Gender and sexuality studies is an interdisciplinary field that investigates how gender and sexuality are constructed in social, cultural, political, and economic contexts. It aims at understanding how these elements interact and have an impact on one another, influencing both the social environment as a whole and our personal experiences. By appreciating the flexibility and social construction of these terms, we may resist oppressive conventions, support oppressed populations, and promote a more inclusive and equitable world. In this post, we shall examine some of the key concepts that served as the foundation for gender and sexuality studies. The list is by no means comprehensive, but I hope you find it useful:
African feminism: African feminism arose from African women’s discontent with how the 1970s and 1980s Euro-American feminist movements neglected to include the intersectional identities of women around the world. African feminism thus aimed to depict African women’s everyday struggles while focusing on how gender had gotten entwined with racism, imperialism, and capitalism. It seeks to deconstruct this power and dominance by demonstrating how present African conflicts are closely tied to our colonial heritage. A fundamental aspect of African feminism is that it prioritizes a transformative gender agenda that centers on the facts and experiences of women living in various African countries. Meaningful gender transition in African feminism entails going beyond superficial policy improvements and repositioning ourselves to redefine, reclaim, and relocate feminism within the daily realities and solidarity of Black African women.
Bisexuality: Bisexuality is the tendency to have romantic or sexual feelings for both men and women, or for more than one gender.
Coming out of the closet or coming out: LGBT people’s self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity is sometimes referred to as “coming out of the closet”.
Complicit Masculinity: The term “complicit masculinity” is used to refer to males who benefit from the societal domination of men while existing more passively under the hegemonic masculinity umbrella, without being able or ready to fulfill every need of the role of normative/hegemonic masculinity. These are men with low social and financial status who lack access to positions of power and control.
Crossdressing: Crossdressing is the practice of dressing in traditional or stereotypically linked gender-specific attire, including jewelry, make-up, and clothing. Any non-transgender person who dresses in clothing more commonly worn by someone of a different sex is known as a crossdresser.
Decolonial feminism: Decolonial feminism is an emergent theoretical idea that is centered on decolonial theory in a racial/gendered feminist framework. Decolonial feminist theory engages in discussions on coloniality/modernity, indigenous identity in the Global South, and gender while giving voice to the experiences of women who have been marginalized or silenced. Decolonial feminism criticizes the perception of black women in the global south as a homogeneous, submissive, exotic, and oppressed group; they also demonstrate how gender oppression is linked to globalization and capitalism. By granting validity to their knowledge and experiences of gender, identity, and labor, decolonial feminist theory challenges the hegemonic systems that have rendered invisible the agency of women in the Global South.
Domestic violence: Domestic violence refers to a pattern of behaviors that includes coercive control, physical abuse, emotional abuse, economic abuse, and/or sexual assault. It aims to gain or keep control over a romantic or intimate relationship in order to intimidate, frighten, embarrass, terrorize, harm, or assign blame.
Economic violence: Any act or behavior that causes socio-economic harm to a person is referred to as economic violence. Damage to property, limiting access to opportunities in school, finance, or the job market, or failing to uphold financial obligations like alimony are just a few examples of what it can look like.
Empowerment: Empowerment can be defined as the process of giving individuals or groups the courage and knowledge they need to get past their challenges. It entails assisting individuals in achieving objectives that will enhance everyone’s quality of life. Additionally, it refers to the process of enhancing an individual’s or group’s capacity to decide what to do and how to carry out that decision. It could take many different forms, such boosting capability or offering resources in the form of material or monetary assistance.
Feminism: Feminism is the notion that persons of all gender identities should have equal and fair treatment, rights, and status in society is known as feminism. In their fight against gender injustice, feminist thinkers are influenced by a wide variety of theories and tactics, giving rise to many branches of feminism.
Gay: Gay refers to romantic or sexual interest in and attraction to people of one’s own sex or gender (used particularly of a man) and is a form of homosexuality in the context of gender and sexuality.
Gender Analysis: Gender analysis is the critical assessment of how men, women, girls, and boys are affected in particular situations or contexts by differences in gender roles, behaviors, needs, opportunities, and rights/entitlements. It looks at how women and men interact, how they access and manage resources, and what limitations they have in regard to one another.
Gender Bias: Gender bias is the act of showing preference for one gender over another, which frequently leads to situations where men and/or boys are favored over women and/or girls.
Gender Blindness: Gender blindness is the inability to see that men/boys and women/girls have different roles and duties depending on their social, cultural, economic, and political situations.
Gender equality versus gender equity: Gender equality means equal outcomes for males, women, and gender-diverse persons. Gender equity, on the other hand, acknowledges that women and gender-diverse persons do not have the same’ starting position’ as males. In other words, whereas gender equality focuses on providing men and women with equal opportunities, gender equity aims to right past wrongs that have left women behind. Gender equity aims to level the playing field for all genders by identifying the particular needs of each gender and addressing them in an integrated manner that can correct the huge inequities generated by the male-female dichotomy.
Gender Gap: The term “gender gap” describes the extreme disparity between men and women, as well as between boys and girls, especially as it relates to participation rates, access to resources, and the accomplishment of developmental goals.
Gender Neutrality: Gender neutrality refers to the belief that social institutions shouldn’t assign people to specific roles based on their gender or sex as it prevents prejudice that can result from the perception that one gender is better suited for certain social roles than another.
Gender parity: Gender parity in the context of gender equality refers to the equal involvement and representation of men and women to all aspects of life, whether they be private or public.
