Founded in 1974, the Women’s Center was established to:
Dismantle, from a feminist perspective, all forms of oppression, including but not limited to those based on ability, age, class, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexual orientation.
Advocate for an equitable environment free from violence and harassment based on gender, race, and sexual orientation.
Create an anti-racist, non-sexist, queer-affirmative space where all people can feel valued and safe.
Facilitate and strengthen connections among people across lines of difference through programming and educational campaigns.
Integrate an appreciation of Women's Gender and Multicultural Studies across the disciplines.


Monday, October 21, 2013

Great News for New Jersey!

It's Monday, October 21st, and on this day New Jersey has officially begun practicing equal marriage!  This is great news for the queer community here, since it marks the success of a battle long fought.  However, it's always important to remember that marriage equality is not the end-all be-all of equal rights for people of all sexualities and genders.  Violence is still a pervasive threat in the lives of many queer folks, and Trans* rights so frequently get pushed aside in the struggle.  Along with this great victory, I'd challenge us all to keep in mind the goals and hopes we still have for the future of this movement.

Since today is so significant for the queer community, I'd like to share a resource I've come across in my days perusing the Internet; this website is absolutely ideal in embracing and "normalizing" all kinds of alternative family structures.  This can apply to multigenerational families, single-parent families, foster families, chosen families, queer families, and many more! The site is called OffbeatFamilies, and though updates are no longer posted regularly, there are a wealth of resources and interesting reads in the archives.  One of my favorite articles is about "Dadscrimination," or the tendency for our culture to consider the word "Mommy" synonymous with "parent."  This article about children's books featuring LGBTQA+ family structures highlights the quality of comments--though the author only had a few book suggestions, the readers came in with years of collective experience and a dozen more book ideas.  And don't miss out on the Offbeat Family Portrait Gallery!

This dad is rocking some awesome style with his awesome child. "Foster Love!"

Family is a incredibly diverse and malleable concept, and that is ultimately the most important thing to take away from this website.  By opening our minds to the many possibilities family holds, we open our hearts to greater capacity for love, acceptance, and understanding.  Thankfully, our home state of New Jersey has just taken a step in that direction.

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