Gender And Women's Studies

The field of Gender and Women’s studies examines how race, class, gender, sex, and sexuality play a role in people and society. This field looks at the differences between white males and black males, white women, and black women, and transgender and homosexual interactions. Each of these categories allows for an understanding of the historical disadvantage minority people have and deviant people in our society. Two texts from this semester that explain and relate the field of gender and women’s studies to race and gender are Kimmel’s “Masculinity as Homophobia” and Lorde’s “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House.” Through Kimmel’s explanation of male power in society and Lorde’s claim that feminism needs to be inclusive …show more content…
This concept makes men behave and dress in ways that reassert their manliness. They always have to prove that their not becoming feminine. Kimmel’s analysis correlates to the field of gender and women’s studies in many ways. Kimmel manages to explain the origin of male power in society while also examining how it plays a role in minority and women’s lives. Male fear of losing power is the origin of male violence, male hate of feminism, and the disadvantage that minority men have in gaining the equal power of white males. Thus, in order to understand gender and women’s studies, you need to look at the other gender that functions in the same society. You are able to understand why our society functions the way it does; men in power. You are able to understand how differences in gender are constantly reinforced and pressured into young boys and girls. We are preparing them for their role in society. For males, you must gain power and never lose any no matter what. For women, you must be submissive to males because they determine your position in society. As women, you have to keep quiet and be a follower, not a leader. However, men are taught to be leaders first and never followers. This bias, explained by Kimmel plays a role in how we function as a society. It is not until we have a “politics of inclusion, …show more content…
Through this, we can come together and work on gaining respect and equality in all fields. Women must do this on their own accord and not with the help of a system built on male power. Lorde uses a personal anecdote at the beginning of her text to pull the reader in so they can begin to understand her message. She then goes on to explain the reason for writing this text, women empowering women. Lorde states that to find true equality women must come together without the “shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist” (26). She then concludes with a reference to slavery and that to gain equality we can’t use “the Master’s tools” and expect to garner any change. We as women must come together and demand change (27). Lorde’s text is outspoken and elegant, calling on white educated feminist to take a look at themselves and ask why they have made little progress. If you cannot accept the very people you want rights for how will the dominant culture take your claims seriously? Her text relates the message of gender and women’s studies because among Lorde’s discussion of race and homophobia as prevalent issues in our society, she brands them as a women’s issue. Lorde’s text illuminates the racial bias in the field of feminism. Even when fighting for the rights of an underprivileged group, feminists ignore the other aspects involved. Similarly,