Gender Roles: Gender roles are culturally-accepted social and behavioral patterns that are generally regarded as being suitable for members of a particular sex within a given culture. These frequently dictate the traditional roles and obligations given to men, women, boys, and girls. For example, men are considered masculine and are supposed to exhibit characteristics such as power, strength, dominance, and competition. Traditionally, males are viewed as the home’s guardians, breadwinners, and providers, and are in charge of the household’s financial necessities. Women, on the other hand, are viewed as nurturers, and their tasks are primarily that of a housewife caring for the home, performing domestic chores like as cleaning, cooking, and shopping, as well as caring for the children. In terms of formal professional paths, women are perceived to be more suited for occupations such as teaching and nursing, whereas males are primarily engineers, doctors, bankers, and so on.
Gender socialization: Gender socialization is the process through which children and other individuals learn about the social expectations, attitudes, and behaviors typically associated with boys and girls.
Gender Stereotype: Gender stereotype is a generalized opinion or preconception about the traits or qualities that men and women should or must possess, as well as the roles that men and women should or must play. Common examples of gender stereotypes include: Men are protectors and providers while women are nurturers and caregivers; women should be soft spoken, emotional, polite, and accommodating while men should be outspoken, logical, bold, and stoic; boys should play with cars while girls should play with dolls; boys like the color blue while girls love the color pink.
Gender-Based Constraint: Gender-based constraints refer to the limitations that either men or women experience due to their gender.
Hegemonic or Dominant Masculinity: Hegemonic or dominant masculinity is described as a practice that legitimizes men’s dominant position in society and enacts power over both other male identities and women. Hegemonic masculinities are those that dominate other masculinities within a given space and are highly visible, well-respected, and in a position of authority. It is seen as the most coveted form of masculinity that is available to men in society.
Heteronormativity: Heteronormativity is the belief that everyone is inherently heterosexual and that heterosexuality is the optimum mode of sexual orientation, superior to homosexuality or bisexuality. In other words, it presumes that marriage or sexual relationships are most appropriate between persons of opposite sex.
Intersectional Feminism: Intersectional feminism holds that patriarchy and inequality disadvantage all women, but that significant distinctions between women (such as race, class, sexuality, age, and geographical setting) imply that their experiences of discrimination are not identical. Intersectional feminism considers the various ways in which prejudice against women manifests itself. According to intersectional feminist theory, concentrating just on gender as a factor in oppression is an inadequate perspective that frequently ignores the variety of conditions that impact women according to their socioeconomic class, background, and other factors. The inclusion of intersectionality into feminist struggle entails hearing the many perspectives of women in feminist settings and considering the concerns that matter to all of them, not just those of women who belong to the dominant group.
Lesbianism: Lesbianism is a type of homosexuality, and the term “lesbian” is used to describe a woman who is physically, sexually, emotionally, and/or romantically attracted to other women.
LGBTQ+: LGBTQ+ is an umbrella word used to refer to all individuals who have a non-normative gender or sexuality. LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer and/or questioning. To be more inclusive, a plus sign (+) is sometimes added at the end.
Marginal Masculinity: The interaction between gender and other social hierarchies, such as socioeconomic class, ethnicity, and race, is referred to as marginal or marginalized masculinity. In some situations, they may exhibit and revel in masculine authority, but in the end, they are always judged against the hegemonic norms. These are men who don’t have a lot of access to power or have dealt with social isolation.
Pansexuality: Pansexuality is the attraction of a person to another person on a sexual, romantic, or emotional level regardless of the person’s sex or gender identity.
Patriarchy: Patriarchy can be defined as a social system in which men occupy the positions of leadership, privilege, moral authority, and access to resources and land. It is a system in which institutions of the social, economic, cultural, and political spheres give preference to men over women. In other terms, patriarchy is a system of social interactions in which there is gender inequality between socially defined men and women.
Physical violence: The term “physical violence” refers to any act that involves force that is not permitted. Manslaughter, severe and minor violence, and deprivation of liberty are some examples.
Psychological violence: Any act that harms a person’s psychological well-being or their emotions is considered psychological violence. It may manifest as intimidation, libel, harassment, or verbal abuse.
Queer: Queer is an umbrella term used to refer to people who are neither heterosexual nor cisgender. People who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people may all identify with the word queer. The term “queer” is occasionally also used to indicate that sexuality and gender can be complex, fluid, and cannot cleanly fit into binary categories, such as male or female, homosexual or straight.
Sexual Identity: Although they are not mutually exclusive and can exist separately from romantic identity, sexual identity refers to how one views themselves in terms of the people to whom they are romantically and/or sexually attracted.
Sexual violence: Any sexual act committed against a person without their consent is referred to as sexual violence. It might manifest as acts of trafficking, rape, sexual assault, or unwanted sexual comments or advances.
Straight: A person who is emotionally and sexually attracted to people of the opposite gender is referred to as “straight” (also known as heterosexual).
Subordinate Masculinity: This type of masculinity is characterized by the absence of many of the traits of hegemonic masculinity as well as the expression of traits that are the opposite of hegemonic masculinity. The domination of heterosexual men and the submission of homosexual men is the most prevalent example of subordinate masculinity.
Transgender: The term “transgender” refers to someone whose gender identity, gender expression, or behavior does not match or adhere to the sex to which they were biologically assigned.
Please share some of the ones you were aware of before and some you are only now learning about in the comment area. You can also suggest some intriguing books that offer a balanced perspective on femininity, masculinity, and gender in general.
Recommended Readings
Pilcher, J., & Whelehan, I. (2004). Key concepts in gender studies. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
Tompkins, K. W. (Ed.). (2021). Keywords for gender and sexuality studies (Vol. 13). NYU Press.
UNICEF. (2017). UNICEF Gender Equality Glossary of Terms and Concepts. UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia. Lainchaur, Lekhnath Marg, Kathmandu, Nepal.