GE 10- GENDER AND SOCIETY

Their Oppressions and Paths to Liberation

By: Agustin Martin G. Rodriguez and Ara Marie Leal Rodriguez

Gender means social characteristics, roles and expectations of an individual being a male, female or
non-binary (neither male nor female).

Social characteristics means societal descriptions of an individual.

1. Personality characteristics- traits- kindness, humor and determination
2. Physical Characteristics- appearance, features, attributes (qualities like height, color, skin
tone
3. Behavioral Characteristics – habits and tendencies (like communication style or problem
solving approach)

Roles – Functions and responsibilities

Expectations – Strong belief on what will happen in the future like career or professional
growth.

Gender and Sex Are Related but Distinctive

Gender – Characteristics, roles and responsibilities

Sex – means biological (innate/inherent and physiological like digestion, respiration and circulation
and etc.

Society- group of people living together in a community sharing common interest, values and norms
(manner of clothing, behavior and policies)

The why’s of Women – Understanding the reasons behind women’s thoughts feelings and behavior.

Their Oppressions – Sufferings, exploitation (taking advantage), ingrained (difficult)

discrimination, marginalization and subordination of women in the society.

Paths to Liberation – Way to freedom from suffering and ignorance.

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 CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION

- Focuses on women development rather than human development

- In the Phil., women are integral (whole) part of development.
- Article II, Sec. 13 of 1987 Phil. Constitution emphasizes that women are vital aspects of nation-
building and their inclusion in social structures and processes are key towards equality and
development.

DESCRIMINATION OF WOMEN OF TODAY

1. Childcare is left to women mostly. (reaction)
2. Women in the workplace often face a pay gap.
3. Glass ceiling of women in the workplace. (ability to limit the position)
4. Most societies consider women as weaker sex.
- In Bangladesh, and Pakistan- Women are not allowed to take loans or interact with others.
- In India and Pakistan- Women are barred from obtaining education.
- In East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Mongolia-Women without husbands are
deemed not valuable.
- In Saharan Africa-Women sexual desire is controlled thru female circumcision.
- In the Phil., discrimination of women is less obvious.
1. Women in the country are capable in many areas of life protected by numerous laws for
equality and against discrimination. Areas: politics, business, education, sports. activism
and advocacy. Ex. Of laws for women: RA 6725 on Prohibition on Discrimination
Against women, RA 11210 on 105 -Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law. Research some

SOME DISCRIMINATION OF WOMEN IN THE PHILIPPINES

1. Culturally, women are seen responsible for childbearing, child-rearing and keeping the
family whole.
2. Reproductive roles are often described to women
3. Have a tough time getting ahead for men have set activities and forms of behavior women
have to engage in:

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What activities?
1. Restricting on personal educational growth
2. Career choices dominated by men
3. Workplace discrimination
4. Entrepreneurial limitation
5. Participation in sports

FORMS OF BEHAVIOR MEN PREVENT

1. Speaking up
2. Independence
3. Socialization
4. Friendship
4. Some women suffer various forms of gender-based violence.
- Right of freedom of movement, enterprise or expression
- Sexual harassment
5. According to patriarchal society (male dominant society), women can’t define themselves
and free to enact their full capabilities. Ex. can’t drink together with men.
6. Exclusion from creative participation in the shared communities. Ex. traditional roles and
behavior, misconceptions about women’s abilities, limited access to funding and
education and opportunities.

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CHAPTER 2 – LEVELING OFF: GENDER AND SEXUALITY

It emphasizes on balancing/comparing the connotations of two terms

Gender – Characteristics, roles and expectations

Sexuality – More on biological/physiological needs

Pre-Work Activity: Complete the following statements

1. I think girls are________________.

2. I think boys are________________________________.
3. I think girls should _______________________________.
4. I think boys should _______________________________.
5. Society thinks that girls should _______________________
6. Society thinks that boys should_______________________.

Discuss your answer by group then show/express before the classmates.

Sexuality – Physical traits (height, color, skin tone)

- Biological sex
- Genetic traits -carried by genes
- Developmental trait-growth rate

Realization of Sex
Project No. 2

Direction: Give brief narrative on when had you realized that you were a boy or a girl or non-binary?
What is a Sex? Is a category for living beings specifically related to their reproductive functions?

2 Sexes: Male and female

Male produces sperm cells while women produce egg cells. the 2 cells unionize/fertilize to form
Zygote-1st stage of development.
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Chromosomes – Determine whether someone’s body will express itself as a male or a female.
- Carrier of genetic information and responsible for sex determination.
XX – 2X chromosomes equate to female.
XY – One X and one Y chromosomes equate to male.
- X and Y are 2 chromosomes paired to produce offspring. They are the carrier of sex
determination.
- Y chromosomes is smaller than X chromosomes and Y has fewer genes to carry.

