Soc P1-10

DATE

GENDER
- Gender is defined by Lopi (1999) as the differences between men and women that are
socially constructed and have wide variations within and between cultures.
- The term gender is referred to as “a culturally shaped group of attributes given to the
female or to the male”.
- Gender entails the social differences (roles) assigned to sex and sex refers to the
biological state of being female and male. Sex is also universal while gender is not, it is
cultural.
- Gender is associated with femininity and masculinity, while sex is characterised with
female and male attributions.
- N.B “Individuals are born sexed but not gendered, henceforth, they have to be taught to be
masculine or feminine… One is not born, but rather becomes a woman through civilisation. Clothing
paradoxically, often hides the sex but displays the gender…”
- Therefore, gender roles are socially expected images, behaviour patterns and tasks of
males and females in a society. They can also be viewed as stereotypes of male and
female.

Gender roles
Male Female
 Aggressiveness  Submissiveness
 Active / competitiveness  Passive and obedient
 Independent  Dependent (on their husbands or
 Production tasks (manual work) parents)
 Bread winner  House keeping chores (cooking)
 Role models of discipline, guidance  Modesty (well mannered)
and nartures the family to conform  Child rearing
to the existing culture of the
society.
 Whenever there are disputes
arising, mostly fathers, are
expected to resolve them in honesty
so that the family functions
properly.

N.B. It must be noted that some of the gender roles and expectationg have since been changing mostly due to
modernity. For instance, today fathers are taking care of little children, women and men are working at the
same jobs and boys and girls are getting the same education and wearing unisex clothing.

Gender Theories

1. Biological view
- Biological attendant scholars supports the fact that human innate character affect
human behaviour.
- According to the Biological approach, there is no difference between sex and gender, thus
biological sex creates gendered behaviour.
- Gender is determined by two biological factors: hormones and chromosomes. These cause
different behaviour patterns in humans, for example, testestorone (sex hormone) can
cause typically male behaviours such as aggression and competitiveness.

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Biology and sexual division of labour
- George Peter Murdock argued that biological differences between men and women were
the basis of the sexual division of labour in society.
- Thus biological differences such as the greater physical strength of men and the fact that
woomen bear children, lead to gender roles out of shear practicality.
- In a cross cultural survey of 224 societies, ranging from hunting and gathering bands to
modern nation states, Murdock examined the activities assigned to men and women, he
found tasks such as hunting and mining to be predominantly male roles, and gathering,
cooking, water fetching and making and repairing clothes to be largely female roles.
- Man with his superior physical strength can better undertake the more strenuous tasks
such as mining and hunting.
- Because of their biological function of childbearing and nursing, women are tied to the
home, and because of their physique they are limited to less strenuous tasks such as
preparation and gathering of food.

2. The Social Perspective

- It comes as a response to the biological view of gender as there has not been enough
scientific proof to credit its views.
- Oakley (1974) believes that gender roles are as a result of social construction rather than
being biological driven. He asserts that no matter what biological differences present
among females and males it is one’s culture which creates masculine and feminine
behaviour.
- Oakley has attributed socialisation in constructing human behaviour in 4 ways:
a) Manipulation – it has been one of the ways in which human behaviour have
been molded, for example, mothers give more attention on the beauty (hair
platting) for a girl child and dress them in feminine clothes.
b) Canalisation – which helps to achieve differences as boys are given objects that
encourages more practical, logical and aggressive behaviour for exmple toy guns
and cars, while girls are given dolls which enable them to rehearse their expected
duties as mothers and housewives (playing mawumbwe in shona).
c) Verbal appellation – for example, “boys do not cry”, these model boys to become
tough, and to girls terms like “that’s my smart girl and good girl” will only create
a girl child who will worry more about beauty.
d) Males and female children are exposed to different activities. For example, girls
are particularly encouraged to become involved with domestic tasks.

