WS 101 M/W- Cora Agatucci

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WS 101 Online Student Study Guides

"Women & Psychology: Why We've Been Ignored,
What We're Doing Now""Male Responses to the Women's Movement"
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"Women & Psychology..."

Else Londahl
WS 101, Prof. Agatucci
Study Guide #1
January 27, 1998

Study Guide for " Women in Psychology: Why We’ve Been Ignored, What We’re Doing Now" (Week #3)

Speaker: Leslie Minor-Evans
Date: Tuesday, January 20, 1998
Reading/Related Assignments: Complete two self-assessments on " Attitudes Toward Women" and " Are You Androgynous?" . Reserve reading: Chapter 8 on "Gender" from Halonen, Jane, and Santrock, John(1997). Human Adjustment (2nd Ed.) Dubuque, Iowa. The Times Mirror Higher Educational Group, Inc. Brown and Benchmark, Publishers.

Part I: Summary of Main Points and Key Concepts

  1. Are we naïve about gender? To begin the class, Leslie Minor-Evans the class do an exercise on identifying two individuals for two groups of traits. These traits included adventurous, ambitious, logical and independent in one, and the other attractive, sensitive, tender and gentle. These traits are stereotyped "male" and "female" traits respectively. She listed the names of the individuals on the board expecting the class to respond according to the stereotypes, but the results came out equal. We were more aware of the stereotypes and responded with that in mind. This is an example of how studies can be biased.
  2. The History of Psychology: Psychology was started by men 100 years ago. Some of the men involved were William James, Tichner, Freud, Pavlov and Washburn. Many of these male psychologists felt women were inferior to men and therefore had a biased opinion going into research. In fact, until Hollingsworth ( a female psychologist) came along in 1916, Women were never study subjects in psychology. We were and still are to some extent an androcentric (male centered) society.
  1. Mary Cawkins attempted to study women before Hollingsworth, but that wasn’t approved of and she was never given a degree in psychology.
  2. A male psychologist named Watson believed that men should be in charge of child rearing and children shouldn’t be comforted. He had a great influence on society and people began to raise their children accordingly. A female by the name of Mary Jones came along and reversed this influence.
  3. Following Mary Jones, another female psychologist began to study women as well as men and criticized famous theories. Karen Horny in particular criticized Freud’s theory that females go through a stage called "penis envy". She clamed that females actually envy power, not the penis.

C. In the 50’s, the influence women had in psychology faded because of the domestication movement. Women were at home raising families and no time for education or research for publication.

1. Today women psychologists still make less money than male psychologists because they have to take time off research for pregnancy. Minor-Evans showed us a chart which listed the incomes of men versus women in varies fields. In al l of these fields, women made less money than men. Some reasons for this are that women can’t make as many publications, less often get tenure, and are less frequently administrators for the reason I spoke of earlier.

D. What is the psychology of women? It compares women to men. Men are considered the "norm" in our androcentric society.

  1. Meta-analysis (the study of studies) is a more recent part of the psychology of women. Psychologists are trying to reduce some biases in research
  2. Women are still not thought of as good research subjects because of hormones, menstruation and possible pregnancy. Because of this, psychology of women is still pretty small scale.

E. There are unlimited stereotypes regarding gender, some of which psychologists came up with. The fact is, however, that it is impossible to speak for every individual within a group. I may be pushy at some time, but that doesn’t mean that all women are all pushy at all times!

  1. Some comic strips and lists that Minor-Evans provided illustrated some of these stereotypes. One was on how to tell a business man from a woman. An example was that woman are pushy while men are aggressive.
  2. Another comic strip she showed the class was showing that gender starts at birth. "Is it a boy or a girl?" Isn’t it more important to know if the infant is healthy?
  3. Some other stereotypes Minor-Evans talked about were:

a. women relationship oriented/men task oriented
b. women use hedges and tags/men use less
c. women hold arms and side/men hold shoulders
d. women prefer rapports(relationship & bonding)/ men prefer reports(facts, problem solving)

Part II: Questions for Thinking and Discussion

  1. Can a psychologist completely avoid biases in gender/women research. Why or why not?
  2. What were your results on your self-assessments. Did you expect these results? Do you agree with them? Why or why not?
  3. What are some gender stereotypes you have observed. Think about some stereotypical things that you have said to people like all men are pigs etc.. We all stereotype and need to be aware of our stereotypes before we tell others not to or that they are terrible for having them.
  4. Do you think that women will ever have equal pay and job opportunity as men? Will women be as accepted as men in all areas of psychology, or will pregnancy always create a gap in this area?
  5. In Minor-Evans’ summary, she claimed that we are always more alike than different. Do you agree? Why or why not?

Part III: Compare-Contrast this Presentation to Others: Questions and Observations

  1. Both Minor-Evans and O’Brien brought up inequalities between genders such as pay. Use Cora’s Contextualization exercise but instead, list the positives of being a woman or a man, and the negatives of being a woman or a man. Ask your grandparents to do the same. How much has time and the women’s movement decreases the negatives? Has it hurt men like O’brien said?
  2. Notice that only psychologists mentioned by O’brien were males. After Minor-Evans’ talk, did you notice this? If so, what was your reaction?
  3. Looking back to Part III question three on Cora’s sample study guide, what were Minor-Evans’ and O’briens responses to feminism. Where they gynocentric etc? Did one speaker seem more comfortable than the other speaking to a room full of primarily women? Notice the questions asked of O’brien vs. Minor-Evans and Cora. Notice also that O’brien used quite a few tags and hedges going against the stereotype that Minor-Evans talked about.

Part IV: Further Study and Research

  1. Minor-Evans only mentioned what women psychologists have been doing in the psychology of women( the feminist journals etc.). What have male psychologists been doing in that area of research? Perhaps Cora’s website could be a good link to find out more about this.
  2. If you are a follower of Freud and other psychologists who think women are inferior to men, look up the Mangaean culture. You are in for a big surprise. They are a gynocentric society.
  3. We didn’t go into much depth regarding the first exercise in the presentation. Perhaps you could try this exercise with several age groups. Perhaps if you are a teachers assistant in an elementary classroom you could do some research there. At what age did the students catch on to why you were doing this exercise? Try it on your roomates.

Lindsey Alexanian
WS 101, Prof. Agatucci
Study Guide #1
January 27, 1998

Study Guide for "Women in Psychology"(Week #3)

Leslie Minor-Evans
Tuesday, January 20, 1998
Halonen, Jane, and Santrock, John (1997). Human Adjustment (2nd ed.). Dubuque, Iowa: The Times Mirror Higher Educational Group, Inc., Brown and Benchmark, Publishers.

Part I: Summary of Main Points and Key Concepts

A. Women have not been noted often in psychology.

1.It has not traditionally been considered a woman’s field. It was founded by men.
2. Few women have had their work published. Many of those who have, have been coupled with their husbands into a team.

B. Women as subjects has often been avoided due to their supposed "raging hormones". It was thought that young, white men could efficiently represent everyone.

1. There where menstrual cycles to get in the way.
2. Women were entirely too moody all around to work with. The situation was best avoided.

C. There is a division of psychology devoted to the studies of women.

1. Men have been studied for centuries, and have been seen as the norm. To study women is entirely different and new.
2. It is interesting to study change, and men’s roles really haven’t changed a lot.
3. Communication differences are studied.

a) Verbal tags and hedges.
b) As women we make less money, have fewer publications, and make tenure less often.
c) There are many stereotypes that fit men and women into generalized roles.

