what is a thesis statement about gender

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Gender & sexuality studies thesis statement examples.

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Gender and sexuality studies is a multifaceted field examining issues related to identity, social structures, and power dynamics. Effective thesis statements in this domain should encapsulate clear and significant research inquiries. Below, find examples of both adept and poor thesis statements regarding gender and sexuality studies, with detailed explanations for their strengths and weaknesses.

Good Thesis Statement Examples

Specific and Clear Good: “This thesis investigates the influence of media representation on the self-esteem and body image of transgender youth in urban environments.” Bad: “Media affects the self-esteem of transgender individuals.”

The good example specifies the demographic (transgender youth), the research setting (urban environments), and the issues under investigation (self-esteem and body image), providing clarity and direction. In contrast, the bad example is vague and lacks defined variables.

Arguable and Debatable Good: “Despite advancements, women of color still face systemic barriers in academia, impacting their career progression and professional development.” Bad: “Women of color face challenges in academia.”

The good statement makes a clear, debatable claim about systemic barriers in academia for women of color, opening the floor for analysis and argumentation. The bad statement, while true, is generic and lacks a clear argument or focus.

Researchable and Measurable Good: “Through an analysis of queer representation in video games, this thesis explores how digital media can either challenge or perpetuate harmful stereotypes.” Bad: “Queer representation in video games is important.”

The good example offers specific areas for research (queer representation in video games) and measurable criteria (the challenging or perpetuating of stereotypes). The bad example, while positive, is broad and does not present clear variables for study.

Bad Thesis Statement Examples

Overly Broad: “Gender inequality is a significant problem in society.”

This statement, though true, is too broad, offering no particular aspect of gender inequality or specified societal area for examination.

Lack of Clear Argument: “Sexuality is complex and diverse.”

While accurate, this statement does not present a clear argument or focus for research, making it ineffective as a guide for scholarly inquiry.

Unmeasurable and Unresearchable: “Understanding gender is key to understanding humanity.”

Though philosophically insightful, this statement is broad, abstract, and provides no clear direction for empirical study or measurement.

Developing a robust thesis statement for research in gender and sexuality studies is vital for guiding your research and providing readers with insight into your study’s objectives and focus. Good thesis statements are clear, arguable, and researchable, serving as cornerstones for insightful academic exploration. Conversely, ineffective ones are usually too broad, lack clear arguments, and do not facilitate empirical analysis. By considering these examples and analyses, students can craft compelling thesis statements that provide a strong foundation for their research on the pressing and complex issues related to gender and sexuality studies.

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• Knowledge Base
• How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

• Start with a question
• Write your initial answer
• Develop your answer
• Refine your thesis statement

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Table of contents

What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

• Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
• Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
• Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

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The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

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Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

• Why you hold this position
• What they’ll learn from your essay
• The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

• In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
• In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

• Ask a question about your topic .
• Write your initial answer.
• Develop your answer by including reasons.
• Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

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Gender & Sexuality Studies

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• What is a Literature Review?
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What is a literature review?

A literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory. The purpose is to offer an overview of significant literature published on a topic.

A literature review may constitute an essential chapter of a thesis or dissertation, or may be a self-contained review of writings on a subject. In either case, its purpose is to:

• Place each work in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the subject under review
• Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration
• Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in, previous research
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies
• Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort
• Point the way forward for further research
• Place one's original work (in the case of theses or dissertations) in the context of existing literature

A literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations. Or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates. And depending on the situation, the literature review may evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant.

Similar to primary research, development of the literature review requires four stages:

• Problem formulation—which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues?
• Literature search—finding materials relevant to the subject being explored
• Data evaluation—determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic
• Analysis and interpretation—discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature

Remember, this is a process and not necessarily a linear one. As you search and evaluate the literature, you may refine your topic or head in a different direction which will take you back to the search stage. In fact, it is useful to evaluate as you go along so you don't spend hours researching one aspect of your topic only to find yourself more interested in another.

The main focus of an academic research paper is to develop a new argument, and a research paper will contain a literature review as one of its parts. In a research paper, you use the literature as a foundation and as support for a new insight that you contribute. The focus of a literature review, however, is to summarize and synthesize the arguments and ideas of others without adding new contributions.

Finding Examples

It may be useful to look at other reviews to learn how researchers in the field "summarize and synthesize" the literature. Most research article or dissertation in the sciences will include a section which reviews the literature. Though the section may not be labeled as such, you will quickly recognize it by the number of citations and the discussion of the literature. Another option is to look for Review Articles, which are literature reviews as a stand alone article. Here are some resources where you can find Research Articles, Review Articles and Dissertations:

• Articles+ - Due to the interdisciplinary nature of gender & sexuality studies Articles+ can be a great place to start your research. Please make use of the filters on the left-hand side of the screen to help refine your searches. 
• Gender Studies Database  & LGBT Thought and Culture - Gender Studies Database & LGBT Though and Culture have a large corpus of reviews and research articles. As with Articles+ make sure to take advantage of the filters (type of publication, publication date) to help refine your searches. 
• Google Scholar   - Using the Cited By feature, hyperlinked below the search results, you can trace the scholarly conversation moving forward. 
• Dissertations @ Princeton - Provides access to many Princeton dissertations, full text is available for most published after 1996.
• Purdue OWL - The Purdue OWL site provides tips and examples of literature reviews and is a great source for reviewing citation styles 

*** Note about using Review Articles in your research - while they are useful in helping you to locate articles on your topic, remember that you must go to and use the original source if you intend to include a study mentioned in the review. The only time you would cite a review article is if they have made an original insight in their work that you talk about in your paper. Going to the original research paper allows you to verify the information about that study and determine whether the points made in the review are valid and accurate.

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113 Gender Roles Essay Topics & Examples

Looking for gender roles essay topics? This field is hot, controversial, and really worth exploring!

• 🔝 Top 10 Gender Topics
• 📝 Gender Essay: Writing Tips
• 🏆 Gender Essay Examples & Topic Ideas

✍️ Gender Argumentative Essay Topics

❓ research questions about gender roles.

In your gender role essay, you might want to focus on the issues of gender equality in the workplace. Another exciting option is to write about gender stereotypes in education. Finally, you can elaborate on how traditional gender roles are changing.

In this article, you’ll find a list of gender argumentative essay topics, ideas for papers on gender and society, as well as top gender roles essay examples.

🔝 Top 10 Gender Roles Topics

• Gender stereotypes and the way they affect people
• Fighting gender stereotypes and sexism
• Gender equality in the workplace
• Gender stereotypes in education
• Gender schema theory
• Is gender socially constructed?
• Social learning theory and gender
• Gender roles and sexual orientation
• Body image and gender
• Social gender construction in the media

📝 Gender Roles Essay: Writing Tips

Essays on gender roles present students’ understanding of the similarities, differences, and aspects of gender roles in society.

Writing gender roles essays helps learners to understand the significance of topics related to gender roles and the changes in societal norms. Students should be highly aware of the problems associated with traditional gender roles. For example, there are many periods in world history, in which people did not have equal rights.

Moreover, some aspects of gender roles may be associated with discrimination. To make an essay on this problem outstanding, you should discuss the problem in detail and present your points clearly. A useful tip is to develop a good structure for your paper.

Before starting to work on the paper, you should select the problem that is most interesting or relevant to you.

Gender roles essay topics and titles may include:

• The history of gender roles and their shifts throughout the time
• Male and female roles in society
• Gender roles in literature and media
• How a man and a woman is perceived in current society
• The causes and outcomes of gender discrimination
• The problem of ‘glass ceiling’
• The problem of social stratification and its outcomes
• The revolution in the concept of gender

After selecting the issue for discussion, you can start working on the essay’s structure. Here are some useful tips on how to structure your paper:

• Select the topic you want to discuss (you can choose one from the list above). Remember to pay attention to the type of essay you should write. If it is an argumentative essay, reflect on what problem you would want to analyze from opposing perspectives.
• Gender roles essay titles are important because they can help you to get the reader’s attention. Think of something simple but self-explanatory.
• An introductory paragraph is necessary, as it will present the questions you want to discuss in the paper. Remember to state the thesis of your essay in this section.
• Think of your gender roles essay prompts. Which aspects of the selected problem do you want to focus on? Dedicate a separate section for each of the problems.
• Remember to include a refutation section if you are writing an argumentative essay. In this section, you should discuss an alternative perspective on the topic in 1-2 paragraphs. Do not forget to outline why your opinion is more credible than the alternative one.
• Avoid making the paragraphs and sentences too long. You can stick to a 190 words maximum limit for one paragraph. At the same time, make sure that the paragraphs are longer than 65 words. Try to make all sections of the body paragraphs of similar length.
• Check out examples online to see how you can structure your paper and organize the information. Pay attention to the number of paragraphs other students include.
• Remember to include a gender roles essay conclusion. In this paragraph, you will discuss the most important claims of your paper.
• Do not forget to add a reference page in which you will include the sources used in the paper. Ask your professor in advance about the types of literature you can utilize for the essay.

