(no subject)
I had my first 'Men and Masculinity' class yesterday. Unfortunately, I'm a bit worried about how this class is going to go. I was excited when I saw the texts we're reading, which include Fight Club, Brokeback Mountain and various essays on gender-related issues, focusing mostly on masculinity. They look fascinating.
But I'm concerned. The teacher introduced the first class with an activity where we had to break up into smaller groups and come up with 10 adjectives that generally describe what it means to be man. So obviously we all came up with stereotypical words like strong, independent, tough, proud, dominant. There was a general smattering of laughter at some of the points brought up, some disagreements, and some vaguely sexist and stupid comments. It's unsurprising. Stupid, but unsurprising.
At first I was thinking, "ok, he's trying to establish that these are characteristics which can and do describe women quite as easily as men". He was sort of inching toward that, I think, but in the process he said some really strange things. At one point a girl said, "How bout 'impulsive'?" and the teacher responded with, "How so? Do you mean sexually, or in his actions?" Then, without waiting for an answer, he says, "I'm just thinking that it's very easily a description of women, especially if it's that time of the month."
What!??
That really threw me for a loop, so much so I didn't even think to say anything, but the same girl was clearly offended by this comment as she punched her right fist into her left hand so hard the teacher said, "you disagree?" A brief discussion followed where he went on to say that women can't really walk around alone at night or go into bars by themselves, but men can. He acknowledged this as male privelege. Which, while true, had very little to do with the discussion at hand. And I chuckled when this tough, sassy girl behind me said, "I can go into any bar I want!"
Another example was when another girl said, "I was going to say 'funny'," and then teacher said, "okay, yeah, that's certainly true. Men do tend to be funnier than women; most women don't really have a sense of humour."
Um.
I don't even...
How is that...
Tbh, I had come into the class thinking that I was going to have to try and let things go. I figured people were bound to say dumb things, and I sort of told myself before the class started that I would try to restrain myself from responding to those types of ignorant comments. But from THE TEACHER in the FIRST CLASS?
I just. Couldn't stop myself. I put my hand up and he called on me and I said, "I don't know about that. The term 'sense of humour' doesn't necessarily imply being funny but suggests having a sense of humour: what's funny. Just because a woman doesn't laugh at a specific joke doesn't mean she has no sense of humour. I mean, senses of humour are different for each person, men and women alike."
And he said, "can you give an example?"
So I said, "Sure. There might be a man who likes toilet humour but if a woman sees no humour in that sort of joke, it doesn't mean she has no sense of humour at all. It probably just means she finds humour in something else, like... political satire, or whathaveyou." Then he sort of dismissed my comment and moved along in the discussion. I should have said that it's definitely possible to appreciate a good joke without being able to make one. Or that it's possible to recognize a bad joke when it's being made, like when someone refers to the stereotypes of how a woman acts when she's on her period. Oh god I wish I'd used that as an example!
I'm trying to think positively. Maybe he was using this exercise as a test to see who is willing to speak up against dumb shit like that. Maybe he was trying to create an engaging discussion, or trying to be provocative?
I don't know, but it was weird. I mean, he'd say that both men and women can be athletic and protective or strong and tough, but then he'd make a general blanket statement, like the two I listed above, that seemed to contradict his first point.
In any case, it doesn't bode all that well for the course. I really hope it imroves.
K, enough of my woes.
Ugh. Seriously, I have so much homework already and I only have four classes! This is not lookin' good...
But I'm concerned. The teacher introduced the first class with an activity where we had to break up into smaller groups and come up with 10 adjectives that generally describe what it means to be man. So obviously we all came up with stereotypical words like strong, independent, tough, proud, dominant. There was a general smattering of laughter at some of the points brought up, some disagreements, and some vaguely sexist and stupid comments. It's unsurprising. Stupid, but unsurprising.
At first I was thinking, "ok, he's trying to establish that these are characteristics which can and do describe women quite as easily as men". He was sort of inching toward that, I think, but in the process he said some really strange things. At one point a girl said, "How bout 'impulsive'?" and the teacher responded with, "How so? Do you mean sexually, or in his actions?" Then, without waiting for an answer, he says, "I'm just thinking that it's very easily a description of women, especially if it's that time of the month."
What!??
That really threw me for a loop, so much so I didn't even think to say anything, but the same girl was clearly offended by this comment as she punched her right fist into her left hand so hard the teacher said, "you disagree?" A brief discussion followed where he went on to say that women can't really walk around alone at night or go into bars by themselves, but men can. He acknowledged this as male privelege. Which, while true, had very little to do with the discussion at hand. And I chuckled when this tough, sassy girl behind me said, "I can go into any bar I want!"
Another example was when another girl said, "I was going to say 'funny'," and then teacher said, "okay, yeah, that's certainly true. Men do tend to be funnier than women; most women don't really have a sense of humour."
Um.
I don't even...
How is that...
Tbh, I had come into the class thinking that I was going to have to try and let things go. I figured people were bound to say dumb things, and I sort of told myself before the class started that I would try to restrain myself from responding to those types of ignorant comments. But from THE TEACHER in the FIRST CLASS?
I just. Couldn't stop myself. I put my hand up and he called on me and I said, "I don't know about that. The term 'sense of humour' doesn't necessarily imply being funny but suggests having a sense of humour: what's funny. Just because a woman doesn't laugh at a specific joke doesn't mean she has no sense of humour. I mean, senses of humour are different for each person, men and women alike."
And he said, "can you give an example?"
So I said, "Sure. There might be a man who likes toilet humour but if a woman sees no humour in that sort of joke, it doesn't mean she has no sense of humour at all. It probably just means she finds humour in something else, like... political satire, or whathaveyou." Then he sort of dismissed my comment and moved along in the discussion. I should have said that it's definitely possible to appreciate a good joke without being able to make one. Or that it's possible to recognize a bad joke when it's being made, like when someone refers to the stereotypes of how a woman acts when she's on her period. Oh god I wish I'd used that as an example!
I'm trying to think positively. Maybe he was using this exercise as a test to see who is willing to speak up against dumb shit like that. Maybe he was trying to create an engaging discussion, or trying to be provocative?
I don't know, but it was weird. I mean, he'd say that both men and women can be athletic and protective or strong and tough, but then he'd make a general blanket statement, like the two I listed above, that seemed to contradict his first point.
In any case, it doesn't bode all that well for the course. I really hope it imroves.
K, enough of my woes.
Ugh. Seriously, I have so much homework already and I only have four classes! This is not lookin' good...