REFLECTION PAPER

BS CPE 3-1
JANUARY 01. 2022

Alvarado, Christine
Catungal, Nadine
Cumpio, Carl Louie
Daza, Lindsay
Delos Reyes, Arvin
Del rosaio, Zcythea
Gaddi, Jhon Jhoniel
Evia, Jodene
Largado, Frennie
Padillo, Rachel
Pajunar, Edilberto
Paloma, Katelene
 The world has always been a mass consumer of media. We always kept tail with the latest
happenings around us. We relied on newspapers, radios, and televisions before for media
consumption. In the 21st century we became more immersed into media with social media
platforms rising. As we consume more media, we become more prone to media illiteracy. In
a world where everything is nearly instant, and everyone is running after time. People have
lacked the time to fact-check information. This led many to overlooked media representation
of women and men. It has conditioned people around the globe to think a certain way. It
altered people’s perception on gender, therefore paving the way for a society where gender
is misrepresented and encompassed by rules and standards chosen by a few.

People’s perception amid the stereotypical objectification of women had been going on
for centuries. We as women, had been drastically deprived of our rights that constitutes to
inequality among gender-specific discrimination of roles and biased judgements. The media
plays a big role on putting such a negative or degrading demeanor on women. They continue
to build a standardized and under presented version of women among different mediums of
media back then. According to Wood (1994), when media portray women who work outside
of the home, their career lives typically receive little or no attention. Although these
characters have titles such as lawyer or doctor, they are shown predominantly in their roles
as homemakers, mothers, and wives. This type of traditional thinking has been exploiting
women for a long time. Compared today, women who are ‘career-oriented’ are labeled as
‘empowered’ and is able to portray her roles without being ‘objectified’ or deprived of her
rights as a woman. On the other hand, there are also stereotype image of men in media. They
are often portrayed as confident, always in charge, and competent. They are seldom
portrayed as a caring person and rarely shown doing house chores. Women's and men's
qualities in media shows were typically stereotyped for a long time. As a result, people's
standards or perceptions of real-life individuals become the same as on the shows they have
watched.

Gender Roles are developed inside school premises, specifically in elementary. These
gender roles are formed via popularity, and there are areas where the children are basing the
popularity from. The boys' popularity is based on: Athletic Abilities, Coolness, Toughness,
Savoir-faire, Cross-Gender Relations, and Academic Performance. These factors are mostly
established in the physical strength and mental aspects of the child. While the girls'
popularity is based on: Family Background, Physical Appearance, Social Development, and
Academic Performance. These factors focus on the physical appearance and the behavior of
the child. This situation applies in our country as well.
 As we set an example of how a boy or a girl should act, not only in schools but also in
our home. We make children perceive that a boy should be tough and logical, and a girl
should be prim and proper. They take this understanding to school and establish their gender
roles. And also how the society differentiate labor on basis of sex and how it affects the
perspective of a person. It said that men is bound to do a hard task because they are the one
who have greater strength while we expect women to do the light chores. In some gathering
they refers women as a gatherer while men are for hunting. In this type of concept that the
society build we can really see how it divided labor just based on the physical strength of a
person. We see women as a weak and vulnerable person so we limit their capabilities to take
some responsibility while we give all the hard works in men in the belief that they are the
one who should do that. This sex inequality limiting us to do further than what we can do
and the way it’s continue just shows that we are still stack in the same era where gender
discrimination is rampant in the society.

In research from Wharton (2004), labor division have developed along gendered
lines throughout history. Even at the start of 21st century sex remains the basis of assigning
duties. Gender differences in child-care responsibilities are a key component of the family
as a gendered institution, influencing many elements of women's and men's work and family
life. Likewise, because of a long history of Western colonialism, patriarchy has been
imposed on an otherwise sexually equal Philippine social structure. Social scientists in the
Philippines discovered that social norms promote the notion of male and female workers
playing "traditional" roles. The man is now expected being the provider and defender of the
wife and family, whereas the woman is expected to be the homemaker and keeper of the
home. In terms of household tasks and child rearing, it seems that the woman still has the
upper hand. However, several family researchers, studies show males are increasingly
participating in household activities, especially when the woman works outside the home.
Husbands, on the other hand, continue to favor the conventional role for their women, even
when they share household responsibilities.

