Four Women and Gender Studies students take their class activism project to social media

Four NDSU students tasked with an activism project have taken to social media to share concerns and provide knowledge on an array of issues. Calling their project, Man Made Misconceptions, Lauren Jimenez, Kayla Jones, Delaney Halloran and Abby Neisen are bringing the issues directly to students through Instagram, Youtube and Tik Tok.

The topics covered by this group include toxic masculinity, gender expression, critical race theory and sexuality/sexual behavior. The goal of the group is to create activism through education.

“We wanted to find a way to bring all of our passions together and teach about those things,” Halloran said. “Our goal was to focus on the things we care about and that we see being tarnished by incorrect conceptions, which is why we called it Man Made Misconceptions.”

The group will be making four separate YouTube videos along with posts on the other social media’s to share their individual focus. 

Jones’s focus is on critical race theory. 

“I am focusing on critical race theory and the misconceptions with that,” said Jones, “People should listen with an open mind.”

“We wanted to find a way to bring all of our passions together and teach about those things,” Halloran said. “Our goal was to focus on the things we care about and that we see being tarnished by incorrect conceptions, which is why we called it Man Made Misconceptions.”

Neisen’s work focuses around gender expression. 

“After being able to embrace who I am as a person over the last year, I have realized the importance of wearing clothes and expressing yourself how you want to be is a big aspect in confidence and feeling comfortable as a person,” Neisen said. 

Jimenez’s part of the project surrounds toxic masculinity. 

“I choose this [toxic masculinity] because, especially in the culture we live in as college students, toxic masculinity is a huge issue,” Jimenez said. 

Holloran’s part of the project revolves around sexuality and sexual behaviors. 

“I wanted to talk about ideas of promiscuity within the LGBTQ+ community and I did not feel like I could talk about the LGBTQ+ community without going into the misconceptions there or talking about promiscuity without talking about the shame of sex in general,” said Holloran. “I just want to get people comfortable talking about gay sex.”

The group is excited to see the response from the public going forward and provide education on their topics. To find the groups videos and check out their other social media their socials are linked on their Instagram @manmademisconceptions.