HEY!!!

Okay. Now that I have caught your attention, let's get to the real deal:

 

What has this Science Major student learned taking Women and Gender Study class.

Let me start this blog by giving a little bit of my background. I immigrated to Canada with my family in the year of 2006. I am currently a third year Physiology and Pharmacology major student and through this post I would like to share with you my personal journey with taking women gender study classes which eventually resulted in me making WGST as my minor.

So What initiated my desire to take Women and gender study (WGST) classes?

CURIOSITY

I hate to admit it, I use to be ignorant about the need for women and gender study classes during the initial year of my University life. I even use to think they were pointless, always ending the thought with what could someone possibly get out of WGST degree. But this was because I never questioned the norm of my society and the world in general. More so, I never saw anything wrong with the norm. Girls obviously need to be more careful than boys, obviously boys will be boys, and obviously the girl should have known better. You see these things were and are still so “obvious” that it became ingrained in my mind that these are how things are suppose to be. But why are these things so... “obvious”? Why was it so obvious that my brother and most boys were encouraged to be bold, strong, fight for their opinions and why was I and most girls groomed to talk softer, listen and be considerate of other’s opinion? Suddenly a curiosity had sparked and little did I knew that this very curiosity would turn into a burning desire to question the norm in which I so passively lived in.

MY EXPERIENCE:

Right from the start I noticed that WGST class sizes were much more smaller compared to the science classes. I was so used to being in a class-size of average 150 students per instructor that having an average of 40-50 students per instructor was much more interactive. I felt my professors in WGST actually knew me and that led me to consciously and subconsciously put extra effort to perform better in my WGST classes.

Because the goals of the Science courses and WGST courses are so different, I found that the teaching method for these two courses are also very different. The science classes had little room for deviating from the specific content. Therefore at times it felt that the main goal for the instructor was to complete the content for that particular lecture. The most frequent question I heard from the Science instructors were, “ So does everyone understand?” or "Is everyone clear?" The questions demanded definite answers therefore science classes provided me with a very structural based learning.

On the other hand, WGST classes (compared to science classes) did not have heavy material coverage. Yes there were heavy readings but students would read it prior to class therefore leaving an ample room for sharing ideas, questioning and understanding the material. The most frequent question I heard from the WGST instructors were, “so why do you think…” or “What does it mean when…” and so on. Therefore the questions were very open ended which led the class to think about the answers they wanted to share. This in turn provided me with critical thinking skills.

I found the WGST classes complemented my science classes. In my science classes a lot more emphasis was given in memorizing and deeply understanding the materials (as you can for most cases cannot argue with the knowledge provided). There were no assignments but only midterms and finals therefore a lot of self-discipline regarding staying on track had to be from my part. The heavy emphasis on getting the grades only through exam made me very exam focused. BY this I mean, after the exam I would not worry abut refreshing the content I learned but quickly just start focusing on the new materials. Most of my classes had little room for time to even talk about new innovations, current situation on science progress etc.

However in WGST classes I found that we were discussing a lot more about current events, local events and even political issues. There was ample time for the whole class to contribute, agree and disagree. As there were assignments and projects, I was not exam focused but rather more focused on understanding and questioning the content I was provided. The course material in general was very interconnected with each-other and more so, very relatable in general day-to-day life. The guest speakers and documentaries shown in WGST classes bridged my insight on how people are treated and placed in different country and cultural societies solely based on the gender one identifies with.

After taking WGST classes I started reflecting and realizing how I myself belong to a patriarchal family, culture and beliefs. It has made me realize how much influence all these factors has had on my identity that I carry today. At this point I am still on my journey however I have an invaluable appreciation for WGST courses compared to when I first started my University journey. The skills and learnings I received after WGST classes have made me versatile. It has taught me to question and to be bold enough to not just live passively amongst the crowd but to have an opinion and be willing to stand out.

So this is it, this is the story of a journey of a Science major student who thankfully decided to take the WGST course.  

Say No to Girls' Day

March 8 is well-known as the International Women's Day to commemorate women rights movement and to advocate economical, political and social equality for women. Instead of women’s day, have you ever heard about another version of Women’s Day in China---- Girls' Day on March 7 for young ladies? The Girls' Day is increasing popularity among young people in university campus.

What’s the Girls' Day?

As a version of Women’s Day for young ladies, the Girls' Day is originated from Shandong University. On that day, male students will celebrate Women’s Day for peer female students before March 8.

For translation and culture gap, the Women’s Day is called into funü jie(妇女节)in Chinese. Moreover, funü is stereotypically related to married and not younger ladies. Besides, the date March 8 is also easily connected with sanba(三八)in Chinese, which is a negative and dirty word to describe rude and hysterical women. So, the young girls are excluded on that day. Therefore, the March 7 is set for young girls and avoided the bad meanings. Recently, influenced by consumerism and spread by social media, Girls' Day has become a school culture in university for male students to show their concerns for female schoolmates. On March 7, red wishing banners written by whole class males students will hang out in campus and the male students will also give some presents to ladies.

                                                              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vun34_sR_P8

some red wishing banners on campus on Girls' Day

                                                                 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoNIdP8U7n0

Best Wishes in the Red Banners

Red banners with best wishes from male students hanging around the campus is a great impression for Girls' Day. Walking around on campus, the red banners are everywhere.The followings are some red wishing banners from the male students.

