DISCLAIMER:
I do not claim this information as my own, these notes are made using the following textbook:
, Chpt. 8: Psych. and The Regulation of Gender
Introduction
Psych’s reproduction of gender inequality:
The psychology of gender reproduces and legitimates gender difference and inequality
White male domination within psych. as psychologists, researchers, and research subjects
There is a need to develop South African psych. of gender that is both local and critical
o Local – representing indigenous experiences of gender development and identities
o Critical – problematizes the construction of gender different and inequality
Gender -> concept usually referring to the social construction of inherent sexual differences
between men and women. Most gender theorists assume that gender is social where sex is
biological; and most also hold that the term encapsulates a notion of power inequality
Gender as difference:
Gender has historically been constructed as difference – immutable difference(s) between
men and women – in both popular and academic discourse
Reproduction of the binary opposites of male/female contributes to the reproduction of
heterosexism and homophobia
The construction of gender as difference continues to legitimize, naturalize, and rationalize
both such a construction and the inequality it creates
Heterosexist -> assumption that all sexuality refers to heterosexual practices and that the
ideal, acceptable and ‘normal' sexual practices are those between men and women. Such
values and practices are discriminatory and oppressive
Homophobia -> rejection of homosexual practices and lifestyles. It frequently emerges in
negative prejudicial attitudes and stereotypes, and discrimination and violent practices
towards gays, lesbians, and bisexuals
interest in proving or disproving sex or gender differences reveals much about its broader
social role(s) and raises significant problems with the social dualism of
masculinity/femininity
Psych’s role in the construction of sex/gender different
Essentializing gender different:
in early years, differences were attributed to biology and as such were universalized,
naturalized and essentialized
the focus on different, with the abstraction of categories of masculine and feminine, served
both to obscure the power inequality between men and women and to legitimate
ideologically the continued reproduction of such different and inequality
unitary sexual character -> idea that masculinity and feminity exist as a collection of traits,
roles, abilities, and temperaments which are embedded in indiv. men and women
a notion of static, stable, unitary gender identity was evident, which ignored both the
diversity of gendered experience across other lines of social identity and ‘fixed’ individuals to
a singular, enduring experience of their own gender
Challenging androcentric psych.:
2
I do not claim this information as my own, these notes are made using the following textbook:
, Chpt. 8: Psych. and The Regulation of Gender
Introduction
Psych’s reproduction of gender inequality:
The psychology of gender reproduces and legitimates gender difference and inequality
White male domination within psych. as psychologists, researchers, and research subjects
There is a need to develop South African psych. of gender that is both local and critical
o Local – representing indigenous experiences of gender development and identities
o Critical – problematizes the construction of gender different and inequality
Gender -> concept usually referring to the social construction of inherent sexual differences
between men and women. Most gender theorists assume that gender is social where sex is
biological; and most also hold that the term encapsulates a notion of power inequality
Gender as difference:
Gender has historically been constructed as difference – immutable difference(s) between
men and women – in both popular and academic discourse
Reproduction of the binary opposites of male/female contributes to the reproduction of
heterosexism and homophobia
The construction of gender as difference continues to legitimize, naturalize, and rationalize
both such a construction and the inequality it creates
Heterosexist -> assumption that all sexuality refers to heterosexual practices and that the
ideal, acceptable and ‘normal' sexual practices are those between men and women. Such
values and practices are discriminatory and oppressive
Homophobia -> rejection of homosexual practices and lifestyles. It frequently emerges in
negative prejudicial attitudes and stereotypes, and discrimination and violent practices
towards gays, lesbians, and bisexuals
interest in proving or disproving sex or gender differences reveals much about its broader
social role(s) and raises significant problems with the social dualism of
masculinity/femininity
Psych’s role in the construction of sex/gender different
Essentializing gender different:
in early years, differences were attributed to biology and as such were universalized,
naturalized and essentialized
the focus on different, with the abstraction of categories of masculine and feminine, served
both to obscure the power inequality between men and women and to legitimate
ideologically the continued reproduction of such different and inequality
unitary sexual character -> idea that masculinity and feminity exist as a collection of traits,
roles, abilities, and temperaments which are embedded in indiv. men and women
a notion of static, stable, unitary gender identity was evident, which ignored both the
diversity of gendered experience across other lines of social identity and ‘fixed’ individuals to
a singular, enduring experience of their own gender
Challenging androcentric psych.:
2
