Assignment Code: MANE-004/ASST/TMA/2021-22

Course Code: MANE-004

Assignment Name: Gender and Society

Year: 2021-2022

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Note: Attempt a total of five questions. All questions carry equal marks. The word limit for 20 marks question is 500 words and for 5 marks question it is 125 words. Attempt at least two questions from each section.

Section-A

Q1) Discuss family from the perspective of sexuality and heteronormativity. Give examples. (20)

Ans) The perspective of sexuality and heteronormativity are as follows:

Sexuality

Marriage is the institutional mechanism that controls sexual activity and reproduction. While sexuality may appear to be a deeply personal and private matter, anthropologists and sociologists argue that sexual behaviour is socially and culturally learned. As the ethnographic record demonstrates, it is also highly variable. Due to the requirements of inheritance and the establishment of paternity, sexuality is tightly controlled and regulated in many pre-modern societies. The importance of 'legitimate heirs' and inheritance is revealed in the history of wealthy and aristocratic groups in various societies. While men have generally been allowed to have multiple partners and have sexual freedom, women have been forced to be strictly monogamous and limit sex to marriage.

While world religions such as Christianity and Islam uphold marital fidelity for both spouses in theory, they take a more lenient stance on male promiscuity while condemning and punishing non-monogamous women in practise, according to Bradley. In Hindu India, strict control of female sexuality is linked to caste ideology, which is based on hierarchy, the concept of purity and pollution, and the idea of women as "gatekeepers" of the family, caste, and community's honour. Female sexuality is seen as potentially uncontrollable and destructive to both the familial and social order, so all precautions are taken to ensure that it does not escape the natal and subsequent conjugal family's tight control.

Pre-puberty marriage, restrictions on married women's movements and activities,

disfigurement or even murder of widows, and, with the advancement of technology and biomedicine, the sinister practise of foetal sex-determination and the aborting of female children are all offshoots of patriarchal ideology that views females as a burden and female sexuality with suspicion and hostility. Marriage rules with strict prescriptions and proscriptions also serve to police sexuality, gender, and individual choice in mate selection. The conflict between the ideology of freedom of choice in sexual or romantic matters and the ideology of regimentation or control over sexuality in the interests of wider social networks of kin and community members is aptly demonstrated by recent instances of young couples being brutally hunted down and sometimes killed by angry kin and community members for going against the traditional rules and selecting "unsuitable spouses."

Heteronormativity

When we talk about sexuality as a social construct as well as a personal choice, it follows that society endorses and approves a certain type of sexuality, namely heterosexual relationships. The term "heteronormative" refers to a woman and a man who have a socially acceptable sexual relationship. Marriage and family are built on the foundation of this relationship, which has the potential to result in procreation. Alternative forms of sexuality, such as homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, and even voluntary sex abstinence, or "celibacy," are seen as diametrically opposed to the family institution. The ‘gay' community has faced social condemnation and disapproval all over the world, and homosexuality was once a crime punishable by law in many societies. Alternative sexualities have only recently gained some legitimacy and legal rights thanks to so-called "gay rights movements" or "queer liberation" movements. The decriminalisation of consensual homosexual activity by the Delhi High Court’s ‘reading down' of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code in July 2009 is regarded as a landmark decision in India.

Q2) Write short notes on any four of the following:

a) Radical Feminism (5)

Ans) Radical feminism attempted to highlight women's experiences by going beyond purely economic explanations of women's oppression to include ideology, literature, and other forms of female representation. To end oppression, radical feminists envisioned a more revolutionary overturning of current ways of thinking about and organising the world, rather than simply reforming the current system. The traditional categorization of feminism as liberal, socialist, or radical best describes British feminism (Holmes, 1999), though these labels are also applicable to feminism in other Commonwealth countries (Beasley,1999). In the United States, radical feminism is also known as cultural feminism (Echols, 1989). Even in the United Kingdom and the United States, these labels do not always apply to everyone who was involved in the feminist movement from the 1960s onwards.

b) Gender performativity (5)

Ans) The concept of performativity was first introduced to gender studies through the work of philosopher Judith Butler, but the underpinning assumptions that performativity makes about the nature of gender as a social category have had a significant impact on language and gender research, as well as philosophy. Another influential school of thought is gender performativity theory. In her ground-breaking book Gender Trouble, Judith Butler challenges both essentialist and constructivist gender theories. She claims that even feminists who reject the idea of biology as destiny do not question the concept of two genders. Rather, as we've seen before, they tended to see genders—man and woman—as culturally manufactured from male and female bodies. To put it another way, even these feminists did not seek to question the reality and truth of sex.

c) Queer Politics (5)

Ans) Queer is a term used in sexual politics to describe a sexuality that rejects traditional definitions of what constitutes appropriate feminine and masculine sexual behaviour. One of the most common criticisms levelled at queer studies is that it has suddenly become a "sexy" and fashionable mode of inquiry, embraced by funding agencies, academic institutions, and the publishing industry, among others. Many believe it has reached its conceptual and political nadir. Others argue that being queer is an identity-category that queer people despise. Queerness, unlike identities, is not self-evident or well-known. It's a category that's constantly updated with new information.

