GENDSO FINALS.
:>> ● No Gender – agender, non-gendered, genderless,
Lesson 4: Gender as the Social Component of Sexuality
Gender– socially constructed characteristics of men and women,
which vary from society to society and can be changed (WHO).
– refers to the individual’s and society’s expression of
sexuality and the malleable concepts of feminity and masculinity
– describes the psychological (gender identity) and
sociological (gender role) representations of the biological sex
Identity – conscious sense of self that we develop through social
interaction; constantly changing due to experiences and
information we acquire in our daily interaction with others (Erik
Erikson)
Gender Role – a social role encompassing a range of behaviors
and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable,
appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person’s
biological or perceived traits.
Gaydar – the attempt to detect sexual orientation in social
situations.
Gender Identity – the personal sense of one’s own gender.
Gender Stereotype – preconceived ideas whereby females and
males are arbitrarily assigned characteristics and roles
determined and limited by their genders.
Gender Identity – one’s internal, personal sense of being a man
or woman (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).
Gender identity is defined as the individual’s private
experience of the self as female or male - a powerful aspect of
the self-concept that is formed early in childhood, and in most
adults, extremely resistant to change. Only a tiny percentage of
people form a gender identity that is in congruent with their
biological sex when no physiological abnormalities are present.
Gender Expression – external manifestations of gender,
expressed through one’s name, pronouns, clothing, haircut,
behavior, voice, or body characteristics (Gay and Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation). Society identifies these cues as
masculine or feminine, although what is considered masculine or
feminine changes over time and varies by culture.
Types of Gender Classification based on Identity
● Binary – classification of genders based on two distinct
opposite forms such as masculine and feminine, male
and female, whether because of social system or
cultural belief; usually views gender as a category.
● Non-Binary – classification of gender based on a
variety of ranges, often are not exclusively masculine or
feminine; usually views gender as a spectrum
Binary Classification of Gender:
● Masculine
● Feminine
● ● Outing – a deliberate or accidental disclosure of an
Non-Binary Classifications of Gender:
● More than one gender – bisexual and tri-sexual
genderfree, or neutrois
● Gender Fluid – moving between genders or having a
fluctuating gender identity
Gender as a spectrum – there are individuals whose genders
do not fit within the stereotypes of either male or female.
Types of Genders Based on Congruence to Ascribed Sex
● Cisgender – a person whose sense of personal identity
and gender corresponds with their sex at birth.
● Transgender – a person whose sense of personal
identity and gender corresponds with their sex at birth.
BEHAVIORS AFFECTED BY GENDER EXPRESSION
1. Gender role
2. Career Path
3. Dating and relationships
4. Sexual Behavior
According to Carl Rogers, there are two domains in our
personality: our real self, and our ideal self. Sometimes the two
meet. Sometimes they don’t.
The real self is who we actually are. The ideal self is how we
want to be. How we want to be is influenced by how people
around us evaluate things about ourselves
When our real self and ideal self does not match, however, we
develop a state of incongruence, resulting in an inner conflict.
The incongruence, or lack of alignment, will result in mental
distress or anxiety. The greater the level of incongruence
between the real self and the ideal self, the greater the level of
resulting distress.
This concept may be applied to sexual orientation, gender
identity, and gender expression. When identity matches
expression, a person tends to gain a sense of mental well-being
and peace of mind. However, when a person cannot, for some
reason, carry one’s sexual orientation and gender identity into
his/her gender expression, a certain level of distress may arise,
depending on how wide the gap is between the two poles.
ELIMINATING THE GAP:
● Coming out of the Closet / Coming out – a metaphor
for LGBT people’s self-disclosure of sexual orientation
and gender identity
● Out – individuals who are openly LGBT
● Closeted – individuals who opted to keep their gender
identity and sexual orientation private
LGBT person’s gender Identity and Sexual Orientation.
 ● Glass Closet – the open secret of when public figures
being LGBT is considered a widely accepted fact even
though they have not openly come out
● Transitioning – the process of changing one’s gender
presentation and/or sex characteristics to accord with
one’s internal sense of gender identity.
Social Transitioning – the aspects of transition involving social,
cosmic, and legal changes, without regard to medical
intervention.
Passing – refers to being perceived and accepted by other
people in a manner that is consistent with one’s gender identity.
Going Stealth – means to live as a gender without other people
realizing a person is transgender.
Detransitioning – the process of changing one’s gender
presentation and/or sex characteristics back to accord with one’s
assigned sex.
Sex Reassignment Surgery – a surgical procedure (or
procedures) by which a transgender’s appearance and function
of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble
those socially associated with their identified gender. It is part of
treatment for gender dysphoria in transgender people.
