Activity 2

For this assignment the three people that I chose to interview were my boyfriend, my sister, and my mother. When I first told them that I was taking a women’s studies course, each had a positive reaction. My mother and sister both thought that it was a good course to take and they felt that it is educational to learn about the different strong women that have impacted women’s rights and opportunities so much. My boyfriend also thought that it would be a good experience for me, although he did not really know much of what the course was about. One thing that I have learned from talking to both genders is how they perceive the word and idea of feminism. When I asked my sister, she said that the word feminist brings to mind a woman or person that has strong feelings of equality between women and men in all aspects of life. My mother felt the same way but also added the idea of a person that also works to achieve the equality between men and women. My boyfriend however, had a more negative connotation of the word feminist. He told me that when he hears the word feminist he thinks of an ultra liberal woman who believes in equality between sexes in life aspects that benefit themselves and against equality that place them at a disadvantage. He attends the U.S. Naval Academy, where he sees a lot of this type of behavior. An example he gave me is that he hears a lot of girls saying that a female can do anything a male can do, but then complain that there is no way that a female can uphold the same standards of physical fitness due to their weaker nature. What it comes down to, when he hears the word feminist, he thinks of a woman that is a hypocrite. As for their opinion as to me being or wanting to be a feminist, both my sister and my mother feel that it would be a good thing because in today’s world you have to be a strong woman to survive. My boyfriend thinks that it would also be a good thing for me to want to be a strong woman, as long as I didn’t turn into the hypocritical feminist that he comes into contact with on a daily basis.
My opinions of women’s studies and feminism are a mix of all the opinions of the people that I interviewed. As for my perceptions of feminism, as I said in my introduction I have a negative connotation of the word when I first hear it as well. I agree with my boyfriend in the fact that if women want to attend the military academies, they should be held to the exact same standards as the men are. I think it is amazing that they want to serve our country on the battle lines, but I also feel that in wartime such as now, the Iraqis are not going to give them a break because they have a weaker physical nature. I also feel that these women who are being hypocritical somewhat hinder women’s progress. I feel that the hypocritical women are the ones that give the word feminist a negative connotation to some people. I however feel that feminism is, on a bigger scale, an amazing thing. There are so many women in history as well as today that have made strides in advancing women’s rights and roles. My perception of women’s studies is a course that tries to turn the negative connotation feminism into a positive thing and show women that you can be strong and opinionated, but you don’t have to hate men and blame everything on them.
As for considering my self a feminist, I would say that I am one to some extent. I consider myself to be a strong woman with opinions who wants equality between both sexes. I say that I am one to a certain extent because though I consider myself to be a strong woman; I am not one that wants to go and conquer the world. In my future, I would be happy being a mother and wife, doing the house cleaning and cooking. I feel that some people think that women such as me are the ones that set us back to the times when a woman was supposed to be seen and not really heard. I do not feel that by wanting to be a traditional housewife is setting women back at all, but this is why I do not consider myself to be a full fledged feminist.