HISTORY OF GENDER The Development of Gender Theory

HISTORY OF GENDER The Development of Gender Theory (Classical, Modern and Post Modern) LI Hernandez

Outline of Lecture l l Studying gender Influences of gender studies Development of gender theory Criticism on gender studies and theory LI Hernandez 2

“One is not born a woman, one becomes one. ” -Simone de Beauvoir French Philosopher and Literary Writer (1908 -1986) (1949, 1989) "The Second Sex" LI Hernandez

In gender studies… l l In Gender Studies the term "gender" is used to refer to the social and cultural constructions of masculinities and femininities. It does not refer to biological difference, but rather cultural difference. Studies of gender have been undertaken in many academic areas, such as literary theory, drama studies, film theory, performance theory, contemporary art history, anthropology, sociology, psychology and psychoanalysis. LI Hernandez 4

In gender studies… l These disciplines sometimes differ in their approaches to how and why they study gender. For instance in anthropology, sociology and psychology, gender is often studied as a practice, whereas in cultural studies representations of gender are more often examined. – Gender Studies is also a discipline in itself: an interdisciplinary area of study that incorporates methods and approaches from a wide range of disciplines. – LI Hernandez 5

Influences of gender studies l SIGMUND FREUD -1939) – (1856 Freud hoped to prove that his model was universally valid and thus turned to ancient mythology and contemporary ethnography for comparative material. Freud named his new theory the Oedipus complex after the famous Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. LI Hernandez 6

Influences of gender studies l l l LI Hernandez "I found in myself a constant love for my mother, and jealousy of my father. I now consider this to be a universal event in childhood, " Freud said. Freud sought to anchor this pattern of development in the dynamics of the mind. Each stage is a progression into adult sexual maturity, characterized by a strong ego and the ability to delay gratification (cf. Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality). He used the Oedipus conflict to point out how much he believed that people desire incest and must repress that desire. The Oedipus conflict was described as a state of psychosexual development and awareness. 7

Influences of gender studies l l Freud also believed that the libido developed in individuals by changing its object, a process codified by the concept of sublimation. He argued that humans are born "polymorphously perverse", meaning that any number of objects could be a source of pleasure. LI Hernandez 8

Influences of gender studies l Freud further argued that, as humans develop, they become fixated on different and specific objects through their stages of development ORAL stage (exemplified by an infant's pleasure in nursing) ANAL stage (exemplified by a toddler's pleasure in evacuating his or her bowels) – PHALLIC stage (exemplified by the symbols of penis) – – l Freud argued that children then passed through a stage in which they fixated on the mother as a sexual object (known as the Oedipus Complex) but that the child eventually overcame and repressed this desire because of its taboo nature. (The lesser known Electra complex refers to such a fixation on the father. ) The repressive or dormant latency stage of psychosexual development preceded the sexually mature genital stage of psychosexual development. LI Hernandez 9

Influences of gender studies l l Freud's way of interpretation has been called phallocentric by many contemporary thinkers. This is because of, for Freud, the unconscious desires for the phallus (penis). Males are afraid of losing their masculinity, symbolized by the phallus, to another male. Females always desire to have a phallus - an unfulfillable desire. Thus boys resent their fathers (fear of castration) and girls desire theirs. LI Hernandez 10

Influences of gender studies l Critical reactions to Freud … Freud's theories are not real science – Freud's psychoanalytical theory was a byproduct of his cocaine use – some feminists have argued that his views of women's sexual development supported the ideology of female inferiority. Believing that women are like mutilated men, who must learn to accept their lack of a penis and submit to some imagined biological imperative – LI Hernandez Freud contributed to the vocabulary of misogyny (hatred to men). Terms such as "penis envy" and "castration anxiety" contributed to discouraging women from entering any field dominated by men, until the 1970 s – Anti-women in Freud’s psychoanalytical theory – 11

Influences of gender studies l JULIET MITCHELL (British Feminist) – “A fixed image of the future is in the worst sense a historical”. • A substantial part of thesis of her book Psychoanalysis and Feminism. Freud, Reich, Laing and Women (1974) is that Marxism may provide a model within which non-Patriarchal structures for rearing children could occur. • The lack of the 'family romance' would remove the Oedipus Complex from a child's development, thus liberating women from the consequences of Penis Envy and the feeling of being castrated which Mitchell contends is the root cause of women's acceptance that they are inferior. LI Hernandez 12

Influences of gender studies l JACQUES LACAN (French psychoanalyst, psychiatrist, and doctor – 1901 -1981) – LI Hernandez Lacan writes, "The mirror stage is a phenomenon to which I assign a twofold value. In the first place, it has historical value as it marks a decisive turning-point in the mental development of the child. In the second place, it typifies an essential libidinal relationship with the bodyimage" 13

Influences of gender studies l The 3 Orders – IMAGERY • Social conditioning of people (from childhood to adulthood) – SYMBOLIC • Social influencing of people (what the person wanted to project to the world) – REAL • Self-identification of gender LI Hernandez 14

Influences of gender studies l JULIA KRISTEVA (b. 1941 Bulgarian-French philosopher, literary critic, psychoanalyst, and a feminist) – LI Hernandez Known for her studies on gender and the influence of SEMIOTICS (study of sign processes (semiosis), or signification and communication, signs and symbols, both individually and grouped into sign systems. It includes the study of how meaning is constructed and understood. ) 15

