Mission
The mission of the Amherst College Women’s and Gender Center (WGC) is to support the personal, academic, and professional growth of students by forwarding conversations on equity, gender, and feminism on our campus. We work to dismantle structures of patriarchal oppression through education, programming, student leadership development, and community building. We approach our work with a critical transformative intersectional feminist lens and center women, femmes, and nonbinary individuals. As a student-centered space, we strive to empower students to actively participate in social justice work in the Amherst College community and beyond.
Vision
Envisioning a just world for people of all genders.
Values
Empowerment Intersectional Feminism Education Community
Our Definition of Feminism
There are many definitions for feminism and much misinformation about what the word means. This word can be seen as divisive by some, but we use this word intentionally and with no wish to divide or do harm. Our choice to center feminism and feminist pedagogy in our praxis is theory driven and informed by history, culture, and context. What do we mean when we say: "feminism?" We use the definition of feminism employed by notable feminist theorist and scholar bell hooks in Feminism is for Everybody: "Simply put, feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression."
Our Definition of Woman
The Women's and Gender Center defines "woman" as any person who identifies as a woman, regardless of their birth-assigned sex. This includes individuals who identify as women in addition to another identity. With that said, most of our programs are open to people of all genders. We encourage all members of the community to get involved and join the conversation!