Women Studies Major for a guy?

[ts87v]

Hey yall ~! I'm a male sophomore student (Korean) who's been studying my butts since my freshman yr to get into neurobiology faculty this yr (very competitive and top 10 within U.S), but couple days ago, I started SERIOUSLY considering switching my major to Women Studies, just becuz I have had this HUGE dream of becoming OB/GYN as my future career since I was a child...

I've been trying to decide whether I should start taking women introductory classes since next quarter and I had absolutely NO chance or courage or wutsoever to consult my frnds or relatives to get some feedbacks on this radical thought yet... and....well..my sister already laughed at me so hard when I said this, but then i haven't talked to my parents yet ...(hopefully at least my dad will take this with some gratitude since he himself is a retired OB/GYN😀)

Up till now, I've completed almost all pre-med prereqs so that after this yr, I will have only biochem left to finish.. (i had to fall in love with all those sciences and maths during my freshman yr, and this yr, which will let me start taking some of my Major courses (whichever my major will be by then) since my junior yr.

However, I'm pretty sure once I'm in those Women Studies lectures, everyone will stare at me like im an ill pervert, not to mention in one of those small quiz section classes (like... out of 22 classmates in that section, I will be the only male sitting in that room blushing, while being gazed by the rest 21 females .... LOL)

BUt one thing I know with my heart is that I'm not trying to major in Women Studies JUST to fulfill my preparation for med school and thereafter, but I'm actually VERY interested in learning about where women are today in American society compared to where they were in past historically, how they are being treated in present healthcare, what further needs to be done to improve their quality of life.

Well,, simply put, I have enough PASSION to study this field, but it's just that my self-consciousness and the fact that no one ever really took this risky route as a premed that bothers me.....

I never talked about this enough with anyone yet and felt that I have got to talk about this at SOME POINT.... so i took my guts to come to SDN and wrote my first thread ever since I joined as a member... lol

I really need help here and any insights & advice would be much much appreciated ! thanks !!!!!

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[[pj]]

Just do it. Why not? You only live once. It's probably harder as a Korean to try and explain to your parents, but that's life. Just do it. Like Nike says.

 

[hum3a]

lol take abnormal psychology. you will learn alot about teh wimmenz.

You will catch alot of heat for it from you're family and friends. But if your manhood isn't in question and you think it will help you, then go for it man.

 

[shiftingmirage]

I say go for it. I bet the adcoms would actually find it interesting. They are probably sick of all the bio and chem majors (like myself). How many people do women's studies that are premed, and a male? I think it will make you stand out to the adcom and give you a story to tell. Who knows, perhaps your PS can be about being a male in a female dominated major and how that affected you and maybe what you were able to contribute to class discussions being the only male.

As for your family, twice I told my Dad and my brother that I wanted to be a doctor. Once in middle school, again freshmen year of college. Both times they looked at each other and started laughing. They thought not in a million years I would have what it takes. I now have an acceptance letter.

Sometimes the ones we hold dearest can hurt us the most. If you want to do it, do it. I doubt your parents will be laughing at commencement when you receive your degree. If your family isn't comfortable with it, in a few all they will need to say is my son is/is going to be a doctor. No undergraduate major needed. And for you, show your pride and tell everyone. They may find it odd or funny at first, but once you get a degree they wont be laughing.

 

[boodthedog]

I can't question your manliness for wanting to be the only guy in a room full of girls. Go for it champ.

If people give you grief, explain that undergrad major doesn't really matter, and that this would be as useful a base as anything for ob-gyn.

 

[LizzyM]

IMHO this could hurt you in one of two ways:

your "all other" gpa will be high but the adcom will chalk this up to "fluff" courses taken for your major

your "all other" gpa will be low because the professors in "women's studies" are unfair to men who take their classes

I'd recommend psychology, sociology or anthropology.

 

[digitlnoize]

IMHO this could hurt you in one of two ways:

your "all other" gpa will be high but the adcom will chalk this up to "fluff" courses taken for your major

your "all other" gpa will be low because the professors in "women's studies" are unfair to men who take their classes

I'd recommend psychology, sociology or anthropology.

Hmmm...good point. You could always cross dress, and go to class as a girl...that would solve problem #2 above at least 😀 (not being mean, just funny)

I once took a Women's self defense class. It was all girls and me. It was pretty cool actually. No one cared. I learned alot of cool moves and got some exercise.

I would just recommend watching alot of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

 

[Flaxmoore]

I'd vote going Psych instead- I know my undergrad offered a minor in Women's Psych. Best of both worlds- a hard major that will look good to the adcoms, and a minor that will help as an OB.

 

[BigRedder]

I think maybe taking a class on Freud may be in order...

