Derek’s lectures are very enjoyable as he is very enthusiastic with his work and it is clear he loves teaching others what he has learned. Tuesday’s lecture was centred around racism, patriarchy, and discrimination towards women. Racism is a very serious worldwide issue. Derek’s lecture has enlightened me to how bad racism has been in the past. Each story that was presented to us during our class shocked me. Emmet Till, a young boy, beaten to death because of the colour of his skin. Moreover, the lack of justice for Emmet was diabolical, with his killers walking free. Next, a story that stood out to me was Rosa Parks Montgomery Bus Boycott. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus. At this time, this was unheard of as white people were seen as ‘superior’ to black people. For this reason, this story really stood out to me.

I have always been aware of discrimination towards women, however, images from the lecture slides this week really shocked me. In one image, a woman is getting her swimming costume measured by a man to make sure it is ‘long enough’ and deemed decent for the public eye. This seems ridiculous to me as, nowadays, when on holiday or going to the beach, most girls wear short bikinis or swimming costumes and it is perfectly acceptable. Therefore, the extent of discrimination towards women is certainly lower, however, it is not completely eradicated.