Illinois State University faculty, staff, students, and members of the Bloomington-Normal community are invited to attend a free showing of On the Basis of Sex at the Normal Theater on Wednesday, October 9. The movie begins at 7 p.m.
On the Basis of Sex is a 2018 biographical drama that portrays the true story of the life and early cases of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Photo: Focus Features
“This is an important story for everyone to hear,” said Alison Bailey, director of Illinois State’s Women’s and Gender Studies Program. “No one wants their choices, passions, or decisions to be restricted by their perceived gender identity. Until the 1970s, job listings were posted by gender. There were listings for women and listings for men. At the time, men were not allowed to be nurses or in some places even teachers, except at the university level. K–12 jobs were reserved for women.”
The free screening of On the Basis of Sex is co-sponsored by the Women’s and Gender Studies Program and the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning (CESL). Each semester CESL offers free films as an accessible way for students to increase their awareness and civic knowledge.
“It’s important for students to understand that the world they have inherited is a world that people like RBG helped to make possible,” Bailey said. “Members of marginalized groups have always had to fight to get the rights (pay equity, voting, property ownership, freedom of movement, etc.) that members of dominant groups have been given automatically.”
Bailey and Wendy Smith, associate University counsel in the Office of General Counsel, will speak following the film.
