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Genny Dyer
Series Assignment
Chosen material: Modern Sexism and the Feminist Movement

Synopsis of Topic:

The feminist movement is something that has been a nationally present social issue in the

United States since at least the 19th century, if not going further back. To give a few historical

highlights of the movement, 1848 was when the first women’s rights convention was held in the

United States. From this two-day debate, a Declaration of Sentiments was produced and signed

by 68 women and 32 men; this document basically outlined the plans for the feminist movement.

This momentum triggered several milestones achieved for the movement in the 1800s, including

the holding of the first national women’s rights conference, the formation of the National

American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), and Colorado was the first state to grant

women the right to vote (Imbornoni).

In the 20th century, we saw the signing of the 19th amendment, granting women the right

to vote federally, as well as the opening of Planned Parenthood by Margaret Sanger, the official

approval of birth control pills by the Food and Drug Administration, and the passing of the Equal

Pay Act, the Equal Rights Amendment, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Many woman

suffragists, such as Susan B. Anthony, faced jail time as political prisoners. This century, we saw

the lifting of the ban on women serving on combat roles among other representations of progress

(Imbornoni). Although there has been amazing progress for women’s rights over the past couple

centuries, sexism is still very much apparent in the workforce, as shown by the gender wage gap,

and everyday life, as shown by many modern societal norms in the United States and globally.
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Target group:

The target group for these exercises is members of an improvisation troupe who perform

about social issues/advocacy. The purpose of the exercises is to get ideas flowing about a

performance about modern sexism and the feminist movement.

Activities:

1) Insults
a. Get a partner. If not boy/girl, one person can pose for the opposite gender. Go
back and forth insulting each other based on stereotypes of his/her gender.

2) Scenarios
a. The characters include the boss of a company and a prospective candidate for an
open position, sitting opposite each other for the interview. The boss (a male) is
sexist against women, and the interviewee (a woman) is a feminist.
b. The characters include the teacher and two middle school students in a classroom.
The teacher is writing on the board, in the midst of teaching a lesson. When the
teacher’s back is turned, one male student, Joe, throws a paper airplane at a fellow
female student named Katie. The airplane lands on her desk. Katie throws it back,
and it lands on the floor in between her and Joe, to which Joe comments, “That
sucked! You throw like a girl!” Improvise the reactions from all three characters.
All characters can decide how they react and what their stance is on
feminism/sexism.
c. The characters include several college students at a party. One male student
discusses having to carry the keg upstairs. One female student offers to help, and
he laughs and says, “I need some men for this job, sweetie.” All the characters can
decide what their reaction is.

3) Gender Roles
a. In partners, improvise a 1-minute scene in which each partner says/acts
“normally” according to his/her gender, following “societal norms.”
b. In those same partners, improvise a 1-minute scene in which each partner acts like
the opposite of societal gender norms.

4) Storytelling
a. One person improvises a short story involving sexism, and two or more people
have to act it out.

5) Paparazzi
a. A famous TV show host has taken heat for saying a sexist remark on the most
recent episode of his show. Improvise a scene where paparazzi are bombarding
him with questions.
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Rationale:

I chose the following improvisation exercises because I feel they help delve into real-life

examples and issues of feminism and sexism, and they can help start a dialogue and refute

stereotypes and change expectations of women and men alike. The first activity is really a warm-

up to get the ideas flowing for how feminism and sexism is relevant in the modern-day United

States and how we think and are exposed to it ourselves. By giving people a chance to

brainstorm the modern stereotypes we have for each gender, it provides opportunity for critical

thinking. The second exercise, involving acting out relatable scenarios, allows us to see that

sexism is often subtle but it is still very much alive in the United States today. The third exercise

about gender roles really emphasizes how we as a society have certain expectations for each

gender, and it reveals how prominent these expectations are. The fourth activity, storytelling with

sexism, again triggers critical thinking and cause-effect relationships within sexism. Lastly,

paparazzi gets people thinking about how the issue is portrayed and treated in the media, which

can have a significant effect on how people view it.

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References

Berman, J. (2013, February 20). 11 Ways the American Workplace Is Still Really, Really Sexist.
The Huffington Post. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/sexist-workplace_n_2718249.html

Imbornoni, A. Women’s Rights Movement in the U.S. Infoplease. Retrieved from

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline3.html