Reflections from the Gender Matters, Belonging Matters 2nd Annual Convening - The New School
These past two days I have had the privilege to help coordinate and present at the Gender and Sexuality Studies Institute’s “Gender Matters, Belonging Matters 2nd Annual Convening." The conference was curated by the theme of “Belonging,” defined broadly. Alongside an incredible group, we had the privilege of presenting a continued discussion on Tradwives, and linking it to white supremacy, colonialism, and conservative American politics, which perpetuate damaging gender roles under the guise of choice.
What strikes me as evident across all the presentations was not just a desire for people to belong, but a human need to belong; to be accepted, heard and seen within communities and at the global level. For me, belonging happens within infinite networks. The interconnectedness of earth, animals, people, cultures, and within communities, histories, and stories. Within this network, we need to collectively ensure that nobody can be forgotten. When we fail to take care of those around us-- fail to see them as human just as we are, the result is violence, oppression, injustice, mental and physical illness and catastrophe.
Building upon the ideas of Fanon, PhD candidate Tyce Purvis with their presentation on “Anti-blackness and Black Misandry in University: The Tradition of Un-Belonging” discussed gendered racism within the university, and the historical and continued neglect of Black men in academia. Other important presentations included an Opening Keynote from Madi Day, in which they offered an examination of “Anti-Colonial Thinking on Gender, Sexuality and Belonging,” which highlighted the historical and current role of coloniality in violently enforcing western ideas about gender, sexuality, and individualism.
Leading up to the big event, so much of my efforts to assist in preparation had to do with administrative and event-planning tasks, so much so that I had not prepared myself emotionally for the content that was to come, and how that might resonate with me on a personal level.
As a mixed-race person and third-generation immigrant, the feeling of belonging to my ancestors and ethnic communities is often alien to me. While I am privileged in so many ways, and just one example of this is belonging to an unconditionally loving family, I continue to reckon with the impacts of the American dream, racism, and colonial ideas that have affected my community. I reckon with the separation of my family by distance and by Western values of individualism. I long for the de-centering of the nuclear family to include multiple generations, friendship, neighbors and kin. I long for the language and culture of my family which I was never taught. I will continue to do the active work of creating community and belonging for myself and others vis-à-vis with those directly around me, but also more broadly at the necessary and material political, academic, and community engagement level.
