Gender and Society as a

MODULE 1:
Social Reality

OVERVIEW OF THE MODULE

Gender is an important human variable. This module presents the difference between
sex and gender. It will discuss how these two concepts are different from each other but are
operationally linked in daily life. It will also express gender from birth to adulthood. Lastly, it
will explain the diversity on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Capacitate the students with the basic concept on sex, gender, and sexuality.
2. Understand the biological construction of sexes.
3. Acknowledge that gender is fluid or learned.
4. Examine ways in which gender is socially constructed.
5. Sensitized with the appropriate terms

CONTENTS
The module is divided into two lessons, namely:
Lesson 1: Understanding Sex and Gender
Lesson 2: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression

DURATION: 1 week

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 LESSON 1: Understanding Sex and
Gender

OVERVIEW
This lesson provides understanding about the physical and social characteristics of
men and women. It will also discuss the different factors that affect gender construction.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Differentiate sex and gender.
2. Understand the physical and social characteristics of men and women and how
society plays significant role in gender construction.

ACTIVITIES /SESSION FLOW

1. The session will be in form of blended learning of both online and offline mode .
2. For offline mode, materials will be sent to the learners, outputs will be sent back to
the facilitators
3. Activities for both online and offline modes are as follows:

Activity 1: The longest line

Materials Needed
1. Two (2) sheets of paper
2. Ball pen
Duration: 30 min.
Procedure
1. The student is instructed to write on the sheets of paper the ff;
a. Physical factors that differentiate males from females
b. Biological and physical similarities between males and females.
2. Students should submit their output to the course facilitator.

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ANALYSIS

1. Is there a pattern in the responses given by the student in relation to biological similarities
and differences between males and females? If yes, describe the pattern.
2. Which was easier to respond to – the differences or similarities? Why?
3. What insight can we gain from the activity?

Activity 2: Gender in the Major Life Stages

Materials Needed
✓ Paper and Pen (It can be encoded)

Procedure:

1. Group yourselves by Three (3).

2. Create your group chat, google meet, zoom app or any platform you prefer to use.
3. Meet, discuss and answer the chart provided below.
4. Each stage has subcategories of male (M) and female (F).
5. Based on your personal experience, write down on your paper the ff;
a. Ideal qualities of a good boy/girl; man/woman
b. Ascribed roles
c. The sources of such qualities and roles
d. The sanctions imposed on those who refuse to confirm
6. Submit your output to your teacher.

List the following Infancy Childhood Puberty Teenage Adulthood

(0-2) (3-7) (8-12) years (18-59)
(13-17)
M F M F M F M F M F
Three Ideal qualities
of a good girl/boy;
man/woman
Three ascribed roles
Sources of ideas
Major sanctions for
refusal to conform with
ascribed roles
masculine/feminine
qualities
Three acts of violence
they were subjected to

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 Note
✓ Reference materials/handouts will be uploaded and sent to the students to support their
knowledge about the topic.
✓ Students can send inquiries to course facilitators for things/matters that need clarification
individually using the classroom.

ANALYSIS

1. Compare the ideal qualities of a good boy/man and a good girl/woman. Are they
similar or different? Where lie the difference/s, if any?
2. What is common to the roles ascribed to girls and women? What about the roles of the
boys and men? Where are the roles located: in the private (home) or in the public
(outside of the home) sphere?
3. What social institution serves as transmitters of ideal qualities and roles? And as sources
of sanctions? Do they have the legitimacy to exercise such functions?
4. Is violence already a part of the life stages of females? Of males?
5. What are your learnings and insights from the activity?

ABSTRACTION

Sex
Sex is the biological dimension of your gender and sexuality. Also referred to a
biological sex or physical sex, the term generally pertains to your identity depending on
your sexual anatomy and physiology – the parts of your body that are relevant to production
and the function of these parts. Sex is typically determined by examining your genitals -
these are external organs that are associated with reproduction – the process or the ability
to create offspring.
Among human, sex is often assigned at birth. If at birth, a child is observed to have a
penis and testicles, then the child is categorized as male. If on the other hand, a child is
observed to have vagina, then the child is categorized as female. However, there are cases
when the baby’s genitals appear to be a conglomerate of male or female organs such that it
may be difficult to classify the baby’s sex without further examination. In the past, this
condition is referred to as hermaphroditism (from Hermes, a male Greek god and Aphrodite,
a female Greek goddess). In modern times, the term intersexuality is used to refer to this
phenomenon. Hermaphroditism or intersexuality is a naturally occurring variation in humans

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and animals (1 in 1,500 births) according to the American Psychological Association (APA)
(2006).
Since it may be difficult to distinguish biological sex by merely examining the genitals,
there are other biological markers used. For instance, your chromosomes – protein
structures which contain your genetic materials – are also used to determine sex. There are
specific chromosomes referred to as sex chromosomes, which marks a person’s biological
sex. An individual with a set of XY sex chromosomes is said to be a male, while an individual
with a set of XX chromosomes is said to be a female. The levels of some hormones –
chemicals in our body that are responsible for sustaining bodily process – are also used as
markers. For examples, human males tend to have higher levels of testosterone, which is
associated to sex drive and aggressions. On the other hand, human females tend to have
higher levels of estrogen and progesterone, which are associated to lactation, menstruation
and other female reproductive functions.

