The document outlines the syllabus for a gender studies course, including warnings about course content involving sex and sexuality, assignments such as participating in discussion groups and contributing to a course wiki, and a final exam that will be comprehensive and involve writing two essays to answer questions about all material covered in the course.

1. Eric C. Thompson
Semester 2, 2010/2011

2. WARNING:
This is course contains material about SEX
and SEXUALITY.
If discussion and depictions of
SEX and SEXUALITY offend you
DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE.*
*If you have concerns about the course content, please discuss with the instructor.

3. Today’s Lecture
 Introduction to the Course
 What is expected for the course? (Assignments)
 What is the course Wiki?
 What is on the Final Exam?
 Introduction to Gender Studies
 Changing Gender Relations and Feminism
 What is Feminism?
 From the Sociology of Women to Gender Studies

4. Assignments & Evaluation
 Discussion Group (Tutorials) Participation (10%)
 Be prepared to discuss all material up to date (see syllabus).
 Wiki Collaboration and Participation (20%)
 Course Wiki: http://sc2220.wetpaint.com
 All course participants are expected to contribute notes and
commentary to the Wiki
 Group Project (20%)
 Group assigned in First Discussion Group Session (Tutorial)
 Analysis of Popular Representations of Gender
 Presentation of Analysis on the Course Wiki
 Final Exam (50%)
 Cumulative & Comprehensive
 All material from lecture, tutorials, readings & films

5. Wiki Participation
 Gender Studies http://sc2220.wetpaint.com
 A Wiki is “a collection of web pages designed to enable
anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content.”
 Why a Wiki? –
Participation, Collaboration, Learning, Producing, Creatin
g
 The power of “Peer-to-Peer” learning… Lecturers are a
guide; the Wiki is a place to go deeper.
 Minimum Requirement: Two Substantial Contributions
during the term (one in each half of the semester). A
“Substantial Contribution” = About 500 words or more.

6. Modes of Wiki Participation
1. Contribute to the Wiki pages for the main readings, films or
lectures for the class by summarizing the main points and
content and/or writing a commentary on the content.
2. Read a supplementary article or view a supplementary film
related to the course content and complete a summary and
commentary on that article or film.
3. Write a commentary on contemporary gender issues, based on
news sources (such as the Straits Times, television, blogs, etc.).
Summarize the issue, cite the sources where you read or learned
about it, and give your own analysis and opinion on the issue.
At least one of your contributions should be of type 2 or 3.

7. Instructors and Materials
 Prof. Eric Thompson, lecturer (socect@nus.edu.sg)
 Muhammad Shamil, tutor (a0029479@nus.edu.sg)
 Shelley Sibya, tutor (a0082335@nus.edu.sg)
 Readings (see syllabus for details)
 Required Readings – available in your course pack or
download from IVLE e-reserves
 Supplementary Readings – academic articles or book chapters
on Gender Studies
 Films (see syllabus for details)
 Required Films – selections to be shown in lectures; also
available on IVLE multimedia
 Supplementary Films – documentary films on Gender Studies

8. Final Exam
 Saturday, April 28, Morning
 Check IVLE for details of time and venue
 The Exam will be a Comprehensive Essay Exam
 You are expected to demonstrate knowledge of the
course material (i.e. by discussing theories and
examples from the course lectures, readings and films)
 The Exam will consist of two sections with one or more
questions in each section.
 You will write an essay answering ONE question in
each section. You will write a total of TWO essays.

9. QUESTION: What is on the final exam?
ANSWER: Everything.
HINT: Review exam papers for SC2220 from
2010/2011, 2008/2009,
2007/2008, 2006/2007

10. Overview of the Course
 Weeks 1-3: Gender, Sex, Sexuality
 The Basis of Gender in Biology and Socialization
 Weeks 4-6: Gender, Culture and Ideology
 Ways We Think about Gender.
 Weeks 7-9: Gender, Economics and Power
 Ways We Do Gender.
 Weeks 10-12: Gender Here and Now
 Gender Issues in Singapore, Gender and You!
 Week 13: Review

11. QUESTIONS?

12. Changing Gender Relations:
19th-21st Centuries
Gender Studies arose in the mid-20th century, in the context of
general social changes, social movements (feminism) and
changing gender relations (from tradition to modernity).
1. General Social Changes:
Industrialization, Urbanization, Democratization, Socialis
m, Capitalism, Nationalism, Colonialism &
Postcolonialism, Globalization, etc.
2. Social Movements: Demands for Voting Rights
(Suffrage), Access to Education, Job
Opportunities, Protection from
Exploitation/Harassment, Social Welfare, Religious

