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The philosopher Simone De Beauvoir said: “One is not born a woman, one becomes one.”de Beauvoir, S. (1949, 1989). "The Second Sex". See Also: Gender#In feminist and gender theory STUDYING GENDER Studies of gender have been undertaken in many academic areas, such as area of study that incorporates methods and approaches from a wide range of disciplines. INFLUENCES OF GENDER STUDIES Gender studies and psychoanalytic theory Sigmund Freud Some feminist critics have dismissed the work of Sigmund Freud as sexist, because of his view that women are 'mutilated and must learn to accept their lack of a penis' (in Freud's terms a "deformity"). Karen Horney was one of the first to question the theory of penis envy. She argues that it is "the actual social subordination of women" that shapes their development: not the lack of the organ, but of the privilege that goes with it. Karen Horney (1922). "On the Genesis of the Castration Complex in Women." ''Psychoanalysis and Women''. Ed. J.B. Miller. New York: Bruner/Mazel, 1973. On the other hand, feminist theorists such as Juliet Mitchell , Nancy Chodorow , Jessica Benjamin, Jane Gallop , Shoshana Felman and Jane Flax have argued that psychoanalytic theory is vital to the feminist project and must, like other theoretical traditions, be adapted by women to free it from vestiges of sexism. Shulamith Firestone , in "Freudianism: The Misguided Feminism", discusses how Freudianism is ''almost'' completely accurate, with the exception of one crucial detail: everywhere that Freud writes "penis", the word should be replaced with "power". Jacques Lacan Critics like Elizabeth Grosz accuse Jacques Lacan of maintaining a sexist tradition in psychoanalysis. Grosz, E. (1990). "Jacques Lacan: A Feminist Introduction", London: Routledge Others, such as Judith Butler and Jane Gallop, have used Lacanian work to develop gender theory.Butler, J. (1999). "Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity".Gallop, J. (1993). "The Daughter's Seduction: Feminism and Psychoanalysi", Cornell University Press His theory of sexuation (sexual situation) — the development of gender-roles and role-play in childhood — breaks down concepts of gender identity as innate or biologically determined.Wright, E. (2003). "Lacan and Postfeminism (Postmodern Encounters)". Julia Kristeva See Also: Julia Kristeva Julia Kristeva, in her work on Abjection , argues that the way in which an individual excludes (or abjects) their mother as means of forming an identity is similar to the way in which societies are constructed. She contends that patriarchal cultures, like individuals, have had to exclude the maternal and the feminine so that they can come into being.Kristeva, J. (1982). "Powers of Horror." Literary Theory Post-modern influence The emergence of Post-feminism affected gender studies,Wright, E. (2003). "Lacan and Postfeminism (Postmodern Encounters)". causing a movement in Theories Identity away from the concept of fixed or Essentialist gender identity, to Post-modern fluid or multiple identities .Benhabib, S. (1995). "Feminist Contentions: A Philosophical Exchange." and Butler, J. (1995) "Feminist Contentions: A Philosophical Exchange.". See Donna Haraway , ''The Cyborg Manifesto,'' as an example of post-identity feminism. THE DEVELOPMENT OF GENDER THEORY History of gender studies Women's studies See Also: Women's Studies Women's studies is an interdisciplinary academic field concerning Women , Feminism , Gender , and Politics . It can include Feminist Theory , Women's History , Women's Fiction and Women's Health . Men's studies See Also: Men's studies Men's Studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that includes discussions of Men's Rights , feminist theory, Queer Theory , Patriarchy , as well, social, historical, and cultural representations of men and Masculinity . Judith Butler See Also: Judith Butler The concept of gender performativity is at the core of Butler's work, notably in '' Gender Trouble ''. In Butler’s terms the performance of gender, sex, and sexuality is about power in society. Butler, J. (1999). "Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity", 9. She locates the construction of the "gendered, sexed, desiring subject" in "regulative discourses." A part of Butler's argument concerns the role of sex in the construction of "natural" or coherent gender and sexuality. In her account, gender and heterosexuality are constructed as natural because the opposition of the male and female sexes is constructed as natural.Butler, J. (1999). "Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity", 163-71, 177-8. CRITICISM Rosi Braidotti has criticized gender studies as: "the take-over of the feminist agenda by studies on masculinity, which results in transferring funding from feminist faculty positions to other kinds of positions. There have been cases...of positions advertised as 'gender studies' being given away to the 'bright boys'. Some of the competitive take-over has to do with gay studies. Of special significance in this discussion is the role of the mainstream publisher Routledge who, in our opinion, is responsible for promoting gender as a way of deradicalizing the feminist agenda, re-marketing masculinity and gay male identity instead." Calvin Thomas counters that, "as Joseph Allen Boone points out, 'many of the men in the academy who are feminism's most supportive 'allies' ''are'' gay,'" and that it is "disingenuous" to ignore the ways in which mainstream publishers such as Routledge have promoted feminist theorists. Gender studies is criticized by Paul Nathanson And Katherine K. Young for being a discipline that "philosophizes, theorizes and politicizes on the nature of the ''female'' gender" as a Social Construct , to the point of excluding the male gender from analysis. They also assert that the 'gender' in gender studies is "routinely used as a synomym for 'women', that men are studied as the sex that created the problem of 'gender' in the first place and that men are studied only as female victimizers.Nathanson, P. and K. K. Young (2006). "Spreading Misandry: The Teaching of Contempt for Men in Popular Culture." Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. THEORISTS ASSOCIATED WITH GENDER STUDIES
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