Why an Essentialist View of Gender is Outdated
in nature and scope and is therefore highly subjective and subject to the individual whims and beliefs of the outsiders. For instance, according to Pereira and Estramians, “Those characteristics which are assumed as shared by the group impose a series of predicates upon whatever it is that constitutes the 'essence' of the group” (811). While it is not possible to identify any specific “essences” of a given group, this is not important for the formulation of essentialist views because outsiders to the group believe in their existence, and this is the “essential” issue involved (Pereira and Estramians 811). Some indication of the powerfully persuasive beliefs that essentialist views… Continue Reading...
