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Terrible2s's picture

Phase 6: Nightmare

Hi I'm Terrible2s and I am a Bryn Mawr Sophomore. I am planning on being a Psych major, Education minor, and GenSex concentration-- if I can get all my stuff together enough to fulfill all of the requirements.

I've read a few peoples responses already, some of which have included a seeming qualifier to the post that she or he has no background in GenSex. I sort of feel like my whole life has been my background in GenSex, but I also do not have much academic background in the study. I (sadly) took a different intro GenSex course thinking it was this one, hated it, and am still trying to get over it. I'm really excited to take this course and have already liked the two classes I've attended. Hopefully this class will help heal the wound... 
I want a lot of things from this course. Mostly, I want to be surprised. I do not want to agree with the professor or all the students at all times, and I want this course to change my thinking.
How do I plan on getting what I want from this course? I hope that others share in my excitement and help to add to discussions and learning. For me, I'm always asking questions, especially when the subject mattter really interests me, and hopefully I'll learn new things and be surprised. I hope also to push myself to do research on my own, because I really am interested in the subject matter (hopefully I'll push past my laziness and really learn something).
So far, however, the class has already given me some surprises. So to expose myself even more, I did the McIntosh reading an hour before our last class. Having thoroughly read the material and highlighted sufficiently, I went for a quick nap before class. Pretty much as soon as my head hit the pillow I began to have a dream--nightmare really--that everyone was a woman. Every person in the world. No men at all. Maybe channeling Charlotte Perkins Gilman (the one who wrote "Yellow Wallpaper" and "Herland")? I don't know. Either way, it was terrifying. We didn't all look the same, but there was this eerie feeling and like very strong energy coming out of all of the women. When I woke up and walked to class the only people I've seen so far have been women. Maybe that's because I go to Bryn Mawr. Either way, I actually do think McIntosh makes a good point in saying we need some reformation and reconstruction, and that includes Bryn Mawr. I think my nightmare reflected the stigma which surrounds "Feminism" which I contest. Maybe the class will at least teach me a way to process feminist writings with a different, less scary, perspective.
Thanks, and I hope we have a good semester!
Terrible2s

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