CRJ #11

A feminist is a person who believes that women and others should be treated with the same respect and given the same rights as every other person on the planet. A person who believes women can hold corporate positions, a person that understands a woman's right to choose, and most importantly a person who feels that there are no boundaries when it comes to equality. I don't mean no boundaries as in they can do anything and get away with it, but that they will go as far as they need to go to say what is needed to be said. A pro-feminist man is a man who agrees with feminism. "They support women's equality by changing their lives at home and work all while transforming the definition of masculinity."(722) A man cannot be a feminist because he does not have the feeling of being unequal since he is in fact a man. I still do not consider myself a feminist. I do believe in equality, but not enough to label myself anything. I do not pay much attention to politics and do not really put enough thought into the matter. So, for me to claim either a political title or a title as feminist just does not feel right.

My experience with this course has shown me that there are a lot of different perspectives. This is one thing I have always been aware of, but my life has been slightly sheltered. Being raised in a Christian home with very conservative parents has not allowed me to experience new ideas. I do however claim to be the most liberal person in my family and I think I have the most open-minded opinion. With that said, I have allowed myself to not look blindly at the topic of feminism anymore, but instead embrace the differences.

As for taking what I have learned from this class, I almost seemed to have stated that before. I want to be known as the person who doesn't look blindly at a situation anymore. I would rather be educated in what the other person believes and then decide whether I accept it or reject it for myself, while at the same time allowing that person to live their life how they choose. This is similar to the relationship I have with my best friend from high school. She is a lesbian, and I found that out after we had become very close. She knows that I am a Christian and we both respect each other's decisions. She has visited my church before and I have gone to a gay bar with her. Things like this I will take from this class. The idea of open-mindedness and respect for other people, cultures, decisions and lifestyles. I don't want to be and I am not the judge of someone else's life.

I still don't know what I want to do with my life. I'm an English major, so I may wind up being a writer or an advertiser or a critic; I don't know. So I don't feel I can effectively answer this question about how this course could or could not relate. I do know that all the writing has allowed me to see what kind of a writer I am and that I could have a career with something similar to the types of posts we make.

Thank you for an interesting semester. It was a journey outside of my comfort zone and there were times when this was the last thing I wanted to think of. But I persevered and your comments and words of encouragement helped me get through this. I doubt I will ever take another course like this one, it was a bit overwhelming, but overall I think I wound up enjoying it in the end.