Gender Policy Discourse Analysis

Overview: In this paper you will choose one recent law or policy that focuses on gender and analyze it from the sociological perspective. In particular, you will assess whether the policy is primarily using a biological determinist perspective or a social constructionist perspective of gender.
Purpose: One of the primary things I hope students come away with from SOC 324 is the ability to notice the theoretical perspectives used when talking about gender today. This paper will help you practice analyzing the perspectives underlying gender law and policy in order to assess whether or not the policy aligns with how you see gender and how you might vote on such a policy if you come across it in the
future.
Policies must be:
 Directly related to gender
 From 2020 or newer
 Can be or enacted/passed or introduced/proposed
 Must come from a formal institution (government, school, business, law enforcement etc.)
o If you aren’t sure if your law/policy qualifies, email me and we can discuss.

Paper Sections:

Background (5%)
a. Who is responsible for this policy? Some questions to consider are:
i. Who wrote it or created it?
ii. In addition to the creators, are there any other people/groups that have publicly
supported it?
Summary (10%)
a. Summarize the policy in your own words. Some questions to consider are:
i. What is the policy trying to accomplish?
ii. What issue or problem is it trying to address?

iii. Who will be affected by the policy?

Theoretical Analysis (70%)*
a. In your opinion, does this policy engage/invoke biological determinism of gender or the
social constructionist perspective of gender? If you argue it uses both, include specific
details of which section of the policy aligns with which perspective. Provide specific
examples from the text of the policy with your personal analysis to support your answer.
b. Describe at least one other concept from this section of class that you see reflected in
the policy.
i. Some examples of the concepts/topics we have covered this section are: doing
gender, discursive aggression, hegemonic masculinity, pariah femininity,
intersectionality, undoing gender, etc.
*This should be the longest and most in-depth section of your paper.
Grammar and Style (5%)
ASA In-text Citation (5%)
Meets Word Count (5%)
You can pick any policy related to gender, and if you aren’t sure where to start, below are some places
to explore.
Legiscan
 If you find a law you are interested in analyzing, you can find the full text of all US legislation
 You can also search by keyword
Movement Advancement Project
 Click on “Equality Maps” then “Choose an Issue”
Trans Legislation Tracker
Women’s Health Policies

Answer preview for Gender Policy Discourse Analysis

APA

1200 Words