Hello Amy. My name is Sarah and I have a question (as you would have guessed). I'm in my final year in high school and I'm getting ready to choose my major in university. One area of study that has intrigued me for a long while is Women's Studie's. I consider myself a determined feminist and very much in love with the writings of Mary Wollstonecraft and John Stuart Mill. I writing to ask if you would recommend entering a full-fledged women's studies program in university or should I continue to study on my own indivdual time? My main worry is that I will miss out on certain benefits that would arise from a more general program and I'm also concerned with the availability of work for those with degree's in women's studies. Thank you, very much. - Sarah

Thanks for your note to FEMINIST.COM and for including me in your decision making process. My two cents is that you should major in whatever you want to in college--it's really a time to learn the process of learning than a specific area. (Except of course, if you are contemplating medical school.)

Because you already have an interest in Women's studies, my opinion is that you pursue this on your own time--maybe taking a few classes here and there, but that you focus most of your time on something else that you want to learn. By doing this you also have the potential to influence other curriculums to include a feminist perspective or even women in the dialogue. We need to work both "within the system" as well as "within our own systems"--this way you can do both. I hope that helps and thanks again for asking.

—Amy