Gender Equality Debate Guide

From PhiloWiki

"Gender equity", "gender equality", "sexual equality", or gender egalitarianism is the belief in the equality of the gender or the sexes. Many followers of this philosophy would like to see this term come to replace “feminism” or “masculism,” when used to describe a belief in basic equal rights and opportunities for members of both sexes within legal, social, or corporate establishments. They strive for ultimate fairness, and seek cooperative solutions so as to make things better for both males, females and everything in between. While they may share a number of critiques and analyses with self-described feminists and/or masculists, they feel that “egalitarianism” is a better word for a belief in equality than any word that focuses on one of the genders.

Gender equality from Wikipedia

Compare and contrast females and males in terms of physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual capacities of an individual. Is it possible to definitively define a female or a male in terms of these characteristics; in other words, can the difference between a male and female be uniquely defined? Should it be?
Compare and contrast feminism, masculism, and gender equality. Are the ideals of feminism or masculism detrimental to gender equality? What is the balance between addressing differences and achieving harmony?
How can egalitarianism be measured? Are these valid indicators of equality? Consider the difference between a process and an outcome. Is gender equality concerned with equality of choice or outcome? For example, male earnings relative to female earnings, life expectancy ratios, dependency ratios, poverty ratios, health ratios, victims of crime ratios, educational outcome ratios
How can ideal egalitarianism be attained?

1 Culture
2 Affirmative action
3 Education and Intelligence
4 Legal system
5 Religion
6 Other resources

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Culture

A male adopting (or who is perceived as adopting) a female gender role might be described as effeminate, foppish, or sissy. Even more pejorative terms include mollycoddle, milquetoast, milksop, sop, mamma's boy, and namby-pamby.

A female adopting (or who is perceived as adopting) a male role might be described as butch, as a tomboy, or as a mannish woman. More pejorative terms include amazon (See amazon feminism).

Most feminists argue that traditional gender roles are oppressive for women. They assume that the female gender role was constructed as an opposite to an ideal male role, and helps to perpetuate patriarchy.

There has been a perception of Western culture, in recent times, that the female gender role is dichotomized into either being a "stay at home-mother" or a "career woman"[citation needed]. In reality, women usually face a double burden: The need to balance job and child care deprives women of spare time. Whereas the majority of men with university educations have a career as well as a family, only 50 percent of academic women have children. The double burden problem was introduced to scientific theory in 1956 by Myrdal and Klein in their work "Women's two roles: Home and work," published in London.

Gender roles in male prisons go further than the "Don't drop the soap"-joke. The truth is that some prisoners, either by choice or by force, take on strict 'female roles' according to prison set guidelines. For instance, a 'female' in prison is seen as timid, submissive, passive, and a means of sexual pleasure. When entering the prison environment some inmates "turn out" on their own free will, meaning they actively pursue the 'female role' in prison to gain some form of social power and/or prestige. Other, unlucky inmates, are forced to partake in 'female role' activities through coercion; the most common means being physical abuse. The "female" gender role is constructed through the mirror image of what the inmates perceive as a male. For instance, inmates view men as having strength, power, prestige, and an unyielding personality. These roles are also assumed in female prisons. An inmate undergoes a "female role" in the female prison system either by choice or by yielding to excessive coercion, and it is that yielding that terms the once male inmates as "females", and which identifies the stronger females in a female prison system as "males". 8

Culture and Gender Roles from Wikipedia

How is egalitarianism impacted by culture?
How have family structures change in the past 100 years? Past 20 years? What impact has these changes had on society as a whole? Does the gender of the primary caregiver in childrearing impact child development?
Women make two-thirds to three-quarters of what men make, according to various studies. Why is this? Sexism? Motherhood? Caring for relatives? Housework? Less drive for corporate power? Gender personality differences such as negotiation skills?
70% of black children are born to single mothers. How does this impact gender equality?
Compare and contrast egalitarianism in the U.S. to other countries, such as England, China, Mexico, India, and Afghanistan. With a recent increase in globalization, what impact does globalization have on egalitarianism?

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Affirmative action

Affirmative action began as a corrective measure for governmental and social injustices against demographic groups that have been subjected to prejudice. Such groups are characterized most commonly by race, gender, or ethnicity. Affirmative action seeks to increase the representation of these demographic groups in fields of study and work in which they have traditionally been underrepresented.

A certain group or gender may be less proportionately represented in an area, often employment or education, due predominantly, in the view of proponents, to past or ongoing discrimination against members of the group. The theory is that a simple adoption of meritocratic principles along the lines of race-blindness or gender-blindness will not suffice to change the situation for several reasons:

When members of targeted groups are actively sought or preferred, the reason given is usually that this is necessary to compensate for advantages that groups such as males or those of European descent have derived from racism (including institutional racism and unconscious racism), sexism (similarly), and results of historical circumstances. Past discrimination will be sufficiently countered that such a strategy will no longer be necessary: the power elite will reflect the demographics of society at large.

Affirmative action from Wikipedia

Is there a gender bias in our professions? In our workplace? How have they changed over the past 35 years in terms of gender influences?
Should women be allowed to hold any combat position? Should the standards be the same?
Does affirmative action improve gender equality?

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Education and Intelligence

SAT: The SAT is a voluntary, standardised test taken by many American college applicants. It is administered by the Educational Testing Service, which keeps track of the gender of test-takers and releases SAT scores by gender. In 2001, men scored 509 out of 800 on the verbal portion while women scored 502 out of 800. The difference, however, is more pronounced and consistent on the math segment of the SAT. In 2001, men scored 533 while women scored 498. This difference tends to appear year after year.

Grades: Women usually receive higher grade point averages than men in educational settings. This may be a result of the subjective nature inherent in grading or of average personality differences between men and women (i.e., supposedly higher female conscientiousness).