 

[fitnesspremed]

there are a ton of guys in our women's studies department. what's wrong with you majoring in it? If you don't do it for those reasons, it just perpetuates all the stereotypes those departments are rallying against. If you're interested in it, go for it, and don't let anyone make you feel bad, they're just jerks who will probably be crappy doctors.

 

[lil'trooper]

Hey yall ~! I'm a male sophomore student (Korean) who's been studying my butts since my freshman yr to get into neurobiology faculty this yr (very competitive and top 10 within U.S), but couple days ago, I started SERIOUSLY considering switching my major to Women Studies, just becuz I have had this HUGE dream of becoming OB/GYN as my future career since I was a child...

I've been trying to decide whether I should start taking women introductory classes since next quarter and I had absolutely NO chance or courage or wutsoever to consult my frnds or relatives to get some feedbacks on this radical thought yet... and....well..my sister already laughed at me so hard when I said this, but then i haven't talked to my parents yet ...(hopefully at least my dad will take this with some gratitude since he himself is a retired OB/GYN😀)
QUOTE]


Hi-

I have a few thoughts:

-Don't take from your friends or your parents too seriously if you're anticipating that they'll laugh at you!

-ask an advisor in the women's studies department at school what they think

-TAKE A FEW CLASSES and see if it's for you. This could solve your issue easily. You'll either like it or not like it.

-You don't have to major in something to be interested in it. You don't have to be a women's studies major to be sensitive to and knowledgable about women.

-I'm sure there are plenty (I mean not a ton but a decent few) of pre-meds who major in women's studies. Just not a ton of guys.

-Do you even know how many caucasian or asian people major in Afro-Am studies? How many straight people major in queer studies? It's not a massive number but it's not unheard of either.

Finally, I don't know where you're at school, but a lot of places will have you reading critical theory. Many many people HATE it (it was my staple in college but that's just me.) If you are at one of these schools, you WILL be reading Judith Butler, audre lord, Laura Mulvey, Foucault, Barthes, Derrida, etc. Get a syllabus, pick a book, and dig in!

 

[Daydreamer2008]

Hey yall ~! I'm a male sophomore student (Korean) who's been studying my butts since my freshman yr to get into neurobiology faculty this yr (very competitive and top 10 within U.S), but couple days ago, I started SERIOUSLY considering switching my major to Women Studies, just becuz I have had this HUGE dream of becoming OB/GYN as my future career since I was a child...

creepppyyyy... just kidding 😉

 

[ts87v]

IMHO this could hurt you in one of two ways:

your "all other" gpa will be high but the adcom will chalk this up to "fluff" courses taken for your major

your "all other" gpa will be low because the professors in "women's studies" are unfair to men who take their classes

I'd recommend psychology, sociology or anthropology.

thnx for your viewpoint as an actual adcom.. that's quite interesting..
But why would my high "all other" gpa be considered a bunch of "fluffs" ? I think it's even harder to pull off A's in those Women Studies courses than let's say gen.bio, since Women Studies is actually quite reading and writing-intense.. It's the same logic as getting A's in english classes is very difficult when there isn't any definite answer that prof. really wants?...

I hope what you see is not the case but..... what do you guys think ??

 

[LizzyM]

thnx for your viewpoint as an actual adcom.. that's quite interesting..
But why would my high "all other" gpa be considered a bunch of "fluffs" ? I think it's even harder to pull off A's in those Women Studies courses than let's say gen.bio, since Women Studies is actually quite reading and writing-intense.. It's the same logic as getting A's in english classes is very difficult when there isn't any definite answer that prof. really wants?...

I hope what you see is not the case but..... what do you guys think ??

Because it is subjective, and because many schools are in the grips of grade inflation, perhaps there is the fear that everyone is excellent, and consequently the grades are meaningless (you get no credit for a 4.0 in women's studies).

On the other hand, do you expect that a man will ever be labeled "the best" in a classroom filled with women in a course taught by a feminist and which has a subjective grading system?

And since when is anything reading and writing intense more difficult?

 

[ts87v]

Hey yall ~! I'm a male sophomore student (Korean) who's been studying my butts since my freshman yr to get into neurobiology faculty this yr (very competitive and top 10 within U.S), but couple days ago, I started SERIOUSLY considering switching my major to Women Studies, just becuz I have had this HUGE dream of becoming OB/GYN as my future career since I was a child...

creepppyyyy... just kidding 😉

lol.... i know wut it sounds like but yea.. i started watching my dad doing an operation when i was like ...5 or 6 lol.... actually one of his assistants was holding me in her arm and let me peak over anytime i wanted and I clearly remember ALL I saw,......... though I didn't know wth was going on with my dad's hands deep in someone's rear ..😱

Well... but I'm not entirely sure if THAT counts as one of my shadowing experiences lol..