Moreover, gender as traits, abilities, and behavioral disposition is seen our society.
Knowing that women are more empathic than men, men tend to be more risk takers, and
many more. This some examples defines the characteristic and share the views of gender.
Therefore, socialization to gender roles is a process by which we learn the gender-related
rules, norms, and expectations of our culture. According to Adler et. Al (1992), parents,
instructors, schools, and the media are the most common agents of gender socialization—
that is, people who affect the process. Children begin to acquire their own gender beliefs and
gender identity as a result of gender socialization. Vinney (2019) stated that gender
socialization is a continuous process that occurs throughout one's life. This socialization has
different impacts.
Our gender ideas may become more nuanced and flexible as we grow older, but gender
socialization can still influence our behavior, whether in school, workplace or relationships.

Gender is an important social principle. It is a multilayer system of social practices that

develops gender distinctions and organizes inequity based on those distinctions. Gender is
perpetuated, according to Wharton, through forces of institutionalization and legitimization.
Gender, race, and social class inequalities are widely institutionalized. This makes them
particularly difficult to eradicate because they are accepted as "the way things are."
Institutional approach on gender means gender is present in the processes, practices, images
and ideologies, and distributions of power in the various sectors of social life. A political
institution is one of the examples of a gendered institution in the Philippines. According to
Zapata (2018), politics, as in many spheres of life in the Philippines, is still very much a male
enclave. From the smallest government unit up to the national level, men dominate. Gender
norms undermine women's roles in public life, which prompts resistance to women's political
leadership (George, 2019). In the 2019 National and Local Elections, only 20.16 percent
(8,782) of the candidates were female. The slow increase in women’s representation in
politics may be attributed to prevailing patriarchal norms and values, and gender stereotypes.
It has often been said that politics is more the realm of men than women (Women’s Political
Participation and Representation).

The current state of women in the Philippines can best be defined as fraught with
inconsistencies. In terms of academic, professional, political, and legal advancement, Filipino
women may be considered among the most advanced in comparison to women in other
countries. Domestic abuse, economic difficulties, employment discrimination, exploitation as
migratory workers and prostituted women, and displacement caused by intermittent wars in
conflict-affected areas are among issues they face.
The Philippines is the first country in Asia and one of only six (6) countries in the world to
have closed the gender gap in both education and health. Furthermore, as economic indices
such as estimated income, labor force participation, and income equality for similar
employment increase, the Philippines' political empowerment scores improve. In senior
management positions, the Philippines is the only country in the world where women are
equal to men. The key to achieving gender equality, according to Wharton, is to make gender
a less powerful role in influencing social life than it is today. Gender inequality will be
lessened if the role of gender is reduced. Gender disparities will be reduced as gender
inequality is reduced.

We encounter gender inequality through social interaction or in an institution. The

environment we live in can affect our beliefs and perspectives on gender. That is why it is
necessary to exercise equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities to create a safer and
healthier environment.
Bibliography:

Cuklanz, L. M. (n.d.). Mass media representation gendered violence. The Routledge

Companion to Media & Gender. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203066911.ch2

Adler P., Kless S., Adler P. (1992), Socialization to Gender Roles: Popularity among
Elementary School Boys and Girls, Published by American Sociological Association

Vinney C. (2019), What Is Gender Socialization?, Retrieved from

https://www.thoughtco.com/gender-socialization-definition-examples-4582435,
December 27, 2021

Wood, J. T. (1994). Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender.

Wadsworth Publishing

George, R. (2019, February 7). Gender norms and women’s political participation: Global
trends and findings on norm change. Advancing Learning and Innovation on Gender
Norms (ALIGN). https://www.alignplatform.org/resources/gender-norms-and-womens-
political-participation-global-trends-and-findings-norm-change

Zapata, A.D. (2018). Women’s leadership and political participation: Fair access to
political spheres in the Province of Bulacan, Philippines. African Educational Research
Journal. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1208331.pdf

Women’s Political Participation and Representation. (n.d.). Philippine Commission on

Women. https://pcw.gov.ph/womens-political-participation-and-representation/