Part II. Questions to Ponder:
A. How long has Psychology been around? When did the first women get a degree? Why did it take so long?
B. What was the event that encouraged the role of women in psychology? Did it encourage women in other roles as well?
C. Why is there a problem with psychologists typically studying white, young males only in experiments?
D. What is the reason that women make tenure less often?
E. Is it important to have both a male and female researchers and viewpoints in all sciences. What is it that multiple gender opinions add to areas of study?

Part III. Themes among Presentations:
A. Women have not been treated fairly concerning personal rights, and opportunities in the past.
B. Women continue to be treated unfairly today.
C. There are many gender related stereo types that we all buy into.

Part IV.
A. What roles do women play in clinical psychology?
B. What other factors were involved in the rise of women in psychology?
C. Is there a preference of clients toward men or women as clinical psychologists?

Amie McGee
WS101, Prof.Agatucci
Study Guide #1
January 27, 1998

Study Guide for "Women and Psychology: Why we've been ignored, What we're doing now" (week #3)

Speaker: Leslie Minor-Evans
Date: Tuesday, January 20, 1998
Reading/Related Assignments: Chapter 8 on "Gender" from: Halonen, Jane, and Santrock, John (1997). HUMAN ADJUSTMENT (2nd ed.). Dubuque, Iowa: The Times Mirror Higher Education Group, Inc., Brown and Benchmark, Publishers.

Part I: Summary of Main Points and Key Concepts

A. The History of Psychology and Some Contributions of Women

  1. Psychology, as a science, has only been around for the past 100 years. According to Psychology timelines the founder of "psychology" is William James. Some other contributors in the field of psychology are Sigmuend Freud, Hollingsworth, Mary Cover-Jones, Mary Calkins, Pavlov, and John B. Watson. Mary Caulkins was or is president of a psychology club. Mary Cover-Jones reversed or studied the reversal of phobias that John B. Watson instilled in children.
  2. Psychological research has often included only male subjects, considering woman to be bad research subjects because of their reproductive cycles and their ability to bear children. However, the research findings in these androcentric psychological studies have often been generalized to include women. "Androcentric"- male centered society; male focused research, education and other areas, viewing males as the norm.
  3. Women began to be included in psychology in 1916, spurred by the women's movement. Currently half of the graduate students in psychology are women. Women now exist in all areas of psychology and are the primary members of Division #35 of The American Psychology Association.

B. Gender Stereotyping and Gender-role Transcendence

  1. "Gender Stereotypes are broad categories that reflect our impressions and beliefs about females and males" (see L. Minor-Evans' assigned reading p.175). Leslie Minor-Evans' exercise required the class to pick the name of two people based on a list of character traits that have been often stereotyped as either male or female characteristics. The results of this exercise often demonstrate gender-stereo typing however our class was described to have shown "reactance". Reactance is using conscious efforts to not stereotype males and females. Although there are many differences and similarities between males and females, we are more alike than different according to Leslie Minor-Evans.
  2. "Gender role-transcendence is the belief that an individual's confidence should be conceptualized not on the basis of masculinity, femininity, or androgyny, but rather on the basis of the person" (see L. Minor-Evans' assigned reading p.175). "Androgyny" is the presence of desirable masculine and feminine characteristics in the same individual" (see L. Minor-Evans' assigned reading p.174). It is believed that "both concepts-androgyny and gender-role transcendence-draw attention away from women's unique needs and the power imbalance between women and men in most cultures" (see L. Minor-Evans' assigned reading p.175).

C. Gender Identity from four psychological prospectives.

  1. The Neurobiological perspective contends that gender identity is fundamentally linked to anatomy and physiology.
  2. The Psychoanalytic perspective argues that human behavior is influenced by sexual drives.
  3. The behavioral perspective believes that gender identity is a product of nurture as well as nature. The social learning theory of gender emphasizes that children's gender development occurs through observation and imitation of gender-related behaviors, and through rewards and punishments children experience for gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate behavior.
  4. The cognitive perspective focuses on the role of cognitive influence on gender addressed by two prominent theories. According to the cognitive developmental theory of gender children's typing occurs after they have developed a concept of gender constancy. Once children consistently conceive of themselves as male or female, they often organize their world on the basis of gender. The gender schema theory states that an individual's attention and behavior are guided by an internal motivation to conform to gender-based sociocultural standards and stereotypes (Rose & Martin 1993).

Part II: Questions for Thinking and Discussion
1. Is some gender stereotyping helpful in healthy development? Are there any positive effects of stereotyping?
2. Is it possible to never stereo type because of gender?
3. Based on the behavioral perspective on gender identity, is homosexuality considered a learned behavior?

Part III: Compare-Contrast this Presentation to Others: Questions & Observations
Both Steve O'Brien's and Leslie Minor-Evans' presentations were very informative and interesting. I feel that Leslie's presentation was more organized and easier to follow. Steve's presentation was more along the style of conversation than lecture. The presentations were on completely different subjects, making them hard to compare and contrast.

Part IV: Further Study and Research
1. If women are now considered equal to men than why is it legal for them to be paid lower wages?
2. How can I help to increase awareness of the effects of stereotyping such as female characteristics not being as valuable as male characteristics?
3. In order to eliminate prejudice in the future should parents and childcare providers be made to follow strict guidelines? Would this be considered another "rule of the father?" I feel guidelines would not be an effective solution, but what is? I feel that education only reaches a limited amount of people and although it is an effective solution, it alone is not enough.

Angie Morrison
WS101, Prof. Agatucci
Study Guide #1
January 27, 1998

Study Guide for "Women and Psychology" (Week#3)

Speaker: Leslie Minor-Evans
Date: Tuesday, January 20, 1998
Reading/Related Assignments: Gender - Chapter 8 from the following Text: Halonen, Jane, and Santrock, John (1997). HUMAN ADJUSTMENT (2ND ED.).Dubuque, Iowa: The Times Mirror Higher Educational Group, Inc., Brown and Benchmark, Publishers.

Part I: Summary of Main Points and Key Concepts

1. How we look at gender types:
Male traits: Adventurous, Ambitious, Logical, Independent
Female traits: Attractive, Sensitive, Tender, Gentle
What was the quiz presented in class tell us as a group about our class? Since many of us had both men and women in both a and b categories this quiz showed that we are not as naive about gender as we might have been in the past.

1. GENDER ROLES - Sets of expectations that prescribe how females and males should think, act, and feel.
2. GENDER IDENTITY - Is the sense of being male or female, a part of the self concept that most children begging to acquire by the age of 2 or 3 years.

2. Psychology is a science with a 100 year old time - The history of Psychology that was founded by women.

Mary Caulkin - Graduated from Harvard yet they would not give her the degree because she was a woman
1916 - Hollingsworth 1st woman recognized in Psychology
1924 - Mary Cover-Jones- worked on program phobias
1927 - Anna Freud (Feuds daughter)- very influential woman
1945 - Karen Horny - was known for criticizing Feuds work.1950's Was known as the Golden age of homemaking - And the women were Content to be at home with now real advancements

a. These women were known enough to be mentioned in a time line however they were not mentioned in the text book itself.
b. This is telling us that over the last 100 years women have only made or been credited with making very few contributions to the history of Psychology.
c. The women movement of the 1970's changed this and approximately 2 of grad students in the field of Psychology are women today.

