Chapter/Lesson 8: Gender and Sexuality as a Psychosocial Issue

SUMMARY:

In connection to psychological difficulties, this chapter discusses how gender and

sexuality can have an impact on a person's well-being. Understanding the components of
psychological development and its end objective will be emphasized.

The word "psychosocial" refers to psychological and social variables as well as how
these factors interact. The phrase "psychosocial" is broad in scope. There are two main
components to it: psychological and social. There are many ways to define these two
concepts, but in essence, psychological refers to everything having to do with thought
processes and behavior, and social refers to anything having to do with connections and
interactions between people. Affect, also known as the affective domain, behavior, or the
behavioral domain, and cognition, often known as the cognitive domain, are the three basic
psychological domains.

Psychosocial issues needs and concerns relating to one or all of the psychosocial
dimensions. Therefore, to state that gender and sexuality have a psychological component
is to acknowledge that our sexual behaviors and gender-related behaviors are influenced
by our senses, thoughts, and feelings.To understand psychosocial dimensions, we need to
have knowledge on awareness, intimacy and relationships and especially, well-being.
Simply put, awareness is when we are mindful of something. We all work constantly to
become more self-aware as individuals. The act of getting to know someone and letting
them get to know you is intimacy. A human connection is a link created by interaction and
conversation between two or more people. Understanding the psychosocial components of
our experiences is ultimately about achieving well-being, which is a condition of
contentment, meaning, and purpose. The concept of well-being has two facets. One type of
well-being is one that can be seen, felt, and measured by the presence or absence of
specific factors in our surroundings. This is what is meant by objective well-being. Our own
experiences of fulfillment, meaning, and purpose are another aspect of well-being.
Subjective well-being is the term used to describe this.

On the other side, sociology and related disciplines like social psychology are where
the social dimensions of gender and sexuality are most heavily anchored. Sociology is
essentially the branch of study that studies the dynamics of interpersonal relationships
within organizations and institutions as well as the realities and experiences of the human
individual inside them.

Reproductive roles and productive roles are the two different categories of roles.
The social position that people are assigned in relation to their responsibilities for raising
children and other associated activities, such as taking care of the home, is known as the
reproductive role. The social script that defines a person's function in economic production
and associated activities like participating in politics and working is called their "productive
role."
INSIGHTS:

The psychological dimension is one of the fundamental components of our gender

and sexual identity. One of the main objectives of this discussion regarding gender and
security, aside from defending human dignity and rights, is to ensure the well-being of
individuals of different genders. Furthermore, it's important to comprehend human
psychosocial demands and worries, as well as different aspects of psychosocial
circumstances.

The psychological aspects of gender and sexuality can be interpreted and described
in a variety of ways. In general, how we experience gender and sexuality depends on our
relationships. It is relational because we are observing ourselves in connection to others
who also have personal concerns, even while each of us as individuals has our own affect,
cognition, and behavior to be conscious of. Some aspects of our gendered selves are best
understood in an ecological context, or in terms of the conditions in our social and physical
surroundings.

We are engaged in a never-ending process of inquiry and comprehension. We are

not, however, isolated in a vacuum. We have a social nature. In connection to other
people, we live our lives. While a result, as we work to better understand ourselves, we are
also always working to better understand others. As social creatures, we also get
knowledge through our personal experiences and the teachings that have been passed
down from generation to generation. Education and other cultural preoccupations may
pass on to us how to act in connection to others, with proper respect to social expectations
connected to our gender and how we make decisions to balance out own aims and society
goals. We learn cultural norms and customs through a process known as socialization.

We can see that well-being has several aspects based on what that term signifies.
The key characteristics of well-being that we must consider in order to comprehend a
person's psychosocial status are as follows. In terms of the physical, biological, and health.
emotional stability and sentiments, whether they be favorable or negative. In terms of the
intellect, mental clarity and sound thought processes; in terms of the body, accessibility to
sufficient material resources. Last but not least, social emphasizes social connection and
relationships that are healthy and good.