 

[hereIcome]

I was an American Studies major and I took many WoSt classes. There were at least two guys I can think of who were Women's Studies majors...and plenty more were in the classes. I say go for it. My major hasn't seemed to be considered "fluff" at interviews.

 

[ts87v]

Because it is subjective, and because many schools are in the grips of grade inflation, perhaps there is the fear that everyone is excellent, and consequently the grades are meaningless (you get no credit for a 4.0 in women's studies).

On the other hand, do you expect that a man will ever be labeled "the best" in a classroom filled with women in a course taught by a feminist and which has a subjective grading system?

And since when is anything reading and writing intense more difficult?

Hm... I kinda get ur point... but yea, getting no recognition for high gpa received in not a very well-known faculty and facing an uphill battle against somewhat unfamilar class background (grading system, highly gender-biased prof. and class population) have been part of the reason for my hesitation........ and I do not know about the difficulties of the Women Studies courses compared to science courses... it's just that I looked up couple threads here where pple talk about majors and quite lot of them thought English/Literature majors are actually harder just becuz there are hell lot more readings and writings that are so confusing, and I thought the same way 😕

 

[ts87v]

Hey yall ~! I'm a male sophomore student (Korean) who's been studying my butts since my freshman yr to get into neurobiology faculty this yr (very competitive and top 10 within U.S), but couple days ago, I started SERIOUSLY considering switching my major to Women Studies, just becuz I have had this HUGE dream of becoming OB/GYN as my future career since I was a child...

I've been trying to decide whether I should start taking women introductory classes since next quarter and I had absolutely NO chance or courage or wutsoever to consult my frnds or relatives to get some feedbacks on this radical thought yet... and....well..my sister already laughed at me so hard when I said this, but then i haven't talked to my parents yet ...(hopefully at least my dad will take this with some gratitude since he himself is a retired OB/GYN😀)
QUOTE]


Hi-

I have a few thoughts:

-Don't take from your friends or your parents too seriously if you're anticipating that they'll laugh at you!

-ask an advisor in the women's studies department at school what they think

-TAKE A FEW CLASSES and see if it's for you. This could solve your issue easily. You'll either like it or not like it.

-You don't have to major in something to be interested in it. You don't have to be a women's studies major to be sensitive to and knowledgable about women.

-I'm sure there are plenty (I mean not a ton but a decent few) of pre-meds who major in women's studies. Just not a ton of guys.

-Do you even know how many caucasian or asian people major in Afro-Am studies? How many straight people major in queer studies? It's not a massive number but it's not unheard of either.

Finally, I don't know where you're at school, but a lot of places will have you reading critical theory. Many many people HATE it (it was my staple in college but that's just me.) If you are at one of these schools, you WILL be reading Judith Butler, audre lord, Laura Mulvey, Foucault, Barthes, Derrida, etc. Get a syllabus, pick a book, and dig in!

O yea, that's actually what I was planning to do. Taking classes and learn in first hand will def give me some idea if this is right or not... but then if I really liked it and decided to major in Women Studies, I again was kinda afraid if I'm going too Robert Frost....lol yea... it's not unheard of , but still ...... WOMEN STUDIES as a PREMED????

thanx for ur input, and actually those are going to be my next steps..

 

[searun]

OP, just attend a performance of the controversial play, "The Vagina Monologues." It will teach you everything you need to know about women.

 

[xrevision]

Sigh, I could spend a million years in school taking classes on women, and still never really know anything about them.

 

[45408]

OP - you could always take a few more classes in women's studies if you want without declaring it your major. Maybe you'll find out that some of them don't interest you as much as you thought, and then you won't be disappointed if you don't major in it. Otherwise, I think LizzyM is making some good points.

 

[45408]

Sigh, I could spend a million years in school taking classes on women, and still never really know anything about them.

:knocksonwood: I actually feel like I understand my wife fairly well.

 

[Chuckwalla]

Women's studies departments of full of misandry. The classes are also completely subjective. No, I'm not saying all women's studies professors are misandrists but some of them certainly are. It is not worth the risk, major in anything else.

 

[xrevision]

Also know that you're going to be testing and writing papers that usually have to please the view of your professor in order to do well.

 

[lil'trooper]

Sigh. So what exactly is it that folks posting here are more afraid of: liberal arts classes or women's studies professors?

Liberal Arts is subjective- so what. It also increases your capacity to problem-solve, to think critically, to express yourself, and to develop your world-view.

And the "anything but women's studies" mentality is so weird to me. The man that can rock his upper-division science classes and do well on the MCAT and just happens to be a women's studies major is definitely a combination of attributes that ad com members will notice and remember.

Everyone who has a reasonable shot at med school did well in science classes and decently on the MCAT and shadowed some physician and assisted on some research (uh, except me.) What you need to stand out is a convincing, coherent narrative about why you do what you do with proof to back it up. And what you do has to involve caring for people other than yourself and not taking the safe route.

