What Is Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies?
Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines gender, sexuality, and women’s experiences. It examines issues, such as:
- How gender influences women and men’s lives and experiences in society and politics
- The portrayal of women and men in arts, literature, and media
- Sociocultural and biological influences on gender development
- How gender influences thoughts and behavior
- How gender intersects with other forms of diversity, such as race, class, and culture
- The nature of sexuality
- Feminist theory and scholarship
Sign Up
Women and Gender Studies Minor Sign Up Form
Email completed form to Prof. Toohey, WGS Program Coordinator.
Why Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies?
A minor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies will help you develop a well-rounded understanding of gender, sex, and sexuality. This knowledge can complement your primary field of study as well as help you understand and act in an increasingly diverse world.
Career Options
The Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies minor can help you succeed in careers such as:
- Business
- Criminal Justice & Law
- Education
- Human Resources
- Human Services
- Journalism & Documentary Film
- Physical & Mental Health Professions
- Public Policy
- Social Justice & Political Activism
- Social Work
Benefits of a WGSS Minor
A WGSS minor is a good fit to pair with most majors. As an interdisciplinary minor, students are free to "choose their own adventure" or "chart their own course" by chasing their interests. After the two required courses, students are free to explore the other courses in the minor within their own departments or according to their own interests.
Events
Social Justice Book Club
Join us every other Wednesday in Butler 318, as we read a timely graphic novel, led by Librarian and WGSS unit member, Julie Setele.
Open to Buffalo State students, faculty, staff, and alum.
Spring Schedule (12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.)
Wednesday, March 11
Wednesday, April 1
Wednesday, April 15
Wednesday, April 29
Beyond Boundaries Film & Discussion Series
Beyond Boundaries is an annual, six-part film series organized around categories of diversity including, but not limited to race, gender, class, sexuality, and abilities, with an emphasis on intersectionality. All screenings are held in the Burchfield Penney Art Center’s Tower Auditorium and are free and open to the public. Each film is followed by a discussion.
Spring Schedule (6:30 p.m.)
Thursday, February 19
Thursday, March 12
Thursday, April 23
Women Shaping A Sustainable Future in Buffalo
Women Shaping A Sustainable Future in Buffalo: A Panel Discussion on the East Side Parkways Coalition
March 18 (4:30 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.)
Technology Building 160
Free & open to the public
Featured panelists: Dr. Jennifer Roberts, Beth Elkins Wales, India Walton
Moderator: Dr. Ruth Goldman
The mission of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Interdisciplinary Unit (WGSS) is to promote scholarship, teaching, and awareness of issues related to women, gender, and sexuality among faculty, staff, and students at SUNY Buffalo State. As a unit, we strive to create a diverse and representative community of individuals who share a common interest in gender, sexuality, and women’s issues and engage in related activities, ranging from scholarship to pedagogy to activism. We seek to generate interest, enthusiasm, greater knowledge, and deeper understanding of gender-relevant issues faced by all people, nationally, internationally, and across time, as well as to increase awareness of the ways that gender intersects with other forms of diversity, such as race, class, and culture. We recognize historical and contemporary issues relating specifically to women, issues related to gender and sexuality faced by men and individuals with other gender identifications, and the broader, evolving, and transforming field of gender-based inquiry.
To fulfill this mission, we engage in the following activities:
- Administering the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) minor for students and promoting teaching and academic opportunities related to women, gender, and sexuality.
- Encouraging and providing a supportive environment for research, scholarship, and creative work that examines issues related to women, gender, and sexuality.
- Promoting campus activities that provide information and raise consciousness about women’s issues, gender, and sexuality as important forms of diversity.
- Promoting a supportive campus-wide environment for the recognition, discussion, and advancement of issues related to women, gender, and sexuality.