THE AIM of women and gender studies programs across the country is generally fairly standard: Provide students with the opportunity to study history and culture from women's perspectives and provide and avenue for interrogating the ways in which gender affects every person. Somehow, throughout the years, these goals have been interpreted by some, mostly conservative pundits and those outside of the academy, as blatant man-hating and nothing more than liberal indoctrination. Criticism of patriarchy -- which, stripped of its stereotypically anti-male connotations actually means "A social system in which the father is the head of the family and men have authority over women and children" -- should not be equated with a hatred for men; and critically, nor should it be equated with the desire to reproduce systems of power and oppression simply with women as the oppressors.
Instead, the goal of studying specific historical experiences of women is to cultivate an awareness of the power structure that is evident in our society and globally. This power structure is difficult to deny: men historically being the decision-makers, women historically oppressed. Need more proof? As a brief historical example, Women weren't even granted suffrage in this country until August 18, 1920 -- Fifty years after African-American males were legally allowed to vote.
This highlighting of patriarchal power structures is sometimes taken as an affront against (individual) men and manliness, but it is actually a call to recognize and develop a discourse about unequal status of women. Of course, men are also victims of patriarchy, most clearly in that they are brought up in a society that has unrealistic expectations of "masculinity," and punishing men who deviate from this ideal.
How, then, can learning about patriarchy be the same as learning to hate men?What's more, nobody would claim that the Civil Rights Movement espoused the hatred of caucasians;it supported the idea that race should not hinder your opportunities. The goal of Women and Gender Studies programs is not to pigeonhole women into a specific, man-hating, liberated (or, some might say, liberal) perspective, but instead to end the limitations of women's opportunities based on their gender. Some might also say that studying women and gender lends itself to a liberal bias. However, there is nothing inherently left-wing about the belief that women and men should be treated equally. At its core, women and gender studies is not about political ideology but about the politics of gender itself and how gender informs the lives of women everywhere. In terms of bias, why would professors of women and gender studies be held to any different a standard than professors of politics or religion?
In each of these disciplines, while it is impossible to be personally without bias, it is completely possible (and expected) for a teacher to teach without bias. We expect political science professors to explain the nuances and history of the political landscape without indicating that a certain political ideology is the right one. Similarly, we expect religious studies teachers to give students a broad perspective about world religions and their historical and cultural impact without saying their own religion is right and others are wrong. Furthermore, if there was a political science or religious studies professor who taught in a biased way, we would say that the teacher is flawed, not the discipline itself.
When contemporary students learn about slavery in American history, all of them can recognize the negative effects of the institution and, in the end, deem it undesirable. Similarly, most students can agree that it is unfair for women and men to be paid unequally for equal work or for a woman to be forced to stay home while her husband works (this is not to say that it's bad for women to stay home, just that it shouldn't be mandatory).
Women and gender studies programs point out systems of oppression based on gender or sexuality and as a result, most students realize that these institutions are negative. This is not indoctrination; it is education. Through this system of education, students are given a broader perspective on the world and the tools to make their own decisions about specific issues facing women.
The study of women and gender is not about man-hating, about being a liberal, or even about being pro-choice. The study of women and gender is about discovering and understanding women's oppression -- in all its forms -- and equipping students with this knowledge in the hopes of a future without it.
Carly Romeo is a third year student in the College of Arts and Sciences.She is also one of several co-founders of Feminism is for Everyone (FIFE) and is the groups' acting Publicity Director.
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