“No matter what the ratio of boys vs. girls is, you are always in our hearts”

“You just eat, and I will grow; I make money and you take care of it”

“Life is for programming. Today is for the girls”

Generally, with concise speaking, the banners denote students’ major characteristics and all of these banners share a common that the man schoolmates express their care for female students through saying that girl peers are the best and the perfect ones. The image and positions of ladies are praised and raised highly.

Immersed in tremendous creative compliments, most ladies are moved by what the male said. They enjoy the feelings brought by man that girls are in the center of the world on Girls' Day The superiority to be a lady makes them forget the unfairness for women in the society.

In my views, those flattering to ladies in Girls' Day is just a way for male to show off their masculinity and self-respect. The girls are lauded to the skies by man, which is man’s control to praising women.

Male’s praising seems respects but it truly comes back to the traditional binary gender view that there are only two gender, male and female. Furthermore, the girls are said to be taken more care by the men, which strengths the frail images for women.

Refuse to Girls' Day

        As educated students, we should firmly say no to Girls' Day. Here are some reasons:

On the one hand, getting out from the honey made by the male, the female who receive higher education should care more about the real issues for women equal rights and the real meanings for Women’s Day. In the labor market, gender discrimination is still a critical problem in China. Most employers openly emphasize the principle of man first. The ladies cannot gain the same payment as the man for the same work. Most important positions are still controlled by man. Wherever in the government or in the companies, few women are leaders. Culturally, leftover lady (old single women), strong women and tough girl are unpopular groups.

On the other hand, separating Girls' Day from Women’s day, ladies agree with the traditional language discrimination on women from males perspective that the term “Women” in Women’s Day ----funü (妇女),are old married women ; the dates sanba(三八) are rude feminine images ;and the term Girl is about young, fragile and innocent ladies protected by men. Conclusively, it is meaningless to celebrate Girls' Day on March 7.

More articles about Girls’ Day in China 

http://www.chinaminutes.com/british/tic/soc/20170307/257017.html

https://www.buzzfeed.com/beimengfu/a-cute-holiday-celebrating-girls-has-turned-creepy-because-m?utm_term=.nh7wjj6gDR - .vaj6KK7GlQ

http://www.womenofchina.cn/womenofchina/html1/features/1603/675-1.htm

Space Stations and Social Locations

As a child, all I wanted was to go to space. Years later, I knew the arts degree I was pursuing wasn't going to get me there. But, that social science and humanities background would help me to think critically about how social location affects one's chances of making it to the International Space Station (ISS).

Social Location

To understand your social location, you have to examine where you come from and how that affects your interactions with society. Were your parents wealthy? Are you a person of colour? Does your gender match your biological sex? Where do you live? The answer to each of these questions is a small piece of your social location. For more information on social location, click here.

What's in an Astronaut?

Figure 1 Click to go to source

Generally speaking, good health, problem-solving skills, and an academic background in science, engineering, or medicine are the basic requirements to become an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA/ASC). There are specific physical requirements including height and weight restrictions, and the academic requirements include bachelor degrees, and either experience in the field or graduate degrees. You can find more information on requirements for Canadian astronauts at the CSA/ASC website. 


How does social location affect astronaut selection?

To begin, I'd like to examine the following video about the CSA/ASC's current astronaut selection process. (You can find part one here) 

When we watch this video with social location in mind, we can see patterns in the selection process. The candidates chosen are predominantly white, clean cut, and middle to upper-middle class Canadians. The implications of this are, that a career as an astronaut is more accessible to those who come from a more privileged background. Access to advanced education, good health care, and resources to improve both health and educational performance are not accessible to everyone in Canada. 1 in 7 people live in poverty in Canada, and, "1 in 5 racialized families live in poverty in Canada, as opposed to 1 in 20 non-racialized families" (Canada Without Poverty). 

 Canada has had twelve astronauts in its history, two of whom were women (Canadian Space Agency). This ratio of male to female astronauts may be influenced by the lack of women with degrees in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. "in 2011, 39% of STEM university graduates aged 25 to 34 were female, compared to 23% of STEM graduates aged 55 to 64.  However, women represented 66% of all non-STEM graduates aged 25 to 34 in 2011 (a proportion that was in the 80% range in health professions and related programs, and in education programs). Women were thus proportionately under-represented among STEM graduates, at least compared with other fields." (Statistics Canada)

Conclusion

Social location absolutely affects one's opportunities when it comes to employment with the CSA/ASC. Class, race, gender, and ability all affect one's chances at winding up with the ISS for an office. I chose this topic, because space travel was near and dear to my heart as a child and because feminism and critical thought are important to me as an adult. I'd like to end this blog with some of my childhood heroes. 

Valentina Tereshkova (First woman in space) 

Mae C. Jemison, M.D. (First African American woman in space)

Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D. (First Indian-born woman in space)

#womeninspace #intersectionalityisimportant #womeninSTEM #sociallocation

Works Cited

Statistics Canada. "Gender differences in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computer science (STEM) programs at university." Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. N.p., 27 Nov. 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

Canadian Space Agency, Directions of communications, Information services and new media. "History of the Canadian astronaut corps." Canadian Space Agency website. N.p., 25 Nov. 2016. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

"Just the Facts." Canada Without Poverty. Canada Without Poverty/Canada sans Pauvreté, 2017. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.