Do not forget that there are free samples on our website that can help you to get the best ideas for your essay!

🏆 Gender Roles Essay Examples & Topic Ideas

• Gender Roles in Antigone Essay This will be seen through an analysis of the other characters in the play and the values of ancient Greeks. Indeed this central character appears to be at odds with the inclinations of the other […]
• Gender roles in the Wind in the Willows For instance, in the case where both the mole and the rat make comments to the toad that are full of women critics.
• Conflict of Gender Roles in Munro’s “Boys and Girls” Munro’s “Boys and Girls” is a story about a puzzled girl who struggles to find the balance between the battles of her inner female-housewife side, like her mother, and a boyish character who likes to […]
• Gender Roles Set in Stone: Prehistoric and Ancient Work of Arts In the prehistoric and ancient works of art, the representation of women and men reveals a massive imbalance in gender equity that favors men over women.
• The Concepts of Gender Roles and Sexuality by John Money and Judith Butler These categories of feminists are united in the belief of existence of many children and little sex. This paper explains the concepts and ideologies relating to gender roles and sexuality.as advocated by John Money and […]
• Gender Roles and Stereotyping in Education Teachers should be trained to give clear and useful instruction to students on the issue of gender roles in modern society.
• Ideology of Gender Roles In the world of literature, ideology has played a vital role in depicting the condition of the society. In this scenario, Kingston reveals that the men out-live their roles in the society, and they are […]
• Gender Roles in the 19th Century Society: Charlotte Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper However, the narrator’s developing madness can also act as the symbolical depiction of the effects of the men’s dominance on women and the female suppression in the 19th-century society.”The Yellow Wallpaper” was first published in […]
• Gender Roles in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams In the play The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams has written the story of the Wingfield family that lived in St Louis during the 1940s.
• Athena and Gender Roles in Greek Mythology According to Eicher and Roach-Higgins, the elements of her dress were important because they immediately communicated specific ideas about her character that was as contradictory as the physical gender of the birthing parent.”In appropriating the […]
• Gender Roles in “Bridge to Terabithia” by Paterson The theme of gender roles is consistently present in the novel, starting with character origins and becoming the central concept as they mature to defy archetypal perceptions of feminine and masculine expectations in order to […]
• Changing Gender Roles Between Boys and Girls In the twenty-first Century, girls have greatly stepped up and assumed some of the roles that were considered to be boy’s while boys have done the same leading to an interchange of roles.
• Discussing Gender Roles in the Interaction Perspective It is the purpose of this issue to discuss the concept of gender roles using the sociological perspective of symbolic interaction.
• Culture and History: Gender Roles Over the Past 50 or So Years It is not that there were no women in the workforce; it was just that she had to choose one over the other, juggling the two was quite rare and unheard of.
• Gender Roles Inversion: The Madonna Phenomenon At the same time partial narrowing of the gender gap in the context of economic participation did not lead to the equality of men and women in the field of their occupations.
• Biology and Gender Roles in Society Thus, it may be more convenient for society to justify the imposition of certain gender roles on men and women using biology-related arguments, which, in reality, are more related to culture and social development.
• Gender Roles and Family Systems in Hispanic Culture In the Hispanic culture, amarianismo’ and amachismo’ are the terms used to determine the various behavioral expectations among the family members.
• Gender Roles in South Korean Laws and Society At the same time, all custody is traditionally granted to husbands and fathers in a case of a divorce” though the anxiety about the high divorce rate and the nasty endings of relationships is more […]
• Gender Roles by Margaret Mead Once the a rift defining men and women develops this way, it goes further and defines the positions, which men and women occupy in the society, basing on these physical and biological differences, which form […]
• Gender Roles in Society One might think that a child is born with the idea of how to behave in relation to gender while in the real sense; it is the cultivation of the society that moulds people to […]
• Gender Roles in Brady’s and Theroux’s Works In the satire “Being a Man” by Paul Theroux, the author demonstrates to readers the essence of how a particular manifestation of masculinity is extolled in American society.
• Women’s Gender Roles in American Literature The stories written by Constance Woolson Fenimore, Mary Wilkins Freeman, and Jaqueline Bishop highlight the harmful gender roles and discrimination that still remains a major topic for disputes and illustrate the fate of oppressed women.
• Aspects of Gender Roles and Identity The breadth of her practice in transgender issues suggests that every choice Bowers makes is ethical, requiring her to be respectful and highly responsible.
• Changing Gender Roles in Families Over Time The division of labor and traditional gender roles in the family usually consists of men doing the work while women take care of the children, other relatives, and housekeeping.
• Gender Roles, Expectations, and Discrimination Despite Isaac being the calmest boy in the school, he had a crush on Grace, a beautiful girl in the school who was from a wealthy family.
• Gender Roles in Social Constructionism The reality, in the view of sociologists, is a social attitude in connection with which a personality is formed that adapts to the requirements of the world.
• Gender Roles and Stereotypes in Straightlaced Film One might conclude that gender neutrality and abstraction in offices are only a cover to maintain the basis of gender injustice.
• Children’s Views of Gender Roles Today, both parents and teachers see the positive impact of the attempts to integrate anti-biased gender-related education on young children as they get more freedom to express themselves and grow up less aggressive.
• The Construction of Gender Roles However, it is wrong to consider women exposed to the domestic work powerless, as they have the opportunity to informally or implicitly influence men and the decisions they make.
• Sociology of the Family: Gender Roles Thus, the societal predisposition and notion that women are lesser in the community should be abandoned, and greater emphasis should be placed on the critical functions they perform in the household. These assertions, equivocations, and […]
• Femininity and Masculinity: Understanding Gender Roles The understanding of how gender roles are portrayed in the media and the general perception of the expected behavior for men and women communicated non-verbally in the society is the basis on which children build […]
• Injustice Within Strict Gender Roles There is still no clear answer to how a person can find his or her destiny and place in the world, and understand the opportunities and prospects, considering the opinion of the dominant number of […]
• Gender Roles and Body Image in Disney Movies In this research, attention will be paid to gender roles and body images of Disney princesses to understand the popularity of the franchise and its impact on child development.
• Gender Roles and How People Perceive Them However, all of the survey participants indicated that their families would be inclined to differentiate between the toys for a child based on the latter’s sex and the corresponding perceived gender role.
• Gender Roles: From Prehistoric Era to Modern Society Since each gender was assigned a particular role in the past due to the differences in the biological makeup between a man and a woman in the prehistoric era, the modern process of communication between […]
• Gender Roles in TV Commercials and Values in the Society Each of them will watch, code, and analyze the TV commercials separately; at the end of the procedure, their results will be compared in order to ensure the inter-observer reliability of the chosen research method.
• Gender Roles in Contemporary Society The conditions of life are tough and it is presumed that only men are able to carry out such hardships and limitations of a soldier life.
• Gender Roles in ‘Mr. Green’ by Robert Olen Butler Green Butler uses the character of the grandfather to develop the theme of gender roles within the culture. The character of the grandfather is extremely sound for the cultural beliefs the author conveyed through all […]
• Gender Roles and Sexuality in Media: Cosmopolitan & Maxim The woman portrayed in these sites is supposed to look ‘hot’ and sexy in order to be attractive to a man.
• Gender Roles: Changes From the Late 1800’s to Today The definition of who is a male or a female depends on the types of gender roles one was exposed to during the early ages. In today’s society, we have a greater number of women […]
• Social Element in Gender Roles I learned of the origins of gay and lesbian studies, as well that of the confining of such studies in earlier times to specific institutions.
• Equality: The Use of TV to Develop Our Gender Roles In this sense, when it is the men who predominantly work outside of the home, they will usually see the home as a place of leisure and so use the TV as a source of […]
• Gender Roles in Brady’s “Why I Want a Wife” and Sacks’ “Stay-at-Home Dads” Yet, there are some distinctions Judy Brady believes that women are often viewed as unpaid house servants who have to take care of husbands’ needs, whereas Glenn Sacks argues that gender roles begin to transform […]
• Family Unit and Gender Roles in Society and Market The role of molding the infant into an adult belonged to the family in the ancient society. In the past, the father was expected to be the breadwinner of the family.
• Gender Roles and Social Classes in Wartime The message is as simple as “The women of Britain say ‘Go.’” It points to the role of both men and women in wartime.
• China’s Gender Roles in Mo Yan’s and Shen Fu’s Works Six Records of a Floating Life is a multi-faceted chronicle which helps to comprehend the difficulties and the features of Shen Fu’s life and the romance between him and his beloved Chen Yun.
• Nomadic Society’s Gender Roles and Warrior Culture On the one hand, it was clear that the 1100s and the 1200s included the period of male power. It was wrong to assume that all women were similar and treat them in the same […]
• “Beside Oneself” by Judith Butler: Gender Roles Following the views of the author, who states that choice in the formation of gender and sexuality is not transparent, and a key role is still played by others in the form of expectations and […]
• Gender Roles in Couples and Sex Stereotypes Altogether, the last reconsiderations of the nature of relations promoted the appearance of numerous debates related to the role of partners and their right to be the leader.
• Understanding the Social Element in Gender Roles When saying that gender is a binary construction, one implies that there are two genders, namely, the masculine and the feminine one, and two corresponding types of social behaviour, which are predetermined by the existing […]
• Gender Roles in Tango: Cultural Aspects However, one should not assume that the role of women in tango is inferior because they create the most aesthetic aspects of this dance.
• Gender Roles in Toy Stores According to Fisher-Thompson et al, two of the major differentiating factors in toys for girls and boys are color and nature.
• Women in Hip-Hop Music: A Provocative and Objectified Gender Roles It is one thing that men want women to be in music videos and play a particular role, but women are willing to participate in the videos.
• Content Analysis of Gender Roles in Media In the critical analysis of the article, the point of disagreement is that of under-representation of women in the media. How do the media subordinate and relegate roles of women in society?
• Effects of Media Messages about Gender Roles Media articles, such as the Maxim Magazine and the Cosmopolitan Magazine, socialize individuals to believe that women are very different from men as regards to dressing, behaving, and eating.
• The Change of Gender Roles This similarity is one of the most important to focus on the structure of the narrative. In both plays, the main actions of the characters are not directly described by the authors.
• Gender Equality: Male Dominance The simple reason is that gender inequality exists in affluent societies wherein women are free to do what they want, have access to education, and have the capacity to create wealth.
• “The Odd Women” and “Women in Love”: Evolving Views of Gender Roles An effort is also made to track the changes of the roles of women in the social fabric in the Victorian era by considering The Odd Women by George Gissing written in 1893.
• Gender Roles: Constructing Gender Identity In the course of the twentieth century and at the threshold of the twenty-first century, the images and roles of gender have constantly been changing.
• Analysis of the Peculiarities of Gender Roles Within Education, Families and Student Communities Peculiarities of gender aspect within the education system and labour market Attitude for marriage of men and women as one of the major aspects within the analysis of gender roles Family relations as a significant […]
• Concepts of Gender Roles As a result of these, the war on gender inequality and sexism has failed, because of the failure of these agents of change to promote gender equality and eliminate discriminative notions held by the society.
• Cohabitation and Division of Gender Roles in a Couple Cohabitation is perceived in the society as the form of relationships which is an effective alternative to the traditional marriage because of focusing on the principles of flexibility, freedom, and equality, but few couples can […]
• Gender Roles in the United States Over the Last Century The men’s perception towards this idea was negative, and this consequently resulted to a conflict with the men claiming that the roles of the women were in the kitchen.
• Fashions, gender roles and social views of the 1950s and 1960s Fashion was highly valued and this can be seen in the way the clothes worn by the wives of the presidential candidates in America hit the headlines. In the 1950s, the role of housekeeping and […]
• Cheating, Gender Roles, and the Nineteenth-Century Croquet Craze The author’s main thesis is, “Yet was this, in fact, how the game was played on the croquet lawns of the nineteenth century?” Whereas authors of croquet manuals and magazines emphasize so much on the […]
• Gender Roles in Cartoons Though the males are portrayed to be logical, but it is shown that the females are more successful because of simple blunders or miscalculations which males fail to understand, females are able to beat males […]
• The Industrial Revolution Impact on the Gender Roles The population growth combined with the increased productivity of small parts of the country and the migration of the now landless people in search of work opportunities led to the phenomena of urbanization.
• Gender Roles in The Yellow Wallpaper & Trifles The two texts; the short story ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins and the play ‘Trifles’ by Susan Glaspell strategically illustrate this claim since they both aim at attracting the reader’s attention to the poor […]
• How Does Aristophanes Represent Gender Roles in Lysistrata?
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• Have Gender Roles Played a Big Part in the History?
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• How Have Gender Roles in Japanese Theatre Influenced and Affected Societal View on Homosexuality and Masculinity?
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• What Was Distinctive About Gender Roles in the Nineteenth Century?
• How Has Hegemonic Masculinity Set Ideas of Gender Roles?
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• Where Does the Truth on Gender Roles Lie in Nahua and Mayan Civilizations?
• How Radical Are the Changes to the Gender Roles in Carter’s “The Company of Wolves”?
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Thesis Statements

