My experience as a women studies minor has been a great experience. I have read many interesting novels, short stories, and articles pertaining to women. Before I took the Women’s Studies Senior Seminar class I only experienced reading and responding to novels written by women and novels by women. I never had the opportunity to read anything written by women or about women that evoked deep or critical thought. When I registered for this class I did not have any idea of what it would actually be about. I just assumed that I would read a few novels and write a ten page paper in response to some of the readings, but the class was not like I had imaginedWomen’s Studies Senior Seminar has been a class that has focused on feminist theory and critical feminist reading. Through our class I have learned how feminism effects others' lives, how women of different cultures deal with issues related to being women. I now realize that every woman in the world has a lot in common. We all struggle to be seen as prominent figures in a male dominated world.
The class also forced me to think in depth and critically about essays and novels I had to read in order to prepare for class discussion. I was further forced to read material closely because I had to write response papers to some of the class readings. My favorite essay during my enrollment in the class was an essay entitled, “Housewives and Homework: The Lacemakers of Narsapur,” by Chandra Talpade Mohanty. My response to Mohanty’s essay is as follows:
In her essay, “Housewives and Homework: The Lacemakers of Narsapur,” Chandra Talpade Mohanty focused on how men sold products that women produced and profited from women’s work. The essay basically pointed out how work can be defined according to sexual identity. It made me wonder if American women are still perceived by men in society as being housewives even though some of us are doctors, lawyers, teachers etc. Is the work that women do seen as what Mohanty pointed out in her essay as “leisure time activities”? I think that to some extent men believe that women’s sole purpose on Earth is to be their wives/partners and to be good mothers to their children. Even though we “leisurely,” as Mohanty so plainly categorized our work according to men in India, go out to our different careers or occupations everyday, we are not truly seen as providers or given credit for being part providers for the family. Some men may feel that we put forth more of an effort in being a woman who cleans the house, cooks, and takes care of the children. Maybe our “leisure” work outside the home is pointless because in a man’s opinion it may not be getting 100% of our attention. Our attention is divided between the home and our jobs.
Mohanty also stated how, in India, women’s “definition as housewives make possible the definition of men as 'breadwinners'” (13). We see that in Nasarpur, India the woman’s role in society is somewhat restricted. Her restricted role of being a housewife increased the man’s status in that society as the sole provider and the hardest worker. Although this concept of men’s and women’s roles in society is not totally true in America, I still think it occurs in our society. I feel that most men accept women working outside the home in America because it has become a norm over the years, but I do not think all men are comfortable with the idea of women working outside the home. The fact that women are no longer just simply housewives makes some men feel as if they are being robbed of part of their masculinity, which is tied to being a sole provider for a family. Women have proven during the past few decades that they can be housewives and manage to handle an outside job as well. I think this proves that women are strong dependable laborers. A good worker is one who can handle multiple tasks such as managing a household and having an outside job.
Mohanty also pointed out how women in India were not defined by the choices that they made. She stated that in India, “men live off women who are the producers. The effect of this definition of labor is not only that it makes women’s labor and its cost invisible but it undercuts women’s agency by defining them as victims of . . . patriarchy, rather than as agents capable of making their own choices” (14). Here in the United States we have a choice of whether or not we want our day to day work activities to be more than just household activities. Not all of us let men decide what type of job we are capable of doing.
My overall experience in Women’s Studies Senior Seminar has been a great experience because of all the extra knowledge I aquired about the different experiences women have throughout the world. I would recommend the works that we focused on to anyone who is interested in focusing on women studies at a more critical and in depth level.