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A panel discussion of violence against women might include the sexual
harassment officer if your campus has one, a rape counselor from a local women’s center,
a volunteer from a battered women’s shelter in your community, and a staff person from
a men’s resource center.
Different kinds of feminism may be represented by a panel of women and men
who align themselves with different branches of feminism: a womanist, a feminist
minister, a lesbian feminist, a liberal feminist, and a separatist.
A panel we often schedule that especially engages students, features partners in
dual-career relationships. We invite partners in two to three couples to talk openly with
the class about the pleasures and pitfalls of being a two-worker family and about ways
they have recognized and dealt with gendered assumptions in their relationship.
Single guests are more effective than panels in addressing certain topics. For instance,
we had the district attorney of our county visit the class to discuss current rape laws and trial
procedures to inform the class of how gendered assumptions permeate legal proceedings.
Another topic which a single guest might address is sexual harassment on your campus. If there
is an institutional officer for sexual harassment, invite her or him to meet with the class to inform
students of the incidence of sexual harassment, as well as procedures for redress. Also valuable
is asking a counselor to talk with the class about different sources of stress and reactions to stress
that are typical of men and women.
Another way to extend course coverage beyond content presented in Gendered Lives is to
assign group and/or individual projects. Whether to make these assignments on an individual or
group basis depends on preferences of instructors and students. Group work tends to be more
frustrating for students, and there are often problems such as conflicting schedules and uneven
contributions by group members. Yet group tasks also emphasize collaborative work and
cooperation, interaction styles many instructors wish to highlight. Another difference between
group and individual projects is that results of the former can usually be presented to the entire
class, whereas there is seldom enough class time to allow presentation of every student’s
individual project. Since group work is often challenging to coordinate, we recommend the use
of peer evaluations. Therefore, each person in the group is asked to assign the percentage earned
by every group member (including her/himself), with an explanation of why. This process raises
a sense of accountability.
Although there are many valuable ways to focus projects, we favor ones that combine
research and observation focused on a topic that received little or no coverage in the textbook.
For instance, we have had projects on changes in images of and advice to women in bridal
magazines from 1960 to 2000, gender images in commercial versus educational children’s
television, coverage of women’s and men’s sports in national, state, and campus newspapers, and
so on. Other topics that extend the coverage of Gendered Lives are global rape, differences in
how men and women are treated by medical professionals, and comparing agendas of male and
female legislators.
Observation projects allow individuals or groups to study “real life” versions of what
they are learning about through readings and class discussion. For example, students
concentrating on gender stereotyping in preschools might visit kindergarten and elementary
classes and report on differences, if any, in how teachers treat boys and girls. One student
replicated the research by Tavris and Baumgartner (Chapter 3, GL) and found the results of the
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1982 study still held true more than a decade later with respect to how boys and girls think about
the other sex. Other investigations that are reported in Gendered Lives could also be replicated
by individuals or groups. During terms when we assign individual or group projects, we usually
offer students a list of 10 to 15 suitable subjects for study and observation and also invite them to
suggest additional topics.
Using Technology for the Classroom
You will notice that Wood’s textbook highlights websites for every chapter. Technology is not a
substitute for teachers, but it can assist us as a resource for learning about gender,
communication, and culture. We encourage you to use the Web yourselves (to prepare for
classes, to update information, etc.) and to get your students involved in online work. Infotrac-
College Edition is a particularly useful Internet source. It is a fully searchable online university
library with a database of over 700 scholarly and popular publications. Infotrac is updated daily,
so you and your students will continually have access to current material if so desired. Every
article within the database can be printed for reading and reference purposes.
Another increasing practice at many colleges and universities is the use a class list serves
to facilitate dialogue outside the classroom walls. One approach to structure this interaction is to
assign weekly response questions for the readings. Then, ask everyone to post those reactions to
the list, leaving enough time for all of the students to read the messages prior to the class
meeting. In the classroom, ask a group of students or one student to summarize the reactions
posted to the list. An exercise such as this provides students with more time to prepare for
discussion and keeps them engaged with the course throughout the week. In addition, students
sometimes feel more comfortable sharing their ideas when they have more time to respond and
do not need to confront anyone face-to-face.
A third use of technology for the classroom is to assign “Judgment Calls,” a classroom
resource we developed for Gendered Lives. Each Judgment Call describes a current controversy,
issue, or dilemma related to gender and communication in society. Following each description
are several prompts that may guide thought and discussion and that direct students to additional
resources on the Internet or Web. Instructors may assign Judgment Calls to individual students
as journal entries or reaction papers; they may be used to structure class or small group
discussions; or they may be topics for research papers. Key references are provided for each
Judgment Call.
