The new Center for Feminist Futures at UC Santa Barbara, under the leadership of inaugural director Dr. Jigna Desai, is demonstrating the urgent relevance of feminist research to local, national, and global issues. Appointed in August 2023, Dr. Desai's mandate is to build the center from the ground up, with a mission to use feminist scholarship to address pressing societal challenges.
"My interpretation of that is: how does a feminist vision guide us to a better future for all?" Desai said. While many centers focus on gender, the term "feminist" in the center's title is unique and deliberate. “The goal is to show that "feminism is not only a social movement from the seventies, but it is a way of approaching knowledge production, research, and building a better world for all now and for the future."
The center's interdisciplinary approach is designed to recognize that gender intersects with a broad range of issues and impacts everyone. This includes an examination of masculinity, a topic Dr. Desai believes is critical to address.
“We are witnessing a dangerous and undeniable resurgence of misogyny, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and transphobia. There’s a resurgence of anxiety around masculinity, whether it's about an epidemic of loneliness or being drawn to the manosphere," she noted, adding that the center's work focuses on the majority of men and boys who are not necessarily participating in this toxic culture but are still "facing a lot of anxiety in this world."
In a public event at the La Lieff Winery earlier this year, Desai moderated a discussion on contemporary masculinity with a panel of experts including Charlie Hale (Dean of Social Sciences), Sameer Pandya (a professor of Asian American studies and author of the recent novel Our Beautiful Boys), Professor Tristan Bridges (a professor in Sociology and expert in masculinity studies), and UCSB alumnus ‘92 and Trustee Otieno Okatch, President and CEO of Per Ankh Life Skills. Titled “What’s Up with Men?” the event probed how recent trends in politics and society are impacting young people who are navigating their often-complex gender identities.
The center is currently supporting research clusters on a range of topics, including reproductive justice, health disparities, and the economy. The Center’s next Public Feminism event is on Menopausal Feminism on Oct. 30th It also supports student research, with the goal of bringing together scholars to tackle broader issues together.
Desai noted that public perception of the word "feminism" has made fundraising a challenge. "I think the word 'feminism' can be off-putting to some ," she added. Despite these hurdles, Dr. Desai remains committed to "reclaiming the term" and demonstrating how feminist work is essential for everyone. “A feminist center is not a luxury – it is a necessity. It is a bold declaration that we will continue to rise against patriarchal, fascist, and misogynist forces; that we believe in the power of young people of all genders to lead us toward a more just world; and that the future is feminist.”
About the Center for Feminist Futures
The Center for Feminist Futures is a new initiative at UC Santa Barbara dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary, public-facing feminist research. It serves as a hub for collaborative scholarship and community engagement, demonstrating the power of feminist thought to create positive, real-world change.