Tellis is a third-year women’s studies student.
By Kate Tellis
I take issue with Glenn Sacks’ commentary regarding the
curriculum of Women’s Studies 10 taught by Professor Sharon
Bays (“Women’s
studies texts stretch truth,” Daily Bruin, Viewpoint,
Nov. 6).
There certainly is a “long way to go” for women to
achieve equality and part of the process is to address the numerous
misconceptions out there which lead to popular contempt for
feminism. The disparaging nature of his article reflects one of
many issues covered in the class, namely how it is difficult in
this society to be critical of men without being labeled
anti-men.
First, Sacks makes flawed conclusions based on Margaret L.
Anderson’s “Thinking About Women: Sociological
Perspectives on Sex and Gender” ““ one of three
Women’s Studies 10 textbooks. Numbers aside, there are three
ways the work force impacts women and men differently and they all
must be taken into consideration when looking at the wage
disparity. These factors include traditional sex roles and the
patterns of living expected for each gender; child rearing and
housekeeping duties; and the societal myth that participating in
the paid labor force is optional for women and that their income is
only supplemental. These are all very real concerns considering
their effects. For example, in a recent Supreme Court case, a top
female executive was denied partnership in a Fortune 500 company
for being “too aggressive, too competitive and not feminine
enough in appearance” (Hopkins v. Price Waterhouse,
1990).
Second, the 2000 Justice Department Crime Statistics reported
that the frequency of domestic homicide has fallen in California
overall. The statistics contributed this fall to many factors:
namely the funding behind California law enforcement’s
efforts to curtail domestic homicide, and the change in its
perception from a “women’s issue” to a community
and law enforcement issue. This is largely due to the work of
domestic violence activists, including feminists and battered women
who have championed the cause.
Third, relating to the “second shift” commonly
associated with women and housework, women’s studies
investigates economic and social changes occurring within society,
within the institution of marriage, and how couples manage as more
and more women take jobs outside the home.
In April 1998, the Sociology Journal reported improvement in
men’s contribution to household work. It increased from two
to five hours per week to 10-15 ““ something Sacks
didn’t mention when discussing women and household work. What
Anderson does assert is how many current social problems call
attention to the status of women in the society, (e.g. rape, sexual
harassment, wife beating) and how, even now, studying women is
often scorned and ridiculed.
Had Sacks taken a moment to do proper research for this article
by sitting in on the class or speaking with Professor Bays, he
would not have written such inflammatory and erroneous quotes to
purportedly represent what women’s studies students are
learning (for example, quotes from women like Andrea Dworkin and
Catherine MacKinnon who have never been mentioned in our classroom
once).
In addition, he would have seen that our textbooks, materials
and lectures seek to examine the power inequalities in society by
“examining our own position of relative power and the ways in
which we uphold forms of oppression that are harmful to us
all.” (Men included ““ and that is a direct quote from
the course syllabus.)
An interesting sidenote to this is a study done by a graduate
student from the University of Arizona. This student researched
women’s studies courses nationwide in search of the best
curriculum and found Professor Bays’ Women’s Studies 10
No. 1 in the country. Evaluation was based on the course syllabus
and discussion with the professors. Its prime reason for such
recognition is the methodical exploration of women cross culturally
and its consideration of diverse factors such as race, class,
gender and sexuality that shape their lives. The second course to
be recognized was one at the State University of New York, and the
third at UC Irvine taught by Nancy Naples, the author of our other
textbook in the class.
Despite all the claims and defamation, women’s studies has
opened new areas for questioning, corrected many of the omissions
and distortions from the historical record, and generated new
knowledge that has great implications for social policy.
Feminist ideology is a unity of thought and action, and those of
us informed in the area welcome inquiry and debate. The moral here
is know your subject before taking on such uninformed
criticism.