How utopian ideology shapes gender studies in the war against human nature
Urban anthropologist and political ethologist Dr Frank Salter has written that human nature is an obstacle for ideologues who desire transformational social change. “The last thing a utopian wants to discuss is how society reflects human instincts. Better to avoid the subject altogether to create a parallel universe where imagination, passion and interests might collude,” he writes.
In a new article at Quadrant Online, Dr Salter applies this thesis to gender studies.
He concludes that “biology is generally overlooked in women’s and gender studies in Australia. A probable contributing cause is that much of the field is monopolised by a radical ideological orientation which rejects inconvenient facts”.
Dr Salter writes:
The media are a useful starting point for assessing the understanding of gender in public culture. The media influence public perceptions by filtering information and helping to set the limits on legitimate discussion. Unopposed criticism of ideas or social categories (sex, age, ethnicity) sends powerful messages to the public about the relative standing of ideologies and interest groups. Media content also reveals the information being received from various experts—the universities, government and political activists.
