Gender
There is no female Mozart because there is no female Jack the Ripper. Camille Paglia Related: androgyny and gender bending - human body - conservative gender roles - drag - effeminacy - lesbian - gay - intersexuality - macho - men - straight - queer - women
Word origin
[Middle English gendre, from Old French, kind, gender, from Latin genus, gener-. See gen- in Indo-European Roots.]Definition
For the purpose of this site, gender has the following meaning:- Gender is commonly used as a synonym for sex, referring to males and females classified according to genetic differences and distinct primary and secondary sex characteristics.
- Social scientists use gender to refer to a particular social identity, status, and cluster of roles, that are often (but not exclusively) determined on the basis of sex.
Gender studies
Gender studies is a theoretical work in the social sciences or humanities that focuses on issues of sex and gender in language and society, and often addresses related issues including racial and ethnic oppression, postcolonial societies, and globalization.
Work in gender studies is often associated with work in feminist theory, queer studies, and other theoretical aspects of cultural studies. While work in gender studies is principally found in humanities departments and publications (in areas such as English literature and other literary studies), it is also found in social-scientific areas such as anthropology, sociology, and psychology. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_studies [Jun 2005]
Criticism
Rosi Braidotti (1994), interviewed by Judith Butler, criticized gender studies as, "the take-over of the feminist agenda by studies on masculinity, which results in transferring funding from feminist faculty positions to other kinds of positions. There have been cases...of positions advertised as 'gender studies' being given away to the 'bright boys'. Some of the competitive take-over has to do with gay studies. Of special signifigance in this discussion is the role of the mainstream publisher Routledge who, in our opinion, is responsible for promoting gender as a way of deradicalizing the feminist agenda, re-marketing masculinity and gay male identity instead." Calvin Thomas (2000) counters that, "as Joseph Allen Boone [] points out, 'many of the men in the academy who are feminism's most supportive 'allies' are gay,'" and that it is "disingenuous" to ignore that mainstream publishers such as Routledge, and their marketing strategies, have helped feminist theorists. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_studies#Criticism [Jun 2005]
Testosterone vs. Oxytocin
I started reading "A Brief History of Everything" by Ken Wilber. One of the first notions he presents is the gradient from sex, biologically defined characterization of the male and female, to gender, the cultural analog defining masculinity and femininity. He presents the idea that the difference of value spheres between males and females is primarily attributed to hormonal differences: namely, testosterone, which has the drives of "fuck it" or "kill it," and "oxytocin," which promotes feelings of attachment and nurturing. Wilber brings in the biological evolutionary significance of these hormones: testosterone for reproduction and oxytocin for mothering. -- http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~mshlimov/MT/archives/cat_philosophy.htmlBooks
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Sexing the Groove: Popular Music and Gender (1997) - Sheila Whiteley
[Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Why is record collecting associated with men and not women? Why are female singers well-known but female guitarists and drummers overlooked? Are record companies misogynistic? What different ideas about masculinity are represented by Bruce Springsteen and the Pet Shop Boys? Can there be such a thing as a Female Elvis? How do "Take That" videos represent the erotic male body. This study presents answers to these questions and many more, bringing together music and cultural theorists to explore the relationship between popular music, gender and sexuality. Using a variety of methodologies and a wide range of case studies, from Mick Jagger to Riot Grrrls, the contributors describe and debate how pop music performers, subcultures, fans and texts construct and deconstruct "masculine" and "feminine" identities. It is structured into sections focusing on rock music culture, masculinities and popular music, women and popular music, and music, image and identity. Each section begins with an introductory essay which contextualizes the individual essays and situates them within the overall argument of the collection. --Synopsis, amazon.co.uk