A Primer on Sex, Gender and Society

GED109
Gender and Society
 Definitions
 Write down your own definitions of the terms sex,
sexuality, and gender
(5 mins)
 Compare your definitions with those of the person
next to you
(5 mins)
 Each pair to report back to whole group
(10 mins)
 Brief group discussion
(10 mins)

2
 Sex, Gender, and Sexuality
 Sex: An aspect of one’s biological makeup that depends on
whether one is born with distinct male or female genitals
and a genetic program that releases either male or female
hormones to stimulate the development of one’s
reproductive system.
 Gender: One’s sense of being male or female and playing
masculine or feminine roles in ways defined as appropriate
by one’s culture and society.
 Sexuality: Includes everything from their biological sex,
gender identity, and sexual orientation to pregnancy and
reproduction.
 An example
 The Bugis are the largest ethnic group in South
Sulawesi, numbering around three million people. Most
Bugis are Muslim, but there are many pre-Islamic
rituals that continue to be honored in Bugis culture,
which include distinct views of gender and sexuality.
 Their language offers five terms referencing various
combinations of sex, gender and sexuality: makkunrai
(female women), oroani (male men), calalai (female
men), calabai (male women), and bissu (transgender
priests). These definitions are not exact but suffice.
 The Social Learning of Gender
 The case of Bruce/Brenda/David suggests that unlike
sex, gender is not determined just by biology.
 Research shows that babies first develop a vague
sense of gender identity between the ages of 2 and 3.
 Once the social learning of gender takes hold, it is
apparently very difficult to undo, even by means of
reconstructive surgery, hormones, and parental and
professional pressure.
 Theories of Gender Differences
 Essentialism: A school of thought that sees
gender differences as a reflection of biological
differences between women and men.
 Functionalist theory
 Social Constructionism: A school of thought
that sees gender differences as a reflection of
the different social positions occupied by
women and men.
 Conflict, feminist, and symbolic interactionist
theories
Functionalists and Essentialism
 Functionalists reinforce the essentialist
viewpoint when they claim that traditional
gender roles help to integrate society.
 In the family women traditionally specialize in
raising children and managing the household.
 Men traditionally work in the paid labor force.
 Each generation learns to perform these
complimentary roles by means of gender role
socialization.
 Conflict Theorists and Gender
Inequality
 Conflict theorists believe that:
 The root of male domination is class inequality.
 Men gained substantial power over women when
preliterate societies were first able to produce more
than their members needed for survival – some men
gained control over the economic surplus.
 They soon devised means of ensuring that their
offspring would inherit the surplus.
 As industrial capitalism developed male domination
increased.
 Feminist Theorists and Gender
Inequality
 Feminist theorists believe that gender
inequality is rooted in patriarchal authority
relations, family structures, and patterns of
socialization and culture that exists in most
societies.
 Gender Socialization
 Barbie v. GI Joe
 Research conducted in the early 70s showed that from
birth, infant boys and girls who are matched in
length, weight, and general health are treated
differently by parents – fathers in particular.
 Girls tend to identified as delicate, weak, beautiful,
and cute.
 Boys tend to be identified as strong, alert, and well-
coordinated.
 The Mass Media and Body Image
 Outside school, children, adolescents, and
adults negotiate gender roles as they interact
with the mass media.
 The Mass Media and Body Image
 The effect of these messages is to reinforce the
normality of traditional gender roles.
 Many people even try to shape their bodies
after the body images portrayed in the mass
media.
The Earnings Gap: Four Factors
1. Gender discrimination.
2. Heavy domestic responsibilities reduce
women’s earnings.
3. Women tend to be concentrated in low-wage
occupations and industries.
4. Work done by women is commonly
considered less valuable than work done by
men because it is viewed as involving fewer
skills.
Male Aggression against Women
 Serious acts of aggression between men and women
are common, with the great majority of them being
committed by men against
 Greater physical power is more likely to be used to
commit acts of aggression only when norms justify
male domination and men have much more social
power than women.
 When women and men are more equal socially, and
norms justify gender inequality, then the rate of male
aggression against women is lower.
 Equality Progress
 The 20th century witnessed growing equality
between wm and men in many countries.
 Many forces have brought about a massive
cultural shift, a fundamental reorientation of
thinking on the part of many Americans about
what women could and should do in society.
 One indicator of the progress of women is the
Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM).
GEM, 2005
Assignment
1. Collect information about Gender Equality
(and inequality) in the Philippines. Cite at
least 3 sources.
2. Based on your collected information, write a
one-page reflection paper to answer the
question: In your opinion, does the
Philippines practice gender equality or
inequality? Justify your answer.
Assignment
3. Cite the bibliography of your sources.
4. Upload your reflection paper on Blackboard.
5. Deadline: September 4 (Wednesday)