From: Matt
The two photos I photographed and selected show socialization of gender among students. The top photo is an Introduction to American Studies class (AMS100) with 12male students. The bottom photo is an Introduction to Women's Studies class (WMS100) with five female students and one male student. (Not all students were present the day of the photographs.) The thematic relationship of the students within the images is the major focal point.The sharp contrast between the predominant genders of the students in each of the classrooms is the initial and most striking observation. Why are there only men in the AMS100 class and only women in the WMS100 class? Through stereotypical gender socialization, men are not socialized to consider Women's Studies an interesting and informative course; as men, they are not socialized to enroll in a course with a seemingly feminine title. A course entitled American Studies is stereotypically viewed by men to contain content that is less about women's issues and more about general American culture. In contrast, women in an American Studies course will be studying far more written works produced by men than by women. A Women's Studies course will focus on issues in the lives of American women, issues of great importance and impact to the women students themselves.Another point of contrast between the two classes is the attitude and behaviors of the two groups of students. The male students of the AMS100 class show relaxed and casual body language with little attention paid to notes or textbooks. The female students of the WMS100 class are seated at their desks, attentively studying their notes and textbooks. Why do the men appear so casual while the women appear so studious? Through stereotypical gender socialization, men take the social sciences, such as cultural studies, less seriously than they do studies in mathematics, computer science, and physical sciences. In contrast, women consider the social sciences, and Women's Studies in particular, to be worthy of serious attention and study.A minor point of contrast is the appearance of the classrooms. The walls of the AMS100 classroom are posted with varied and colorful papers, posters, and announcements. The walls of the WMS100 classroom are void of any hint of color other than the off-white and gray paint. The varied colors of the AMS100 classroom seem to reflect the casual, lighter atmosphere while the neutral, bare appearance of the WMS100 classroom seems to reflect the more studious, focused atmosphere.
1 comment:
From Delight
I consider this picture an interesting one. However, I want to look at it in a different way. For instance, the Introduction to American studies class having only males could be a sign of the masculine gender’s quest for power in the society. As a result, they tend to want to increase the information they have on the society, and by so-doing increase their influence on the society: knowledge is power. The Women’s studies class seems to be smaller largely because of the absence of men who may be thinking they are superior to a feminist class or that are opposed to feminity. Moreover, there is no masculine figure in this picture. Are we playing on the information we have about the WMS class or the picture itself? Worthy of note is your placement of the AMS 100 class on top of the WMS class. It shows the way men think and act, that they occupy a dominant position over the women. Feminism demands that the pictures be placed side by side and not one on top of the other.
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