Chapter 1: Understanding Gender and Sexuality as a Social Reality PDF

GEE15 GENDER AND SOCIETY CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING GENDER AND SEXUALITY AS A SOCIAL REALITY  Learning Objectives:  Differentiate the concepts of sex, gender, and sexuality and discuss the implications of such differences;  Discuss historical origins and importa...

GEE15 GENDER AND SOCIETY CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING GENDER AND SEXUALITY AS A SOCIAL REALITY  Learning Objectives:  Differentiate the concepts of sex, gender, and sexuality and discuss the implications of such differences;  Discuss historical origins and importance of gender studies. 1.1 CONCEPT OF SEX, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY  SEX VS. GENDER SEX GENDER Physical Social (Biologically determined) (Socially-determined; culturally-defined) Universal Cultural Congenital Learned behavior Unchanging Changes over time Unvarying Varies within a culture/among cultures  Sex (Biological Dimension) Biological and physiological differences between males and females as determined by nature. Differentiating people based on biological attributes, such as: 1. Physical (body contour, features, genitals, reproductive organs); 2. Genetic (chromosomes, hormones); 3. Label (female or male; man, or woman) Biological Basis/Determinants Male Female Chromosomes XY XX Gonads Testes Ovaries Hormones Testosterone Estrogen Internal Reproductive Wolffian ducts Mullerian duct system Structures External Sex Structures Penis and Scrotal Sac Clitoris and Vagina  Gender (Socially-determined; culturally-defined) Distinctive qualities of men and women, the masculinity and the femininity of an individual that are culturally created. The state of being male or female Socially and culturally constructed differences between men and women. Differentiating people based on: 1) Perception 2) Roles, and Social Expectations 3) Femininity and Masculinity.  SOCIAL DEFINITION Male Female Logical Emotional Leader/Achiever Follower/Supporter Sexually aggressive Sexually submissive Independent Dependent “Can do anything, anytime, anywhere” Incompetent HETERONORMATIVITY  The phenomenon of determining the normality of a behavior based on whether it conforms or not to the expectations relative to one’s biological sex. GENDER IDENTITY  Aspect of gender referring to the sense of who we are. How we see and experience ourselves (as a man, a woman, or neither). TRANSGENDER  Cases when a person’s biological sex does not align with one’s gender identity. May undergo gender reassignment surgery SEXUAL ORIENTATION  Aspect of gender that pertains to our emotional and sexual attraction to a person: 1. Heterosexuals or “straight” – attracted to the opposite sex 2. Homosexual (gay or lesbian) – attracted to people of the same sex 3. Bisexual – attracted to both sexes, male or female 1.2 STUDY OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY  EVOLUTION OF UNDERSTANDING GENDER AND SEXUALITY Across time, humans’ conception of gender and sexuality has changed. 1. Dawn of civilizations – human societies have high regard for women - Concept of divine feminine (the sacredness of woman due to her ability to conceive children) has prevailed –treated women equally with men 1. Egalitarian societies – men and women have equitable power and roles 2. Agricultural era (presumably) – humans’ discovery of paternity (fatherhood/role of the father in conception) 3. Industrial era – gender disparity was intensified  PATRIARCHY From the Greek word, Patriarkhes (“the rule of the father”) A social system where men primarily holds power in the political and the private spheres Society is organized and maintained in a way that men rule over women and their children Patrilineal - only men can inherit property and family name  Patriarchy as a social construct Viewed as a social construct and not as a biological phenomenon Came about when people started having private property instead of a communal living (F. Engels) Development of agriculture – led to creating product surplus which allows people to have private property.  Historical views on GENDER GREEK o Aristotle, Plato, and other Greek philosophers viewed women as inferior sex and are properties of men whose only job was to obey their husbands, bear children, and take care of the household. o Women are forbidden to learn philosophy, politics, and science. EGYPT o Egyptian women enjoyed higher social status than Greek women because they can inherit property and engage in trade (Herodotus) o However, Greek influence quickly spread in Egypt through the conquests of Alexander the Great across Asia and Africa. CHINA o Confucianism's written rules – dictate how women should conduct themselves o “Three obedience’s and four virtues” and “Precepts of women” states that women should obey their father, when married she is to obey her husband, and when widowed she is to obey her son. Patriarchy has taken on subtle forms of oppression: Sexism – prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination based on sex; Gender pay gap – men earn more than women Underrepresentation in politics, military, executive positions, etc.; Rape on women and the stigma making women ashamed to report the crime;  Women Empowerment First Wave: 1848 – 1920  primarily characterized by the women’s suffrage movement and their championing of the woman’s right to vote. Second Wave: 1963 - 1980s  encompassed far more issues such as pay equality, reproductive rights, female sexuality, and domestic violence  made some attempts to encompass racial justice, it remained a lesser priority than gender.  Class and race were viewed as secondary issues.  Women Empowerment Third Wave: 1990s  challenging female heteronormativity.  