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(2)
1970s. There is some variation in how the terms sex and gender are used, but on
the whole, the former is more related to the innate characteristics of genes and
hormones, while the latter encompasses learnt characteristics, socio-cultural
expectations and patterns of behaviour. The interaction of both has an influence
on how individuals see themselves and how they relate to others.
This is nothing new, and as long as in a society the social contract regulating
relations between the sexes is generally accepted, there is little reason to
question the meaning of femininity and masculinity. These quasi-natural
attributes everyone understands. But at times relations between the sexes are out
of kilter and therefore become topical. In the Western world, the feminist
liberation movement that emerged after World War I and picked up steam after
World War II embodied and spearheaded a major shift in the established order.
Initially the movement targeted the oppression of women by men, especially in
the labour market, which men had dominated since the industrial revolution.
Subsequently its focus shifted to emphasizing and celebrating women’s
difference. Since women and men are not just women and men, but also citizens,
participants in a capitalist economy, members of religious and ethnic groups,
etc., feminists advanced various different theories about female identity and
gender discrimination. A major division is between two distinct positions:
Women behave like women because they have been oppressed for
generations (and therefore should change their behaviour and that of men).
Women behave like women because they are women, being as they are
fundamentally different from men (and therefore should fight for
recognition of difference).For our purposes, the question which one of these positions is preferable can be
left unanswered. But we should take note of the fact that in the wake of the
feminist critique of capitalist society the entire binary order of male and female
experiences, identities, values, and norms came under pressure. And what we
should ask is why this happened when it did.
Socio-economic determinants of gender identities
The conceptual distinction of sex and gender takes the wind out of the sails of