Women's Studies is an academic discipline itself--like philosophy or anthropology--that has both its own subject matter and its own perspective on knowledge. The subject matter is women, but that includes more than just the "great" women who broke the barriers of gender roles and achieved fame in fields previously reserved for men. Women's Studies is concerned with humankind's whole approach to women and the universal phenomenon of gender roles. Women's Studies classes are important for men as well as for women because an understanding of gender roles can benefit everyone.