Week 3 Teaching Intro to Women’s Studies

I had both my classes watch the 2011 documentary film, Miss Representation. I first saw the film last fall and it is a powerful film about the media’s depiction of young women, older women and women in power (specifically looking at Clinton and Palin.) Miss Representation looks at television and movies and is an unflinchingly honest report on the sad state of affairs we call entertainment and news in this country.

It was interesting to listen to the sharp intakes of breath and shock of the students as they watched the film. Many of them shook their head throughout and looked in disbelief at me.

Afterwards we moved into fishbowl discussions in which I asked them to answer two questions, What do you think? And how do you feel? The conversations were personal, insightful and full of questioning what they’ve always thought to be true. After twenty minutes one young woman asked the group what they thought about the 1 in 4 women have been raped statistics the movie talked about. In seconds, 4 women had identified that there were survivors of rape or incest. The truth about their lives were a testament to the facts stated in the documentary—a very powerful moment for us as a class to share.

You can see the trailer here and check local listings on OWN network.


Miss Representation 8 min. Trailer 8/23/11 from Miss Representation on Vimeo.

Here is their Facebook page which is currently talking about the Super Bowl Sunday ads and the new Sarah Palin movie, Game Changer.

I highly recommend this film for the home and classrooms…it will change the way you see television and films forever and hopefully inspire you to take action to help the girls and women of the world. For more information, visit the Miss Representation's website. Have you seen the film? What did you think of it?

Week 2 Teaching Intro to Women’s Studies

Friday’s class was cancelled due to flooding but we were given the go ahead for the Saturday morning class. You’ll recall the Saturday class is the large class with 28 students!!!

It was clear after handing out the reading comprehension quiz that the majority of students did not do the readings. I even had some students tell me they didn’t have the book so what should they do? Do the best you can on the quiz is what I said. The quiz was no surprise given we had read aloud the syllabus on day one and talked about them. Oh well.

After the quiz I drew the patriarchy tree by Allan Johnson and deconstructed it into it’s different parts. From that diagram I introduced the idea of social locations and the oppression wheel. I had two students place themselves on the oppression wheel and talk about where they are privileged (white, able bodied, heterosexual, male) and where they experience oppression or lack of power (person of color, uneducated, working class, etc.). I think it was a powerful real-life example for the class to relate to.

Finally we did a gender literacy exercise were in groups of 4 the students were asked to name 10 male directors and then 10 female directors; 10 men of power and then 10 black women of power and so on... They struggled, of course with the female directors and black women of power. When I asked them why they thought I had them do this exercise they honed in on the fact that there are few of those people in positions of power and understood how the patriarchal structure limits access to people who are not white, male, middle to upper class and straight. They are starting to make sense of why things are the way they are...very cool.

Soapbox Feminist Intensive

After 9 successful Feminist Boot Camps designed for undergraduate and graduate students, Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards are are launching a Soapbox Feminist Intensive for professors and women's/LGBTQ/diversity center staff.

Details: It'll take place in New York City June 20-23, 2012, for three three full days of events, including a day dedicated to global feminisms, and a media day that will include meetings with publishers. In addition to the provocative meetings, they aim to provide an invaluable chance to convene with like-minded feminist educators from across the country.

This program will be capped at 12.

For more information go to http://www.soapboxinc.com/ or email jenandamy@soapboxinc.com for more information. 

First Day of Classes

Last Friday was the first day of my new teaching career. I am teaching an Introduction Women’s Studies on Fridays and the same course at another location on Saturday mornings. Same prep—2 different classes! Both are 4 hour block courses which I love. I like having that much time to watch a movie, discuss it in depth, do experential learning modules and small group discussions. With a shorter class time, we get into the heart of the matter (where things get sticky) and then it’s time to go.

Each class is quite different. The first class is small and mostly women of color. Saturday’s class is much larger with both women and men from seemingly all backgrounds.

Several women revealed they were recovering drug addicts. Another woman revealed to the class that she had been the survivor of domestic violence. I love that they were comfortable disclosing this news to us on day one. We’re building trust and rapport and respect which is what is needed to change the world.

