Distance Learning

If you could share one idea from this course with others, what would it be, and why?

If I could share one thing from this course with others, it would be telling people to be aware of their surroundings. Personally for me when watching ESPN and reading Shape magazine, I wouldn't think of anything to be wrong. I enjoyed the articles and the sports recap. But once you notice the absence of strong, athletic women, you start to wonder. Why is no women pictured? Why is their no articles on woman's athletics. People need to be more aware of the world around them and understand how underrated and unappreciated female athletics are. People should be aware because this type of sexism surrounds our everyday lives. Not just in sports, but in basically everything we do is mostly male dominated. People must not sit back and just come to terms with this. Women especially need to be aware because if effects them everyday and if more women were aware, we could have a possibility of changing the system.

Have you changed your opinions or views as a result of this course? Why or why not?

My opinions have changed completely because of this course. I am a communication studies major and in one of our classes, we have to be rhetorical critics. We are taught to analysis and criticize everyday things, such as commercials, buildings, even television shows. Because of my rhetorical criticism background, I started noticing all the negative connotations that female athletics deal with. Everything from commercials to sports gear seemed to be aimed at a weaker species just because they are women. My opinion on female sports was not really anything, which sounds sad because I am an athlete myself. But after taking this course, I have learned how unappreciated women are in sports and it is truly sad. I now hope to change this negative stereotype even in the slightest so that many more people will be just as moved as I was. My opinion on woman's sports is so much greater now because I saw how hard they have worked to get where they are now. I hope that many more peoples attitudes have changed like mine, therefore letting women get to where they should be and not where they are.


-Melanie Chaput
TuTh 9:30