Lecture 10 - Feminist and Gender Theory Flashcards
origins feminist / gender theories
developed 1960s/1970s in response to women’s discrimination, marginalization and oppression.
around the time of many social movements which demanded societal transformation. theoretical ideas emerged from experiences
Entered International Relations discipline in the late 1980s and early 1990s
first generation feminism / gender theory
Critical and emancipatory perspective
Investigating gendered constructions of concepts and exposing gender biases in IR theory
Critiquing gendered practices of international politics
second generation feminism / gender theory
From women to gender
Approaching empirical situations with ‘gendered lenses’
Using gender as a category of analysis to study IR phenomena
Spanning the boundaries of the discipline of IR
basics feminism / gender theories
gender as a social construct
intersectionality
gender as dynamic category
system of power
gender hierarchies are maintained
gender inequality is justified, naturalized and depoliticized
gender as a social construct
Gender is not “given” but “learned”
Gender should be understood as a social, not physiological, construction:
Femininity and masculinity, the terms that denote one‘s gender, refer to a complex set of characteristics and behaviors prescribed for a particular sex by society and learned through the socialization experience‘
intersectionality
Gender is intersectional: It is co-constituted through other categories, including race, class, etc
gender as a system of power
Patriarchy as the social system
that not only divides men and women as masculine and feminine but typically also places men and masculinity above women and femininity and operates to value more highly those institutions and practices that are male dominated and/or representative of masculine traits and style
Gender inequality as systemic
gender hierarchies are maintained
through direct violence, structural discrimination/disadvantaging
gender hierarchies are built into laws, policies, and institutions; they reproduce gender inequalit
gender inequality is justified, naturalized and depoliticized
by focusing on physical differences and exaggerating their differences as determinants of what are in fact social, learned, behaviors
Depoliticizing narrative: writing it off as a personal agenda rather than something political; women asking for too much. They already have formal equality
depoliticizing narrative gender
writing it off as a personal agenda rather than something political; women asking for too much. They already have formal equality
central tenets of feminist ir theory
see the international system as constituted by socially constructed gender hierarchies
critically re-examine key concepts of traditional IR theory
ask questions about things that traditional IR theory takes for granted
draw attention to the invisibility of women in international politics;
apply an intersectional lens
expose how gender inequality is embedded in the day-to-day practices of international politics
carpenter (2003) about gender and conflict
“Innocent civilian” = a gendered concept
Gender norms drove the policy preferences of protection agencies, which led to sex-selective policies. As a result, women, children and the elderly were evacuated while men and boys were left behind.
feminist views on NATO
Institution of hegemonic masculinity –> military culture / reproduces gender norms / myth of heroic protection / glorification of violence
—> co-optation of feminism
co-optation of feminism
Taking a feminist norm or goal and transforming its content to serve a different purpose than the original one
focus of UNSCR (resolution women peace and security)
Protection of women in girls in armed conflict
Women’s full participation in political decisionmaking
Prevention of conflict through inclusion of women in peace negotiations
