Test: Why This Class?

I have always been keenly interested in women's issues. Even when I was a little girl, I would always challenge the reasons why my male cousins got to go out and play soccer during family gatherings while my sisters, myself and my female cousins were told to simply sit around and play with dolls or help our mothers with the food. I have always wondered about the reasons why such double standards existed in our society and exactly who was in charge of dictating what behaviors were appropriate for what gender. I guess you could call me a feminist in this sense. As I have gotten older, I have began to better understand the social constructs surrounding gender and the manner in which some aspects of these constructs are evolving while others seem to remain stagnant.

I was very interested in taking this class because I believe that it will give me an even better understanding of the manner in which society constructs the notions of male/female/gay/straight/bisexual/transgender/transsexual. The media is simply a reflection of popular notions of society. By studying the manner in which the media represents gender and sexuality, we can begin to really understand the hidden messages about gender and sexuality which are portrayed by our society. It is only through this understanding that we can begin to make changes to truly even the playing field and eliminating double standards and prejudices surrounding gender and sexuality.