Gender: concept, category and more (a theoretical confusion) (original) (raw)
Related papers
Gender as a category of analysis in the social sciences
2015
Gender is a broader category than the simple distinction between the sexes-it shows the relationship and the infl uence of social institutions on perceptions and the development through socialization of femininity and masculinity. Th e term gender is not clearly understood, making it necessary to accurately defi ne the category that will be used in the studies carried out in the framework of the 'Innovative Gender' as a New Source of Progress project. Th e purpose of this chapter is to develop a defi nition of gender which can become the basis of the concept of innovative gender. To this end, we show the origins of the concept of gender as established in psychology. Th en, considerations are transferred to the social sciences, which introduces a new aspect, namely the concepts of gender are shift ed to the level of social relations from the previously studied level of the individual. In the social sciences, economics is highlighted, and the opportunities that the introduction to this science of the analysis of gender are opening up.
Gender and Ideology: For a Marxist Critique of the Ideology of Gender
VIANA, Nildo. Gender and Ideology: For a Marxist Critique of the Ideology of Gender. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, SOCIAL SCIENCES AND EDUCATION, v. 4, p. 1-7, 2017., 2017
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the issue of gender ideology in a critical and Marxist perspective. Criticism of the gender ideology is now a must, as well as present their social roots and their relationship to a particular historical period. Based on the critical analysis of the work of Joan Scott and his inspiring sources, especially Bourdieu, it seeks to show the ideological roots of gender conception. The present paper aims to discuss the issue of gender ideology. We won't do an archeology of genre term, as some have done 1 ,nor will pursue its etymological roots, nor its past uses, but only its recent use and its ideological character. The critique of gender ideology is, nowadays, a necessity as well as present its social roots and its bond with a certain historical period. Before we begin, let's clarify what we mean by ideology, since this is a polysemic term. Here we use the Marxist conception of ideology 2 , according to which it is a systematization of false consciousness, that is, a illusory thinking system. Ideology is a systematic way of false consciousness produced by the ideologists.What we term as gender ideology is the conception that places the construct 3 "gender" as a fundamental term of the analysis of the issue of women and even of society as a whole. We won't present here the most diverse works that discuss and use the construct "gender".We will elect one of the most cited and influential works on this issue for analysis, although other references are made throughout this text. It is the text of the historian Joan Scott 4 , Gender: A Usefull Category of Historical Analysis. Joan Scott presents in her text an overview of different conceptions of feminist thought and of the use of the construct (which she denominated category) genre. The various concepts are presented descriptively, with superficial observations, and the author's point of view is presented peripherally, with a minimum contribution to the discussion around the issue that is proposed to treat.In fact, this defect to take long descriptions of feminist conceptions, consisting of all or almost all of the text, is quite common and is repeated in Scott's article. She states that the term gender in its most recent use occurred among American feminists, "who wanted to insist on the fundamentally social quality of distinctions based on sex". This use was aiming to reject biological determinism that would be implicit in the use of the terms "sex" and "sexual difference". The term gender would present a relational view and would present men and women in reciprocal terms, preventing the separate study of both. But the author points out that more important than that is that gender "was a term offered by those who claimed that women's scholarship would fundamentally transform disciplinary paradigms" 5. A new methodology and epistemology would be with the term gender, giving it meaning. However, this position did not come right away: For the most part, the attempts of historians to theorize about gender have remained within tradicional social scientific frameworks, using longstanding formulations that provide universal causal explanations. These theories have been limited at best because they tend to 1 Stolke, 2004.
1979
This seminar focuses on the recent developments in the sociology of gender, broadly defined. We begin with an overview of the field, using the framework of sociology of knowledge. We identify major trends in the area and consider the relationship of gender scholarship to the discipline of sociology, the social sciences, and scholarly inquiry more generally. Introductory readings address gendered modes of knowledge production in the field.
Forum on Studies of Society (FSS). International Conference on Social and Humanistic Sciences, Fourth Edition, University of Molise (Università degli Studi del Molise), Campobasso, Italy, November 25th-26th , 2022
Approaches and debates on gender and sexuality are a topical area in sociology and social research. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the main theoretical approaches on gender, following the logic of theoretical development and progress from the structural-functionalist perspective to the constructivist (interactionist, ethnomethodological) one and, further, to the deconstructivist paradigm in social sciences. In this regard, theoretical perspectives on gender socialization, social roles assigned to biological genders, as well as conceptualizations of gender identities are first addressed. Particular attention is paid here to T. Parsons' views to gender socialization, gender roles, and the institutionalized 'normality' of heterosexuality, E. Goffman's approach to ‘the arrangement between the sexes’, sexual subcultures and gender identity, and H. Garfinkel's ethnomethodological view on sexual status, naturalization of the binary sexual status, heteronormativity, and how bona fide members of society manifest themselves as 'normal', i.e. 'in consensus with the majority' in terms of both sexuality and gender. The paper continues with approaching the concepts of ‘accomplishment of gender’ and ‘doing gender’ introduced by C. West and D.H. Zimmerman in 1987, and the theoretical debates opened by the latter. Finally, some views and conceptualizations of gender from the perspective of the deconstructivist current are presented, such as the conception of gender as a result of symbolic representations, the challenging of the differentiation made between sex (biological) and gender (socio-cultural roles ascribed to the sex), as well as the current theoretical discussions about ‘undoing gender’ and ‘redoing gender’.
Social Construction of Gender 2008
This paper is an overview of how gender is socially constructed. It discusses how the biological basis to the differences between the sexes does not explain their lived differences and inequalities. The paper looks at the sex-gender distinction and the different explanations that have been given for the near universal inequality between men and women. A discussion on gender regimes in different domains of social life follows one on how religion and kinship shape particular constructions of gender. Finally the paper discusses how various dimensions of social stratification articulate with and construct gender.
This paper is an overview of how gender is socially constructed. It discusses how the biological basis to the differences between the sexes does not explain their lived differences and inequalities. The paper looks at the sex-gender distinction and the different explanations that have been given for the near universal inequality between men and women. A discussion on gender regimes in different domains of social life follows one on how religion and kinship shape particular constructions of gender. Finally the paper discusses how various dimensions of social stratification articulate with and construct gender.
GENDER STUDIES: A REFLECTION ON CATEGORIES AND RELATIONS
What is the definition, the value and the use of gender studies for what I am experiencing and/or studying at the moment? In this paper, I would like to reflect on categories and relations. I will refer to Judith Butler's essay "Gender Trouble" in order to show how we don't need a systematic philosophy and a strict categorization to describe ourselves and the reality. Then, I will analyze how each philosopher we studied in class, Judith Butler, Rosi Braidotti, Donna Haraway and Sara Ahmed, refers to relations, in order to reflect on why relations are so important not only in gender studies, but more in general in the way we perceive ourselves and the world around us. The point of this paper is to show how the deconstruction of a structural philosophy could help us to reduce the number of people which are inevitably excluded from a structured system.