Introduction
Literature studies may be utilized to access the vast amount of human experience on gender issues in order to raise awareness among individuals. Books have traditionally acted as guidebooks for behavior, enforcing social norms on female readers through moral norms in the texts (Dicke et al., 2019). Thus, it is possible that some readers, particularly female readers, would unconsciously follow the storylines and adhere to the anticipated gender representations by exhibiting proper feminine features or behaviors. Instead, literature studies can serve another purpose: exposing readers to literary works dealing with social gender and morality.
History and Social Context of Gender Studies
Gender studies basically investigates what it means to make gender salient, scrutinizing everything from working circumstances to healthcare access to popular culture. Gender studies sprang out of Women’s Studies, which had become a well-established academic topic by the 1970s (Zaborskis, 2018). Some of the issues that arose as a result of the change from women’s studies to gender studies fears that the discipline would decenter women and erase the feminist action that gave origin to the field.
Representative figures for Gender-Imbalance
The figures below represents some of the gender based imbalances (UN women, 2020).
The Principles, Concepts and Paradigms of Gender
The Gender Principles
Forced sterilization and sexual assault are just a few of the problems that women face today. All people must be treated equally and without prejudice based on their gender or age or other characteristics (Pilcher et al., 2017). It should be recognized as a grave human rights violation when violence against women and girls happens in the home, in the community, or when the state condones it.
Gender Concepts
- Gender Equity. To be gender-equitable is a procedure that involves treating women and men equally (Pilcher et al., 2017). In order to achieve equality, steps must be done to compensate for historical and societal barriers that prohibit women and men from competing on an equal footing.
- Gender Equality is the state or condition that affords women and men equal enjoyment of human rights, socially valued goods, opportunities, and resources.
- Gender Mainstreaming is the process of incorporating a gender perspective into policies, strategies, programs, project activities, and administrative functions
- Gender-Based Violence is defined as violence resulting from gender norms and roles, as well as uneven power interactions between men and women. Violence is directed towards a person because of the gender, and it disproportionately affects women.
The Gender Studies Paradigm Shift
Earlier, women needed to be inspired and their family members counseled to enable them to have a positive impact on the country. This was mainly accomplished by education, job, or political involvement (A paradigm shift from women’s studies to gender studies, 2019). For this reason, the focus of the research has shifted to gender. Both men and women have the ability to engage on an equal basis in all disciplines that demand their efforts. As a result, an investigation is necessary to examine their social, behavioral, and cultural characteristics, including their hopes and expectations. This is mostly due to an increase in public knowledge of women’s rights and their parity with men’s rights.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that gender disparities have reduced in recent decades, inequities persist and obstacles continue to exist in a number of crucial fields. Gender disparities persist in employment, self-employment, part-time work, entrepreneurship and decision-making, as well as salary and pensions, and as a result, women continue to be more vulnerable to poverty as compared to males. On the other hand, Gender stereotypes and Gender-based violence are still widely prevalent in society. Hence there is a need to explore what areas of study are most critical to address for future generations of girls and boys.
References
A paradigm shift from women’s studies to gender studies. (2019). Blogspot.com.
Dicke, A.-L., Safavian, N., & Eccles, J. S. (2019). Traditional gender role beliefs and career attainment in STEM: A Gendered story? Frontiers in psychology, 10.
Pilcher, J., & Whelehan, I. (2017). Key concepts in gender studies. Sage.
Zaborskis, M. (2018). Gender studies: Foundations and Key Concepts – JSTOR Daily. JSTOR Daily.
UN WOMEN. (2020). Visualizing the data: Women’s representation in society. UN Women