After introductions, we talked about the the “f” word and each student wrote on the white board words s/he associated with both feminism and feminist. Lively discussions! Next we compared and constrated the traditional classroom versus feminist pedagogy. I let my students decide when breaks and meal times occur as well as room configeration. It’s a chance for them to experience a key feminist pedagogical tool put into practice—sharing power and responsibility between instructor and students. After reviewing the syllabus and reading assignments I wrapped up the class with a viewing of Beyonce’s video, Run the World and nineteen percent’s awesome response.





I showed these videos to help them to start thinking critically about pop culture, in this case, pop music and videos. And instead of critiquing it harshly myself, I let nineteenpercent do it for me.


The first two days of classes went great and I know that it’s going to be a great first term of teaching. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes.

***
I was glad to be home with my boys, telling them about my classes, when there came a knock at the door.

Trucks, Trains and Baby Dolls

As a feminist mother raising a toddler boy I continue to dumbfounded that there are so few books and resources out there to support my quest to raise a feminist boy. There are some great films out there, Tough Guise and Raising Cain but those films highlight the issues (violence, suppression of emotions) and offer little solutions.

These are the strategies I use to help me raise a feminist boy:

• Dress him in purples and pinks and when people ask me why I tell them, "Gender has no color" or point out that they have no problem seeing girls where green and blue.
• I steer clear of all logos and phrases that reinscribe the gender binary like "Mommy's Tough Boy" or those damn rescue shirts that show boys as saviors on a fire truck.

• I deleted all the Thomas the Train videos from our TV set. I just got so fed up with all the story lines being about boys and their adventures. From time to time there would be a girl train (Rosie) but she's be stuck in a dilemma about flowers of all things.
• Books--I provide lots of variety in his books: dump trucks, animals, trains, fishes, instruments, holiday themes. And if the characters are mostly male I change them up to make them female.
• I support with my dollar, female children's book authors (Virgina Burton, Anna Dewdney ). And I seek out books who use girls as their central characters. (Katy the the big Snow, among others)

• I also make everything female in our home and out of the home--the baby doll, the monkey, the fish, insects--you name it, it's female. In a world that sees the male experience as the human experience I am doing my part to balance that androcentricism.   

What do you do? I'd love your tips and ideas for raising your feminist boys. I'll use your comments and ideas in an upcoming post.

Turning 40

Like no other birthday, this one has gotten to me. The big 4-0! I know it’s all in my head and that I should just get over it but it’s taking me some time to sort out what’s really bothering me. I’ve figured out that it feels like my youth is over. You know, that’s it, just my youth. My husband likes to console me by reminding me that I’m ten years from 50…can you say, not helping!!! Check back with me in a few weeks and I’m sure I’ll be over turning 40.

As much as I love gifts, I thought that one way I could get over myself was by asking friends and family to donate to my favorite charity, Every Mother Counts.

This is from their website:

Every Mother Counts is an advocacy and mobilization campaign to increase education and support for maternal and child health. Every Mother Counts seeks to engage new audiences to better understand the challenges and the solutions while encouraging them to take action to improve the lives of girls and women worldwide.

At my birthday party this weekend we raised over $200.00. I’d love to add your contribution to Every Mother Counts to our community donation. Please message me to find out how you can send me a check. Why not donate $40.00 for me turning 40! I couldn’t think of a better birthday present.

Dreams Really Do Come True

It was fall term, the year was 1992 and I took my first Women’s Studies class entitled, "Male and Female Roles" by Pamela Kaye. Within days of doing the assigned reading, being a part of classroom discussions and hearing what Pam had to say I was forever transformed. From that moment on I proudly called myself a feminist.

"Male and Female Roles" was such a pivotal time in my life—a time in which I discovered that I had genuine passion for the subject and boundless energy for the women’s movement. I also knew that I wanted to devote the rest of my life to feminist work and decided that being a teacher was the best way to do it. After all Pam was a teacher and she changed my life—I had decided I would like to do the same for my students who one day I would encounter.