13. Social Change (America)
 19th Century: Anti-slavery (abolitionist) movement;
freedom & equality for slaves linked to freedom &
equality for women.
 1848 – Seneca Falls Convention and the Declaration of
Sentiments (“First Wave Feminism”)
 1920 – Right to vote for Women (suffrage)
 1942-1945 (WWII) – Women enter the workforce to
replace men who have gone off to war. “Rosie the Riveter”
 1950s – Pressure on women to return to ‘traditional’ roles
in post-war America

14. Social Change (America)
 1960s–1970s: “Baby boom” generation, changing social
attitudes (e.g. Mary Tyler Moore); “Second Wave”
Feminism
 1980s: “Backlash”, return to conservativism under
Ronald Reagan; yet significant gains for women are
now taken for granted (education; careers)
 1990s – “Third Wave” Feminism; from a “Women’s
Movement” to “Girl Power”

15. Waves of Feminism*
 First Wave: 19th – early 20th C.
 Women’s Suffrage (voting rights)
 Second Wave: 1960s – 1980s
 Equality in all things:
Education, Work, Pay, Dishwashing
, etc.
 Third Wave: 1990s – present
 Diverse Responses to “Second
Wave” Feminism (including but
not limited to “Girl Power”)
*All based mainly on American history;
Similar “waves” have been constructed for Singapore.

16. What is Feminism?
What is a Feminist?

17. Is Feminism . . . ?
A doctrine suggesting that women are systematically
disadvantaged in modern society and advocating equal
opportunities for men and women.
(Dictionary of Sociology; Penguin Publishing)
A social movement which seeks to achieve equality between
the sexes by extension of rights for women.
(Oxford Dictionary of Sociology)
“‘Women’ is an unstable category ... and feminism is the site of
the systematic fighting out of that instability.” (Riley, p.5)

18. Liberal Feminisms
Liberal Feminism (1): Men and women should be treated equally
and the same.
Liberal Feminism (2): Men and women and intersexed are not
“the same” (however, they are more alike than they are different
& society exaggerates difference). Gender is a pervasive social
and cultural institution that must be analyzed and understood;
Social and political changes should be made that allow the
widest possible choices and opportunities for women and men
and intersexed.

19. Other Feminisms*
Radical Feminism: The source of all oppression is patriarchy,
which is “men’s misogynist domination of women through
violence” (Lorber, p. 4).** Women are better off without men.
Marxist/Socialist Feminism: Capitalism operates in
conjunction with patriarchy to oppress women; primary focus
on the political-economy of women’s oppression.
Black Feminism: Racism operates in conjunction with patriarchy
to oppress women.
Muslim Feminism: Traditional male interpretations of Islam must
be questioned to find the true meaning of the role of women in
Islam (e.g. Sisters in Islam – Malaysia; Irshad Manji - Canada).
*See also Lorber 1994; these are only a few **We will be critiquing this definition
of many “varieties” of feminism. of patriarchy later in the semester.

20. Anti-Feminisms
Conservative Anti-Feminism: Society is fine just the way it is;
Men and women fulfill appropriate sex-roles that allow society to
function (e.g. Talcott Parsons*). Changing sex-roles are
dangerous. Conservative Anti-Feminism has a number of
variants, for example: Western, Asian, Christian, Muslim, etc.
Change or Not? Views http://stars.nhb.gov.sg/data/pdfdoc/2004042102.htm
from Singapore http://www.aware.org.sg/main/article_29.shtml
Radical Anti-Feminism: “A feminazi is a woman to whom the
most important thing in life is seeing to it that as many abortions
as possible are performed” (Rush Limbaugh, conservative
American radio talk show host). More generally, any advocate of
any form of “feminism” is a “feminazi.” Men are superior to
women; Women must be kept in their place at all costs.
*See: Franklin, p. xix

21. No More Feminists?
Anti-feminists have been largely successful in characterizing all
feminists/feminisms as either Liberal Feminists-1 (men and
women are the same) or Radical Feminists (men are the root of
all evil). (See: Faludi 1991)
Basic ideas of feminism (e.g. that women should be given similar
opportunities as men in most areas of public life) are now widely
accepted in many societies – Singapore, United States, etc.
At the same time, most people deny any connection with
feminism, while supporting feminist principles (e.g. “I believe
women and men should have equal opportunities; but I’m not a
feminist!”)

