Foreign Office advertising for Gender Advisers

WHO page for Europe uses Gender in the sense it used to be meant ( and as feminists still use it >> sex role)

www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-determinants/gender

I agree >> get rid of it.

Women and girls are not oppressed due to feelz in their heads. The word is fucked. Get rid of it.

So would you say FGM is sex-based or gender-based? I mean, obviously it's both, but having an Intervention in the UK targeting all girls and deeming them at equal risk of FGM is clearly ludicrous. FGM affects women and girls in certain communities more than other because of cultural perceptions of what it is to be a woman which vary from place to place. Gender is a concept that allows for that distinction to be made.

@Ineedacupofteadesperately - it's more the case that women (and men) face specific risks based on both their sex and gender based cultural perspectives on what their role should be because of their sex. So for example, boys at risk of being kidnapped and used as soldiers, girls at risk of being kidnapped and sexually abused by militia, to use a really crude example. There should be interventions to deal with both, but there are subtleties that apply in both situations- there may be a perception that it is a good thing for a boy to learn to be a soldier, or that girls who are kidnapped are 'bad' girls who dressed a certain way, for example.

There are a category of risks that apply because of sex, and personally, broadly speaking, I think they're quite similar globally: women are at much greater risk of rape and sexual violence than men, at risk from maternal mortality and unsafe access to reproductive rights, etc etc. But there are specific practices relating to cultural gender norms that vary hugely from country to country.

It is really unhelpful and small minded to act as through the UKs own issues with how the concept of gender is being interpreted should throw out what has always been a very useful distinction to explain to people the difference between differences between the sexes that won't be changed - e.g. Need for maternity services for women - vs those that can, and can in fact be influenced by shifts in perception and culture, such as attitudes to women having access to contraception. I still think it's a useful distinction in the UK, though would appreciate people being clearer about what they mean, but I think it's an essential one when looking at working overseas and specifically implementing programmes overseas in totally different cultural contexts where perceptions of what it is to be male and female are huge drivers in the risks faced by women.

"The word 'gender' needs to be removed from public policy"

Also completely agree.

In this case it is being used to describe the cultural / sex roles enforced in different societies. The role you are expected to meet is based in your sex.

Women and girls are oppressed all over the world becasue they are female.

"If you are looking at violence against women (VAW) in an overseas context from the bloody foreign office you have to be looking at gender, because the very context specific and cultural trappings of gender are usually even bigger drivers than sex based ones, "

COOL

Why aren't all the girls and women who live with these risks simply saying "I'm male" and it will all vanish POOF GONE in a puff of smoke.

Because

That isn't how it fuckign well works is it.

Jesus.

The word 'gender' needs to be removed from public policy

Completely agree. It has at least 3 quite different and mutually exclusive meanings in colloquial use and context is very little help in determining which is meant. As a term with legal ramifications as in policy guidance it's a disaster.

The word 'gender' needs to be removed from public policy.

It is inaccurate, misleading and confusing.

context specific and cultural trappings of gender are usually even bigger drivers than sex based ones, and if you don't understand those- which people coming from outside generally don't- you're more likely to introduce programmes that harm women and girls, as has been evidenced

I find this very interesting (genuinely, not being goady), so does this mean that men (biological males) are also affected if they act according to the feminine gender norms? Or is it only biological females affected, and if so how do you distinguish between sex-based and gender-based oppression? Does that mean that women (biological females) that don't perform according to gender norms don't get oppressed / harmed? Can you provide links to the evidence would be interested to read about it.

reddressblueshoes

Women are oppressed because of their sex.

Sorry that should be @SPOFS

To add context: i had a slightly similar component to a job previously. It involved things like analysing whether refugees needed single-sex healthcare provision, whether it was suitable to provide certain interventions to women only or if their husbands would prevent them attending making it better to have targeted 'family' interventions in the first instance, ensuring feminine hygiene was adequately addressed in packs given to people in camps. Mostly bog standard and practical things that were frequently missed.

Given the conflict mention, I'd say this probably would involve advising conflict advisors on including women in conflict interventions- in some cases, there are specific community interventions with male and female groups talking about after-effects of conflict on the community which are experienced differently.

And no, @spos I'm not talking about sex based violence. This is the whole bloody point of the gender and sex distinction. If you are looking at violence against women (VAW) in an overseas context from the bloody foreign office you have to be looking at gender, because the very context specific and cultural trappings of gender are usually even bigger drivers than sex based ones, and if you don't understand those- which people coming from outside generally don't- you're more likely to introduce programmes that harm women and girls, as has been evidenced in the past.

Gender-based violence? I think you mean sex-based violence @reddressblueshoes

What's strange about this? There have been jobs like this in the foreign office and overseas aid orgs for years. Poverty and conflict has a different effect on women, gender based violence is a huge issue. If the issue is the use of the word gender, it's generally used in this context to reflect the fact that there is huge cultural variance in the way women are effected and most people who work in the sector are trying to fight throws cultural effects.

Am I missing something specific or new about these jobs?

It’s so depressing that after all those years fighting for single sex provisions woman are having to start doing it all over again.