Thesis statements establish for your readers both the relationship between the ideas and the order in which the material will be presented. As the writer, you can use the thesis statement as a guide in developing a coherent argument. In the thesis statement you are not simply describing or recapitulating the material;  you are taking a specific position that you need to defend . A well-written thesis is a tool for both the writer and reader, reminding the writer of the direction of the text and acting as a "road sign" that lets the reader know what to expect. 

A thesis statement has two purposes: (1) to educate a group of people (the audience) on a subject within the chosen topic, and (2) to inspire further reactions and spur conversation. Thesis statements are not written in stone. As you research and explore your subject matter, you are bound to find new or differing points of views, and your response may change. You identify the audience, and your thesis speaks to that particular audience.

Preparing to Write Your Thesis: Narrowing Your Topic

Before writing your thesis statement, you should work to narrow your topic.   Focus statements  will help you stay on track as you delve into research and explore your topic.

• I am researching ________to better understand ________.
• My paper hopes to uncover ________about ________.
• How does ________relate to ________?
• How does ________work?
• Why is ________ happening?
• What is missing from the ________ debate?
• What is missing from the current understanding of ________? 

Other questions to consider:

• How do I state the assigned topic clearly and succinctly?
• What are the most interesting and relevant aspects of the topic?
• In what order do I want to present the various aspects, and how do my ideas relate to each other?
• What is my point of view regarding the topic?

Writing a Thesis Statement

Thesis statements typically consist of a single sentence and stress the main argument or claim of your paper.  More often than not, the thesis statement comes at the end of your introduction paragraph; however, this can vary based on discipline and topic, so check with your instructor if you are unsure where to place it.

Thesis statement should include three main components:​

• TOPIC  – the topic you are discussing (school uniforms in public secondary schools)
• CONTROLLING IDEA  – the point you are making about the topic or significance of your idea in terms of understanding your position as a whole (should be required) 
• REASONING  – the supporting reasons, events, ideas, sources, etc. that you choose to prove your claim​​ in the order you will discuss them. This section varies by type of essay and level of writing. In some cases, it may be left out (because they are more inclusive and foster unity) 

A Strategy to Form Your Own Thesis Statement

Using the topic information, develop this formulaic sentence:

I am writing about_______________, and I am going to argue, show, or prove___________.

What you wrote in the first blank is the topic of your paper; what you wrote in the second blank is what focuses your paper (suggested by Patrick Hartwell in  Open to Language ). For example, a sentence might be:

I am going to write about senior citizens who volunteer at literacy projects, and I am going to show that they are physically and mentally invigorated by the responsibility of volunteering.

Next, refine the sentence so that it is consistent with your style. For example:

Senior citizens who volunteer at literacy projects are invigorated physically and mentally by the responsibility of volunteering.

Here is a second example  illustrating the formulation of another thesis statement. First, read this sentence that includes both topic and focusing comment:

I am going to write about how Plato and Sophocles understand the proper role of women in Greek society, and I am going to argue that though they remain close to traditional ideas about women, the authors also introduce some revolutionary views which increase women's place in society.

Now read the refined sentence, consistent with your style:

When examining the role of women in society, Plato and Sophocles remain close to traditional ideas about women's duties and capabilities in society; however, the authors also introduce some revolutionary views which increase women's place in society.

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Developing a Research Topic and Focused Thesis Statement

A thesis statement clearly identifies the topic being discussed, includes the points discussed in the paper, and is written for a specific audience. Your thesis statement belongs at the end of your first paragraph, also known as your introduction. Use it to generate interest in your topic and encourage your audience to continue reading. 

Most researchers start out with a broad topic of interest and then narrow it down to a particular area of focus and question. If a topic is too broad, you will find too much information and the project will be unmanageable. It will be far easier for you to research and write your paper if you develop a strong focused research question or topic:

Do some exploratory research  on your topic idea, in your course textbook, class notes, and Mardigian Search to identify specific issues, arguments, and analytical approaches in your research area and then identify possible relationships between them. 

Ask yourself questions  about your topic idea:

• What concepts, issues, or other aspects of this topic interest you?
• What are the major issues, debates, and disagreements of the topic you are studying?
• What gaps, contradictions, or concerns arise as you learn more about it?
• What relationships are there between different aspects of the topic?
• How does the topic relate back to the larger themes discussed in your course(s)?

