GENDER AND

SEXUALITY ACROSS
TIME
Flores, Erickzel
HRM 2-2
Tañada, Nil Arvin
 Lesson Objectives:

1. discuss the historical roots of our

understanding of gender and sexuality; and

2. show appreciation of how this understanding

evolved through time, affected various aspect of
human life
 Society has progressed so much in a way that
information and knowledge is available to everyone.
This gives us an opportunity to examine our social
and political conditions in more detail than when
information was scarce and limited to only a few
individuals.
 Historical accounts show that across time, humans'
conception of gender and sexuality has also changed.
Archeological artifacts reveal that in the distant past,
during the dawn of civilizations, human societies have
high regard for women. The concept of the divine
feminine (the sacredness of the woman due to her
ability to conceive children) has prevailed, and thus,
women are treated equally with men. This make
societies egalitarian (men and women have equitable
power and roles).
 However, humans' discovery of paternity
(fatherhood/ role of the father in conception).
presumably during the Agricultural era, when
societies began to establish communities and
tame rear cattle and stocks, have also
changed how societies have viewed women
and men therefrom.
 PATRIARCHY
system based on the control and oppression of women
Greek word Patriarkhes which means "the rule of the
father"
they are viewed as a weaker sex and should not
concern themselves in learning science or politics.
Patriarchy is viewed by most sociologists as a social
construct and not as a biological phenomenon.
HISTORICAL VIEWS
ON GENDER
 Greek
Aristotle, Plato, and other Greek philosophers viewed
women as the inferior sex and are properties of men
whose only job was to obey their husbands, bear children,
and take care of the household. They were forbidden to
learn philosophy, politics, and science.
 Egypt
Herodotus, a Greek historian, observed the
Egyptian civilization citing that Egyptian
women enjoyed higher social status than
Greek women because they can inherit
property and engage in trade and politics.
However, Greek influence quickly spread in
Egypt through the conquests of Alexander the
Great across Asia and Africa.
 China
Confucianism has stringent written rules that
dictate how women should conduct
themselves. The written documents titled
"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.
 Women have come a long way
since the ancient times through
the feminist movement, however,
patriarchy has taken on subtle
forms of oppression that often go
unnoticed such as:
sexism - prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination
based on sex;

gender pay gap men earn more that women;

underrepresentation in politics, military, executive

positions, etc;

rape on women and the stigma making women

ashamed to report the crime;
very conservative expectations on women on
how they behave;

unrealistic depictions of women in fiction, often

very sexualized;

women do more housework and childcare;

boys were trained to be leaders while women

were trained to do house chores.
 WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
Women's liberation movement, women's movement, or
feminism is a continuing series of social movements that
aim to challenge the patriarchal society that creates these
oppressive political structures, beliefs, and practices against
women. It started at different decades in different countries,
some are far more advance in their struggle while others are
still starting a movement. During the 19th and early 20th
century, first-wave feminism spread across the western
countries as women demanded for their right to vote or
participate in elections and to be able to legally own
property.
 In France, Simone de Beauvoir wrote book titled "The
Second Sex" in 1949. It outlined how the patriarchal society
disadvantaged women by slowly raising her into submission
and hindering their productivity and happiness by relegating
them to housecleaning. This inspired many women to write
and speak their truths, such as Betty Friedan (The Feminine
Mystique, 2963), Kate Millet (Sexual Politics, 1969), and
Germaine Greer (The Female Eunuch, 1970). Beauvoir's
book was instrumental in awakening women about their
plight as the "wife-servant" to their husbands in her famous
quote "one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman".
 Le Mouvement de Liberation des Femmes or the women's
liberation movement was formed in Europe and they sought
the right to education, right to work, and right to vote in the
1940s. Later, they also won women's right to decide on their
own bodies and their sexualities. This liberation movement
views the intersectionality of economic status or class to
patriarchy.
 Inspired by Beauvoir's book, second-wave feminism in
1960's through the 80's, women drew attention to various
social and cultural inequalities such as domestic violence
especially marital rape, reproductive rights, wage inequality,
and etc. The 90's gave birth to the 3rd wave and 2012
started the forth wave. These movements only show that
there is still much to be done for women's rights.
The United Nations reports that women do more work than
men because even when they work at the office, they are
still expected to handle household tasks. Another report
from UN Women states that "women perform 66 percent of
the world's work, produce 50 percent of the food, but own
only 1 percent of the property." This is because women
participate in making the food, but only the father or the
male head of the family controls the income.
To put simply, feminism demands equality.
Here are a few salient points that feminism
demands.
Women suffrage - women were not allowed to vote
before because they were viewed as irrational and
temperamental and therefore, not able to make
rational decisions. This changed after World War I
(1914 to 1918) wherein women were uprooted from
the household. They took on jobs and made
significant contributions to their country. Many
countries soon started letting women vote since they
can no longer argue that women are "irrational and
temperamental".
 Equality in politics and society - for hundreds of
years, women's voices were silenced, so society must
make an effort to restore their rights. Representation
is very important for women, so that their genuine
concerns are heard in politics and in society. Feminist
have always criticized that old, privileged men always
make the decisions for women at home and in
politics.
 Reproductive rights means the woman is in
control of her body, and she can decide for
herself on what she sees is best for her.
Contraception, abortion, and other reproductive
options should be available to women because
it is their body.
 Sexual harassment and sexual
violence - The Center for Women's
Resources in the Philippines estimates
that one woman or child is raped every
hour mostly by someone they know.
 Other rights include the right to
divorce their husbands, the right to
make decisions on her pregnancy,
equitable wages, and equal
employment opportunity.