GENDER AND

SOCIETY
GE 11
 01 Terms and Concepts

CONTENTS 02 Characteristics of Gender

03 The Many Perspectives of Gender

 Part 01
Terms and Concepts
 Sexual Orientation

Sexual orientation is a part of individual

identity that includes “a person’s sexual
and emotional attraction to another person
and the behavior and/or social affiliation
that may result from this attraction” (APA,
2015a, p. 862).
 01 02 03

A persons sexual Teens can discover their Its helpful to give teens space
orientation can be fluid sexual orientation to explore and discover their
own sexual orientation as
and change throughout without being sexually they grow, just as you would
their life. active. with their gender identity.
 Heterosexual
Heterosexual, also known colloquially as straight, is a
term that describes those that are attracted to the
opposite sex. Cisgender individuals and transgender
individuals can both identify as heterosexual.

Different Sexual
Gay
Orientation Types
Many people see it as a formal and outdated way to
describe people who are attracted to the same or similar
gender as themselves.
 Lesbian
The feminine version of homosexuality. It’s used to
identify two women who are attracted to each other.

Different Sexual Bisexual

This type of sexual orientation describes people who are

Orientation Types attracted to more than one gender. Some people also
refer to bisexuality as pansexuality, as it denotes an
attraction to a broader spectrum of sexual orientation
than just the two stereotypical genders.
 Asexual
Asexual people are not sexually attracted to anyone.
Although they may experience romantic attractions to
any gender, they’re not interested in getting physical in
the more traditional sense.

Different Sexual
Orientation Types Queer
An umbrella term that encompasses everyone who isn’t
exclusively cisgender or heterosexual.
 Demisexual
Most of the time, demisexual individuals only feel a
sexual bond towards another person after they’ve
established an emotional or romantic connection.

Different Sexual
Pansexual
Orientation Types People who identify as pansexual prefer not to limit
their romantic or sexual attraction to others in any way.
They don’t feel defined by specific gender identities or
sexual orientations.
“ GENDER IDENTITY
Gender identity may be the same as the sex you were assigned at
birth (cisgender) or not (transgender). Some people identify as a
man (or a boy) or a woman (or a girl) and some have a gender
“
identity that doesn't fit into one of these genders.
 Agender
A person who is agender does not identify with any
particular gender, or they may have no gender at all.
Other terms for this may include: neutral gender, null-
gender, genderless, neutrois

Gender Identity
Androgyne
Terms
A person who identifies as androgyne has a gender that
is either both masculine and feminine or between
masculine and feminine.
 Bigender
A person who identifies as bigender has two genders.
People who are bigender often display cultural
masculine and feminine roles.

Gender Identity
Butch
Terms
Women, especially lesbians, tend to use this term to
describe the way they express masculinity, or what
society defines as masculinity.
 Cisgender
A cisgender person identifies with the sex that they were
assigned at birth.

Gender Identity
Gender Expansive
Terms
an “umbrella term used for individuals who broaden
their own culture’s commonly held definitions of gender,
including expectations for its expression, identities,
roles, and/or other perceived gender norms.”
 Genderfluid
A person who identifies as genderfluid has a gender
identity and presentation that shifts between, or shifts
outside of, society’s expectations of gender.

Gender Identity
Gender Outlaw
Terms
A person who identifies as a gender outlaw refuses to
allow society’s definition of “male” or “female” to define
them.
 Genderqueer
A person who identifies as genderqueer has a gender
identity or expression that is not the same as society’s
expectations for their assigned sex or assumed gender.

Gender Identity
Masculine of Center
Terms
A person who uses this term is usually a lesbian or a
trans person who leans more toward masculine
performances and experiences of gender.
 Nonbinary
A person who identifies as nonbinary does not
experience gender within the gender binary.

Gender Identity
Omnigender
Terms
A person who identifies as omnigender experiences and
possesses all genders.
 Polygender/pangender
People who identify as polygender or pangender
experience and display parts of multiple genders.