Focus your topic:   Use the information from your exploratory research to identify a few of the specific aspects that interest you and then use the questions you had about those to create your focused research question and thesis statement. 

Write about what interests you:  Professors want students to write about topics that they care about. If you're interested in the topic, it will be more fun for you to write your paper and probably more fun for your professor to read it, too.

Ask your course instructor or study advisor for feedback on your research question and thesis statement.

Picking Your Topic IS Research

Once you've picked a research topic for your paper, it isn't set in stone. It's just an idea that you will test and develop through exploratory research. This exploratory research may guide you into modifying your original idea for a research topic. Watch this video for more info:

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Developing a Thesis Statement

Many papers you write require developing a thesis statement. In this section you’ll learn what a thesis statement is and how to write one.

Keep in mind that not all papers require thesis statements . If in doubt, please consult your instructor for assistance.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement . . .

• Makes an argumentative assertion about a topic; it states the conclusions that you have reached about your topic.
• Makes a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper.
• Is focused and specific enough to be “proven” within the boundaries of your paper.
• Is generally located near the end of the introduction ; sometimes, in a long paper, the thesis will be expressed in several sentences or in an entire paragraph.
• Identifies the relationships between the pieces of evidence that you are using to support your argument.

Not all papers require thesis statements! Ask your instructor if you’re in doubt whether you need one.

Identify a topic

Your topic is the subject about which you will write. Your assignment may suggest several ways of looking at a topic; or it may name a fairly general concept that you will explore or analyze in your paper.

Consider what your assignment asks you to do

Inform yourself about your topic, focus on one aspect of your topic, ask yourself whether your topic is worthy of your efforts, generate a topic from an assignment.

Below are some possible topics based on sample assignments.

Sample assignment 1

Analyze Spain’s neutrality in World War II.

Identified topic

Franco’s role in the diplomatic relationships between the Allies and the Axis

This topic avoids generalities such as “Spain” and “World War II,” addressing instead on Franco’s role (a specific aspect of “Spain”) and the diplomatic relations between the Allies and Axis (a specific aspect of World War II).

Sample assignment 2

Analyze one of Homer’s epic similes in the Iliad.

The relationship between the portrayal of warfare and the epic simile about Simoisius at 4.547-64.

This topic focuses on a single simile and relates it to a single aspect of the Iliad ( warfare being a major theme in that work).

Developing a Thesis Statement–Additional information

Your assignment may suggest several ways of looking at a topic, or it may name a fairly general concept that you will explore or analyze in your paper. You’ll want to read your assignment carefully, looking for key terms that you can use to focus your topic.

Sample assignment: Analyze Spain’s neutrality in World War II Key terms: analyze, Spain’s neutrality, World War II

After you’ve identified the key words in your topic, the next step is to read about them in several sources, or generate as much information as possible through an analysis of your topic. Obviously, the more material or knowledge you have, the more possibilities will be available for a strong argument. For the sample assignment above, you’ll want to look at books and articles on World War II in general, and Spain’s neutrality in particular.

As you consider your options, you must decide to focus on one aspect of your topic. This means that you cannot include everything you’ve learned about your topic, nor should you go off in several directions. If you end up covering too many different aspects of a topic, your paper will sprawl and be unconvincing in its argument, and it most likely will not fulfull the assignment requirements.

For the sample assignment above, both Spain’s neutrality and World War II are topics far too broad to explore in a paper. You may instead decide to focus on Franco’s role in the diplomatic relationships between the Allies and the Axis , which narrows down what aspects of Spain’s neutrality and World War II you want to discuss, as well as establishes a specific link between those two aspects.

Before you go too far, however, ask yourself whether your topic is worthy of your efforts. Try to avoid topics that already have too much written about them (i.e., “eating disorders and body image among adolescent women”) or that simply are not important (i.e. “why I like ice cream”). These topics may lead to a thesis that is either dry fact or a weird claim that cannot be supported. A good thesis falls somewhere between the two extremes. To arrive at this point, ask yourself what is new, interesting, contestable, or controversial about your topic.

As you work on your thesis, remember to keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times . Sometimes your thesis needs to evolve as you develop new insights, find new evidence, or take a different approach to your topic.

Derive a main point from topic

Once you have a topic, you will have to decide what the main point of your paper will be. This point, the “controlling idea,” becomes the core of your argument (thesis statement) and it is the unifying idea to which you will relate all your sub-theses. You can then turn this “controlling idea” into a purpose statement about what you intend to do in your paper.

Look for patterns in your evidence

Compose a purpose statement.

Consult the examples below for suggestions on how to look for patterns in your evidence and construct a purpose statement.

• Franco first tried to negotiate with the Axis
• Franco turned to the Allies when he couldn’t get some concessions that he wanted from the Axis

Possible conclusion:

Spain’s neutrality in WWII occurred for an entirely personal reason: Franco’s desire to preserve his own (and Spain’s) power.

Purpose statement

This paper will analyze Franco’s diplomacy during World War II to see how it contributed to Spain’s neutrality.

• The simile compares Simoisius to a tree, which is a peaceful, natural image.
• The tree in the simile is chopped down to make wheels for a chariot, which is an object used in warfare.

At first, the simile seems to take the reader away from the world of warfare, but we end up back in that world by the end.

This paper will analyze the way the simile about Simoisius at 4.547-64 moves in and out of the world of warfare.

Derive purpose statement from topic

To find out what your “controlling idea” is, you have to examine and evaluate your evidence . As you consider your evidence, you may notice patterns emerging, data repeated in more than one source, or facts that favor one view more than another. These patterns or data may then lead you to some conclusions about your topic and suggest that you can successfully argue for one idea better than another.

For instance, you might find out that Franco first tried to negotiate with the Axis, but when he couldn’t get some concessions that he wanted from them, he turned to the Allies. As you read more about Franco’s decisions, you may conclude that Spain’s neutrality in WWII occurred for an entirely personal reason: his desire to preserve his own (and Spain’s) power. Based on this conclusion, you can then write a trial thesis statement to help you decide what material belongs in your paper.

Sometimes you won’t be able to find a focus or identify your “spin” or specific argument immediately. Like some writers, you might begin with a purpose statement just to get yourself going. A purpose statement is one or more sentences that announce your topic and indicate the structure of the paper but do not state the conclusions you have drawn . Thus, you might begin with something like this:

• This paper will look at modern language to see if it reflects male dominance or female oppression.
• I plan to analyze anger and derision in offensive language to see if they represent a challenge of society’s authority.

At some point, you can turn a purpose statement into a thesis statement. As you think and write about your topic, you can restrict, clarify, and refine your argument, crafting your thesis statement to reflect your thinking.

As you work on your thesis, remember to keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times. Sometimes your thesis needs to evolve as you develop new insights, find new evidence, or take a different approach to your topic.

Compose a draft thesis statement

If you are writing a paper that will have an argumentative thesis and are having trouble getting started, the techniques in the table below may help you develop a temporary or “working” thesis statement.

Begin with a purpose statement that you will later turn into a thesis statement.

Assignment: Discuss the history of the Reform Party and explain its influence on the 1990 presidential and Congressional election.

Purpose Statement: This paper briefly sketches the history of the grassroots, conservative, Perot-led Reform Party and analyzes how it influenced the economic and social ideologies of the two mainstream parties.

Question-to-Assertion

If your assignment asks a specific question(s), turn the question(s) into an assertion and give reasons why it is true or reasons for your opinion.

Assignment : What do Aylmer and Rappaccini have to be proud of? Why aren’t they satisfied with these things? How does pride, as demonstrated in “The Birthmark” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” lead to unexpected problems?

Beginning thesis statement: Alymer and Rappaccinni are proud of their great knowledge; however, they are also very greedy and are driven to use their knowledge to alter some aspect of nature as a test of their ability. Evil results when they try to “play God.”

Write a sentence that summarizes the main idea of the essay you plan to write.

Main idea: The reason some toys succeed in the market is that they appeal to the consumers’ sense of the ridiculous and their basic desire to laugh at themselves.

Make a list of the ideas that you want to include; consider the ideas and try to group them.

• nature = peaceful
• war matériel = violent (competes with 1?)
• need for time and space to mourn the dead
• war is inescapable (competes with 3?)

Use a formula to arrive at a working thesis statement (you will revise this later).

• although most readers of _______ have argued that _______, closer examination shows that _______.
• _______ uses _______ and _____ to prove that ________.
• phenomenon x is a result of the combination of __________, __________, and _________.

What to keep in mind as you draft an initial thesis statement

Beginning statements obtained through the methods illustrated above can serve as a framework for planning or drafting your paper, but remember they’re not yet the specific, argumentative thesis you want for the final version of your paper. In fact, in its first stages, a thesis statement usually is ill-formed or rough and serves only as a planning tool.

