Influential Women | Winston-Salem, NC
Two groups of Undergraduate, Graduate Students Faculty and Staff gathered over dinner in Benson Center on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, to discuss Women’s History Month: Where have we been, where are we going?
We engaged in a very open dialogue, discussing the ways that we feel women in history have inspired us, as well as our evaluation of the progression of women’s history initiatives throughout time. Some of our highlights included:
- Women breaking barriers and disrupting the norms
- The importance of knowing our past to know where we come from and where we’re going
- Dissecting feminism; its meaning, its value in today’s society, and the role men play in feminism
- Intersectionality in feminism; how feminism looks in different places and locations geographically
- Challenging people’s mind to recognize their implicit bias and micro-aggressions
- Categorizations of Women: We discussed both famous women in history as well as women in our personal lives, exploring the importance of both groups as they relate to making progress over time.
- Identity: Reflecting on women who have influenced us, we talked about what it means to be a woman in society. This led to conversations of pride and different feminist movements that fuel different expressions of individuality and female identity.
- Intersectionality: As we discussed feminism, we recognized the importance of intersections such as race, class, sexual orientation, and more. We shared how these intersections have affected ourselves and our close ones and recognized that modern feminism is not all-encompassing without recognizing these individual stories.
- Conversation: To close our conversation, many of us highlighted the importance of conversation in women’s history. Inviting men to the table as well as spreading our learning to others can promote progress no matter how small or large.