Feminism | Posted by Talia on 02/17/2011

How the AP Deals With Women

I don’t like being patronized. I know this probably isn’t shocking, but I seriously HATE it. It also annoys me to no end when people patronize womankind.

This year, I’m taking AP European History. Ignoring the fact that the teacher is honestly the worst I’ve ever had (although it is rather fun piping in with my obnoxious feminist comments), I find the course itself patronizing towards women. Maybe I’m overreacting and being too picky, but nevertheless it annoys me that there are specific “Women in xxx” units (for example – “Women in the Scientific Revolution”).

On a handout my teacher gave us outlining women’s role throughout the periods we’ve studied, it says at the top, “A generation ago, women’s history, if it appeared at all in the textbooks, was generally …

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Feminism | Posted by Anna D on 02/3/2011

How To Be a High School Feminist

On our way to high school recently, I asked my friend, “Do you consider yourself a feminist?”

After a slight hesitation, she responded, “Well, I support women’s rights and all, but I’m no bra burner.”

Besides the fact that the bra-burning story is apocryphal, I was surprised by her answer. Is that what feminism meant to this smart girl?

As I’ve discovered what feminism means to me over the past couple years, I am repeatedly shocked by what others think of the movement. One highly accomplished woman I know declared that feminism was dead. Another scoffed when I said I was interested in attending a women’s college. Why is there so much animosity toward such a simple, important ideal—that women deserve equal rights?

The answer probably lies, like so many, …

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