Erin Smith

WMST250

 

                                                                 Assignment #4

 

 

        Before taking this women’s studies class my perception of women’s rights and feminism was completely different then what it is now.  It was through our assignments, both reading and writing, that enabled me to reconsider the conventional assumptions about these concepts and create my own opinions. Throughout the class we were encouraged to analyze our progression and change of opinions that had occurred over the semester.  By considering our thoughts from the beginning of the semester we were better able to realize how much we truly learned in the class. Each assignment in it’s own way enabled us to grasp a deeper understanding of the concept and encouraged us to challenge our own conceptions of feminism, oppression, and various other theories.

        Assignment One really made us examine what we believed to be art.  It forced us to go out and view art, something that many of us would not do on our own.  When asked the question, “what is art?” many people would think of famous artist such as Picasso and Van Gogh but not many people stop to think about what and who classifies this as “art.” Many people just accept what other people tell them is art. However, if art is a form of expression then who can classify certain pieces as art and not others?  Each individual views art in a different way.  What is beautiful to some it ugly to others and some pieces can really have an influence on some people and other people can just look at it and wonder how it is even classified as art.  It is by asking these questions that we begin to understand art more complexly. As we discussed in my discussion group art is created in order to convey a message or to express the feelings of the artist that he or she may not be able to express in other ways.  Art is also sometimes a way to analyze societal problems or the way in which the artist views the world.  We also discussed the fact that art does not necessarily need to be pretty.  For example, the Paula Rego exhibit in the National Museum of Women in the Arts was far from traditional art. It was not the typical “pretty’ artwork that many people are used to.  Her paintings were both disturbing and unusual.  From this exhibit I learned that art does not necessarily need to be visually appeasing.  Sometimes the more disturbing art has a bigger influence on the viewer.  The disturbing images set it apart from the other art and make the viewer take notice.  I feel that sometimes it is necessary to make the art disturbing in order to convey a message.  The shock value of the art will force people to view it and maybe think a little more into the meaning behind the image. Pretty art is nice to look at but many people do not try and analyze the meaning behind it and just take it for it’s face value.  I think that Paula Rego’s artwork really got her message across and even though most people don’t like to view ugly things, life is not always pretty and “picture perfect.”  Life is imperfect and disturbing at some times and I think that her exhibit really displayed this.

        The Hirshhorn museum also displayed some artwork that would not necessarily be what most people consider “artwork.” A lot of the pieces were simple and some were absurd as well.  However, this was my favorite museum and the modern pieces were really intriguing.  I think that traditional art is boring to me.  Of course it is nice to look at a pretty picture but I personally don’t get any meaning out of viewing this type of art.  I think this entire assignment really opened my eyes to art and it’s meanings.  I am not really an artistic person and while I can appreciate artwork, I would probably not go out of my way to view art in a museum as we were assigned to do for this first Assignment. 

        Assignment Two was helpful in developing my idea of feminism.  Before coming into this class I upheld the typical view of feminist; extreme radical women, most likely lesbians, who hated men and felt that all women were oppressed in our society.  Throughout this course I really learned that this is not true at all.  Feminism is more about equality for everyone, not just females.  I also learned that while there are extremely radical feminists, not all feminists are like that.  While I consider myself pretty liberal and completely for equality for everyone I never considered myself a feminist. It just seemed to me that this title produced a negative stigma and I just never wanted to be placed under this category.  However, now I consider myself partly a feminist because I agree with a lot of the ideals that they uphold.  I also learned that most feminist do not hate men. I’ve learned that like political parties there is a scale of feminism. There are some who are radicals and adhere to every ideal and follow it strictly and others who are more loosely feminists.  They agree with the basic concepts of feminism but do not take the radical view on every issue.  When we were asked to come up with our own definition of feminism it was interesting to see how everyone’s definition differed slightly from everyone else’s.  We all had the same basic idea but each individual definition was slightly different from the others.  However, we were able to all agree on one definition of feminism that seemed to encompass all of our own individual definitions. This assignment helped me to better assess my view on feminism because I was able to see how others felt on the issue as well.  We all came from different backgrounds but we were all able to decide on a common definition that represented our ideas.

