G E N D ER R OL E A N D

ID E N T IT Y
GENDER ROLES

•GENDER ROLE IS A SET OF SOCIETAL NORMS

DICTATING THE TYPES OF BEHAVIORS THAT ARE
GENERALLY CONSIDERED ACCEPTABLE,
APPROPRIATE, OR DESIRABLE FOR PEOPLE BASED ON
THEIR ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED SEX OR SEXUALITY.
DID YOU KNOW?
•THE TERM GENDER ROLE WAS FIRST COINED BY JOHN
MONEY IN 1955, DURING THE COURSE OF HIS STUDY OF
INTERSEX INDIVIDUALS, TO DESCRIBE THE MANNERS
IN WHICH THESE INDIVIDUALS EXPRESSED THEIR
STATUS AS A MALE OR FEMALE IN A SITUATION WHERE
NO CLEAR BIOLOGICAL ASSIGNMENT EXISTED.
TYPES OF GENDER ROLES
Reproductive Role Childbearing/rearing responsibilities and domestic tasks done by
women rare are required to guarantee the maintenance and reproduction
of the labor force. It includes not only biological reproduction but also
the care and maintenance of the work force (male partner and working
children) and the future work force (infants and school-going children)

Productive Role Work done by both men and women for pay in cash or kind. It includes both
market production with an exchange-value, and subsistence/home production
with actual use-value, and also potential exchange-value. For women in
agricultural production, this includes work as independent farmers, peasant
wives, and wage workers.
Community Managing Activities undertaken primarily by women at the
Role community level, as an extension of their reproductive
role, to ensure the provision and maintenance of scare
resources of collective consumption, such as water,
health care and education. This is voluntary unpaid work,
undertaken in ‘free’ time.
Community Politics Role Activities undertaken primarily by men at the community level,
organizing at the formal political level, often within the
framework of national politics. This is usually paid work, wither
directly or indirectly, through status or power.
Multiple Roles Both men and women play multiple roles. The major
difference, however, is that
Men: typically play their role sequentially, focusing on
single productive role.
Women: must usually play their roles simultaneously,
balancing the demands of each within their limited time
constraints.
SEX-ROLE STEREOTYPES
• A SEX ROLE IS A FUNCTION OR ROLE WHICH A MALE OR
FEMALE ASSUMES BECAUSE OF THE BASIC PHYSIOLOGICAL
OR ANATOMICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SEXES. IT IS
BIOLOGICALLY DETERMINED ROLE WHICH CAN BE
PERFORMED BY ONLY ONE OF THE SEXES, E.G., WOMEN
GIVE BIRTH TO CHILDREN WHILE MEN MAKE WOMEN
PREGNANT.
Female Sex Role Male Sex Role
Childbearing Ovum fertilization
Lactation Produces spermatozoa
which determine child’s
sex.

Gestation
• A stereotype is a person or thing seeming to conform to a
heavily accepted type. Sex-role stereotypes have also been
defined as the rigidly held and oversimplified beliefs that males
and females possess distinct (and similar) psychological traits
and characteristics. These beliefs tend to be very widely held in
society.
• In some societies, for example, the following stereotypes are thought to pertain either to
males or females only.

Feminine Masculine
Females are thought to be: Males are thought to be:
Emotional Unemotional
Not aggressive Very aggressive
Not good at making- Very good at making
decisions decisions
Dependent Independent
Gentle Rough
Tactful Blunt
GENDER IDENTITY

•Gender identity is the extent to which one

identifies with a particular gender; it is a person’s
sense and subjective experience of being a man,
a woman, or another gender.
DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEX AND GENDER

•Discrimination based on sex and gender contributes to

harassment, unequal treatment, and violence against
women, girls, and transgender and non-conforming
people.
SEXISM AND GENDER DISCRIMINATION
• Sexism or gender discrimination is prejudice or discrimination
based on a person’s sex or gender. Sexism can affect any sex that
in marginalized or oppressed in a society; however, it has been
linked to stereotypes and gender roles and includes the belief that
males are intrinsically superior to other sexes and genders.
Extreme sexism may foster sexual harassment, rape, and other
forms of sexual violence.
SEXISM AND GENDER DISCRIMINATION
•Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or
girls. According to feminist theory, misogyny can be
manifested in numerous ways, including sexual
discrimination, belittling of women, violence against
women and sexual objectification of women.
TRANSPHOBIA AND TRANSGENDER DISCRIMINATION

• Transgender inequality is the unequal protection and treatment

that transgender people face in work, school, and society in
general. Transgender people regularly face transphobic
harassment and violence. Ultimately, one of the largest
reasons that transgender people face inequality is a lack of
public understanding.
TRANSPHOBIA AND TRANSGENDER DISCRIMINATION

• Transphobia is similar to homophobia, racism, and sexism and

manifests emotional disgust, fear, anger, or discomfort felt or
expressed toward people who don’t conform to society’s gender
expectations. The related term “cissexism” refers to the assumption
that transgender people are inferior to cisgender people. Both
transphobia and cissexism have severe consequences.
CONCEPT AND THEORIES OF FEMINISM
•Feminism is a broad-based philosophical perspective
that accommodates various approaches. It is a value
system that gives us an alternative way of looking at
things. Feminism views the world as a constrict
mannerist recognizes diversity.
BASIC FEMINIST IDEAS
• Both females and males who identify as feminists disagree on many
things. That being said, most feminists agree on five basic principles:
• Working to increase equality. Feminist thought links ideas to action,
insisting we should push for change toward gender equality and not just
talk about it.
• Expanding human choice. Feminists believe that