Understanding The Self Notes PDF

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF NOTES THE SEXUAL SELF The Sexual Self This pertains to how one thinks about oneself as a sexual individual. It speaks of one’s sexual health, sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression and values around your sexuality Sex Is biological. It is...

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF NOTES THE SEXUAL SELF The Sexual Self This pertains to how one thinks about oneself as a sexual individual. It speaks of one’s sexual health, sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression and values around your sexuality Sex Is biological. It is classified as male, female, or intersex, with reproductive differences based on genitalia, chromosomes, and hormones Gender It is a term that refers to social or cultural distinctions associated with a given sex. It is generally desired to be a socially constructed concept Gender Bias & Stereotype Gender bias is based on socially constructed expectations and roles and is more inclusive as it includes prejudice and discrimination against both men and women Gender stereotypes are traits regularly associated with specific groups of people based on factors like their race, nationality, and sexual orientation Binary vs. Non-Binary The Binary refers to the claim that there are only two genders: the male and female The Non-binary refers to those whose gender identity falls outside the gender binary Gender Identity This is how we feel about our own gender. This is how you feel inside and how you express your gender through clothing, behavior, and personal appearance Sexual Orientation Sexual Orientation is about who you’re attracted to and who you feel drawn to romantically, emotionally, and sexually Cisgender Is a person whose gender identity and gender expression align with the sex assigned at birth Transgender This is an umbrella term used to describe the wide range of gender identities and expressions that do not conform to the sex assigned at birth Types of Sexual Orientation Homosexual  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF NOTES - Is an attraction to the same sex Heterosexual - Is an attraction and behavior towards the opposite sex Bisexual - Is an attraction to both male and female Asexual - Is a person who does not have an attraction towards any sex or gender Pansexual - Have the ability to be attracted to anyone regardless of sex Aromantic - People who do not experience romantic attraction Demiromantic - People who do not experience romantic attraction until a strong emotional or sexual connection is formed with a partner Polyamorous - Describes people who have consensual relationships that involve multiple partners Pre-Colonial View on Gender Some accounts prove that gender crossing and transvestism were cultural features of early colonial and, thus, presumably, pre-colonial communities Local men dressed up in women’s apparel and acting like women were called, among other things, bayoguin, bayok, agi-ngin, bido and binabae. THE PHYSICAL SELF The Body as an Embodied Form of Refusal and Revolt On the Physical Body - The dualistic model of labor based on gender typically maintained by traditional society such as one that assigns women to the domestic role has no basis in the Cordillera indigenous communities On the Sexual Body - The sipit (vagina) and the susu (breast) of women possess a certain authority, both in their literal and figurative sense. In the past, it was natural among Cordillera women to expose their susu, yet their bodies are never objectified nor transgeressed - Through their sipit and the susu, indigenous Cordilleran women are assigned a certain power of signification - In the recorded history of the Cordillera, the baring of women’s private parts was displayed in their struggle against: I. Environmental abuse by the big mining and logging companies II. The martial law of the Marcos Sr. dictatorship  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF NOTES What can we learn from the Indigenous lifeworld? The respect for one’s body and the body of the other comes naturally for the Kankanaey since it is the most basic reminder of their being. To violate the body of others is a desecration of one’s very being and penetrates the very soul of the individual In today’s time, our understanding of the physical and sexual body has turned too adulterated and misplaced What is the Physical Self? I. The concrete dimension and the tangible aspect of the person that can be directly observed or experienced II. Refers to the body, both physical extremities and external organs, which work together to perform many of its functions III. Physical self is not just about how you look. It is also about how you nourish your self-image, self-concept, and self-esteem IV. Physical characteristics are the defining traits of the person’s body Puberty: the Physical Marker of Adolescence (Santrock, 2016) Females reach puberty earlier than boys and experience menarche, which is the first menstrual flow Males, two to three years later than females, experience spermarche or semenarche, which is the first ejaculation or nocturnal emission (wet dreams) Primary sexual changes for both boys and girls are changes in their reproductive organs, which is a preparation for procreation Secondary sexual changes include: I. Estrogen (girls) - Increase in height, widening of the hips, and increase in fatty tissues in the breast of girls II. Androgen and testosterone (boys) - Responsible for the boys’ facial and body hair growth, muscles, and voice changes The Physical Self and the Body Image The Body Image refers to how one sees oneself or how one imagines how he/she looks. This could be positive or negative: I. Adolescents with the most positive body image are engaged in health-enhancing behavior, such as eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly II. Adolescents with poor body image have negative thoughts and feelings about their appearance, which can either be true or not The “Body Image” and the Experience of the Spotlight Effect  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF NOTES Young adolescents experience the spotlight effect, which refers to the belief that others (imaginary audience) are paying more attention to the person’s appearance and behavior than they really are The “body-image problem” happens when your look doesn’t match your beauty standard Society and the Physical Self This contemporary society that overemphasizes the importance of the body is called “somatic society,” which gives rise to: I. Obsession with a beautiful face and body that leads to excessive cosmetic surgery and skin whitening II. Eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa III. Body dysmorphia IV. Body shaming Culture and the Physical Self Culture strongly influences adolescents in a face-to-face encounter with their physical selves, which is how their culture conceptualizes beauty Across the world, different cultural perceptions uphold an ideal of beauty that is linked to sexual appeal and social status The Physical Body and the Contemporary Issues The body is relegated to a caricature: I. The idealization of women’s stretch marks, dark spots, and the out-of-the-ideal figure as a “poster girl” for branding and marketing; II. The celebration of men’s naked machismo as a “poster boy” of modern masculinity The bra has been used to impose genderized ideologies effectively: I. Through its use, women’s breasts can stay firm and stay in their desired shape; II. Those who go braless are labeled as promiscuous, or uncivilized, or asking for intimacy The Filipino Standard of Beauty Our notion of beauty is “Eurocentric.” Eurocentrism is defined as a tendency to interpret the world in terms of European or Anglo-American values and experiences Mixed Filipinos are seen as more desirable because they look closer to white people, which indicated wealth and good breeding Mixed Colorism is rampant in Philippine society. This is defined as “the prejudicial or preferential treatment of same race or people based solely on the color of their skin THE MATERIAL & ECONOMIC SELF The Material Self  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF NOTES The material self is an essential component of an individual’s self-concept and sense of identity. It includes concrete components such as the bodily form, personal possessions, and one’s immediate family and home This refers to the part of an individual’s self-concept related to the physical world Components of the Material Self William James proposed that the self can be understood by its components: A. Constituents - We are instinctively driven to acquire property; the more we invest ourselves in these objects, the more attached we are to them Examples: - Our body - The clothes we put on our body - The things/objects we possess - Our immediate family and home B. Self-feelings - This pertains to the emotion that the component of “constituent” arouses in the individual Examples: - Body = “my, body, my choice” - Clothing = expensive clothing C. Self-seeking and Self-preservation - This refers to the consequential actions prompted as the result of the component of “self-feelings.” Identity and the Extended Self Refers to the psychological ownership of physical “entities,” which includes people, places, and things that we regard as “ours” How can we tell whether an “entity” is part of the self? For James, this can be determined by: 1. Examining our emotional investment in the “entity” 2. Seeing how we act towards these “entities” Why are these “entities” valued? 1. For what they provide 2. They are prized since they become part of us They are eventually turned into one’s “second skin” Consumerism This refers to the consumption of goods at a higher rate This also points to the claim that the spending by individuals on consumer goods and services is he principal driver of economic growth and a central measure of the productive success of a capitalist economy  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF NOTES Capitalism, Consumerism, and the Material Self Karl Marx: Class Struggle Alienation - The state of being separate from oneself - Happens if the work a person performs is not the expression of a natural creative (passion) but is motivated by the necessity of fulfilling others’ needs Materialism brought by capitalism takes man away from his natural creative need Consider this… Can money, positions, and possessions buy happiness? Yes! But… The more we fulfill these, the more we feel discontent The less materialistic we are, the high our sense of life satisfaction is These bring us away from the ability to foster genuine relationship, of serving others and the community