        I think Assignment Three was the most helpful to me.  Before completing Assignment Three I never really thought about the ways in which I was oppressed in society. Since I am a white female I have not really felt truly oppressed throughout my life. However, when I stopped and began to analyze the marked and unmarked categories I am in I began to truly understand that everyone in society is oppressed in their own ways.  Perhaps they are not oppressed in the traditional ways but there are more subtle things that restrict people from obtaining the same opportunities as others.  I think this assignment really went along with what I considered to be a major theme in the class, reevaluating typical assumptions about ideas such as feminism and even oppression in society.  By being forced to examine certain things in different contexts we are also forced to reconsider our typical assumptions and make our own opinions regarding issues such as those.  Assignment Three was a good eye opener, not only writing the paper itself but the things we discussed in lecture and discussion.  When we went over all the marked and unmarked categories and shared what each person wrote about it really showed how every category has it’s own oppressions.  It also showed where different people view power in our society.  Where each individual viewed power in our society depended heavily upon their race, gender, socioeconomic status, where they lived, and many more characteristics also factored in.

        I think all these Assignments, including this one, have helped me to more fully develop my thoughts about feminism and oppression in society and art as well.  Each assignment changed my opinion slightly every time because every one was different and thus encouraged the class to examine things in a different perspective.  While examining my free writes throughout this semester I have observed an obvious change in my perception.  As I have mentioned earlier I used to hold the common misconception of feminists and I never really examined what I considered art.  I would say that I held the same views as the majority of college freshman.  I think that college in general enables students to second guess conventional thinking and classes such as this encourage us to explore beyond what we were used to and thus helps us to develop our ideas and opinions.

        Not only did the written assignments help to broaden my perspective but the readings did as well.  Three readings that I liked the best were Chicana Art , But Is It Art?,  and Feminism Is for EVERYBODY. In Feminism is for EVERYONE, I was especially intrigued by the chapter about Feminist Class Struggle.  It discussed the difference between feminism in the different social classes.  Something that they talked about that I had never thought of myself was the fact that during the feminist movement the feminists in the middle and lower classes started working because they wanted the same opportunities as men but they were disappointed when they returned back home and found that they still had to do all the housework. This is now referred to as the “second shift.” This is the concept that women now go to work during the day then when they come home they have to take care of the kids and do the housework.  In essence women are reaching equality in the business world but they are still expected to take care of everything in the household as well.  I think complete equality would obviously be equally dividing the workload in each area.

        But Is It Art? Discussed very different topics, obviously regarding art and its effect on culture. In chapter three Freeland discusses John Dewey believed art to be the “universal language.”  He also said that it was the best way to understand a culture. I completely agree I think that societal aspects of a culture are represented through art.  The artists use their artwork as an outlet to the oppressions and troubles that they experience in their everyday lives. This enables viewers to have a better understanding of the problems of that society at that time period. Thus, art truly is the universal language.  A person doesn’t have to learn how to read art if is simply interpretation and the message you receive when you view the piece.

       I enjoyed reading Chicana Art the most.  I really enjoyed looking at the different art pieces that Perez scattered throughout the book.  I also enjoyed the message that she tried to convey to the reader.  She stressed the lessening of the importance of religion in society.  There is obviously a very clear lack of religious observance, especially in our country.  Centuries ago many country’s governments and law making systems were deeply entwined with the country’s religion. Today, however, the separation of church and state is highly stressed.  The public does not want lawmaker’s religion to influence their decision in the legislature.  I agree that there should be complete separation of church and state.  I do not think that a person’s personal moral choice or religious belief should be applied to the general public. However, I also think that religion among the general public has decreased as well.  With the growth of technology and scientific advancements people are finding it harder and harder to have faith in something that is not a scientific fact.  Personally I think faith is a very hard thing to come by.  To completely believe something without any evidence to support it takes a lot.  Some people feel that those who hold faith like this are strong, others believe they are ignorant.  I have the utmost respect for those who have strong faith. However, I do not believe that faith and religion is the same thing. Faith is an individual thing while I feel that religion is more of a societal institution. This is another thing that I may not have thought of  on my own.  We discussed the difference in discussion and before I had never really stopped to analyze the difference between faith and religion, most people just assume they basically the same thing but essentially they aren’t.

       Overall, I think the central theme of this women’s studies class was to encourage us to dismiss the conventional assumptions about issues such as feminism, art, oppression in society, our own individual oppressions, and other issues that were unintended such as religion.  I think through the many assignments, both reading and writing we were able to explore these issues on many levels. We are able to view them through the artwork, through our own individual experiences and through the experiences of our classmates.