3. The society in which we live is Androcentric which means we are a society centered around males and includes all areas of research.

1. Since males are considered the norm we really do not have to study them anymore
2. Women are compared to the norm, Since the norms are centered around males then women are compared to males.

a. Women are not good research subjects due to the levels of hormones and their changes and the chance that the subject might become pregnant and drop from the study.

4. The average earnings of a male vs. female for the same job are considerably more. Males are more likely to be published, make tenure more often , be in the higher administrative jobs and have more job security than those of a female with the same skills and experience.

5. The way Females and Males communicate are different as well.

Males are more forceful, they use less tags and hedges, and tend to be task oriented. In non verbal communication men still portray their power by touching on top of the shoulder of another.

Females tend to be less aggressive and relationship oriented in non verbal communication if touching the person they are talking to they are more likely to touch the side of the arm.

Women tend to have more rapport, intimacy and bonding where men have more report with facts and solving problems.

In Summary when looking at a bell shaped curve based on Males and Females you will always have more difference within the curve than between and you will have more similarities than differences.

Part II: Questions for Thinking and Discussion
1. What would the implementations of equality in the work place with respect to equal pay and equal benefits do to the male ego and how would that effect our stereotypes? Or would it?
2. If little girls had role models that were in positions of great power and tremendous wealth when asked what they wanted to be when they grow up would more answer with higher goals than do in today society?
3. Even though more males in today society are helping with the household chores and rasing the kids there are still many that believe these are responsibilities of the female of the household. What plea if any would you make to get the males to help more around the house and with the kids?

Part III: Compare-Contrast this Presentation to Others:
1. This presentation basically supported the facts that Cora had already stated in her presentation regarding Feminism Yesterday and Today we as women want the right to be heard and seen and have the equal statue that men have.
2. During the presentation Women in Psychology, Leslie Minor-Evans gave us the brief time line of women in psychology this was in contrast to our Course Pack Agatucci/Studies in Women & Gender that contains several time lines, but none mentioning the women in Psychology .

Part IV: Propose one or more topics and/or Questions raised for you, but not answered by the assigned presentation--ones that you consider worth Further Study and Research
1. What role if any has the Women movements in the states played in changing the submissive way of women in other countries? Or do other countries think we are disrespectful to our counterparts for wanting to be equal?

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"Male Responses to the Women's Movement"

Student elected to remain anonymous

Study Guide for "Male Responses to the Women’s Movement" Week #3

Speaker: Steve O’Brien
Date: January 22, 1998
Reading/Related Assignments: WS 101 Packet: Read and annotate WS Timeline Part VII: "Second Wave" Feminism. A list of questions and issues from the class was provided to Steve prior to his presentation.

Part I: Summary of Main Points and Key Concepts

From the submitted questions, three themes appeared repetitively: 1. Personal Arena 2. (Why) are men threatened? 3. What’s it all about?

1. In the personal arena, individuals both male and female approach the topic of gender warily.

a. Questions surrounding gender and feminism present a loaded topic. Finding a balance between the personal and academic approach to gender is difficult because so many of us have raw spots and wounds that shape our perception.
b. Expectation created many of the difficulties men and women face in dealing with each other. Men are raised to believe that their own pleasure in life is highly dependent upon finding the idealized female form. Women are led to believe that fulfillment and finding the ideal male partner heavily influences satisfaction in their lives. This creates a dilemma when people find themselves dissatisfied with their lives. An unconscious attitude arises, "If you are the path to my happiness, and I am not happy, you must be to blame." Because of this dilemma, men and women enter interactions with built up distrust. This distrust can be likened to conflicts that must be mediated. When people enter mediation, it is because they have openly declared that there is a conflict and that differences are irreconcilable. In order to resolve the conflict, one or both parties must let the other party off the hook by turning away from blame and toward solutions that will allow both parties to get what they need out of the situation.
c. No (one) man can speak for all men, just as no woman can answer for all women. Individuals must find their own personal approach to feminism and gender.

2. (Why) are men Threatened?

a. It is common for men to feel fear and insecurity when it comes to the women’s movement. Male responses to the women’s movement (see below) provide an indicator of where the fear may come from, and how men choose to respond.
b. Historically, the male dilemma has been the question of how to deal with a system where men are given tremendous privileges (higher pay, political power, hierarchical power); and at the same time pay a huge price (expendability in time of war, bread-winner expectations, robbed of family intimacy).

3. What is it all about?
Male perspectives and responses to the women’s movement can be summarized into 4 main attitudes as distinguished by Kenneth Clatterbaugh in his book Contemporary Perspectives on Masculinity.

a. Conservatism is the embodiment of the 1950’s, pro-family, with traditional values as the core of moral society. Conservatism has its roots in age-old survival strategies of hunter-gathers, where traditional roles reflect a "God-given" natural order. The emphasis for men is on heroes – knights in shining armor, taking charge and "fixing" the problem. Women are seen as the goddess on a pedestal, the civilizing force – the real power behind the throne, charged with domestication of self-destructive men. For the conservative, the liberation of women in any form is a threat to society. If women don’t need men, they will stop performing the critical function of taming and civilizing men.

b. Pro-feminist men actively support the feminist agenda. They are also referred to as SNAG’s (Sensitive New Age Guys) in a derogatory manner. Pro-feminism suits a men who want to reject tradition, therefore feminist provide a coherent way out. The core issue is the rejection of "natural and necessary" conservatism. It allows them to reject the system of patriarchy (rule of the father). Pro-feminism frequently appeals to men who are also active in the peace movement and/or the green movement.
Additional observations:

  1. Men as a group distrust pro-feminist men. The are perceived as too good, or mommy’s boy.
  2. Women distrust pro-feminist men. Women don’t really believe that men are capable of overcoming the conflict.
  3. The dilemma for the pro-feminist man is that neither side trusts him, so there is not place for him.
  4. Men often feel a lot of guilt for being part of an oppressive group and try to make up for it.
  5. Pro-feminist orientation acknowledged that both men and women are suppressed.
  6. This group is becoming more acceptable as feminism is acculturated.

c. Men’s Rights are in direct response to anti-male sentiments and misandry (hatred of men). The attitude is reflected in the rejection of conservatism and the opinion that pro-feminism doesn’t do anything for men. Men’s Right advocates reject affirmative action, which is seen as reverse discrimination. The contradiction faced by Men’s Right activists lies in the double standards presented to them. They are expected to do what it takes to provide for their families, but they are also expected to be home at 5. Note: modern women face this same expectation contradiction. Men’s Rights activists think, generally, that feminism is fine, but that it does nothing for men as a group. Therefore, men must organize themselves to protect and demand their own (male) rights.

d. Myopoetic is a male response that is reflective of Robert Blye, who suggest that men forget defining "who’s what" and become "whole." The path to wholeness is accomplished through the following:

1. Become more self sufficient as men. Bond with other men outside of beer and football.
2. Develop and love the feminine part of you, rather than turning to women.
3. Face the inevitable wounds that older men inflict upon younger men in the attempt to "make a man" of boys.
4. Blye suggests: be a wild man, let go of being nice, stop trying to please your mother or any other woman in everything that you do. Trying to live up to expectation isn’t going to help you find yourself, therefore you must seek to make yourself whole without the influence of women.