As you write, you may discover evidence that does not fit your temporary or “working” thesis. Or you may reach deeper insights about your topic as you do more research, and you will find that your thesis statement has to be more complicated to match the evidence that you want to use.

You must be willing to reject or omit some evidence in order to keep your paper cohesive and your reader focused. Or you may have to revise your thesis to match the evidence and insights that you want to discuss. Read your draft carefully, noting the conclusions you have drawn and the major ideas which support or prove those conclusions. These will be the elements of your final thesis statement.

Sometimes you will not be able to identify these elements in your early drafts, but as you consider how your argument is developing and how your evidence supports your main idea, ask yourself, “ What is the main point that I want to prove/discuss? ” and “ How will I convince the reader that this is true? ” When you can answer these questions, then you can begin to refine the thesis statement.

Refine and polish the thesis statement

To get to your final thesis, you’ll need to refine your draft thesis so that it’s specific and arguable.

• Ask if your draft thesis addresses the assignment
• Question each part of your draft thesis
• Clarify vague phrases and assertions
• Investigate alternatives to your draft thesis

Consult the example below for suggestions on how to refine your draft thesis statement.

Sample Assignment

Choose an activity and define it as a symbol of American culture. Your essay should cause the reader to think critically about the society which produces and enjoys that activity.

• Ask The phenomenon of drive-in facilities is an interesting symbol of american culture, and these facilities demonstrate significant characteristics of our society.This statement does not fulfill the assignment because it does not require the reader to think critically about society.

Drive-ins are an interesting symbol of American culture because they represent Americans’ significant creativity and business ingenuity.

Among the types of drive-in facilities familiar during the twentieth century, drive-in movie theaters best represent American creativity, not merely because they were the forerunner of later drive-ins and drive-throughs, but because of their impact on our culture: they changed our relationship to the automobile, changed the way people experienced movies, and changed movie-going into a family activity.

While drive-in facilities such as those at fast-food establishments, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize America’s economic ingenuity, they also have affected our personal standards.

While drive-in facilities such as those at fast- food restaurants, banks, pharmacies, and dry cleaners symbolize (1) Americans’ business ingenuity, they also have contributed (2) to an increasing homogenization of our culture, (3) a willingness to depersonalize relationships with others, and (4) a tendency to sacrifice quality for convenience.

This statement is now specific and fulfills all parts of the assignment. This version, like any good thesis, is not self-evident; its points, 1-4, will have to be proven with evidence in the body of the paper. The numbers in this statement indicate the order in which the points will be presented. Depending on the length of the paper, there could be one paragraph for each numbered item or there could be blocks of paragraph for even pages for each one.

Complete the final thesis statement

The bottom line.

As you move through the process of crafting a thesis, you’ll need to remember four things:

• Context matters! Think about your course materials and lectures. Try to relate your thesis to the ideas your instructor is discussing.
• As you go through the process described in this section, always keep your assignment in mind . You will be more successful when your thesis (and paper) responds to the assignment than if it argues a semi-related idea.
• Your thesis statement should be precise, focused, and contestable ; it should predict the sub-theses or blocks of information that you will use to prove your argument.
• Make sure that you keep the rest of your paper in mind at all times. Change your thesis as your paper evolves, because you do not want your thesis to promise more than your paper actually delivers.

In the beginning, the thesis statement was a tool to help you sharpen your focus, limit material and establish the paper’s purpose. When your paper is finished, however, the thesis statement becomes a tool for your reader. It tells the reader what you have learned about your topic and what evidence led you to your conclusion. It keeps the reader on track–well able to understand and appreciate your argument.

Writing Process and Structure

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Getting Started with Your Paper

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Thesis vs. Purpose Statements

Architecture of Arguments

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Generating Ideas for Your Paper

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Paragraphing

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Twelve Common Errors: An Editing Checklist

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Digital Commons @ USF > College of Arts and Sciences > Women's and Gender Studies > Theses and Dissertations

Women's and Gender Studies Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2023 2023.

Social Media and Women Empowerment in Nigeria: A Study of the #BreakTheBias Campaign on Facebook , Deborah Osaro Omontese

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Going Flat: Challenging Gender, Stigma, and Cure through Lesbian Breast Cancer Experience , Beth Gaines

Incorrect Athlete, Incorrect Woman: IOC Gender Regulations and the Boundaries of Womanhood in Professional Sports , Sabeehah Ravat

Transnational Perspectives on the #MeToo and Anti-Base Movements in Japan , Alisha Romano

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Criminalizing LGBTQ+ Jamaicans: Social, Legal, and Colonial Influences on Homophobic Policy , Zoe C. Knowles

Dismantling Hegemony through Inclusive Sexual Health Education , Lauren Wright

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Transfat Representation , Jessica "Fyn" Asay

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Ain't I a Woman, Too? Depictions of Toxic Femininity, Transmisogynoir, and Violence on STAR , Sunahtah D. Jones

“The Most Muscular Woman I Have Ever Seen”: Bev FrancisPerformance of Gender in Pumping Iron II: The Women , Cera R. Shain

"Roll" Models: Fat Sexuality and Its Representations in Pornographic Imagery , Leah Marie Turner

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Reproducing Intersex Trouble: An Analysis of the M.C. Case in the Media , Jamie M. Lane

Race and Gender in (Re)integration of Victim-Survivors of CSEC in a Community Advocacy Context , Joshlyn Lawhorn

Penalizing Pregnancy: A Feminist Legal Studies Analysis of Purvi Patel's Criminalization , Abby Schneller

A Queer and Crip Grotesque: Katherine Dunn's , Megan Wiedeman

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

"Mothers like Us Think Differently": Mothers' Negotiations of Virginity in Contemporary Turkey , Asli Aygunes

Surveilling Hate/Obscuring Racism?: Hate Group Surveillance and the Southern Poverty Law Center's "Hate Map" , Mary McKelvie

“Ya I have a disability, but that’s only one part of me”: Formative Experiences of Young Women with Physical Disabilities , Victoria Peer

Resistance from Within: Domestic violence and rape crisis centers that serve Black/African American populations , Jessica Marie Pinto

(Dis)Enchanted: (Re)constructing Love and Creating Community in the , Shannon A. Suddeth

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

"The Afro that Ate Kentucky": Appalachian Racial Formation, Lived Experience, and Intersectional Feminist Interventions , Sandra Louise Carpenter

“Even Five Years Ago this Would Have Been Impossible:” Health Care Providers’ Perspectives on Trans* Health Care , Richard S. Henry

Tough Guy, Sensitive Vas: Analyzing Masculinity, Male Contraceptives & the Sexual Division of Labor , Kaeleen Kosmo

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

Let’s Move! Biocitizens and the Fat Kids on the Block , Mary Catherine Dickman

Interpretations of Educational Experiences of Women in Chitral, Pakistan , Rakshinda Shah

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

Incredi-bull-ly Inclusive?: Assessing the Climate on a College Campus , Aubrey Lynne Hall

Her-Storicizing Baldness: Situating Women's Experiences with Baldness from Skin and Hair Disorders , Kasie Holmes

In the (Radical) Pursuit of Self-Care: Feminist Participatory Action Research with Victim Advocates , Robyn L. Homer

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Significance is Bliss: A Global Feminist Analysis of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its Privileging of Americo-Liberian over Indigenous Liberian Women's Voices , Morgan Lea Eubank

Monsters Under the Bed: An Analysis of Torture Scenes in Three Pixar Films , Heidi Tilney Kramer

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

Can You Believe She Did THAT?!:Breaking the Codes of "Good" Mothering in 1970s Horror Films , Jessica Michelle Collard

Don't Blame It on My Ovaries: Exploring the Lived Experience of Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and the Creation of Discourse , Jennifer Lynn Ellerman

Valanced Voices: Student Experiences with Learning Disabilities & Differences , Zoe DuPree Fine

An Interactive Guide to Self-Discovery for Women , Elaine J. Taylor

Selling the Third Wave: The Commodification and Consumption of the Flat Track Roller Girl , Mary Catherine Whitlock

Theses/Dissertations from 2010 2010

Beyond Survival: An Exploration of Narrative Healing and Forgiveness in Healing from Rape , Heather Curry

Theses/Dissertations from 2009 2009

Gender Trouble In Northern Ireland: An Examination Of Gender And Bodies Within The 1970s And 1980s Provisional Irish Republican Army In Northern Ireland , Jennifer Earles

"You're going to Hollywood"!: Gender and race surveillance and accountability in American Idol contestant's performances , Amanda LeBlanc

From the academy to the streets: Documenting the healing power of black feminist creative expression , Tunisia L. Riley

Developing Feminist Activist Pedagogy: A Case Study Approach in the Women's Studies Department at the University of South Florida , Stacy Tessier

