Gender Mainstreaming: A Critical Reflection of the Topic From a Feminist Perspective This essay seeks to critically reflect the topic of Gender Mainstreaming and examine distinct valuations on the subject from various authors. The motivation behind this paper stems from the interest in not only learning and dealing with concepts in a noncritical manner but wanting to gain differing insights and being able to form my own opinion more clearly. This is especially possible on the topic of Gender Mainstreaming, both because it is controversial in nature and because some of the chosen literature for the course Gender Mainstreaming and Antidiscrimination already dealt with the subject critically.
The first part of this essay constitutes of the definition
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Where Davids et al. criticise the binary nature of the subject and the focus on only women, Daly argues that Gender Mainstreaming is an underdeveloped concept whose fundaments need to be further elaborated (cf. Daly, 2005: 433). In particular “the understanding of the problematic of gender inequality that underlies it and the articulation of the relationship between [G]ender [M]ainstreaming and societal change” (ibid.) should be the focus when rethinking the conceptualisation of …show more content…
& Wong, F. F. - Gender Mainstreaming Critiques: Signposts or Dead Ends? The article by Milward et al. “categorises the critiques of [G]ender [M]ainstreaming […] according to the main approaches taken” (Milward et al., 2015: 75) and aims to “reveal not only how understandings of [G]ender [M]ainstreaming have changed over time but also show that the questions regarding the limited success of this project have changed” (ibid.). Their article is divided into sections of different critical analyses, starting with the micro-perspective on the details of the concept and later on discussing the ‘bigger
“The Social Construction of Gender” talks about gender as a concept created by society. In it, the author explains why society felt the need to create gender as a social institution and how gender is embedded into everyday life. The labeling of people as male or female is used by societies as a way of deciding who takes over which responsibilities and who does which tasks. The author of the article concludes that gender and gender inequality is created by society
By using theories of popular ideology as base material, the same errors committed by early generations of male scholars will be repeated. This is a critical barrier to defining gender inequality. Perhaps the fact that gender inequality, like other forms of inequality, creates two competing sets of myths has been continuously overlooked. One myth that shows men’s advantage, the other one that reflects women’s. Making opposite claims about what is considered true or just, and yet share some particular
Gender roles are a staple construct of human civilization, designating the behaviors and lifestyles that society expects out of its participants, with gender as the defining characteristic. Historically, females have been at the forefront of the conversation, with feminism regarded as the principal solution to the well-established issue of gender inequality. However, this is foolish. To truly mend the gender inequalities forged by thousands of years of human interaction, both genders have to be acknowledged. Both males and females are equally constrained by gender roles, however the effects of this constraint are in differing fields. There are studies showing that females are at a disadvantage economically, in the workplace, while other studies
Masculinity is a subject that has been debated in our society for quite some time. Many wonder what it means to be masculine, as it is difficult to define this one –sided term. Pairing this already controversial term with “feminist studies” can bring about some thought - provoking conversation. Feminist studies of men have been around for many years with regards to the feminist movement. It seeks to create gradual improvements to society through its main principle of modifying the ways in which everyone views what it means to be a man. Feminist studies of men bring forth the discussion of hegemonic masculinity; how this contributes to the gender hierarchy, the radicalized glass escalator and ultimately the faults of this theory.
Being a feminist today has altered from a political position to a more general position. Contemporary feminist is shaped by the past, but now is integrated in popular culture by popular figures. The definition of feminism is the belief of social, political, and economic rights, especially with regards of equality of the sexes. There are many dimensions to being a feminist and we have a tremendous number of people supporting the feminist movement. The need for feminist movements is because gender inequality still exist. Gender inequality is very broad and complex topic. Both men and women are unequal in various ways. However, the big question is why? The purpose of this paper is to understand gender inequality in the sociological framework of
Gender Socialization Part II: Annotated Bibliography on Annotated Bibliography on Masculinity, LBGT as other, and Rape Culture
Imagine living in a time when your only role is to get married, bear children, and take care of your house and husband. Adrienne Rich proposes an ulterior idea in her essay “Taking Women Students Seriously” Women should not only question the gender standards but discuss the gender norms that society has created; by discussion and attention to the matter we can eliminate it all together. Women are not represented in school curriculums enough and have a large misrepresentation in society. Rich draws attention to: What women have working against them in education, how women are perceived in the world by the media and advertising, and the gender roles that society pressures young children to contort to. By striking up a discussion
Gender stratification can be described as unequal power, wealth, and privileges between men and women. This stratification is more generally aimed at women who are oppressed in the work place, economic class status, and many other aspects of life because of their gender. We can blame this on the patriarchal culture that we prescribe too, where males hold primary power and privileges in our society. Two of the most common aspects of gender stratification that we see in the United States includes the wage gap between men and women and the violence that women face. There are many more aspects to gender stratification, however, these two topics seem to be a gender stratification problem all over the world.
