Defining Sex and Gender

Sex – refers to categories that people are assigned at birth based on reproductive characteristics. Based on
physical attributes of the body like sex organ, determined by genes and hormones, and fixed and constant
through time.
Genetic Factors – largely determine the sex of an organism.
Sex Chromosomes – human chromosomes are determined as X and Y. A human egg cell (female) is XX while
the human sperm cell (male) has XY.
Intersex – A human condition in which an organism has different variation of physical characteristics from a true
male or female.
Gender – socially constructed characteristics of a male and female person. Is the composite of attitude of male
and female, can be learned through family, education, and environment, and maybe variable through time and
across culture.

Theoretical Perspectives on Gender and Family

Functionalist - Marriage controls sexual behavior and ensures it is morally acceptable and parents can control
children.
Marxist - This family unit is organized to reinforce passive acceptance of authority, hierarchy, and inequality,
keeping the working classes (proletariat) under the control of the middle/upper classes (bourgouise).
Marxist Feminist - It explained that the nuclear family benefits the powerful at the expense of the working class,
and women’s domestic labor enables the future workforce to be raised at little cost to the patriarchal capitalist
community.

Sexual Division of Labor

Work Task - It is a specific expression of the division of labor where workers are divided according to certain
assumptions about “men’s work “and “women’s work.”

Theories of Gender Development

Gender Development – The process on which a person builds his or her sense of self based on the norms of
the community.
Gender Norms – traits of behaviors that are generally associated of being a male or female.
Biological Theories of Gender – according to this theory gender development starts at fertilization and is a
result of two factors the chromosomes and hormones:
Androgen – present in males and females but is generally directed to male. This hormone contributes
to males’ aggression, competitiveness, and higher sexual drive.
Testosterone – major hormone of males and is responsible for the development of sexual organs.
Estrogen – determine female sexual characteristics.
Progesterone – another female hormone.
Psychodynamic Theory of Gender – It explains that human behavior is the result of a person’s unconscious
psychological processes, and that the adult personality is crucially shaped by childhood experiences (Thorton).
 Libido – means sexual drive or sexual activity.
Life Drive – refers to feelings of love and affection.
Death drive – refers to risky behaviors such as aggression.
Fixation – results of frustration or over-indulgence.
Oral Stage (0-1) – focus of libido is the mouth, tongue, and lips. Weaning off of breast feeding or formula.
Anal (1-3) – focus of libido is the anus. Major development is weaning.
Phallic (3-6) – focus is the genitals. Resolving of Oedipus/Elektra Complex.
Latency (6-12) – Development of defense mechanisms.
Genital (12+) – focus is the genitals. Reaching full sexual maturity.
Oedipus Complex – a stage of a male where he develops affection to his mom and rejects his father but
adopting his father’s characteristics.
Elektra Complex – a stage where a female develops a liking to his father and rejects his mother but adopting his
mother’s characteristics.
Cognitive Developmental Theory of Gender – Proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg. Kohlberg maintained that his
method of processing gender-related information impacts the child’s behavior and beliefs about appropriate
behavior for boys versus girls and men versus women.
Socialization Theory of Gender - This theory posits that socialization is responsible for gender development,
and not biological influences. This theory describes three factors that play important roles in gender
development. These are personal, behavioral and environmental.
 CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE
 This theory explains that society is a stage on which struggles for power and dominance.
 Its continued domination by males requires a belief system that supports gender inequality.
 STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE
 This theory argues that society is made up of symbiotic parts, which contributes to the functioning of
the whole society.
 Pre-industrial Society – During this society, the equality between men and women was maintained by
giving them different tasks.
 Contemporary Society – In this society, the father is expected to conserve the integrity of the family by
providing food and shelter to his family. On the other hand, the mother takes the dramatic role.
 SYMBOLIC INTERACTION PERSPECTIVE
 It asserts that people do not respond directly to the world around them, but to the meaning.
From a symbolic interactionist perspective, gender is produced and reinforced through daily interactions and
the use of symbols.