Memory: Several studies have shown women are better at certain types of memory. [5]

General knowledge: A study by Richard Lynn showed that men have more general knowledge than women. [6]

Colledge Education: In the United States, women tend to outnumber men at colleges and universities, except at technical institutions that emphasize math and science such as MIT and Caltech, where men predominate.

K-12 Education: Trends in K-12 education show a decline of performance of male students. Kindlon et al, attribute this trend to the "emotional miseducation of boys", meaning that boys tend to be taught to suppress their feelings, especially those such as sympathy that enhance social interactions.

Academia: Men outnumber women in tenured faculty positions in math and science. Women outnumber men in tenured faculty positions in humanities fields.

High IQ societies: In many high IQ societies men outnumber women. In Mensa the male-to-female ratio is 2:1.

Sex and intelligence from Wikipedia

Harvard University President Lawrence Summers spoke for only a short time at a private economics conference held on Jan. 14 at his home university, but his comments immediately spread like wildfire through the academic world, reviving heated discussion on gender equality, specifically in the fields of mathematics and science.

The attendees said that Summers suggested the lack of female scientists at top universities across the world were related directly to "innate differences" between males and females.

"I had hoped to stimulate research on many interrelated factors that bear on women's careers in science," he said to the Crimson. He also promised to push for more recruitment of female professors.

Summers' comments fuel debate over gender equality in the hard sciences from Tufts Daily

What role does biology (evolution) play in perpetrating gender differences and gender equality? Is there an innate difference in intelligence as a function of a person's gender? What impact does culture have on perceived gender differences?
How does the socialization of males and females impact our educational system?
How has gender equality initiatives impacted the education system in the U.S.? For example, is Title IX a good law?
Why has the academic performance of boys declined at all levels of the educational system (including college)?

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Legal system

A new graffiti has appeared on the streets of [Stockholm, Sweden]. "Men are animals," it says. The slogan has become a symbol of a heated debate in this country over why full gender equality has not been achieved despite decades of legislation promoting it.

The "'men are animals' controversy," as its known here, exploded onto the front pages of newspapers in May, after Ireen von Wachenfeldt, a government official who is one of Sweden's best-known feminists, was featured in the Swedish Television documentary, "The Gender War." At the time, von Wachenfeldt was head of ROKS, the national network of shelters for abused women, which is a government institution. A reporter on the program noted that the organization had printed excerpts of the "SCUM Manifesto."

The "SCUM manifesto" was published in 1983 by Valerie Solanas, a radical U.S. feminist previously known for attempting to assassinate Andy Warhol in 1968. In the book's title, SCUM stands for the Society for Cutting Up Men. Within its covers, Solanas calls on women to "destroy the male sex," arguing that medical science made it possible to give birth only to females and without the aid of males.

Animal Comment Triggers Equality Debate in Sweden from WeNews

Columbus, OH - A paternity fraud victim was jailed him 30 days for not paying Child Support after DNA tests revealed that he is not the biological father.

Boston, MA - The story reports that the little girl calls him "fake daddy" and the ex-girlfriend calls him "sucker". Case goes to MA Supreme Court -- he gets robbed again when he heard justice denied from the MA SCT. They said that he waited too long and that they are going to make sure that his money is taken in spite of DNA proves that his ex-girlfriend has lied and swindled him.

Decatur, GA - paternity fraud victim "feels scammed" For 12 years, story says, a former girlfriend duped him into supporting a little girl who was not his daughter. He has filed suit against the mother for fraud. After two independent DNA tests revealed that he is not the biological father, he wants his money back. He's tired of watching his wife and his own biological children suffer from the lack of their hard earned money. [He lost his suit]

Hall of Victims from US Citizens against Paternity Fraud

Is there a gender bias in our legal system? How can an egalitarian legal system be attained?
If there were more female leaders of countries, what impact would that have on world relations? Is there an innate difference by gender in the negotiation skills during both combat and peace?

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Religion

"A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner."

Timothy 2:11-14 from The Bible

This passage is hotly debated as to its scope and interpretation. The context is in a personal letter, written by a known author to a known recipient, at a specific point in history, and specifies a particular problem the recipient is having to deal with. Several points must be addressed:

the switch from plural (women) to singular (a woman)
the meaning of the very rare Greek word authentein, translated here as "have authority over"; the two main views are of either usurping authority unlawfully, or of violent control, but it is not the word for any or typical authority (such as exousion)
the context of the whole letter being about restraining false teachers, not those that teach the true gospel
the reference to "she" and "they" in verse 15, including another rare word (teknogonias) which is a noun meaning "the childbearing"
the reference to creation order and why Paul connects it with deception
the fact that only chronology and not authority is mentioned in Genesis 2-3
the tense of the Greek verb indicating that "a woman" is still presently in error ("has become in...")
the fact that elsewhere (letter to Romans for example) Paul lays the blame for sin only on Adam

These issues have great bearing on how one interprets the words, and careful consideration must be made as to the semantic range of the Greek words, as well as idiom and other literary considerations.

The gender bias of Shari’a is undeniable. Women have unequal rights to inheritance, termination of marriage, minimum age of marriage, and natural guardianship of children. Polygamy is allowed, and there are grossly inadequate provisions for women’s financial security after divorce. Pakistan’s controversial Hudood Ordinances, particularly with regard to Zina (sex), are also discriminatory. By blurring the line between rape and adultery, the Zina Ordinance creates the possibility that a woman can be convicted of adultery if she cannot prove rape

Gender Disparities, Economic Growth and Islamization in Pakistan from Council on Foreign Relations

Do the major world religions have sexist elements?
What impact does gender issues in our religious traditions have on our culture and government? Is there a correlation between religious beliefs and globalization in terms of egalitarianism?

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