Gender and Women's Studies Vocab

GEN&WS 101

Feminism

advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes

Patriarchy

men-dominated power system (men are central figures of culture)

Reformist Feminism

seeks equality within existing systems of power by reforming them

Revolutionary Feminism

seeks to dismantle existing systems and create new ones

Lifestyle Feminism

focuses on feminism as freedom of individual choice 

Social Constriction

theory that our knowledge of gender is tied to social processes based in power

Gender

a system for classifying and governing human beings

Sexism

structural and systematic forms of exclusion, disfranchisement, and oppression based on gender

Oppression

a social system of barriers that operates socially, politically, economically, and institutionally to disempower groups of people based on formations of their gender, race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, body size, ability, and/or nationality

Privilege

Economic, political, social, and cultural benefits and power granted to people through social and institutional inequalities.

Gender Identity

refers to an individual’s gendered sense of self (wishes and desires)

Gender Expression

external appearance and performance of gender identity, such as through behavior, clothing, haircut, or voice, which may or may not conform to gender social norms

Cisgender

an individual whose gender assignment, gender identity, and gender expression align with the gender assigned at birth

Transgender

(umbrella term and politically unifying): represents a diverse group of people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the gender assigned at birth

Hegemonic Constructions of Gender

how a dominant ideology portrays gender through media and culture; relies on indirect power

Gender Binary

refers to construction of sex and gender so that female=woman/girl/feminine and male=man/boy/masculine

Heteronormativity

assumes and promotes heterosexuality as a normative sexual orientation and expression

A System of Representation

ways of organizing, clustering, arranging, and classifying concepts and establishing complex relations between them

Discourse

system of knowledge about the way the world is (how we tell stories about the world, what we think is true

Ideology

system of beliefs about how the world should be

Two-Spirit

umbrella term for a collection of Indigenous genders beyond the man/woman binary

Colonialism

facilitates expansion through control of land and people that maintain the subjugation of the exploitation of Indigenous peoples, lands, and resources

Settler Colonialism

as a land-centered project entailing permanent settlement, it renders Indigenous people as needing to disappear to allow settler claim and control of land

First Wave Feminism

(1850s-1920s): suffrage, property rights, abolition of slavery, passage of 19th amendment

Second Wave Feminism

(1960s-1980s): (women’s liberation movement) women in the workplace, abortion, sexual liberation, “personal is political", Equal Pay Act, Title VII, Title IX, Roe vs Wade

Third Wave Feminism

(1990s-2000s) (focus on creative expression) self-expression art, ‘diversity’ in feminism, Family Medical Leave Act, Violence Against Women Act

Liberalism

a political philosophy of individual freedoms, rights, and agency predicated upon rational choice and action

Liberal Feminism

(not liberal vs. conservative): deformations in U.S. legislation, electoral politics, and government systems to achieve equality and justice; emphasis on individual recognition and access to rights

Intersectionality

the interlocking systems of oppression that shape people’s experience and access to power; analysis of power imbalances

Relational Difference

how differences affect one another

Race

phenomic, corporal dimensions of human bodies (e.g. skin color) acquire and organize meaning in social life

Imperialism

a system of economic, political, cultural, and social control and dominance, facilitated by colonialism, to secure land, labor, and resources

Capitalism

an economic system that values production, profit, and competition creating hierarchies of power, such as between owners/managers and workers; rich and poor, middle and working class; landlords and tenants; etc

Liberal Multiculturalism

recognizes and represents individual differences and masks existing exclusions through the promise of social and cultural inclusion

Identity Reductionism

identity becomes a set of tokenized characteristics separated away from historical and material conditions of oppression

Elite Capture

identity politics is used to maintain power structures

Epistemologies

theories that are concerned with how knowledge is produced and circulated (how do we know what we know?)

Situated Knowledge

knowledge is always produced from a specific disciplinary, ideological, and social location (religion, gender, race shapes knowledge)

Standpoint Epistemologies

theories that acknowledge how people’s location of and relationship to power, or standpoint, shape their worldview.

Essentialism

a theory that there is an essence that defines a particular entity and makes it innately different from other groups

Hegemony

how dominant ideologies operate through indirect power, such as culture and media to reinforce societal normals, beliefs, and values and legitimate a current order

Cultural Politics

the intertwining of cultural and political work - cultural forms can organize collective politics towards justice and liberation

Counter-Hegemonic

how do we tell stories to re-shape, transform, or undermine dominant norms and values

Craftivism

a blend of the words craft and activism. Uses traditional “domestic arts” in the service of social justice

Zines

small-circulation and self-published print (and now digital) forms - also “low budget” - often used for political, education, creative expression, identity formation, and community building

Cultural Hegemony

understanding the domination of cis heterosexual representation causing bad representation of queer individuals

Male Gaze

patriarchal interpretation of the world

Controlling Images

dominant media representations of marginalized that deploy stereotypical figures to justify ongoing oppression

Female Gaze

human visualization of female presentation

Post-Feminism

assumption that gender equity and justice has been achieved

Oppositional Gaze

a critical interrogation of content, form, and language a cultivated practice to resist and challenge dominant ways of looking

Interactional Processes

how groups collectively produce meaning through social interactions and the structural processes of collective meaning-making

Third World

developing countries facing economic and political challenges

Women of Color Feminism

a movement that addresses the unique conditions and experiences of women of color, highlighting the interconnectedness of race, gender, and class in the struggle against oppression and advocating for social justice

State Violence

refers to acts of violence perpetrated by state institutions or agents against individuals or groups, often aimed at controlling and repressing dissent, and can include police brutality, military actions, and systematic oppression

Experience

refers to the individual and collective lives of women and marginalized groups, shaped by social, cultural, and political contexts, influencing their identity and agency.

Consciousness

refers to the awareness and understanding individuals have regarding their social realities, especially in relation to issues of oppression, privilege, and social justice