Hormones – Play a large part in the definition of one’s sex and the physical features of the offspring.

Components of Hormones (substance regulating the characteristics of an offspring) of Both Sexes

1. Estrogen – Primary sex hormone responsible for female reproduction system and secondary
sex characteristics. Female have more amount of estrogen.
2. Testosterone – Males have more amount of this substance.
Hormonal Imbalance – can result in someone born as a female. (meaning more estrogen than
testosterone.
Activity:

What had your parents realized when you were at the womb? Were you a boy or a girl? Why? Were
there indications?

LGBT- Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, and Transgender

What is a gender? It can be associated with one’s sex.

The following ideas differentiate between sex and gender.

Sex Gender
1. Physiological Social
2. Related to reproduction Cultural
3. Congenital- innate Learned Behavior
4. Unchanging Changes Overtime
Culture varies within
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Gender Role Socialization – process of learning and internalizing culturally approved ways of
thinking, feeling and behaving.

Regulations of socialization of Gender

1. External Regulations- involves various institutions dictating what is proper and normal based
on identity.
2. Internalized -Self Control -causes a person to police himself or herself according society’s
norm.

Group Sharing On Gender Socialization (10-15 min)

Discuss: What is expected of girls and boys in the following institution?
1. School (high or college)
2. Your household (members of the family)
3. Your church

Gender Stereotypes (deviation, inaccurate of idea-developed when different institutions reinforce

biased perception of a certain gender’s role.

Types of Gender Stereotypes

1. Sex Stereotypes – generalized (common, uniform) view of traits that be possessed by men
and women especially physical and emotional roles.
Women-nurturing, care giving; men- strong provider; General- disability, heights
Emotional roles - expressive, sensitive (upset, offended) and empathetic (understanding,
compassionate
2. Sexual Stereotypes – involves assumptions (perception, Ho) regarding sexuality that
reinforces dominant (leading) views
3. Sex-role Stereotypes – Deviation of attitudes of men and women regarding their roles
assigned and their behavior to play.
What are roles for men and women traditionally?
4. Compounded stereotypes- are assumptions (expectation) about a specific group belong to a
gender.
Group of young men; old men; single men; women factory workers

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Reflection/Reporting: How does your society or culture teach you to think, feel and act based on
your gender.

SOGIE – Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression

Sexuality – refers to expression of person’s thoughts, feelings, sexual orientation and relationship.

Definition of Terms:
1. Sexual Orientation- involves the person to whom one is attracted and how this attraction is
defined. it maybe romantic or sexual feeling. Sexual feeling maybe attraction, desire, arousal
Romantic feeling- emotional, or bond; affection- tender, loving; attraction- physical,
emotional or intellectual; intimacy-desire for closeness.
2. Gender identity- refers to one’s personal experiences of gender or social relations. Identifying
yourself whether you are a feminine or masculine
Have you already identified yourself?
3. Gender Expression -refers on how an individual expresses his/her sexuality thru action or
manner in presenting himself.

LGBTQIA – Lesbian, gay or homosexuality; bisexual; trans gender is an umbrella term that refers to
someone whose assigned sex at birth does not represent his/her gender identity.

Ex. Trans man (assigned female at birth identifies as male

Trans woman (assigned male at birth and identifies as female)

Aligning their physical appearance, name or pronouns with their gender identity through medical,
social or legal means.

Intersex – Individual born not fitting typically to binary notion of male or female. Born with
physical sex characteristics that don’t fit typical definitions of male or female.

Asexual – An individual who does not experience sexual attraction.

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Why Equate Gender Issues (The Roles, Values and Expectations)

2 Reasons of Equality
1. Sexism -means prejudice against certain sex.
2. Gender Equality- means recognition of the state that all human beings are free to enjoy equal
conditions and fulfill their human potentials to contribute to the state or society.
3. Discriminating gender roles.

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 CHAPTER 3 – CULTURES AND RATIONALITIES
(CRITICAL THINKING, THOUGHT PROCESSES, DECISION MAKING)

Culture is the system of symbols (representation) that allows people to give meaning to experience.

- Practices to be experienced by individual for meaning.

Instinct – Innate, automatic or natural behavior or responses. Ex. breathing.

Systems of meaning means telling what is right or wrong.

Can culture change?

1. How does culture shape people’s perception?

2. What is the difference between instinct and culture?
3. How does the Phil. Culture view women and the LGBT?
4. Why is culture important in achieving gender equality?
5. Why are sexism and discrimination associated with culture?

