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Case Study Part Five: Empowering the Masculine and the Feminine in International Law

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Collective Consciousness and Gender

Abstract

This chapter is the final section of the case study. It focuses upon the ways in which the unconscious material of gender justice can be consciously integrated to empower the masculine and feminine consciousness in international law. The chapter concludes by suggesting that international law needs to recognise and affirm men’s rights to the private sphere, and to incorporate men and same-sex couples more explicitly into the gender justice framework.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    As defined by the World Health Organization (2012), ‘sex’ refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women, whereas gender refers to ‘the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women’ (2012). However, the concept of masculine and feminine consciousness can also be distinguished from gender because gender is still contingent upon a person’s sex. As established in this book, consciousness refers to collective representations, which are agreed upon narratives and descriptions for the group. Therefore, sex and gender are a part of the collective consciousness, because they form an agreed upon narrative.

  2. 2.

    Contrasexuality refers to the Jungian premise that a person’s gender has unconscious aspects of the opposite gender, for example, that men have an unconscious feminine aspect and that women have an unconscious masculine aspect.

  3. 3.

    The following Islamic nation-states have made reservations to this effect: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arabic Republic, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. Three nation-states (Iran, Sudan, and Somalia) have chosen not to ratify or accede to the CEDAW for this reason.

  4. 4.

    See, for example, Byrnes and Freeman, 2012, pp. 1–61, and information provided by the CEDAW Committee on the need for follow-up reporting by certain nation-states at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/followup.htm

  5. 5.

    As an example of CEDAW judgments and recommendations, see the Concluding Comments of the CEDAW Committee in relation to Saudi Arabia, 2008: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/CEDAW.C.SAU.CO.2_en.pdf

  6. 6.

    Joslin v. New Zealand, Communication No. 902/1999, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/75/D/902/1999 (2002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Social Impact, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Alexandra Walker

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  1. Alexandra Walker
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Walker, A. (2018). Case Study Part Five: Empowering the Masculine and the Feminine in International Law. In: Collective Consciousness and Gender. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54414-8_13

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