3. Social Learning Theory

- Mischel (1986) asserts that environmental influences like parent modelling, peer
imitation and media plays a crucial role in explaining gender role development.
- Reprimanding roles have been one of the causes of gender roles framing. In the case that
a boy wears a skirt he is harshly told not to wear women clothes.
- Rewards and punishments to align children to proper gender roles accepted within a
society creates feminine and masculine behaviours.
- In every culture boys and girls are dressed differently. For example even colours are sex
categorised where pink is associated with females and blue with males.
- Scholars like Bandura (1987) asserts that observational learning is critical for human
behaviour. For example, children tend to imitate and copy the behaviour of the
significant person in their lives. More so, children learn sex potrayed behaviours from the

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media, for instance, the watching of violent films in which actors are most men, have
been seen to increase aggression among boys morethan girls.

4. Evolutionary view (Darwinism)

- Giddens (2006) notes that regardless of whatever culture, men are more violent and there
is an evolutionary reason to believe this.
- Men are mostly physically tougher, stronger and are generally built for violence when
compared to women.
- Given that in prehistory men would likely be responsible for defending their mates and
children in their times of vulnerability. Therefore, perhaps men just evolved to be more
violent out of necessity.

GENDER POLICIES IN ZIMBABWE

- At National Level Zimbabwe has made significant strides in amending and enacting
legislations to advance the gender equality and equity objective.
- These include the Maintenance Act (1999), Administration of Estate Act (1997),
Education Act (2004), Domestic Violence Act (2007) and Quota system among some
others.

N.B: Pupils to read and research more on the above legislations.

IMPORTANT TERMS TO REMEMBER IN GENDER STUDIES

a) Gender: The social meaning given to being either female or male in a given society. It may
also be defined as the economic, social, political and cultural attributes and opportunities
associated with being male or female. These meanings and definitions vary from one society
to another, are time bound and changeable.

b) Empowerment: refers to the process of change that gives individuals greater freedom of
choice and action. The outcome of the process is an enhanced ability of an individual or
community to make strategic life choices in a context that was previously denied, enhance
conscientisation, analytical skills and self confidence.

c) Gender Awareness: Refers to recognition of the differences in the interests, needs and roles
of women and men in society and how this results in differences in power, status and
privilege. Gender awareness also signifies the ability to identify problems arising from
gender inequality and discrimination.

d) Gender Blindness/Gender Neutral: The inability to perceive that there are different
gender roles and responsibilities and, consequently, the failure to realize that policies,
programs and projects may have different impact on women and men.

e) Gender Discrimination: Providing differential treatment to individuals on the grounds of

their sex. This involves systemic and structural discrimination against women or men in the
distribution of income, access to resources, and participation in decision making.

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f) Gender Division of Labour: An overall societal pattern where women are allotted one set
of gender roles and men allotted another. This division is not based on skills, but on the basis
of sex.

g) Gender Equality: Requires equal enjoyment by women and men of socially valued goods,
opportunities, resources and rewards. Achieving gender equality requires changes in the
institutional practices and social relations through which disparities are reinforced and
sustained.

h) Gender Equity: A just distribution of benefits and rewards between men and women.

i) Gender Gap: Is a disproportionate difference or disparity between the sexes. Conventional

wisdom is that differences between boys and girls in mathematics and science are not a
matter of biology; any observable differences are influences of the social environment.

j) Gender Planning: The formulation of specific strategies, which aim to provide equal
opportunities and benefits for both women and men.

k) Gender Relations: Social relationships between men and women. They are simultaneously
relations of cooperation, connection, and mutual support, and of conflict, separation and
competition, of difference and inequality. Gender relations are concerned with how power is
distributed between sexes. They vary according to time and place, and between different
groups of people.

l) Gender Roles: A social system of role classification, as opposed to a biological one. Gender
roles are contrasted with sex roles, which cannot be interchanged between sexes.

m) Gender Role Stereotyping: The constant portrayal (in media, the press, or in education), of
women and men occupying certain roles according to the socially constructed gender division
of labour and expectations of behaviour.

n) Gender Sensitivity: The ability to recognize gender needs and constraints and the ability to
recognize men and women’s different perceptions and interests arising from their different
social positioning.

o) Women’s Economic Empowerment: refers to the process which increases women’s real
power over economic decisions that influence their lives and priorities in society. This can be
achieved through equal access to and control over critical economic resources and
opportunities and the elimination of structural gender inequalities in the labour markets

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Typical Exam Questions

 Explain gender practices which have contributed to the spread of HIV and AIDS (8)
 Discuss the Marxist perspective on gender (10)

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