Gender Issues Working Group Resumes Bi-monthly Meetings

The AGS "Gender Issues Working group" (GIWG) has resumed. The purpose of this group is to discuss and raise awareness about issues related to gender - whether they are related to men, women, transgender folk or societal heteronormativity in general - and how they intersect with a wide array of other topics such as race/ethnicity, culture, religion, sexuality, economics, development, poverty, violence, labor, etc. The idea is to think outside of the box.

The group brings together AGS students and faculty, but is open to outside participants as well. Meetings are tentatively scheduled twice a month on Tuesdays, from 12 to 1 pm, and additional cultural and activist events in Paris are promoted. Taking over from GIWG initiator AJ Morgen, AGS Master's candidate Dave Feldman has assumed the leadership role for the group this year.

The first meeting of the semester was held on October 2nd. Dave Feldman presented an article about the sex selection industry in the US. The group discussed the ethical issue with designing a baby and the grey area around the legality of this practice in the US and Canada. Counter-arguments about personal choice, cultural relativism and social conditioning were also presented. 

Other topics discussed in the past have included the practice of castration for the purposes of witchcraft in Uganda, the Bugis’ belief in five genders, and the potential implications of criminalizing prostitution in the Netherlands.

Dave Feldman says: "The GIWG offers a great forum to discuss complex and important issues that would otherwise fall under the radar, and hopefully, to get engaged directly."

If you are interested in joining the group for one or more meetings, please contact Dave Feldman at info@ags.edu.