Final Blog

This week our blog is supposed to reflect on the work we have done in Women’s studies 250 over the semester. Women’s studies was a great class and allowed us to learn about many different things we would not learn in other classes.

When I decided to take the course I thought it was going to be all about women’s rights and how we got to where we are today. The class was very different from what I imagined it to be. We discussed so much more then just women’s rights. We discussed how they are viewed in the media, and in society. In the film Still Killing Us Softly we learn about how the media changes the way we perceive women. They Photoshop women to look perfect and have changed our ideas about what is beautiful. In class we also discussed lesbian and gay rights and transgender problems. In the movie Boys Don’t Cry we get a better look at what it is like to be a transgendered person and how difficult it is. This class really opened my eyes to all the different struggles of minorities in our society.

 Over the semester I learned about many different art works and artists that I had never knew about before. Judy Chicago’s artwork really stood out to me. It was something so different and unusual and it sent out a very powerful message. Her piece The Dinner Party represented many women of different race, beliefs, ages and nationalities. It was to celebrate women and their bodies and their ideals. All the women represented had changed history in some way. The other artworks that stood out to me were the quilts from the Los Hilos De Vida.  These quilts were really interesting because they showed a story about immigration to the United States. I also never thought of quilts as artwork but they really are. They are amazing and women make them for their families to tell them the stories of their lives and what they have been through. In the beginning of the semester we also talked about the artwork of Leonardo Da Vinci. The picture of The Madonna and of The Whore really stood out to me. Its message is one that is still shown in today’s society. It puts women into two categories of being motherly and pure or being a whore and promiscuous. It limits women and expects us to be a certain way just like our media still does today.

Over all I learned a lot of new material in this class, which was extremely interesting to me. We discussed more then just Women’s rights. This class went beyond my expectations and was really enjoyable to me.