Trampires and Teaching Strategies

Similar to Kacy's post, today I actually had a direct experience with bringing some of the issues that hooks discusses into the classroom. A little over a month ago, I read this fantastic article in the Huffington Post Chicago on the public slut-shaming of actress Kristen Stewart--most notably of Twilight fame--after her alleged affair with her married Snow White and the Huntsman director. The article brings up some excellent, though disturbing, points about how even this celebrity buff can affect the social outlook of young women, and so I wanted to share it with my class. Here is the article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nico-lang/trampires-why-the-slut-sh_b_1850940.html

I have to admit that I was a bit nervous before today's discussion. Although my students in this class have proven to be intelligent and sensitive when discussing touchy social and cultural issues, I still knew full well that this lesson could blow up in my face. In those brief moments of nervousness, I could definitely understand what hooks was talking about when she says, "The unwillingness to approach teaching from a standpoint that includes awareness of race, sex, and class is often rooted in the fear that classrooms will become uncontrollable, that emotions and passions will not be contained" (39). What if someone said something offensive? What if the discussion became immediately political (the article certainly is)? Or what if, worst of all, I can't seem to get them to care?

Before we read the article, I had them watch the hilarious YouTube video, mentioned in the article, where Will Ferrell stages a fake emotional breakdown over the whole scandal on the Conan show. If you haven't seen it, you should for a good laugh:

There are few things in this world greater than Will Ferrell screaming. Anyway, after we watched that, we read the article together. I then had them respond specifically to the last sentence, asking what we are teaching young women with the public slut-shaming of K-Stew, and also for them to identify two things that surprised them about the article. They wrote for a bit, then broke up into groups and talked, then we regrouped as a class. 

Overall the discussion went well. No one got overly heated or expressed comments that were out of hand. I was a little dismayed, though, because for the most part, only the young women talked. They actually had a lot to say and felt pretty passionate about the issues raised in the article. However, only two young men talked, and mostly agreed with them. I felt a little like I was preaching to the choir with the discussion, but hey, at least they were exposed to the issues presented and will maybe think a little bit next time something similar happens in Hollywood.