Women in Wargasm: The Politics of Womenís Liberation in the Weather Underground Organization , Cyrana B. Wyker

Theses/Dissertations from 2008 2008

Opportunities for Spiritual Awakening and Growth in Mothering , Melissa J. Albee

A Constant Struggle: Renegotiating Identity in the Aftermath of Rape , Jo Aine Clarke

I am Warrior Woman, Hear Me Roar: The Challenge and Reproduction of Heteronormativity in Speculative Television Programs , Leisa Anne Clark

Theses/Dissertations from 2007 2007

Reforming Dance Pedagogy: A Feminist Perspective on the Art of Performance and Dance Education , Jennifer Clement

Narratives of lesbian transformation: Coming out stories of women who transition from heterosexual marriage to lesbian identity , Clare F. Walsh

The Conundrum of Women’s Studies as Institutional: New Niches, Undergraduate Concerns, and the Move Towards Contemporary Feminist Theory and Action , Rebecca K. Willman

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A Feminist Perspective on the Precautionary Principle and the Problem of Endocrine Disruptors under Neoliberal Globalization Policies , Erica Hesch Anstey

Asymptotes and metaphors: Teaching feminist theory , Michael Eugene Gipson

Postcolonial Herstory: The Novels of Assia Djebar (Algeria) and Oksana Zabuzhko (Ukraine): A Comparative Analysis , Oksana Lutsyshyna

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Loving Loving? Problematizing Pedagogies of Care and Chéla Sandoval’s Love as a Hermeneutic , Allison Brimmer

Exploring Women’s Complex Relationship with Political Violence: A Study of the Weathermen, Radical Feminism and the New Left , Lindsey Blake Churchill

The Voices of Sex Workers (prostitutes?) and the Dilemma of Feminist Discourse , Justine L. Kessler

Reconstructing Women's Identities: The Phenomenon Of Cosmetic Surgery In The United States , Cara L. Okopny

Fantastic Visions: On the Necessity of Feminist Utopian Narrative , Tracie Anne Welser

Theses/Dissertations from 2004 2004

The Politics of Being an Egg “Donor” and Shifting Notions of Reproductive Freedom , Elizabeth A. Dedrick

Women, Domestic Abuse, And Dreams: Analyzing Dreams To Uncover Hidden Traumas And Unacknowledged Strengths , Mindy Stokes

Theses/Dissertations from 2001 2001

Safe at Home: Agoraphobia and the Discourse on Women’s Place , Suzie Siegel

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Women, Environment and Development: Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America , Evaline Tiondi

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What should be included in a disclaimer about the omission of gender-neutral language in a bachelor's thesis?

I'm working on my bachelor's thesis to get my bachelor's degree at a German university. I am not sure about the situation in other countries, but German universities are very sensitive when it comes to gender-neutral language. Some professors mark it as a mistake if you use gender-specific terms instead of gender-neutral ones. For example, instead of Studenten (students) you are expected to write Studentinnen und Studenten (i.e. naming both female and male students specifically) or Studierende (the participle form of studieren (studying)).

While I don't want to be sexist, most variants of gender-neutral language in German are (in my opinion) verbose, disturb the text flow and make the text harder to read. This is why I want to put a disclaimer in the introduction of my thesis stating that I will not use gender-neutral language for the reasons mentioned above.

Here's what I want to put in that disclaimer:

• Throughout the thesis, gender-specific terms may be used in order to ease the text flow.
• Whenever a gender-specific term is used, it should be understood as referring to both genders, unless explicitly stated.
• This is done solely for the purpose of making the text easier to read, and no offense or sexism is intended.

Is such a disclaimer generally acceptable in a bachelor's thesis (or any scientific text)? If so, are the three points stated above both adequate and thorough to state my intention, or what should I add/remove? If not, how can I go about not using gender-neutral language without having it possibly be regarded as sexism or influence my grade?

If you can give any examples of a disclaimer like that (either in German or in English), it would be helpful as well (but not required for a satisfactory answer). Thanks!

• publications

• Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat . –  eykanal Commented May 10, 2019 at 15:59

7 Answers 7

I am going to respond to various parts of your question step by step.

For those unfamiliar with German, I am going to add a brief description of the gender-neutrality issue at the end of this answer, because things are quite a bit more complex in German than in English.

German universities are very sensitive when it comes to gender-neutral language. Some professors mark it as a mistake if you use gender-specific terms instead of gender-neutral ones.

I am not convinced that statement is true for German universities in general, especially as there still is no single true agreed-upon consensus on what is a good way to navigate around the issues. Much rather than that, I can imagine that certain professors make it a point to enforce gender-neutral language (just like I could imagine some other professors to make it a point to enforce what they perceive as stylistically and grammatically correct language, even though it is in turn not considered gender-neutral by all).

While I don't want to be sexist, most variants of gender-neutral language in German are (in my opinion) verbose, disturb the text flow and make the text harder to read.

While in your Bachelor thesis, your stance on this issue carries little weight, this is by far not a rare opinion, and exactly one of the reasons why some people (including professors, see my paragraph above) vehemently oppose some variants of gender-neutral language.

This is why I want to put a disclaimer in the introduction of my thesis stating that I will not use gender-neutral language for the reasons mentioned above.

In my opinion, a disclaimer is a good idea, as it kind-of puts you on the safe side by making your intentions explicit. In fact, I would see the following benefits:

• It gives you some freedom to pick the style you'd like to write in.
• It might satisfy even some of the readers who would personally have chosen a different writing style.
• The mere existence of the disclaimer shows you care about the document as a whole, not only the specific technical aspects of your Bachelor project.
• It defines something that will be used later. In technical subjects, or at least subjects that are somewhat related to maths, choosing definitions in a convenient way, explaining them first, and then using them accordingly throughout the document, is a good practice .

Now, there is no guarantee these points will be picked up positively, but at least, there is some chances for it.

This notwithstanding, you should ask your advisor for their preferred style, if any, or check past theses (successfully) written for the same advisor.

Is such a disclaimer generally acceptable in a bachelor's thesis (or any scientific text)?

As meanwhile shown by the other answer, yes. In fact, most things that clarify the contents are acceptable in Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral theses.

If so, are the three points stated above both adequate and thorough to state my intention, or what should I add/remove?

The three points sound fine. I would indeed advise against expressing you are "not using gender-neutral language". You could try and focus on stating that some terms "can be understood in a gender-specific way".

Remarks on issues with gender-neutral German

At least according to my impression, gender-neutral language is a much more controversial topic in German than in English (for some further illustration of this, also have a look at a related question on German SE ):

In English, a large part of gender-neutral language is replacing exclusive uses of he or his . In German, in contrast, gender-neutral language primarily tackles any noun describing a person, because these usually come in a male and a female form, the latter of which is usually formed by adding the suffix -in to the male form.

This opens up two issues that make the topic so controversial in German:

• On the one hand, there is no general agreement that the male form is, in fact, not gender-neutral. It has commonly been (and still is) used when both genders were meant, and (as noted below) there often is no synonymous noun that is gender-neutral.
• For a start, truly gender-neutral nouns for persons are really rare in German. Replacements such as the English steward/stewardess -> flight attendant do not produce gender-neutral terms in German. (Curiously, the terms are sometimes copied from English nonetheless, so Germans have replaced Stewards und Stewardessen with Flugbegleiter und Flugbegleiterinnen .)
• Offering both alternatives every time a person is mentioned can make a text hard to read (imagine a text about actors and actresses , or actors/-resses , or actorsResses , and imagine that split happening for every single noun referring to a person). Hence, this variant is opposed by some native speakers.
• There is also the suggestion of using the neutral gender for all gender-neutral nouns. (In English, this would be akin to generally referring to persons whose gender is not specified as it .) While this sounds logical, it can also be perceived as disrespectful, as (unless the person noun specifically calls for neutral gender) using neutral gender on a person is like treating the person like a "thing".
• Another approach is, as mentioned in the question, using a grammatical form that is (for many words) not normally used as a noun, but that does not change by gender, and that arguably has the same meaning as the role name - the present participle. If we transfer this back to English, a sentence such as "Participants pay attention to the instructor before their conversation with the student." becomes "Participatings pay attention to the instructing before their conversation with the studying." This is opposed by some native speakers as featuring abysmal style and bordering on being ungrammatical.

Therefore, a disclaimer expressing the author's intentions can be seen as preferable compared to any of the "gender-neutral" variants, all of which are controversial and cumbersome in some way.

Reasons against a disclaimer

If not, how can I go about not using gender-neutral language without having it possibly be regarded as sexism or influence my grade?

In my opinion, a disclaimer is not going to help you here.

Either the people reading your thesis are already fine with the generic masculinum - in which case you don't need a disclaimer - or they are not.