Part II: Questions for Thinking and Discussion
1. Does the feminist movement do nothing for men (as Men’s Rights activists propose); or does it hurt them?
2. We heard about men’s privilege and subsequent price to be paid, what are the privileges for females in a traditional society (the disadvantages are fairly well discussed).

Part III: Compare-Contrast this presentation to others: Questions & Observations
1. In observing classroom response to Steve’s presentation, it is interesting to note that several women in the audience become offended/hostile during the presentation of particular male orientations. Based on this reaction, how is it that women wonder why men are so hostile toward the women’s movement?
2. Leslie’s presentation of the psychology of gender supports the conservative perceptive. She also referred to the learned traditional behavior of gender, and the conflicts it creates.
3. Patriarch has threads in both Cora’s and Leslie’s presentation. Women in all fields of study, throughout the world are challenging the androcentric norm.
4. One common thread is the acknowledgement of pro-feminism as a rejection of traditional roles. Stereotyping and cultural approaches to gender are definite factors is the struggle for equality.

Part IV: Further Study and Research
1. What methods might individual men or women use to mitigate gender conflicts?
2. In order to better understand how men are reacting (and as an outline of issues women may soon face), further explanation of the male dilemma of being both "privileged" and the "extraction of high price" should be explored.
3. How does the quest for equal rights and balances impact our society and our children? Are there things that we can do to mitigate the negative impact of the change in roles?
4. A discussion format that presented the most prevalent of women’s movements and of men’s could open dialog to identify what the most pressing issues and/or conflicts are, and explore alternatives to open combat.

Shannon Adkisson
WS 101, Professor Agatucci
Study Guide #1
January 26, 1998

Study Guide for "Male Responses to the Women's Movement" (Week #3)

Speaker: Steve O'Brien
Date: January 22, 1998
Reading/Related Assignments: WS 101 Packet: Read(& annotate!) WS Timeline Part VII: "Second Wave" Feminism (pp. 25-27); Steve O'Brien Questions and Topics Exercise.

Part I: Summary of Main Points and Key Concepts

A. After reviewing the Questions and Topics exercise centering on the WS 101 students' written responses and questions to the speaker's topic, "Male Responses to the Women's Movement," Steve O'Brien noted three main repeating questions:

1. What's It All About?
2. (Why) are men threatened?
3. What are some personal arenas associated with feminism?

B. There are male/female interpersonal relationships to be considered.

1. Many men are raised to think that their desired intimacy and physical pleasure comes from some idealized female form. Often men go through a series of relationships with women; seeking the fulfillment, satisfaction, and intimacy they need from their preconceived ideal female. Because many people are raised in dysfunctional families and many males feel that the path to their happiness is through a female, they blame the female for their failures and discomfort.

a. Dysfunctional family- A family whose behavior is dictated by a central figure or situation, such as alcoholism, abuse, or mental or physical illness. In a dysfunctional family, feelings are avoided and denied.

2. How does distrust and conflict between males and females play a role in mediation?

a. Females tend to accept all the blame for conflicts within a male/female relationship. Submitting to and blaming oneself for conflict will not bring about a mutually satisfying outcome.

b. Speaking as a mediator, Steve O'Brien stated that there is a magical moment when one person shifts from what is a "your fault" position in mediation to a "what I want" position. Significant breakthroughs occur when one person sees the situation as not being an either/or resolution but takes the initiative to stop placing blame and to recognize the different interests and perceptions involved in the conflict.

C. During a discussion between Steve O'Brien and the WS 101 students, dilemmas faced by males were identified.

1. Steve O'Brien stated that the men's movement is only a reaction to the women's movement. As men began to face the realities of the women's movement, they recognized their own rigid role expectations placed on them by society and the oppressive social, political, and economical pressures that they faced as males.

a.. Because there is no monolistic female movement and he concludes that men are only reacting to the women's movement, then men's movements are also quite diverse and varied.

2. Steve identified a very contradictory dilemma that is placed on men. Men ask the question, "How do we deal with a cultural system that gives us tremendous privileges but extracts such a high price from us for these perceived privileges?"

a. A few privileges discussed during the presentation were:

1. Men are paid on the average a $1 for every $.68 that a female earns.
2. Political power - only 20-30% of high, visible political office holders are females.
3. Men are notably in high status and power based job positions. Historically they are the Presidents and not the secretaries of a business.

b. Students discussed expections placed on men that require men to "pay a price" for the privileges that they receive in society.

1. Shut off - many men feel intimately shut off from their families and from their own inner feelings.
2. Fodder - young men are expected to give up their lives in a war for their country.
3. Breadwinners - men have traditionally been the main financial supporters of their families.

D. What are the Promise Keepers? Through discussion, it was stated that the Promise Keepers is an organization of religious, non-denominational, Christian-based men who believe in taking back responsibility for their families and in being active participants in their communities.

1. Promise Keepers emphasize that one of the problems that men have is that they do not keep their promises to God or their families. They ask men to commit to keeping the following 7 promises:

As a Promise Keeper, I am committed to:
1. Honor Jesus Christ through prayer, worship, and obedience to His Word;
2. Pursue vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that I need my brothers to help keep my promises.
3. Spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity;
4. Build strong marriages and families through love, protection, and biblical values;
5. Support the mission of my church, by honoring and praying for my pastor and by actively giving my time and resources;
6.. Reach beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity;
7. Influence my world, being obedient to the Great Commandment (Mark 12:30-31) and the Great Commission (Matt 28:19-20).

The 7 promises were found and cited at the following Internet address of: http://www.vix.com/pub/men/orgs/promisekeepers/desc.html

E. Steve O'Brien then introduced four of Kenneth Clatterbaugh's philosophical, men's movement's orientations.

1. Conservatives

a. Conservatives are society's 1950s version of men such as Ronald Reagan and as actor Arnold Schwarzenegger as his roles dictate in his films. These men are pro-family, have traditional values, strive to be the core of moral society, and use age-old survival strategies to manage in today's society. This orientation appeals to little boys because it emphasizes the hero figure of men.
b. This group believes in a God-given, natural division of traditional male/female roles. Women are seen as having the real power (but not overt power) behind men and are put on pedastols. Women are seen as domesticators of men, where the natural role of a woman is to tame the destructive male.
c. Sexual liberation in any form, for these conservatives, is not okay, and they see Feminism as threatening.

2. Pro-Feminists

a. Pro-feminist men are men who are actively supportive of feminism and of efforts to bring about gender justice and equality. A large number of pro-feminists are active in Peace movements and environmental movements.
b. These men tend to reject patriarchy ("rule by the fathers"), and they see traditional female roles as a set of limitations to women.
c. Pro-feminist men do anti-violence work, and they believe that men must take responsibility for their own sexist behaviors and to work to change those of men in general.
d. This group often finds themselves rejected by both males and females and ask the question, "Is there a place for himself, in this movement?"

3. Men's Rights

a. This men's movement orientation is a response to anti-male feminist movements. They believe that Feminists achieved a lot for the benefit of women but not for men. As a group, they feel that women have considerable lobbying power.
b. This group believes that they are subject to unrecognized social, economical, and political disadvantages. Many of these males are involved in the Anti-affirmative Action Movement.
c. As discussed by the students, men in this orientation question the expectations of men being good providers, yet being home by 5 pm, taking your child to baseball practice, and being emotionally open to your family. They feel these are contradictory expectations.