Factors affecting the Decision to Subject oneself to Surgery:
a. Concern about pain and post-surgery management;
b. Cost and Availability of Services;
c. Culture and Religion; Legality in one’s country or
community
d.
Lesson 4: Part 2: SOCIAL ISSUES RELATED TO GENDER
Gender Inequality – legal, social, and cultural situation in which
sex and gender determine different rights and dignity for men
and women, which are reflected in their unequal access to or
enjoyment of rights, as well as the assumption of stereotyped
social and cultural roles. (e.g. usually, men are socially regarded
as being of higher value. This asymmetrical situation is present
in many areas of social life and can lead to violence – physical,
verbal, or psychological.)
Discrimination – the act of making distinctions between human
beings based on groups, classes, or other categories to which
they are perceived to belong; typically occurs when individuals
are treated in a way which is worse than the way people are
usually treated, on the basis of their actual or perceived
membership in certain groups or social categories.
Social Stigma – the disapproval of, or discrimination against a
person based on perceivable social characteristics that serve to
distinguish them from other members of the society.
Gender-based violence – any act that is perpetuated against a
person’s will and is based on gender norms and unequal power
relationships.
Bullying – the use of force, coercion, or threat, to abuse,
aggressively dominate, or intimidate.
Criteria for Bullying:
1. Hostile intent
2. Imbalance of Power
3. Repetition
4. Distress
Sexual Harassment – any form of sexual behavior that is
offensive, humiliating, or intimidating.
CONSENT
Simply put, consent means each person wants to participate in
whatever physical or sexual act that is happening. The following
are guidelines for ensuring consent between partners:
✓ Consent is not just a lack of no. You need a YES! Ask for it.
✓ Always Ask before you touch someone. It’s easy and
respectful.
✓ Say what you want to do. Ask what they want to do.
Respect the answer no matter what!
✓ People who are drunk, high, or asleep CANNOT give consent.
Rape – the use of force, intimidation, or threat to coerce a
targeted individual into a non-consensual sexual intercourse or
any related non-consensual sexual activity.
Criteria for Rape (RA8353):
1. The sexual activity is coerced by force, threat, or
intimidation
2. The offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise
unconscious
3. There is utilization of a deceitful scheme or grave abuse
of authority
4. The offended party is 12 years old or mentally unstable.
In many circumstance, the power imbalance between the victim
and the harasser is a common feature of sexual harassment
cases. This power imbalance between the parties often impacts
the ability of the victim to resist or expressly indicate that the
conduct is unwelcome and may perpetuate the harassment or
worsen its impact on the harassed person.
House panels approve bill raising age for statutory rape to
16.
- A bill which seeks to raise the age of sexual consent in
the Philippines to 16 years old was approved on
Thursday by the House Committees on Revision of
Laws and Welfare of Children.
- Under the country’s Anti-Rape Law signed in 1997, a
sexual intercourse is automatically considered as
statutory rape if the victim is under 12 years old — the
lowest in Southeast Asia.
- While the law also criminalizes sex with minors under
age 18, it only does so if consent is not present or if the
act involves force, threat, or intimidation.
- The substitute bill further seeks to amend the definition
of rape to include certain acts of perversion for sexual
gratification, and will not extinguish criminal liability
 despite the presence of forgiveness or subsequent
marriage between the rapist and the victim.
Date Rape and Marital Rape:
- Nonconsensual sex coerced by force, intimidation, or
unconsciousness, between individuals involved in a
romantic relationship may still be considered as rape.
The common misconception is that dating and marriage
is a legitimate excuse for nonconsensual sexual activity,
or even a form of perpetual consent. This, however,
violates the ethical principle of consent and, like other
forms of rape, have damaging impact on the victim’s
overall well-being.
LESSON 5: Philippines Laws Against Social Violence
Republic Act 9262 Anti Violence Against Women and Their
Children (VAWC) Act of 2004
• Seeks to address the violence against women and
children by their intimate partners like:
- Husband or ex-husband
- Live-in partner or former live-in partner
- Boyfriend/girlfriend or ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend
- Dating partner or former dating partner
• Classifies VAWC as a Crime
What is VAWC under RA 9262?
It refers to any act or series of acts committed by any person
against a woman who is his wife, former wife, or against a
woman with whom the person has or had sexual or dating
relationship, with or with whom he has a common child, or
against her child whether legitimate or illegitimate, within or
without the family abode, which result in or is likely to result in
physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or economic
abuse including threats such as acts, battery, assault, coercion,
harassment, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty.
Children – persons below 18 years of age or older but are
incapable of taking care of themselves (as stated in RA 7610). It
includes biological children of the victim and other children
under her care.
Dating Relationship – a relationship which has a romantic
involvement. It means that a relationship existed between a
woman and a partner who is abusive or has previously abused
her, whether or not the relationship was formal.
