An 8 page research paper that examines various aspects of "women's studies" and argues their importance and relevance. The writer argues that patriarchal structures of power are still entrenched and women's experience in much of the world remains that of a second class citizen. An examination of the feminist theory and literature demonstrates the importance of the topic known as "women's studies" and why the issue of gender equality is far from resolved. Bibliography lists 8 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: D0_khimpws.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
The womens movement of the past several decades has successfully challenged this premise and it is generally accepted that women possess the same degree of intelligence and ability as men,
and should, therefore, enjoy equal rights with men. However, patriarchal structures of power are still entrenched and womens experience in much of the world remains that of a second class
citizen. An examination of the feminist theory and literature demonstrates the importance of the topic known as "womens studies" and why the issue of gender equality is far
from resolved. Differences between experiences of women and men While it is generally acknowledged that women and men often perceive reality from different viewpoints, there is considerable controversy on
why this fact exists. Simon Baron-Cohen, professor of psychology at Cambridge University, draws on twenty years of clinical and academic experimentation when he asserts that there are three kinds of
normal human brains: type E is the "empathizing" brain; type S is the systemizing brain; and type B is a balance of the two. In general Baron-Cohen argues that men
tend to have "systemizing" brains, while women are geared more toward the empathizing orientation (McClure, 2003). Belenky, et al (1986) concur with this position. This research team found in
their study that men and women process information differently. Furthermore, this research team asserts that there are asymmetrical cultural evaluations of these differences that have given rise to the cultural
evaluation that feminine traits have less value then masculine and should, therefore, be subordinated to masculine qualities. Belenky, et al (1986) postulate that women speak and learn in ways that
are often different, but not inferior, to those of males. While, of course, many others would argue that all such differences in speaking and learning are sociological in origin, this