FROM GENDER THEORY TO

GENDER TRANSFORMATIVE

PHILANTHROPY

Reconnecting Race, Class & Gender

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RIKI WILCHINSEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

25 yrs advocating gender justice for at-risk youth

3 books on gender theory

Founding Exec Dir of GenderPAC

Write for Council on Foundations, GuideStar…

Profiled in NY Times

TIME 100 Civic Innovators for 21st Century

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1. Terms & Definitions

2. Gender Analysis

3. Gender Norms

4. Common Objections

5. Research & Programs

6. What’s Next

OUR PRESENTATION

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Biological Sex

Primary & secondary bodily characteristics (chromosomes, hormones, etc.)

Gender Identity

Inner sense of being female or male

Gender Expression

Expressing being masculine or feminine through clothing & behavior

Sexual Orientation

Attraction to members of one or more sexes

1. Terms & Definitions

6 DEGREES OF GENDER

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Gender Equity

Ensuring equal access to resources, power, opportunity for females, males, children and families, LGBTQ, etc.

Gender Norms

Socially-constructed ideals, scripts, expectations for manhood/womanhood; in sex and GBV determines who does what to whom, when,, and for what reason

Gender Transformative

Explicitly highlight, challenging and try to change rigid gender norms and inequities.

1. Terms & Definitions

6 DEGREES OF GENDER

6Kimberle Crenshaw

GENDER TRANSFORMATIVE

1. Terms & Definitions

Try to Change Gender Equity &Gender Norms

Women & Girls Men & Boys LGBTQ Race Class

Gender Equity &

Gender Norms

Women & Girls

Men & Boys LGBTQ Race Class

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GENDER ANALYSIS?

1. Terms & Definitions

82. Gender Analysis

WHY GENDER LENS?

Grantees get race and class and they’re starting to get sex/or. But what happened to gender?

Gender affects every issue funders work on, but grantees are challenged to do innovative work around gender like they are on race and class.

92. Gender Norms

GENDER NORMS ARE LEARNED

ESP DURING “GENDER INTENSIFICATION PERIOD”

Adolescence & Early Teens

Interest in traditional norms accelerates

Belief in them solidifies.

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Sissy

Dork

Queer

F*g

BitchD*ke

Bitch

Butch

Queer

Ho

ARE HIGHLY REGULATED

MALEFEMALE

2. Gender Norms

11Courtesy of Boondocks2. Gender Norms

GENDER NORMS TAKE PRACTICE

122. Gender Norms

ENHANCED IN

LOW-INCOME ENVIRONMENTS

Codes may be

especially narrow

Strong peer pressure “on

the street”

Penalties for transgression

often particularly

harsh.

13 Byron Hurt www.bhurt.com3 Gender Norms

“We’re in this box, and in order to be in that box, you

have to be STRONG, you have to be TOUGH, you have

to have lots of GIRLS, you gotta have MONEY, you have

to be a PLAYER or a PIMP, you gotta to be in CONTROL,

you have to DOMINATE other men, and if you are not

any of those things, then people call you SOFT or

WEAK or a P*SSY or a CHUMP or a F*GGOT and…

NOBODY wants to be any of those things so…

EVERYBODY STAYS INSIDE THE BOX.”

MASCULINITY

143. Gender Norms

MASCULINITY & BELIEF

Intimate relationships are adversarial

Women are responsible for conception

Pregnancy validates manhood

Lots of girlfriends/sex proves masculinity

Public control of women part of manhood

Force sometimes nec. to control females.

153. Gender Norms

MASCULINITY & BEHAVIOR

Earlier sex

More sexual partners

Less intimate relationships, more infidelity

More unplanned pregnancy

More (manly) sexual risk-taking

More partner abuse and sexual coercion.

163. Gender Norms

FEMININITY & BELIEF

Virginal & modest

But “hot” and attractive

Dependent, & deferential

Nurturing & maternal

Motherhood validates womanhood

Having a man validates femininity

Premium on older, stronger men.

173. Gender Norms

FEMININITY & BEHAVIOR

Less likely to carry condoms

More likely to objectify their own bodies

More likely to defer to male sexual prerogatives

More likely to date older, stronger males

More likely to tolerate abuse or coercion

More likely to have early/unwanted pregnancy.

183. Masculinity & Femininity

GATEWAY BELIEF SYSTEM

R&S/H

Partner Abuse

Economic Empowerment

Educational Achievement

LGBTQ Bullying

Health/Wellness

194. Common Objections

COMMON OBJECTIONS

CAN’T WE DO WITHOUT GENDER LENS?

YES! MOSTLY WE ARE.

WE CAN ALSO DO W/O CLASS/RACE ANALYSIS

BUT IT IS EFFECTIVE?

4. Common Objections 20

JUST GENDER EQUITY?

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WHAT ABOUT LGBTQ?

WORK BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET

GENDER NON-CONFORMING

GENDER CONFORMING

4. Common Objections

224. Common Objections

SO IT’S ALL GENDER?

Complex Intersectional Issues

Not saying: “It’s the only dog in the fight.”

Not saying: “It’s the biggest dog in the fight.”

“It’s the biggest dog NOT in the fight.

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STRONG RESEARCH BASE

5. Research & Programs

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Gender norms are “central to improving both individual and societal R/H”

“Deconstructing masculinity with young men 13-19” to eliminate violence against women and girls

Gender norms “key to effective HIV prevention for MSMs

The powerful influence of gender norms is a foundation of gender inequality.5. Research & Programs

STRONG PROGRAM BASE

US: The Disconnect

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“Gender roles & norms influence, if not define, behavior in the interpersonal relationships in which sex [and partner violence] occurs.”

“[We] are ignoring social & contextual factors central to understanding sexuality, HIV [and gender violence].”

“Astounding as it may seem, the central role of gender has been largely ignored…

…we are studying this in a gender vacuum.”

“Love, sex, and power. Considering women's realities in HIV prevention.” H Amaro . Am Psychol. 1995 Jun;50(6):437-47,  1995 .6. What’s Next

US Disconnect: Guidelines

266. What’s Next

US Disconnect: Policy

276. What’s Next

6. What’s Next 28

RECONNECT!

TRANSFORMATIVE APPROACHES

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www.truechild.org

Thank you!