Feminist Sexological Analysis

Feminism generally refers to a multi-disciplinary approach to sexual characteristics and sex parity. This is understood through political activism and social theories. This particular approach consists of beliefs and ideas regarding what customs are like for women, compared to how the world functions for their male counterparts. The main supposition in Feminism is that women are not treated in the same way as men, and that they are at a disadvantage. It is important to keep in mind that feminism does not refer to a belief that one gender deserves to be superior to the other. The definition of this approach is in complete opposition. Therefore, when people criticize feminism, they are actually supporting sexism. In the course of history, feminism has evolved from the serious evaluation of disparity between the sexes to a more nuanced concentration on the performative and social structures of sexuality and gender. Historically, scholars and feminists have categorized the history of this particular approach into three main waves. The initial wave is that of women’s suffrage movements witnessed in the course of the nineteenth and early twentieth Centuries. The second wave is the actions and notions linked with women’s freedom movement of the 1960s, while the third wave is the continuation of and response to the apparent disappointments of the second wave, beginning in the 1990s.

Sociologists reject the idea that behavioural differences between men and women are biologically determined. Outline the key grounds for this rejection and discuss what this means for a sociological understanding of gender.

With today’s society growing more accepting sex has never been harder to define. Historically society has found ways to conceptualize everything from sex to sex work. However, with conceptualization come consequences. The language we use, the historical concepts we hold on to and the approaches we take on topics effects our views. Our language can change depending on who is being talked about and our historical concepts can become weak the deeper we discuss a concept. Sex is a complicated topic and can cause tension around negotiations in recognizing different ways of understanding it. All of these approaches to sex have always been, and still is, the locus of so much debate precisely because what is being investigated has never been, and likely never will, be completely agreed upon.

Sexuality has long been a key concern of feminists and egalitarians. Most notably, they have long insisted that female sexuality is no different than male sexuality and that a woman should have the exact same right to choose not to marry, and instead engage in casual sex while pursuing a rewarding career that will secure her a (supposedly) much better future than the lifestyles of past generations of women afforded them. What has long been a major proponent of patriarchal societies is the inhibition on female sexuality. The “double standard” in sexuality is to

“A sexual revolution begins with the emancipation of women, who are the chief victims of patriarchy, and also with the ending of homosexual oppression.” Kate Millett could not have described the Sexual Revolution any better, a sexual liberation to argue that women are in fact, equal to men in more ways than society allows. In the 1960’s, women began to catch on that women are treated inferior to men, in ways that women are a disgrace if they were to have intercourse with many men, whilst it is acceptable for men to have several sexual partners; this to women was unsettling. The Sexual Revolution was a movement that encouraged the equality between genders involving a transformation of the sexual norms in society; therefore, the arousal of birth control, the legalization of abortion, and the founding of the new term intersex are all medical perspectives based on the repercussions of this reform.

As a Sociology major, I am learning to understand both broad and narrow social phenomena, concerns and problems, and in doing so, they integrate the findings of other social science disciplines. One of the many social phenomena’s I have been interested in during my time at Kingston University is discussing sex and gender. Primarily, Judith Butlers ‘performativity’ explains how ‘females’ and ‘males’ gendered roles are performed naturally through a routinely stylized behavior and how gender exist only because it is being acted out and performed. Furthermore, Simone de Beauvoir’s, The Second Sex hugely became an influential book during the second wave feminism, which involved sexuality, family, workplace, reproductive rights, etc. In her book, women are perceived as the “other,” as a default sex. She distinguishes sex and gender and states that gender is gradually acquired. Lastly, I will explore sexuality briefly and Annecka Marshall’s study of the social construction of black female sexuality, and how women control how they are perceived and negotiate their sexual selves.

