Before this Womens Studies class, I hardly ever paid attention to feminism, womens

inequalities, or anything else feminist related. I never realized how unequal women are
treated compared to men, and how we are affected in our everyday lives by the lack of
respect we receive. In this reputedly democratic society, where every little boy
supposedly can grow up to be President, what can every little girl hope to grow to be?
Miss America. Thats where its at. Real power to control our own lives is restricted to
men, while women get patronizing pseudo-power, an ermine clock and a bunch of
followers; men are judged by their actions, women by appearance (Women 33). I have
learned so much over the past few months, about things that were both in my face
everyday and hidden things that most people dont pay attention to.
The thing that first opened my eyes to this ever-changing society is learning about
intersectionality. I guess I knew in my head that people were made of many different
things, but I never took into consideration how often those things can change and how
many axes there are to consider. I find it interesting how each of us lives within a
system that vests us with varying levels of power and privilege. These differences in
power, whether structured along axes of race , class, gender, age or sexual orientation
frame our relationships (Collins 76). I think its ridiculous how we can get judged and/or
praised for something that we arent even responsible for creating.
Another thing that I never paid attention to until this class is how women are sexualized
in the media and how much the media can influence women and their behaviors. The
viewing of Miss Representation showed us how media constantly portrays women,
particularly the ones in politics, as either sexual beings or stubborn, male hating bwords. Its like there is no in-between. Every since I viewed this documentation I cant
help but to pay attention to how the women are portrayed , whether it is what they are
wearing, what they are doing, or both. I also pay more attention to the things that my
younger sisters see on television, because I dont want them to fall victim to the
demeaning and influential things that they may see.
The most recent event from Womens Studies that has impacted me is getting the
chance to see Lavern Cox. Her speech was so eye-opening and full of details about the
life of not only a tranny, but a member of the LGBT community. I have many
homosexual family members, and to actually hear from someone in person the things
that they go through on an everyday basis made me so upset. The fact that they are
harassed for simply being and expressing themselves is something that will never be
right. I always feel a certain way when I hear someone make a negative comment about
a gay or trans person, because I have brothers and sisters that are a part of the
community. Although society is working on becoming more LGBT-friendly, we
sometimes forget that getting laws passed and getting court rulings declared is,

comparatively, the easy part-- as monumentally difficult as that has been and continues
to be (Signorile 579).
This Womens Studies course has affected me and almost every aspect of my life in a
positive way. I have witnessed and learned so many things that will help me in the long
run. I now know how unfair society can be for women, even though we have been
working nonstop to change it. I will never judge anyone based off of the intersections of
their lives, or the way that they look, or because of their sexual preference, etc. I will
work hard to make sure that the women in my life are also aware of past and present
inequalities, and let them know that they can do anything they put their mind to; even if
they might have to work a little harder.