Genderstudies

Why is it all right for men these days to cry, whereas twenty years ago it was not?

Why is it that Muslim women from Somalia are circumcised, but those from Indonesia are not?

Why can women not be Roman Catholic priests, while they can be ministers in some other churches?

These are the kind of questions studied in Gender Studies. The answer depends on the ideas about the differences between men and women that are dominant in certain cultures. The problem is that while it is clear that men and women have different bodies, this difference is assigned various cultural meanings. These decide how men and women see themselves and each other, what parts they may play in society, etcetera. Hence the great differences between what is seen as typically male or female in one culture and another. Dutch people have different definitions for a ‘real man or woman’ than the Chinese, Italians, Ghanese or Argentineans, as did people in the Middle Ages compared to those in the twenty-first century. This is caused by their different cultural backgrounds. Gender Studies make clear how exactly this works

If you are interested, do have a look at the Ocasys 

Information: Dr. Mathilde van Dijk

Telephone: 050 363 4584

E-mail: Mathilde.van.Dijk@rug.nl