Gender Construction

SEX vis-a- GENDER

vis
 BIOLOGICAL  SOCIO-
DIMENSION CULTURAL
-chromosom CONSTRUCTION
 LEARNED
es
-gender of rearing
- hormones
-gender identity
- reproductive -gender role
parts  VARIABLE
- physical ACROSS AGE AND
TIME
 RELATIVELY  VARIABLE ACROSS
FIXED CULTURE
AT BIRTH  SHIFTING AND
 UNIVERSAL FLUID
 Gender
Source: WHO

• Gender refers to the

socially constructed
characteristics of women
and men – such as norms,
roles and relationships of
and between groups of
women and men. It varies
from society to society
and can be changed.
 Gender Roles
• Some maybe be rigid
• Some are more flexible
• Stereotypes of roles of
women and men
Gender_Construction_101.mp4

These roles are prescribed as ideal

or appropriate behavior for a
person of that specific gender.
 Heeled Shoes
• High Heeled shoes, unanimously
considered feminine in Western
society.
• But this was initially designed for
upper class men to use when hunting
on horseback.
• Through the years the high heeled
shoes of the men became shorter and
fatter while it became thinner and
higher and is now associated with
being “feminine”
• There is nothing intrinsically feminine
about the high heeled shoes. Social
norms have made it so.
Violence is
made a
laughing or
made to
appear as
something
“cute”

Shirt sold in SM
“The Naked Truth” fashion show where Coco Martin pulled a female
model on a leash which netizens saw as an act commodifying women.

@inquirerdotnet
Sexist Comments and
statements on women
including rape

President elect Duterte

Records show that Australian, British, and Malaysian women travel to Iraq and
Syria to participate in jihad al-nikah, or sexual jihad, for the Islamic State (ISIS)
terrorists. They intend to become comfort women for the jihadists as the men
continue to establish a Caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/08/27/Women-Volunteer-for-Sexual-
Jihad-with-Islamic-State
 “Womennomics”
Shinzo Abe

“All women should shine”

 Rate of Incidence of rape in Phil.
• In 2013, PNP’s annual report based on Directorate for
Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) data tallied
as much as 7,409 reported rape incidents, or one every 72
minutes.
• In the past 15 years, three out of four rape incidents
reported
to the PNP WCPC involved child victims.
= 14,296

= 44,034
Source: PNP Women and Children
Protection Center

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/376614/news/specialreports/special-report-rape-in-the-philippines-numbers-reveal-disturbing-trend
 Abusive Cultural Practices
• Child Brides
• Circumcision – both male and female (FGM)
• Breast ironing
• Acid Throwing, eve teasing
• Stoning to death
• Defense of honor
 However, gender roles
are not set in stone.

Gender roles and

stereotypes are
highly fluid and can
shift substantially
over time.

Society and culture create gender roles.

Thus society and culture can re-define and
re-construct gender roles.
 Why study gender?

• Gender is an important human variable

• Women and men show a wide range of
variations within and between genders
• People react differently to men and women
• Women are less visible than men in many
important areas
 Gender Analysis

We need to conceptualize
gender as a social structure,
to better analyze the ways in
which gender is embedded in
the individual, interactional,
and institutional dimensions
of our society.
Barbara J. Risman

elephant.ppt
 Effects of Gender Construction on
Women and Men

• Violence
• Exclusion
• Discrimination
• Marginalization
• Exploitation
Effects of Gender Construction on
Women and Men
• Stereotypes men’s roles,
identities and attributes
• Places on men expectations and
roles not of his own choice
and decision
• Puts unnecessary burdens on
men
• Perpetuates Violence
Lets look at
some issues.
 Choice of a Child

Having a
baby?

What are the cultural practices

in relation to choices on sex
preferences of children?
 Choice of a Child
A preference for sons in some Asian countries
has been well documented for centuries.

Chinese Culture – “One child Policy”

 Choice of a Child
“One child Policy”
•The bloodline passes through the
male side.
•Women also "marry out", joining their
husband's families and looking after
their in-laws, not their own parents.
•For a long time, a son was the
pension. Having a girl was wasteful.
“The better sons you have, the
**** for some cultures, males are better life we can have,' because
preferred because of the issue of men have more strength and can
dowry carry out more work,”

Chinese saying
 Choice of a Child
The sex ratio at birth (SRB)—the number of boys born to every 100
girls—is typically 105 males to 100 females. But since the 1980s,
the availability of ultrasound technology has spurred sex selection,
particularly in countries where males are highly prized.

“In 2005 in China, it was estimated that 1.1 million excess males
were born across the country and that the number of males under
the age of 20 years exceeded the number of females by around 32
million,”
Therese Hesketh,
UCL Centre for International Health and Development
London, United
Kingdom.

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/14/gender-prefere
 Choice of a Child
The surplus of men has increased
competition for brides, meaning
families must buy ever more
expensive housing to ensure
their sons can marry – increasing
the economic attractiveness of
daughters.

