The Reconstitution of Women’s Studies

Happy Sunday!

I will be speaking at the Associated Colleges of the South Women’s and Gender Studies Conference at University of Richmond, April 1-2, 2011.

I want to share my abstract, and then comment further on Reconstituting, Redefining, and Integrating Heterosexual and Homosexual Males into the Women’s Studies.

Abstract:

Defining Women’s studies as an area of study and how it interacts with other disciplines such as literature, Psychology, politics, Justice Studies, Communications and Media studies often focuses exclusively on issues concerning women’s experiences, history, societal roles and achieved milestones among others.  Women do not exist in a vacuum.  To fully engage studies on women it is imperative to address all internal and external interactions and influences: culture, people, religion, profession and social engagements.  Such engagement would expose the futility of excluding one of the most important interactive influence on the place of women in society, namely, the man i.e. “the patriarch in the patriarchy”.  In the college environment, this means the male student.  Women’s studies programs and classes have historically been and remain over-patronized by female students. Indeed, some male students define them as hostile spaces.  Preparing female gender sensitive adults in our Women’s studies programs solves only half the problem when you consider their entrance into the world to interact with men who are not equally sensitized. In this presentation I argue that it is important to redefine not just the naming of departments of women’s studies, but also recruitment strategies, new masculinity studies inclusive courses, pedagogy and naming of courses to create a more co-ed friendly space for the engagement of not just women’s but gender issues.  Such an approach I argue would result in the expansion of university programs on women’s issues and also occasion a more inclusively sensitized population.

Additional Comments:

Here’s the thing and I am reiterating what was stated earlier, but it is wonderful women are learning more about and “fighting” for their rights.  We are learning in Women’s Studies- challenges, obstacles, inequalities women face compared to their male-counterparts.  However, it’s not enough to only have women learn these issues, men need to be incorporated into the dialogue.  Now, this abstract is not to claim Women’s Studies or Feminists are purposely taking on a hostile persona, and are deliberately excluding men.   In fact, it’s quite the contrary.  Yet, I will say Women’s Studies as a whole, have not truly attempted to include and comprise with men when it comes to gender equality.

To say it is not a fight between men and women, is partially true.  But I will say that’s how most of the male population thinks Women’s Studies teaches.   Again, how and why they think that is not our fault, but it is our problem.

Now, how to go about reconstructing Women’s Studies is something else.  And, it is not necessarily reconstructing Women’s Studies, more of including both men and masculine studies into the field.  Changing the name to Gender Studies is a step.  A step one of many, but at least a step.  These brief solutions may backfire and result in nothing.  But, at least discussing the lack of men in Women’s Studies is a move towards empathy, reconciliation, and compromise between the two sexes.