Well guess what folks? That day has arrived! 19 years of dreaming about being a teacher and wondering how to do it, where to go to make it happen and through many failed attempts at getting into graduate school and suffering through Statistics once I did get into a graduate program and 6 months of job searching I can finally announce that I am a Women’s Studies instructor.

This is one of the proudest moments of my life.

Washington DC Day 4 continued and Day 5

I was exhausted and drained from this tour and ready to move on to something else. My friend Kesra who lives in Maryland drove over and meet me at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. We had a great time chatting and getting caught up. We were in school together and Sylvester house sisters together.

Sunday morning Emily picked me up and took me to her house in Georgetown. I had brunch with them and got to meet Doug’s daughter Bella.

I then reversed my commute from Wednesday and made my way to the airport for a 5pm departure. By the time I landed in Vegas (urgh the slots!) I was exhausted and ready to be home. Micah had parked the car at the airport for me and I drove home and crawled into bed at 4am (DC time for me!).

What a trip!

Washington DC Day 4

I had been told to come back to the Holocaust Museum early the next morning to stand in line for a free pass to the permanent exhibit. I got there at 9:15 with a crowd of already 50 people in front of me. I waited for 45 minutes and then went in. I took a deep breath as I entered the elevator made to resemble a cattle car like the ones used to deport the Jews to camps. I had tried to prepare myself but nothing could steel me from the pain and deep sadness that I experienced the moment we all got off the elevator. (There are no photos allowed in the permanent collection). The first image you see once you step off the elevator is a floor to ceiling image of the stacked bodies of murdered Jewish people. It is a stark and heavy reminder of what you are about to witness.

The collection spans 3 floors and uses images, story boards, film and art to tell the story of the rise of Hitler, the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe and the United States, how the Jews were forced into hiding or into camps, experiments done to them, the degradation they were made to experience and how they history and culture were rendered dirty and vile. Mid way through the exhibit there is a room filled with the shoes that remain and the hair from the prisoners. I was stunned into silence and later flooded with tears as the shoes served as a reminder of all that was left behind of a people. Later there is a heart wrenching replica of the death chambers and descriptions of how the Jews were forced to kill their own people by stripping them, leading them into the gas chambers and later removing and incinerating the bodies.

I was overwhelmed with the meanness and cruelty of thousands of people who directly had a hand in extinction of an entire population of people.

Needless to say I appreciated when the tour ended with the discovery of the camps, stories of people saved because they went into hiding and the brave souls who kept them alive. The exhibit ends with a long documentary in which survivors tell stories of their time in the camps or in hiding. They were heartbreaking and beautiful—a testament to people’s strength and will to survive and of people’s goodness.

Washington DC Day 3

I slept in and read and sipped coffee Friday morning. Then I made my way back to the mall to tour the Holocaust Museum. I debated about whether or not to go but eventually decided that it was extremely important to honor and witness the struggle and persecution of millions of Jewish people. I once dated a Jewish man for a number of years—I learned so much from him about the holocaust and ongoing racism that Jewish people experience today. He is a dear man who is now a rabbi with a wife and two sons. I thought of him constantly throughout the day.

I didn’t make it in time for the free ticket to the permanent museum so I toured all the rest: Daniel’s story about a young boy who survived but who’s family did not. I toured the Propaganda exhibit which was fascinating and educational about the power of the media. I learned a great deal about the rise of Hitler and how he was able to come to such great power. And watch a horrific film which left me sobbing on the bench, shaking my head about how we could let this happen.

I ended the afternoon with the hall of remembrance and the children’s tile art project. The tiles were heartbreaking. The babies and children were the first killed and if they weren’t killed they were used for horrifying experiments. I concluded my tour with the Never Again exhibit talking about Rwanda.

A sobering day indeed—I had no idea what was truly in store for me the next day.

At the end of the day I met up with an old friend, Emily and her fiance Doug and his co-worker. We spent the night laughing, drinking, and telling stories and eating wonderful Cuban food. It was a rough transition going from the museum to the crowded metro and then a bar, but it was good to see wonderful Emily and reconnect with her.