Apparently I do. I have got to say that my Women’s Studies class is probably my favorite class I am taking this semester. When I registered for classes, I was looking for an easy A class with little effort to be put into it. Instead, I found a class that has changed me and is continuing to change me as a woman. This class focuses on oppression of women, sexism, racism and the woman’s role in society. The discussions we have in the class are very interesting and I enjoy hearing what everyone has to say. The majority of my class has a lot more knowledge than I do of women’s studies topics. I feel a little unprepared in class but I catch on quickly. A poem that we read recently really made an impact on me. It is called Video by India Arir. It’s basically about how she isn’t going to conform to the “typical” ideal of a woman, instead she is going to be herself. One stanza in particular really stood out to me, it goes like this:

“When I look in the mirror and there only on there is me
Every freckle on my face is where it’s supposed to be
And I know my creator didn’t make no mistakes on me
My feet, my thighs, my lips, my eyes, I’m loving what I see”

When I read this, I wanted to shout “Heck yes!” because I feel like this is how all women should feel about themselves. They should love everything about them and know that they are given the body they have for a reason. I know I have been very critical of myself and I am still trying to feel comfortable in my own skin. It’s nice to know, I’m not the only one, I’m not alone. Reading this makes me want to become a stronger woman and learn to be independent and do what I want to do no matter what society says about it. It makes me want to be the exception that proves society’s rules wrong. For that reason, I am going to be striving to making my goals and dreams happen, and I’m not going to let failures or bums in the road get to me, like I have in the past. I am going to learn from each experience and learn more about myself and discover how much I am capable of.

Right now we are reading a chapter in our textbook titled “Inscribing Gender on the Body” and it’s about how it’s “okay” for men to get piercings other than ears, but not for women. The chapter also talks about women loving their bodies no matter what. There is a large section in the chapter titled “The ‘Beauty’ Ideal” which talks about how a beautiful woman is portrayed as a tall, thin, blond-haired, blue-eyed, big-busted woman. Which is ironic considering only about 2% of women actually fit this ideal. It is quite astonishing to me just how willing we are as women to listen to what society tells us is “attractive” and “right”. We should make our own decisions about how we look and not let society take control of our lives.

I just thought I would share my thoughts with y’all, and my cousin told me I needed to blog again. I’m sure this class will inspire me to write more about the class and what I’m learning from it.