What Women’s and Gender Studies Taught Me

Throughout the course of this class, we have researched, studied, and deep-dived into all things related to women, gender, and the impactful pressure that society places on these ideas. The course breaks down and debunks previously accepted ideas about gender and reveals the oppression facing women that is intertwined within our society. We also were introduced to many philosophers and feminist activists who have aided in the acceleration of women’s movements. Each of these aspects of the course had its own interesting and fascinating aspect to them that made them stand out. This essay will give a summary of the information studied within the course and highlight some of the most memorable aspects of the class.

Within module 1, one of the subjects we focused on was Evolution and the question of what it means to be human. We read excerpts from Charles Darwin, a scientist from the 1700s; his position was that animals and plants adapted to fit their environment over long periods of time. He also discussed the idea of natural selection, which is the process of nature preserving “all that is good” and removing everything “which is bad.” His other ideas relate to Sexual Selection and the idea that males “inherently” desire the possession of females and have natural competition amongst other males. Darwin’s revolutionary ideas are still respected and prevalent today.

Within that lecture we also discussed the close relationship between humans and Bonobo apes. We learn that we share 98% of our DNA with these animals. An article by Jessica Seigel takes us into the story of the Bonobos Sisterhood. We witness the intelligence that the Bonobos share and get to see the social dynamics of these creatures. One of the most interesting behavior patterns they discussed was these gangs of female bonobos that emotionally impacted the male bonobos and even affected their decisions. They were even recorded to be able to stop male bonobos from attacking opposing male’s babies. This sort of relationship recorded amongst animals is surprising and makes the idea of evolution nearly irrefutable.

Module 2 contained some of my favorite lectures as the pertained to storytelling. This lecture showed us that the stories we tell, hear, and pass down create the societal and cultural expectations that we have. This section also broke down family favorite films such as Cinderella and Snow White and exposed the blatant misogyny and problematic trends within them. For instance, in a chapter titled, What’s Wrong With Cinderella by Peggy Orenstein, she goes into detail about personal experiences with self-esteem issues and the negative mindset that these films can put the young, moldable minds that watch them into. This section really made me question a lot of things that I never would have thought to question because these are such common and appreciated things in our society. It is definitely eye opening when you start to notice the stereotypes and gender roles that exist in every aspect of the world.

Within this module, we also got into the complexities of transgender individuals. We learn about what it means to be Transgender, which is someone who has a gender identity that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. We also learn about the gender non-conforming and non-binary spectrum of the Trans umbrella, which consists of individuals who do not choose to identify as of the gender binaries. We are also introduced to the deep rooted trans issues that are very prevalent within our society. One of the most interesting articles we were given was Transgender: “as stars in the sky.” This article is definitely dated and has such a fearful tone regarding the idea of transgender citizens existing within society. It has a mood of almost a warning sign. This sense of fear regarded transgender people has not gone away and it is an issue that the community faces every day. The scariest aspect of trans issues is the fact that congress people who have no medical liscenses or understanding of the complexities and psychological aspects to being a trans person, are the ones creating laws and regulations limiting their freedom.

The final Module I will be discussing is the information we went over in module 5. In this module we watched a film titled Persepolis which took viewers on the coming of age journey that Marjane embarked on as a young woman living in Iran during its war with Iraq. This film has a lot of religious symbolism and we as viewers get to see the struggle of Marjane trying to come to terms with her spiritual beliefs while still having a desire for personal autonomy and freedom as an oppressed woman. Marjane faces the issues of conforming to societal expectations and religious norms that control her life. This film also shows the diverse range of religious practices and the individuality that should be celebrated within religious groups.

Another film that we explored in this module was The Burning Times. This documentary revealed the historical persecution and hunting of women accused of being witches during the late Middle Ages and Early Modern periods. The film highlights the religious and social influence that targeted these women the inherently misogynistic traits of these actions. The film reveals how the witch hunts were completely aligned with the suppression of women’s autonomy and ability. The documentary provided a wide range of historians and wicca members to speak on the events that took place.

Overall, this class used so many different vessels to all cohesively research and study women and gender as a whole within our society. There are so many different aspects to gender that unless studied go unnoticed and their impact also goes unnoticed. This is something that a class like this helps to prevent by giving all students who take it the ability to get interested and begin to become an activist for women's issues. This class has definitely sparked me to pay more attention and to actively work against the stereotypes and norms that go along with gender and women.