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Gender and Society: Course PACK in

This document provides information about a course on Gender and Society, including: 1) The course covers concepts of gender, sex, and sexuality as well as theories of women's oppression and issues related to gender and sexuality. 2) The course is divided into 3 modules - the first module provides an understanding of gender, sex, sexuality and women's issues; the second examines theories of women's oppression and feminism; and the third discusses cross-cutting issues related to gender and sexuality. 3) The course aims to help students develop a critical understanding of gendered lives and institutions and recognize how gender intersects with other social factors like race, class, ability and age.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)

3K views144 pages

Gender and Society: Course PACK in

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Ulieng corn

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You are on page 1/ 144

Course PACK in

GENDER AND SOCIETY

(ESocSciPhil)

Fritzie C. Macunlay, DRDev

This is a property of Holy Cross of Davao College. No part of this course pack may be reproduced or photocopied
without a written consent from authorized school administrators.
Table of Contents

Page

Course Information 1

Module 1: Grasp of Gender and Sexuality 4

Lesson 1 Leveling Off: Gender and Sexuality 5

Lesson 2 Cultures and Rationalities 17
Lesson 3 Women’s Ways of Knowing 23
Lesson 4 Gender-fair Language 30
Lesson 5 Women: A Sectoral General Report 39
Lesson 6 Women, Development and the World 51
Lesson 7 Gender Interests and Needs 60
Lesson 8 Laws, Policies and Programs for Philippine Women 65

Module 2: Understanding Women’s Oppression and Feminism 74

Lesson 1 Theories on the Origin of Women’s Oppression 75

Lesson 2 The Western Women’s Movement 82
Lesson 3 Women in the Philippines 92

Module 3: Some Cross-cutting Issues in Gender and Sexuality 104

Lesson 1 Women and Education 105

Lesson 2 Women and Work in the Philippines 113
Lesson 3 Women and Violence 121
Lesson 4 Masculinity 130

References 139
Course Information

Course Code: ESocSciPhil Units: 3 units

Course Prerequisites: None Number of Hours: 54 hrs.
Course Description:
The meaning of gender today will be explored in this course. It examines gendered
power dynamics and the intersection of gender with other social distinctions such as
'race,' class, and sexuality. A range of theoretical views will be applied to several current
substantive challenges. Likewise, this course critically examines the social and political
constructions of gender over time and across various social categories. Moreover, this
course focuses on the constraints that the social construction of gender imposes on
both men and women in our gender-stratified society. This course emphasizes
developing a critical, empirically based understanding of the structural and historical
foundations affecting men and women in society
Course Outline:
PRELIMS
Week 1 Leveling Off: Gender and Sexuality
-2
Week 3 Culture and Rationalities
Week 4 Women’s Ways of Knowing
MIDTERMS
Week 5 Gender-fair Language
Week 6 Women: A Sectoral General Report
Week 7 Women, Development, and the World
Week 8 Gender Interests and Needs
Week 9 Laws, Policies and Programs for Philippine Women
PRE-FINALS
Week Theories on the Origin of Women’s Oppression
10
Week The Western Women’s Movement
11

1 | Page
Week Women in the Philippines
12
FINALS
Week Women and Education
13
Week Women and Work in the Philippines
14
Week Women and Violence
15
Week Masculinity
16
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the course, the students should be able to do the following:

a. Cognitive
1. Display understanding of the critical concepts and theories on
gendered lives and institutions.
2. Examine how one’s location within intersecting social forces impacts
one’s worldview and relationships in personal and institutional
settings.
3. Recognize the intersections of race, class, gender, ability, age, and so
forth as they intersect with the family, education systems, workplaces,
romantic relationships, and friendships.

b. Psychomotor
1. Provide a critical conceptualization of “gender.”
2. Apply sociological theories of gender to artifacts and events in the
social world.
3. Engage with various media types and assess how femininity and
masculinity are portrayed at the end of the course.

c. Affective
1. Discuss and evaluate theories of gender difference, including
biological, psychological, social constructionist.
2. Explain several theories of gender stratification.
3. Examine case studies and empirical examples of gender as it
intersects with other social categories such as socioeconomic class
and race as part of everyday life in a society.

Course Output:

2 | Page
1. Critical Reflection of two Films. A critical reflection is a 3–4-page document
that analyzes one of the films or movie clips we watched in class (or one of the
films recommended by the instructor). Your paper should include your initial
and secondary reactions to the film, a critical analysis of the film, and draw
connections between course materials and the movie.
2. Submission of meta-cognitive reading report choosing two topics from the
course outline (one topic from prelim to midterm and one topic from semi-final
to final periods).

