Contents The Feminist Movement Employment Objectification Gender Roles Intersectionality What? and Why?

Feminism

An introduction for ICUDSBy Ed Middleton

Dec ‘12

Contents

The Feminist Movement

Employment

Objectification

Gender Roles

Intersectionality

What? and Why?

Introduction

GENDER IS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT

Both genders are equal “Different but equal” Identical

Differences: Biological Socialised

The Feminist Movement

First wave: De jure/mandated inequalities

Second wave: De facto/non-official inequalities

Third wave: Post-structural Deconstruction of gender

Employment – What?

Pay gap

Vertical segregation Positions of management

Horizontal segregation Types of career

Perception of colleagues

Employment – Why?

Maternity (genuine costs + excuse)

Lack of role models

‘Old boys club’

Similarity bias

Gender roles

Socialised behaviour

Employment - Solutions

Quotas for boards

Incentives to work Tax breaks Subsidies in education State sponsored childcare

Educational focus

Objectification – What?

1. instrumentality: the treatment of a person as a tool for the objectifier's purposes;

2. denial of autonomy: the treatment of a person as lacking in autonomy and self-determination;

3. inertness: the treatment of a person as lacking in agency, and perhaps also in activity;

4. fungibility: the treatment of a person as interchangeable with other objects;5. violability: the treatment of a person as lacking in boundary-integrity;6. ownership: the treatment of a person as something that is owned by another

(can be bought or sold);7. denial of subjectivity: the treatment of a person as something whose

experiences and feelings (if any) need not be taken into account.8. reduction to body: the treatment of a person as identified with their body, or

body parts;9. reduction to appearance: the treatment of a person primarily in terms of how

they look, or how they appear to the senses;10. silencing: the treatment of a person as if they are silent, lacking the capacity to

speak.

Objectification – What?

Pornography

Advertising

Individual interactions

Sexualisation of girls and women

Narratives about women

Objectification – Why?

Harms of pornography: Coercive Violent Deprecating

Rape culture

Paedophilia and abusive relationships

Value of women By men and women

Gender Roles – What?

Personality

Career

Parenting

Component of: Employment problems Objectification Basically everything

Gender Roles – Why?

Self-actualisation

Benefits to society

Family division of labour

Harmful effects of above

Other groups affected by defined genders: Men Transgender people LGBTQIA

Gender Roles – Solution?

Education

Up-bringing

Positive Discrimination

Education

Intersectionality

Interactions with other minority identities: Sexuality Ethnicity Class Religion

BUT IT AFFECTS MEN TOO…

…Who cares?