Assignment #4

Our course Women’s Studies 250: Women, Art, and Culture incorporates many different
aspects of art and feminism, from art in museums to art activism, and to the structures of
power. Now that the course is over, I see what the “story” of it is, and how I fit into the story.
Also, the readings we have been assigned during the semester have had an impact on me and
are related to the course and to different parts of my life.

The purpose of WMST250: Women, Art, and Culture is to bring a clear understanding of the relationship between feminism and art and to learn how to write analytically and collaboratively. The course was constructed in a particular way to get a better understanding of this relationship as the semester went along. Our very first assignment set the mood for the rest of the semester, where we visited different museums in Washington, D.C. We went to different institutions to see if we could figure out the relationship between the art work and feminism and see what surprised us along the way. I feel that this assignment was constructed to get us out into Washington, D.C. and to go to museums that we normally would not have gone to otherwise. It made us think outside of the box and realize what assumptions we previously had and to address them accordingly. After that assignment, we started to read Seely’s Fight Like a Girl which first introduced us to the idea of feminism and the stereotypes that go along with it. I feel that this reading was assigned after our first project so that we could see what we had previously felt and thought about feminism. I know that I had many wrong assumptions about feminism and art, and I think that this was a great strategy to get us thinking about them.

As we moved on from the aspect of feminism and art and into art activism, we had a group project of making a brochure about a specific feminism “event” for the public. In this project we had to come up with our own definition of feminism, which was very broad and incorporated a lot of different elements. Art activism is also included in Women’s Studies because it deals with the issue of power, which we have learned a lot about this semester. This was the introduction into our next section of our course which was about power based on one’s race, gender, sexuality, religion, geographic location, and many more. This section was such a large portion of the course, so it only makes sense that it was put in this order. We became more familiarized with marked and unmarked categories after reading Kindred and when doing assignment #3 with our partner. The entire course was meant to relate to our lives and to better inform us, and that was the point of the third assignment. We had to think about how power, marked, and unmarked categories are present in our everyday life, and also how to work collaboratively with a partner. Along the way we did free-writes in class which helped us think about and analyze our work about what we liked, did not like, needed to be improved, and so on. I think that little things like free-writes has helped up think more in depth about our assignments, which has ultimately led us up to this assignment. I think Professor King constructed the course to flow from one section into the other. We started out with the whole point of the course, feminism and art, when we went to the museums. Then we focused on another form of art, which is art activism and advertising. Art activism and advertisements deal with power, which is what led us into the final section of power and marked and unmarked categories.

The course is essentially a “story” in which I fit in. Since I am a female, this course pertains to my gender and relates to a lot of my life. I never considered myself a feminist because I was not exactly clear as to what they were. After the first section of the course I realized that I am in fact a feminist. I have learned that feminism is not about women having all of the power, but having equality among both sexes. Our first assignment required us to go to museums, which I would not have gone to otherwise. I had so many assumptions, and I learned a lot from visiting the museums and how to tell if an entire museum is feminist or not. The brochure and “event” was also a form of feminism, which I did not realize at first. I did not think that advertisements or events could be relevant in a Women’s Studies class. I also did not see how unmarked and marked categories fit in with the course, but now I see that it is because of the issue of power. Not until now did I realize that all of our assignments is basically related to having power. I understand that when it comes to power, I am at an interesting standpoint. I am white, but yet I am a female. Which in terms of the structure of power, I have power but yet I also subordinate.

I think that because I was in such a diverse discussion section, that everyone had a major part in the “story” that is our class. I think my contributions to the class was mainly in the later part of the course, when talking about the marked and unmarked categories of race and gender. I was only one of two people who belonged to both categories, and I think it was good for others to see someone who was considered to have power because of their race and yet subordinate because of their gender. I think that everyone had a large contribution to the discussion section because we consisted of four different races, and five including our TA so we all learned about each other. It was also helped for me to learn and understand different viewpoints other than my own from my follow classmates in my discussion section.

One of the readings that truly opened my eyes was Seely’s Fight Like a Girl. I previously had negative views about feminists and this book is what made me realize that I am a feminist as well. Fight Like a Girl gave me a better understanding of what feminism is, and that they are not radicals, lesbians, and anti-male females. It is stereotypes like those that give feminists such a bad reputation. I remember in the introduction there was the word “FEMINIST” and underneath was a list of stereotypes, all of which I used to believe. Now I think of words such as equality and independence to describe feminists. One part of the book that hit me hard was the section that said “Women have the feminist movement to thank if…” because I never realized that all of those things were accomplished by feminist movements. I felt bad for thinking so negatively of them considering I have a lot more freedom and choices today because of them. It has such a big connection to my life because I am a female and I am faced with a lot of setbacks, yet after reading Fight Like a Girl, I know how to do exactly that, which is to engage in activism.

Another book from the course that had an impact on me was Kindred. This book ties in well with the last part of the course and the issue of power. I usually just thought of power as a male and female thing, but race is also a big factor in the amount of power you have. This was shown in Kindred, because as a young boy Rufus essentially had more power based off of his gender and race, but still accepted Alice and Nigel as his friends. But after receiving his inheritance and becoming a slave owner and realizing all of the power he now has, he believed that it was okay for him to have control and punish others. Rufus and his father, Weylin, do not realize that they have power in such an unjust society, and they believe they deserve every bit of control they receive. I found this book to be very depressing, especially because it is a glimpse back into the history of this country. The story of Dana and Kevin can relate back to my life in a sense considering I am in an interracial relationship as well. Dana and Kevin see things differently because they are different races, and that sometimes applies to my boyfriend and I as well. This book helped introduce me to the idea of marked and unmarked categories. I had never really thought about the idea of marked and unmarked categories before, but it is true and they do exist.

We also did a few readings during our discussion section. One article that we did discuss was “In Virginia, a Small Town’s Racial Lessons.” This article meant a lot to me because it is so close to home, and racial equality in this country is something I really want. This article relates back to the third section of our course, with the issue of race and power. This article discusses how racial tension is still clearly present in the small town of Farmville, Virginia, and monthly meetings have been made to try to resolve the tension. These issues date back to 1959 when a public school was shut down to avoid integration. The whites went to nice academies and the blacks had to fend for themselves. This relates back to the issue of marked and unmarked categories which I have learned about this semester. I have learned from this reading that although I live in a fantasy world where all races get along, that it is not like that in the reality.

Overall, this course was really helpful to me and I have learned a lot more than I expected to. I did not think that this class would change my views, but it truly has. I did not always see the connection to the course while doing the assignments, especially the second and third assignment. However, since doing this fourth assignment, I now see the relation between all of them. I have learned that this course was specifically designed into three sections, which led one to the other. All in all, I enjoyed this class and got a lot out of it.