European Geographies of Gender and Gendered IdentitiesSocial Agendas and the Future

European Geographies of Gender and Gendered IdentitiesSocial Agendas and the Future

Gender in Europe

• Gender is a cultural construction of difference– Sex (male/female) as biological– Gender (man/woman) as cultural/social

Gender in Europe•Gender is a cultural construction of difference

– Sex (male/female) as biological– Gender (man/woman) as cultural/social

• Gender as an important category of social distinction– Gender equality as measure of social

progress– Gender and sub-gender identities are

shifting in social and economic environment of emerging integrated Europe

– Differential geography of gender and gender identity

Gender in Europe• Article 1 of the European Social Fund’s

(ESF) requires Member States and the European Commission "to ensure that operations under the different objectives respect the principle of equal treatment for men and women".

– Use of structural funds for facilities to combine work and childcare

– Co-sponsored by European Reg-ional Development Fund (ERDF)

—Community Framework Strategy on Gender Equality (2001-2005)

Masculinity in Post-industrial Sheffield• Masculinity as characteristics of

being male– Opposed to femininity– Multiple kinds of masculinity

• Changing gender roles in postindustrial Europe– Pink color workers– Greater unemployment among men

• Sheffield classic example – Deindustrialization: steel industry– Site for renegotiation of gender

relations and identities

http://www.irishqueer.com/cgi-bin/cq/index.cgi?db=odp&target=odpcat&base=Regional/Europe/Ireland/Society_and_Culture/Gay,_Lesbian,_and_Bisexual

Queer, Gay and Transgender Identities