Sexual Relations – refer to a single sexual act which may or
may not result in the bearing of a common child.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN Acc.
to RA 9262 includes, but is not limited to the following Acts:
1. Physical Violence – acts that include bodily and physical
harm
2. Sexual Violence – refers to an act which is sexual in nature,
committed against a woman or her child.
3. Psychological Violence – refers to acts or omissions causing
or likely to cause mental or emotional suffering of the victim
4. Economic Abuse – refers to acts that make or attempt to
make a woman financially dependent.
Who gets protected under the law?
- The law recognizes the unequal relations between a
man and a woman in an abusive relationship where the
woman is usually at a disadvantage. This law protects
the woman and her children.
The victim-child who is a minor (legitimate or
illegitimate), and a person aged 18 years and beyond
who doesn’t have the ability to decide for herself/himself
because of an emotional, physical, and mental illness
can make full use of the law. Any child under the care of
a woman is also protected by the law.
What can women and children do under RA 9262?
- Under the law, the offended party may file a criminal
action, or apply for Protection Order either as an
independent action or as an incident in civil or criminal
action and other remedies.
Is VAWC committed by men alone?
- Women can also be liable under the law. These may
range from transgender partners/girlfriends or former
partners of the victim with whom she has or had a
sexual or dating relationship.
What if the male spouse / partner complains about abuses
committed by his wife / partner?
- He may file a complaint or case under the Revised
Penal Code.
Who may file a complaint under RA 9262?
- Any citizen having personal knowledge of the
circumstances involving the commission of the crime
may file a complaint because violence against women
and children is considered a public crime.
Where should cases of VAWC be filed?
- Cases may be filed in the Regional Trial Court
designated as FAMILY COURT of the place where the
crime was committed. These courts have original and
exclusive jurisdiction over these cases.
What are the penalties for committing VAWC?
Offenders proven guilty with the crime shall be penalized with:
✓ Imprisonment ranging from one month and one day to 20
years
✓ Payment of 100,000 to 300,000 in damages
✓ Mandatory psychological counseling or psychiatric treatment
RA 9262 acknowledges that women who have retaliated against
their partner or who commit violence as a form of self-defense
may have suffered from Battered Woman Syndrome (BWS). Any
victim who suffers from a pattern of psychological and behavioral
symptoms found in battered women as a result of long history of
abuse should be diagnosed by a psychiatric expert or a clinical
psychologist. This will also help the victim in obtaining just a
decision In her case. The law does not allow the offender to have
custody of minor children. Their care is entrusted to the woman
even if she is found to have BWS.
Republic Act No. 9710 An Act Providing for the Magna Carta
for Women
Principles on Human Rights
✓ Human rights are universal and inalienable. All people in the
world are entitled to them.
✓ All human beings are free and equal in dignity and rights.
✓ Human rights are indivisible.
✓ Human rights are interdependent and interrelated.
✓ All individuals are equal as human beings by virtue of the
inherent dignity of each human person.
✓ All people have the rights to participate in and access
information relating to the decision-making processes that affect
their lives and well-being.
✓ States and other duty-bearers are answerable for the
observance of human rights.
Definition of Terms
Women Empowerment – refers to the provision, availability,
and accessibility of opportunities, services, and observance of
human rights which enable women to actively participate and
contribute to the political, economic, social, and cultural
development of the nation as well as those which shall provide
them equal access to ownership, management, and control of
production, and of material and informational resources and
benefits in the family, community, and society.
Discrimination Against Women – refers to any gender-based
distinction, exclusion, or restriction which has the effect or
purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment, or
exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a
basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and
fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural,
civil, or any other field.
Substantive Equality – refers to the full and equal enjoyment of
rights and freedoms contemplated under this Act. It
encompasses de jure and de facto equality and also equality in
outcomes.
Gender Equality – refers to the principle asserting the equality
of men and women and their right to enjoy equal conditions
realizing their full human potentials to contribute to and benefit
from the results of development, and with the State recognizing
that all human beings are free and equal in dignity and rights.
Gender Equity – refers to the policies, instruments,
programs, services, and actions that address the disadvantaged
position of women in society by providing preferential treatment
and affirmative action. Such temporary special measures aimed
at accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall
not be considered discriminatory but shall in no way entail as a
consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate standards.
These measures shall be discontinued when the objectives of
equality of opportunity and treatment have been achieved.