Understanding Gender Concepts

Gender Role - Gender roles are learned behaviors in a given society, community or other social group. They
condition activities, tasks and responsibilities are perceived as male or female.
John William Money – coined the term gender roles.
Gender Roles in the Society
✓ In many contemporary societies, women and men undertake typical tasks and responsibilities.
✓ These tasks are allocated according to traditions and accepted norms in particular culture and in effect
determined that masculine and feminine roles (Dioniso, 1994).
5 Basic Categories of Human Activities
1. Reproductive Role
- Human or biological reproduction
- Reproduction of labor
- Social reproduction
2. Productive Role
3. Community Management Role
4. Community Politics Role
5. Multiple Roles
Sex Roles - Sex roles refer to the rules and standards of behavior and practices often related to a person's
reproductive capacity.

Gender Equality and Equity

Difference between Gender Equality and Equity
Gender equality between man and women entails the concepts that all human beings, both men and women are
free to develop their personal abilities and make choices without the limitations set by stereotypes, rigid gender
roles and prejudices.
Gender Equality - Gender equality means that the different behavior, aspirations and need of women and men
are considered, valued and favored equally.
Gender Mainstreaming - Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implications of for
women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programs, in all areas and at all levels.
Key Principles of Gender Mainstreaming
✓ Empowerment – means having control over issues and decisions that affect your life; to be given a
voice in decision-making bodies and control over the distribution of resources. A deliberate corrective
action must be taken in areas where people are underrepresented
✓ Accountability – could either be a positive means of motivation such as reward systems for specific
goals achieved or a less positive motivation such as boundary systems that define
acceptable/unacceptable behaviors with corresponding sanctions for those who cross the boundaries.
✓ Integration of effort - is a high degree of coordination to ensure that gender mainstreaming is a holistic
approach to transforming structures that create or perpetuate gender inequality, rather than just making
a “band-aid” solution.
Areas of Gender Mainstreaming
✓ Gender sensitivity language – the words used in addressing both men and women must make both
visible. Gender sensitive language applies to all kinds of written material as well as in verbal
communication.
✓ Gender specific data collection and analysis – collecting, analysis, and presentation of data should
be gender specific and takes social dimensions such as age, ethnicity, income, and education among
others in consideration whenever possible.
✓ Equal access and equal use of services – the different effects of products and services to men and
women must be equally assessed.
✓ Decisions must equally involve all people – measures and strategies must be geared towards
balance and equal representation of gender.
✓ Equal treatment is integrated into management – paying attention to the different needs of men and
women in the workplace.
Gender Violence - It is a term used to refer to harm done unto a person or groups of people due to their
gender.
Forms of Gender Violence
1. Physical violence – any act of force to cause physical harm. Physical violence includes among others
battering, assault, female genital mutilation, “honor” crimes, and/or manslaughter.
2. Sexual violence – any sexual act performed without consent. This could be rape, sexual assault,
sexual trafficking, and/or sexual exploitation.
3. Psychological violence – any act that causes harm to the mind and emotions of a person or groups of
people. Psychological violence could be verbal assault, insults, harassment, defamation, coercion,
and/or illegal detention.
4. Economic violence – any act that causes harm to an individual’s productivity. For example, property
damage, restricting access to financial resources, depriving education, prevents the person from getting
hires, and/or not complying with economic responsibilities (i.e child support)
5. Technology-facilitated gender-based violence – the use of technology to cause harm to an individual
because of their gender. The type of violence could be anything related to the internet, especially social
media.
Sites of Gender -based violence
1. The family
 Prepares its members for social, however it also forms the stereotypes, biases, perceptions,
and concepts about gender.
2. Community/society
 Reinforces existing family structures. Thus, power inequality that exists in the family gets
amplified in the society.
3. Workplace
 The workplace is also a site of gender violence.
 Women are vulnerable to sexual violence and economic violence.
4. State
