When I signed up for classes during the past semester, I wasn’t able to get into any of the psychology classes that I was interested in because they were all full by the time my registration date came around (being a sophomore sucks sometimes…)
I had settled, albeit unhappily, for the fact that I wouldn’t be taking any psychology classes for the next six months, despite being a psychology major.Still, I spent the next few weeks skimming through classes and trying to find any one that I could sign up for. Somehow, a single seat for PSYC 300 appeared. I signed up immediately without really realizing what the class entailed.
The class I had joined was called “Psychology of Women.” I’ll admit that I was apprehensive about taking a class about women (despite being one myself). I did consider myself a feminist, but “not like those other girls”—I found the term to be toxic after reading through certain misandry-disguised-feminism rants on Tumblr, and having encountered accounts of women treated badly by self-proclaimed feminists after admitting that they didn’t like being labeled by the word. It seems as though most women are nervous about using the term to describe themselves: it has so many negative connotations in our world today. “Feminist” is a term that is often met with a sneer and an eye-roll. I worried that my professor might be one of those armed-and-angry feminists, the kind that went on long tangents against “the patriarchy,” dismissed all men as terrible and misogynistic, and used terms like “mansplaining” or “manspreading.”
Despite all these preconceived notions about the class, I ended up heralding it as one of the most interesting and useful courses in my life.
My professor wasn’t anything like I dreaded—she was a mother, a wife, someone that I could relate to and understand. The people in this class weren’t angry at the world; most of them were probably like me, a little nervous about the course, or simply curious about themselves and their peers. There are a considerable number of men in this class as well, and I have to commend them for their interest. I think that what we’ve learned over the semester will really help them in understanding that women are not these mysterious, ethereal beings that are impossible to read. We’re just people.
That was the basis of the lecture: we are just people, but due to years of oppression, things are different for us, and here is how the world is changing today as women fight for equality. It taught me that “feminist” isn’t necessarily a bad term, just one that is misused and misunderstood, and I’ve learned that I’ve been naïve—well, maybe not naïve, but certainly ignorant—about certain, important topics like equal pay, the glass ceiling, etc. And most importantly, the psychology of women isn’t just about women—it’s about men, too. It’s about the interaction between men and women, how we can work to support each other, and how to make the world a more understanding place. I’ve always been all for raising girls up, but the big distinction between what I believe and what many seem to deem as feminism is that my beliefs revolve around creating equal opportunities for men, women, and anyone in between. Not raising one group on a pedestal. Feminism isn’t about superiority—it’s about equality.
Anyways, I digress. I guess my main goal in this personal piece is to urge those of you who must take a psychology class, or are interested in taking one, to try out Psychology of Women. There’s a saying that goes, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” and I’m sure everyone’s heard it before. Well, this is a situation in which the phrase can be put to use. As someone who had mostly been exposed to negative stereotypes of courses such as these, I think that everyone should take Psychology of Women—which really should be called Psychology of Gender—because it’s not just about women. It’s about all of us, together, working towards a world that is more accepting and more tolerant than ever. It dispels the “intrigue” of both genders, demolishes these archaic clichés of what a man or woman should be—that one should be masculine and emotionless and unbreakable, and the other, delicate and maternal and helpless. It acknowledges our differences but also our similarities, and most importantly, the course explains how we can support each other in a climate that tends to divide, rather than tie us together.
I hope you take my advice into consideration, but it’s entirely up to you. Just remember: sometimes, without realizing it, your most deep-seated values can be detrimental. Keeping an open mind will help you to grow as a person, perhaps even make you a happier individual. So, even if you don’t take “Psychology of Women” specifically, you’ll never regret taking a class that shows you a new perspective.
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