"Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analyzing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. (...) Its rise to prominence, especially in Western universities after 1990, coincided with the rise of deconstruction."
The study of the social construction and cultural meaning of feminine identities.
Gender: This refers to the socially constructed characteristics that are attributed to individuals based on their biological sex. It includes expectations about appearance, behavior, and roles in society.
Sexuality: This refers to an individual's sexual orientation, preferences, and behaviors. It can also include the cultural and social factors that contribute to the understanding of sexuality.
Feminism: This is a social, political, and cultural movement that advocates for social, economic, and political rights for women. It encompasses a range of theories and practices that challenge gender inequality and oppression.
Masculinity: This refers to the socially constructed characteristics that are attributed to individuals based on their biological sex. It includes expectations about appearance, behavior, and roles in society.
Queer Theory: This is a theoretical perspective that challenges heteronormativity and explores the diversity of sexual and gender identities. It focuses on the intersections of gender, sexuality, class, race, and ability.
Intersectionality: This refers to the interconnected nature of various social identities, such as gender, race, class, and sexuality. It highlights the ways in which these identities intersect and influence individual experiences of oppression and privilege.
Body Image: This refers to an individual's perceptions and attitudes towards their physical appearance. It can be influenced by social expectations, media, and cultural norms.
Patriarchy: This refers to a social system in which men hold dominant power and privilege, often at the expense of women and other marginalized groups.
Sexism: This is the prejudice and discrimination based on an individual's sex, gender, or perceived gender.
Transgender Studies: This is a field of study that focuses on the experiences of transgender individuals, including issues of identity, discrimination, and legal rights.
Reproductive Rights: This refers to the political and legal issues surrounding access to contraception, abortion, and other reproductive health services.
Femininity: This is the set of qualities and characteristics traditionally associated with women, including appearance, behavior, and roles in society.
Gender Roles: This refers to the expectations and norms associated with each gender. It can include expectations about behavior, appearance, and traditional roles in society.
Violence against Women: This refers to physical, sexual, and emotional violence experienced by women as a result of gender inequality and patriarchal norms.
Queer Culture: This encompasses a range of social and cultural practices and expressions that challenge heteronormativity and celebrate diverse sexual and gender identities.
Sexual Health: This includes issues related to sexual health and wellness, including prevention of sexually transmitted infections, birth control methods, and sensitive sexual communication.
Men and Masculinity Studies: This is a field of study that focuses on the experiences of men and the ways in which masculinity is constructed, performed, and challenged in society.
Body Politics: This refers to the political and cultural issues surrounding the body, including body image, representation in media, and the social construction of beauty standards.
Feminist Activism: This includes various forms of activism focused on gender inequality and the empowerment of women, including political campaigns, protests, and advocacy initiatives.
Women in the Workplace: This refers to issues of gender inequality and discrimination faced by women in the workplace, including issues of equal pay, promotion opportunities, and sexual harassment.
Transnational Feminism: Examines how gender, sexuality, and power operate across national borders and in global contexts, and analyzes the experiences of women from diverse cultural and political backgrounds.
Black Feminism: Focuses on the experiences, perspectives, and struggles of Black women, and highlights the intersections of race, gender, class, and sexuality in shaping their lives and communities.
Queer Studies: Explores the social, cultural, and political dimensions of sexual identity and practices, and challenges the normative assumptions about gender and sexuality that underpin many social institutions.
Postcolonial Feminism: Critiques the ongoing legacies of colonialism and imperialism, and examines how gender and sexuality intersect with other forms of power, such as race, class, and ethnicity, in shaping social and political relations.
Intersectional Feminism: Analyzes the complex and interlocking systems of oppression and privilege that shape individual and collective experiences of gender, race, class, sexuality, and other social categories across diverse contexts.
Third Wave Feminism: Emerged in the 1990s and focused on the diversity of women's experiences, the challenges of globalization, and the intersections of gender with other forms of oppression and identity.
Ecofeminism: Explores the connections between environmental degradation and gender-based oppression, and advocates for a more sustainable and equitable relationship between humans and the natural world.
Postmodern Feminism: Critiques the essentialist assumptions about gender and sexuality that underpin many feminist theories and practices, and emphasizes the importance of diverse and fluid identities and experiences.
Disability Feminism: Analyzes the intersection of disability and gender, and advocates for the inclusion of disabled women in mainstream feminist movements and agendas.
Liberal Feminism: Emphasizes legal and political equality between men and women, and advocates for reform within existing institutions and systems.
"Disciplines that frequently contribute to gender studies include the fields of literature, linguistics, human geography, history, political science, archaeology, economics, sociology, psychology, anthropology, cinema, musicology, media studies, human development, law, public health, and medicine."
"Gender studies also analyzes how race, ethnicity, location, social class, nationality, and disability intersect with the categories of gender and sexuality."
"In gender studies, the term 'gender' is often used to refer to the social and cultural constructions of masculinity and femininity, rather than biological aspects of the male or female sex."
"However, this view is not held by all gender scholars."
"Gender is pertinent to many disciplines, such as literary theory, drama studies, film theory, performance theory, contemporary art history, anthropology, sociology, sociolinguistics, and psychology."
"However, these disciplines sometimes differ in their approaches to how and why gender is studied."
"In politics, gender can be viewed as a foundational discourse that political actors employ in order to position themselves on a variety of issues."
"Feminist theory of psychoanalysis, articulated mainly by Julia Kristeva and Bracha L. Ettinger, and informed both by Freud, Lacan and the object relations theory, is very influential in gender studies."
"The field now overlaps with queer studies and men's studies."
"Gender studies also analyzes how race, ethnicity, location, social class, nationality, and disability intersect with the categories of gender and sexuality."
"Its rise to prominence, especially in Western universities after 1990, coincided with the rise of deconstruction."
"Its rise to prominence, especially in Western universities after 1990, coincided with the rise of deconstruction."
"Gender studies also analyzes how race, ethnicity, location, social class, nationality, and disability intersect with the categories of gender and sexuality."
"Disciplines that frequently contribute to gender studies include the fields of literature, linguistics, human geography, history, political science, archaeology, economics, sociology, psychology, anthropology, cinema, musicology, media studies, human development, law, public health, and medicine."
"Gender studies is also a discipline in itself, incorporating methods and approaches from a wide range of disciplines."
"Many fields came to regard 'gender' as a practice, sometimes referred to as something that is performative."
"Gender studies also analyzes how race, ethnicity, location, social class, nationality, and disability intersect with the categories of gender and sexuality."
"Its rise to prominence, especially in Western universities after 1990, coincided with the rise of deconstruction."
"Feminist theory of psychoanalysis, articulated mainly by Julia Kristeva and Bracha L. Ettinger, and informed both by Freud, Lacan and the object relations theory, is very influential in gender studies."