Addressing Issues of Gender and Sexuality

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Discussion
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Androcentrism is putting men at the centre of focus. In such a case, men control all issues concerning decision making in the society (Lorber 13). This notion gives the male gender power while the female gender is not recognized in the society. As such, this paper will discuss the numerous issues that women have faced for many years and it will also discuss the transformations that have taken place over the years for social change.

Discussion

Androcentrism allows masculinity to be superior in the society. Children are socialized in a way that defines their position in the society. In the society, androcentrism allows misrepresentation of women in many sectors especially in areas of employment and governance issues (Lorber 17).

Men are socialized to be leaders and they occupy top position in the society but women are required to support men in their quest for power and leadership. Because of this, women have been discriminated and their views are not represented.

In the media and film industry, men are given bigger role, they are the stars and directors in most cases, and the main theme in a movie revolves around men and their ideas. Where women appear in movies, they are represented as sexy or beautiful and because of this, women are considered as sex objects and their bodies are given more focus than their brains.

For a long time the society has accepted that men are more superior and this is evident in the society. Most literature uses the title of man to refer to either men or women and words such as “humankind and guys” are used to refer to both genders and this way the women are overlooked.

This notion portrays men as strong, aggressive, and intelligent compared to women (Griffin 97). In fact, social media advertisements use women’s bodies but in cases where strength is to be portrayed only men are used.

Areas of politics, law, and policy making have been dominated by men too. In the society today, we have more men as presidents and senators and this implies that women have been misrepresented in issues of governance (Griffin 99). In the world, Rwanda is the only country with majority of women in parliament while in countries like the US it remains at 17% and 22% in United Kingdom (Lorber 83). This statistics clearly indicates that men still have high influence in issues of governance.

Women have been painted as human beings who are supposed to appraise men in their positions; this has been portrayed in entertainment industry and tourism sectors. In these areas women are treated as “comfort women” (Lorber 59). In fact, women are sex workers because that is how they have been socialized.

In some communities, women have been used as a source of income and this is evident since girls are offered to strangers as sex trade and this issue is very common in the tourism industry. In times of war, women are sexually exploited, because they are left behind with no protection or skills to defend themselves.

Because the society is dominated by men, women have been denied many opportunities in the society since they have not been valued. Women lack access to very important resources. For instance we have few female engineers because some jobs have been reserved for men but women are indirectly discouraged from taking them (Lorber 71).

This has led to a wide gender gap since even employment opportunities are not equally accorded to men and women. In areas where women are employed their jobs are referred to as “jobs for women.” Secretarial, nursing and teaching have been referred to as female occupations.

Women also practice domestic roles including taking care of children and this role is preventing women from being other better occupations. Men have dominated issues of leadership and this has lead to wide gender gap between men and women in the society.

For many years, women have been suppressed because the society is dominated by men. A few years ago, women felt the need to seek equal opportunities in the society to enjoy rights just like men. This led to formation of feminism theory and development of feminism movements to empower and campaign for women.

According to this approach, equality between men and women exists when both genders are able to have rights in terms of power control and influence in the society. As such, women empowerment means addressing all issues that have brought imbalance between men and women so that women can have equal participation in all issues of development.

Feminism theory is an extension of the feminism (Sjoberg 185). Feminism is a concept that emerged long time aimed at defining, establishing, and protecting social, economical, and political rights for women (Mohanty 514). Apart from this, feminism advocates for equal opportunities in the society for women.

Generally, the feminism theory emerged because women wanted to have equal rights in a male dominated society (Sjoberg 211). Feminism theory exists in various categories that have emerged from the feminism movements including theories about origin of inequality and social development of sex and gender.

In deed, feminism movements have campaigned for women rights including education rights, property ownership, voting rights, and equal employment opportunities among other civil liberties (Sjoberg 196).

Notably, the theory of feminism addresses three major areas. The first is the liberal feminism that advocates equal opportunities for men and women through political and legal reforms (Lorber 37). Liberal feminism looks at the interaction between men and women as it seeks to transform the society for better.

Generally, this topic addresses numerous issues such as voting, education, medical care, eradicating sexual and domestic violence and reproductive rights for women (Lorber 47). The second category is the socialist feminism which is a broad category that addresses the role of women in the society. According to this approach, women have been oppressed in the society and therefore there is need to address this concern (Lorber 51).

The third category is the radical feminism which aims at creating a balanced relationship in the society. According to the radical feminism approach, there is need to overthrow patriarchy by campaigning for equal gender roles (Lorber 82). After a wide campaign, there have been transformations that have granted women liberty.

Transformation is the change in beliefs and practices of people to gain a different perceptive. Despite the fact that for a very long time we have lived in a society that discriminates women, there have been tremendous achievements towards equality and equity between men and women.

Although women and men’s needs are not the same, the society has understood the needs of women and has recognized them as people with their own identity (Diamond 22). Women have been accorded the rights to acquire education in any field of their choice.

Employment opportunities have been increased for women in an effort to bridge gender gap. Additionally, Development of affirmative action by the United Nations has reduced gender inequality (Diamond 51).

Today, much attention has been given to women and a platform for them to speak has been created. In fact, policies on governance and leadership have put in place to include women in policymaking. Restructuring of social institutions has put deliberate measures to liberate women and today women have the right to own property without any objection from men (Diamond 61).

Many countries have women as parliamentarians and politicians and this gives women the ability to have political power. Awareness on the importance of including women in political, social, and economic activities of a country has been recognized today. Because women constitute the highest population of the world’s human resource, they have a lot to offer to the world if their effort will be appreciated (Diamond 32).

Conclusion

About one century ago women were still claimed as a man’s property and therefore they did not enjoy many rights (Mohanty 511). As such, women did not vote, they were not allowed to own properties, and they did not have equal right to education.

According to statistics, more than 70 per cent of illiterate people in the world are women and they are still suffering the consequences of social stratification (Lorber 21). Over the years, women have been forced to be caretakers at home. However, through much struggle women have campaigned for gender equality and today we have seen a lot of changes although equality has not been fully achieved in the society.

Works Cited

Diamond, Morty. From the inside out: radical gender transformation, FTM and beyond. San Francisco: Manic D Press, 2004. Print.

Griffin, Penny. Gender, governance and the global economy. Australian Journal of International Affairs 64. 1 (2010): 86-104. Print.

Lorber, Judith. Gender Inequality: Feminist Theories and Politics. London: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.

Mohanty, Chandra. Feminist Solidarity through Ant capitalist struggles. Chicago Journals 28. 2 (2003): 499-535. Print.

Sjoberg, Laura. Introduction to security studies: feminist contributions. Security studies 18 (2009): 183-213. Print.

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Addressing Issues of Gender and Sexuality

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