By: Mai Nguyen and Ronak Ghorbani

A tombstone at Guelph University's mock Women's Studies funeral (photo courtesy of Crystal Metham)

Recently, the National Post’s editorial board published a rather tumultuous piece on the state of Women’s Studies in Canada. There have been numerous responses to this post from various publications—many were disgusted, others were astounded, even Post readers were disturbed. Not so shocking is the stance taking by the conservative editorial, but the offense came from some of its ill-informed assumptions of what Women’s Studies are and how they affect our society.

The Post simplifies Women’s Studies, saying these courses teach students that all women “are victims and nearly all men are victimizers.” I should hope this “editorial board” had previously sat in on a course to make such a bold deliberation. It’s a black-and-white definition that wrongfully exemplifies the complex analysis that these courses actually provide.

This is problematic. As students who have taken several courses on women’s issues, never has there not been a discussion of how men are victims themselves of patriarchy and the circumscribed definition of masculinity that has been produced as a result. This is nothing new in the feminist discourse, but clearly, the Post had missed the boat on that one. (more…)