We have learned so much throughout this semester of Women Gender Studies.

This course was initially designed to help students think about women and men. This
course was not intended to discriminate against the male race but to show some of the
gender inequalities women have faced over the years. In Module Two we learn how it is
important for us to continue to pass this knowledge down to other generations so that
they understand how far women have come. I believe these women have paved the
way to end so many traditions that were looked at as social norms. Society had its idea
of what women were capable of doing and also what is expected of women. Women
were gained the right to vote, to have careers, and to have certain attention in the
media that were specifically made for them .Women gained the right to have an
education which took them out of the roles of the basic housewives. Women become
opportunist and they began paving the way for many others. This was one of the most
informative modules because learned the significance of each wave and what rights
women gained from it. The first wave of feminists were those who fought for our right to
vote. The passing of the 19th amendment that ensured the voting right of women in the
United States. This was an important time for women, but is often taken for granted in
today's time. We have many of our youth who dont even bother to vote because they
feel as though their voices are not being heard and they also feel like their opinions
dont matter. The second wave began the fight for change concerning the workplace,
education, careers and the right for women to opt not have children. During the second
wave women had rights and opportunity for education but socially acceptable roles for
women were only that of house wife and mother. In 1963 Betty Friedan released her
book entitled The Feminine Mystique. In the novel she talks about how unsatisfied she

was with her life because of the social standards women were held to. This brought
about a voice of change. I believe this book allowed women to see that it was okay to
have a voice in the light of society. Women were able to have successful careers and
value education and still maintain duties of a household wife. Women were empowered
by this second wave. The oral history project that we did really shed light on a lot of
significant women who arent all recognized nationally. Prior to this course I wouldnt
have known all the informative stories that were shared by my classmates. Most
importantly for myself I wouldnt have known how significant this time era was. Lastly,
the third wave of feminists in the early 1990's when describing the feminist movements.
Women who were involved in this wave were those who were concerned with global
elements and how women are portrayed in the media. I was able to relate with this
wave through my body project. The body project allowed us as the students to lace
together different components of what the ideal woman should look like and also the
standards society places on women. I gained so much from doing my own project as
well as reading the projects of my peers. This project had room for creativity as well as
exercising your voice in cultural matters depicting women across the globe.
Secondly in module three this course taught us about privilege. This was by far
by favorite module. I learned so much about the invisible privileges given in society.
Reading Peggy Mcintoshs article about white privilege allowed me to see just how
segregated a lot of aspects of our society still are. In this article Peggy talks about
herself as a white woman and the things that she has experienced in her having
privileges. She makes references to her being able to shop comfortably in stores, her
being able to purchase a home, her being able to come late to an event and not explain

her tardiness, and her being pulled over and it not being because of her race( pg. 88,
89). As I read her article it made me realized how we as a society have chosen to ignore
these privileges. We have grown accustomed to them happening so they become the
norm to us. If we chose to continue to let such things happen are we falling victim to not
feeling as though we have a voice. I think that society teaches us at a young age to
never speak on privileges because it would be looked at as boasting or bragging.
Instead we are taught to recognize these privileges internally. It is tough to realize that
this is something you cannot directly change about yourself because the makeup of the
privileges starts within societal efforts. I do not feel as though we can change them but
instead we can pay privileges forward to others. Whether these privileges include
volunteering at home shelters, nursing homes, schools or they can include giving back
things such as toys, clothes, shoes, and any other necessities we are able to provide.
This challenge alone is tough because you get people who are too prideful to accept
things that are being donated to them. These individuals feel as though you look down
on them if you choose to try to help them. This brings you to the nice, genuine, or phony
gestures you are able to provide for people in society. I wish these social issues were
much more though out in society verses them being overlooked. The privilege walk
activity was a great addition to this module and course. The activity in itself makes you
think about some of the advantages you never realized you had. I thought to myself that
if I wasn't aware of the advantages does that mean that I am choosing to ignore them?
In a sense I do not feel as though we are ignoring them, I feel as though we either were
not aware of the greater impact some of these privileges had on our lives or we were
choosing to humble ourselves. I believe my parents raised me to never take for granted

something's that I have in comparison to others. I feel as though I have done a good job
at that. The thing that caught me off guard was just how much some others lack in
comparison to what others have. I looked at this as a disadvantage for myself because I
had not done enough of my research or looked at enough of the worlds statistics to try
to help change this path. I feel as though my future career as a family advocate can
help increase resources for those who are less fortunate in our environments. I enjoyed
doing this activity more than I suspected I would.
Lastly, This Women Gender Studies online course has not only ran its course but
it has successfully implemented the interdisciplinary goals for the class. The class was
designed to acknowledge that cultural categories such as race, class, nation, ethnicity,
gender, and sexual orientation operate in complex and interlocking ways within diverse
social and economic networks of power(Dr Brown). I believe the class was designed to
teach students that feminism is not simply about downgrading men but instead showing
the world and society that men and women should be able to work together in the work
place and other environments and have the same privileges. Men and women now have
the same educational opportunities and career advantages. We should be able to join
forces in our efforts to destroy discrimination. I believe I accomplished two of my real
personal goals by taking this course. One of my goals was to learn the real meaning of
feminism and how far we have come as a nation. My second goal was to be more open
to constructive criticism in my personal writings. I believe I have come a long way with
both. Dr. Brown does a great job explaining her thoughts in our writings. She
acknowledges the good insights we make in connection with the readings and videos of
the course. She also informs us of when we misunderstand an article and the

references we have made behind it. For example, in module six Dr. Brown made
comments regarding that I had misread the articles In this post, you say that, according
to the textbook, women are supposed to wait to have sex until after we get married.
Which article is making that argument? This may be your personal belief, and certainly
many people in our society would agree with you, but is this what the textbook is
advocating? Do you think most feminists would agree that women should wait until they
are married to have sex? Why or why not? Are men expected to wait, too? Her
comments did not offend me but instead allowed me to go back and look over the article
again. I can always appreciate a teacher who provides both positive feedback and also
constructive criticism. I really enjoyed taking this course and I would definitely
recommend it to another student. Although I am graduating I am able to have successful
writing tips with me to guide me in my future career. I am also able to teach my daughter
how important feminism is and all the things that I learned that helped pave the way for
the changes we see today.