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There is a huge difference between addressing the needs for those who reject the binaries of male/female and raising awareness for it. At first, when I saw this question, I was ready to answer, “Yes, educational institutes do address this.” However, I mixed up the idea of teaching about non-binary individuals and actually doing something for these people. At many universities, there are countless classes which explain that there are not just two genders, and that not everyone conforms to the masculine and feminine identity. They may discuss the struggles these people face every day, and how there are specific pronouns that we can use if the individual identifies with them. Despite this, why are there mostly just two types of bathrooms available on campus – male and female? There are some places with single unit, unisex bathrooms, but that is not the norm. Also, there are very few universities which provide housing for non-binary people. Are there options on applications which ask if a person is comfortable housing with a specific gender? Do the majority of school applications and questionnaires provide a pronoun option that is not limited to he/she/him/her? The reason why these things happen is because although there is a budding awareness across the nation, it is not considered the norm, and thus is not as prevalent as it should be. Society has been divided between girls vs. boys, whereas those options are limited and close-minded.

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Within the feminist world, it is important that the women and discriminated people who have been erased under the hegemonic male’s gaze break out of the mold set by society. However, the work should not be piled on only women. Men are just as key to women’s equality. Take the wage gap which still exists between men and women. The inequality between these two genders makes it even more difficult for women to be equal to men. In President Obama’s 2014 State of the Union speech, he addressed this issue. However, one man is not enough to support women and their cause for having equality among all. Men have to be willing to accept the idea of a woman standing in the same spot as themselves. If the Supreme Court Justices were all women, many men would be bewildered at the notion. However, for decades, the supreme court was only made up of men, and no one was perplexed by that. It should not be one extreme or the other, but equal. Men have an important role of being supportive, understanding, and willing to see from another perspective in Women’s Equality.

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