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Studying the Issue of Gender
Studying the Issues of Gender
Interview with Abby Gelfer
by Donna Iverson
Last month,
OITM contributor Donna Iverson spoke with Abby Gelfer, a licensed
clinical social worker and Chair of Psychology, Human Services and Gender
Studies at Burlington College, a small progressive liberal arts college
located in Burlington's Old North End. Their conversation follows.
OITM: Could you give a simple description of what gender studies
covers?
AG: The full title of the major at Burlington
College is Gender Studies: A Study of the Sexes. The program is intended
to cover different aspects of gendered behavior, including if and why
men and women behave, feel, and think differently, and what outcomes those
differences create.
OITM: Why did Burlington College
decide to add gender studies to its curriculum this year?
AG: There's been an increase in interest
in feminist issues and gender studies among students in recent years,
mostly around third-wave feminist ideas and theorists. There seems to
be a desire to discuss gender issues with less defensiveness and more
open curiosity than in the past decade or two. Also, the interest seems
to be from a more interdisciplinary perspective - biological, psychological,
philosophical. The committee that proposed the major felt it was important
to include a variety of disciplines and not use one dominant perspective.
OITM: Is "gender studies"
the new name for women's studies?
AG: No. They are different programs;
however, there is a great deal of discussion and disagreement about how
they differ. Women's studies usually look at issues specific to women,
and gender studies examines both genders and the question of what creates
gender. There is some political tension between the two, as some people
see the adoption of gender studies as a way to co-opt the specific study
of women. Sandy Baird, another faculty member; Cristin Tanner, a student
who helped start the program; and I spent several hours discussing what
to call the major. Personally, I think using the title "gender studies"
gives us an opportunity to explore gender construction and biology, as
well as feminist issues, so the broader title appeals to me.
OITM: Does the study of gender
now include the areas of race and class?
AG: The study of gender issues includes
racial and socioeconomic inequalities, and definitely must consider unequal
distribution of power. Some overarching theories incorporate the study
of race, class, and gender, including feminist theories such as Jean Baker
Miller's analysis of dominance and submission. However, the concept of
gender has its own unique properties, such as the active discussion of
biological predisposition relating to gender, the question of construction,
and what effect technology will have on gender.
OITM: A number of courses
you teach involve sex, desire and gender. What is the relationship here?
AG: Actually, I only teach one course
with a focus on sex and desire - the course I am currently teaching, Sex
and Desire. The other gender studies course I teach is Psychology of Women.
I became interested in teaching this course after I read Naomi Wolf's
book, Promiscuities. Because younger women, and certainly the
current media, often frame feminism as no longer necessary, and sometimes
see second wave feminism as having accomplished its goals, I find myself
looking for examples of places in the culture where this assumption is
clearly incorrect. One obvious (to me) place is the definition of, and
often repression of, women's sexuality.
OITM: Have you read The
Female Brain by Louann Brizendine, who writes that girls are wired
prior to birth to be "approval seeking" and boys are not?
AG: I haven't had a chance to read
The Female Brain, although I've read about it. I'm using David
Buss' evolutionary psychology book, The Evolution of Desire,
in my Sex and Desire class, so I have been thinking a lot about the hardwiring
of gender lately. My general feeling about most behavioral issues is that
though biological influence is present, it is over-stated.
OITM: What recommendations
would you make to counter gender stereotyping?
AG: For me, what gets us into trouble
is dehumanizing or objectifying other people. When we see others only
as objects with which to advance our own desires, we are dehumanizing
them. I stumbled upon MTV's reality show, "Next," the other
night, and was simultaneously horrified and captivated. In this climate
of unapologetic objectification, we are all trained to treat each other
as means to an end, without empathy, understanding, kindness, consideration
of motives, or concern. In that situation, one is susceptible to treating
others, men or women, as things that can be manipulated, abused, controlled.
So I guess my recommendation would be to look at individual characteristics,
consider motivation, treat others with empathy.
OITM: How did you get
interested in gender studies?
AG: My most recent interest
in developing a program came from teaching the psychology of women to
a particularly engaged class a few semesters ago, and from the interest
of several students in establishing a formal major. But I was involved
with women's issues in my previous career as a clinical social worker.
I was a pregnancy counselor at a women's health collective for many years
and then saw individual women and ran groups for women with eating disorders
in my private practice. As a college instructor for the past 15 years,
I've noticed the extreme changes in responses to feminism, women's issues,
and gender identification during this time period. It is encouraging to
see a generation interested in talking about these issues, although they
frame the discussions with more emphasis on gender construction.
Donna Iverson is a freelance writer and photographer who lives in
Winooski.