One of lecturer in English Marie Drews' first experiences at Whitworth was a professor from another department asking her whether she talked about "man-hating" in the Intro to Women's/Gender Studies course she is teaching.
This was one of a few comments she has received since she arrived at Whitworth this fall that seem to categorize her based on her involvement in the larger women's and gender studies program, she said.
When starting a new section of the class, Drews never knows what to expect.
"When entering the class, you never know what predispositions students will have," Drews said.
Drews said to counter this, she tries to get students to talk about what concerns they may have about feminism and women's studies early on.
Drews said the idea that male students may be disengaged with women's studies may be a misconception.
"The male students I've had in my class have been quite engaged," Drews said.
Drews said she's observed a tendency for female students to bring up or defend the male position when issues like sexism are discussed.
"When we talk about sexism it's an issue of privilege. I'm of the position that it can't be against men. Students are really concerned about male students being the object of sexism," Drews said. "They want not to be perceived as anti-male."
Drews said she had a male student speak out and suggest that because men are in a privileged position they cannot be the object of sexism.
"In the course we talk a lot about different issues that are challenging. I really value their desires to balance their ideological perspectives and the more sociological perspectives of women's studies as a field," Drews said.
Sophomore Carrisa Pawell is minoring in women's and gender studies, having taken the Intro course with Drews this fall. She said Sarah Palin was a major topic of discussion.
"You realize you have little prejudices that you don't even notice," Pawell said.
Pawell did a Service Learning project for the class by working with residents at Rockwood Retirement Community. The residents are mostly female, Pawell said.
"It was cool to hear their stories," Pawell said.
Contact Jasmine Linabary at jasmine.linabary@whitworthian.
-Read related article: "Women's and gender studies minor missing leadership"
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