assignment #4

Throughout the Women’s Studies course, I have learned more about myself as a person. I’ve learned to be more open minded about different topics, particularly feminism and art activism throughout this course. I believe the main focus of the course was to introduce women’s culture as well as teach others to unlearn what they may believe to be the truth. The purpose of the course was also for academic reasons. This course is one of the requirements for the Humanities field here at Maryland. The course was constructed this way to show students the truth behind what many people in society believe about feminism, art, and activism. The reading and writing assignments, notes from class, free writes, and journal entries allowed us as students to explore the world of women’s culture. To do so, we were instructed to complete four assignments, we engaged in discussions in class, we viewed videos and pictures, and we had many free writes to express our ideas and shared them with the class.

The first was to visit four museums in the D.C. area in order to discover and unlearn the assumptions about feminism, women, and art. We were instructed to note our assumptions and what we expected to see. We were also asked to record our findings, particularly those that shocked us. Before visiting the museums, I had many assumptions about each of them. I didn’t know that art could express so many things. I thought feminists were angry women trying to obtain equal rights. I quickly learned that what I think I may be true may actually be a stereotype or myth. All of my assumptions were wrong. Much of the art showed how women have contributed to society and played important roles throughout history. I then tried to determine if the museum itself was actually feminist. I really couldn’t determine this at the time because it wasn’t until assignment two that I learned the true definition of a feminist. In the lecture, we engaged in free writes and open discussions about what we thought would be in the museums. In the discussion sections, we also discussed the experience and how we had grown as a result of the experience.

The second assignment was to actually evaluate what feminism really was. As a group, my discussion members and I were instructed to create a feminist event and a flyer which explained the event as well as give a detailed definition of feminism. As a group, we created a feminist forum in which we gave the true meaning, goals, and description of a feminist. The purpose of the forum was to eliminate the stereotypes of feminists. We portrayed many of those stereotypes in a slide show as we presented to the class. We defined feminism as “the movement whose goal is to make the social, political and economic rights for women equal to those of men; eliminating gender barriers, and overall pro-woman but not anti-male. They are not saying that men as individuals are the problem; the problem is the unquestioned power they receive because of their sex. Women’s worth in the world has to lead to a system that creates inequalities based on perceived gender differences.” After completing this assignment, I learned what feminism really was. As stated before, there are many stereotypes of feminists and some of those stereotypes I had also believed. Some examples of stereotypes of feminists are angry, boring, loud, annoying, butch, lonely, and lesbian. I came to realize that feminists were normal women who just wanted to have equal rights as men. They aren’t man haters or angry women at all. To confirm my findings, I viewed pictures and videos in the lecture as well as engaged in an in depth discussion about feminism in the discussion section.

The third assignment introduced us to the matrices of domination. These are factors that we may or may not control. These factors allow us to be powerful or powerless in a certain situation. We were instructed to analyze ourselves in everyday life and how we fit into society. With a partner, we analyzed ourselves and showed how we were considered marked and unmarked in a certain environment, situation, or society as a whole based on our race, gender, religion, geographical location, etc. I learned that there are many factors in my life which caused me to feel powerless in a certain situation. I explained how I felt powerless as a black person in Montgomery County being that I am from D.C and not used to being around so many white people at once. My partner showed how she was powerless in Brooklyn, New York with her boyfriend being that she was white in a predominately black neighborhood. This assignment showed me that there are factors that we cannot control but have to deal with in everyday life. For some our personal characteristics may hinder us. For others, we are one step higher in society. I learned that we cannot dwell on why we are different but learn to accept it, and then get over the differences. The final assignment is to synthesize the entire class experience. As I put the story together, I realize how much I have changed as far as my views.

experiencing these assignments, I learned how I fit into the story. I learned that I changed as a person. I was more open-minded. I came to realize that I should research something before actually making assumptions and believing stereotypes. I learned the true meaning of feminism and who feminists really were. I agreed with many of the beliefs of feminists but I had never thought about actually considering myself a feminist at this point. I also realized how I fit into society and how I could be labeled marked or unmarked, depending on the situation and my location.

As far as the readings, I felt they were effective in the course. The book Feminism is for Everybody, by Bell Hooks was very helpful when completing the second assignment. Hooks gave us a good but broad definition of feminism and who feminists really were. From her book, my group and I were able to effectively create a more detailed definition of feminism. Personally, I enjoyed reading the book because it taught me the true meaning of feminism. I was able to “unlearn” all of the stereotypes that I had previously had about feminists and I gained new knowledge about who feminists were and why they fought so hard to have equal rights. Hooks showed that feminism isn’t only for women. Anyone who believed in women’s rights could be a feminist.

The next book that was most important to me was Megan Seely’s How to Fight Like a Girl, How to be a Fearless Feminist. This book was very insightful to me on a personal level. One key point that stood out to me was that this book gave the tips and steps to fighting like a girl, or a feminist. The book informed women not to be afraid and fight for what they believed was right for them as a whole. This gave tips about working with the media and how to actually “take action” against the inequality between men and women. The book also showed me the contributions by many women that we fail to realize today. I felt that I could really make a difference if I used the book as a guide because it was so detailed. This book also helped me complete the second assignment because I knew what it took to actually be a fearless feminist and take action against those that don’t believe in women’s rights.

The final book I gained insight from was Kindred, by Octavia Butler. This book showed the power that many people have as a result of who they are. This book gave me a lot of insight as well as helped me complete my own conceptual map of how I am structured in society.

So, after analyzing the course and telling my story, I believe the purpose of the course was to shape the students as individuals and teach us the truth behind women, feminism, and art. It was also used as a way for the students to determine if they were feminists or not. I learned that I agree with most of the arguments of feminists, however, I do not consider myself a feminist. I have also changed many of my views and opinions about feminism. When I began this course, I didn’t see how art could speak to me. I didn’t know that art could be so powerful. I really didn’t take the time to notice and appreciate what was around me. For example, if it wasn’t for the experience in assignment one, I doubt I would have ever visited any of those museums. If I hadn’t done assignment two, I wouldn’t have known what feminism really was. In assignment three, I learned how I fit into society and learned to accept it. And finally, assignment four, I learned how all of my experiences and findings connect to each other. The course as a whole was very insightful and I enjoyed every minute of it.