4. Mythopoetic

a. The Mythopoetic men's movement is the current new entity in the men's movement. It was created in the mid 1980s and stems from the works of Robert Bly, whose view is that the male's role has lost its direction because there hasn't been any male role initiation or direct male role modeling since the beginning of the industrial era.
b. This movement believes that the true inner man must be challenged, coached and tested into manhood, to be true to the wildman within themselves, to let go of the "nice guy" attitude.
c. Steve O'Brien stated that this movement made a flash in the headlines and then faded away, it didn't have any staying power.
d. This group believes in cultivating the company of other men and for men to become more self-sufficient. Also the development and love of one's own inner female is desired.

Part II: Questions for Thinking and Discussion
1. What is the value of the men's movement - men's movement theories/orientations, goals, methods, and criticisms of society? What do you think are some of the disadvantages of the men's movement?
2. Which of Kenneth Clatterbaugh's described orientations identify the men in your life (such as your father, brother, significant other)? Or do you feel they may be a combination of these orientations, or do you feel none of them adequately identifies males close to you?
3. Which orientation do you feel the Promise Keepers identify with? Do you personally believe that the Promise Keepers organization is helpful or hurtful to the feminist movement? Why or why not?
4. Do you sympathize with Pro-feminist men, or do you distrust their motives? What experiences in your life have either enabled you to sympathize with them or has made you distrust pro-feminist men?
5. Do you have any additional questions that you think Steve O'Brien may be able to assist you with?
6. Is the men's movement a reaction to the feminist movement, and do you believe one should be connected with the other? Why or why not?

Part III: Compare-Contrast this Presentation to Others: Questions and Observations
1. What can feminists learn from the different orientations of the men's movement? Were you able to identify that the men's movement is as varied as the definition of Feminism?
2. What comparisons can you make between speaker, Leslie Minor Evans' presentation and speaker, Steve O'Brien's presentation? Such as both speakers noted that men are naturally given privileges over women and that men continue to be paid better than women even for basically the same position.
3. In Leslie's presentation, the issue of men being threatened by the women's movement was also discussed.

Part IV: Further Study and Research
1. The discussion over the Promise Keepers in the presentation raised questions of how different people perceive men movement values, philosophies, and direction. After reading the promises of the Promise Keepers, do you feel you are more informed about this group's mission?
2. What are some other men's movements that Steve O'Brien didn't discuss? Which men's movement do you feel is most helpful to the women's movement?
3. The Men's Rights movement is gaining power and conviction. Do you feel they have justifiable reason for fighting for their rights such as in cases of divorce, etc? How do you feel about this group noting that the women's movement has done nothing for the rights of men?

Amanda Judd
WS101, Prof. Agatucci
Study Guide #1
January 29, 1998

Study guide for "Males' Response to the Women's Movement"

Speaker: Steve O'Brien
Date: Thursday January 22, 1998

Part I: Summary of Main Points and Key Concepts

A. Intimacy depends on a idealize person.

1. We blame others for our problems.
2. Progress can only be made by letting go of the blame we place on others.
3. "If your the path to my happiness, then your to blame if I'm not happy"
4. Gender is a loaded word with a lot of conflict.
5. Never going to be solved until both sides come to an agreement with no blame.

B. The men's movement and its impact.

1. The men's movement was in response to the women's movement.
2. Men saw the ridgeness in their own roles.
3. Women's movement laid down the rules

C. Privileges and cost of the men's movement

1. Males have many privileges.

a. Better paying jobs with more power in the work place.
b. Look better on paper
c. More power in the world

2. There are high costs for these privileges.

a. They are expendable and sent off to fight in wars
b. They are shut off from their feelings.
c. Forced to be a breadwinner to be respected.

D. Kenneth Clatterbaugh's groups for men.

1. Conservative group is the 1950's version of men.

a. They are very pro-family and traditional men.
b. Believes big, strong men with age old survival techniques are the core of an family.
c. Men have a God-given natural order between the sexes.
d. This group is very appealing to little boys because it promotes heroes.
e. Women tame men with marriage.
f. Sexual liberation is bad for society.
g. widely spread throughout society.

2. Pro-Feminist group is an active supporter of the women's movement.

a. There are not set standards
b. Strongly rejects the man's place in society and patriarchy (the rule of the fathers)
c. They are distrusted be both men and women's for their views.
d. Often refereed to as S.N.A.G. (sensitive new age guy)
e. Traditional gender roles set limits they don't what.

3. Men's Rights group was formed in response to male bashing.

a. Rejects both pro-feminists and conservative ideas.
b. They are anti-affirmative action.
c. Men are given conflicting messages to be strong and gentle at the same time.
d. They believe that women have a lot more power than is named.

4. Mythopoetic group is beginning to fade into the background.

a. Robert Blye's writing defined the mythopoetic as having a Jungian orientation.
b. Men should seek out other men and lessen their dependency on women.
c. Men need to get in touch with their feelings more.
d. They have let go of being a "real man" and became true to themselves.

Part II. Questions for Thinking and Discussion.
A. Why do men think the women's movement has failed when it was never for them?
B. Are they afraid of the new power women are getting?
C. What are the plans for the future of the men's movement?
D. Will women ever trust the men with the same ideas and goals as they have?

Part III. Compare-Contrast this with Other Presentations.
I think it was a nice change to see the other side of the story about the women's movement. Everybody learns about the women's movement in a history class at some time, but never learn about what the men did in response to it. Steve O'Brien seemed to be rushed towards the end of the speech and didn't get to the mythopoetic group very much. I really enjoyed the speech.

Part IV. Further Study and Research Topics.
A. Will the power in the world ever equalize between men and women?
B. Groups, like the Promise Keepers, are helping men become in touch with their feelings. What do other men think about that?

Caroline Tabor
WS 101, Prof. Agatucci
Study Guide #1
January 27, 1998

Male Responses to the Women's Movement

Speaker: Steve O'Brien
Date: January 22, 1998

Part I: Summary of Main Points and Key Concepts

A. Men have been raised their entire life thinking that intimacy and experiencing pleasure was with an idealized type of woman. This creates a dilemma in that most men do not know how to be intimate, particularly in talking about their feelings and expressing emotions.

1. This creates a tendency to think that "if you're the path to my happiness, and I am not happy, then you're to blame," and then projecting one's dissatisfaction onto their partner.
2. When there is no communication between men and women, there is a lack of understanding and trust, and the blame gets shifted back and forth.
3. Steve gave an example of good communication that occurs in mediation, where at a point there is a shift from blame to a dialogue of saying what I want and what I need.

a. Resolution of conflicts between men and women will only come when both parties recognize a mutually satisfying outcome.
b. Understanding that letting the other person off the hook is not submission.

B. In reference to the writings of Kenneth Clatterbaugh, the question is asked: How do we deal with a system that gives men tremendous privileges and expects a high cost for those privileges. This is a very real dilemma for men because society has established specific roles for men but, through the women's movement, the roles for women have been relaxed somewhat.

