Editing Gender studies (section)

==Criticism==
Historian and theorist Bryan Palmer argues that gender studies' current reliance on [[post-structuralism]] – with its reification of discourse and avoidance of the structures of oppression and struggles of resistance – obscures the origins, meanings, and consequences of historical events and processes, and he seeks to counter current trends in gender studies with an argument for the necessity to analyze lived experiences and the structures of subordination and power.<ref>Bryan Palmer, ''Descent into Discourse: The Reification of Language and the Writing of Social History'', Trent University (Peterborough, Canada) 1990</ref> Psychologist [[Debra W. Soh]] postulates that gender studies is composed of dubious scholarship, that it is an unscientific ideology, and that it causes needless disruption in the lives of children.<ref>{{cite book
 | last =Soh
 | first =Debra
 | author-link =Debra W. Soh
 | title =The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths about Sex and Identity in Our Society
 | publisher =[[Threshold Editions]]
 | date =August 2020
 | pages =336
 | url =https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-End-of-Gender/Debra-Soh/9781982132514
 | isbn =978-1982132514}}</ref>{{Undue weight inline|date=August 2023|reason=non-academic source, WP:FRINGE opinion}}

Feminist philosopher [[Rosi Braidotti]] has criticized gender studies as "the take-over of the feminist agenda by studies on masculinity, which results in transferring funding from feminist faculty positions to other kinds of positions. There have been cases... of positions advertised as 'gender studies' being given away to the 'bright boys'. Some of the competitive take-over has to do with gay studies. Of special significance in this discussion is the role of the mainstream publisher Routledge who, in our opinion, is responsible for promoting gender as a way of deradicalizing the feminist agenda, re-marketing masculinity and gay male identity instead."<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Butler | first = Judith | author-link = Judith Butler | title = Feminism by any other name (Judith Butler interviews Rosi Braidotti) | journal = [[Differences (journal)|differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies]] | volume = 6 | issue = 2–3 | pages = 44–45 | date = Summer 1994 | url = https://bagelabyss.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/butler-and-braidotti-interview-feminism-by-any-other-name1.pdf }}</ref> Calvin Thomas countered that, "as Joseph Allen Boone points out, 'many of the men in the academy who are feminism's most supportive 'allies' ''are'' gay,'" and that it is "disingenuous" to ignore the ways in which mainstream publishers such as Routledge have promoted feminist theorists.<ref>Thomas, Calvin, ed., "Introduction: Identification, Appropriation, Proliferation", ''Straight with a Twist: Queer Theory and the Subject of Heterosexuality''. University of Illinois Press, 2000.</ref>

Gender studies, and more particularly queer studies within gender studies, has been criticized by [[Catholic Church]] bishops and cardinals as an attack on human biology.<ref>{{cite web
 | url =https://tfpstudentaction.org/blog/12-cardinals-and-bishops-condemn-gender-theory-madness
 | title =12 Cardinals and Bishops Condemn Gender Theory Madness
 | last =Hatchett
 | first =Bentley
 | date =3 January 2017
 | website =[[American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property|TFP]] Student Action
 | access-date =19 May 2021
 | quote =In clear terms these prelates call gender theory what it really is; destructive, anti-reason, neo-Marxist, tyrannical, a form of spiritual terrorism and demonic. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | url =https://www.hli.org/resources/the-roots-of-gender-ideology/
 | title =Understanding Gender Ideology
 | date =29 October 2018
 | website =[[Human Life International]]
 | access-date =19 May 2021
 | quote =This article is directed only towards examining the origins of an ideology that seeks to legitimize the application of potentially harmful behavior or mentality to children, marriage, family and society as a whole.}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=October 2021}} [[Pope Francis]] has said that teaching about gender identity in schools is "ideological colonization" that threatens traditional families and fertile heterosexuality.<ref>{{cite news | first=John |last=Newsome |title=Pope warns of 'ideological colonization' in transgender teachings |work=CNN |date=4 October 2016 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/02/world/pope-transgender-comments/}}</ref> France was one of the first countries where this claim{{Clarify|date=October 2021}} became widespread when Catholic movements marched in the streets of Paris against [[Law 2013-404|the bill on gay marriage and adoption]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Harsin|first=Jayson|date=2018|pages=193–214|series=Palgrave Studies in Globalization, Culture and Society|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan, Cham|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-63982-6_10|isbn=9783319639819|title=Global Cultures of Contestation|chapter=Tactical Connecting and (Im-)Mobilizing in the French Boycott School Day Campaign and Anti-Gender Theory Movement}}</ref> Scholar of law and gender [[Bruno Perreau]] argues that this fear has deep historical roots, and that the rejection of gender studies and queer theory expresses anxieties about national identity and minority politics.<ref>[[Bruno Perreau]], ''[http://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=27481 Queer Theory: The French Response]'', Stanford University Press, 2016.{{Page needed|date=October 2021}}</ref> Jayson Harsin argues that the French [[Anti-gender movement|anti–'gender theory' movement]] demonstrates qualities of global right-wing populist [[post-truth politics]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Harsin|first=Jayson|date=2018-03-01|title=Post-Truth Populism: The French Anti-Gender Theory Movement and Cross-Cultural Similarities|journal=Communication, Culture and Critique|language=en|volume=11|issue=1|pages=35–52|doi=10.1093/ccc/tcx017|issn=1753-9129}}</ref>

