“It’s not adequate, but otherwise they would not understand it”

Abstract

The paper discusses the epistemic change in understanding the ‘sex’/gender dichotomy and its deconstruction; conceptual developments have not been adequately implemented in the basic categorical gender apparatus and its usage promoted by the European Commission’s studies and the integrated linguistic tools. The basic terms, sex and gender, are used interchangeably; even definitions where new concepts are introduced contradict each other. Mainstream gender policies have been slow in integrating new knowledge, although there is a trend to introduce a new gender category into the administration framework of EU states. The study aims at constituting the epistemic platform and a renewed gender related categorical apparatus to be used in the education sector. It resolves the inconsistencies present in various gender-focused studies by introducing the lowest common linguistic denominators supported by practical usage, EU political trends, and the contemporary epistemology of knowledge.