22. Social Change (Singapore)
 1901: Population Overwhelmingly male
 Sex ratio 3 men to 1 woman (14:1 in 1860!)
 Very large sex industry
 1920s-1930s: Importation of wives; Gradual shift
toward “family life”
 1930s-1940s: Samsui Women; independent working
women
 1952: Singapore Council for Women
 Movement against polygamy and inequality
 1961: Women’s Charter
 Polygamy banned for non-Muslims

23. Social Change (Singapore)
 1965: Separation from Malaysia
 Emphasis on Human Capital (“No resources”)
 1970s-1980s: Rapid Economic Development
 1983: Grad.Mothers Scheme & “Great Marriage Debate”
 1984: Social Development Unit (Matchmaking)
 1985: Association of Women for Action and Research
(AWARE) formed to advocate for women’s rights
 1990-2010: Decline in fertility and marriage; Large scale
importation of women as domestic workers, wives, sex
workers; men as manual laborers

24. Gender Relations: Always Changing, Everywhere
 1910 – Department for women opened at Cairo University, Egypt.
 1911 – Foot binding banned in China
 1920 – Women gain the vote in the United States.
 1969 – Women gain admittance to Yale University.
 1979 – Singapore imposes quota on women in medical school (so that
the investment in education won’t be “wasted”).
 1979 – China institutes “one-child policy”; male-to-female birth ratio
rises dramatically (between 118-130 males for every 100 female).
 1982 – Equal Rights Amendment fails ratification in the United States.
 1987 – Sati (widow burning) banned yet again in India (after a revival in
the 1980s).
 1996 – Taliban take power in Afghanistan, women banned from
schools, work, and public life. Men without beards beaten; women shot
to protect their virtue.
 2004 – Singapore lifts quota on women in medical school.
 2004 – France bans hijab (tudung) in public schools.
 2004 – Two women appointed Ministers of State in Singapore.

25. Development of Gender Studies
Sociology of Women
Up to 1970s*
Feminist Sociology
1970s-1990s*
Sociology of Gender
Franklin pp. xiv & xxvii 1990s-present*
*The dates indicate periods when
each was a dominant trend; all three
trends can be found in all periods of
academic history.

26. From “Women” to “Gender”
Sociology of Women “Additive”… sought to make
Up to 1970s women ‘visible’ in sociology;
Research about women’s
experience.
Feminist Sociology Reconceptualization of society;
Focus on patriarchy and
1970s-1990s
gendering of all aspects of social
life; Explicitly political
Sociology of Gender Questioning the category
1990s-present “women”; Focus on gender
rather than women; Including
Franklin pp. xiv & xxvii men, masculinities, intersexed,
and sexualities.

27. Sociology/Anthropology of Women
 Women have always been involved in
Sociology, Anthropology & other Social Sciences.
 For example, Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)
 “Sociology of Women” – research about women’s
experiences “in addition” to the majority of work done
about men (prior to 1960s).
 Coming of Age in Samoa (Margaret Mead, 1943)
 Housekeeping among Malay Peasants (Rosemary Firth, 1943)
 Did not fundamentally challenge major social and cultural
theory.

28. Feminist Sociology/Anthropology
 Political commitments to changing the
status, roles, opportunities of women. Focus on oppression
of women in society and exclusion from public life.
 Explicitly challenged traditional social science.
 For example:
 Toward a Feminist Theory of the State, MacKinnon 1989: Explicitly
gendered/feminist analysis of the state as an institution.
 The Woman that Never Evolved, Hrdy 1981: Challenged theories of
male dominance and competition within an evolutionary
framework.

29. Sociology of Gender
 Shift toward a “Sociology of Gender” due to three
related trends:
1. Critical deconstruction of “women” as a category of
analysis. (Diversity of women’s experiences
personally and culturally.)
2. Recognition of gender as a system that effects women
and men.
3. Studies of sex & sexuality (intersexed experience;
homosexuality; etc.)

30. Checklist for the Coming Week
Register on the Wiki
Sign-up for Tutorials
Read Through Syllabus
Start the Readings
Eat Healthy
Do Gender

31. Another take on
Mary Tyler Moore…