Teaching certain aspects of gender studies was banned in public schools in [[New South Wales]] after an independent review into how the state teaches sex and health education and the controversial material included in the teaching materials.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Urban|first1=Rebecca|title=Gender theory banned in NSW classrooms|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/gender-theory-banned-in-nsw-classrooms/news-story/eeb40f3264394798ebe67260fa2f5782|access-date=2 November 2017|work=[[The Australian]]|date=9 February 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170209051530/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/gender-theory-banned-in-nsw-classrooms/news-story/eeb40f3264394798ebe67260fa2f5782|archive-date=9 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{anchor|State and governmental attitudes to gender studies}}

=== Government attitudes ===
[[File:Pikieta modlitewna przeciwników ideologii geneder na placu Zbawiciela 01.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|Picketing against "[[gender ideology]]" in Warsaw, 2014]]
In Central and Eastern Europe, [[anti-gender movement]]s are on the rise, especially in [[Hungary]], [[Poland]], and [[Russia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-conversation-global/how-hungary-and-poland-ha_b_12486148.html|title=How Hungary and Poland have silenced women and stifled human rights|last=Global|first=The Conversation|date=2016-10-14|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=2018-10-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Anti-Gender Movements on the Rise?|url=https://pl.boell.org/sites/default/files/anti-gender-movements-on-the-rise.pdf|journal=Publication Series on Democracy|volume=38}}</ref>

==== Russia ====
In Russia, gender studies is currently tolerated; however, state-supported practices follow the traditional gender perspectives of those in power. The law related to prosecuting and sentencing domestic violence, for instance, was greatly limited in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/04/09/putins-war-on-women/|title=Putin's War on Women|last=Ferris-Rotman|first=Amie|website=Foreign Policy|language=en|access-date=2018-10-31}}</ref> Since 2010, the Russian government has also been leading a campaign at the [[United Nations Human Rights Council|UNHRC]] to recognise Russian "[[traditional values]]" as a legitimate consideration in human rights protection and promotion.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/gender/2018/01/15/traditional-values-for-the-99-the-new-gender-ideology-in-russia/|title='Traditional values' for the 99%? The new gender ideology in Russia|date=2018-01-15|work=Engenderings|access-date=2018-10-31|language=en-US}}</ref>

==== Hungary ====
Gender studies programs were banned in Hungary in October 2018. In a statement released by Hungarian Prime Minister [[Viktor Orbán]]'s office, a spokesperson stated that "The government's standpoint is that people are born either male or female, and we do not consider it acceptable for us to talk about socially constructed genders rather than biological sexes." The ban has attracted criticism from several European universities which offer the program, among them the Budapest-based [[Central European University]], whose charter was revoked by the government, and is widely seen as part of the [[Fidesz|Hungarian ruling party]]'s move away from democratic principles.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/hungary-bans-gender-studies-programmes-viktor-orban-central-european-university-budapest-a8599796.html|title=Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban bans gender studies programmes|last=Oppenheim|first=Maya|date=2018-10-24|work=The Independent|access-date=2018-10-17|language=en-UK}}</ref>

==== China ====
The [[Central People's Government]] supports studies of gender and social development of gender in history and practices that lead to gender equality. Citing [[Mao Zedong]]'s philosophy, "Women hold up half the sky", this may be seen as continuation of equality of men and women introduced as part of [[Cultural Revolution]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/20/china-voices-lu-ying|title=China voices: the professor of gender studies|last=Branigan|first=Tania|date=2009-05-20|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-10-31}}</ref>

==== Romania ====
The [[Romanian Senate]] approved by broad majority in June 2020 an update of National Education Law that would ban theories and opinions on gender identity according to which gender is a separate concept from biological sex.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tidey|first=Alice|date=2020-06-17|title='Back to the Middle Ages': Outrage in Romania over gender studies ban|url=https://www.euronews.com/2020/06/17/romania-gender-studies-ban-students-slam-new-law-as-going-back-to-the-middle-ages|access-date=2020-06-18|website=[[Euronews]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Raport Suplimentar |url=https://www.senat.ro/legis/PDF/2020/20L087S1.PDF |website=[[Senate of Romania]]}}</ref> In December 2020, the [[Constitutional Court of Romania]] overturned the ban; earlier, President [[Klaus Iohannis]] had challenged the bill.<ref>{{Cite web|date=16 December 2020|title=Romanian top court overturns ban on gender identity studies|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-romania-lgbt-rights-idUSKBN28Q2NF|access-date=1 October 2021|website=[[Reuters]]|language=en}}</ref>

==== United States ====

The [[United States]] currently allows academic institutions to offer courses in gender and sexuality studies, [[women's studies]], [[feminist studies]], [[queer studies]] and [[LGBT studies]]. Institutions that offer such courses include [[Harvard University|Harvard]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality {{!}} Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality |url=https://wgs.fas.harvard.edu/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=wgs.fas.harvard.edu}}</ref> [[Stanford University|Stanford]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies |url=https://feminist.stanford.edu/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=feminist.stanford.edu |language=en}}</ref> [[University of Southern California|USC]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=USC GSS |url=https://dornsife.usc.edu/genderstudies/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=Gender and Sexuality Studies |language=en-US}}</ref> [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=UCLA Gender Studies |url=https://gender.ucla.edu/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=Gender Studies |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Lehigh University]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies {{!}} Interdisciplinary Programs |url=https://programs.cas.lehigh.edu/wgss |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=programs.cas.lehigh.edu}}</ref> and [[Lafayette College]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Women's and Gender Studies · Lafayette College |url=https://wgs.lafayette.edu/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=wgs.lafayette.edu}}</ref>

Donald Trump issued [[Executive Order 14168]] during his [[Second presidency of Donald Trump|second presidency]], which called for, among other things, "end[ing] the Federal funding of gender ideology."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-21 |title=Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=The White House |language=en-US}}</ref>