Influences of gender studies l Lacanian Theme – 0 -6 months of age • Kristeva refers to this stage as the chora. In the earliest stage of development, you were dominated by a chaotic mix of perceptions, feelings, and needs. You did not distinguish your own self from that of your mother or even the world around you. Rather, you spent your time taking into yourself everything that you experienced as pleasurable without any acknowledgment of boundaries. LI Hernandez – 4 -8 months of age • Kristeva posits that During this time in your development, you began to establish a separation between yourself and the maternal, thus creating those boundaries between self and other that must be in place before the entrance into language 16

Influences of gender studies – 6 -18 months of age • This recognition of the self's image precedes the entrance into language, after which the subject (person) can understand the place of that image of the self within a larger social order, in which the subject must negotiate his or her relationship with others LI Hernandez – 18 months to 4 years of age • Once you entered into the differential system of language, it forever afterwards determined your perception of the world around you, 17

Development of gender theory l Women’s (Feminist) Theory is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to topics concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. – It often includes feminist theory, women's history (e. g. a history of women's suffrage) and social history, women's fiction, women's health, feminist psychoanalysis and the feminist and gender studiesinfluenced practice of most of the humanities and social sciences. – LI Hernandez 18

Development of gender theory l Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, or philosophical, ground. It encompasses work done in a broad variety of disciplines, prominently including the approaches to women's roles and lives and feminist politics in anthropology and sociology, psychoanalysis, economics, women's and gender studies, feminist literary criticism, and philosophy especially Continental philosophy. LI Hernandez l Feminist theory aims to understand the nature of inequality and focuses on gender politics, power relations and sexuality. While generally providing a critique of social relations, much of feminist theory also focuses on analyzing gender inequality and the promotion of women's rights, interests, and issues such as social inequity and oppression done on women. 19

Development of gender theory l Psychoanalytical feminists believe that gender inequality comes from early childhood experiences, which lead men to believe themselves to be masculine, and women to believe themselves feminine. It is further maintained that gender leads to a social system that is dominated by males, which in turn influences the individual psycho-sexual development. LI Hernandez 20

Development of gender theory l Men’s (Masculinity) Studies – is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to topics concerning men, masculinity, gender, and politics. As a relatively new field of study, men's studies was formed largely in response to, and as a critique of, an emerging men's rights movement itself a response to both the real and perceived advantages brought to women by feminism political action - and as such, has been taught in academic settings only since the 1970 s. LI Hernandez 21

Development of gender theory l Men’s Studies – QUEER THEORY • Queer theory is a field of Gender Studies that emerged in the early 1990 s out of the fields of gay and lesbian studies and feminist studies. • Heavily influenced by the work of Michel Foucault, as well as by Jacques Derrida and other deconstructionists, queer theory builds both upon feminist challenges to the idea that gender is part of the essential self and upon gay/lesbian studies' close examination of the socially constructed nature of sexual acts and identities. LI Hernandez 22

Development of gender theory l l l LI Hernandez Queer theory, unlike some feminist theories and studies, includes a wide array of previously considered nonnormative sexualities and sexual practices in its list of identities. Because queer theory is grounded in gender and sexuality, there is debate as to whether sexual orientation is natural or essential, or if it is merely a construction and subject to change. The focus of theorists is the problem of classifying every individual by gender; therefore queer is less an identity than a critique of identity. 23

Development of gender theory l Masculinity Theory – Janet Saltzman Chafetz (1974) describes seven areas of masculinity. • Physical — virile, athletic, strong, brave. Unconcerned about appearance and aging; • Functional — breadwinner, provider for family as much as mate • Sexual — sexually aggressive, experienced. Single status acceptable; (do not mind to walk around naked, especially around other guys) • Emotional — unemotional, stoic, the proverb says boys don't cry; • Intellectual — logical, intellectual, rational, objective, practical, • Interpersonal — leader, dominating; disciplinarian; independent, free, individualistic; demanding; • Other Personal Characteristics — successoriented, ambitious, aggressive, proud, egotistical; moral, trustworthy; decisive, competitive, uninhibited, adventurous. LI Hernandez 24

Development of gender theory l Masculinity looks different in different cultures, there are common aspects to its definition across cultures. Sometimes gender scholars will use the phrase "hegemonic masculinity" to distinguish the most dominant form of masculinity from other variants. LI Hernandez 25

Development of gender theory Hegemonic Masculinity The following roles are frequently associated with masculinity in terms of roles and genitalia: – – – – Military/fighter/warrior: soldier, warrior, airman, knight, Marine, mercenary, samurai, seaman, sailor, viking Other uniformed professions: firefighter, fireman, park ranger, pilot, police officer, SWAT, coastguard, doctor, engineer Criminals: assassin, duellist, gun runner, mercenary, mobster, pirate Superhero or supervillain Manual laborers: construction worker, dock worker, foreman, lumberjack, mechanic, truck driver, Fisherman Cowboy Athlete: basketball, boxing, rugby, rowing, athletics, bodybuilding, weightlifting, football, martial arts, baseball, hockey, wrestling and lacrosse Male nobility: emperor, king, prince, duke, count, earl, baron, lord, shogun LI Hernandez 26

Criticism on Gender Theory l l Propagating the “great divide” men vs. women Offshoot of feminist activism in the study of gender differentiation Gender studies/theory is synonymous to women’s studies Gearing away from the construct of personhood LI Hernandez 27