Key Concepts & Theories
1. Social Construction of Gender
Simone de Beauvoir (1949): "One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman." Gender is performative (Judith Butler, 1990): not an internal essence but a repeated set of acts that create the appearance of a stable gender identity.
Simone de Beauvoir (1949): "One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman." Gender is performative (Judith Butler, 1990): not an internal essence but a repeated set of acts that create the appearance of a stable gender identity.
2. Intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989)
Gender intersects with race, class, sexuality, disability, and nationality to create systems of oppression and privilege. A wealthy white woman and a poor Indigenous woman experience gender differently — intersectionality captures these overlapping identities.
Gender intersects with race, class, sexuality, disability, and nationality to create systems of oppression and privilege. A wealthy white woman and a poor Indigenous woman experience gender differently — intersectionality captures these overlapping identities.
3. Patriarchy and Hegemonic Masculinity
Patriarchy: social system where men hold primary power. Connell's hegemonic masculinity: culturally exalted form of masculinity that legitimizes male dominance. Other masculinities (complicit, subordinate, marginalized) are positioned relative to it.
Patriarchy: social system where men hold primary power. Connell's hegemonic masculinity: culturally exalted form of masculinity that legitimizes male dominance. Other masculinities (complicit, subordinate, marginalized) are positioned relative to it.
4. Queer Theory
Sedgwick, Foucault, Butler: challenges fixed categories of sex, gender, and sexuality. Deconstructs binaries (male/female, gay/straight) as power-laden. Not about "being queer" — a theoretical approach that questions all identity categories.
Sedgwick, Foucault, Butler: challenges fixed categories of sex, gender, and sexuality. Deconstructs binaries (male/female, gay/straight) as power-laden. Not about "being queer" — a theoretical approach that questions all identity categories.
5. Feminist Waves
First (19th-early 20th): suffrage, legal rights. Second (1960s-80s): workplace, reproductive rights, sexuality. Third (1990s-2010s): intersectionality, microaggressions, sex-positivity. Fourth (2012-): #MeToo, social media activism, trans inclusion.
First (19th-early 20th): suffrage, legal rights. Second (1960s-80s): workplace, reproductive rights, sexuality. Third (1990s-2010s): intersectionality, microaggressions, sex-positivity. Fourth (2012-): #MeToo, social media activism, trans inclusion.
Core Definitions
Sex vs. Gender: Sex: biological characteristics (chromosomes, hormones, anatomy). Gender: social/cultural roles, behaviors, identities associated with being masculine, feminine, or non-binary. Sex is assigned; gender is constructed and performed.
Misogyny and Misogynoir: Misogyny: hatred/disdain for women. Misogynoir (Bailey, 2010): specific anti-Black woman misogyny — the intersection of racism and sexism directed at Black women.
Gender Performativity (Butler): Gender is not what one is, but what one does — a stylized repetition of acts over time that creates the illusion of a stable gender core. "There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender."
Worked Examples
Example 1: Intersectionality Analysis
A transgender Latina experiences: transphobia (transgender identity), racism (Latina identity), and sexism/female identity discrimination. These aren't additive but mutually constituting — she faces specific forms of violence that neither white trans women nor cisgender Latino men experience in the same way.
A transgender Latina experiences: transphobia (transgender identity), racism (Latina identity), and sexism/female identity discrimination. These aren't additive but mutually constituting — she faces specific forms of violence that neither white trans women nor cisgender Latino men experience in the same way.
Example 2: Deconstructing Gender Binaries
Butler's drag analysis: drag doesn't imitate a "true" gender — it reveals that all gender is drag. The parody exposes that femininity itself is an imitation without an original. No "real" gender precedes its performance.
Butler's drag analysis: drag doesn't imitate a "true" gender — it reveals that all gender is drag. The parody exposes that femininity itself is an imitation without an original. No "real" gender precedes its performance.
Example 3: Patriarchy in Institutions
Motherhood penalty: mothers earn ~5% less per child. Fatherhood bonus: fathers earn ~6% more. This asymmetry — women penalized, men rewarded for the same parental status — reveals how institutions devalue caregiving and reward men's assumed breadwinner status.
Motherhood penalty: mothers earn ~5% less per child. Fatherhood bonus: fathers earn ~6% more. This asymmetry — women penalized, men rewarded for the same parental status — reveals how institutions devalue caregiving and reward men's assumed breadwinner status.
Practice Problems
Problem 1: What is the difference between sex and gender?
Answer: Sex: biological (chromosomes, hormones, anatomy) — assigned at birth. Gender: social/cultural roles, behaviors, identities — constructed through social processes. Gender is not determined by sex.
Answer: Sex: biological (chromosomes, hormones, anatomy) — assigned at birth. Gender: social/cultural roles, behaviors, identities — constructed through social processes. Gender is not determined by sex.
Problem 2: Explain intersectionality with an example.
Answer: Crenshaw (1989): gender, race, class, sexuality interact to create unique experiences of oppression. Example: a Black woman's experience of sexism is shaped by racism, and her experience of racism is shaped by sexism — not separable categories.
Answer: Crenshaw (1989): gender, race, class, sexuality interact to create unique experiences of oppression. Example: a Black woman's experience of sexism is shaped by racism, and her experience of racism is shaped by sexism — not separable categories.
Problem 3: What is hegemonic masculinity?
Answer: Connell: the culturally dominant form of masculinity that maintains male privilege. Not necessarily the most common, but the most celebrated. Other masculinities are subordinated (gay men), complicit (men benefiting without enacting), or marginalized (working-class men).
Answer: Connell: the culturally dominant form of masculinity that maintains male privilege. Not necessarily the most common, but the most celebrated. Other masculinities are subordinated (gay men), complicit (men benefiting without enacting), or marginalized (working-class men).
Problem 4: What are the four waves of feminism?
Answer: First: suffrage/legal rights (19th-early 20th c.). Second: workplace/reproductive/sexuality (1960s-80s). Third: intersectionality/microaggressions (1990s-2010s). Fourth: #MeToo/social media activism (2012-).
Answer: First: suffrage/legal rights (19th-early 20th c.). Second: workplace/reproductive/sexuality (1960s-80s). Third: intersectionality/microaggressions (1990s-2010s). Fourth: #MeToo/social media activism (2012-).
Problem 5: What does Butler mean by gender performativity?
Answer: Gender is not an internal essence but a repeated performance — "a stylized repetition of acts." No "true" gender exists behind the acts that supposedly express it. Drag reveals the imitative structure of all gender.
Answer: Gender is not an internal essence but a repeated performance — "a stylized repetition of acts." No "true" gender exists behind the acts that supposedly express it. Drag reveals the imitative structure of all gender.