Take home messages

This class has made me much more aware of the fact that gender is socially constructed, and that gender is also something that is not predetermined; rather, one becomes a woman or a man.  This class has opened my eyes to the underlying meanings of several of the things in my life that I encounter on a day-to-day basis.  For example, advertisements are something that everyone encounters in their everyday life, especially with the influx of media and technology in today's society.  This class as a whole in addition to my media project allowed me to realize the power that media has over society, and how people's ideologies are truly constructed based on what different mediums integrate into our lives.  After taking this class and being exposed to the several different topics we've discussed, I've come to view advertisements in a much more critical light, and I've also noticed myself not immediately assigning gender to someone by solely looking at them because this class has certainly taught me that not everything is as clear as what meets the eye.  As cliche as it is, you can't judge a book by its cover, and this class definitely reinforces that ideal.  After reading Simone de Beauvoir, I started to reflect on my own relationships with the women in my life and ask myself if we build each other up and strongly support one another, or if we aren't too supportive for one another.  Some relationships, like with my mom, are very strong and I know that she always tries to encourage me in my pursuits.  However, sometimes with friends I can sense that they aren't as happy for me as I am for myself in a given situation.  I think a good example of this is in relation to college acceptance letters.  When I was accepted to USC, I was ecstatic, but when I told my best friend, I could tell in her voice that she wasn't as happy for me as I was for myself.  These the main lessons I have learned from this class and the ones that I will take away from this class.