1. Privileges for men include significantly higher pay, much more power, and much higher job status. But the costs of these privileges include the expectation of being the bread winner, young men are expected to fight in wars and, because of longer working hours to get ahead, they are often shut off from families, feelings and intimacy.
2. Most men and women are a combination of these roles, and because of this there is not one women=s movement or one men's movement but a broad and varied agenda for both. If there were not a women=s movement, there would be no need for a men's movement.

a. One example of the men's movement is the Promise Keepers. They are a religious-based group that deals with men returning to traditional roles as heads of households. Their promise is to begin taking responsibility for what they have created by taking part in their family and community.

C. Again referring to Clatterbaugh, Steve has listed four specific orientation groups of men that are most common.

1. The Conservative Orientation - its foundation is based on the norms of the pre- women's movement. This group is predominantly men over 60 who believe that the age old survival strategies are what have gotten us to modern times. They believe in the God-given natural division of labor between the sexes, and emphasis is on heroes - strong men who can fix everything.

a. They feel that men are expected to be wild warriors, particularly young men who engage in self-destructive behavior, and women are to be the civilizing force - the real power behind the throne.
b. They see women's primary responsibility as that of domesticating men - tying them down and correcting their wild habits and impulses.
c. Sexual liberation is highly negative toward men as well as women, putting women on pedestals as goddesses.

2. The Profeminist Orientation - men who actively support the women's movement, and tend to be active in peace and ecology movements as well.

a. One problem for these profeminists is that men as a whole tend to distrust them, and even women don=t trust them much as they are not sure about their sincerity.
b. Referred to as SNAG - Sensitive New Age Guys - these men feel a real dilemma because by rejecting conservative roles for men, they are not sure where they belong. They see traditional gender roles as a set of limitations for both men and women, and are searching for balance.
c. Although the distribution of attitudes has changed with these men, they still retain both conservative and pro-feminist views.

3. Men's Rights Orientation - reaction to the feminist movement is that it has helped women but not men. Some question if it has hurt them or just not helped them.

a. They are subject to a lot of unrecognized legal and social situations, but then are told to be a man and put up with it. They are anti-affirmative action. They believe that women have unacknowledged power.
b. They have many contradictions because they are still required to be good providers and be gentle - in other words, do everything to get ahead but be home by five to take the kids to little league.
c. They realize that both men and women have to work late, take home work, etc., to get ahead, but women have more power in that they can lobby for help with these demands, such as child care, etc., but men would appear weak to ask for help. Women still have the >weaker sex= option if they so chose to use it.
d. Herb Goldberg suggests that feminism hasn't failed - it was never a male thing. Men=s responsibility is to organize and stand up for his own rights.

4. The Mythopoetic Orientation - that of having a Jungian orientation as defined by Robert Blye's writings. That is, drawing men together for a new vision. Blye goes on to suggest that men need to forget about trying to define what they are and become whole.

a. Men should cultivate the company of other men, thus lessening the dependency on women for dialogue about feelings. They have observed how women can talk to one another on a much more intimate level, not needing men as their only outlet for expressing feelings.
b. Men need to develop and love their own interiors.
c. Men need to face the wounds from society, especially older men. Steve makes a point of telling how disapproval by older men can be a very hurtful experience, as men are raised to make their fathers proud of them by becoming "real" men.
d. Become a wild man - let go of being the nice guy. It is not important to please your mother in every relationship - its OK to be rough around the edges.

Part II: Questions for Thinking and Discussion

1. What is it that men really feel? Are they really afraid of women's new power? Is it a threat to their masculinity to have us on an even plane? I wonder if rather than seeing women come up to the male level of equality, they see themselves as having to come down to women's level. This is an observation that would be understandable, particularly for those men who are of the Conservative or Men's Rights Orientation. Perhaps they feel that having to share power is really losing power and that is a sign of weakness.

2. Whether a man or woman, in order to get ahead one does have to work extra long hours, take home work, sacrifice time, etc. Women have chosen to take on this heavier work load but are still expected to maintain the level of responsibility to family, child rearing, home, etc. Whereas men have had only the hard work role and have been able to take a passive role once he gets home. Is this a threat to men - do they feel that if women take a more active work role, will they then have to take a more active family role in trade? This is what appears to be what equality is talking about. Both members sharing all of the loads.

3. As traditional male roles have given men a great deal of privileges, it has exacted a great cost. But with the feminist movement, women have gained some of the privileges but have taken on many of the related costs. I wonder if men see this trade off that women have taken on and what their reaction of it is. Do some of them think women are nuts?

4. The man who chooses the non-conservative path is in a dilemma. He risks a great deal by going against his "patriarchal brothers", is charting new paths that men have no knowledge of, and is having to learn things about himself that may be very contradictory to what he was brought up to believe. By nature and circumstance, have women had to be more flexible in their thinking? Or have we just had a lot more practice at looking at all the angles because we have been able to explore our feelings?

Part III: Compare-Contrast this with other presentations

Up to this point, all emphases has been on the women's agenda - what she has had to tolerate, what battles she has had to fight to get her ideas across, what her problems are as she advances along this course. But Steve O'Brien's discussion is an eye opener because we finally have seen some of the many aspects that men are dealing with. It has made me realize that not all men are as rigid in their thinking as I had supposed. And that the men's agenda is as broad and varied as is the women's.

I agree that men need to develop a sense of self and to develop channels of communication between themselves. This may be a very feminine attitude because I know how women benefit from the level of communication they have amongst themselves. We women receive affirmations from each other, whereas men have not had that outlet and have had to be the strong, silent types. Are women really more emotional, or are we willing and able to voice our feelings and emotions? Conversely, are men really that stoic and brave, or is it that they are not allowed to tap into feelings, much less express them without threatening the image that their roles must maintain?

Women have had to ask for everything they have ever wanted but, as a whole, men have had the power to get what they wanted by virtue of their position. So I can see that to now be put into a role of having to bargain would be hard. Roles have definitely changed. Women chose to change them, but it seems that men are being forced to make some changes that would never have occurred had not the feminist movement ever occurred.

Part IV: Further Study and Research Topics

1. Is it possible that at some point in the future men and women can work together to further develop both the women=s and men=s movements for the common good?

2. I go on a retreat once a year and, while there, observe men having lengthy conversations with one another about feelings, emotions, etc., and see them hug one another and give positive affirmations that are not "sports" oriented. These interactions have nothing to do with the women in the group and that is fine. But one observation is that these men are beginning to open up to each other in a way that they are not able to do with women This tells me that men are indeed beginning to get in touch with each other. But I wonder what it is like for these same men to leave the retreat and return to society - are they more comfortable around their peers, their co-workers, etc., or is this occurring just because they know they are safe in a retreat setting? And do they return and become the same "men" they were before the retreat?

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"Renaissance Women Artists"

Shannon Adkisson
WS 10, Professor Agatucci
Study Guide #2
February 16, 1998

Study Guide for "Women Artists of the Renaissance" (Week #5)

Speaker: Jennifer Greene
Date: February 5, 1998
Reading/Related Assignments: WS 101 Packet: Read (& annotate!) WS Timeline Part II: 17th and 18th Centuries (pp. 4-6); & From AFeminist Art History & the Academy@ (pp. 53-55) and slide presentation.

Part I: Summary of Main Points and Key Concepts

A. What influence did Greek and Roman societies have on 15th-century, Renaisssance Italy?

1. Italy underwent a major shift in its cultural and ideological way of life.

a. Italy regressed from equality between men and women to a paternalistic (ruled by the fathers) society where society is dominated by men.

b. Because Greeks saw women as untrustworthy, women in the Renaissance period were seen as untrustworthy and were thought to be lead by passion and not by reason.

c. Women were expected to be as pious, placated, and dignified as the Virgin Mary. Behaviors other than those displayed by the virgin mother were seen as stereotypical of Venus, the Whore, and were not respected or desired traits. These two extremes were images produced by Roman Gods.

