Gendercide and its Cultural Components
The topic of Gendercide is not much in the public eye as much as researchers would like. However amongst the professionals, it turns out to be a debated topic. The definition alone has some arbitrary research.
The term gendercide originated in the mid 1980’s by Mary Anne Warren where she referred to it as “the deliberate extermination of persons of a particular sex” (as cited by Jones, 2006). The main focus during her early work on gendercide was women and girls. She also focus on infanticide of female fetuses; in other words, the sex-selection that happens in certain cultures around the world. She did not dismiss the idea that victims of such discriminating murders could be males too. This is why Warren rejected the term gynocide which was made-up by Mary Daly around the same time.
Charli Carpenter explains that to establish a proper definition of gendercide it is important to differentiate between sex and gender (2002). Gender is a term that is related to social beliefs of what and how the sex of a person should be represented or identified with. Gender identity is regulated by the person and is the sense of what type of man or woman they are, therefore, how they should act in a given situation. Gender discourses are the attributes given to men and women, such as men are aggressive, women are nurturing. Gender discourses generate gender ideologies that shape the behaviors based on these attributes. This is what creates our gender norms.
Sex relates to the biology of a person, as opposed to their sociology and psychology. The sex/gender argument is one that can be talked about for a life time, and researchers may never get to a direct answer. Carpenter wants the two to be differenti...
... middle of paper ...
...ional Journal of Human Rights,6(4), 77-101.
DeLugan, R. M. (2013). Exposing Gendercide in India and China. Current Anthropology, 54(5), 649-650.
Epstein, C. F. (2010). Death by Gender. Dissent, 57(2), 54-57.
Holter, Ø. G. (2002). A theory of gendercide. Journal of Genocide Research,4(1), 11-38.
Jones, A. (2000). Gendercide and genocide. Journal of Genocide Research,2(2), 185-211.
Jones, A. (2002). Problems of genocide-gendercide studies and future agendas: A comparative approach. Journal of Genocide Research, 4(1), 127-135.
Jones, A. (2006). Straight as a Rule Heteronormativity, Gendercide, and the Noncombatant Male. Men and Masculinities, 8(4), 451-469.
Jones, A. (2013). Genocide: a comprehensive introduction. Routledge.
Warren, M. A. (1985). Gendercide: The implications of sex selection (p. 22). Totowa, NJ: Rowman & Allanheld.
To begin, I think it is important to analyze the difference between “sex” and “gender”. Up until researching for this paper, I though that the two terms were interchangeable in meaning, rather, they are separate ideas that are connected. According to Mary K. Whelan, a Doctor of Anthropology focusing on gender studies, sex and gender are different. She states, “Western conflation of sex and gender can lead to the impression that biology, and not culture, is responsible for defining gender roles. This is clearly not the case.”. She continues with, “Gender, like kinship, does have a biological referent, but beyond a universal recognition of male and female "packages," different cultures have chosen to associate very different behaviors, interactions, and statuses with men and women. Gender categories are arbitrary constructions of culture, and consequently, gender-appropriate behaviors vary widely from culture to culture.” (23). Gender roles are completely defined by the culture each person lives in. While some may think that another culture is sexist, or dem...
"What do we mean by "sex" and "gender"?." WHO. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
On September 5, 1995, Hillary Clinton delivered an influential speech at The Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. Clinton expresses general concern over escalating violence toward women, in other word’s gendercide. “Gendercide refers to the systematic elimination of a specific gender group, normally female. It’s most common in India, China, and other regions in Southeast Asia” (GirlsKind Foundation). Crimes, such as bride trafficking, infanticide, abandonment, and dowry related murder; often take place within private households, going unnoticed and not even acknowledged. “Tragically, women are most often the ones whose human rights are violated. Even now, in the late 20th century, the rape of women continues to be used as an instrument of armed conflict Women and children make up a large majority of the world’s refugees” (Clinton 3). By addressing her speech in Beijing, where gendercide is prevalent, Hillary expressed her objective effectively not just the United Nations, but to audiences across the world. Clinton effectively delivered her speech by portraying her purpose for women to achieve equality and better opportunities, with ethical appeals, emotional appeals, and logical appeals.
