Hi everyone! My name is Gia and I’m a rising junior triple-majoring in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, Philosophy, and German (really, it’s not as terrible as it sounds!). This summer, I’ll be participating in the Berlin IIP! While in Berlin, I will be working with L-Support, an advocacy organization focusing on violence against queer women. As a queer woman myself, I find urban safety for queer folk especially important. I’m going to be assisting L-Support’s team in planning their Pride events for the city, translating advertisements and reports of queer violence in the city, and also writing these reports myself! I’m really looking forward to making a genuine impact on the queer community and attending international Pride events!
Regarding my academic interests, I’m on a pre-law track and hope to specialize in international law with a general focus on women’s rights and safety. I find that all three of my majors overlap, with German being the glue that holds everything together. Most of our modern understandings of sexuality and gender originate in Germany, specifically in Berlin during the Weimar Republic. I’ve done multiple reports on Magnus Hirschfeld and his Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute for Sexual Science). Hirschfeld ran the first clinic for trans* folk and, although now outdated, coined the term “der Transvestit.” The importance of this term cannot be stressed enough. It opened a gateway to the hundreds of terms we now use in categorizing gender and sexual identities. While in Berlin, I hope to learn more about German sexologists and their contributions in scientifically and biologically validating the queer community. In my philosophy classes, several of the works I read are written by German philosophers, or philosophers who are at least inspired by different forms of German thought. I’ve read works from Immanuel Kant, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and Karl Marx. I especially love reading works from female philosophers, who have been historically grossly underrepresented. German women largely contributed to the German Enlightenment, although we don’t hear much about it. For example, Hannah Arendt was incredibly influential in German understandings of the individual’s role in totalitarian systems. I hope to share my knowledge of German philosophy and sex theory with others!
While in Berlin, I’m hoping to improve my German literacy, as I’m sure many of you are as well! This is my third time in Germany, as I’ve been to both Bremen and Munich. Bremen and Munich are both traditional German cities, so I’m really looking forward to being pushed outside my comfort zone of traditional German comprehension. I’m hoping that living in a racially and sexually diverse city will expose me to different interpretations of feminism, sex theory, and philosophy. All three of these interests exist on large spectrums, and it’s very easy to stay contained in the colonialist/white/cishet understandings we’re typically taught. However, I realized very quickly on my journey as an intersectional feminist that unlearning these teachings is a lifelong process. It’s experiences like cultural immersion that can help us grow and remember our thoughts are not universal. I’ve also never worked as an intern before, so I’m looking forward to gaining workplace professionalism. I am a bit nervous, as L-Support’s team is quite small. However, this is a perfect opportunity for me to practice establishing relationships/networking in tight-knit communities. While I don’t plan on organizing Pride events for the rest of my life, I’m hoping that interning with L-Support will provide me with international work experience skills I can apply in my future and more of a global comprehension of queer violence.
On campus, I spend most of my time rehearsing with the Pitt Band. I’ve been playing the trumpet since elementary school and found a lot of joy in working towards a goal that’s bigger than the individual. I’m also a part of Pitt’s Symphonic Band during the spring semester, which I love. After football season, I invest more of my time in the Women in Law Club and, at least this semester, worked as a German Student Ambassador. Things I love: thrifting, listening to music (Mitski and Beach House are my favs!), reading feminist literature (i.e. Sylvia Plath), journaling, and expanding my ever-growing crystal collection. Things I hate: brutalist architecture, wind, mushrooms, misogyny, and movies over two hours. I’m an Aries Sun, Virgo Moon, Libra Rising with both a Gemini Mars and Venus… Let me know if you’re interested in finding a thrift store and exchanging birth charts while in Berlin! Bis später und sichere Reisen!