China has tens of millions of men who are destined to die single.
Some fear that the excess will lead to increased sexual violence,
general crime and social instability.
 Choice of a Child
Times are Changing
• More women are employable in factories.
They are more careful and less troublesome
• Couples are transferring to city centers
where there is an opening of new ideas and
less pressure from extended families
• Parents are now depending on their
daughters and prefer daughters because
they now take care of their parents.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/02/chinas-great-
gender-crisis
 Choice of a Child
Times are Changing
On 29 October 2015, Xinhua
reported the change in the
existing law to a two-child
policy citing a statement from
the Communist Party of China.
The new policy allowing
Chinese couples to have two
children was proposed in order
to help address the aging issue
in China.
htt
 Preference for a male child is manifested in
several aspects in subtle ways:
Privileging of the male.
Visibility of male.
Home
Good food are reserved for the men.
In fact in some cultures, women only eat what men left
behind.
 Privileging of men was evident
in Education. It is one of the
leading
institutions that teaches and bolsters
gender inequalities
• Since the 18th century, education was reserved
for the upper-class boys and men
• Many of the Victorian opponents of women’s
education believed that women could not
withstand and would not wish to subject
themselves to the rigors of higher education.
• Before the 1970s very few women had the
opportunity to obtain good education. They
were likely to be admitted in law and
medical schools. They were also not
allowed to participate in school
athletics.
 In Religion, men are highly visible and
women were invisible.
In the Bible:
• Daughter 560 Son 3,420 times
times
• Mother 345 Father 1,685 times
times
• She 760 He 7,500 times
times
• Her 1,260 • There are 1,4269,900
Him/His namestimes
times mentioned in the
Bible
1,315 Male names
111 Female names
 Media
• Usually shows sons in family setting
• If more than one child is presented, usually the
eldest child is male.
On Women Leadership
Women Leaders in Place in 2015
Germany South Korea
Liberia Cyrpus (North)
Argentina Senegal
Bangladesh Norway
Lithuania Latvia
Trinidad and Tobago Central African Republic
Brazil Chile
Kosovo Malta
Denmark Poland
Jamaica Switzerlan
Slovenia d Croatia

http://www.jjmccullough.com/charts_rest_fe
male-leaders.php
World's 10 most populous nations
and female leader status:

1 China No
2 India Yes
3 United States No
4 Indonesia Yes
5 Brazil Yes
6 Pakistan Yes
7 Bangladesh Yes
8 Nigeria No
9 Russia No
10 Japan No
 In the Corporate World

The number of female CEOs at Fortune 500 companies stands at 23, with
exactly the same number occupying equivalent positions in the rest of the
Fortune 1000.
http://www.topmba.com/admissions/women-leadership-top-10-b-
schools-females
 In the Corporate World
Women in the workforce (they now occupy more than
40% of all managerial positions in the United States)

Consider the most highly paid executives of Fortune 500

companies—those with titles such as chairman, president,
chief executive officer, and chief operating officer.
6% are women
2% of the CEOs are women
15% of the seats on the boards of directors are
held by women

On the top corporations in each nation of the

European
Union:
11% of the top executives are
women 4% of the CEOs heads of
boards
Stereotypical roles of women prevents
society from training and trusting them
to handle leadership positions
• Emotional
• Weak
• Indecisive
• Soft
• Only for the home
• Lack authority
How are stereotypes perpetuated
• Limited activities of girls
Games played by girls prevent
them from exploring and
taking risks
• Over protection of girls
• Higher leadership position are
given to boys in schools
• Exposures and out of school
activities are more open to
boys ( no need for chaperones,
prevents sexual harassment)
How are stereotypes perpetuated
• Textbook materials reflect
the dominance of the male
• Generic
Male
• History
Historical events – criteria for
chronicling events based on war
Heroes are usually men
Famous
American

Inventors

Samuel F. B. Cyrus Hall

Eli Whitney Elias Howe Alexander Graham Bell
Morse McCormick

Famous
American

Scientists

John James Jane Addams

Crawford W. Long Luther Burbank Walter Reed
Audubon
It is important to note
•Subtle and unintended messages can create the
idea among girls and boys that there are fields
they cannot be successful because of their sex.

•It impairs boys and girls efforts to find their

voices, discipline their minds and prepare
themselves for their futures.
 GENDER ISSUES
Problems that women
and men experience as a result
of societies definitions and
expectations about feminine
and masculine roles, rights and
capacities.
 GENDER ISSUES
• Problems that stem from
the way women and men
have been socially
constructed.
• Commonly shared
experiences
about by structural
brought
or
societal causes.
 GENDER ISSUES
• Recognized as undesirable
and unjust.
• Have to do with gender
inequality, with practices
that marginalize,
discriminate and violate
women’s rights.
 Gender issues
pertain to beliefs, ideas,
behavior, systems and
other factors that block
people’s capacity to do
and to be.
 Gender issues affec
everybody, men or t
rich or poor, young or old,
women,
etc.
in all spheres of life.

THEY AFFECT
MEN
 GENDER BIASES
AGAINST MEN
• Inherently aggressive and
violent.
• Don’t feel pain or incapable
of experiencing human
emotions.
• Inherently compulsive in
their sexuality.
• Don’t need closeness,
reassurance, and attention.

BUT THEY AFFECT

WOMEN MORE!
 WOMEN’S GENDER
ISSUES
• MARGINALIZATION

• SUBORDINATION

• GENDER STEREOTYPING

• MULTIPLE BURDEN
 Gender issues are
deterrents to
development. Thus, it
is important to
address them in
development
planning.
 However, the
good news is
Gender Roles do
change.
 QUESTION:
Are Women born
Feminine?
Are Men born
Masculine?
MAJORITY OF BEHAVIORAL
SCIENTISTS AGREE THAT…

Gender Roles are not

INBORN.
They are LEARNED.
 How does our society or
culture teach us to:
T
hink
Feel
Behav
e
accordi
ng to your
 If you are a man,
what does it mean to
be masculine?
If you are a woman,
what does it mean to
be feminine?
 The process of LEARNING
and INTERNALIZING culturally
approved ways of:
Thinking
Feeling
Behaving
according to one’s
gender is…
Gender Role

Socializatio
n
 Learning of gender roles
begin in the early stages of
childhood.

As an outcome:
Male gender-roles
and
Female gender-roles
develop.