Anita Selzer Warns Cuts to Women’s and Gender Studies Programs Signal a Step Backward for Education and Equality
Anita Selzer
The award-winning author says resistance to cuts in women’s and gender studies is essential to keeping women’s contributions visible
LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, April 8, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Anita Selzer, award-winning author and graduate in women's studies, says the depletion of women’s and gender studies programs across the U.S. is not only a loss to the recognition of women’s contributions to history and their ongoing role in shaping the world, but also a step backward for interdisciplinary curricula designed to teach students about the significant role gender plays in influencing people and every aspect of their lives.
“We do not want to see a return to the days when the curriculum was totally androcentric with women absent and without voice,” says Selzer.
More schools are now moving forward with the closure of women’s and gender studies programs. The latest university to end this longstanding curriculum is Texas A&M. This has left many scholars “saddened, frightened, and enraged about the current state of the field,” according to the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA), which has urged students and the public to resist and not despair.
Selzer says she agrees with the NWSA and believes the research in gender studies is real and valuable, shedding light on topics that would otherwise be ignored or overlooked.
"Women’s and gender studies courses are important because they filter into other academics. The lenses provided by this program offer a woman’s perspective that has been denied and rendered absent in discourse,” she explains.
Apart from earning a Graduate Diploma in Women’s Studies, Selzer’s PhD examined Australian history curricula over sixty years in Melbourne, Australia, and discovered how women had been rendered invisible, largely absent from historical discourse until the inroads of women's and feminist history impacted the curriculum to some degree, sharing the ideas central to women’s studies.
“Women’s and gender studies are more necessary now than ever to understand what’s going on,” says Carrie Baker, chair of the women, gender, and sexuality program at Smith College.
Selzer shares that women’s studies showed her a different way of seeing and to always ask the question "what about the women... Where are they in the discourse?"
"I think about the iconic feminist art historians, Linda Nochlin and Griselda Pollock, and their massive contributions to art history through their female gaze and feminist lens. I learned to see through their lens, which is the same one that we use in women's studies. At the centre are women, and the questions we ask are about women. They need to be present and visible as half the human race.
About the Author
Anita Selzer, author of The Female Gaze in Art and Photography series and I Am Sasha, along with her essays and film collaborations, writes to uncover overlooked histories of women, bringing a clear socio-historical lens to her work. With advanced degrees in History, Education, and Women’s Studies, she developed a strong focus on addressing these gaps.
She began her career teaching English, Business English, and Politics before serving as an Executive Officer in Women’s Affairs with the Victorian Premier’s Department. Her writing draws on both academic insight and real-world experience to highlight women’s contributions and reshape their place in history.
To learn more about Selzer and her impactful work, click here: https://anitaselzerauthor.com.au/
Anita Selzer is available for interviews.
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