The. “Gender and Homicide: A Comparison of Men and Women Who Kill.” Violence and Victims 5(4): 227-242. Keeney, Belea T. and Kathleen M. Heide. 1994. The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the The “Gender Differences in Serial Murderers”. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
...only accepted stereotypes are not based in reality at all, and that these stereotypes are harmful to everyone, not just the victims of being typecast. This conclusion is correct in all senses. Judy Mann’s book shows that the only real difference between men and women are their reproductive organs (24). Many professionals support this fact, but not society. Bernard Lefkowitz’s retelling of what happened to the young girl in Glen Ridge, New Jersey shows that believing that women are inferior can have terrifying repercussions. Society’s perception of people and the practice of labeling based on gender must be eliminated in order for women and men to live equally. These books simply help to make more people aware of the problem, which is only part of the solution.
Gender-based violence is made possible by the ideology of sexism in Indian traditional culture which argues that women are worth less than men in the sense of having less power, status, privilege, and access to resources that is more prevalent in middle class and low caste families.
Martin, S. E. and Jurik, N. C. (1996). Doing justice, Doing Gender. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.
National Research Council. Lack of Research Hampers Strategies to Stem Violence Against Women. May 1, 1996. http://www.nap.edu/bookstore/lsbn/0309054257.htm.
In “The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over?” Deborah Blum states that “gender roles of our culture reflect an underlying biology” (Blum 679). Maasik and Solomon argue that gender codes and behavior “are not the result of some sort of natural or biological destiny, but are instead politically motivated cultural constructions,” (620) raising the question whether gender behavior begins in culture or genetics. Although one may argue that gender roles begin in either nature or nurture, many believe that both culture and biology have an influence on the behavior.
It seems that hegemonic masculinity does a great deal in explaining male-perpetrated familicide, but it fails to explain female perpetrators. There is a great lack of gender symmetrical explanations of interpersonal violence. However, as the 21st century continues, and there is a continued strive for gender equality, there is good chance that there will be an increasing amount of gender based research on violence.
Burgess, A. W., & Holmstrom, L. L. (1974). Rape: Victims of crisis. Bowie, MD: Robert J. Brady Company.
The sex and gender binary is a socially-constructed classification of sex and gender into two distinct and biological forms of masculine and feminine. The binary is a restricting concept that enforces the ideology that solely two genders exist—it is a social boundary that limits people from exploring gender identity or mixing it up (Larkin, 2016). As Mann depicts it, the binary constrains us to take on one gender identity, and to follow through with the expected roles assigned to that gender. The implications are that it compels people to fit into the binary and follow the patriarchal, heteronormative traditions of society (Mann, 2012). However, the binary was not always so clear-cut, but certain concepts from scientific research such as the
According to the UNICEF report in just 2006, studies disclosed that 10 million young girls were killed either before they were born or promptly after by their parents in the year of 1986 (which is not that long ago if you put that number into perspective). But why would anyone want to deliberately kill an innocent soul, let alone their own child? Female Infanticide and Gendercide is defined as the conscious killing of female, newborn babies which can happen from getting killed by their own blood or by an abortion. Even though acts as these are illegal, we still see this is a persistent problem today mainly in the cultures of China and India.
In order to grasp the concept of social construction of gender, it is essential to understand the difference between sex and gender. Biologically, there are only two reproductive genital organs that are determinants of sex: the vagina and the penis. Sex is established solely through biological structures; in other words, genitalia are the basis of sex. Once a sex category is determined, gender, a human categorization socially attached to sex, is assigned based on anatomy. Gender typically references social or cultural differen...
Sex and gender are terms that are mixed up from day to day and seen as similarities rather than differences. Sex is what distinguishes people from being either male or female. It is the natural or biological variations between males and females (Browne, 1998). Some of these variations are genitals, body hair and internal and external organs. It is the make-up of chromosomes, men have one X and one Y chromosome and women have two X chromosomes, these are responsible for primary characteristics (Fulcher and Scott, 2003). Gender on the other hand refers to the sociological differences between male and female. This is teaching males and females to behave in various ways due to socialisation (Browne, 1998). Example: masculinity and femininity. Girls are supposed to show their femininity by being non-competitive, sensitive, dependent, attractive and placid. If and when some girls don’t succeed in keeping this image they will be referred to as a tomboy. On the other hand, boys show their masculinity through aggression, physical strength...