WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH 2024
2024 WHM Theme: 35th Anniversary Kickoff
The Women’s Center began as a cubicle in the Bryan Center in 1989 and has since grown into a hub for gender equity, community-building, and leadership development among women, femme-identified, and non-binary students across campus. Join us to honor our past, reflect on our growth, and plan for our future as we celebrate Women’s History Month 2024 in conjunction with our 35th Anniversary Kickoff! Explore our events and more from across campus in the calendar below.
Calendar of Events
| Event | Date & Time | Location | Hosts(s) | Link (if applicable) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land and Listen | Friday March 22, 4:00-5:30pm | Duke Campus Farm | Duke Campus Farm | ||||||
| No Man's Land Film Festival | Sunday March 3, 6pm-10pm | Griffith Theater | Duke Outdoor Adventures | ||||||
| Women's History Month Trivia | Thursday March 21, 8:30pm | Devil's Krafthouse | DUU, Women's Center | https://cglink.me/2do/r2255503 | |||||
| International Women's Breakfast | Tuesday March 5, 9:30am-11am | Bolton Family Room (Brodhead, 3rd floor) | Duke International Student Center | ||||||
| A Conversation with Kimberlé Crenshaw | Sunday March 24, 2p.m. | Page Auditorium | Baldwin Scholars | https://tickets.duke.edu/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=kimberlecrenshaw&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id= | |||||
| An Author Conversation with the Rev. Dr. Fatimah Salleh | Wednesday March 6, 7:00 p.m. | Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity Programming Space | Duke University Chapel | calendar.duke.edu/show?fq=id%3ACAL-8a0292fd-8d13410f-018d-a8a8ba53-00000d9fdemobedework%40mysite.edu | |||||
| International Women's Day at Duke Softball | Friday March 8, 2 & 5 pm | Duke Softball Stadium | Duke Softball | ||||||
| Women's History Month Collaborative Mural | Sunday March 3, 4:30 PM | The Landing Patio (Bryan Center) | Women's Empowerment at Duke | ||||||
| 2024 Reproductive Justice Conference: Healing Black Bodies and Black Maternal Health | Wednesday March 6, 9am-4pm | Karsh Alumni and Visitor's Center | Women's Center | https://bit.ly/repro24 | |||||
| 8th Annual WomC Awards | Thursday March 28, 6-7:30pm | Doris Duke Center at Duke Gardens | Women's Center | https://bit.ly/24WomcRSVP | |||||
| Abortion Rights Film & Action | Sunday March 31, 12:30-2:30pm | Reuben-Cooke 130 | Duke Amnesty International USA |
Most of the events listed will be able to be found on DukeGroups! Some of these events may also have a "Women's History Month" tag on the platform. For more on Women's History Month, check back soon.
Learn More
Women’s History Month (WHM) celebrates, recognizes, and affirms the work and achievements of women and femme-identified individuals living the full diversity of experience. Women’s History Month began in 1981 as “Women’s History Week” and was designated as an official month of celebration by beginning March 1987. What started as a way to recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields, Women’s History Month has expanded to become an annual celebration of the past, present, and future of women and femme-identified people.
A separate, but related movement to establish an International Women’s Day began as early as 1908, culminating in the marking of March 8 as International Women’s Day in 1914. Women’s History Month in the US was structured around the International Women’s Day celebration, blooming into an entire month of recognition and celebration for women and femme folks across the country.
Sources:
The Women’s Center uses the phrase “women and femme folks” to refer to the student body we serve. Why this particular phrasing? Because while we want to be as inclusive as possible as to who we serve, we live in a patriarchal system where misogyny is still more of the norm than the exception. Thus, we see a utility in having a safe space for those who experience misogyny and patriarchy to come and be in community with others.
As we use it, women as a gender identity refers to both cis- and transgender women while femme or femme-identifying refers to the gender expression of all folks, including genderqueer or non-binary individuals. For more information on gender identity and expression, visit the CSGD’s Sexual and Gender Diversity Education webpage.
Womxn was a term coined in the 70s and later adopted in 90s to include gender non-conforming individuals, transgender and genderqueer folks, two spirit people, femmes, and other non-binary people within the sphere of womxnhood. While some feel using the word “womxn” in place of “women” acknowledges that gender identity exists in a sphere and one word has room for multiple gender expressions, others feel the term is exclusionary in that it was/is a term created by cis women to differentiate transwomen.
We don’t use the term womxn at the Women’s Center, instead preferring the term “women and femme folks”to identify the population we serve.
Sources:
The Women's Center maintains a running list of resources related to gender equity, reproductive justice, and more! Visit https://students.duke.edu/belonging/icr/wc/resources-for-women/ to see the full list of resources and learn how to access them.
If you have a resource you’d like to submit, email womenctr@duke.edu with the subject “WHM Resources.”
Below is a list of women and femme-led student groups the Women’s Center has worked with in the past. This is NOT a comprehensive list of all the organizations listed here aren't the women/femme-led student groups on campus. The full list can be found on Duke Groups at https://dukegroups.com/club_signup. Want your organization to be added to this list or need to make an edit? Email womenctr@duke.edu with the subject “Women and Femme Student Groups.”
Thank you to everyone who submitted a program, event, or resource to our 2024 WHM programming calendar!
Special thanks to CMA’s Alex Espaillat for establishing the format of Heritage Month Celebrations at Duke and the Student Affairs Communications team, especially Kristin Lobiondo and Rezin Davis, for spearheading the creative direction for the WHM banners and branding.
Want to be a part of next year’s Women’s History Month Celebration or have an idea for a theme? Email womenctr@duke.edu with the subject line “WHM Involvement.”