CHAPTER 3

Gender and Sexuality

BILLY JOEL B. RAMOS, MAIOPsych
 KEY CONCEPTS

Gender – as the term is used by many researchers,

refers to perceptions about the differences among
males and females. It is socially constructed depending
upon time and culture.
Sexuality – is the quality or state of being sexual and
encompasses sex, gender identities and roles, and
sexual orientation.
Gender Differences
To what extent the stereotypes of men and women are true is difficult to
judge?
Early Years
Girls should play with dolls and boys
should play with trucks
Boys should be directed to like blue
and green; girls toward red and pink
Boys should not wear dresses or
other clothes typically associated
with "girl's clothes"
During Youth
Girls are better at reading and boys are better at math
Girls should be well behaved; boys are expected to act out
Boys should engage in sports and refrain from more creative pursuits;
Boys and men are expected to use violence and aggression to prove
their manliness;
A boy that doesnt use violence or aggression is an understandable
target for bullying;
Girls should be thin and beautiful to make them appealing to men;
Gender Differences
Males and females, it turns out, are
different from the moment of
conception, and the difference shows
itself in every system of body and brain.
In fact, men produce twice as much
saliva as women. Women, for their part,
learn to speak earlier, know more words,
recall them better, pause less and glide
through tongue twisters.
Gender Differences
SEX of a person is biologically determined,
GENDER of a person is culturally and socially constructed.

Generally, there are two sexes (male and female) and two
genders (masculine and feminine). However, masculine
and feminine as gender orientations are now expanded to
include the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer
otherwise known as the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, the
sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression
(SOGIE) equality bill is now being pushed at the Philippine
House of Representatives.
The principal theoretical and political issue is whether gender as a socially constructed phenomenon is
related to or determined by biology.

For example, in nineteenth century various medical theories suggested that the female personality
was determined by anatomy and women’s reproductive functions.

Anthropological research has also shown the cultural specificity of notion about gender, sexuality and
sex-roles.

For example, M. Mead showed in a number of cross-cultural studies that, while gender
differentiation is wide-spread, the social tasks undertaken by men and women are highly variable.
There is no general relationship across societies between social roles and biological sex.

Social psychologists have treated gender- identity as the product of child training rather than as
biologically given.