What My Students Learned This Semester

Taking inspiration from Jo(e), I passed out index cards and asked my students to write down one thing they learned in class this semester.  These are the anonymous responses I received in the order in which I received them.

I learned that "Gender Studies" is not just "Gay Class."  There is sooooo much more to this course than women's rights and gay people.  I LOVED it.

I learned that Gossip Girl is better than The Hills.

The one person I will always remember and find interesting was the transgendered porn guy/girl.

Saw the first transgendered guy ever!  Learned quite a bit about women in the 19th century.  I was also able to further improve my writing skills especially when it came to condensing and being as specific as possible.

I learned to look beyond the surface of ads, TV shows, and new to see some deeper issue with race and gender.

I learned how to look deeper into issues.  For example, I would never have thought about pornography and masculinity in the way that we did in this class, especially from reading the book.

I learned that orgasm in French means "little death."

I learned how sexist the media in America is.  I enjoyed the whole Barbie lesson because I never looked at it like that before.  It was really eye opening.  It was cool to me to see the hidden messages behind everything.

It's not something I learned exactly, but because of this class, when I'm watching shows on television, I notice things about race, gender, and stereotypes more often and comment on them to my friends.

One thing I learned is that the media nowadays is hard on men and their appearance like they are on women, and it is taking a toll on men.

I learned that there were some insane treatments to cure women of depression in the past.  I never knew those opinions existed.

One thing I learned was how to express my true opinions in writing.

The class honestly opened my eyes to the vast amount of different people there are in the world. It helped me to not judge people as much as I used to and to accept all different types of people and their personalities.

I learned how in trouble our males are in.

I learned that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I can't stand Freud.

I learned way too much about Freud than I would ever want to know.

Freud isn't actually an amazing doctor but rather an overanalyzer that is sexually deprived.

This class really broadened my outlook on race, gender, and sexuality as a whole.  I think I was too narrow-minded coming into this class.

This class really helped me use Blackboard better.

I never knew the term "Down Low" or "DL" was used in reference to someone's sexual orientation or lifestyle.

I learned about all the struggles that women face from society.

I learned that not only do women struggle with society, but men do as well.

What I learned this semester was amazing.  I never knew I could learn so much in one class. I learned how to be so open-minded.  What I learned is that a man can appear to look "bad ass" but have the same sexual organ as me.  Buck Angel!  I never will forget that!

Things I learned this semester.  Old Barbie commercials look like something out of The Stepford Wives.  Women fight/fought hard for what they wanted/want.

Note:  The transgender porn star mentioned is Buck Angel, who has an amazing website with lots of NSFW images.