Voice

I tend to get myself into the occasional argument about women's issues, and being a feminist in a small community, any time women's issues are brought up you're in the middle of it, so I thought this might be a good opportunity to pick up a bit more ammunition.

Once women's experiences are seen and legitimized, they begin to develop the confidence and skill needed to articulate their aspirations and to develop strategies for realizing them. Women's studies facilitates this process by providing vocabulary and frameworks through which women express their views and analyze their situations. Women's studies also brings isolated women together, providing a forum where strategies for change on many levels can be developed. Students discuss social change on a grand scale, but also share how they manage personal struggles.

Is there any way of educating husbands?

Try leaving the dishes there 'til they pile right up to the ceiling. In my case, they'd be washed, because I've got a dish-washer, but in other cases I know of they'd be there 'til doomsday.

Leave them there' til doomsday, and go buy paper plates!

The confidence students gain from speaking and writing and from mutual support helps them translate their dissatisfaction into effective action.

Limitation

I don't know if I can handle this knowledge, and I don't think I'm doing a very good job of it, to tell you the truth... It's pointing out things I know are right, yet when I delve into it myself, I don't know how you would change it; I don't even know how to change it myself in my own family.

We believe we are offering students valuable knowledge and skills, but, in the short run, isolated students are very vulnerable and may pay a high price in terms of frustrations and personal conflicts. In the absence of support networks, developing a feminist consciousness can be a painful process.

My husband will be some glad when this is over!

I don't know if I'll have a husband by the time this is over.

Although students are excited by their new knowledge, they are ambivalent about the risks and responsibilities involved in recognizing problems and realizing that, to effect change, have to be part of the solution. It is a daunting prospect to feel that you, personally, need to confront and change inequalities within your family or community, without the understanding or support of others. And family members may feel confused by the new ideas introduced by the course, or alarmed by their implications for their lives. Many students made comments like: