<p>Hey all, I am a pre-med student at Washington University in St Louis, while science is not my passion. I'm thinking about doing a women's studies major because it's an area that i am passionate about and i also love literature and many ws courses are lit courses, but I am concerned with the negative and condescending attitudes that many people have towards "women's studies majors." my brother at least is making fun of me for it and degrades feminism, and although i am not really a western feminist (i am south asian), i do feel that women's rights and women's issues are important and are often overlooked by society, especially in "Third World" countries. I have pretty good grades so i'm pretty confident about getting into medical school, but is getting a BA in Women's Studies from wash u a waste of money? i guess i feel kind of guilty coming to this good school and getting a BA in WS, but i was thinking that it wouldn't be any more of a waste of money than a BA in, say, philosophy or psychology (no offense to any phil or psych majors, these are actually the majors i'm considering dropping). but what do you guys think? i'm pretty sure i'm going to go ahead with this but i would love to hear other opinions besides those of my brother =-/</p>
<p>"but is getting a BA in Women's Studies from wash u a waste of money?"</p>
<p>...Yes. The last thing we need is another feminist. Just my opinion.</p>
<p>Women's Studies: Far-left feminist indoctrination.</p>
<p>While, departing from the prior two posts, I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with the major, I'd still advise you to think carefully before undertaking it.</p>
<p>If Women's Studies is your passion--and you're willing to put your energy into it and stretch yourself, perhaps supplementing it with graduate courses (if you can) and a thesis--then go ahead and take it. However, be aware that the courses are substantially less rigorous and difficult than those in philosophy or even psychology.</p>
<p>Philosophy is the perfect major for improving mental dexterity, becoming more logical and skeptical, and generally improving one's mental skillset. Psychology, though perhaps not as rigorous, is also useful in helping you to understand society and other people.</p>
<p>Bottom line: Women's Studies won't really close off any future career opportunities; however, it will not be as rigorous and "useful" as the other two. If you really do want to major in it, then definitely go ahead, but keep that in mind.</p>
<p>I agree with everything GR Elton said, besides one minor thing- it will close off a few opportunities, but nothing that anything outside of engineering could open up for you, the field of engineering, and to a lesser extent (as you can teach yourself), the field of computer science. However, you aren't considering either of these fields, so it doesn't matter that it won't be available to you, and if you did psychology or philosophy, they probably still wouldn't be available to you (unless you had a very heavy logic concentration in philosophy), or taught yourself.</p>
<p>The average philosophy program is probably far more intellectually challenging than those of the average psych or women's studies (or gener studies) program, and the trend holds true at the most challenging programs. I tell people to study what interests them, so if ws is what interests you, do it. A bachelors' degree is often not about what you studied, but that you completed a program. This is basically the case for medical school, with the addition of the pre-med curriculum.</p>
<p>women's studies is percieved by many post-graduate programs as some what of a "joke" degree. Furthermore, it does label you as a far left feminist or a "feminazi." While a passion in women's studies is wonderful, perhaps you could make it a hobby, per se, or take many classes in it without officially changing your major. Given your interest in medicine, perhaps you could focus on women's health issues, a prominent subject for both Asia and Africa as well as pretty much everywhere else on the globe. For possible majors, besides just the classic pre-med associated majors, you could do some political science especially comparative politics classes that focus on different areas of the world. Whatever your decided major, just rock the MCAT!</p>
<p>And in response to a previous post about feminists. Not all feminists are radical left wing bra-burners. Just like everything else feminism has been stereotyped. There are many different strains of feminism from radical feminism to liberal feminists, etc. I prefer the term "gender egalitarian" to feminist. If you believe that women are entitled to the same rights as men, then guess what, you are a feminist. Feminism is not about bashing men, though many manipulate it to be so. Rather it is ensuring that women get equal status to men. True feminism does not imply that women are better than men. Instead, both sexes are equals.</p>