Gender

Abstract

Gender is the social construction based on biological sex. For decades it has been a very useful category to analyze social reality. The concept of gender has been considered one of the central categories of feminist theories since the 70s. It is useful to review the descriptions made by some relevant authors to describe this concept. The germ of this concept is found in the book The second sex of Simone de Beauvoir. Feminism already used this concept in the sixties. While the theorists of the difference defended their existence and reinforced it to obtain the freedom of the women, feminists of equality –like Kate Millet and Gayle Rubin– opted to erase gender differences. In the 1990s, the usefulness of this concept was questioned. Some of those criticisms are found in Judith Butler's Disputed Gender. Discrimination is not only gender, it is also race, class, sexual orientation, etc. In addition, Butler proposes to investigate more about the relationship between sex and sexuality.