Feminist Theory is an aspect of considering feminism as having been based on socio-phenomenon issues rather than biological or scientific. It appreciates gender inequality, analyzes the societal roles played by feminists in a bid to promote the interests, issues and rights of women in the society. It is also based on the assumption that women play subsidiary roles in the society. The whole idea of feminism has however experienced hurdles in the form of stereotyping by the wider society. This paper tries to examine some of the effects of stereotypes that feminism goes through, what other philosophers say and the way forward towards ending stereotyping.
Women and gender studies contribute greatly to our understanding of the social and cultural world we inhabit. Studying the complex issues of this field has instituted many key insights. Two major insights that positively affected our society are the awareness through learning and through this awareness activism that can ensue.
Feminism as a basic sociological theoretical framework began to emerge in the 1970s (Luxton, 2009, p.41). Although a number of subsets of feminist theory, there are commonalities that exist between the various facets. Luxton (2009) notes that one such commonality is the recognition of sexism’s role in the discrimination and inequalities experienced by women (p. 41). Radical feminism emerged as a theoretical approach emerged as a result of consciousness-raising efforts made by diverse women during the Women’s Movements of the 1970s, which recognized common themes throughout their shared experiences (Commack, 2014, p.37). Like many sociological theories though, there is some contention, even from those who operate within the framework, as to
Seeing gender in terms of femininity and masculinity and their respective relationship to submission and dominance in today’s society is key to understanding the more insidious underpinnings of the patriarchal system and its dehumanization of femininity and masculinity that does not fit within the cisnormative gender binary. Seeing feminism through the lens of fuzzy spectrums of existent or nonexistent intersectionalities is a more cohesive way of understanding oppression and hierarchies of power in which individuals are born into. The allowed passivity on nonbinary issues by individuals in the feminist movement, though not intentionally harmful, leads to severe marginalizations. In an attempt to be seen as equals the marginalized are using the master’s tools to marginalize. Antifoundationalism is a major theory in moving society toward building a foundation of discourse that is not only sound but also one that does not limit the possibility of always learning and adapting with time (where essentialism fails massively). To erasively ignore the needs of the few is to adhere to the same patriarchal stereotypical steamrolling that causes so much systematic sexism and pain. Gendernonconforming individuals have been prevalent and in existence far before the language of intersectionality came to be and thusly forcing feminism into the small
Since the 19th century, the women's movement has made fantastic strides toward obtaining civil rights for women in America. Woman suffrage has been abolished, and they are no longer viewed as second-class citizens. Unfortunately, the issue of gender inequality still echoes in today's society. The fight to change a society shaped predominately by men continues, and will likely pursue for decades to come. Whether it be social, political, or economic rights, the main idea is equality for all genders, man or woman. In modern society, it seems that such a simple concept should be accepted globally by everyone – so why do women still face the daily toils of demanding the privileges that should available to all? No matter the class of woman, it is likely they will suffer from inequality and stereotypes at some point in their life. We see this in the workplace, where women have been shown to earn less then men. Some women also face the dangers of sexual violence, and are left victimized for such crimes.
Feminists believe that education is an agent of secondary socialization that helps to enforce patriarchy. Cultural transmission has made known the way culture and precisely expectations of the genders can be transmitted from one generation to another. While Sylvia Walby’s ‘‘triple system theory’’ argues that experiences of ethnicity and class complicate what it means to be a female so we have to combine patriarchy with capitalism and
According to Maguire (1995:1), “The inequality between the sexes is one of the most intractable features of human culture.”Frankly, it is undeniable that gender inequality exists in every part of the world. Macionis (2006:252) also admits that “In most aspects, men are still in charge.” Nowadays, women keep on fighting for their right, urging for equal opportunity and fair treatment. Gender stratification, which is the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege between men and women, seems to be narrowed, but it actually remains its existence to some extends. (Macionis, John. J. 2006: 256)