Gender Inclusivity Workshop

The Department of Sociology and Social Work Association of CHRIST (Deemed to be University) on 13th April 2021 from 4:00 pm to 6.00 pm, initiated and organized the first workshop of the Equality, Diversity & Inclusivity Unit, under the Gender and Sexuality Cell on the Topic “Gender Inclusivity”.

The workshop was conducted by Dr Ivan John who is a professor at Sophia College (Autonomous), Mumbai. He is an active part of the LGBT+ movement in Mumbai, and he was awarded a PhD in Sociology from Mumbai University on the topic “Gay Movement with reference to Mumbai’. Currently, he is working towards a doctorate in Education ~ with a focus on Gender Inclusivity in Education. He identifies as queer and is an activist, especially in academic spaces.

Dr Ivan John had an extremely interactive session with students who are a part of the Gender and Sexuality Cell, his insights were extremely enriching and informative and it provided a clear picture of what the concept of Gender Inclusivity, sexuality and diversity means. The session was moderated by Ahana Mukherjee 2MSoc.

After the introduction, Dr Ivan chose to begin with a question & answer session, which was followed by a clear discussion of what exactly the concepts of inclusivity, sexuality and diversity entail. The session began with an introduction to the concepts of gender and sex which was clearly elaborated by him, followed by getting a deeper understanding of the spectrum of LGBT+ people. He spoke about binaries, and how the myth of gender binaries needs to be resolved as people need to learn how to embrace diversity and fluidity. He explained the concept of "coming out". He addressed these concepts in a compassionate and inclusive manner so that everyone could understand these complex concepts. The workshop included an interactive session. Students asked several questions based on gender inclusivity which gave better clarity and understanding of these concepts. Hence, this session was extremely helpful and informative in nature and was appreciated by everyone who participated.