CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING GENDER AND SEXUALITY AS A SOCIAL REALITY

Learning Outcomes:
 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

Understanding sex and gender is critical to understanding human society. Although “sex” is often
incorrectly thought to have the same meaning as “gender,” the terms describe different but connected constructs.
Sex and gender shape health independently as distinct factors, as well as interactively through the many ways in
which they intersect and influence each other. It is important to understand the differences and interactions between
sex and gender to better understand its intersection in biomedical, psychosocial and political-legal perspectives.

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)

Refers to the biological and physiological differences between males and females as determined by nature.
differentiating people based on biological attributes, such as physical (body contour, features, genitals, reproductive
organs); genetic (chromosomes, hormones); label (female or male; man, or woman)
Basis/Determinants Male Female
Chromosomes XY XX
Gonads Testes Ovaries
Hormones Testosterone Estrogen
Internal Reproductive Structures Wolffian ducts Mullerian duct system
External Sex Structures Penis and Scrotal Sac Clitoris and Vagina

GENDER
 Refers to the 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 (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than
biological ones).
 Refers to the socially and culturally constructed differences between men and women.
 Differentiating people based on perceptions, roles, and social expectations; concerned with 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.

However…
• There are those who do not follow culturally-accepted standards of masculinity and femininity
• Natural variation of human gender expression
• Social and cultural practices change through time

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
• Example:
 a male who does not feel comfortable identifying as a man (transgender woman)
 a female who is not comfortable identifying as a woman (transgender man)
• May undergo gender reassignment surgery

Sexual Orientation
• Aspect of gender that pertains to our emotional and sexual attraction to a person:
 Heterosexuals or “straight” – attracted to the opposite sex
 Homosexual (gay or lesbian) – attracted to people of the same sex
 Bisexual – attracted to both sexes, male or female

Genderbread
IDENTITY – Mind/thinking
ORIENTATION - Feeling
EXPRESSION – Physical appearance
SEX – biological (genitalia/reproductive system)
Recognizing Diversity
• Nature and nurture play a complex role in shaping our sexual orientation ( American Psychological
Association)
• Homosexuality and heterosexuality are part of human sexuality and large part of human experience.
• Identifying as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual is a deeply personal process – so may be difficult to
”come out”
• Some come early in adolescence, others may take time to understand and discover themselves

- According to the Psychological Association of the Philippines,

“We can only tell if the person is gay, lesbian, or bisexual if they share with us their experiences
and feelings of attraction towards them, that is why, it is important for everyone to feel safe as
they share their sexuality since it is a personal and sensitive topic.”
- It can be done in an environment wherein we do not feel judged and discriminated upon.

1.2 STUDY OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY

1.2.1 EVOLUTION OF UNDERSTANDING GENDER AND SEXUALITY

• Society has progressed so much; information and knowledge is available to everyone - opportunity to
examine social and political conditions
• Across time, humans’ conception of gender and sexuality has also changed
• Distant past (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
• Egalitarian societies – men and women have equitable power and roles
• Agricultural era (presumably) – humans’ discovery of paternity (fatherhood/role of the father in conception)
• Began to establish communities and tame rear cattle and stocks
• Changed how societies viewed women and men therefrom
• Longest time thereafter – societies have privileged men over other genders
• Preferential given to the men in the productive sphere (world of public work)
 • Women were viewed as solely capable only of reproductive affairs (world of home and related tasks:
suckling the young, child rearing, home management)
• Industrial era – gender disparity was intensified
• Factories were built – men were preferred because they did not have to bear children and because of their
perceived strength
• BUT, how did really the conceptualization of gender and sexuality change?

PATRIARCHY
• A system based on the control and oppression of women wherein they are perceived to be weaker sex
• A structure that upholds male supremacy in the law, at home, in the workplace, and in society.
• 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
• Men are expected to lead in the social, legal, political, and economic spheres
• Women are expected to obey and are relegated to house chores, child rearing, and child care
• Patrilineal society often follows a patriarchal society – only men can inherit property and family name
• Women are left with no inheritance and are expected to marry men who could support them economically
• Women were not allowed to go to schools, to vote, to not concern themselves in learning science or politics

Patriarchy as a social construct

• Viewed as a social construct and not as a biological phenomenon
• History suggests an egalitarian system (prehistoric hunters-gatherers) rather than patriarchal system – men
and women contribute to society and enjoy the same social status.
• 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
• As a way to control the excess wealth generated by these advancements, male dominance as asserted
over women so only the male heir can inherit the family wealth.

Historical views on GENDER

GREEK
• 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.
• Women are forbidden to learn philosophy, politics, and science.
EGYPT
• Egyptian women enjoyed higher social status than Greek women because they can inherit property and
engage in trade (Herodotus)
• However, Greek influence quickly spread in Egypt through the conquests of Alexander the Great across
Asia and Africa.
CHINA
• Confucianism's written rules – dictate how women should conduct themselves
• “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

• Gendered biases in ancient patriarchal societies were very strict, heavily enforced, and often violent.
• Woman – not being able to go to school, not being able to express opinion on important matters even when
it concerns your future, and not being able to say no to any man.
• 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;

• 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
Women’s liberation movement, women’s movement, or feminism – continuing series of social movements that
aim to challenge the patriarchal society that creates the oppressive political structures, beliefs, and practices
against women.
Started in different decades in different countries and in various waves, feminism is interwoven into women’s
rights, civil rights, and social justice movements. The waves of feminism are not a linear progression and
consensus of progress, even though they roughly follow a linear timeline. Instead, they are intense changes of
perspective among different generations of women.

