what i learned in this course

I think what this course has taught me is to look at the way I interact with the world around me differently. Before taking this course I feel like I looked at most things, especially images of women in the media for simply their face value and this course has opened my eyes to the problematic ways in which women are represented. I think one of the things that had the biggest impact of me was the activity we did analyzing women in advertisement. It really made me think about the fact that women are not represented for what they actually are, but are displayed in a manner that makes them appealing to a male gaze. I thought seeing some of the ways that women, especially women of color, are reedited when put in advertisement to express certain ideals. It was interesting to see how women are airbrushed to look lighter skinned, thinner, and are displayed in sexual poses that make them appealing to men.
Also really interesting for me were the book reports we did about non-profit organizations. My chapter on the effect that non-profit orgs have on women and the ways they promote violence toward women was really interesting. I had never thought about the problems that non-profit orgs present. I had always seen them as socially beneficial and had never thought of the problems federal funding and a non-profit status can affect the work they are able to do. I guess the book was kind of depressing but presented important ideas that I was glad to see and overall made me look at a lot of things differently.
All in all I found the class really interesting but felt like we didn't have enough time to cover all the important issues. But that is how that goes I guess. I feel like the class has made me look at things entirely differently and while that at times has been really difficult for me I think it was something I needed to do and in the long run will be something about my liberal arts education that I will continue to value.