Women and gender studies minors learn about inequality, stereotypes

Societal issues such as gender inequality and gender stereotypes are just some of the topics discussed by one program at USD.

The women and gender studies minor provides students with an expanded understanding of gender and sexuality with a focus on global and historical topics involving women and the family.

“So, we have communications courses, history courses, criminal justice courses and courses in psychology,” said Sara Lampert, a history and women and gender studies professor who designed and coordinated the minor.

“The idea is that in addition to the introduction course, students will take five other elective classes in different disciplines and get a really wide-ranging introduction into questions about how gender, sexuality and equality are addressed in different fields.”

Some of these elective courses include Human Sexuality, Sociology of Family, The Science of Love, Understanding the Sexes, and Gender and Media.

Janet Davison is the instructor of the Gender and Media class, and said her class curriculum connects to the program in relation to stereotypes about women in the media.

“What I’ve tried to focus on is how gender and sex are presented in a variety of forms of media. We’ve looked at adversity, movies and their stereotypical gender roles, television and video games,” Davison said.

Jack Niemonen, a professor in the department of sociology along with women and gender studies, teaches the Sociology of Family course that researches relevant topics to the minor, including the social construction of gender roles and the myths and realities of married life.

By including different areas of study, Lampert said the program has been able to host a variety of events for the USD community, which included a panel on marriage equality and a screening of Jennifer Baumgardner’s film “It Was Rape.”

“The turnout for the film was phenomenal. Faculty across campus promoted the film to students by informing their students that it was an important topic,” Lampert said.

While turnout to recent events has been good, Lampert said there are fifteen students actively pursuing minors in the program. She expects more students to join the program in the spring as the minor gains popularity.

Kerstin Tuttle, a senior who is studying the program, said her participation in the courses have really helped her expand her education.

“(The courses) have really improved my critical thinking skills and given me a lot of information about gender equality and what those things mean,” she said.

Synnora Peterson, a senior in the program, said the courses have increased her awareness of the relationship between men and women and how it applies in her own life.

“(The program) gives you more of a view of the differences between men and women,” she said. “It has opened my eyes between how I talk to my boyfriend, and it has helped my relationship. It’s cool to have information regarding gender.”