If they are not fine with it, your disclaimer is not going to convince them that it is fine to use the generic masculinum. People who are against it already know your arguments for it, and have dismissed them. Without a disclaimer, they will not assume that when you for example speak of doctors, that you actually mean that only men can be doctors. But with a disclaimer, they may think that you thought about the problem, but came to the conclusion that you will not make an effort to not exclude women in your writing.

Either way, a disclaimer just seems like rubbing it in: "I know you would prefer it differently, but I'm not going to do that".

Improvements of your disclaimer

Your first and third point are essentially the same. The third only adds that no offense is intended, which isn't really helpful, so you might as well combine your points:

Throughout the thesis, gender-specific terms may be used in order to ease the text flow. Whenever a gender-specific term is used, it should be understood as referring to both genders, unless explicitly stated.

I'd also be interested in how the explicit stating would work in practice ("männliche Ärzte"?), but that would be a different question.

Examples of disclaimers

If you do plan on using a disclaimer, I would just put it in a footnote, no need to draw too much attention to it. An example:

Es sind stets Personen männlichen und weiblichen Geschlechts gleichermaßen gemeint; aus Gründen der einfacheren Lesbarkeit wird im Folgenden nur die männliche Form verwendet source

Here is another example, it's placed after the content overview:

Aus Gründen der besseren Lesbarkeit wird auf die gleichzeitige Verwendung männlicher und weiblicher Sprachformen verzichtet. Sämtliche Personenbezeichnungen gelten gleichwohl für beiderlei Geschlecht. source

Your arguments for the generic masculinum

In case you are not aware of this, there have been studies regarding the readability of text without the generic masculinum, and it doesn't seem to have a negative effect . There have also been studies showing that readers to not process generic masculinum as referring to both genders .

Other solutions

Looking at your disclaimer, the generic femininum seems like an equally good solution. It doesn't disturb text flow, and it can be understood as referring to both genders. And if your professor actually does have a problem with the generic masculinum, it might be a good solution that makes you both happy.

And as you didn't mention it, there is always the gendergap (Student_innen), gender star (Student*innen) or binne-i (StudentInnen). They may be less disturbing to your reading flow than naming both forms separately (Studenten und Studentinnen).

• 6 "the generic femininum (...) can be understood as referring to both genders." [citation needed] Interesting link to the other studies concerning the more commonplace variants, though. –  O. R. Mapper Commented Aug 29, 2016 at 19:48
• 5 @O.R.Mapper Well, that's what makes it generic; it's the same argument as with the generic masculinum (in my opinion it's a weak argument in either case), but it does avoid naming both forms, and may be a good compromise (OP still has the text flow they prefer, and the assumed professor is happy as women aren't excluded). OP could also include a disclaimer to highlight it, as the generic femininum isn't used that often. –  tim Commented Aug 29, 2016 at 19:51
• 2 @O.R.Mapper I don't know how well you speak German, but to me as a native speaker, generic neutrum sounds like a total abomination, whereas generic femininum makes me stop for a fraction of a second - "Why are they referring to women only?" - before I realise it's meant as a generic term and I can continue reading a normal text that is grammatically correct according to all sensible norms and where the meaning of the grammar was just slightly modified with respect to the historical standard. –  Nobody Commented Sep 3, 2020 at 13:19
• 1 @O.R.Mapper As an aside, actually reading text written in generic femininum (not just in German, I recently encountered an English computer science textbook recommended for a course that is written that way) was helpful to me to understand the problems of the generic masculinum. –  Nobody Commented Sep 3, 2020 at 13:24
• 2 ... the generic masculinum is actually the preferable choice (if generic neutrum is not accepted, that is), because appending a gender-specific marker such as -in to the basic form (that unfortunately coincides with the masculine form) to create a generic form sounds like a nonsensical solution in the end. –  O. R. Mapper Commented Sep 3, 2020 at 14:09

A common approach is to alternate genders each chapter. Chapter 1 would default to female-specific terms. Chapter 2 would default to male-specific terms. Etc.

You could explain why you choose to not include both genders at every mention, and that you've chosen this alternative.

• 11 Which one do you start with? –  O. R. Mapper Commented Aug 29, 2016 at 18:08
• 9 @O.R.Mapper Toss a coin? And include the result of the coin toss in the introduction? –  Patricia Shanahan Commented Aug 29, 2016 at 18:14
• 5 Depends on the work. I flip a coin. And yeah, including the result of the coin toss puts a light-hearted spin on the whole thing: i.e. it's not such a big deal. –  user50094 Commented Aug 29, 2016 at 18:17
• 3 You can also do this at a finer granularity, e.g., every section, every paragraph, every example. Whatever makes most sense for your prose. –  jakebeal Commented Aug 29, 2016 at 20:25
• 8 At some point, you all have to stop and say, "This is not worth it. This is not helping gender-equality but rather obsessing about political witch-hunts." The OP should simply add a short footnote if he wishes, and leave it at that. Forget the coin toss, the alternations, etc. –  user296844 Commented Sep 3, 2016 at 22:20

The preface to the book

Ludewig, J., Lichter, H.: Software Engineering - Grundlage, Menschen, Prozesse, Techniken . dpunkt Verlag, 2007.

can serve as an example. On pages vii and viii, it contains a section dealing with the issues, from which I'd like to cite the most important parts:

Rollenbezeichnungen Auch in diesem Buch bleibt das Problem ungelöst, eine befriedigende Form der Rollenbezeichnungen zu finden, die nicht suggeriert, dass die Person in dieser Rolle ein männliches (oder weibliches) Wesen ist. (...) Wir gehen den üblichen Weg, alle Rollenbezeichnungen in ihrer Grundform zu verwenden, und das heißt, da wir nicht von Hebammen und Krankenschwestern reden, in ihrer männlichen Form. Es dürfte überflüssig sein, darauf hinzuweisen, dass es nach unserer Kenntnis keine einzige Rolle auf dem Gebiet des Software Engineerings gibt, die vorzugsweise oder ausschließlich mit Männern oder mit Frauen besetzt sein sollte. (...)

In English:

Role Designations The issue of finding a satisfactory form of role designations, which do not suggest that a person occupying a role is a male (or a female) being, remains unsolved here, like in other books. (...) We take the conventional route of using the basic form for all role designations. As we are not talking about midwives and nurses 1 , this means, in their male form. It is probably unnecessary to point out that, to our knowledge, not a single role in the area of software engineering should preferably, or exclusively, be occupied by men or by women. (...)

1 : Remark by translator: A common German word for nurse , Krankenschwester (literally: sister of/for the sick ) suggests a female, comparably to the term midwife .  

• 2 "Grundform" (basic form) is of course just what's at stake. A proponent of gender neutral language would deny that the male version should count as the basic form. –  henning no longer feeds AI Commented Aug 31, 2016 at 13:59
• 1 Interestingly (and tangentially), ‘midwife’ is a gender-neutral term in english, and cognate to ‘mit-weib’ (or something like that); that is, it's the person who's professionally with the woman giving birth. In older texts, you occasionally see the term ‘man-midwife’. –  Norman Gray Commented Aug 31, 2016 at 21:59
• 3 @henning: I suppose that depends a bit on what you consider a "basic form" - but in general (actually, I cannot think of any counterexamples right now, even though they might exist), the "basic form" is more or less the "root" of a word, without any added prefixes or suffixes. At least based upon that convention, it would be rather hard to argue that a form with the suffix -in is the base for a form that does not feature that suffix. –  theboy Commented Sep 1, 2016 at 17:00
• 1 I've fought with Ludewig on this topic over a beer :) When I teach Software Engineering in German, I use the generic femininum, except for "Arzthelfer" and "Sekretär", words that are generally given as feminine, despite the "generic" masculinum. –  Debora Weber-Wulff Commented Oct 27, 2016 at 22:04

A simple solution is to just use female terms throughout. Since male-default is so often used, switching everywhere will give you:

• easier to read flow of text.
• only offend people who want to be offended, and would probably have found a way anyway regardless of what option you chose.
• additionally, you won't have to worry about switching back and forth (which can be annoying, especially in editing if you move sections around).

You might not even need a preface, especially if you are not female. Using female terms throughout a text is becoming common enough (though still pretty uncommon) that it's unlikely to cause real offence.

• Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat . –  eykanal Commented Aug 31, 2016 at 17:08

This should really be a comment, but it's far to long to be a comment, so meh.

Strictly speaking, the term "gendered nouns" doesn't mean what a lot of people think it means, specifically, sexual gender. All the romance languages that derive from Latin have or had Noun Classes where essentially all nouns fall into one of a number of categories - typically two or three.

The idea, for English speakers who are not familiar, is quite simple. If I want to write/say something like "I brought a chair, a cup, and a sofa from Ikea, but then I dropped it.", you have no idea which of the three "it" is.

