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Social work and gender: An argument for practical accounts
1School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, University of Manchester, UK.
Qualitative Social Work : QSW : Research and Practice
|August 15, 2015
Summary
This study critiques dominant gender approaches in social work, proposing a focus on gender as a practical accomplishment within specific contexts. It examines theories to re-conceptualize gender in social work practice.
Area of Science:
- Social Work
- Gender Studies
- Sociology
Background:
- Dominant gender approaches in social work, including anti-discriminatory, woman-centered, and intersectional accounts, are critiqued.
- These approaches are noted for potentially reifying and isolating the concept of gender.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine dominant gender conceptualizations in social work.
- To explore alternative theoretical frameworks for understanding gender.
- To propose a new conceptualization of gender for social work practice.
Main Methods:
- Critique of existing gender theories in social work.
- Examination of poststructural, queer, trans, structural/materialist, ethnomethodological, and discursive theories.
- Analysis of gender as a practical accomplishment.
Main Results:
- Dominant gender approaches may oversimplify or isolate gender.
- Alternative theories offer richer understandings of gender.
- Gender is best understood as a practical accomplishment within specific contexts.
Conclusions:
- Social work should move beyond reified concepts of gender.
- Adopting a focus on gender as a practical accomplishment enhances contextual understanding.
- This reconceptualization can inform more nuanced social work interventions.
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