sex and gender Flashcards
sex and gender is a central focus in a feminist theory which challenges
the belief that traditional gender roles , expectations and stereotypes are a natural and inevitable consequence of ones sex
feminists argue against this deterministic view asserting instead that
gender is a social construct learned and reinforced through socialisation from a young age
feminist argue that from birth
children are socialised into what is considered appropriate behaviour for their gender including through their clothes and play
boys are encouraged to play with trucks and be active while girls
are steered towards dolls and activities emphasising nurturing caregiving and passivity
these early experiences are further reinforced by
parents teachers media and peers creating a feedback loop that solidifies traditional gender roles
as a result individuals grow up internalising these gender norms believing them
to be natural and intrinsic rather than socially constructed
these gender norms constrain the opportunities of women in society they justify
male dominance and female subordination
women’s confinement to the domestic sphere ad their lack of ability to access the same jobs as men
in reality the vast majority of feminists believe that the biological differences between
men and women are insignificant and that gender differences are determined by societal conditioning
simone de Beauviors work lad the groundwork for the distinction between sex and gender that became
central to feminist theory and the feminist theory and the fight to challenge and deconstruct traditional gender roles
in the second sex by de Beauvoir asserted that
“one is not born , but rather becomes a woman’
de Beauvoir argued that biological differences between men and women were undeniable but that
the roles and behaviours of men and women in society weren’t biologically determined instead were socially constructed
society turns girls into women as they internalise the roles values and norms that society prescribes form childhood
girls are taught to emphasise passivity nurturing and subservience , turns them into slaves who are restricted ti focusing only on motherhood and feminity , not focusing on anything beyond the domestic sphere
de Beauvoir strongly rejected difference feminism and the idea that there was an innate ‘ feminine nature ‘
this supposed nature want
innate to women instead it was imposed on them through conditioning
de Beauvoir therefore didn’t believe that women should reject male characteristics , qualities and roles instead they should
recognise that these too are socially constructed and women should participate in politics the economy and society as men do
