SOCB22H3 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Gender Binary, Marxist Feminism, Radical Feminism
Document Summary
Explain and illustrate your explanation with an example. The gender binary is a basic classification in human thinking and appears in human usage in every culture. That is, the masculine and the feminine are always differentiated, yet masculine and feminine have no predefined or necessary content. The two appear to be stable classifications only because they both are there, relative to one another. Gender hierarchy is the distinction of men or women being stronger than their counterparts. Some societies show men to be more valued, while others value women more. In a patriarchal society, men are obviously seen as the superior gender. Essentialists would emphasize this upon biological differences, while social constructionists would emphasize sociological differences. In patriarchal societies, gender hierarchy compliments the binary thinking, which deploys a mind/body dualism. In this view, men are seen as being more rational, civilized, engaged in the public sphere, and admired for their minds.
