Androgyny Gender Polarity
Androgyny: An Alternative to Gender Polarity?
Maithreyi Krishnaraj
About the author
Maithreyi krishnaraj has been a pioneer in the women studies in the country having regularly contributed too many articles and books on different aspects of - empirical work, methodologies, policy perspectives and development studies. After retiring from women studies center, Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University, Mumbai, she joined as a professor of women and development on invitation to the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, Netherlands. Presently, she is an Honorary fellow at the research center for women studies, Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University, Mumbai. She is author of food security, gender and rural livelihood,
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The feminist is exposed to rebuild the culturally learned accepted behavior and make attempt against the stigmatize attached to the of disapproval of the unfeminine behavior. The lack of uniformity of the gender construction across the cultures shows its chance for the change. Here the feminist more concerned about the harm done by the “natural” to the women in her everyday life.
As per one school of thought, the “women can be different, but equal.” But this is a fallacy statement, because this paves the way for much
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Masculinity- femininity was conceptualized in a unidimensional way
2. Masculinity – femininity was seen as bi-polar attributes
3. M-F scales used in item response tests routinely equated males with masculinity and females with femininity.
Sandra Bem first mooted the idea of the different measurement scale for the gender bi-polarity. Some may possess high level of masculinity where as some with femininity. But some with high degree of both .and the index is called Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). The first euphoria faded as criticism began to be voiced against BSRI type psychometrics.
If certain qualities are seen inherent to being female, these then also appear unalterable. But if we claim that they are unique to being female, then we are being in the patriarchal. In a research by Adrienne Rich (1977) and Mary Daly (1973) shows that women are now encrusted with patriarchy-induced attributes and once these are stripped away, women will find their true essence in all its pristine quality.
Social
Documentaries Tough Guys Summary
771 Words | 4 PagesResponse The documentaries Tough Guys and Killing us Softly, really brought to light the way masculinity and femininity are represented in our society. The characteristics and associations that are made when these words are thought of are bizarre and not natural. I strongly believe that both masculinity and femininity are learned characteristics from the human environment. I often wonder if people would even have these ideas and characteristics that are associated with gender in the beginning of time, or if people have slowly began to define and differentiate the genders throughout the evolution of time.
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775 Words | 4 PagesThe nature of womanhood, or what we perceive as the inherent proclivities that govern only those born as a woman, is often the base argument for the unequal treatment of the female sex. Women are weak, natural-born mothers, unfit to do much else beyond simple household chores and rearing children. This portrait of women seems almost comical in its antiquity; however, we cannot disregard the past, as it shapes the present. The question of the nature of womanhood is rarely allowed nuance, which is a shame, because womanhood can be many, often contradictory things. Instead, the traits we often associate with womanhood stem from society’s projection of what women should be, not necessarily what they are.
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Essay On Masculinity
1064 Words | 5 PagesMasculinity (also called boyhood, manliness or manhood) is a set of attributes, behaviors and roles generally associated with boys and men. But the culture doesn’t end at the definition, it starts from there. The first thing to come to mind when the word masculinity is heard is usually a man flexing his gigantic muscles, as the word might sound to suggest, and that right there is the current culture of masculinity because sadly, in the world we live in, not everyone has a “muscular body”. So far we know the concept of masculinity, but the culture is what is truly hampering.
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Doing Gender By Candace West And Don H. Zimmerman
409 Words | 2 PagesBoth articles relate to this concept in explaining how society and culture have created a patriarchic society in which the dominant gender is male. Gender affects how we think of ourselves due to the social expectations associated with being masculine or feminine, male or female. Society teaches us how to behave by having an establishing certain guidelines through gender roles. In other words, we are expected to follow a certain behavior due to our sex or gender. Males are expected to be leaders, tough, ambitious and proud while females are expected to be emotional, sensitive and affectionate patient, and
Feminism Vs Masculinity
988 Words | 4 PagesMasculinity refers to the qualities, personality traits and roles that are associated with the male gender. In the 21st century, there has been a movement, a drive in the more socially aware sections of the world to equalize or balance out masculinity and femininity. Feminism or, at least the main stream feminism aims to find equality for the females in social, political and economical fields. Even today, as we work forward to find a middle ground for the two genders, masculinity is seen as the superior quality that only men are privileged to have. Hence, main stream feminism is so focused on emancipating women by encouraging them to let go of the ‘weaker’ feminine qualities and roles and fit themselves in a Man’s world by embracing masculinity
Theme Of Femininity In My Last Duchess
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