by Raniel Santos

As part of the General Education requirement at Cal State Fullerton, students are required to take at least one ethnic studies class. Most students choose to take an “Intro to Ethnic Studies” class to fulfill this requirement. 

But ethnic studies only provides half the context needed to fully comprehend how marginalized communities differ from dominant ones, which is why students should also take at least one gender studies course during their time at CSUF.

Alexandro Gradilla, a Chicana and Chicano studies professor at CSUF, was part of the team that worked on making ethnic studies a requirement. He said the academic project mainly focuses on letting students learn about different forms and definitions of knowledge and learning.

“I think the traditional Eurocentric or Western model of the university tends to privilege a singular type of writing, speaking and research,” Gradilla said. “Ethnic studies says that there are different forms of those approaches and that people in our community without college degrees or credentials are also capable of creating knowledge, critical thinking and have their own form of communication.”

Gender studies, on the other hand, delves into more than just knowledge and communication, though it is undoubtedly part of it. 

“Women and gender studies is not just literature, it’s not just history,” Gradilla said. “There’s a lot of areas within those fields, as well as ethnic studies that are case study-based, so that you look at case studies and you look at the historical mistakes done by society, done by leaders, done by institutions and policies and laws.”

One particular focus is on biology and how women are treated by medical and health professionals.

“In particular, mental health, physical health, they are sometimes perceived as complaining, as not being serious,” Gradilla said. “When you look at what happens when women are not taken seriously by therapists or doctors, you see the health disparities between women and men.”

He is not wrong. A 2024 Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that one in four women who have seen a healthcare provider reported unfair or disrespectful treatment, with 15% of them saying it was because of their weight. 

Black and Hispanic women reported such treatment more often than white women, which points to the importance of learning about the intersection between gender and race. This understanding of how intersectionality affects these issues could be explored by taking both gender studies and ethnic studies.

 Taking courses in gender studies can help students regardless of their gender identity, similarly to the way ethnic studies helps create understanding between those who have and have not experienced marginalization because of their ethnicity. This understanding can also create cultural context for historical norms, Gradilla said, it allows women to learn more about themselves and men to better understand the struggles female-presenting people go through. 

“Just like ethnic studies, people assume, ‘Oh, ethnic studies is to educate white people,’ and that is such a misconception,” Gradilla said. “They’re literally learning for the first time, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the reason we do this in my culture, or this is my history.’”

It especially helps illuminate the disparities in perception between men and women. One disparity discussed in gender studies classes is that of domestic labor.

“Gender and sexuality studies really helps us to understand what then happens to women when the perception is ‘We’re doing equal amounts of work,’ Gradilla said. “At the individual level, it really is important for men to learn to see that, because sometimes that type of labor and that type of inequality is invisible.”

As I prepare to graduate next semester, I feel like I missed out on valuable information I could have gained from taking a gender studies class. Learning about the hardships female-presenting people go through on a daily basis from their perspective may have helped me unlearn all the patriarchal, heteronormative and even misogynistic values internalized from a young age. 

There are many different aspects of gender disparities that are discussed in these classes. Some also discuss the different roles men feel assigned in society. I have a lot of female friends, but as a man, I struggle with creating a safe space for them out in the world. I often find myself envious of other men for their effortless ability to make them feel comfortable to be around them, especially in a physical sense. 

While on a trip to Washington D.C., I went out to a packed club with some female friends. Being the only guy going out, I was unofficially assigned to help my friends avoid harassment at the club and ensure they had a good time. While I took the duty seriously, I found it difficult to push back against overstepping men and keep the group together in such a tight space. While they assured me after we left that I should have prioritized fun like they did, I could not shake the feeling that I had failed to make them feel safe amongst other men.

Gender studies courses may also help men like myself combat the alt-right pipeline that many young men have fallen into. Our patriarchal society is inherently misogynistic, but today’s social media landscape has exacerbated the exposure that misogynistic views receive. 

The online community of the “manosphere,” as these right-leaning spaces have been dubbed, are believed to have originated from Gamergate, turning a group of angry male gamers on 4chan into a far-right political faction.

While mere exposure to progressive ideas in a gender studies class may not convert those deep in the pipeline away from its intense misogyny, it may allow more men to start discussing  their roles in perpetuating social issues, like sexism and rape culture, and dissuade them from entering it in the first place.