Along comes noun classes to the rescue. Lets arbitrarily assign each object a class, say 1 2 and 3 to chair/cup/sofa respectively (as they are in German), and have the pronouns itx , ity and itz for each class. Now you can say --"but then I dropped ity.", and it's very clear which object was dropped. The cup.

This system helps make language more reliable, however, redundancy always comes at a cost. The cost here being that the more classes you have the more difficult it becomes to remember which class objects belong to. Certainly, it is a case of diminishing returns. Many languages therefore dropped their 3rd class and just stick with 2. Some languages like modern English dropped all 3 and just have 1 (or none, depending on how you look at it). Linguistic experts often attribute this to the invasion of the Vikings into the British Isles, where Old English and Old Norse both had the same number of noun classes, but the classes had different nouns in them, and so the benefits of noun classes were nullified and actually hindered communication, so they slowly lost popularity.

But the number of noun-classes is not at all as important as what nouns you put into what class, and here lies the paradox. If you put nouns that are similar in form or function into the same class, it will be easier to remember which class they all belong to, however, the probability of sentences where multiple nouns all have the same class increases, and the utility of noun class for clarity decreases. If knife, fork and spoon all had the same class, then classification of these nouns is kind of useless in any given sentence, which is why that is VERY rarely the case in any language that uses noun classes. However, the more divergent or random the assigning of nouns to classes is, the harder it becomes to remember an individual noun's class.

As for 'men' and 'women', well they are also nouns, so they also need a class. Unfortunately, this is where the confusion about 'gender' springs from. The fork, in German, is not female. It is simply in the same class as female. Why would anyone think our ancestors were so illogical as to assign sex to inanimate objects? They just gave their classes the names of the two big classes seen in nature - men, women, and if you need a 3rd class, neither.

None of the above has absolutely anything to do with the OPs problem. The only reason I mention it all is to draw a line under the issue of noun class - something English does not have - with the true issue in the OP; the use of collective nouns for a profession or activity that was almost entirely done by one gender, now being done by the other gender and a new word being coined to highlight the fact that the person described is not of the typical gender, as well as the issue of what to do when gender is ambiguous. This is a phenomena that does still occur in English and is part of an on-going debate in English-speaking communities too . In short, this is not a German-specific issue at all .

The obvious example is Actor. An actor was once a profession only men were allowed to perform. When women started performing, the term Actress was coined to raise awareness that an unusual gender was performing the role. But what if you want to refer to the profession without consideration to the sex of the performer? Is it Actor or Actress? Is assuming one over the other sexist?

Modern society no longer finds this gender distinction to be relevant or fair, and so all gendered collectives are falling out of fashion. Just exactly how this is done depends very much on the activity in question, the people involved, what gender was traditionally the dominant one, etc. And of course, it's a bumpy process. The basic outcomes ordered by how stable they are in society are:

A new term is coined to highlight the unusual gender. Businesswoman. Servicewoman. Actress. Priestess. If the default gender was traditionally female, male versions are unlikely to stick, for example 'murse' for male nurse, 'mid-husband' for male midwife, 'manny' for male nanny, as they are often (unfairly) seen as derogatory.

One of the two collective nouns becomes the default. Actor. Nurse. Model. More stable than segregation method above, but still not that stable, else this entire thread wouldn't exist.

An entirely new construct is used for both genders simultaneously and/or neither gender, but always with no gender having more of a claim to the term than the other. stay-at-home-mum, stay-at-home-dad, stay-at-home-parent, care-giver, etc.

Going back to the OP's question, if you were to go with the Studentinnen und Studenten option then you're basically opting for the level 1 solution. To forcibly use one over the other and insist that you are not using it in a sex-specific way, as was your quite sensible solution, would be to opt for a level 2 solution. To entirely change your personal vocabulary to use words which imply 'gender unknown or no gender' would be level 3, allowing you to use the gendered nouns when needed.... but i'm told by the numerous Germans sitting around me that making up new words is not something people like to do here. Thanks to Shakespeare this is far less the case in English-speaking communities where seemingly anyone can conjure up a new word if it's catchy enough. I suspect in the years to come, and as languages mix more than ever before, there will be a significant rise in 'new words' in German... however unpopular that may seem at first.

• 2 As you noted, this is a comment and not an answer. –  jakebeal Commented Aug 30, 2016 at 18:54
• 4 "i'm told by the numerous Germans sitting around me that making up new words is not something people like to do here" - I'm not sure that's the main sentiment at work here. The more specific statement I have heard (not least with respect to exactly this topic) is that having newly made-up words prescribed by others , in what is perceived as a top-down-way, rather than letting language evolve over the course of decades, is not something people like. Of course, leaving aside the issue mentioned elsewhere around here that a new grammatical gender might require its own custom declension. –  O. R. Mapper Commented Aug 30, 2016 at 19:40
• 3 Sorry O.R. Mapper, you're right, and I don't for a second want to pretend that I really understand why German works as it does and how it has evolved. I am still learning your language and it's a slow process for me, and obviously there's a lot more history and culture behind it than just the sounds I memorise. In fact, the more I learn it the more i'm surprised it's not the linga franca of science, since you can be very precise in German. This is probably related to the fact that smaller new words aren't just created whenever someone feels too lazy to be precise. I'm looking at you jeggings. –  Wetlab Walter Commented Aug 31, 2016 at 14:05
• 2 The entire question seems like a bike shed problem to me. This is the only answer that actually ask why the question may need to be asked. –  grochmal Commented Sep 1, 2016 at 0:16
• 5 It's an oversimplification to say that noun classes arise from or are primarily for the kinds of disambiguations you mention. (For one thing, that sort of sentence is not that common; adding an entire grammatical feature for it is odd.) For Indo-European languages in particular (including German and English), the original distinction was probably semantic, between animate and inanimate, possibly reinforced by an ergative-absolutive structure. The feminine noun class probably arose from overgeneralizing a feminizing suffix *-ih2. Of course, this has nothing to do with gender-neutral writing. –  anomaly Commented Sep 1, 2016 at 3:07

You already got long and good treaties about gender neutrality in Germany, so let me go on a bit of a tangent.

Don't explain, don't complain

General discourse: Never write any sort of disclaimer. You are doing nothing wrong (at least in the eyes of a substantial amount of Germans). If you feel that you have to explain your actions, you can always either chose to not explain ("their fault if they don't get it ") or to act differently ("it's wrong, so I will not do it"). Doing it wrong and then trying to explain it away is never good. It's like saying "I do not want to sound rude, but ...insert rude stuff here... ". Don't do that. Either be rude and man (sic!) up to it, or do not be rude.

But unfortunately, you are not asking "should I write gender-neutral or not", or "should I include a disclaimer", so the previous would not be a good answer.

So, to answer at least one of your subquestions:

Pick your side

Pick the variant that you want to pick, put a little sidenote somewhere which makes your stance on the topic clear, and be done with it. You are not committing a crime here, you are just chosing a style.

When you are an established writer, you can do it by quoting some funny Goethe poem or thinking of a tongue-in-cheek paragraph; in a bachelor thesis, where you are in a rather junior position, you likely want to keep it short and to the point ("in this thesis, the gender of any term is not related to the gender of persons but is solely used in the most readable fashion" / "Die Verwendung des Maskulinum/Femininums in diesem Werk steht nicht in Zusammenhang mit dem Geschlecht von Personen, sondern dient ausschließlich dazu, die Lesbarkeit des Textes zu steigern."). Don't make it stand out, put it in a footnote at the first occurence of a non-neutral word.

As you found out, gender neutrality is a contested field, so you cannot please everybody, anyways. Using one of the schemes mentioned elsewhere is just effort which is not even appreciated by half of your readers - waste of time on their end as well as yours; and it distracts from the actual content of your work.

Or pick their side

Since your thesis will quite likely be read by exactly one person - the one that grades it, the most important part of your question is probably:

without ... influence my grade

That is a totally different question that has nothing to do with gender-neutrality disclaimers. If you mainly want to make sure that your grade is as high as it can get, then go find out what exactly the person that grades your paper wants (ask them directly), stop fussing about it, and do what they say.

This argument may sound overly pessimistic/defeatist, but the same will be true if you later write papers that you want to have published - you better write them in the way the publisher expects them to instead of disclaiming your own preferences. As you seemingly do not care that much yourself anyways (or you would not lower yourself to add a disclaimer, in the first place), it's not like you are "giving in" to a morally bad thing, or something like that.

• I think I disagree with this, on the basis that "their fault if they don't get it " is a questionable stance when writing a text that is primarily meant to transfer information. If "they don't get it" because there are various interpretations around (even if some of them could be labeled "incorrect"), wouldn't it be the most obvious course of action to explain which interpretation is going to be used in the text? –  O. R. Mapper Commented Aug 31, 2016 at 19:33
• Read again, there are multiple choices, not just that one. –  AnoE Commented Aug 31, 2016 at 21:50

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