Gender studies

Gender studies is an <a href="/facts/Interdisciplinarity/HP0uaNUs">interdisciplinary</a> <a href="/facts/Discipline_(academia)/pKoQHpYL">academic field</a> devoted to analysing <a href="/facts/Gender_identity/GhaeHYtb">gender identity</a> and gendered <a href="/facts/Representation_(politics)/EfU0v8bj">representation</a>. Gender studies originated in the field of <a href="/facts/Women%2527s_studies/M63aICxC">women's studies</a>, concerning <a href="/facts/Women/AfQPA3m4">women</a>, <a href="/facts/Feminism/RRqUvGmk">feminism</a>, <a href="/facts/Gender/LfjRHcJy">gender</a>, and <a href="/facts/Politics/1gDNy3RP">politics</a>. The field now overlaps with <a href="/facts/Queer_studies/DHpJ6YVx">queer studies</a> and <a href="/facts/Men%2527s_studies/DKkKgRls">men's studies</a>. Its rise to prominence, especially in Western universities after 1990, coincided with the rise of <a href="/facts/Deconstruction/t3JuoHqn">deconstruction</a>.
Disciplines that frequently contribute to gender studies include the fields of <a href="/facts/Literature/CmUDxokU">literature</a>, <a href="/facts/Linguistics/oQuamvf2">linguistics</a>, <a href="/facts/Human_geography/5tALKgLl">human geography</a>, <a href="/facts/History/bSKgXaCA">history</a>, <a href="/facts/Political_science/Gqy5EoRX">political science</a>, <a href="/facts/Archaeology/K3Q5P38R">archaeology</a>, <a href="/facts/Economics/HYctA2Dn">economics</a>, <a href="/facts/Sociology/d2Fd0N87">sociology</a>, <a href="/facts/Psychology/duoqW7Sz">psychology</a>, <a href="/facts/Anthropology/W6WK1C3a">anthropology</a>, <a href="/facts/Film_theory/uK0Uw8vY">cinema</a>, <a href="/facts/Musicology/jaapApYh">musicology</a>, <a href="/facts/Media_studies/u4dgw2G8">media studies</a>, <a href="/facts/Human_development_(economics)/NBHl1x00">human development</a>, law, <a href="/facts/Public_health/4563Kre9">public health</a>, and medicine. Gender studies also analyzes how <a href="/facts/Race_(human_categorization)/cDPnrdXn">race</a>, <a href="/facts/Ethnicity/XSp5l24t">ethnicity</a>, <a href="/facts/Location/fXux5RaJ">location</a>, <a href="/facts/Social_class/gJbHDVNc">social class</a>, <a href="/facts/Nationality/pK1x6rjn">nationality</a>, and <a href="/facts/Disability/vr9BPUxo">disability</a> <a href="/facts/Intersectionality/55jgWfs5">intersect</a> with the categories of gender and sexuality. In gender studies, the term "gender" is often used to refer to the <a href="/facts/Social_constructionism/NeGDLvKL">social and cultural constructions</a> of <a href="/facts/Masculinity/lp3LFyK4">masculinity</a> and <a href="/facts/Femininity/FoKgaGgk">femininity</a>, rather than biological aspects of the <a href="/facts/Male/tl3uj6Y7">male</a> or <a href="/facts/Female/hk4wM9y1">female</a> <a href="/facts/Sex/6VG77YCN">sex</a>; however, this view is not held by all gender scholars.
Gender is pertinent to many disciplines, such as <a href="/facts/Literary_theory/CK3TAHoN">literary theory</a>, drama studies, <a href="/facts/Film_theory/uK0Uw8vY">film theory</a>, <a href="/facts/Performativity/CwtDFbdU">performance theory</a>, contemporary <a href="/facts/Art_history/tN0hw56I">art history</a>, anthropology, sociology, <a href="/facts/Sociolinguistics/TVzMJRjV">sociolinguistics</a> and <a href="/facts/Psychology/duoqW7Sz">psychology</a>. These disciplines sometimes differ in their approaches to how and why gender is studied. In politics, gender can be viewed as a foundational discourse that political actors employ in order to position themselves on a variety of issues. Gender studies is also a discipline in itself, incorporating methods and approaches from a wide range of disciplines.
Many fields came to regard "gender" as a practice, sometimes referred to as something that is <a href="/facts/Performative_utterance/0q8WlNPm">performative</a>. <a href="/facts/Feminist_theory/Cdf8KhCL">Feminist theory</a> of psychoanalysis, articulated mainly by <a href="/facts/Julia_Kristeva/GLcsPBUR">Julia Kristeva</a> and <a href="/facts/Bracha_L._Ettinger/YwRNwKM6">Bracha L. Ettinger</a>, and informed both by <a href="/facts/Sigmund_Freud/KKIYbom9">Sigmund Freud</a>, <a href="/facts/Jacques_Lacan/TbUhdvAJ">Jacques Lacan</a> and the <a href="/facts/Object_relations_theory/mSP7Kcox">object relations theory</a>, is very influential in gender studies.

Gender studies open-in-new

Gender studies