Sexism’s a problem that has been around for centuries, therefore Anna Goldsworthy took hold of the dissatisfaction and combined it into her Quarterly Essay “Sex, Freedom, and Misogyny”. By this essay, most audiences begin to understand the meaning for Misogyny and clearly presume the differences between Sexism and Misogyny along with the conflict against women rights. The essay wasn’t babbled, perfectly structured aiming directly at audiences from all gender who are in their teens and into middle aged. Goldsworthy fought contrary to her bias who are the supporters of Misogynist by indicating them out in a smooth tone to inform the situation that females handle around the world. By using Gillard’s speech delivered in Canberra in October

Read the "Introduction" to The Creation of Patriarchy by Gerda Lerner and answer the following questions:

Lerner explains how women were excluded from history by examining how women were treated throughout the early periods of mankind. In her book, The Creation of Patriarchy, she points out that feminist anthropologists had observed that there were societies that challenged the idea of male dominance being universal. They argued that the men and women were essential to the survival of these societies and shared equal statuses for the most part. It was at this early point in mankind that life was all about surviving and not about self-fulfillment as was the case later on. Before civilized society was institutionalized, mothers were seen as the vital part of a group’s survival as they are responsible for the nurturing. To add to this belief, there have been statues depicting women in a certain birthing position that archaeologists believe to be a sort of Mother-Goddess. Lerner pointed out that in terms of the obvious division of labor between the sexes, women chose at an early point in mankind to take on occupations that involved the

Even though women make up approximately half of the United States population, there were few opportunities for women to have female role models or perspectives of history that focused on women until a little over a century ago, when World War I and the First Wave of Feminism changed the role women played in society forever. However, it is remarkable to examine how women had and been continuously pushed to the back of the conversation, even as feminism became a nationally recognised issue. Even now, our nation’s history is told in an androcentric fashion; even if gender inequality throughout our nation’s history has shaped many social structures today, there is a lack of recognition of the importance of women. On top of that, such an androcentric

Part of her restructuration of feminist theories include allowing men into the feminist movement, so that there is not a nonconformist belief, but a combining companionship. She also shows great appreciation for the movement away from feminist thought as led by middleclass white women, and towards a gathering of both genders to fight for the higher stance of women. This puts the original focus of feminism away from victimization, and towards having a greater understanding, appreciation, and tolerance for every genders and sex so that everyone is in control of their own destinies, and not controlled by male

Gender is a main aspect family structure.I grew up in Kuwait, a conservative Muslim country with a prosperous oil-based economy. My family of orientation is comprised of my mother and my sister. My mother divorced my father when I was 2 years old. Growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, my mother was exposed to Feminist and Western values. My sister and I were treated equally by our mother without considering gender as a major factor in her parenting style. My mother started working at the age of 18 which was very very different from the traditional housewife role that her mother had. From my observation during her rare interactions with my father, my father always asserts his " natural dominant male" role while talking to

Option B- Critical Analysis of: Martin, D.M, Schouten, J.W, & McAlexander, J.H. 2006. Claiming The Throttle: Multiple femininities in a hyper-masculine subculture, Consumption, Markets & Culture, 9:3, 171-205.

Everyone defines masculinity in a different way. Growing up masculinity was only a term for men who brought an income to the home, otherwise known as the breadwinners. However, this was the typical stereotype which men were obligated to live up too. As time is passing the term masculinity is changing and instead of defining males and females separately, it is changing into a common definition of gender. Meaning no matter if you are female or male, gender will be known as a definition for both and there will be no separation.

Feminism has evolved to become a viable social scientific approach for investigating the social world surrounding us. This approach has witnessed several transformations, referred to as waves, with each representing a different set of actors, claims and organization. Throughout the history of the United States, and broadly western societies, feminist waves altered political, social and cultural orders changing them to the overall benefit of women (Maclaran, 2015). Despite their variations, feminist waves aspire to make the world more egalitarian giving women more rights, empowerment and choice. An interesting concept describing how society visualizes women was introduced by Mulvey and called the “male gaze”. The gaze refers to the phenomenon of how culture portrays women in media dominated by the masculine driven prism. It is difficult to classify the conception of the male gaze into any specific wave of feminisms. However, it is a multifaceted concept that points to the masculine driven world defined by specific gender roles and assignment, which represents the order the third wave of feminists desire to dismantle. Therefore, the gaze best fits the variegated philosophies and movements of third wave feminism (Mulvey, 1989).