Gender and Feminism

Sex - biological constitution as female or male gender - our cultural programming as feminine or masculine. varies within cultures "On ne nait pas femme, on le devient" Simone De Bouvet - One is not born a woman one becomes one Homophobia: - Fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against, homosexuals Hetrosexalist - presumption that everyone is heterosexual, and naturally superior Nature vs Nurture - extent to which particular aspects of behavior are a product of either inherited (i.e. genetic) or acquired (i.e. learned) characteristics. Nature - Differences btw men and women are: Innate Biological, physiological Fairly fixed Nurture - Differences btw men and women are: Learned Psychological, social, cultural Due largely to environment Changeable Gender roles Social learning theory: - social interaction. reinforcement or imitation and modeling. one boys and girls preferred dolls over cars 57.2% of girls choose the doll along with 56.4% of boys. By the age of two more boys favoured the car. 52.7% of girls and 47.9% of boys favoured the doll. The male preference for cars over dolls is evident as he grows older. This indicated that socialisation results in the male shunning of female toys not inborn factors. (Curtis 2014) Gender roles Cognitive development theory - Environment socialisation Parental infulence structure vs agency Gender roles Feminist approaches: - Gender : socially constructed role Focus on power differences and inequality. rise of gender neutral parenting Types of feminism Egalitarian - Promotes equality through equal rights freedom from oppressive gender roles