Introductory Letter

Hello there! Welcome to my blog, specially made for WST 3015-002.

Let's begin with basics, shall we? My name is Lydia Haver, and I'm a senior at UCF majoring in Humanities (AKA Huge Manatees).

You could certainly say gender has been important in my life because it's played an obvious role in my understanding and creation of my identity, as it does for all of us. It's affected my relationships with my family and friends as well. I grew up in your very standard white, middle-class, Christian family who still held onto the values that said women should be in the home and certainly under the authority of her husband (and of course any woman left unmarried was to be pitied or suspected to be a lesbian, God forbid). I hated it mostly because it meant that so many doors felt closed to me, even as a child. There were loads of games I wanted to play, clothes I wanted to wear, or groups of people I wanted to be a part of but wasn't allowed because it "wasn't for girls". When I joined the soccer team and cut my hair short in the third grade, my dad used to make comments about how he missed how sweet or pretty I used to be (which is hilarious considering what a horror of a child I know I was even before then). But it was what I wanted to do, so the only retorts I was ever able to come up with when he said things like that were something along the lines of, "Well, now I'm tough instead of pretty." I considered it a fair trade, especially in third grade when boys were still gross anyway.

I can say that for about as long as I've known the word feminist—one that has shifted in my understanding over time—I’ve identified as one. I like getting the different reactions when I call myself a feminist. I was never particularly put off by the negative connotations, but maybe that was simply in the spirit of defiance. When I first heard of feminism it really was just a lot of stereotyping insults and bad press being flung around, but I think that’s partially what attracted me to it. I admired the idea that some women had the courage to not care if they were considered pretty or sweet, because they wanted something different for themselves. I’d seen the quiet, steadfast strength of my mother, but I’d never seen a woman with the kind of ambition, confidence, and importance that the picture of a feminist carried in my head.

To be honest, I'm surprised I've never taken a women's studies class before. I’ve been interested in how other women have approached the concept of equality between the sexes, but trying to find accurate and all-encompassing information on the subject in the Age of Information makes you feel a little bit carried out to sea sometimes. It can feel like an overwhelming endeavor, but I’m thrilled to have some direction and a group to go through it with.

And as requested, I have read, understood, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus and the blogging protocol.