Introduction to Feminist Studies
outrageous act guidelines

Before writing the 2 March entry in your critical reflection journal, you will need to perform an “outrageous act.” Below are guidelines about how to do this.

What is an outrageous act?

• An outrageous act is an activity in which you push yourself to act outside of gender, sexual, class or racial norms. The act should be something positive that you would not or could not have done prior to this course.
• The duration of your outrageous act will vary. Just make sure it is long enough for you to get some reactions and feel that you have really learned something. It should also be long enough that you start to feel uncomfortable. The discomfort is part of the learning process.
• You should perform your outrageous act in the company of people who know you (friends and/or family). You might come up with a legitimate outrageous act to perform around strangers, but you should have a good reason why you are not performing your act in front of people you know.
• Under certain circumstances you may perform your outrageous act as a group. I would prefer that you work with students who are in your critical reflection journal group. Again, you must have a good reason for doing this as a group. (“Because it would make me feel more comfortable” is not a good reason.)
• During the actual performance of your outrageous act, you may not tell anyone, or let on, that you are doing what you are doing as a class assignment. You must act as if what you were doing were either perfectly normal or just something new you are trying.
• Be prepared to describe one or two ideas for an outrageous act in class on 5 February. Perform your act sometime during the month of February so that you and your group can reflect on the process for your 2 March critical reflection journal entry.

Are there any limits to what I should do for my outrageous act?

• Do not do anything illegal.
• Do not do anything that will physically or emotionally harm you or anyone else. (Messing with people’s minds or pissing them off a bit does not constitute emotional harm.)
• Consider the consequences of your outrageous act ahead of time. Push yourself as hard as you can, but you need not seriously risk, say, your father never speaking to you again.
• Do not reinforce stereotypes. For example, if you are a male student, do not kid yourself into thinking that acting stereotypically gay (limp-wristed, lisping, high-pitched squealing) is an outrageous act.
  

What should we write about in our 2 March critical reflection entry?

• Devote about half your entry to reporting what you did. Spend the other half of the entry discussing how Bornstein helps you to interpret others’ reactions to your outrageous act.
• Even if your group members write about your experiences and Bornstein-informed analysis separately from each other, you should each include some discussion in which you compare your three experiences.