Introduction to Gender Studies

What is Gender
Gender'-grammatical term - collective term for masculine or feminine or neuter into .
Anthropology - to discuss the social roles occupied by males and females in society. The
gendered roles in society- assumed to be the ‘natural’ result of one’s sex, but cross-cultural
studies- sex is a universal condition of humans, gender roles vary across culture.
“Gender : the process by which individuals who are born into biological categories of male or
female become the social categories of men and women through the acquisition of locally-
defined attributes of masculinity and femininity” Gender refers to the attitudes, feelings, and
behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex
Difference between Sex and Gender

Social construction of gender: starts with explaining the two concepts, i.e., gender and sex-
used interchangeably- bear different meanings .“Sex” refers to the biological and
physiological characteristics that define men and women. It is defined as the anatomical and
physiological characteristics that signify the biological maleness and femaleness of an
individual.
“Gender”: socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given
society considers appropriate for men and women. Gender emphasizes that masculinity and
femininity are products of social, cultural and psychological factors and are acquired by an
individual in the process of becoming a man or woman.

Cultural definition of Sex and Gender.

1. Gender can be define as factor attained during the process of socialization of the the
individual seen as a social construct manifested by masculine and feminine roles
prevalent in a culture or a society. gender artifact social cultural psychological

2. Sex From anatomical and Physiological characteristics, differentiates males and females
biologically

3. Significance of the concept: Gender allows us to see these dimensions of human roles
and personalities as based not on nature but on social factors-Allow us to address issues
like subordination and discrimination.

4. These two terms are: meaning of sex and gender, femininity and masculinity fluctuate
within societies and cultures across the globe.

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 Sex Gender

It is natural. It is a social construct

It is biological. It denotes to visible differences it is a socio-cultural construct and it refers to

in genitalia and related differences in masculine and feminine qualities, behavior patterns,
procreative function.  related roles and responsibility, etc

It is variable it changes under the influence of time,

It is a universal term
geographical and socio-cultural settings

Difference between Gender studies and women studies

Gender studies:

Interdisciplinary academic field to analyzing gender identity and gendered representation. It

includes women's studies (concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics), men's studies
and queer studies- Prominence, -in Western universities after 1990, got success due to
deconstructionism. Sometimes, offered together with study of sexuality.

Gender study is primarily the studies of Gender and their relation with each other their
respective status in a society, their role in socio-economic and political sphere and force that
effect them Colorado.edu .
Recognized that gender should be taken seriously. it look at the world in the perspective of
Gender and investigate the difference between gender and the cause of inequality between
gender.
Interdisciplinary nature of G.S: Disciplines study gender and sexuality in the fields of
literature, language, geography, history, political science, sociology, anthropology, cinema,
media studies, human development, law, public health and medicine. It also analyzes how
race, ethnicity, location, class, nationality, and disability intersect with the categories of
gender and sexuality.

Simone de Beauvoir said: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one."

This view proposes - the term "gender" refer to the social and cultural constructions of
masculinity and femininity and not to the state of being male or female in its entirety.

Different Approach of different discipline to the issue of Gender:

Gender is pertinent to many disciplines, such as literary theory, drama studies, film theory,
performance theory, contemporary art history, anthropology, sociology, sociolinguistics and
psychology. But these disciplines differ in their approaches to how and why gender is
studied.

Gender as Practice: Anthropology, sociology and psychology, gender is often studied as a

practice[clarify], whereas in cultural studies representations of gender are more often

Introduction to Gender Studies 2

 examined.

Gender as an Actor: In politics, gender can be viewed as a foundational discourse that

political actors employ in order to position themselves on a variety of issues.

Gender studies : itself, incorporating methods and approaches from a wide range of
disciplines.

Focus of Gender Studies: that focuses on the complex interaction of gender with other
identity markers such as race, ethnicity, sexuality, nation, and religion. Gender— femininity
and masculinity—
Objective of Gender studies: It asks what it means to make gender salient, bringing a
critical eye to everything from labor conditions to healthcare access to popular culture.
Gender is never isolated from other factors that determine someone’s position in the world,
such as sexuality, race, class, ability, religion, region of origin, citizenship status, life
experiences, and access to resources. The field is invested in illuminating the structures that
naturalize, normalize, and discipline gender across historical and cultural contexts.

Development Gender Studies as a Discipline: Short history- emerged as late as 1960s and its
development triggered by 2nd wave feminism, along with developing critique of Gender
inequalities relationships and in social positioning. 2nd wave draw attention to ways in
academic disciplines and sets of knowledge exclude-women-I.e.
Academic invisibility of women: prior to 1970- social science in general and sociology in
particular ignored gender- the people it studied were men- and it focused on social world
especially significant for men- such as paid work and politics-Women almost invisible-
gender blind sociology and featuring their traditional role roles as wives and mothers within
families. Differences and inequalities between women and men at this time were not
recognized.

Impact of 2nd wave feminist On Gender studies: Number of disciplines across the social
sciences , the arts and humanities began to pay increasing attention to gender
Thus, in sociology during the 1970s, differences and inequalities between women and men
came to be regarded, especially by women sociologists.

Women's studies

Women's studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to topics concerning women,

feminism, gender, and politics. It often includes feminist theory, women's history (e.g. a
history of women's suffrage) and social history, women's fiction, women's health, feminist
psychoanalysis and the feminist and gender studies-influenced practice of most of the
humanities and social sciences.

Introduction to Gender Studies 3

 Origin and development of W.S: as an area of academic study- came into being during 2nd
wave of feminism’s and political activism- the development of the first Women's Studies
program in the United States: San Diego State University's program, formally approved in
1970. First course was developed in late 1960s in the USA- 1980 First MA in women’s
studies was offered at the university of Kent, followed by other master and undergraduate
degrees elsewhere.

Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods
in order to place women’s lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social
and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppression; as they intersect with
other identities and social locations such as race, sexual orientation, socio-economic class,
and disability.

Research Practices and Methodologies of Women’s studies: ethnography, auto ethnography,

focus groups, surveys, community-based research, discourse analysis, and reading practices
associated with critical theory, post-structuralism, and queer theory

women studies Gender studies

look at the world from the perspective of women from gender perspective

Its focuses is narrow Broad-interdisciplinary subject

It examine the role of women and how historical

Examine the relation between Masculinity and
patriarchy and gender biases has been shaping the
Femininity
world of women and their role and history,
Study Gape between male and female in
studies why and how women are invisible different social space and how to bring to it
paradigm social shift from woman studies

Focus on struggle for gender equality in

Traditional approach to analyze women issues
education, politics, health and resources
Disciple created by activist, and those who study it
Inclusive rather then ignoring women control
see it their mission to identify and analyzed and
role in history-it includes guy lesbian and
correct social inequalities both at local and global
transgender in its domain
level
Exclusive in their study: focuses only to understand
women issues and formulate and asses new criteria Derive from women studies
for women status,

Roots in 2nd waves of feminism to challenged the Rather then focusing sol on women. it focus on
male dominated and male centric knowledge. other gender too
Argue that women studies have undermine the role Encompassed myriad of theories such is
of the women. that the rise of Gender studies have constructivism critical theory/ feminism-not
restricted to the experience of women

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 made the women invisible in research, knowledge,
and cultural studies.

Primary focus is to make women visible and

primary justice from marginalization

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