Week 2 Flashcards
How do we study gender now in comparison to the past?
We now focus on the differences amongst men and women as in within their respective groups as well as their experience within the whole. We focus not only on the group with less power (women) but also the group with more (men) in order to understand the full context of gender as experienced by various different societies making it a study of gender within a transnational context
What does this new study of gender allow us to do?
It allows us to create a less rigid form of gender, letting it be considered to be more of a spectrum rather than a category. It is no longer a study of opposites but rather of the range of relations amongst differently situated people
How does the social concept of gender affect us on the macrolevel?
It affects our social institutions such as schools, the economy, religion, etc.
How does the social concept of gender affect us at a microlevel?
It affects our interpersonal relations, the distinction between men and women, etc.
How does the acknowledgement of men’s power and domination within society affect our view of gender?
It affects our view of gender by shifting from a perspective that essentializes gender and gender based experiences, saying that women are simply categories of human that are better at certain things due to their sex
What is social determinism?
Social determinism is the idea that society determines the behaviours and skills of men and women, not biology. This was introduced by liberal feminists to go against biological determinism
What is central to understanding gender as a relational construct?
Power as it is commonly used to define men’s difference and superiority from femininity
What is hegemonic masculinity according to Connell?
It is the dominant idea that masculinity is superior which is constructed in relation to femininities and other subordinate or marginalized masculinities
What are the “10” (actually 9) commandments of what men should be?
- Unemotional
- Invulnerable
- Unresponsive
- Controlling
- Condescending
- Egotistical
- Non-introspective
- Breadwinners
- Disdainful of housework
What did liberal profeminists do?
They spread the idea that expectations set by masculinities prevent men from attaining their full potential as human beings which does a disservice to them and their development as well as women’s
What did the group that claimed that men were victims advocate?
They advocated the idea that men are victims of their gender such as within the war draft. altruism, heroism, etc.
What does the conservative perspective describe?
It describes the idea that, through the evolutionary process described by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution as well as Spencer and Wilson’s sociobiology, that men were better than women, depriving them of various different rights such as the right to vote, to have a bank account, to own a home, etc.
What does the conservative perspective advocate for?
They advocate for the return to the traditional family which stems from a misconception of what the liberal feminist agenda was which was to have affirmative action, increased availability of contraception, abortion, daycare facilities. The conservative perspective believes that feminism is a threat to the family as these institutions feminists were advocating for allowed women to move outside of their womanly role, making the failure of the family the woman’s fault.
