Gender & Sexuality Center

LOCATION: Amsler Campus Center, Room 324 
HOURS: Daily, 7:00 AM – 12:00 AM

MCLA has a rich history of uplifting and empowering it’s queer and women students through safe spaces like the Identity & Gender Equity Resource Center and the Women’s Center. This year, we are proud to bring our efforts into the future, with a new, combined Gender and Sexuality Center! We know that the fights for sexual, romantic, and gender equity are deeply intertwined and rooted in intersectionality. And therefore, our spaces and student groups should be as well!

Located on the 3rd floor of the Amsler Campus Center, the new and spacious Gender and Sexuality Center provides a variety of resources and programs to foster both academic and personal growth for students across the sexual, romantic, and gender identity spectrum. It serves as a safe space for queer and women students to cultivate community, learn, and grow together. We also aim to increase awareness and proficiency around the identities and issues facing women and queer communities both on campus and in our surrounding communities. We know that our work is never finished and that as our communities continue to grow and evolve, so will our fight, our knowledge, and our goals. We are committed to continually learning, growing, and creating a safe and welcoming space that uplifts community members to embrace, show up as, and thrive as their most authentic selves. 

STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

The Gender and Sexuality Center is home to a growing array of student-led organizations, including:

  • Queer Student Union

Resources

The Gender & Sexuality Center has a variety of resources to help students grow and thrive, both personally and academically, including:

  • GSC Library: Including a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts on LGBTQIA+ and feminist topics, students have an array of resources at their fingertips for academic or personal use.
  • Informational Resources: The GSC is dedicated to providing current and relevant information on a variety of topics and resources including physical and mental health, suicide prevention, sexual assault awareness and prevention, crisis hotlines, identity affirmation community resources, and more.
  • Affirmation Closet: this grassroots, student-created resource is an amazing space for students to both share and receive identity affirming clothing and accessories. MCLA students can donate unloved clothing that is clean and in good condition to be re-homed amongst the student population. This is an especially vital resource for queer, trans, and nonbinary students to find free and affirming clothing as they explore their identities.
  • Out@MCLA: a voluntary community of MCLA staff, faculty, and administrators who self-identify as members of the LGBTQIA+ community - because visibility matters when it comes to feeling seen and finding your support network. Through this list, we hope that students who identify as members of the community will be able to find mentors who are also members of the community.

Staff

The Gender and Sexuality Center is run by both professional and student staff who serve as an invaluable resource to the campus community.

Photo of Ara Phoenixx, a nonbinary human with blue hair, glasses, and a variety of jewelry. Ara wears a dark jumpsuit, is sitting at a desk, and is smiling.
Ara Phoenixx (they/she)
Program Coordinator for Gender & Sexuality

Office: Amsler Campus Center, Room 320

Email: ara.phoenixx@mcla.edu

Ara serves as the professional staff leader for the Gender & Sexuality Center, serving as a mentor for all LGBTQIA+ and women students, as an advisor for student-led affinity groups, and as a program coordinator for the GSC. They work closely in collaboration with the rest of the Institution for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging staff and student organizations, including the Multicultural Education Resource Center (MERC) to ensure that students feel seen, safe, and sovereign in all of their intersectional identities.