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Women's Studies

Because women aren't really from Venus.

  • Course Length: 18 weeks
  • Course Type: Elective
  • Category:
    • History and Social Science
    • Humanities
    • High School

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Shmoop's Women's Studies course has been granted a-g certification, which means it has met the rigorous iNACOL Standards for Quality Online Courses and will now be honored as part of the requirements for admission into the University of California system.

If you had to name one thing that pretty much all human cultures ever have had in common, what would it be?

Religious beliefs, form of government, and moral codes are out. Maybe a mutual disdain for Spider-Man 3? That's not a terrible guess, but we think we can do you one better.

Or maybe worse. 

Human history doesn’t involve a ton of universals, but if there’s one thing most societies have agreed on, it's that girls have cooties.

Okay, we may be oversimplifying a bit (or a lot). But generally speaking, identifying as a woman and/or being female-bodied has tended to involve certain disadvantages, prejudices, and frustrations.

In this semester-long course, we’ll

  • look at different definitions of gender itself.
  • learn about the history of women's rights.
  • discuss the way sexism interacts with other popular forms of bigotry, like racism and classism.
  • analyze the state of women's rights today, and ponder where female activism may go in the future. 
  • talk serious, mind-bending theory, while having some fun thinking about pop culture.

Excited? We don't blame you. When else will you have the chance to comment on Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" for a grade?

Unit Breakdown

1 Man, I Feel Like a Woman: Gender Theory and the Nature of Women

Before we can even begin to talk about what happens when women want jobs, or birth control, or the right to, uh, have their own lives, we need to address an even more basic question: What are women? In this unit, we’ll look at several theories of sex and gender, studying what women are all about, and examining what most woman want, anyway.

2 It's a Man's World: Patriarchy and the Need for Women's Studies

Here's a micro-newsflash: "Patriarchy" doesn’t mean the disadvantages faced by women are always the same, and it also doesn’t mean that all people who identify as men and/or are male-bodied spend their days rolling around on piles of money and caviar. That said, patriarchy does mean that there's something a little fishy going on when it comes to the roles of men and women in society, which is what we'll explore in Unit 2.

3 Suffraging the Waves: First-Wave Feminism in America

In this unit, we’ll take an in-depth look at the progress made by early and “first wave” feminism. Most people have had it rough for most of recorded history, so it shouldn’t surprise us too much that the feminist movement—as we know it—only really got its start in the 19th century.

4 Girls Just Wanna Have Jobs: Second-Wave Feminism

A big issue in second-wave feminism is a woman's right to career opportunities, which is what this unit explores. Brace yourselves: This is when the divisions in the women’s rights movement become a lot more obvious. We mean, a career sounds great if you’re a bored housewife, but it’s probably not high on your list of priorities if you’re a maid working long hours for almost no money. Just sayin'.

5 At the Crossroads of Unfair and Unjust: All About Intersectionality

You know this, obv, but not all women are white, upper-middle class, young, able-bodied, heterosexual, or cisgender. But you might not know that when issues like race, class, and sexuality are thrown into the feminist ring, the issue gets a tad more complicated. Unit 5 tackles the concept of intersectional feminism, which incorporates not just womanhood, but all the other elements that make us human, too.

6 Living in the Future: Third-Wave Feminism and Beyond

First wave feminism, second wave feminism…take a wild guess what comes next. The “Sex Wars” of the 1980s until today, which make up feminism’s third wave, (aka the one we’re currently riding) is a lot more diverse than its predecessors, both in terms of race, class, sexuality, etc. and in terms of opinion. This unit will contemplate the wave we're currently riding, and reflect on the evolution of feminism overall. You'll come out of it with a better understanding of feminism in general—guaranteed.