The Soka Gakkai International-USA is organized into different groups that is done by age, gender and orientation. There are the women’s division, the young women’ s division, the men’s division, the young men’s division, the future division, and the student division. There are also the Many Treasures Group and the Courageous Freedom Group. This creates an opportunity for smaller meetings with similar people. The student division is for college students aged 18 to 25. The women’s division is for women and non-binary individuals aged 32 and up. The young women’s division is for young women and non-binary individuals between the ages of 12 and 31. The men’s division is for men and non-binary individuals 32 and up. The young men’s division is for young men and non-binary individuals between the ages of 12 and 31. The future division is for young people between the ages of 5 and 18. The Many Treasures Group is for SGI-USA members 65 and up. The Courageous Heart Group is for SGI-USA members who identify as LGBTQIA+ and their allies. LGBTQ stands for Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, Transgender and Queer or Questioning. I wondered what the I and A stood for. I found out recently that I is for Intersex and A is for Asexual. I had struggled with my sexual orientation for a few years. I am feeling more comfortable in my skin these days. I do identify as pansexual which means that I am attracted to people of every gender and orientation. But I am not the biggest fan of labeling myself. The term that resonates the most with me is queer. Which is really an umbrella term for LGBTQIA+.
When I first joined the SGI-USA I was 31 years old. At that time the young women’s division was for women between the ages of 12 and 35. I remember that when I first joined, I thought it was kind of odd that the youth division included individuals in their 30s. I really did enjoy my time as a young women’s division member. Our time in the youth division is limited. It’s best to make the most of your time as a youth practicing with the SGI-USA. When I was in the youth division, the cut off for the young women’s division wasn’t that strict. I remember when I went to the Florida Nature and Culture Center and met a young women’s division leader who was 39. I even heard of a member from Buffalo, NY, who didn’t graduate to the women’s division until she was 41!
Honestly, I think the age for youth division should be raised to 40. Although, this is coming from the perspective of an individual who is 56. I do think that anyone under 40 is young. When I graduated from the women women’s division, I was 36. No one had pressured me to graduate. I decided to graduate to the women’s division on my own. Part of the reason I did choose to graduate was to open up an opportunity for another young woman to be a district leader. When I graduated there would need to be someone to replace me. I remember one of my friends was supposed to graduate with me. She had said that we would graduate together. Then graduation day came, and she didn’t graduate. I graduated by myself. I was hurt that she didn’t graduate with me and that she never told me that she had changed her mind.
No one had told me that the transition from young women’s division to women’s division could be challenging. When I was in the youth division, I was very active in many different activities and formed friendships with many other young people. I also received a lot of training through my work in the Behind-the-Scenes Group. I was a Byakuren Coordinator for Buffalo. When I joined the Women’s Division, I left all that behind. After I was in the women’s division if a young woman had asked me whether she should graduate, I would encouraged her to stay in the youth division as long as possible. Although, things changed. Initially, the graduation age was 35 and people graduated from the youth division on New Year’s Day who were 35 by January 1st. If someone turned 35 after January, they graduated the following year. Then the graduation age shifted downward. First it changed to 34, and then the next year 33 and then finally 32. The positive thing is that the men’s and women’s division received an influx of new younger members in their division who can take on a leadership role.