LESSON 2:

GENDER AND SEXUALITY

ACROSS TIME
 FIRST ACTIVITY FOR TODAY
• LOOK FOR THE DEFINITION OF THE FOLLOWING
TERMS WITH OWN EXPLANATION (AT LEAST 2
SENTENCES). WRITE YOUR ANSWERS ON A ONE
WHOLE SHEET OF PAPER.
• PATRIARCHY
• FEMINISM
• STEREOTYPES
• WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
 DEFINITION OF TERMS
• PATRIARCHY IS SOCIAL SYSTEM WHERE MEN
PRIMARILY HOLDS POWER IN THE POLITICAL
AND PRIVATE SPHERE.
• FEMINISM CONTINUING SERIES OF SOCIAL
MOVEMENTS THAT AIM TO CHALLENGE THE
PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY THAT CREATES THESE
OPPRESSIVE POLITICAL STRUCTURES, BELIEFS
• ARCHEOLOGICAL ARTIFACTS REVEAL THAT IN THE
DISTANT PAST, DURING THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION,
HUMAN SOCIETIES HAVE HIGH REGARD FOR
WOMEN. THE CONCEPT OF THE DIVINE FEMININE,
SACREDNESS OF THE WOMEN DUE TO HER ABILITY
TO CONCEIVE CHILDREN, HAS PREVAILED MAKING
WOMEN EQUALLY TREATED WITH MEN. THIS MAKE
SOCIETIES EGALITARIAN WHERE MEN AND WOMEN
HAVE EQUITABLE POWER AND ROLES.
• DISCOVERY OF PATERNITY, FATHERHOOD/ROLE OF
 PATRIARCHY
• IT IS FROM A GREEK WORD PATRIARKHES
WHICH MEANS “THE RULE OF THE FATHER”.
• IT IS A SOCIAL SYSTEM WHERE MEN
PRIMARILY HOLDS POWER IN THE POLITICAL
AND PRIVATE SPHERES.
• A PATRILINEAL SOCIETY OFTEN FOLLOWS A
PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY, THIS MEANS ONLY
 HISTORICAL VIEWS ON
GENDER
• GREEK: ARISTOTLE, PLATO, AND OTHER GREEK
PHILOSOPHERS VIEWED WOMEN AS AN INFERIOR SEX.
• CHINA: CONFUCIANISM HAS STRINGENT WRITTEN RULES
THAT DICTATE HOW WOMEN SHOULD CONDUCT
THEMSELVES.
• 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.
 CONFUCIANISM
THE PURPOSE OF CONFUCIANISM WAS MAINLY
TO INSTILL MORAL VALUES IN A PERSON. THERE IS
NO ORGANIZED CHURCH OR STRUCTURE, NO
PRIESTS, NO SECTS, AND NO CREED FOR ANY
FOLLOW. THERE IS NO WORSHIPPING OR PERSONAL
RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD BUT DID RECOGNIZE
HEAVEN AS A FORCE OF HUMAN CONCERN.
CONFUCIUS DID BELIEVE THAT MEN SHOULD DIRECT
THEIR OWN DESTINY.
 CONFUCIUS
Confucius is known as the first
teacher in China who
wanted to make education
broadly available and who
was instrumental in
establishing the art of
teaching as a vocation. He
also established ethical, moral,
and social standards that
formed the basis of a way of
life known as Confucianism.
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 THAN WOMEN;
• UNDER REPRESENTATION IN POLITICS, MILITARY, EXECUTIVE POSITION, ETC.
• RAPE ON WOMEN AND THE STIGMA MAKING WOMEN ASHAMED TO REPORT
THE CRIME;
• VERY CONSERVATIVE EXPECTATIONS ON WOMEN ON HOW THEY BEHAVE;
• UNREALISTIC DEPICTION 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
 IN 5 SENTENCES, WRITE THE
MEANING OF THIS ON A PIECE OF
PAPER. SUBMIT BY NEXT MEETING.
 WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
• WOMEN’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT, WOMEN’S
EMPOWERMENT 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 FROM DIFFERENT DECADES IN
DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.
• SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR WROTE A BOOK ENTITLED “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.
BEAUVOIR’S BOOK BECAME AN INSTRUMENT IN AWAKENING
WOMEN’S PLIGHT AS WIFE-SERVANT TO THEIR HUSBANDS.
OTHER WRITERS WHO FOLLOWED SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR
WERE:
• BETTY FRIEDMAN – THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE, 1963
• KATE MILLET – SEXUAL POLITICS, 1969
• LE MOVEMENT DE LIBERATION DES FEMMES OR THE
WOMEN’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT WAS FORMED IN
EUROPE AND SOUGHT THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION, RIGHT TO
WORK, AND THE RIGHT TO VOTE IN THE 1940S.
• THE SECOND WAVE OF FEMINISM: (1960’S THROUGH 1980’S)
• WOMEN DREW ATTENTION FROM VARIOUS CULTURAL AND
SOCIAL INEQUALITIES SUCH AS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
ESPECIALLY MARITAL RAPE, REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS, WAGE
INEQUALITY AND ETC.
• THE THIRD AND FOURTH WAVE OF FEMINISM : (1990’S AND
2012) SHOWS THAT THERE IS STILL MUCH TO BE DONE FOR
WOMEN’S RIGHTS.
 FEMINISM DEMANDS
EQUALITY
• SALIENT POINTS THAT FEMINISM DEMAND:
• WOMEN SUFFRAGE
• EQUALITY IN POLITICS AND SOCIETY
• REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
• DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
• SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE
• OTHERS LIKE RIGHT TO DIVORCE THEIR HUSBAND, RIGHT TO
MAKE DECISIONS ON HER PREGNANCY, EQUITABLE WAGES
AND EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY.
 PROJECT
•CREATE A COLLAGE SHOWING
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT. DO THIS
ON A 1/8 ILLUSTRATION BOARD. TO
BE GRADED BY A RUBRIC.
EQUIVALENT TO 100 PTS.