Which term refers to analysis focusing on how gender is represented in a text?

• A. Reader Response
• B. Psychoanalytic
• C. Gender
• D. New Criticism

Answer: (C)

Focusing on how gender is represented in a text is a gender analysis (often called gender or feminist criticism). This lens asks questions like: How are women and men portrayed? What roles do they occupy, and who holds authority? How do language, narration, and plot reinforce or challenge stereotypes and power dynamics related to gender? By zeroing in on these aspects, you can uncover how the text reflects, reinforces, or critiques social norms about gender.

Other approaches look at different angles, not specifically the representation of gender. Reader Response centers on the reader’s interpretation and experience; Psychoanalytic looks at unconscious motives and psychic structures; New Criticism analyzes the text itself in isolation from context and authorial intent. While those lenses can intersect with gender, the analysis that directly targets gender representation is best described as gender analysis.