d) Unpaid labour (5)

Ans) The debate over unpaid labour isn't new; it's been going on for a long time. In fact, feminists, women's movements, and progressives have been fighting for years to include women's work in statistics and labour records, as well as to value women's work, which has been systematically excluded and deemed insignificant. This undervaluation of women's work in labour records, statistics, government records, and other places is symbolic of the undervaluation and dismissal of women's work and contributions. As a result, it's critical to emphasise this as a "enduring debate of human history," as Beneria Lourdes argues in her remarkable article on unpaid labour.

SECTION- B

Q3) Discuss women’s movements in post-colonial period in India with specific reference to the Telangana and Chipko movements. (20)

Ans) The women’s movements in post-colonial period in India are as follows:

Telangana movement in post-colonial period in India

Telangana's independence movement began in 1946 and lasted until 1951. The Telangana Movement was a popular uprising against the oppressive regimes of the Nizam, Patil, and Jaghirdars in Hyderabad State, who wanted both food and freedom. The Nizam's personal estate had peasants who were bonded to him. The landlords extracted various illegal taxes and forced labour from peasants under the Jagirdari system. Apart from that, the Nizam's Deshmukh and Deshpande, or tax collectors, seized thousands of acres of land and turned it into their personal property. As a result, peasants became free tenants. The peasants began to resist when the landlords' demands reached the point of evicting them from their land. A large number of women fought bravely in this movement because they were desperate because of extreme poverty, slavery, and sexual exploitation by feudal lords.

Women, who made up a large portion of agricultural labour and tobacco leaf pickers, were particularly affected by the oppression of landlords and money lenders, and they became militant in the fight for land, better wages, fair rent, and reasonable interest on cash and grain loans. Women of all classes participated in the movement with vigour and commitment, and both the urban middle class and peasant sections of the population gradually but steadily drew their support to the cause. The communist party, which took seriously issues such as widow remarriage, the prohibition of child marriage, women's education, and opportunities, began to identify women of ability in order to strengthen the movement. The army was then used against the peasants, the communist party was outlawed, and repression was ramped up. Once the Nizam was gone, the rich peasantry withdrew their support, and the squads were forced to retreat into the forests. In 1951, the struggle was finally ended.

Chipko Movement

The Chipko Movement began in Advani, a small hilly village in Uttar Pradesh's Tehri Garhwal district. In December 1972, illiterate adivasi women led this movement. It shattered the myth that forests are only for timber, emphasising their importance in the creation of soil, water, and clean air, all of which are essential for human survival. In both its theoretical and political and economic underpinnings, the Chipko movement is anti-gender. Firewood is collected by women and children for domestic use. For combustible crop residues like rice straw, they rely on forestry. This, on the other hand, is regarded as inferior to fuelwood. As a result, forestry activities that increase the availability of fuelwood and development projects that promote improved stoves both free women's labour from fuel collection and allow it to be used in other productive activities, while also improving the agricultural environment by allowing crop residues to be used more effectively for enriching depleted soil. Women's militancy in protecting natural resources from violent devastation is linked to their burden as food providers and gatherers, according to the movement.

The Chipko women believed that trees were alive and had the ability to breathe just like them. As a result, trees must be respected. The forests grew medicinal herbs that were used for healing purposes in addition to supporting agriculture and animal husbandry. Garhwal women successfully assumed leadership roles during this movement, questioning men's right to decide the fate of the forests or enter into contracts without consulting the people who were the most affected. The police used all repressive and terrorising tactics to weaken the women's nonviolent strength. The men threatened the women and misbehaved with them while the women blocked the narrow passage leading to the forest. The women, on the other hand, stood firm in their refusal to budge. Garhwal women successfully understood leadership roles during this movement and questioned men's right to decide the fate of the forests or enter contracts without consulting them.

Q4) How does globalisation affect gender behaviour? Examine. (20)

Ans) Globalisation has the potential to help women achieve greater equality. Globalisation, on the other hand, will not be able to eliminate gender inequality in the absence of public policy. Despite significant gains in agency and access to economic opportunities for many women in many countries, significant gender disparities persist in some areas. The impact of economic integration, technological change, and information access on gender inequality is investigated in this study. It claims that globalisation does not benefit everyone. Women, who are most hampered by existing constraints, are frequently left behind. While the forces unleashed by globalisation have helped to overcome some of the obstacles to greater gender equality, more public action is required to overcome the remaining obstacles. Gender disparities in endowments, agency, and access to economic opportunities must all be addressed by public policy.

Over the last three decades, the world has seen a massive economic transformation fueled by increased global flows of goods and services, technology, and information. These changes have altered the economic landscape for individuals, households, businesses, and governments by altering the way domestic and global markets and institutions operate.

