Gender and the Body

Catalog description

This course examines concepts of gender and the embodied issues of inequality, oppression, and objectification that occur in modern America. Students will examine social and cultural notions of the ideal body and the effects such expectations have on self-esteem and self-perception. Throughout history, the female body has been altered and transformed to fulfill an impossible ideal. More recently, trends for men have followed suit. This class looks at the historical, cultural, and social roots of this widespread obsession with body image and its dangerous implications.