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 CHAPTER 4 – WOMEN’S WAYS OF KNOWING

Aspects on Difference of Men and Women (Please defend)

Boys Girls
1. Ways of Knowing Men
- Hands on learning (engaged - Collaborative
- Visual learner (abstract) - Emotional
- Active learner - Holistic -multiple perspective
2. Judgments
- Decision making based on rules - Judge based on emotions and relationship
- Risk taker - More cautious
3. Forms of human development
- More muscles and bone density - High percentage of body fat
- More socialized - Emotionally expressive
- Focus on independence - Prioritized building relationship
- Direct and assertive communication - Expressive

4. Value priorities (quality, principles)

- Prioritizes autonomy - Prefers on value interconnectedness
- Achievements, success and competitions /relationship
- Value on logical analysis and objective - Prioritize harmony and cooperation
decision making - Focuses on empathy emotions and
personal connections
5. Vision
- Good planner - Methodical and planned approach
- Impulsive of action oriented approach - Meticulous
- Lack precision or accuracy

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How Women Know?

5 Categories or General Ways Women Learn

1. Silence – means absence of thought or reflection. No dialogue with the self. Why does it
become a knowledge? What does silence signify? What does it connect?
2. Received Knowledge – Women know or learn by receiving knowledge. How is knowledge
received?
3. Subjective Knowledge – They learn through their personal opinions and experience to attain
truth. Use their intuition to decipher truth.
4. Procedural Knowledge – They are procedural knowers learned through processes.
5. Constructed Knowledge – Women are knowing of their own methods and interaction

Exclusion of Women in Disciplines (various academic fields)

Reason: from psychologist Carol Gilligan: Women’s failure to fit into existing models of human
growth like male-centric perspective Ex. Classical Economics), societal norms ex. sociology,
historical context: History
Psychology: Men are the basis of assessing human development.

Questions to Answer:

1. What are the implications (effects, outcomes, consequences) of different ways of

knowing?
2. How is silence associated with knowledge?
3. Why is procedural knowledge not enough to voice out women’s concerns?
4. How does this kind of knowing affect or influence you?
5. Are there + or – aspects of this knowing?

Exclusion of Women in Disciplines (various academic fields)

Reason: from psychologist Carol Gilligan: Women’s failure to fit into existing models of human
growth like male-centric perspective Ex. Classical Economics), societal norms ex. sociology,
historical context: History

Psychology: Men are the basis of assessing human development.

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 CHAPTER 5 – GENDER-FAIR LANGUAGE

Point of Discussions:

How do you speak to women? What about to men?

How do you describe feminine speech? What about masculine speech?

Language and Gender Relations

Language is an expression of ideas.

Language and Gender

- The success or failure of man’s/woman’s work or undertaking is dependent on his/language.
- It is a part of culture to any gender.
- It is the language that defines men and women differently.
- It devalues certain characteristics of men and women.

Violations of Gender-Fair Language

Sexist Language – Is a tool that reinforces unequal gender relations

Ex. Men can’t take care of children.

Women can’t be engineers.
These are violations of fair-language.

1. Invisibilitation of Women- is rooted in the assumption that men are dominant and are the
norm of the fulness of humanity, while women don’t exist.
Ex.
1. The generic use of masculine pronouns or nouns. Mankind, He/him; You guys.
2. The assumptions that jobs are performed by men instead of both gender.
3. The use of male job titles or terms ending in man. Ex. businessman, chairman

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 2. Trivialization of Women (Fun facts about women)
1. The perception of women as immature.
2. The likening of objects of women.
Ex. Being called as honey, sweets or chick- Women of these are devalued.

3. Fostering unequal gender relations- means promoting language lacks parallelism.

Ex. man and wife. Man is dominant while wife is subordinate.

4. Gender polarization (division/generalization) of works in use of adjectives

Ex. Men who took the lead is considered the ‘boss”.
Women who do the same is “bossy”.

Sexist Language and Culture

Sexist Language -is a language that discriminates or stereotypes gender. Ex. mankind, honey, sweet,
businessmen, guys.

Culture is a way of life. Traditions/practices are examples of culture.

Relationship of Sexist Language and Culture

1. Sexist language can shape cultural attitude.
2. It can influence thought pattern.
3. Perpetuates power imbalances.

Toward A Gender-Fair Language

1. Removal of sexist language as imperative to gender responsiveness is being currently
advocated.
GABRIELA – General Assembly Binding Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equality,
Leadership and Action
2. Banning of Sexist language in all official communication in the Huse of Representatives.
3. The creation of comprehensive gender-fair language policy in institutions and its
implementation and evaluation.

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