Theories of Gender

Question 1

Biological features at birth determine what social roles people are fit for

Answer 1

Biological Determination

Question 2

Examples of biological determinism

Answer 2

• Females are passive, conservative, caring, emotional, etc, and are therefore more fit for the home and family
• Males are active, ambitious, rational and better suited to business and politics

Question 3

Objection of biological determinism

Answer 3

• These claims about what women and men are suited for are often empirically untrue
• Restricts possibilities and potential
• Prevents incorporating different perspectives into various areas of life that can be valuable

Question 4

Certain people become “women” and others “men” because of how they are socialized

We develop traits and behaviours that we are taught we should have from childhood, explicitly or implicitly through a variety of ways in which they are treated

Answer 4

Social Constructivism

Question 5

Objection of Social Constructivism

Answer 5

• It is unclear what the mechanism, is that makes someone one or the other gender through socialization
• Many think there are still biological elements that determine the categorization

Question 6

Rejects the assumption that “women” as a group share anything at all, or “men” as a group

Argues gender realism fails to take into account cultural and class differences that leads to “men” and “women” having far more differences than similarities

Answer 6

Gender Eliminativism