2. The Renaissance period was the beginning of great art in Italy. The commissioning of art was symbolic of wealth and of high statis in Italy.

B. What obstacles did women artists face during the Renaissance?

1. A woman's place was seen as being in the home where she crafted fine embroidered linen and quilts.

2. The equal balance of education for male and females was brought to an end during the Renaissance.

a. Females were excluded from attending school while males were instructed in rhetoric, math, and science. Women did not have the advantage of attending academies to learn these skills.

b. To form their characters and to bring respect to their families, their education was limited to acquiring Christian values, morality, and chastity from their homes or in convents.

3. Viewed as being incapable of intellectual activity they were denied the opportunity to learn the math and science skills needed to produce works of art that incorporated linear perspective and three-dimensional representation.

a. The standard unit of measurement during this time was Brachia, the average length of a man's arm, this produced another disadvantage for women.

C. What criteria was there for the few female artists recognized from the late Renaisssance era, and who are these notable exceptions?

1. In Northern Bologna, Italy, a city that encouraged the academic and artistic talents of women, a university still accepted women for formal education. This university claimed a woman painter, St Catherine of Bologna, as their patron saint.

2. In this liberal city, women outnumbered men and had the opportunity to study painting if they came from a wealthy family or had a father who valued education for his daughters or had a father who was an artist, himself.

3. Sofonishba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, and Artemesia Gentileschi were noted female artists who were able to help set the stage for later female artists.

a. Sofonisba Anguissola is often considered the first woman artist of the Renaissance. She and her sister, Elena, studied with Bernardino Campi, one of the most prolific Cremonese painters.
b. A rare painting of Sofonisba's was the Bernardino Campi Painting Sofonisba Anguissola, depicting the art teacher-student relationship. It shows Campi painting his subject Sofonisba.
c. She was the oldest daughter of a father who ambitiously solicited advice from Michelangelo concerning her artistic education. Michelangelo sent several of his own drawings for her to copy in oil, which she returned for his critique. One of her works admired by Michelangelo, "Boy Pinched by a Crayfish" demonstrates Anguissola's range in technique and depiction of emotion, particularly of the crying boy.
d. Her first dated work is a self portrait, painted at age twenty. She painted 13 self portraits chronocling her life from youth to old age .
e. Her great success inspired other women of the Renaissance to pursue the career of artist.

4. Lavinia Fontana is considered the first woman painter to have had a successful career. a. She was encouraged to develop her artistic potential by her father, Prospero Fontana, who was a well-known artist and teacher.

b. Her career included major commissions from both public and private patrons by which she supported her family while her husband cared for their 11 children.

c. Fontana painted small and large scale biblical and mythological works with many figures, including male and female nudes. She also painted large public altarpieces, a rare distinction for a woman artist.

d. While over a hundred works by Fontana are documented or recorded in early sources, only thirty-two signed and dated or datable works are known constituting the largest surviving body of work by any woman artist active before 1700.

5. Artemesia Gentileschi was a magnificent painter.

a. She was not born into nobility, and her formal education was limited to a little reading and no writing.

b. Her father, a painter, who was very supportive of her artwork, started teaching her at sixteen, and was proud of her early achievements and technical ability.

c. Although known in her day as a portraitist, she is best remembered for her dramatic and complex religious paintings. One of her earliest works, done at sixteen, is of the popular Renaissance theme, "Madonna and Child."

d. Her passionate, intense paintings that involved the viewer were not given appropriate appreciation by some because they said her accomplishments were the result of her rape, which to her male critics was the reason for her visions of art.

e. One noted achievement of Gentileschi which separates her from her female predecessors is her indepth knowledge of the female anatomy. She often used herself as a model.

Part II: Questions for Thinking and Discussion
1. During the Renaissance era, woman became devalued intellectually but became more valued as property and as assets to their husbands if they conducted themselves properly. What do you think happened to those women who did not follow the norm and who may have strained against the reins of this paternalistic society?
2. Why is recognizing and studying female artists of the Renaissance important to today's society? What can we learn from history concerning women artists?
3. Were there any notable female artists of poor lineage or without the other advantages discussed?
4. Why was Bologna, Italy more advantanced in their equality and education of women in italy? Why was this city so progressive in comparison with other areas of Italy at that time?
5. How do you feel about Gentileschi=s critics saying that the passion and intenseness of her paintings were a result of her rape? Does that statement have any validity to you? Do you believe the trauma of her rape affected the depth of feeling in her paintings compared to other female artists of her time? If you were Gentileschi, how would you respond to such statements from your critics?
6. What kind of individual do you think Fontana's husband was? Was he ahead of his time in his thinking towards women? How do you think Renaissance society saw him?

Part III: Compare-Contrast this Presentation to Others: Questions and Observations
1. What comparisons or dissimilarities can you make between speaker, Jennifer Greene's presentation on "Renaissance Women Artists,"and Patricia O'Neill's presentation on "Eunuchs, Gender and Power"?
2. Many of our presenters, so far, have questioned, Awhere are the women writers, or where are the women artists, or where and why not are women adequately represented in history? Have they answered these questions for you or have new questions been posed to you?
3. We have been exposed to various forms of presentations and many personalities of presenters. Which form of presentation have you learned most actively and/or effectively from? Which presenter=s personality or style of speaking did you most enjoy or like least?

Part IV: Further Study and Research
1. Since the Renaissance, what new techniques in painting have there been? Were any women involved in actualizing these new techniques?
2. What comparisons or differences concerning style, medium, creativity, accessibility to training, and such can one make between women's art during the Renaissance period and women's art of today?
3. Who are our most noted female artists of today?
4. What contributions did woman make during the Renaissance era?
Recognizing and studying women artists of the Renaissance is important for historical and future values.
A. Excluding the perspective of female artists loses an entire segment of history. The female perspective of everyday life, enduring questions, beauty, and histories are all significantly different than a male's. A story told by a female artist will display different properties, focus and nuance than the same story told by a male artist.

Else Londahl
WS 101, Prof. Agatucci
Study Guide #2
February 17, 1998

Study Guide for "Renaissance Women Artists" (Week #5)

Speaker: Jennifer Green
Date: Thursday, February 5, 1998

Part I: Summary of Main Points and Key Concepts
A. A little Renaissance History: It is crucial to understand what was happening during the Renaissance period before studying the artwork.

1. The Renaissance was the high point of art and "classical study".

2. There was a huge shift from small feudal societies to capitalism. They were moving as far away as possible from the dark ages.

3. Renaissance artists wanted to assume the role of the Greeks and Romans. This classical style included the realistic study of the human body and the desire for perfection.

4. Schooling was back in style. They started to make a huge distinction between art and craft. The men were the only ones being schooled while the women were kept at home. Male artists were held up as geniuses(only a masculine word at the time). A few of these geniuses who combined science, math and beauty were Michaelangelo, Davincci, Raphael and Donattello.

B. Where were all of the women during this time? Just like the art style shifted to Greek and Roman style, so did the cultural ideology. The Greeks were not admirers of women. They turned the goddesses into medusas. They felt that women were untrustworthy and lead strictly by passion rather than reason.

