Especially in recent years, Amherst College has made efforts to be more inclusive of intersectional identities. As someone who holds intersectional identities in terms of ethnicity and gender, these efforts have been particularly important for me and how I find a sense of belonging at the school.
In addition to the resource centers providing safe spaces for students, such as the Multicultural Resource Center and the Women’s and Gender Center, they also host a lot of events about intersectionality, sometimes in collaboration with student organizations. For example, there was an event about the Asian American identity and the model minority myth that was co-hosted by the Class and Access Resource Center and the Asian Students Association. There was also a weekly restorative circle for queer men of color hosted by the Center for Restorative Practices. The Women’s and Gender Center and Queer Resource Center collaborated to host an Abortion 101 workshop to talk about reproductive justice through an intersectional lens.
Guest speakers with intersectional identities are also invited to speak at our school – Gabby Rivera, a queer Puerto Rican author who writes American Chavez comics, was invited by the Multicultural Resource Center to discuss her identity and writing. The MRC even had free copies of her books to give away to students. Another guest speaker that recently came to Amherst was Lex Horwitz, a queer, non-binary Jewish educator, who was invited by the Queer Athlete Alliance to speak about their experience as a transgender athlete in the NESCAC.
There are student groups for students who hold intersectional identities. One of the most notable ones is QTPOC, the student organization for Queer and Transgender People of Color, which often hosts events at the Queer Resource Center. One of their most notable events was their gender-affirming makeup event in which they provided free makeup materials to participants and provided makeup tutorials. Another student group is the Women of Color Collective – I’ve been to one of their events where they provided us with small bullet journals, Boba, and letter-making resources. There are also organizations to promote diversity and inclusion in different majors, such as GUAC, the student-run organization for underrepresented students in geosciences, and oSTEM, an organization that supports queer and transgender students in STEM.
In terms of academics, there are courses that explore intersectionality. In the fall semester, the Black Studies department had a class called the Economics of Race and Gender and another class called Black sexualities. There were also two Political Science classes about intersectionality called Sexualities in International Relations and Indigenous Women. In the spring semester, there’s a wide selection of courses that explore intersectionality: Asian Americans in Sports, Race, Education, & Belonging, History of Asian American Women, Sex Gender and Body in Southern Asia, Asian American Writing, Race, Sex & US Military, and African Womxn Writers. In spring, I’m taking Race, Gender, and the History of Comics taught by Professor Peralta. Though these courses are in different departments, most of these courses also qualify as Sexuality, Women, and Gender Studies courses. At Amherst, there are plenty of ways to explore intersectional identities through education and community.