DISCUSS HOW PSYCHOLOGY, IN PARTICULAR, THE PSYCHOLOGY OF GENDER, HAS
SERVED TO REPRODUCE AND LEGITIMISE GENDER INEQUALITY AS WELL AS THE
OPPRESSION OF NON-HETEROSEXUAL SOUTH AFRICANS.
Psychology as discipline has long been criticised for its reproduction of gender inequality. This
inequality is apparent in content of psychological knowledge & practices of psychology. In
South Africa, typically, white males have dominated psychology as a practice and black females
have been underrepresented. In the following essay, I will discuss and highlight some of the
contemporary perspectives that act to reconstruct a psychology of transformation and show how
these differed from previous perspectives that reproduced inequality, which will be referred to as
“pre-modern” perspectives.
The first pre-modern perspective that will be discussed is androcentrism. It stemmed from fact that
white males dominated discourse around gender within psychology. Thus, gender differences were
seen as being binary, which legitimised and naturalised inequality of gender. New feminist
perspectives emerged to challenge this androcentric psychology. However, they continued to study
gender as difference as they tried to create a dialogue around „socialisation‟, which is a focus on
gender roles and stereotypes. As a result, they were unable to conceptualise gender within
broader social processes or power relations. Feminists tried to prove that differences between men
and women are minimal yet we are still left with polarised view of gender as difference. Polarise
encompass to cause a concentration on two conflicting or contrasting positions. This dialogue,
however, brought about shifts in theoretical thinking.
Feminist psychologists assert that there are new ways of theorising gender in psychology. These
are informed by post-modern or post-structuralist ways of thinking. Post-structuralists argue that
the real nature of male and female cannot be determined. Instead, gender is shifting, non-fixed and
a fluid relationship between the signifier and the signified. Signification refers to use of signifiers,
which are spoken or written words, to make meaning of the world through representation of
signifiers. It helps to understand idea that knowledge is constructed. Thus, we move away from the
rigid and rational, to the fluid and irrational. This new way of thinking challenges androcentric
conceptions of gender as difference between males and females. The construction idea of gender
here is that discourse constructs gender as we know.
The scalar model is the notion that gender is on a continuum. It brings about more fluidity, yet,
wherever you are located on that continuum is where you are fixed. Thus, people are constructed
as objects and reified to „score‟ on a scale. If you score high on both female and male
characteristics you are said to be androgynous. Within contemporary perspectives is a post-
modern concept of queer theory. The theory is critical of traditional ideas of gender, sex and
sexuality. It argues that there are multiple genders that are not linked as we traditionally expect.
Consequently, we see gendered subjectivity is socially constructed due to dominant discourses
around sexuality. This means that we are active subjects, constantly reinterpreting ourselves within
gender, which lead to the idea of the inscribed body that post-modernists view as a subject to and
active in dominant discourse. This challenges the notion of ideal femininity in visual culture and
attempts to rework ideas of slimness of women being the ideal.
Furthermore, androcentric conceptions facilitate an essentialist view, where gender is attributed to
biological construct, thus masculinity and femininity are seen as a collection of traits embedded in
an individual that cannot be changed or constructed. This is known as a unitary sexual character.
In other words, gender is said to be fixed, stable and unitary. Unfortunately, this view still exists in
society.
SERVED TO REPRODUCE AND LEGITIMISE GENDER INEQUALITY AS WELL AS THE
OPPRESSION OF NON-HETEROSEXUAL SOUTH AFRICANS.
Psychology as discipline has long been criticised for its reproduction of gender inequality. This
inequality is apparent in content of psychological knowledge & practices of psychology. In
South Africa, typically, white males have dominated psychology as a practice and black females
have been underrepresented. In the following essay, I will discuss and highlight some of the
contemporary perspectives that act to reconstruct a psychology of transformation and show how
these differed from previous perspectives that reproduced inequality, which will be referred to as
“pre-modern” perspectives.
The first pre-modern perspective that will be discussed is androcentrism. It stemmed from fact that
white males dominated discourse around gender within psychology. Thus, gender differences were
seen as being binary, which legitimised and naturalised inequality of gender. New feminist
perspectives emerged to challenge this androcentric psychology. However, they continued to study
gender as difference as they tried to create a dialogue around „socialisation‟, which is a focus on
gender roles and stereotypes. As a result, they were unable to conceptualise gender within
broader social processes or power relations. Feminists tried to prove that differences between men
and women are minimal yet we are still left with polarised view of gender as difference. Polarise
encompass to cause a concentration on two conflicting or contrasting positions. This dialogue,
however, brought about shifts in theoretical thinking.
Feminist psychologists assert that there are new ways of theorising gender in psychology. These
are informed by post-modern or post-structuralist ways of thinking. Post-structuralists argue that
the real nature of male and female cannot be determined. Instead, gender is shifting, non-fixed and
a fluid relationship between the signifier and the signified. Signification refers to use of signifiers,
which are spoken or written words, to make meaning of the world through representation of
signifiers. It helps to understand idea that knowledge is constructed. Thus, we move away from the
rigid and rational, to the fluid and irrational. This new way of thinking challenges androcentric
conceptions of gender as difference between males and females. The construction idea of gender
here is that discourse constructs gender as we know.
The scalar model is the notion that gender is on a continuum. It brings about more fluidity, yet,
wherever you are located on that continuum is where you are fixed. Thus, people are constructed
as objects and reified to „score‟ on a scale. If you score high on both female and male
characteristics you are said to be androgynous. Within contemporary perspectives is a post-
modern concept of queer theory. The theory is critical of traditional ideas of gender, sex and
sexuality. It argues that there are multiple genders that are not linked as we traditionally expect.
Consequently, we see gendered subjectivity is socially constructed due to dominant discourses
around sexuality. This means that we are active subjects, constantly reinterpreting ourselves within
gender, which lead to the idea of the inscribed body that post-modernists view as a subject to and
active in dominant discourse. This challenges the notion of ideal femininity in visual culture and
attempts to rework ideas of slimness of women being the ideal.
Furthermore, androcentric conceptions facilitate an essentialist view, where gender is attributed to
biological construct, thus masculinity and femininity are seen as a collection of traits embedded in
an individual that cannot be changed or constructed. This is known as a unitary sexual character.
In other words, gender is said to be fixed, stable and unitary. Unfortunately, this view still exists in
society.
