For the past few weeks, the student volunteers behind OU Pride and Disabled Students Group – two of Open SU’s student support groups – have been working closely, and we can announce that they will be hosting Intersectionality Awareness Week between 28 June and 4 July. All students are welcome to join in.
Firstly ... what is this?
The term “intersectionality” refers to how an individual’s demographics (such as race, religion, gender, sexuality, disability, social class, etc.) all overlap and combine to create a unique experience of discrimination – or even privilege.
Intersectionality Awareness Week is a collaborative project between the OU Pride and Disabled Students Group (DSG) committees, where our aims are to unite the OU student community, while also highlighting, honouring and celebrating the various intersecting identities that we, as a diverse student community, have.
We have collectively agreed to host this week from Sunday, 28 June to Saturday, 4 July, since this captures both LGBTQIA+ Pride Month (June) and Disability Pride Month (July).
Throughout the week, OU Pride and DSG will be hosting a series of events on Microsoft Teams. You will also be able to read about some personal stories of intersecting identities, and articles will be shared on The Hoot throughout the week. Fellow students are encouraged to share their stories too, if they feel comfortable!
So what is planned?
Some events are still being finalised. However, below are details of some that have been confirmed…
- Join OU Pride on Sunday 28 June (from 7pm–9pm) to honour the 57th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in 1969. Here, attendees will have the opportunity to learn a key moment in LGBTQIA+ history, as well as a welcoming space to meet and engage with fellow LGBTQIA+ students and allies, and members of the OU Pride committee.
- Test your knowledge with a fun celebrity-focused quiz led by the DSG on Thursday, 2 July (6:30pm–8pm). Here, attendees will take part in a quiz that involves identifying the publicly-known intersectional identities of celebrities. Who knows, you may even be able to win a prize! (Who doesn’t love prizes?)
- To end the week on a spectacular finale, OU Pride and DSG will be co-hosting an Intersectionality Celebration on Saturday, 4 July (7pm–9pm)! All attendees will have a safe, welcoming and empowering space in which they can be unapologetically themselves, as well as have an opportunity to proudly celebrate their own intersecting identities.
All event links will be accessible via the Events tab on our website.
Explore our events section
Keep in the know
We will be sharing the details for events in both the OU Pride and Disabled Students Group community spaces, on Facebook and OU Students Connect.
If you are not already a member (or would like quick links) of these spaces, please see them listed below:
OU Pride
Disabled Students Group