Excelsior College Module 3 Gendered Ethics Discussion

Two feminist philosophers made important contributions to the study of gender. In 1949, philosopher Simone de Beauvoir wrote the foundational, philosophical, feminist text, The Second Sex, in which she analyzes the roles of men and women, and determines that gender roles limit our opportunities to be free agents. These roles demote women to an inferior status and encourage women’s propensity toward self-sacrifice. Feminist scholar Carol Gilligan developed a feminist approach to ethics, the ethic of care, with her book In a Different Voice. She, along with other feminists, maintain that the traditional, male identified ethical theory tends to focus on justice and abstract reasoning, whereas women’s approach to ethics often aims at maintaining and nurturing attachment with others.

Today, researchers are still undecided about just how much difference gender makes on ethical decisions and moral reasoning. Some scholars believe that any gender differences are simply a matter of socialization. Some feminists worry that delineating male and female ethics might encourage more gender stereotypes, and lead to the evaluation of one ethical approach as superior to the other.

DISCUSSION QUESTION:

• Is caring necessarily a female trait, biologically or socially? To what extent does distinguishing between male and female ethics encourage more gender stereotypes? Can it lead to the evaluation of one ethical approach as superior to the other?
• In your response, please draw upon your readings of Bella Swan from Twilight and Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games or substitute two other similar female characters in a book, poem or piece of literature who also seem to have dissimilar gender roles.