1. Women were kept from the economics of Italy and everything was passed on through paternal lines.

2. Because women were considered untrustworthy, men were told not to speak to their wives about business affairs. Instead, they were expected to stay at home and do crafty things and learn piano.

3. Because of the shift in education, women didn’t learn about math and sciences and therefore one point perspective. They weren’t even allowed to study a naked human body for their artwork. Men believed that math lied outside of the province of a woman.

4. The woman was expected to be peaceful and gentle. Men married women for their Image. They looked for many years for the ideal woman. Then, keeping her at home showed his power and money.

C. Key elements and breakthroughs in Renaissance artwork:

1.The form of measurement used in Renaissance artwork was the Brachia (the average length of a man’s arm). It was not to the woman’s scale. The best spot to observe a painting was 5’9" from the painting (average height of a man at that time) This made it very difficult for women to learn about perspective by studying art.

2.15th century artists focused on portraits. To begin with, women were only allowed to be in profile. This was so that the women wouldn’t be challenging the men. They always had a prayer book and inscription from the goddess of beauty and had very pale skin and blonde hair. This indicated that they were kept inside and didn’t do hard labor.

D. Women artists: How were they recognized? Why do we study them?

1. They were usually from the North where women were still educated and the patron saint of painters was female. The women in the North outnumbered the men and the rich would hire women to paint because they still took pride in educated women.

2. They would usually have a wealthy father who is a painter which would automatically give them gentlewoman status.

3. The women showed a point of view that men can’t show such as the birthing rooms. The woman’s artwork let us see not only the beauty of the woman, but the anger and personality of her as well. Men didn’t understand this. In many cases the women had a better composition as well.

E. Some important female Renaissance artists include:

1.Sofinisba Anguissola
-Although she was educated and free to paint, she always made it seem as if a man painted it to remove any bragging rights.
-She broke the mold for women. Male artists started letting females learn with them.

2.Lavinia Fontana
-She supported her husband and family
-She gave us a view of birthing rooms that we wouldn’t know about otherwise.
-She started secular realism which brought religion out of the church into real life.

3.Artemesia Gentileschi
-She was raped when young so she got away with being passionate.
-She and her father painted the same subjects, but hers was a perfect composition unlike her father’s.
-People still blamed this talent on her rape.

Part II: Questions For Thinking and Discussion
1.Jenny mentioned that women still have a lot less showings in galleries than men. Do you believe that this is because men are better at art or that we still hold men higher up than women?
2.If names were taken away, do you think that women would be better received?
3.Do you think that times have changed tremendously for women artists since the Renaissance? What are some reasons for these changes(political etc...).
4.Will this difference ever even out, or do women just not have the talent of men?

Part III: Compare and Contrast This Presentation to Others: Questions and Observations
1. All of the presentations so far have stressed the importance of understanding women’s lives as well as men’s to get a full history. Leslie talked about women in psychology while Eleanor discussed women’s view of the convent. Without this knowledge, we might have never seen these hard times and made changes we did. Do you agree?
2. It’s funny that women are not considered to be good subjects for psychology as Leslie discussed, but they were the most common subjects for art in the Renaissance which was a science. Don’t you think that is odd?
3. We have now studied women’s role in many different cultures, and they really weren’t very different. In Patricia’s presentation, we learned that women were purely used as objects of reproduction and had no say in anything. In the Renaissance, this is the same case. The women were the men’s ideal objects and the only thing the husband and wife shared was intimacy.

Part IV: Further Study and Research.
1. Were women in other countries at this time looked at the same way? Was there a culture that held women up as geniuses? Again, Cora’s website might be a good link for this information.
2. Jenny said that not many people knew about women in the Renaissance. It might be interesting to see if you know any person who knows about female artists of the time. I bet you will get some pretty sad results.
3. To understand the Renaissance art better, you might want to go back to the classical period. You will not only see some amazing sculptures, but you will be able to compare the two and find out more about how women were treated.

Student elected to remain anonymous
WS 101, Prof. Agatucci
Study Guide #2
February 11, 1998

Study Guide for "Renaissance Women Artists" (Week #5)

Speaker: Jennifer Greene
Date: February 5, 1998
Reading/Related Assignments: WS 101 Packet: Read (& annotate!) WS Timeline Part II: "17the & 18the Centuries" (pp. 4-6); & From "Feminist Art History & the Academy" (pp.53-55)

Part I: Summary of Main Points and Key Concepts

1. Why are women artists not represented in the 15th Century when it was a high point of art and classical studies?

A. The Renaissance is marked by a return to the great Greek and Roman classic era.

B. The (male) Renaissance devalued women, personally and in art.

1. Women become possessions.

2. Women are prevented from expressing themselves as artists.

3. Equity was furthered eroded by the lack of formal education available to women.

D. At the height of art and classical studies, women were excluded from producing, or participating in art in any way.

2. Recognizing and studying women artists of the Renaissance is important for historical and future values.

A. Excluding the perspective of female artists loses an entire segment of history.
The female perspective of everyday life, enduring questions, beauty, and histories are all significantly different than a male’s. A story told by a female artist will display different properties, focus and nuance than the same story told by a male artist.

B. There are a few notable exceptions to the 15th century exclusion of women artists.
Although not well documented in history, there were a few women artists recognized (to some small degree) during this time. These women artists all fit a narrow set of requirements: live later in the 15th century; be from the north were some women were still allowed to attend the university; be wealthy; be married; have a father who is a artist and believes all citizens should be educated. Women who satisfied these requirements include Sofonishba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, and Artemesia Gentileschi.

C. In modern time, the stigmatism against women’s art remains prevalent.

Part II: Questions for Thinking and Discussion
1. What happened to women of this time who were used to freedom of expression and/or equality in trade? Were they shunned or beaten physically into submission? Was there a female revolution that was squelched under male dominance?

2. Why do women "buy into" the negativism produced and displayed throughout history?

3. What were the perceived benefits to women who hung like ornaments on their father’s and husband’s arms?

4. The presentation on women in the middle ages indicated that women had power, skills, and to some degree control over their lives. There is not a clear link to the extreme change that followed. Was the change quick and radical or did it happen over a period of time? How and why did it happen? Why in this "enlightened" age do we still distinguish between women’s rights and men’s?

5. Does the creation of a separate female art institution encourage separatism and "ghettoization" of art by women?

Part III: Compare-Contrast this presentation to others: Questions and Observations
One of the most poignant observations I have made in the presentations to date is that regardless of what women do professionally (art, writing, psychology) or at home (housekeeping, child rearing) their efforts are devalued by men and women.

Part IV: Further Study and Research
1. What aspects of the political revolution led to the exclusion of women in education, art, and property ownership? An attempt to tie together what we do know about this time may allow us to speculate about what may have been major factors.
2. For brief periods of history women have had a great deal of freedom and power. Are there corresponding factors to their loss of power?
3. Feminist artists and scholars have agreed that women’s art can be productively directed toward the expression of female values (WS Packet, p53). An inquiry into the differences between male and female values may shed further light on issues inclusive of art, writing, professionalism and gender.

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 more online student study guides
"Eunuchs, Gender, and Power""Women's Health Issues"
"Bad Girls" "Women in Management"

Address your questions and comments to cagatucci@cocc.edu
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