Teaching, Gender, and the Biological Imperative

Taken at the Truman Presidential Library
FYI: My grandmother has this same exact table!

This summer, I am teaching a gender studies course for my discipline. At one point, there was some concern that the class wouldn’t make: I didn’t have the required 10 students and decision time was upon our dean. Fortunately, I ended up with three graduating seniors who needed an upper-level course, so the class went. We’re now in week three and I have to say that this has been one the best classes I’ve ever taught. It’s so small that I was able to design the class around discussion. Every day, two students submit a memo, give a quick presentation, and lead discussion for about 50 minutes each. The class has just the right blend of students: 1/3 males; 1/3 conservatives; and about 1/2 religious. The discussions have gotten downright rowdy — we’ve talked about sex toys and sexual dysfunction, the fact that women get screwed in their paycheck, and the whole 1950’s Leave it to Beaver lifestyle. Hey, I even dressed up in a 50-ish outfit — costuming really can help direct discussion, especially since my students view me as progressive feminist.

Of course, some of the discussion questions have been downright politically incorrect. One student asked the class if abortion was “evil and selfish.” Fortunately, no one freaked out, except for maybe yours truly. Another student contends that being gay is a “learned behavior” and has can be fixed by going to church. While it’s not my place to change opinions — really, I just view my job as making students dig deeper into *why* they have certain opinions and to critically assess a variety of opinions about an issue — I find myself arguing with them under the protection of “the Devil’s Advocate.”

It is so easy to be morally absolute when you are 20. It’s not so easy when you’re almost 40. I have to remind myself that these students are young, that some of them have lead very sheltered lives, and that not everyone has my odd family background. It seems that the older I get, the grayer I get — and I’m not just talking about my hair. {snicker} What I mean is that I don’t really think in moral absolutes. For example, I don’t necessarily approve of abortion as a means of birth control, but it’s not my place to tell someone that she can’t have one. When a student says “abortion should be wrong in all instances,” I counter with stories about 12 year olds who get pregnant by their mother’s new boyfriends, women who know that their babies will die soon after birth, and rape victims. When a student says “Same sex marriage should be banned because homosexuality is a sin,” I counter with the political history of white-black marriages, the problems associated with hospital stays (who pulls the plug — the parents who have disowned their gay son or the son’s partner of 20 years?), and the idea that the only people who endanger a marriage are the people who are actually *in* that marriage.

This moral absolutism has really be an eye opener. Somehow, I expected my students to be a little more flexible in their views than my born-again Christian stepmother. Last night, for example, I was talking to her about the gender class. The woman, who voted for W and lives in the deep south, had a surprising response. “Well, Disenchanted,” she drawled, “I certainly would never have an abortion, but I wouldn’t outlaw it either. I still remember the days of back-alley illegal abortions.” Hmmm … some of the former hippie attitudes still exist under all that religious gobbity-gook.

As for the biological imperative, the whole assumption that all women want children is just obnoxious. One student said that people get married so they can build families and share the same last name. (WTF?) Other believes that if you have sex, you deserve the bad outcomes of unwanted pregnancy and STDs. Fortunately, I know my majors so I can argue with them and not worry about being targeted by the College Republicans! {LOL}

It’s really too bad my other classes are so large that we can’t have this level of discussion. It certainly has been a learning experience for me. It has refined my argumentation style and has helped me to remember what it’s like to really have to think on my feet. I’m enjoying it immensly. Now I just need to dig through the pile of papers that is building up. Why did I give my classes so many writing assignments? [D'oh!]