Looking Back

I think some of the things that really stuck with me from this last semester were things like, structures of feminity and masculinity, the differences that race can have on these structures, and of course, the talk about body image.  However I've gotta say, the thing thats stuck with me the most was the final book we read, by Orenstein.  The whole princess culture and pink culture really hit home with me since interactions with said culture basically defined my entire childhood, and will probably help define the way I choose to raise my daughter some day.  How to balance my love for all things Disney, with my understanding that such an obsession has many negative connotations.  It was a real eye-opener for me.  I really appreciated this class as it helped me to see every day interactions in a new light, and while I may not have been given a solid answer on how to fix the problems i see, at least I can now recognize that theyre there.

Take away message

I thought this class was extremely enlightening and very interesting, for I had never delved into the implications of gender and masculinity/femininity in today's society.  My overall take away message from the class is to just be conscious and aware of others' situations and strive for tolerance and equality.  Although the message is broad, I think that all topics we covered in this class relate to this motto - sexuality, masculinity, femininity, domestic labor, and race relations.  As mentioned in a previous blog post, this class tends to present a problem in society, but fails to offer solutions, so one of the most important things we can do (in my opinion) is to spread awareness on the problems in hopes of instilling tolerance and acceptance in society.  This in itself will help solve many problems of racism, bias, and intolerance.

My Take Away

This course ended up being my favorite one this year. This class challenged me to think beyond the social constructions that I've been raised with. I needed to view everything objectively, and analyzing how restrictions in some areas have a profound impact on other areas of life. Such an example is how the fanily wage restricts women's ability to be economically independet. It's topics like these that we've taken a deep look at and it has helped change my outlook on opportunity and results in the this world.

My Take Away Message

Before this class, I had never taken a gender or social issues course. For the first time in my academic life, I had to closely examine the world around me and unearth the factors that create our norms and beliefs. It was great to have an opportunity to hear new ways of viewing things that I had previously accepted so readily. One of the things that most impacted me was our discussion about sexuality. I had known that female beauty was portrayed in one very specific way about the media, but I had not considered masculinity and our culture's aversion to blatant sexuality before. I found it really interesting that our perception of sexuality, in some ways, affects and is affected by patriarchy. I also liked hearing about the fear of sexuality that culture has linked to childhood.

Take home message

What I have learned from this class was not only concepts on gender roles but also different views regarding something I haven't recognized before. For example, As everyone does, I also like Disney movies. Until this class, I've never even imagined what the Disney movies really portrayed. Who can even realize the Disney movies actually display an appropriate image for a women and also delivers stereotype about the female to the world. For example, in the Disney movies, the main female characters are always very beautiful and well-shaped. As a result, girls just believe they should also have such skinny and well-shaped body which is not good for their health. One of the main message I got from this class is that even though we haven't realized so far, we have been exposure by media which encourages stereotype of women and it delivers misunderstanding  of gender roles in society.

Take Away

My take away from the class was about gender roles, as well as other identities that are prescribed to us, from most facets of life whether it be through media, peer interactions, interactions with adults and so forth. How conventional gender roles perpetuate themselves, and why deviance is stigmatized, or controlled. As a kid I never understood why it was that girls could wear pretty anything, but boys could wear pants or how come boys were supposed to do this and girls were supposed to do that, while everyone else around me just blindly accepted it. I remember being very upset when I wasn't allowed to do some things, because it wasn't appropriate for my gender,  or even feeling ashamed about it and it's good to feel sort of redeemed by learning how it's only a social construct.
I also never thought as deeply about how race and class affect gender intersectionally, and my eyes are opened now.

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.