Comments on: Chris Surette: A Valuable Addition To Your Women’s Studies Classroom

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:49:22 +0000

In most of my Women’s Studies courses (I have a minor in it), I have been the only male (sex) in the class room. In my experience in most of those classes there has been “One of Those Women” that just didn’t seem to get it. Who at the end of the course still believed feminists were anti-everything. I find that my favorite Women’s Studies instructors were great at challenging us and making the classroom a safe space. Out of that, I think we developed a great peer group. It makes me smile to think how the last class would always end in tears, talk about passion, we didn’t want to stop coming to class.

By: Anna

Anna — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:00:35 +0000

We had one (well, three) of Those Guys in my politics class last year. One in particular started out joking about rape and his ‘adventures’ with women that sounded a lot like they’d been trafficked and advocating the sterilisation of single mothers. It definitely helped me to assess and reinforce my own position as a feminist. Long story short, after a year of constant bickering he decided that feminism wasn’t such a Bad Thing and is now a vaguely pro-feminist anarchist. Which is the best we could hope for, really.

By: Phrone

Phrone — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:33:33 +0000

I’m a student facilitator in a Women’s Studies class AND THIS IS SO TRUE. I have that one guy, and I’ve found that he’s become both one of my favorite and one of my worst students. I often worry that students aren’t really thinking about what I’m saying…and him fighting me at every turn gives them a chance to really challenge their own prejudices.

By: Sydney

Sydney — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:31:15 +0000

can someone write me/us a script on how to deal with these d-bags? Just show us how it is done.

By: debbie

debbie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:49:50 +0000

As someone who T.A. an intro to women and gender’s studies class, it is really nice to hear that these classes can actually change people’s lives. From the other end, it’s wonderful to watch people come to feminist consciousness over the course of the academic year. I found that even those who were still hostile to feminism at the end of the year had integrated some aspects of feminist thinking into their lives – even if it just taught them to ask different questions when they see an article about sexual assault.

Being a women’s studies T.A. was also pretty life changing for me, as it made me rethink a lot of the ways that we talk, teach, and learn about social justice issues, but I’ll end the derail.

I was very lucky to never have this kind of student in my classroom. Although there were men who were actively hostile to feminism, homophobic, etc., they were at least engaging with the material. I was definitely lucky

By: Juliana

Juliana — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:54:13 +0000

I have met That Guy as well, only his purpose for joining the class (which he actually confessed to me) was to meet girls. To date. I have to say, I threw up in my mouth a little bit.

Thanks for this post!

By: Niki

Niki — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:33:36 +0000

@ Jill: I am in the exact same boat. I was one of those “Oh god, feminists are hairy man-hating lesbians” people – I thought contemporary feminism boiled down to legislating unrealistic quotas for female firefighters – until I took a women’s studies course. And when I tell people that story, it’s like they think I was brainwashed or something. It’s not.

I took a women’s studies course that lasted the full academic year, and it was a slow process, but it was within the class that I learned I didn’t have to hate my body, didn’t have to deal with my eating disorder, didn’t have to blindly accept that if I ever had kids I would be the default care-giver and sacrifice my career; I also learned that it was the patriarchy that had taught me these things. Most importantly, I learned about intersectionality, and that we’re all in this together, and that really sold me. Feminism is human rights. Period.

OK, sorry for the derail. Just wanted to give a shout-out to the Women’s and Gender Studies School at New College at the University of Toronto. Thanks, New College! You helped me.

By: Mara

Mara — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:16:50 +0000

“Sometimes the theories you are trying to convey are so huge and threatening that people will reflexively choose not to believe or engage with them.”

This is a great point. I remember learning about the rape culture and thinking to myself that there was no way that a rape culture could exist because, obviously, everyone knows that rape is BAD. But then I encountered some young men telling rape jokes (shortly after that 15-year-old girl was gang-raped in California), and I realized through their misogyny that yes, rape culture does exist.

You’re right: sometimes it takes facing sexism to really see it, especially when it comes to the more difficult points of feminist theory.

By: Adrianna

Adrianna — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:36:09 +0000

so, not only is he a “tool”, but he is also a FEMINIST tool, one of many in the feminist toolbag! HAHAHAHAHAHAAH

oh, I do love you sady. with all my lady heart.

By: Amelia

Amelia — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:43:40 +0000

Good post about another one of THOSE “Feminist Guys”, thanks ;)