 

[searun]

Sigh. So what exactly is it that folks posting here are more afraid of: liberal arts classes or women's studies professors?

Liberal Arts is subjective- so what. It also increases your capacity to problem-solve, to think critically, to express yourself, and to develop your world-view.

And the "anything but women's studies" mentality is so weird to me. The man that can rock his upper-division science classes and do well on the MCAT and just happens to be a women's studies major is definitely a combination of attributes that ad com members will notice and remember.

Everyone who has a reasonable shot at med school did well in science classes and decently on the MCAT and shadowed some physician and assisted on some research (uh, except me.) What you need to stand out is a convincing, coherent narrative about why you do what you do with proof to back it up. And what you do has to involve caring for people other than yourself and not taking the safe route.

Personally, I would be wary of the women's studies professors with an anti-male bias. Lizzy, a female faculty member and ad com, apparently agrees. I would not be caught dead in one of these classes. As I said, just watch the Vagina Monologues and you will learn everthing you need to know about women.

 

[QofQuimica]

I can't question your manliness for wanting to be the only guy in a room full of girls. Go for it champ.

Yeah, he'll be the only guy in the room, but if his college is anything like mine was, those girls will be way more interested in each other than they are in him. 😉 😛

OP, it's a bit premature to go declaring a major before you've even taken one class in that subject. Start by taking one intro women's studies class next semester, and see if you even like it. If you do decide that you want to major in women's studies, just make sure that you don't slack off on your med school pre-reqs, because you probably won't have as many upper level science classes as most premeds do. The other option is that you could double major, which was basically the option I took. (My majors were natural sciences and Spanish.) It was actually kind of nice to have a Spanish class or two each semester, because it was a good break from all science all the time. If you can swing the double major without your grades in either suffering, I think it is the best of both worlds. Alternatively, if your school offers minors (mine didn't), you could minor in women's studies and major in one of the sciences. Best of to you. 🙂

 

[EBI831]

i can almost guarantee that a women's studies major will teach you absolutely nothing useful for your future dream of being an OB/GYN. they don't really discuss the female anatomy as in depth as you'll need to know it until you get to med school and even then probably not as much as you'll get in residency. and honestly if you just wanna take it find out about how women have changed in the past etc and how healthcare has changed towards women(which i doubt most schools have a class dedicated to healthcare and women), read a book or many books. and at the same time, i'm gonna have to go against all the people who say you wont get in b/c (1) you'll be graded unfairly (2) adcoms will think you had a fluff major....if your prereq grades are high then it doesnt matter really and i think teachers would be happier to see a male in the class and might even call on you more or so for your opinion (based on my experience with guys in my women's studies classes).
so final answer from me: don't do it. women's studies has absolutely nothing to do with OB/GYN. and even so, how do you really know you want to go into OB/GYN...you haven't been to med school yet or seen(i'm guessing) a lot of the other specialties? I think OB/GYN will be a freaking hard one to explain to Adcoms without coming off sounding weird/creepy...let alone telling them you switched to women's studies just for it. I think that'll hurt you more than any thing.

 

[searun]

i can almost guarantee that a women's studies major will teach you absolutely nothing useful for your future dream of being an OB/GYN. they don't really discuss the female anatomy as in depth as you'll need to know it until you get to med school and even then probably not as much as you'll get in residency. and honestly if you just wanna take it find out about how women have changed in the past etc and how healthcare has changed towards women(which i doubt most schools have a class dedicated to healthcare and women), read a book or many books. and at the same time, i'm gonna have to go against all the people who say you wont get in b/c (1) you'll be graded unfairly (2) adcoms will think you had a fluff major....if your prereq grades are high then it doesnt matter really and i think teachers would be happier to see a male in the class and might even call on you more or so for your opinion (based on my experience with guys in my women's studies classes).
so final answer from me: don't do it. women's studies has absolutely nothing to do with OB/GYN. and even so, how do you really know you want to go into OB/GYN...you haven't been to med school yet or seen(i'm guessing) a lot of the other specialties? I think OB/GYN will be a freaking hard one to explain to Adcoms without coming off sounding weird/creepy...let alone telling them you switched to women's studies just for it. I think that'll hurt you more than any thing.

I agree, the OB/GYN and Women's Studies thing is really going to creep out ad com's that are evaluating an undergraduate male. I know that it would creep me out. Probably not a good strategy re getting admitted to med schools for you. Better to take the red blooded All American Boy approach.

 

[ts87v]

Thanx all for awesome answers& advice...
I've decided to stay away from that idea for a while untill i actually take one intro course next yr or so.

but there might be a slight possibility that I get a minor degree in Women Studies... well, I guess I def. won't be majoring in it since it will make my future app. process too complicated anywayz....

THANK YOU SO MUCH