women and gender studies
I have been looking forward to taking a class in Women and Gender Studies for quite some time as it has always been something for which I have passion. I volunteered some time at a retreat center in Washington state many years ago and was introduced to Bell Hooks at that time so I was very excited to see that a book of hers would be a part of our required reading for the class.
On page 8 of the required reading the author writes, "A basic premise of women’s studies is that we cannot understand the world without understanding women’s experiences, perspectives, and contributions." I like this thought particularly because it is so often that women's contributions are left out of history books and their influence on culture and society is often overlooked.
On page 9 of the text, the author discusses the idea of how the human experience is really about the male experience and the fact that this message is often overt and often so subtle and embedded in our culture that we don't even realize it is happening. These sort of experiences or ways of doing things that we have adopted as a society that are overtly sexist have always been intriguing to me as someone who prides herself with trying to be open and cognizant of all types of oppression. Even someone who attempts to live their life intentionally can get caught up in such imbedded displays of sexism.
Finally on page 29 in the essay entitled, “Women’s Studies and Transnational Feminism” by Heather Hewett, she discusses the idea that the notion of “global sisterhood” is detrimental feminism. She asserts that, “the assumption that all women share similar experiences, oppressions and perspectives simply because they are women and that simply being a woman was enough for a unified, global women’s movement.” Each women’s experiences are different when met with a vast intersection of other pieces of their identity. Race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, culture and religion are some of the many things that contribute to
On page 8 of the required reading the author writes, "A basic premise of women’s studies is that we cannot understand the world without understanding women’s experiences, perspectives, and contributions." I like this thought particularly because it is so often that women's contributions are left out of history books and their influence on culture and society is often overlooked.
On page 9 of the text, the author discusses the idea of how the human experience is really about the male experience and the fact that this message is often overt and often so subtle and embedded in our culture that we don't even realize it is happening. These sort of experiences or ways of doing things that we have adopted as a society that are overtly sexist have always been intriguing to me as someone who prides herself with trying to be open and cognizant of all types of oppression. Even someone who attempts to live their life intentionally can get caught up in such imbedded displays of sexism.
Finally on page 29 in the essay entitled, “Women’s Studies and Transnational Feminism” by Heather Hewett, she discusses the idea that the notion of “global sisterhood” is detrimental feminism. She asserts that, “the assumption that all women share similar experiences, oppressions and perspectives simply because they are women and that simply being a woman was enough for a unified, global women’s movement.” Each women’s experiences are different when met with a vast intersection of other pieces of their identity. Race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, culture and religion are some of the many things that contribute to