Gender Identity
Transgender
Terms
This is an umbrella term that encompasses all people
who experience and identify with a different gender than
that which their assigned sex at birth would suggest.
 Trans
Trans is a more inclusive term that covers those who
identify as nonbinary and those who are genderless,
according to the LGBTQIA Resource Center.

Gender Identity
Two Spirit
Terms
Two Spirit is an umbrella term that encompasses
different sexualities and genders in Indigenous Native
American communities.
 Part 02
Characteristics of
Gender
Gender is Gender Gender Gender includes
socially involves an involves personality traits,
attitudes,
constructed. array of rights, learned
behaviours, values
roles, behaviour or that society
responsibilities an acquired ascribes
and identity. to the two sexes
relationships. on a differential
basis.
Power Access to Gender roles Gender roles
relationships resources is and norms vary across
are driven by determined by can change cultures.
gender. one’s gender. over time.
Gender
manifests
itself in the
form of roles,
relations and
identity.
 Part 03
Sociological
Perspectives about
Gender
Like all other social identities, gender is also socially
constructed. Sociological perspective states that biology
alone does not determine gender identity. Society
contributes greatly to gender identity. Through the
process of gender socialisation, a person learns the
expectations associated with his or her sex. Family,
peers, school, religious organisations, mass media
are some agents through which gender socialisation
takes shape. This process of gender socialisation
strengthens our gender roles.
 Functionalist Perspective of Gender

01 The functionalist perspective of gender roles

suggests that gender roles maximise social
efficiency and help society to remain stable.
Society is a complex interplay of persons and
relationships.
Conflict Theory
02 Supporters of the conflict theory assert that
social order is maintained through exercising
of power by one social class over another
social class. This theory has originated from
the writings of Karl Marx where he stated that
‘society is a stage on which the struggle for
power and dominance are acted out’.
 Symbolic Interaction Theory
According to symbolic interactionists, concepts like
03
gender do not exist objectively. They emerge
through a process of social construction. Gender,
therefore, is not a personal attribute; it is something
that is accomplished through interaction with others.

Feminist Sociological Theory

02 The feminist theory is concerned about
giving a voice to women in society and
highlighting the contribution of women..

Another theory that explains the sociological perspective towards gender is

the Gender Oppression Theory which states that not only are women
considered different and unequal, but they are actively oppressed and
subordinated by men.
 Part 04
Psychological
Perspectives about
Gender
Psychology is the study of the mind and all human
behaviour. An individual’s psychology is influenced by
his/her biology (nature) as well as his/her environmental
influences (nurture). Since biological and social
influences manifest differently for men and women, one
finds individual psychology strongly affected by gender.
For example, research shows that depression, stress
and anxiety are more profound in women than in men.
Alcohol dependence and antisocial tendencies are
more in men than in women.
 01
The Biosocial Theory of Gender Role
The Evolutionary Theory
The evolutionary approach suggests that
since our genes are adaptive, they hold the
key to our behaviour. This was manifested
in the form of gender differences with the
man becoming aggressive and
competitive and the woman becoming
nurturing and caring.
02
Development
This theory by proposed by John
Money and Anke Ehrhardt in 1972, is an
approach where nature (genetic factors)
and nurture (environmental factors) both
play a vital role in gender development.
 03
Social Learning Theory
Albert Bandura’s Social Learning
Theory explains that gender roles are
learned through observation and
modelling. The child observes how
others of the same sex behave and
imitates their behaviour.
04
Gender Schema Theory
According to this theory, children first
form a gender identity and then form
gender schemas. A gender schema is
an organised set of gender related
beliefs that influence one’s behaviour.
 Part 04
Cultural
Construction of
Gender
Cultural construction of gender refers to the way in
which culture takes up the framework set up by
biology and adds meaning and value to gender.
Culture contributes to what one perceives as traits of
a man and traits of a woman. Most cultures would
perceive a woman to be caring, gentle, patient,
physically delicate and family oriented. A man would
be perceived to be physically strong, aggressive and
more rational than emotional. Cultures also
contribute to what careers are suitable to males and
females.
Date ： 09/24/23 class and grade ： BSED-English II

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