Thurs 10/24, 2-3pm in
Queer Coffee is a biweekly check-in for LGBTQIA2S+ PLU staff & faculty, but for Gender & Sexuality Week we would love for any queer Lutes to join us! RSVP here.
Sista Circle Meet & Greet
Fri 10/25, 2:30-4pm in
Sista* Circle strives to be a safe space for womxn, nonbinary, femme, and trans people of color (faculty, staff, and students) to encourage one another to THRIVE. Overall, this space provides opportunities to discuss self-love, family life, self-care, growth, and the challenges and joys of being us. *In this space, we use sista instead of sister because too often sister means cis-ter. We are a space committed to inclusion and celebration of the diverging experiences of those who identify as womxn, trans, femme, or non-binary. #SisnotCis
Drag Bingo
Fri 10/25, 7-9pm in
Drag Bingo is a fun and energetic take on the traditional game of bingo that combines the art of drag into an interactive experience for audience members and drag performers. The event is from 7pm to 9pm and open to students, alumni, and the wider Parkland community. Anyone can join at any time and stay as long as they’d like to. There will be food, drinks, and fundraising for Oasys!
DJS Lounge Check In: Meme Your Gender
Mon 10/21, 12:30-1:30pm and 1:45pm-2:45pm in DJS Lounge (AUC 140)
Join us in the DJS Lounge for a check-in with community during Gender & Sexuality Week. At these DJS Lounge Check-Ins, we will be exploring gender: What makes us feel the most seen? What brings the us the most gender joy? How can we support each other in unlearning and navigating the sometimes turbulent, sometimes gendered experience of existing? We will culminate our time together with the opportunity to meme our genders.
What is Gender? A Gender & Sexuality Week Caucus
Mon 10/21, 5:30-7pm in Scandinavian Cultural Center (AUC 100)
Join us this 2024 Gender & Sexuality Week for a gender caucus conversation. Students will be invited to connect in gender affinity groups to discuss gender socialization and share stories of joy and challenge. In closing, we will share across gender experiences. Snacks will be provided.
Be A Man: Softness, Openness, and Emotional Strength
Wed 10/23, 11-12pm in
We are in a beautiful place of deconstructing traditional gender roles and expectations in our society. But for many men or masculine-identifying people, it can be challenging to know what to replace traditionally “masculine” behavior with. Do you still feel pressure to hide some of your passions or hobbies from friends or family? Do you want to find ways to be more open and vulnerable with friends or family? Do you want to talk about navigating dating as a male-identifying individual who wants to break the stereotypes of men in romantic relationships?
During this time, we’ll talk about the ways in which we already and can break from toxic stereotypes, how to navigate a world that still pressures us into a confined box of masculinity, and validate the unique people that we are.
Gathering Table
Thurs 10/24, tbd in
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Icing on Pride!
Tues 10/22, 1-3pm in
Join Prism for a fun and creative cookie decorating event! Come be in community to decorate, share stories, and celebrate all the identities that make us who we are! You can make your pride flag or anything that makes you happy.
Colors of identity: Tie-dye expression workshop
Tues 10/22, 5-6pm in
Join us for an expressive and creative workshop where students can design their own tie-dye shirts and bracelets to celebrate their sexual and gender identities! This hands-on event invites participants to explore self-expression through vibrant colors and unique patterns, fostering a sense of community and empowerment.
Lutes open doors so let’s decorate yours!
Thurs 10/24, 3:30-5:30pm in Tinglestad 8th floor
Join us for PRIDE door decoration making and some snacks.
GSRS/SOCW Panel
Wed 10/23, 11:50-1:35pm in AUC 133
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Screening of the documentary film The Rebellion of the Flowers & discussion with filmmaker María Laura Vasquez
Wed 10/23, 5pm in Xavier 201
In 2019, a group of women from different indigenous nations located in what is now called Argentina peacefully occupied the Ministry of the Interior for 11 days, demanding an end to the death in their territories. During their stay, these women denounced environmental destruction and assassination in the regions they inhabit and the consequences this brings to their communities and the population in general. There, they faced governmental indifference and media indifference that made the fact invisible. However, their sustained struggle succeeded in partly instilling the concept of “terricide” in society, making people aware of the need to create a new way of inhabiting the earth.
Documentarian María Laura Vasquez participated in this occupation by documenting the development of this direct action, and from this documentation came the documentary film The Rebellion of the Flowers.
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