Hannah

Nevertheless, you raise a good point in that “Feminism” as a movement does have to contend with culture perceptions of the movement as pitting women against men, even if those within the movement understand it to be working against a system that privileges a select few at the expense of both men and women alike. (The patriarchy hurts everyone, not just women.) Furthermore, as to the “oppression olympics,” the feminist movement can tend to focus on the experience of women who are privileged in many other ways, and leave out swaths of women, like women of color and women with disabilities, who feel that the movement doesn’t speak for them. Hopefully talking about feminism as it relates to other forms of oppression early on in the educational system would actually make the movement more inclusive, rather than begetting this “us-vs-them” mentality you describe.

I went to an all-girls school (Hi Ms. Jimenez!) and we did indeed have history classes that taught lessons about “feminist perspectives.” And we probably got more than most by virtue of having an emphasis on educating women. However, we learned very little about contemporary feminism, and “intersectional feminism” didn’t enter my vocab until after college (again, brava D Shepard!) Feminism was perfunctory and historical rather than engaging and relevant, and probably kept me away from the WAGS dept at my college. I don’t know if there should be an established curriculum for feminism in elementary school; in any case I think it’s highly unlikely to happen any time soon. I do think talking about feminism in school is important, and I like the idea above of incorporating it into the curriculum that is already there. I think that’s a good way to achieve the goal your student describes, of letting kids come to their own conclusions while presenting them with a feminist framework to think about all kinds of oppression.

I agree re: English and history classes are devoid of all kinds of voices and perspectives, especially of leaders and writers of color regardless of gender. LGBT perspectives are also absent–for example Bayard Rustin’s leadership as a gay African American activist worked tirelessly alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. but too many students have never heard of him. Any mention of leaders of color in history books, especially the bland corporate style ones, are relegated to “colorful” boxes in the corner that are too often overlooked and forgotten.