Gender

Question 1

Gender vs. Sex

Answer 1

Sex: The determination of male or female on socially agreed biological criteria

Gender: Social constructed characteristics associated with femininity and masculinity

Sex is ascribed, gender is preformed

Question 2

The Limits of the Sex Binary

Answer 2

The idea of two non-overlapping biological sexes turns out to be empirically inaccurate

Sex better understood as a spectrum rather than a rigid binary

Intersex and tansgender as descriptive and socio-biological terms

Question 3

Politics of recognition

Answer 3

Gender diverse individuals face a dearth of recognition

Cisgender and transgener individuals

Recognition is equally important as redistribution

Question 4

Gender as a Social Construct

Answer 4

Masculinity and femininity are historically and socially constructed
Gender relations shape interactions
Activities and perceived roles are social constructions

Question 5

Hegemonic Masculinity

Answer 5

Drawn from the work of Connel and Gramsci
Hegemonic Masculinity as the culturally dominant ideal of masculinity to which men are aspired–more than others–to
Closely associated with different authoritarian facets

Measure how feminine a person is by looking at these five characteristics under hegemonic masculinity
1. Aggression
2. social and personal control
3. strength
4. Ambition/courage
5. emotional stoicism

Question 6

Role of the Family and Schools

Answer 6

Families act as sites to develop complaint individuals to various social norms

Emphasized femininity (Raewyn Connel) - culturally dominant form of femininity defined by women’s compliance with male dominance

School and peer groups: imagined as gender-neutral in the ideal sense continue to create compliance

Question 7

Feminisation of Poverty – Diana Pearce (1978)

Answer 7

Disproportionate concentration of poverty among women and grosl

Driven by systemic gender inequality, discrimination, and economic disparities, this trend affects women’s access to resources, education, and fair wages, often leaving them with lower paid work and greater responsibility for unpaid care labor

Key Causes: Labor Market disparities, Gender Pay Gap, Limited access, structural discrimination, and unpaid labor
ex. NBA vs women’s basketball

Question 8

Social reproduction and women’s unpaid labor

Answer 8

Social reproduction - ‘All told, people-making work supplies some fundamental preconditions—material,social, cultural–for human society in general and for capitalist production in particular. Without it neither life nor labour power could be embodied in human beings. We call this vast body of vital activity social reproduction’. - feminism for the 99% (p15)

Unpaid labor and the burden of Care/reproductive/emotional work