Female Male

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 Intersex https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAUDKEI4QKI

Gender
However, humans are meaning-making organisms. Our ability for higher order thinking
and our tendency to create social norms, allow us to attach social and cultural meanings to
things, including our sex. For example, male are typically expected be masculine and females
are expected to be feminine. Once parents are aware of their child’s sex (male or female)
during birth or through prenatal procedure such as ultrasound, they automatically attach
social and cultural meanings to their child’s sex and in doing so, they already set an
expectation in terms of how their child should behave and how they should treat their child.
This social dimension of one’s sexuality is referred to as gender.
There are many ways through which gender is manifested. As soon as a new baby
arrives in the family, adults surrounding the baby manifest their social interpretation of the
baby’s sex by the colors assigned to the baby. For example, it is common for families to buy
blue apparels and toys when the baby is a male, as color blue is associated with boyhood.
Conversely, female babies are often assigned the color pink, such that families would buy
clothes and toys that are color pink because the color is associated with girlhood.
Remarkably, the moment a baby is born, the name, toys, and apparels are picked by parents
and relatives based on their interpretation of the baby’s sex.
Throughout childhood and adolescence, this assignment becomes more complex as
the expectations go beyond the kind of clothes worn, but also in terms of how the person
must or must not behave. There are set of behaviors that all female individuals must follow
and so with the male individuals, and all are expected to stick to these behaviors that are

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aligned with their biological sex. This phenomenon of determining the normality of a behavior
based on whether it conforms or not to the expectations relative to one’s biological sex is
referred to as heteronormativity. In the Filipino culture, girls are expected to have certain
characteristics of being gentle, caring, and loving while boys are encouraged to be strong,
rough, and assertive. These expectations also extend to how men and women are expected
to behave, the college courses they take, and the jobs they apply to.
However, there are people who do not follow culturally-accepted standards of
masculinity and femininity like girls not wanting to wear dresses and boys not wanting to play
rough sports. This is a natural variation of the human gender expression. Social and cultural
practices change through time. Just 60 years ago, women could not wear pants without
social disapproval, and now wearing pants is already an accepted fashion trend among
people of different genders.
How we express our gender is largely based on our social and cultural setting. Most
are comfortable with their sex and gender; men who are masculine and women who are
feminine. Each culture also has different standards on how to be a man and a woman and
how they should present themselves according to their sex and gender.

ASSESSMENT / EVALUATION
SYNCHRONOUS ASSESSMENT ASYNCHRONOUS ASSESSMENT
Journal Entry
Output Presentation
Write an 80 word – reflective
Each student will be given a 2
journal about the following.
minutes to present his/her output
(longest line). 1. What are my personal
experiences on my journey of
Rubric assessment tool will be
discovering my sense of being
utilized for the evaluation of activity
a man/woman?
2. What are my views/opinions
about gender?

REFERENCES

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 LESSON 2: Sexual Orientation, Gender
Identity and Expression

OVERVIEW
Discovering our sense of who we are is essential to self-fulfillment. This lesson will
explain various sexual orientation as well as gender identity and expression. It will also
underscore the experiences of people in diverse SOGIE.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Discuss the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and expression.
2. Understand gender construction.
3. Contemplate about your own sexuality and on the importance of appreciating sexual
diversity.

ACTIVITIES /SESSION FLOW

✓ The session will be in form of blended learning of both online and offline mode.
✓ For offline mode, materials will be sent to the learners, outputs will be sent back to the
facilitators.
✓ Activities for both online and offline modes are as follows:

Activity 1: Gender Benders

Materials Needed
✓ Pictures of five individuals who are not known to the students and whose physical
Appearance does not correspond with the stereotypical one expected of their sex.

Procedure
1. Show the pictures of five individuals one by one.
2. Ask the students if the individual in the picture is male or female.
3. Provide the correct gender before the next picture is shown.
*Pictures are available in the Ppt. presentation about SOGIE

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ANALYSIS

1. How did you determine whether those in the pictures were male or female?
2. How did you feel when you found out that your answer was right? Or wrong?
3. What insights do you have about this activity?
4. What are you learnings and insights about this activity?

ABSTRACTION
Gender definitions shape our ideas of how girls/women and boys/men should look like. If the
later do not conform to what we have been made to believe, our attitudes and mode of relating with
them, change too. Gender identity is about the ways in which individuals define themselves – male,
female, both or neither – which may or may not be the same as their anatomical sex. Those with gender
those identity that is not the same as their anatomical sex are often discriminated and targeted for acts
of violence.

Gender identities are diverse and fluid hence, the existing of a gender spectrum that reflects
diversity. Gender diversity refers to the different ways that people have preferences and self-
expressions that are outside the conventional gender norms for males and females (Gender Spectrum).
Gender benders are part of the diverse gender spectrum. They are people who want to express their
gender identity outside the male-female binary and stereotypes. They include cross-dressers (Boidragon
2007).

Sexual Orientation is how you find yourself feeling drawn (or not drawn) to some other people,
in sexual, romantic, and or other ways (often categorized within gender). It answers the question “who
am I attracted to?”

While Gender Identity is how you, in your head, experience and define your gender, based on
how much you align (or don’t align) with what you understand the options for gender to be.
Bekitaktakan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV96IYVhyxo

Gender Expression on the other hand refers to the external manifestation of one’s gender
identity. This is usually manifested through one’s clothing, haircut, mannerism, tone of voice and body
characteristics but how one expresses gender might not necessarily reflect one’s actual gender identity.
Gender expression

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW5dRxet1Yk&list=PL3gVWjm9zAePl-
hCQz7B83T7TuJyEGuwS
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnDgZuGIhHs
 Source:http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gender%20benders
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvBwWeG4Rpc&t=146s
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puIhiIECzFE

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ASSESSMENT / EVALUATION
Reflection Paper
1. What are your thoughts about how gender is portrayed in your
community?
2. How can you describe your discovery of your sexuality, your sense of
being male or female?
3. How does your being a female or male influence your family’s and
peer’s expectations from you?

REFERENCES

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