Lecture 1 and 2 Gender

How is gender different from sex?

Gender is a social construct shaped by culture, history, religion, and race, while sex refers to biological traits.

Why is gender considered fluid and context-dependent?

Because gender meanings vary across societies and change over time.

What is meant by gender identity?

One’s personal sense of gender, which is only part of broader social systems structuring gender.

What was the main goal of the 1960s sex/gender distinction? (2nd wave feminism)

To separate biological sex from social gender — showing that biology is not destiny.

What are Sandra Harding’s three levels of gender analysis?

1. Identities & Conceptions of Self (individual)

2. Societal Structures (institutions, labor division)

3. Values & Symbolic Level (culture, norms, symbolic power)

What question launched feminist political science?

“Where are the women?”

What are the three stages of feminist political science (Celis et al., 2013)?

• Inclusion Project – studying women’s entry into institutions

• Women on Their Own Terms – recognizing political actions outside formal politics

• Gender(ed) Regimes & Institutions – seeing institutions themselves as gendered

Why is gender considered politically contested?

Because it’s central in culture wars over rights, sexuality, and gender roles, and is opposed by anti-gender movements.

What is the “anti-gender movement”?

A global coalition (since 1990s) of populist, far-right, conservative, and religious actors opposing “gender ideology.”

When did gender become a policy area?

Since the 1990s, due to transnational feminist activism.

Name three key global milestones for gender governance.

• CEDAW (1979)

• Beijing Platform for Action (1995)

• UNSC Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace & Security (2000)

What is gender mainstreaming?

A policy tool integrating gender perspectives into all stages of policy processes.

What are the three dimensions of feminism?

• Research paradigm – analyzes gendered life and develops gender-centered tools

• Ideology – promotes social change and equality

• Social movement – challenges unequal power relations

What do all feminisms share?

A drive for social justice, focus on power, and recognition that knowledge is never neutral.

What are the four waves of feminism and their focuses?

• First wave (1800s–early 1900s) – Suffrage, legal equality

• Second wave (1960s–1970s) – Liberation, workplace, sexuality, bodily autonomy

• Third wave (1990s–) – Intersectionality, diversity, reclaiming femininity, individual empowerment

• Fourth wave (2010s–) – Digital activism, #MeToo, gender fluidity

What is the debate over equality as sameness vs difference?

• Sameness → equal treatment within existing norms (liberal feminism)

• Difference → recognize distinct needs and systemic inequalities (substantive equality)

What does intersectionality mean?

A framework (Crenshaw, 1989) analyzing how different forms of oppression (gender, race, class, etc.) intersect to produce unique experiences.

What are the roots of intersectional feminism?

Black feminism, women-of-colour feminism, and postcolonial feminism.

What does Judith Butler argue in Gender Trouble (1990)?

That sex is also socially constructed, and gender is performative — created through repeated acts, not innate.

What is heteronormativity?

The societal expectation of heterosexuality as the norm.

What challenge does the instability of gender pose to feminist politics?

It raises the question of whether feminism can mobilize politically around the category “women.”

What are the main three debates in feminism ?

1. Equality as sameness or difference

2. Differences among women

3. Sex and Gender Debates