Gender and Development – refers to the development
perspective and process that are participatory and empowering,
equitable, sustainable, free from violence, respectful of human
rights, supportive of self-determination and actualization of
human potentials. It seeks to:
✓ Achieve gender equality as a fundamental value that
should be reflected in development choices
✓ Transform society’s social, economic, and political
structures
✓ Questions the validity of the gender roles they ascribed to
women and men
✓ Contends that women are active agents of development and
not just passive recipients of development assistance
✓ Stresses the need of women to organize themselves and
participate in political processes to strengthen their legal rights
Gender Mainstreaming
— refers to the strategy for making women’s as well as men’s
concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design,
implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies and
programs in all political, economic, and societal spheres so that
women and men benefit equally and inequality is not
perpetuated.
— the process of assessing the implications for women and men
of any planned action, including legislation, policies, or programs
in all areas and at all levels.
Violence Against Women – (RA 9710) refers to any act of
gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in,
physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women,
including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation
of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.
RIGHTS AND EMPOWERMENT
Human Rights of Women.
– All rights in the Constitution and those rights recognized under
international instruments duly signed and ratified by the
Philippines, in consonance with Philippine law, shall be rights of
woman under this Act to be enjoyed without discrimination.
Protection from Violence.
– The State shall ensure that all women shall be protected from
all forms of violence as provided for in existing laws. Agencies of
government shall give priority to the defense and protection of
women against gender-based offenses and help women attain
justice and healing.
Women Affected by Disasters, Calamities, and Other Crisis
Situations.
– Women have the right to protection and security in times of
disasters, calamities, and other crisis situations especially in all
phases of relief, recovery, rehabilitation, and construction efforts.
Participating and Representation.
– The State shall undertake temporary special measures to
accelerate the participation and equitable representation of
women in all spheres of society particularly in the decision-
making and policymaking processes in government and private
entities to fully realize their role as agents and beneficiaries of
development.
Equal Treatment Before the Law.
– The State shall take steps to review and, when necessary,
amend and/or repeal existing laws that are discriminatory to
women within three (3) years from the effectivity of this Act.
Equal Access and Elimination of Discrimination in
Education, Scholarships, and Training.
– The State shall ensure that gender stereotypes and images in
educational materials and curricula are adequately and
appropriately revised.
Women in Sports.
– The State shall develop, establish, and strengthen programs
for the participating of women and girl children in competitive and
uncompetitive sports as a means to achieve excellence, promote
physical and social well-being, eliminate gender-role
stereotyping, and provide equal access to the full benefits of
development for all persons regardless of sex, gender identity,
and other similar factors.
Women in the Military.
– The State shall pursue appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination of women in the military, police, and other similar
services, including devising or abolishing policies and practices
that restrict women from availing of both combat and noncombat
training that are open to men, or from taking on functions other
than administrative tasks, such as engaging in combat, security-
related, or field operations.
Nondiscriminatory and Nonderogatory Portrayal of Women
in Media and Film.
– The State shall formulate policies and programs for the
advancement of women in collaboration with government and
non government media-related organizations. It shall likewise
endeavor to raise the consciousness of the general public in
recognizing the dignity of women and the role and contribution of
women in the family, community, and the society through the
strategic use of mass media.
months with full pay based on her gross monthly compensation
following surgery caused by gynecological disorders.
Equal Rights in All Matters Relating to Marriage and Family
Relations – The State shall take all appropriate measures to
eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to
marriage and family relations and shall ensure:
(a) the same rights to enter into and leave marriages or common
law relationships referred to under the Family Code without
prejudice to personal or religious beliefs;
(b) the same rights to choose freely a spouse and to enter into
marriage only with their free and full consent. The betrothal and
the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect;
(c) The joint decision on the number and spacing of their children
and to have access to the information, education and means to
enable them to exercise these rights;
(d) The same personal rights between spouses or common law
spouses including the right to choose freely a profession and an
occupation;
(e) The same rights for both spouses or common law spouses in
respect of the ownership, acquisition, management,
administration, enjoyment, and disposition of property;
(f) the same rights to properties and resources, whether titled or
not, and inheritance, whether formal or customary; and
(g) women shall have equal rights with men to acquire change,
or retain their nationality.
Customary laws shall be respected: Provided, however, that they
do not discriminate against women.

Women’s Right to Health.

– ensures the right of women to avail of the following:
(a) Comprehensive Health Services.
(b) Comprehensive Health Information and Education.

Comprehensive Health Information and Education

1. The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the
rearing of the youth and the development of moral character and
the right of children to be brought up in an atmosphere of
morality and rectitude for the enrichment and strengthening of
character;
2. The formation of a person’s sexuality that affirms human
dignity;
3. Ethical, legal, safe, and effective family planning methods
including fertility awareness.

Special Leave Benefits for Women

– A woman employee having rendered continuous aggregate
employment service of at least six (6) months for the last twelve
(12) months shall be entitled to a special leave benefit of two (2)