Describing the background

ABC News have identified 58 gender options, including Bisexual, Heterosexual, Transsexual and Homosexual. I know that ‘Bisexual’ refers to a person that is emotionally, physically or sexually attracted to both men and women. ‘Heterosexual’ on the other hand refers to a person that is emotionally, physically or sexually attracted to a person of the opposite sex. These people are also known as ‘straight’.‘Transsexual’ refers to a person who identifies as a different sex to the one they were assigned at birth. I feel like this is a psychological issue and transsexuals often wish to transform their bodies hormonally or through surgery so they can match their inner sense of body. ‘Homosexual’ is another example of a gender term. I believe this is a term used to describe an individual who is emotionally, physically or sexually attracted to somebody of the same gender. I know this term is quite stigmatizing, which is why most people would prefer to be called ‘gay’ or ‘a lesbian’ instead. This could be due to its history as it was seen as a mental illness. Thankfully society and views have changed. As I mentioned, Identity was another key term I plan to explore throughout this essay. A previous study proved that the gap between the average personality of both men and women was small. However, a more recent analysis was published in the Public Library of Science One journal, which revealed that each sex shares a distinct set of characteristics, with just 18 percent of men having a typically female set of characteristics / women having a typically male set of characteristics. I will also be researching and analyzing the 16PF5 test, which is a frequently used measure of personality. I would assume that men and women average similar scores on the personality test. I think that femininity consists of a set of attributes associated with girls. I believe these are socially constructed but are combined of biological and socially defined factors. Society often tells you what is acceptable and what’s not acceptable. Modern conceptualizations of femininity also rely on the choices made by the individual as well as the social constructions. Both male and females can have female or male features. Individuals who exhibit a combination of both masculine and feminine characteristics are considered ‘androgynous’. I would assume that this blurs gender classification to some extent. Gentleness, empathy and sensitivity are three of the main traits traditionally associated with ‘being feminine’. However, I assume that these would be influenced by many social factors and would vary depending on location and context. Along with gender/identity options, there are also many different types of feminists. These include eco feminists, Marxist feminists, cultural feminists, liberal feminists and radical feminists. Before researching the topic, I assumed that eco feminism was about a harmful split between nature and culture. Eco feminism is a movement which seeks to destroy all forms of social injustice - not just injustice against women and the environment. Eco feminists relate to the oppression and domination of women, people with a different skin colors, children and the poor to the oppression and domination of animals, land, water and air. Marxist feminists focus on investigating and explaining the ways in which women are oppressed. They believe women are usually oppressed through systems of capitalism. According to Marxist feminists, women's liberation will only be achieved when the current capitalist economy has been restructured. I know in the past, the male was seen to be the ‘’breadwinner’’ whilst the woman did the ‘’unpaid, domestic work’. Marxist feminists now continue fight for the inclusion of domestic work within the waged capitalist economy. Liberal feminists focus on the ability of a female to maintain their equality through their own actions and their own choices. They also argue that there’s still stereotypes in society which holds the false belief that women are naturally less intellectual and physically able than men. This obviously leads to discrimination towards women in education and in the workplace. Their main aim is for sexual equality through political and legal reform, instead of women’s success being blocked by the public world. Essentially, radical feminists believe that women are better than men. They like when male dominance is eliminated, in social and economic contexts. They challenge existing social norms / institutions on topics like gender roles, sexual objectification of women and raising awareness on issues such as rape and domestic violence. Early radical feminists in the 1960’s, viewed patriarchy as a “trans historical phenomenon” and I would expect this view to be the model for other views.