Common meaning:

Subject that focuses on the experiences and roles of women in society.

Hidden meaning of the Equity religion: 

Subject that, according to current Equity beliefs, must become Gender Studies.

Discussion:

The Equityists think that Women’s Studies was a good starting place, but that today we need to transition to Gender Studies. 

According to Equity doctrine of the past, Women’s Studies were needed to investigate the various ways that women have been oppressed by men through patriarchy. Today, the group, woman, is considered oppressive to trans people and many of these programs have transitioned to Gender Studies. This means, from the Equity believers perspective, Women’s Studies is a subject that has outlived its usefulness.

From a Western liberal perspective, creating a program to cover women’s issues is not a bad idea, but the way the Equityists have made it all about grievance is a problem. If we are going to be fair we should also have Men’s Studies, but that has not been done, except to talk about how terrible men are.