Article Review Reflection/Summary

In the article Teachers urged to teach feminism, Jessica Ringrose, a sociology lecturer at the Institute of Education in London, believes that due to the rise in teen girls using degrading language to characterize themselves, they need to learn more about feminism. Ringrose says “almost 40 years after the feminist revolution, teenage girls still define themselves according to male desire. They feel that ‘everything is at stake’ if they do not appear sexy or feminine in the right ways.”

Ringrose is astounded by the way teenage girls are portraying themselves, she feels that the only way to contest this is by having teachers add feminism to the school’s curriculum. Although some may argue that they have targeted most of the inequalities in gender, it cannot be so due to the way women are portrayed in society. By teaching feminism in the curriculum, many of the myths about gender correspondence can be broken down. An example of this is how a electrician makes lots more money than a hairdresser. This can be because electricians are known to be a man’s job and hairdressers are known to be a job done mainly by women.

Other reasons why Ringrose believes feminism should be taught in schools is so teenage girls can learn more about self-worth. On an Internet forum called Bebo, many girls portray themselves in very tasteless ways, by having user names such as “slut”, “whore”, and “free sex”. The profile of a girl named Daniella said “Hi I’m Daniella and I like it up the bum just like your mum.” Ringrose believes that by teaching feminism in schools girls will learn more about positive ways to be noticed. They would also learn that by objectifying themselves, they aren’t being seen as a person, but more of an object.

This article applies to FEAP’s number 2 and 3, communication and continuous improvement because Ringrose believes that by improving the curriculum of the schools-by adding feminism in it, they will be able to communicate better with the students of the schools. It also applies to FEAP number 8, knowledge of subject matter, because through teaching others, we also learn.