Feminism

The article in class was hard to read. In fact, I read some sentences over several times. I'd think I got it and then I'd get confused again. By the end, however, I think it sunk in. Gender and sex are two separate things. While sex is defined biologically, I think gender is defined by the society at large (or regional as was the case with the dorms that Dr. Cammack spoke of). While sex is a finite thing (except in the case of biological mishaps), gender seems to be almost a contrived thing and its interpretation can even change as "societal norms" fluctuate.

Also lets not leave the media out of the equation. They know how to market things as feminine and masculine. If we consider adolescents, then we can't discount the influence celebs, musicians and athletes have on what the "ideal" girl or guy is.

One other comment - I like that we are "doing" things. While the mapping was a little difficult, because we had to constuct something, we really had to read the article for understanding. I also liked doing the graphic representations for Catalyst and the literature circle. Any creative or kinesthetic way in expresssing ideas or feelings is great for adolescents. It gives some of the particularly shy students a voice. I'm glad we got to try out these teaching strategies.