First wave feminism during the late 19th century is primarily characterized by the women’s suffrage
movement and their championing of the woman’s right to vote. While many continue to celebrate feminist
leaders like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the women’s suffrage movement largely excluded
and discriminated against women of color including suffragettes such as Ida B. Wells, Ellen Watkins Harper and
Sojourner Truth. White women were eventually guaranteed the right to vote in 1920 under the 19th
amendment. Women of color wouldn’t have the universal right to vote until 45 years later with the Voting Rights
Act of 1965, when all people of color were guaranteed the right to vote.

Second wave feminism, from roughly the 1960s to the 1990s, encompassed far more issues such as pay
equality, reproductive rights, female sexuality, and domestic violence. Like the first wave of feminism, many of
these goals were achieved through legislation and important court decisions. That said, while the second wave
movement made some attempts to encompass racial justice, it remained a lesser priority than gender. Class
and race were viewed as secondary issues, if they were considered at all. The disparities between white
women and white men narrowed, but the inequity between women of color and white men or even between
women of color and white women largely remained the same.

Third wave feminism emerged from the mid 1990’s, challenging female heteronormativity. Third wavers
sought to redefine femininity and sought to celebrate differences across race, class, and sexual orientations.
While third wave feminists support feminism, they reject many stereotypes of the feminine ideal, sometimes
even rejecting the word “feminism” itself. This movement was a stark departure from the second wave and the
development of intersectionality began to take form. The term intersectionality was coined by lawyer and
activist Kimberlé Crenshaw “to describe how race, class, gender, and other individual characteristics ‘intersect’
with one another and overlap.”

Fourth wave feminism is newly emerging over the last decade or so, therefore it’s difficult to define. That
said, fourth wave feminism is seen as characterized by action-based viral campaigns, protests, and movements
like #MeToo advancing from the fringes of society into the headlines of our everyday news. The fourth wave
has also been characterized as “queer, sex-positive, trans-inclusive, body-positive, and digitally driven.” It
seeks to further deconstruct gender norms. The problem these feminists confront is systemic white male
supremacy. Fourth wavers believe there is no feminism without an understanding of comprehensive justice that
deconstructs systems of power and includes emphasis on racial justice as well as examinations of class,
disability, and other issues.
 - We should consider what feminism means in conjunction to equality for all. If your feminism does not
include and support trans people, people of color, non-gender conforming people, people with
disabilities and ALL marginalized groups then you are not seeking equality for all.

1.2.2 THE STUDY OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY

• Social research – the process of investigating social realities

• Research approach – the orientation on understanding social realities: can be qualitative (interpretive),
quantitative (deductive), or both
• 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

• are “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
• As an area of knowledge, is about looking into, analyzing, and examining society so that we notice power
relations in the seemingly “simple things”
• Helps us see the issues in our everyday lives through a different lens
• Emerged from the need to analyze how gender, sex, and sexuality impact our lives, especially how it
creates gender inequality
• 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. Like
women not being able to study at universities since their role was only domestic – repressed women’s potential in
shaping the social and political landscape in the past, but also placed the burden on the men to provide for the
whole family. Our society has changed so much since then:
• Jobs are available to everyone is not so much dependent on physical strength thus, accessible to
women
• Most mothers have a job and also provide for the family
Gender studies would ask us question: “Is it still right to say that the 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:
• 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
• Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people often do not fit in the traditional binary gender roles
so they are often reprimanded, bullied and discriminated
• 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
• Focuses more on meanings created and interpretations made by people about their own personal or
vicarious (observed) experiences
• Used when you want to know how women, men, or LGBTQ+ live their lives on a daily basis and how they
make sense of their lived experiences
Qualitative methods:
• Phenomenology – conducting intensive interviews with individuals who have experienced a particular event
and understanding their “lived experience”
• Hermeneutics – understanding the meaning of texts (literary/art works) and what they convey about human
realities
• Ethnography and ethnomethodology – immersing in a community and taking note of their experiences,
beliefs, attitudes, & practices

QUANTITATIVE approach
• Focuses more on characterizing a population (total number of individuals in a group) or a sample ( a sub-
group within the population), making generalizations about the population based on the behavior of the
sample
• Used when you want to know how many Filipino adolescents engaged into a romantic relationship, how
many still believe in marriage

Quantitative methods:
• Survey – collecting information from a sample
• Experiment – creating actual set-ups to observe behavior of people in an experimental group (receives
treatment like training or new experience) and comparing it to the behavior of people in control group
(without any treatment)

MIXED METHODS – combining qualitative and quantitative methods to derive data form multiple sources.

Ethics in Gender and Sexuality Research:

• Ethical principles – making sure that people involved in the research are protected from harm
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
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.