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Gender & Sexuality (SOC2) - Coggle Diagram
Gender & Sexuality (SOC2)
Key Terms/Concepts
heteronormativity:
the assumption that heterosexuality is the default or normal sexual orientation, marginalising other sexual identities
gender as performance:
Judith Butler's theory that gender is not an inherent quality but rather a series of actions and performances that create the illusion of a stable gender identity
binary gender system:
the classification of gender into two distinct and opposite forms - male and female - which is socially constructed and upheld by societal norms
heterosexual matrix:
Butler's concept describes how societal norms enforce a binary understanding of gender and sex, linking them to compulsory heterosexuality. biological identity -> determines gender identity -> dictating sexual desire = creating a rigid structure and marginalising those who don't conform
Fundamental Theories
Butler's Performative Theory of Gender:
proposes that gender is constructed through repeated performances and societal expectations rather than being a fixed identity
Simone de Beauvoir's Notion of Becoming:
argues that one is not born a woman but becomes one through socialisation and cultural processes
Black Feminist Thought:
challenges the universal notion of womanhood and feminism by emphasising the intersectionality of race and gender, highlighting how different oppressions and identities interlock
Queer Theory:
a field of critical theory that examines the social construction of sexuality and challenges normative definitions of gender and sexual identity
Social Construction of Gender
: the idea that gender roles and identities are created and maintained through social processes rather than being biologically determined
Key Theorists
Judith Butler
(
1990
): a prominent gender theorist known for her work on gender performativity and the critique of the binary gender system
Simone de Beauvoir
: a feminist philosopher who famously stated, "One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman," challenging biological determinism in gender
Ken Plummer: a sociologist who advocates for queering of social theory to better understand the complexities of gender and sexuality
Black Feminist Thinkers
bell hooks, (1981):
lower-case adopted to stress her writings over her individual status
- examines how a combination of racism and sexism throughout history has left Black women at the very bottom of social order
Angela Davis (1981): explores how sexism, racism and class oppression intersect, highlighting the contributions of Black women to the abolitionist and feminist movement.
Patricia Hill Collins (1990): matrix of domination organises oppression in society. Collins argues that the organisation of interlocking, large-scale social institutions reproduce the subordination of Black women
Oyeronke Oyewumi
(1997)
: presents modern Yoruba gender stratification as a Western colonial construct. Makes the case that the narrative of
gendered corporeality
that dominates the Western interpretation of the social world is a cultural discourse and cannot be assumed uncritically for other cultures. Gender is not only socially constructed but also historical. She points out that the current deployment of gender as a universal and timeless social category cannot be divorced from either the dominance of Euro/American cultures in the global system or the ideology of biological determinism which underpins Western systems of knowledge.
gendered corporeality:
the way our physical bodies are shaped, perceived, and experienced through the lens of gender norms and societal expectations. Explores how gender influences not only how we inhabit and use our bodies but also how we interpret and interact with them.
Maria Lugones
(
2007
): discusses the modern/colonial gender system, which perpetuates hierarchies and norms established during colonial times. Gender intertwined with racial hierarchies as used as part of the 'civilising mission' by Western colonisers against colonial subjects
Key Movements
Third Wave Feminism: focuses on diversity and intersectionality, addressing issues faced by women in the Global South and emphasising the importance of individual experiences
Queer Feminism: a movement that seeks to integrate queer theory into feminist discourse, challenging traditional notions of gender and sexuality
Examples and Case Studies
Uganda 2009 Anti-Homosexuality Bill - exemplifies the complex interplay of historical and contemporary Western influence.
Tamale (2013)
recognises the handprint of homosexuality in African history and poignantly outlines that homosexuality is not and has never been alien to Africa
Tamale (2020):
explores how colonialism imposed rigid ideas about sex, gender, and sexuality, disrupting the diverse systems in pre-colonial African societies. By juxtaposing the two, the article analyses the colonial power dynamics at play in reinforcing dualistic and racialised gender norms as well as heteronormativity.
Caster Semenya vs Michael Phelps
Analysing embodied experience of Semenya allows us to understand that "the modern/colonial system of gender is not a universal but a concrete historical experience of subjugation" (Icaza & Vasquez, 2016). She proves there are multiple ways of inhabiting our bodies and the world - central to the struggle for the decolonial reimagination of our bodies.
While both are 'othered' as 'freaks of nature', Phelps is celebrated for his physical differences while Semenya is treated like a freak and punished as she undergoes invasive testing and legal woes to establish her 'womanness'.
Semenya is an important symbol of how society, governed by coloniality, forces us into the gender binary. Institutions of science and the law are mobilised to moor social norms to birth sex, when gender is neither a coherent nor stable category.