Final Post

I would like to take this opportunity to announce that this will be my last post on the site. Thank you for those who have viewed my shared theories and opinions on the numerous topics we discussed in Critical Theory class. This post serves as a wrap up to make sense of everything we have covered since day one.

The most important aspect I learned about theory is that it can really be applied to everyday life. I know when I encounter certain topics, symbols, and phrases I will be able to use the terminology learned and better make sense of what I see. The theory I will most take from this class is Marxism. It is very evident that a lot of literature in our history deals with things of the political matter, and focuses on social class status. Feminism was also a really important theory for me to learn and understand. From this segment I have learned that there is more to feminism than traditional stereotypes and judgments people place under the term. In theory feminism is all about equal rights between men and women, which we have yet to accomplish still today.

Lastly, although confusing I still took away important factors of Post Structuralism. I still do not have a full understanding of what it all means, but then again who really does? I do know from post structuralism ideals that even the smallest phrases and single words and can interpreted differently depending on the reader. There is really no ultimate truth in literature, as there is no one real truth in life. I will attempt to apply these theories learned whenever useful, and I’ll try to avoid deconstructing take out menus.

Feminism

Thank you Dr. Krouse for your insights on feminism. I really took a lot from your ideas on what feminism truly represents for people in our society. In response to the question who can “do” feminist theory listed at the end, I believe that with proper understanding of the term everyone should support feminism. What it really represents is full equality between men and women, reflecting factors such as opportunities, pay amounts, looking over traditional stereotypes, etc.

Many associate feminist theory with numerous amounts of negative connotations. In class we learned that ten years ago more people would call themselves feminists compared to today. Dr. Krouse shared a quote from Susan J Douglas’s Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media, explaining some of the mistaken stereotypes relating to feminism. “We all know what feminists are. They are shrill, overly aggressive, man-hating, ball-busting, selfish, hairy, extremist, deliberately unattractive women with absolutely no sense of humor who see sexism at every turn”(7). Even though feminists methodology does not represent these ideas in actual theory, this is what people relate to sadly when they here the term.

There are examples of women who fit under the certain categories described above, but it is a shame our society groups everyone into all of these stereotypes. From this people are afraid to support feminist theory, even though its actual meaning represents none of these factors. Yesterday I learned that even though there has been a push to create a law for many years regarding equality between men and women in the workforce, it has still yet to be passed. Women are still under payed, and in some cases are not even offered jobs because of their gender. In this case I feel as though everyone should support feminism, and stop worrying about underlying stereotypes our society still holds.