1.2 Historical development of gender studies as a field

Gender studies emerged as a response to the lack of women's perspectives in academia. It evolved from women's studies to encompass broader gender issues, including LGBTQ+ and masculinity studies. The field now uses intersectional approaches to examine how gender interacts with other identity categories.

Key events like first and second-wave feminism, civil rights, and LGBTQ+ movements shaped gender studies. Early feminist scholars like Simone de Beauvoir and Betty Friedan laid the groundwork. The field's interdisciplinary nature allows for a comprehensive understanding of gender's social, cultural, and historical dimensions.

Historical Development of Gender Studies

Origins of gender studies discipline

Top images from around the web for Origins of gender studies discipline

• 

  Intersectionality: What is it, and why do I need to know? | Queerspace Magazine View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Critical Introduction to the Field | Introduction to Women Gender Sexuality Studies View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  19th Century Feminist Movements | Introduction to Women Gender Sexuality Studies View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Intersectionality: What is it, and why do I need to know? | Queerspace Magazine View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Critical Introduction to the Field | Introduction to Women Gender Sexuality Studies View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

Top images from around the web for Origins of gender studies discipline

• 

  Intersectionality: What is it, and why do I need to know? | Queerspace Magazine View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Critical Introduction to the Field | Introduction to Women Gender Sexuality Studies View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  19th Century Feminist Movements | Introduction to Women Gender Sexuality Studies View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Intersectionality: What is it, and why do I need to know? | Queerspace Magazine View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Critical Introduction to the Field | Introduction to Women Gender Sexuality Studies View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

• Emerged in response to lack of attention to women's experiences and perspectives in traditional academic disciplines (history, literature, sociology)
• Drew on work of earlier feminist thinkers and activists (Simone de Beauvoir, Betty Friedan)
• Early focus on women's studies
  • Courses and programs focused specifically on women's experiences, history, and cultural contributions (women's literature, women's history)
  • Aimed to challenge male-centered nature of existing academic disciplines
• Expanded to include gender as a broader analytical category
  • Recognized gender as a social construct that affects both women and men
  • Incorporated perspectives from LGBTQ+ studies and masculinity studies
• Developed intersectional approaches
  • Examined how gender intersects with other identity categories (race, class, sexuality)
  • Acknowledged diversity of experiences within gender categories

Key events in gender studies development

• First-wave feminism (late 19th and early 20th centuries)
  • Focused on women's suffrage and legal rights
  • Laid groundwork for later feminist movements
• Second-wave feminism (1960s and 1970s)
  • Addressed wide range of issues (reproductive rights, workplace discrimination, sexual violence)
  • Provided impetus for development of women's studies programs in universities
• Civil rights movement
  • Drew attention to intersection of gender and race
  • Influenced development of black feminist thought
• LGBTQ+ rights movement
  • Challenged binary understandings of gender and sexuality
  • Contributed to incorporation of LGBTQ+ perspectives in gender studies
• Third-wave feminism (1990s and beyond)
  • Emphasized diversity of women's experiences and identities
  • Incorporated postmodern and postcolonial theories

Contributions of early feminist scholars

• Simone de Beauvoir
  • Argued that gender is a social construct in "The Second Sex" (1949)
  • Influenced later feminist theorists and development of gender studies
• Betty Friedan
  • Critiqued societal pressures on women to conform to traditional gender roles in "The Feminine Mystique" (1963)
  • Co-founded National Organization for Women (NOW)
• Gloria Steinem
  • Journalist and activist who co-founded Ms. magazine
  • Played key role in women's liberation movement of 1960s and 1970s
• bell hooks
  • Emphasized intersection of gender, race, and class
  • Contributed to development of black feminist thought and intersectional approaches in gender studies

Interdisciplinary nature of gender studies

• Incorporates theories and methods from a range of disciplines
  • Sociology, anthropology, history, literature, psychology
  • Allows for more comprehensive understanding of gender and its social, cultural, and historical dimensions
• Closely connected to women's studies
  • Gender studies grew out of and remains closely connected to women's studies
  • Many programs and departments combine women's studies and gender studies
• Influences other disciplines
  • Challenges traditional assumptions and approaches in other fields
  • Contributes to incorporation of gender perspectives in disciplines (history, literature, social sciences)
• Intersects with other interdisciplinary fields
  • Ethnic studies, queer studies, disability studies
  • Allows for examination of how gender intersects with other identity categories and systems of oppression (racism, heterosexism, ableism)