Summary
Theories of Culture: Gender Summary
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A summary on the theme Gender in Theories of Culture. Man vs. Woman debate and inequality along with many other essential contemporary theories are discussed.
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By: michelijzer • 8 year ago
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Summary ToC Test on GenderSEX AND GENDER
Sex: Biological difference
Gender: Social and cultural difference
Male vs. Female, Masculine vs. Feminine, Essentialism vs. (Social) Constructivism, Nature
vs. Nurture debate
Essentialism (sex, nature):
- Biologically justify roles in society
Example: the man works (stronger) and the woman (nurturing) does the household
- Biologically explain behavior
Example: man are more aggressive than woman
Criticism:
-creation of stereotypes in man and woman
-not focusing on the individual (there is a greater variety of differences within
groups of men than between groups of men and woman
(Social) Constructivism (gender, nurture):
- Gender role divisions are determined by social and cultural influences
Simone de Beauvoir: “One is not born a woman, but one becomes a woman”
Example: Woman take care of the baby because it has always been that way in our
society and man work because society pressures them to work
Essentialism and constructivism are not binary opposites, but describe interrelation between
nature and the social/cultural/political influence
- Biology is the basis from which we form our identities, but biology is constantly
shaped and reshaped by cultural and social institutions
Example: the social status of monkeys actually makes their genetics (biology) change
WEEK 1
,Adrienne Rich – “Dream of a Common Language” (poem)
- About man vs. woman and breaking through the set hierarchy by woman uniting and
fighting the fight together instead of being each other’s enemy
Hemingway – ‘’Hill’s Like White Elephants”
- Man is talking down on the woman making her look less important of valuable (saying
“girl” for example)
- Elephant in the title refers to the still unborn baby which the man and woman are
discussing about, her wanting to keep it and him wanting to get rid of it making it
sound simple
WEEK 2
Diana Fuss – “Essentially Speaking”
Essentialism: a belief in true essence (unchanging)
- What is defined as male of female will always be the same outside of the boundaries
of the social
Pros (advantages)
Essentialism allows woman to speak as woman (claims for the autonomy of the female
voice)
Cons (problems)
Essentialist arguments mark un-changeability and predictability
Constructivism: previously assumed self-evident kinds like “man” or “woman” are the efforts
of complicated social practices (forever changing)
For the essentialist, the natural provides the raw material and determining starting point for
the practices and laws of the social
For the constructionist, the natural itself is positioned as a construction of the social
Example: man fitness (social) to get muscular and become the ideal man they naturally
are (natural)
As long as we talk about groups, we can never distinguish individuals in those groups
Example: “all man/woman are …”
John Locke: “Real” and ‘’Nominal” essence
, - “Nominal essence” are merely a linguistic convenience, a classificatory fiction we
need to categorize and label
- “Real essence” are discovered by close empirical observation
When feminist are talking about maintaining a class of woman they refer to the nominal
essence of that class
Nature
, sex,
genes,
biolog
y
IDENTITY
Social
Biologi
constru
cal
ctivism
determ
inism
Nurtur
e,
societ
y,
cultur
Example: men have been e
presidents for ages, so it is Example: because men are
regarded as a manly profession biologically different than woman
they become president because
they are better suitable
Kimmel – “Gendered Society” (constructionist)
Thesis statement
- Gender difference is the chief outcome of gender inequality
If we remove this inequality we remove the notion of gender difference
- Kimmel is a constructionist because constructivism can change inequality whereas
essentialism can’t change inequality (nothing to do about it, just the way it is)
Biology constructs the sexes
, - Darwin’s evolution theory
- Humans have adapted themselves to certain social roles (man = hunter/breadwinner,
woman = household/nurturing) to maximize survival
*Criticism against this notion is that we live in a different (automated) society
nowadays instead of in the hunter/gatherer society (we don’t have to be strong
anymore for a lot of work because of machines)
Brain research
- The brain research to find a fundamental difference is often based on misinterpretation
and might look like truth (FIND EXAMPLE)
Hormonal research
- There is no correlation between testosterone and aggressiveness found (point of
Kimmel)
Kimmel – “Cross-cultural Construction of Gender”
Kimmel shows examples of cultures where gender positions are different or even opposite of
our own society (FIND EXAMPLE) (this is an argument for the cultural influence on gender)
Multiple genders: transsexual, transvestites, etc.
- These are not accepted in society and marked as “unnatural”, but Kimmel argues that
you have to accept your gender
- Fluidity in gender and sexuality (heterosexual might become gay?)
Gendered institutions (school, family, etc.)
- We like to think our institutions are gender neutral but they actually might not be
gender neutral
Example: there are more male professors on the RUG
Gender inequality needs stimulation from the outside to change
Example: boosting woman through media to apply for high positioned professions
instead of staying home
We as individuals can do something different on a daily basis to challenge the inequality of
gender!
WEEK 3
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