So I took a couple of Gender Women's Studies classes for a research project, and here are my experiences.... 

Before you assume!

I majored in a field that is dominated by men. Any guesses? During my senior year of college I undertook a thesis that had to do with my field and how it has been influenced by women slowly entering the profession. My thesis committee decided that it would be beneficial for me to enroll in a few GWS classes so I could learn the discourse of the field in order to write my thesis. I had a pretty flexible schedule, I was curious what GWS classes were actually like, so I went for it! The following consists of my experiences.

The professor

My professor was actually a dude, and he was cool af. He would start each semester explaining how he first become interested in feminist theory and why he ended up as a professor. He explained that when he was younger, he was always made fun of for being small in stature and how that really affected his self worth. Anyway, he was hilarious and would frequently bring up how hard online dating was for him. Apparently, American women are not into asian guys? He also wore the coolest sweaters. I like sweaters.

What was the class like?

About what you would expect from a college course. Outside of class, you were supposed to read tons of assigned articles, read from the multiple (overpriced) text books, keep up with the news, complete essays, and take tests. The class itself was a lecture with open discussion.
Both classes I took focused a lot on how American companies are taking advantage of countries in which women are second class citizens. These businesses move their factories to foreign countries in order to hire women and children for cheap labor. We also studied issues that men face, the pressures of being a man due to societal expectations (being successful, being fit, being tall, standing up for yourself and those around you, having lots of sex, being handsome, having a deep voice, being confident, being good at sports, enjoying sports, etc) and how that can suck for guys who don't fit that criteria and why this often times leads to depression. There was actually very little man-hating, if not any. The professor encouraged discussions to mainly be a critical analysis of the various establishments that hold out-dated views that are harmful to BOTH men and women. That's right, the classes I took spent a large portion of their time explaining how men can be victims too. For example, only recently did legislation change to recognize that men can also be rape victims. The notion that feminists don't believe in male rape victims is false. Sorry, hate to break it to you. The classes also focused on people of color, native American groups, LGBTQ experiences. Very little of it had to do with just women. In fact a lot of it had to do with criticizing women (particularly white women) and how we contribute to harming men and other people. There has always been discussion about changing it from Gender Women's Studies, to something more encompassing.

Were there fights?

Yes, there were fights. Lots of heated moments. Did you know that feminists often disagree with each other, and that they don't all think the same?

I almost got jumped once, for an opinion that wasn't even mine.
We were having debates and students were assigned to either defend or attack certain issues. I told the professor that I wanted the most difficult assignment. He assigned me to come up with an argument as to why Kim Davis was right to do what she did. I didn't support Kim Davis, so this was a difficult task to do, but I gave it my best.
I swear, a few of the students seemed to forget that some of us were "assigned" our opinions. I felt like I was gonna get jumped.

I still hold a grudge against this girl

Saw a girl with a totoro backpack in my class. I tried to compliment her because I'm a huge Miyazaki fan. She was a total jerk about it. You would think that by her reaction I had insulted her family! She literally scoffed at me!!! Maybe she was just having a bad day. I don't know. I still hold a grudge against that girl though! All I did was compliment her backpack. Whatever, her totoro backpack wasn't even that cool.

The coolest person I met was a gender queer individual, she was chill af. Seriously, every conversation I had with her made me want to high five her. She was always level headed in discussions and pretty damn witty at times.

First class I took only had one guy in it. He said his mom forced him to sign up for the class so he might "learn something." He brought a lot of unique insight to discussions and was really enjoyable. Although, I still wonder if he had done something to upset his mom?

Mr. Lumberjack Man

The second class I took had a lumberjack in it (tall, bearded, muscular, military, nontraditional student). He sat towards the front and was very enthusiastic during discussions. He came off as genuine and actually interested to learn. However, he constantly interrupted people and would talk over people in the class. Other than that, he was pretty cool. Although, he did say a few questionable things about rape...

There were Bros

Pretty sure some of these guys signed up for the class because the title included the word "Sex" in it. I don't think the class was what they expected, but there were a lot of girls present (awwwww yea)! For the most part, these guys tried to keep a low profile. They giggled a lot, and projected a sense that they were often times uncomfortable. Which was unfortunate, because most people in that class really wanted to hear their perspective on issues.
One time the prof played a music video featuring some sexy Korean girls, just to announce at the end that the sexy girls were actually boys. The bros reaction to this revelation was the most we ever got from them all semester.

There was an older mom!

Sweet lady, I never understood what point she was trying to make when she spoke up, but I do appreciate her participation. She also shared a ton of personal information. It seemed like her last marriage was terrifying. Lots of abuse. Good for you to come back to school though! I hope she is doing well.

What did I learn about GWS courses?

Ok, yes, there are some people who enroll in GWS courses who are the worst. They are people who won't let you talk, and misconstrue everything you say. I am a feminist, but at times I couldn't even handle some of the students in those classes. But for the most part, the students I met were pretty cool and chill. I only knew two GWS majors throughout undergrad, and they both went on to do cool things after graduation. If you're a good student, you will find opportunity regardless of what you study.

I completed my thesis and got an A!

It was a year long ordeal and caused me a lot of stress! But I finished it and it only took me 98 pages to get my point across!!! Thanks for reading IMGUR!

TL;DR took two GWS classes, a few people fulfilled stereotypes, but for the most part the class was informative and the people were chill af.