What Does Gender Teach Us About International Relations That Other

What Does Gender Teach Us About International Relations That Other What Does Gender Teach Us About International Relations That Other Theories Cannot â€" Essay Example > What Gender Teaches About International RelationsInternational Relations is a discipline that has been dominated by patriarchy. In its existence, it failed to acknowledge the relevance of gender until in the recent years where it acknowledged contributions of feminist theory. Under the umbrella theme, ‘Women and International Relations’, this state of affairs was put to question by feminist theorists who were concerned about gender marginalization and the invisibility of women in international politics. This debate sparked by feminists contributed immensely to the change of state of affairs in the discipline. Scholars in the discipline felt that the discipline is a feminine desert and the need to review feminist literature arouse in the early nineteen nineties. Some of the scholars who convened in London School of Economics probed the absence of women in international politics. Feminist International Relations scholars have observed that gender issues, which have been, put on the periphery is deeply embedded in the mainstream concerns of the discipline. Moreover, feminist theorists have heightened the visibility of feminist work through various forums and means. Elshtain notes that International Relations as a discipline has, however, transformed to embrace more of what feminists were rallying for. These foregrounding issues include war, international feminist ethics, political identity, peace and security, political economy and development, international institutions, and women rights. Over the years, feminists have been fighting tooth and nail against the disciplines sense of addressing other issues deemed significant that have been prioritized at the expense of gender issues. Although this was viewed a fruitless fight, it has turned out to be a Goliath versus David war, since the feminists have triumphed. It is worth noting that gender mostly focuses on contemporary feminist perspective in international Relations as a discipline. In this paper, ther efore, through the feminist perspective, I will demonstrate the ways in which the world economy has rewarded men and women in different ways and examine gender implications of modern mankind’s domination over nature. Moreover, by looking at the gender differences in political, economic, and ecological relations arena, I will present a view of the insecurities faced by women and men in international Relations. In a nutshell, what this paper analyses are the departure of other international theories in practice and give a feminist touch to the discipline. In my first theme, social relations of gender inequality, is a concept which has produced gendered inequality in social relations. Despite the radical changes in the world order of the Twenty First Century, gender inequalities still remain a thorny issue. We may argue that there are differences between countries of the world, there are also many universal things, and while gender inequalities take varied patterns, the problem thou gh is global. The socially constructed masculine identity has been made valid and imposed on women. On the other hand, this masculine identity has preserved male privileges and social structures and practices that enable men to their own human experiences. The masculine fraternity through this way has ignored gender issues and look for ways to mask their own biases. Gender bias has been dominant within International Relations studies in that scholars had not included gender as a category of study. It was until recently that mainstream scholars in the discipline have engaged in the analysis of gender as a mainstream of International Relations. These scholars observe that the effects of gender can be measured in many ways, and its variables used to understand certain phenomena such as war, security and peace, among others. Most positivists and feminists argue that we construct reality as a gendered subject and perceive the world around us through the thick lenses of gender. This sho ws that gender cannot be viewed as a mere variable. From this perspective, we can argue that mainstream International Relations is a deeply gendered discourse. Evidenced from discussion of the discourse, the concept of gender and International Relations has set to critique and expose gender bias that underpins the debate that generates a powerful debate bout whether gender ought to be include or excluded in construction of International Relations theories.