Men graduating in untraditional majors
Many students make choices and live their lives based on what society thinks about, like a major. There are some majors here at USU that many students typically associate as “girl majors”, like interior design, elementary education and anything dealing with the department of family, consumer and human development.
Despite the stereotypes about theses majors, men have found their niche in these fields, like Dustin Wickham, a master’s student studying interior design. For him, wanting to be an interior designer is about the tie between architecture and interior design.
“I have always liked architecture. Interior design and architecture are very related. Most people have the misconception that interior design just means decorating. There is some, but not as much as people think,” Wickham said.
He said that by being a male designer, he can offer a different more masculine approach to design giving variety to the industry.
For some reason when students think of family related-majors, they may think they are just for women, but Dave Ingersoll, a senior in family finance, chose this path so he could help people. Ingersoll started out his college career in the college of business but made the change to family finance to take his knowledge of money from the corporate world to families.
“I chose (family finance) because of the people I see, like my parents and others, making financial mistakes. I want to teach people financial literacy habits,” Ingersoll said.
Even though they both enjoy their majors, Wickham and Ingersoll know they don’t come without some skeptical looks and their own sets of challenges. One of the less important challenges that Wickham faces is the fact that there are no male bathrooms on the third floor of the Family Life building, where the interior design department is located.
Ingersoll said sometimes he struggles with what he calls “foorfy and huggy” classes that just don’t match up with his style, and human development classes that deal with pregnancy and other female stuff. Wickham said he listens to a lot of girl talk throughout his day, which makes him feel a little awkward.
Other than dealing with girl stuff, Wickham and Ingersoll are really pleased with their classes.
“I love my professors and my friends. We all have a good relationship,” Ingersoll said.
The majority of their problems don’t come from classes or homework assignments but rather the stereotypes that many people assume. Many students at USU believe it is more acceptable for a woman to go into male-dominated major than a male going into a female dominated major.
“When I tell someone that I am in the college of FCHD, I usually get strange looks, but when I tell them I’m going into family finance, I don’t get strange looks,” Ingersoll said.
Jake Coleman, a sophomore in guitar performance, said when he learns that a guy is studying to become an interior designer, his initial reaction is to think the guy is gay. Also, he believes the reason majors like elementary education and those in FCHD are female-dominated because they are more geared to girls.
“They seem to be more nurturing type of occupations,” Coleman said.
With these struggles that come with the territory, both Wickham and Ingersoll said they don’t care about the stereotypes or the initial reactions of people. They love doing what they do.
-dwkoecher@cc.usu.edu