Economic opportunities have become more accessible as a result of globalisation. Trade liberalisation and the spread of information and communication technologies (ICTs) have increased women's economic opportunities and, in some cases, their wages in comparison to men's. The demand for female labour has increased due to growth in the export and ICT-enabled sectors, as well as a decline in the importance of physical strength and a rise in the importance of cognitive skills. ICT has also improved female farmers' and entrepreneurs' access to markets by reducing time and mobility constraints.

Several factors associated with a more global world increase the incentives for greater gender equality action:

1. In an integrated world, gender inequality is more expensive because it reduces a country's ability to compete internationally, especially if the country specialises in female-intensive goods and services.

2. Peer pressure from around the world has prompted more countries than ever before to ratify anti-discrimination treaties.

3. Multinational corporations have been pushed toward fairer wages and better working conditions for women as a result of increased media exposure and consumer demands for better treatment of workers.

4. Gender roles and norms are shifting as a result of globalisation:

5. Increased access to information, primarily via television and the Internet, allows countries to learn about social mores in other countries, which can lead to a shift in perceptions and the adoption of more egalitarian attitudes.

6. Women's economic empowerment reinforces this process by promoting changes in gender roles and allowing women to have more control over time allocation, shift relative power within the household, and exercise agency in general.

Globalisation has the potential to help women achieve greater equality. Globalisation, on the other hand, will not be able to eliminate gender inequality in the absence of public policy. Despite significant gains in agency and access to economic opportunities for many women in many countries, significant gender disparities persist in some areas. To close gender gaps in endowments, agency, and access to economic opportunities, public action is required. Only then will countries be able to fully exploit globalisation's potential as a force for greater gender equality.

Q5) Describe and differentiate between any two of the following:

a) First wave and Second wave Feminism (10)

Ans) The struggle of women to improve their position has a long history; there have been two waves of feminism, which are referred to as the first and second waves of feminism, respectively. The first wave in the nineteenth century was primarily a liberal demand for women's participation in public life, including the right to vote and admission to universities and professions.

The second wave in Paris, which lasted from the 1960s to the early 1980s, arguably had a more revolutionary agenda and included more recent debates about gendered interests. Second wave feminism emerged around 1968, when a large number of women began to fight for ‘liberation' from patriarchal dominance. Second-wave feminists questioned the distinctions between private and public spheres, emphasised the political nature of female-male relationships, experimented with new political processes, and rewrote political agendas to address issues they believed were important to women.

Feminist groups with different ideas and priorities made a variety of demands, but there was a lot of common ground. These are some of the demands that could be summed up as follows: Equal pay for equal work; equal education and opportunity; 24-hour childcare; and free contraception and abortion. The movement brought together women from all walks of life, including different classes, ethnic groups, ages, and sexual orientations. The second-wave feminist movement, like the first, was founded on the belief that women shared a common, disadvantaged social position; that as women, they had similar experiences of being treated as second-class citizens. As a result, their primary identity was that of a woman. Women could achieve political unity if they recognised their shared oppression and shared identity.

b) Matriarchy versus Patriarchy (10)

Ans) The question of society's evolution brought up the still-controversial issue of matriarchy versus patriarchy, or more precisely, which came first. L.H. Morgan predicted that the early society would be matriarchal as early as 1851 and 1877. In his work Das Mutterrecht, J.J. Bachofen advocated for mother rights as a precursor to father rights in 1861. (Mother Right). Bachofen argued in his work based on three fictitious societies that there was complete anarchy or no order in the early stages of civilisation. A stage associated with free sex or sexual promiscuity, with no social taboos or concepts of family, marriage, or other forms of social authority, resulting in serious concerns about child rearing, sexual access, and social authority. At this point, the mother of the child assumed control, and a society based on female rule, or matriarchy (mother right), arose. When women focused on the domestic jural rather than the political and economic jural, this eventually gave way to a society ruled by men. According to Bachofen, social relationships arose as a result of a need for social order.

Whereas Sir Henry Maine stated in Ancient Law that patriarchy was kinship and gender was the first form of family. He based his research on the study of ancient Roman legal systems, Islamic law, and Manu's encoding of Brahmanical laws. While McLennan's study of marriage systems, Primitive Marriage, reflected Bachofen's views on motherhood. As we encounter matrilineal societies that are not necessarily based on matriarchy, the debate between matriarchy and patriarchy continues. Matriarchy refers to the right of the mother, whereas matrilineal societies place a greater emphasis on lineage and inheritance patterns than on authority and power. Matrilineality is a term that is frequently used to refer to the general status of women, either directly or indirectly. However, the concept of matriarchy and patriarchy is no longer the primary focus of anthropological research, as the focus has shifted from reconstructing the evolution of past events to seeking explanations for their functions. To better understand the social constructs of ‘man' and ‘woman,' we will discuss kinship-based gender role construction in the next section.