There are no right or wrong answers to the Judgment Calls. Rather, they are designed to
highlight the pervasiveness of gender issues in society and to stimulate thought, discussion, and
research on gender, communication, and culture. They aim not only to engage students in
controversial issues, but also to guide students to recognize assumptions that lie behind positions
and implications of adopting various stances.
The following is a brief index of the titles of each Judgment Call and suggested chapters
with which to assign these exercises:
Judgment Call #1: What Is Feminism? Introduction and/or Chapter 1
Judgment Call #2: Is Power Feminism Feminist? Chapter 3
Judgment Call #3: How Important Are Men’s
Issues and Men’s Movements? Chapter 4
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Judgment Call #4: Should the Equal Rights
Amendment Be Passed? Chapter 3 or Epilogue
Judgment Call #5: Should Same Sex Education
Be Allowed in Schools that Receive
Federal Support? Chapter 9
Judgment Call #6: Should All Work Places Be
Required to Provide Family Leave to Male
and Female Employees? Chapter 10
Judgment Call #7: What’s a Fair Share of
Housework and Child Care? Chapter 8
Judgment Call #8: Were Media Portrayals of
Brandi Chastain Sexist? Chapter 11
Judgment Call #9: Who Can Use Men’s and
Women’s Bathrooms? Chapter 3 or Epilogue
Judgment Call #10: Should Pro-Choice
Feminists Expand Their Focus
beyond Abortion and Toward
Reproductive Rights?
Chapter 4
Judgment Call #11:Where Should
Feminists’ Focus Be?
Introduction and/or Chapter 4
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JUDGMENT CALL #1:
WHAT IS FEMINISM
Feminism is a very ambiguous word that means different things to different
people. This has always been true. In the 1800s some people of both sexes saw the first
wave of feminism as a movement for the rights women obviously deserved but had been
denied in the United States. Other women and men saw feminism as an appalling
movement that challenged both secular traditions and divine laws. The second wave of
What do you think feminism is? Now that you’ve read about different branches
of feminism, can you create an all-encompassing definition of what it is and what it
stands for? The following website and prompts may help you think about this issue.
To learn how NOW, the most prominent mainstream feminist organization,
defines feminism and feminist issues, go to: http//www.now.org/. Next, use a search
engine to find terms such as “critiques of feminism” and “problems with feminism.”
Identify recurrent criticisms of feminism.
Do these criticisms seem valid in light of the information presented in Chapter 3
of your textbook?
Do feminists offer responses to the criticisms (for instance, does the NOW
website address any of them)? If so, how do feminists respond?
Having read about many different kinds of feminism, can you identify any
themes that weave through the range of feminisms? What, if anything, is
common to the different branches of feminism in the United States?
Is feminism needed as a movement in the United States today?
Is feminism a social, intellectual, political, or philosophical movement, or is it a
combination of these?
References
Feminist Agenda Homepage. http://www.got.net/~elained/index.html.
Whelan, I. (1995). Modern Feminist Thought: From the Second Wave to “Post
feminism.” New York University Press.
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JUDGMENT CALL #2:
IS POWER FEMINISM FEMINIST?
Power feminists such as Naomi Wolf and Katie Roiphe (discussed in Chapter 3)
claim that they are feminists and that the principles and goals they advance are feminist.
At the same time, they criticize mainstream feminism and feminists for encouraging
women to see themselves as victims and for not urging women to take charge of their
lives and quit complaining about discrimination, violence against women, and other
forms of oppression.
Do you think power feminism is feminist? To answer the question, reread the
discussion in Chapter 3 and then consider the prompts for reflection:
Who defines whether a movement is feminist or not? Do people such as
Naomi Wolf and Katie Roiphe have the right to call themselves “power
feminists” if they choose to?
What makes a movement feminist?
Must a movement represent all women to be feminist?
Does mainstream feminism encourage women to see themselves as victims as
some power feminists claim?
Can all—or most—women take charge of their own lives with the resources
they command and current social structures and practices?
What entitles someone to speak for others, or to claim to represent the
interests of others? Wolf and Roiphe, for example, claim to speak for
“women,” yet Wolf and Roiphe are atypically privileged financially,
educationally, and otherwise. Does their privileged status affect the
credibility of their claim to speak for women?
In what ways is power feminists’ assertion that women should quit
complaining about discrimination similar to charges that racial minorities
should quit complaining about discrimination?
References
