Final Reflection

I learned a great deal this semester and met some wonderful people during my exploration of gender studies. This class opened my eyes to new ideas and viewpoints I was not aware of before, and created new paths for me to explore intellectually and emotionally on gender inequality and sexism. Having to encounter and overcome my own personal privilege and presuppositions on gender and how society is changed and shaped by it was difficult at first because I did not know how to approach it directly. Similar to the video clip of Jackson Katz's "Tough Guise", it becomes easier to notice objects if you know their names. Having new language to be able to communicate about these problems to others makes it easier to tell when I am causing problems to others as well or not speaking out against discrimination. Volunteering for service learning was a personally enriching experience on multiple levels, because to personally affect change is how I personally affect the patriarchy and try to change it to become less powerful. bell hooks says "the personal is political", so my personal acts of activism are my path to making the difference.