The feminist sex/gender distinction:
Sex - biological category determined by your chromosomes and reproductive organs.
Gender - social and cultural roles given to men and women, hardly (or not at all) influenced by biological sex.
Feminists analyse and criticise statements like, 'men and women are just different,' 'all women are nurturing because they are natural childbearers,' or 'men are physically stronger than women, so that's why men are naturally more powerful.'
There have been many scientific studies exploring whether gender is a social construct, as feminist say, or whether it is innate. The media often print stories 'proving' that men and women are different in certain areas (education, for example, or driving), but as a whole the scientific community has not reached a firm conclusion either way yet. An example of a feminist scientific writer who deals with these issues is Cordelia Fine, author of Delusions of Gender: the Real Science Behind Sex Differences.
Feminists are more likely to attribute the differences between men and women to cultural forces and the way boys and girls are brought up differently. To show that gender roles are not universal, some feminists have cited the examples that exist of matriarchal societies, in which women are the powerful gender, and men the submissive gender. Therefore, they argue, if societies view gender differently, we must be enforcing most of the gender distinctions ourselves.
Societal and cultural factor that might influence gender behaviour:
masculinity
Sex - biological category determined by your chromosomes and reproductive organs.
Gender - social and cultural roles given to men and women, hardly (or not at all) influenced by biological sex.
Feminists analyse and criticise statements like, 'men and women are just different,' 'all women are nurturing because they are natural childbearers,' or 'men are physically stronger than women, so that's why men are naturally more powerful.'
There have been many scientific studies exploring whether gender is a social construct, as feminist say, or whether it is innate. The media often print stories 'proving' that men and women are different in certain areas (education, for example, or driving), but as a whole the scientific community has not reached a firm conclusion either way yet. An example of a feminist scientific writer who deals with these issues is Cordelia Fine, author of Delusions of Gender: the Real Science Behind Sex Differences.
Feminists are more likely to attribute the differences between men and women to cultural forces and the way boys and girls are brought up differently. To show that gender roles are not universal, some feminists have cited the examples that exist of matriarchal societies, in which women are the powerful gender, and men the submissive gender. Therefore, they argue, if societies view gender differently, we must be enforcing most of the gender distinctions ourselves.
Societal and cultural factor that might influence gender behaviour:
- The media - Adverts which show girls playing with dolls and boy playing with cars; films in which women often have the part of 'love interest' or 'sexy sidekick'; objectification of women in music videos and TV.
- The status quo - if young girls see that doctors and MPs are mostly men, they might not believe they can easily do those proffessions. in the same way, young boys see that most secretaries and nurses are women, therefore these are 'women's jobs.'
- Parents and authority figures - Parents have been influenced by gender roles too, so they pass down these influences. For example, parents and family are more likely to comment on a young girl's beauty than a young boy's.
masculinity
No comments:
Post a Comment