sought to redefine femininity and sought to celebrate differences across race, class, and sexual orientations.  development of intersectionality began to take form. Fourth Wave: Present Day  characterized by action-based viral campaigns, protests, and movements like #MeToo advancing from the fringes of society into the headlines of our everyday news.  It seeks to further deconstruct gender norms.  THE STUDY OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY Social research – the process of investigating social realities Research approach – the orientation on understanding social realities Ethics in research – considerations in conducting research to make sure that the well-being of the participants are ensured, and that the outcome of the study is sound without being undue harm to people involved Gender role or sex role:  “sets of culturally defined behaviors such as masculinity and femininity”  Not fixed; vary in terms of time and country or tribe  Binary system – men as masculine (matipuno/matapang); women as feminine (mahinhin) – the NORM In gender studies, we are asked to disrupt and question these kinds of social expectations, gender roles, and gender norms.  Gender studies A field of study concerned about how reproductive roles are interpreted and negotiated in the society through gender Analyzing, and examining society to notice power relations in the seemingly “simple things” Helps us see the issues in our everyday lives through a different lens Came about in the mid 1970’s after the 2nd – wave of feminism as a way to challenge the male-defined and male-centered knowledge  Gender studies is not just for women or all about women, it is about everyone It explores how our gender roles have changed throughout our history and how it created inequalities. How society repressed women’s potential “Is it still right to say that men are the providers of the family when both mothers and fathers now work and earn money?”  Gender roles are socially constructed, not ”born with”. Society, through a lifelong process of normalization, encourages or reprimands behaviors to make a child adapt to these social expectations. Examples: 1. Boys are encouraged to be brave, to play rough, to be loud and not to show signs of weakness like crying; Girls are discouraged from playing rough and being loud, but gentle and soft. Otherwise, they are reprimanded 2. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people often do not fit in the traditional binary gender roles so they are often reprimanded, bullied and discriminated 3. LGBTs are often subjected to violence and hate just because they do not fit in what society calls “normal” Gender studies lets us analyze the creation and maintenance of these gender norms so that it does not create inequalities in our social, political, and economic spheres.  Gender Studies (GS) and Research GS utilizes a systematic approach in identifying problems, making hypotheses and assumptions, gathering data, and making conclusions – research process Approaches in Research: 1) QUALITATIVE 2) QUANTITATIVE  QUALITATIVE APPROACH METHODS Focuses more on meanings created and Phenomenology – conducting intensive interpretations made by people about their interviews with individuals who have own personal or vicarious (observed) experienced a particular event and experiences understanding their “lived experience” Used when you want to know how women, Hermeneutics – understanding the meaning men, or LGBTQ+ live their lives on a daily of texts (literary/art works) and what they basis and how they make sense of their convey about human realities lived experiences Ethnography and ethnomethodology – immersing in a community and taking note of their experiences, beliefs, attitudes, & practices  QUANTITATIVE APPROACH METHODS Focuses more on characterizing a Survey – collecting information from a population (total number of individuals in a sample group) or a sample ( a sub-group within the population), making generalizations about Experiment – creating actual set-ups to the population based on the behavior of observe behavior of people in an the sample experimental group (receives treatment like training or new experience) and Used when you want to know how many comparing it to the behavior of people in Filipino adolescents engaged into a control group (without any treatment) romantic relationship, how many still believe in marriage  MIXED METHODS combining qualitative and quantitative methods to derive data form multiple sources.  Ethical Principles Making sure that people involved in the research are protected from harm  Ethics in Gender and Sexuality Research: 1. Informed consent  Researchers should make sure that the participants in the study are aware of the purpose and processes of the study they are participating in.  Should ensure that only those participants who agree (in writing) will be included, and that they shall not force any participant to join 2. Confidentiality and anonymity  Researchers should not reveal any information provided by the participants, much so, their identity to anyone who are not concerned with the study.  All data gathered from surveys or interviews should also be placed in a secure location or filing system  Ethics in Gender and Sexuality Research: 3. Non-maleficence and beneficence  A study should do no harm (non-maleficence) to anyone.  Especially in researches involving humans, a study should be beneficial (beneficence) for it to be worth implementing 4. Distributive justice  Any study should not disadvantage a particular group, especially the marginalized and oppressed (e.g. poor, women, LGBTQ+, elderly).  The benefits of the study should be for all. THANK YOU!!!