Gender and Health: Feminist analyses

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Gender and HealthFeminist analyses
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Discuss in pairs/ threes

• How do you understand the terms
• Gender
• Sex
• Gender roles
• Patriarchy
• Feminism

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Gender

• Social construction, not biological phenomenon
  (sex)
• one is not born a woman, one becomes one
• Simone de Beauvoir
• Powerful social norms around appropriate behavior
  of a man and woman
• Varies in different contexts
• BUT powerful in determining actions, behaviors,
  opportunities

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• Gender roles
• Assumed and differing norms of behavior/ roles/
  responsibilities for men and women
• eg clothing, speech, work in public/ private
  sphere, body language

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• Masculinity/ femininity
• behaviors most appropriate to male/ females
• as determined by society
• Expressions of masculinity/femininity reinforce
  identity as male/ female
• Reinforces social status
• Troubling these norms can lead to discrimination,
  exclusion, empowerment

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Patriarchy

• Dominant structuring of many societies
• Based on family unit with father/ patriarch as
  head
• Reproduced in public sphere workplace, political
  sphere, school, university
• Expectation that men take power, control, lead
• Hierarchy based upon assumed gender norms

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Feminism

• Broad range of political and social movements
• Concerned with social, economic, political,
  cultural process that reinforce Patriarchy and
  oppress women (and men!)
• Aims to bridge differences of race, class,
  nationality to work towards feminist agenda

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Key attributes of feminist analyses(see overhead)
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• For Thursdays Class
• Masculinity/ femininity

What are ideal attitudes/ behaviors/ attributes
of femininity and masculinity? Make a list