 Obliged to develop and implement measures that would stop gender violence.
  The State becomes a site for gender violence when it fails to pass and enact laws that protect
its citizens from any and all forms of gender violence.
Gender Stereotypes
Most people in diverse organizations try to tolerate differences by making generalizations that categorize
individuals into groups.
Stereotypes
✓ Is a widely accepted judgment or bias about a person or group.
✓ Stereotypes about gender can cause unfair treatment because of a person’s gender.
4 Kinds of Gender Stereotypes
1. Personality Traits – women are often expected to be accommodating and emotional, while men are
usually assumed to be self-confident and aggressive.
2. Domestic Behaviors – some people presume that woman will cook, clean the home, and take care of
their children, while men take care of finances, work on the car, and do the home repairs.
3. Occupations – some people are quick to assume that teachers and nurses are women, and that pilot,
doctors and engineers are men.
4. Physical Appearance – women are expected to be thin and graceful, while men are supposed to be tall
and muscular. Men and women are also supposed to be dress and prepare in ways that are
stereotypical to their gender (e.g. men wearing pants and has short hairstyles, women wearing dresses
and has make up).
Hyperfemininity and Hypermasculinity Stereotype
✓ Hypermasculinity and hyperfemininity – two gender-specific personality dimensions that represent
adherence to extremely traditional gender-role ideologies.
✓ Hyperfemininity - is an exaggerated adherence to a feminine gender role as it relates to heterosexual
relationships.
✓ Hypermasculinity - Hypermasculine people exaggerate the qualities they believe to be masculine.
Influences on Gender Identity and Stereotypes
1. Media (popular culture)
- Gender stereotypes are pervasive in the media and popular culture.
- Consumer products overwhelm children with gender-type messages on towels, bed sheets,
clothes, school supplies, toys, furniture, etc.
2. Friends (Peer Groups)
- Children have been shown to generate gender characters through their interactions with
others.
3. Family
- Parents begin to transmit sex-role stereotypes as soon as a child is born.
4. School
- The role of schools has become more prominent in the lives of children.
Common Terms in Gender Stereotypes
✓ Racial profiling – presents the idea that all Blacks are good at sports because grouping their race
indicate that every one of those races is a good athlete.
✓ Gender profiling – presumes that men are strong and women are not.
✓ Cultural profiling – it also presents a wrong premise, e.g. “Arabs and Muslims are terrorist.”
✓ Gender Role – it refers to the socially constructed and culturally specific behavior and expectations for
women (i.e. femininity) or men (i.e. masculinity) based on heteronormativity.
✓ Gender Division of Labor – it is socially healthy ideas and practices which define what roles and
activities are believed appropriate for men and women.
✓ Gender Identity – it refers to one’s psychological sense of oneself as a male, female, gender
transgressive etc.
✓ Gender Dysphoria – it is the term that applies to the discontent with the physical or social aspects of a
person’s sex.
✓ Gender Schema – it is the term that applies to the organized set of beliefs and expectations that guides
a person’s understanding of gender or sex.
✓ Gender Consistency – it implies that the understanding that your own and other people’s sex is fixed
across situations regardless of superficial changes in appearance or activities.
✓ Gender Script – it refers to a temporally organized gender-related sequence of events. A female
gender script can be laundry, cooking, and male gender script can be building, mowing, or barbecuing.
✓ Gender Assignment/Typing – this term is applied for the classification of an infant at birth as either
male or female.
✓ Gender Expression – this refers to the behavior and physical appearance that a person utilizes to
express their gender.
✓ Gender Discrimination – it is the systematic, unfavorable treatment of individuals by their gender,
which denies those rights, opportunities or resources.
Gender Development and Sensitivity
 Both women and men are victims, although women are affected more than men.
 SEEING – what women and men can do, rather than relying on assumptions;
 HEARING – women and men needs, priorities and perspectives;
 COUNTING – the value of women’s work
 RESPECTING – full dignity of women and men
 CARING – about women and men and what happen to them
 Renaming and reimaging women or men relationships to bring about mutuality and partnership.

Sex and Gender Identity

Legal basis - The legal concept of gender equality is enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human
Rights as well as United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW), which was adopted in 1979 and is also known as the convention on women’s rights.