#feministeducation

[feministtheoryeducation-blog]

I consider education to be essential in whatever it is you want to do in life, and feminist education is also something that I have come to realize as something valuable that more people should learn about. As I have already stated in my introduction, the reason I chose this topic is because there are so many misconceptions in the media about feminism and that is really frustrating. People stereotype it and are so convinced that they know what it is (usually negative image) that they insult and discriminate against those who identify as feminists. This research has allowed me to educate myself and other people of this issue, and present them with evidence on how feminism can work for everyone, and that providing education about it can lead to many benefits.

Another thing I have learned was that it is possible to start educating about this topic at a young age, so children will grow experiencing a less hostile and more accepting society (Sweden programs). There have been countries that promote this education demonstrating how my possible solution is not so far fetched. I try to educate my family using the material we learn about in class, as well as this new material to hopefully try to change the way they view the world. I usually talk to my younger sister about the things I learn and I think it has helped her become a more accepting person, a critical thinker, a person who stands up for others, and has obtained personal and academic benefits because of it. Feminism opens the door to new ideas and issues within our society and by giving people the opportunities to learn about it, it can change their perspective of the world.

[feministtheoryeducation-blog]

Educational systems such as public education and higher education are institutions that both affect and contribute to this lack of knowledge of feminist theory. In Chicago there is a vast number of students in public schools and most are from minority groups. The school’s tend to offer limited education regarding social justice topics such as the Civil Rights movement, most likely taught during Black History Month. Public education teaches the basics, but if they were to offer more instruction on feminist movements, or topics that the students can actually relate to it could motivate them to seek more information on the subject. In my case I learned about the first wave of feminism in 8th grade, but that was the first time I had ever been exposed to information about groups of women making such an impact in history. Of course they had taught me about other women, but usually it was one small numbers of women for different parts of history like Harriet Tubman or Rosa Parks. After learning about the women’s suffrage  I became more interested in the topic and started searching for more information, particularly about Latina women since I felt like I could relate to them more.

This then brings me to higher education where topics dealing with feminist issues are usually in a different category. Although it is nice to have more focus on particular subjects, it sets this as a separate part of (U.S.) history when it is its history, and it is only in higher education or distinct educational institutions where your are given the option/resources to learn about these topics. Again, I refer to myself as an example, I went to a public high school where there was not really any available classes for these topics and there was rarely any instruction on feminism. Now there are schools like Little Red Schoolhouse in the previous video, where the students are given an option. This school was founded in 1921 and is considered to be the New York City’s leading progressive school. This demonstrates the lack of accessibility in feminist education due to the difference in resources of the schools.

[feministtheoryeducation-blog]

This web source explains the different groups within feminism and the definition and understanding of what each feminist group represents. The citation is from C N Trueman “Feminism and Education, and it provides a brief explanation on a simple and common definition of how feminism is viewed. I do agree with the way it was explained, but only to a certain degree. I think this is a simple way to understand the groups and what feminism is because of the vocabulary used could be understood by everyone, and it draws on issues that feminism deals with. For example, it states “Before the National Curriculum, it was not unusual for girls to pick subjects that prepared them for their futures as mothers and housewives. Cookery and Home Economics were seen as the subjects that many girls should follow whereas for some science was irrelevant.” So, it brings up relevant issues that people can relate to and why it is an issue. It basically explains the issue discussed in What Occupational Data Show about the Causes of the Gender Wage Gap by Emily Baxter we read in class. The web source  can be used so people understand  what feminists are arguing against and why, to an audience who would not be likely to read Baxter’s article or Women of Color and the Gender Wage Gap by Milia Fisher.

Hooks defines feminism as “a struggle to end sexist oppression”, and in Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression, she also explains how one of the major problems within feminism is the many groups and definitions there are when it comes to feminism. “Most people in the U.S. think of feminism or the most commonly used term ‘women’s lib’ as a movement that aims to make women the social equals of men. This broad definition, popularized by the media and mainstream segments of the movement raises problematic questions” (18). I agree that it does create more problems when you have so many definitions of feminism  because it leads to more focus on the differences between feminists rather than working together with those differences.

Although the web source does allow a general audience to understand what feminism might entail, it also promotes a common and popularized idea that promoted in the media. The questions that arise is why doesn’t include other issues beyond gender? What about intersectionality? So, it might be a good starting point but more analysis should be done in order to attempt to thoroughly explain that feminism can be for everyone because it goes beyond gender equality.

 http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/education-and-sociology/feminism-and-education/

Trueman, C.N.. “Feminism and Education.” The History Learning Site. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/education-and-sociology/feminism-and-education/. (2016).

Hooks, Bell. “Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression.” (1987).

[feministtheoryeducation-blog]

-http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/how-social-media-changing-the-feminist-movement

-This web article shows modern day examples on how there is a positive promotion of feminist issues in the media by using #.

-http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/education-and-sociology/feminism-and-education/

-Brief overview of feminism

http://www.jstor.org/stable/469077?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIGtVoJOEn8

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRgORR8vqns

The second youtube link is a video criticizing the first link and it can be pretty frustrating. I posted it because it is a real good example on how feminism is being wrongly criticized. I actually found this video first and that led me to the first video link posted. Don’t burn yourself out if you do watch it.

[thefeministpress]

Ileana Jiménez (@feministteacher) speaking at The Scholar and Feminist Conference today. Check out her essay in SLUT: A Play and Guidebook! #sfedu #bcrw #feministteacher #feministeducation #FPauthors (at Barnard College)