Women Study - Biological, Psychological and Social Psychological Perspectives

Summary

The article “Biological, Psychological and Social Psychological Perspectives” offers a critical view of the biological, social-psychological, and psychological view of gender and sexuality. The article was authored by Adie Nelson. Nelson (1994) challenges the traditional views that biologists, psychologists and social scientists have presented about male and female or men and women. Nelson (1994) presents Stella Walsh’s story to highlight the errors in the biological conception of the concept of gender. Stella Walsh is a prominent female athlete of all times. She set 20 world records in 100-metre races from 1930s to 1970s. However, in 1980, Walsh was killed by a gun man during a robbery attempt. Her autopsy showed that her cells contained a mixture of XX or female-sex chromosomes and XY or male-sex chromosomes. Walsh had dysfunctional male sex organs. Stella Walsh’s case brought forth a debate over the definition of gender and gender relations. Nelson (1994) challenges the traditional view that men attributes are superior to the female once. She argues that the male perception that men (through Adam) came first is challenged by the apparent “Eve first, then Adam” (Nelson, 1994, p. 39). Nelson argues that gender is not entirely determined by the individual’s gender composition, but it is include the mental processes, hormones and other attributes. Nelson (1994) also argues that brain sex should be added as another variable of sex.

The article Oppression describes the discrimination that women and girls undergo while they try to live normal lives like their male counterparts. The article was authored by Frye Marilyn. The Oppression is about gender discrimination of women in all aspects of life. Marilyn introduced the concept of “a cage” to define the double standards that prevail in the way the society justifies its mistreatment of women. Marilyn (1983) highlights the hypothetical predicament of a girl who is denied the opportunity to visit a park while a boy is allowed to go. Whenever the girl questions the double standards employed by the society in the way they treat men and women, she is told that the park is not safe for girls (Marilyn, 1983, p. 2). The mistreatment of women and girls originates from the generalized that women are inferior to men. Marilyn (1983) argues that the society has placed women in a cage of their own because it does not perceive any problem with the way it treats its women and girls. Women occupy low-paying jobs and job positions such as cooks and nurse because of the fact that they are women. The female gender is a cage that limits their progress in life and society. Marilyn (1983) believes men or the male gender is the source of oppression in the society. Marilyn believes that the society has institutionalized discrimination