Grading System:
Prelim Grade
Quizzes, Assignment, Outputs 50%
Prelim Exam 25%
Midterm Exam 25%
100%
Tentative Final Grade

Quizzes, Assignment, Outputs 50%

Semi Final Exam 25%
Final Exam 25%
100%

Midterm Grade + Tentative Final Grade

Guidelines:

1. Students can take this course either online or offline.

2. Online and offline students are given the Google classroom code upon
enrollment.
3. Online classes are synchronous and asynchronous.
4. Synchronous classes are held one hour per week through Google Meet. The rest
of the week is allotted for asynchronous instruction.

3 | Page
5. Those who opted for offline instruction must enroll in the Google classroom to
meet their instructor and specific instructions.
6. Offline students must take the significant examinations online together with the
online students as scheduled.
7. Offline students are required to submit their activities/outputs one week before
the significant examinations.

Module 1
Grasp of Gender and Sexuality

Module Overview:

This module will give you a full grasp of the concepts about gender and sexuality,
including women’s issues from different sectors and existing laws, policies, and
programs protecting women in the Philippines.

Module Objectives:
1. Understand the concepts about gender, sex, sexuality as well as sexual orientation,
gender identity, and expression.

4 | Page
2. Describe how culture and rationalities influence a person's understanding of gender
and sexuality.
3. Explain the women’s ways of knowing and the concepts of gender-fair language.
4. Understand women’s issues from different sectors and roles of women in
development and the world.
Identify the laws, policies, and programs protecting women in the Philippines.

Lessons:

Lesson 1 Leveling Off: Gender and Sexuality

Lesson 2 Cultures and Rationalities
Lesson 3 Women’s Ways of Knowing
Lesson 4 Gender-fair Language
Lesson 5 Women: A Sectoral General Report
Lesson 6 Women, Development, and the World
Lesson 7 Gender Interests and Needs
Lesson 8 Laws, Policies and Programs for Philippine Women

Lesson 1
Leveling Off: Gender and Sexuality
______________________________________________________________________
Objectives:
At the end of this section, you should be able to:
1. distinguish between sex, gender, and sexuality;
2. explain gender socialization;
3. recognize gender stereotypes and the issues they cause;
4. talk about sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression (SOGIE); and
5. contemplate your sexuality and the importance of appreciating sexual
diversity.
______________________________________________________________________

Introduction

5 | Page
It means being a man or a woman, a man, or a woman, a masculine or feminine
person. Our mind and body are complex to answer this question, and we must return to
the beginning.

First, you need to understand the complexities of differentiating sex, gender, and
sexuality. Having a clear grasp of the concepts is necessary. Moreover, as you start
reading gender and sexuality as social realities, you also want to understand how
gender is expressed from birth to adulthood. Your goal is to understand the diversity of
human experiences and how they say their sexuality.

Activity
1.1. Complete the following statements:
I think girls are
________________________________________________________
I think boys are
________________________________________________________
I think girls should
________________________________________________________
I think boys should
_________________________________________________________

Society thinks that girls should

_________________________________________________________

Society thinks that boys should

_______________________________________________________

Analysis
1. What do you think girls and boys should be or do?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

6 | Page
2. Explain what society thinks boys and girls should do.

Abstraction

What is Sex?

From birth until adulthood and old age the society looks differently at women and
men. There are two types of differences between men and women: gender and sex.
Gender and sex are two fundamental but undervalued aspects of human life. They
impact all parts of our life, from how we look and act to the jobs we take and our
society's laws and beliefs.

Sex refers to the physiological characteristics which define humans as either

male or female. It is often referred to as the act of reproduction (copulation), thus an
essential notion of how population culture sees sex. According to popular culture, sex is
done for pleasure, and in a Freudian sense, it motivates people to act in specific ways.
People may ignore sex as a serious academic topic because it is associated with
pleasure and vice versa. Sex, in a biological sense, is a category for living being beings
specifically related to their reproductive function.

The following are the determinants of sexes:

Determinants of Female Male

Sex
Genitalia vagina; clitoris penis; scrotum
Internal reproductive uterus; ovaries testes
organ
Chromosomes XX XY

7 | Page
Hormone estrogen; progesterone androgen; testosterone

Others produced eggs fertilized by produces sperm cells to

another sex fertilize the cell

Our sex differences are usually used to explain the status, roles and
characteristics ascribed and dictated by society to women and men. For example, we
typically consider it “natural” for a woman to take care of her child and her husband as
well as do household chores (gender) as she is the one who gets pregnant and gives
birth (sex). Since we consider men as more potent, they are expected to become
breadwinners, heads of the family, and leaders in society.

We ascribe female characteristics as sensitivity, weakness, and a “cry baby” to

women, while male traits such as strong, brave, and aggressive are aggressive.
Suppose all males presented in advertisements are powerful and dominant. In that
case, one can presume that power and dominance are associated with maleness or
masculinity if all-female in advertisements takes care of people (spouses, children,
parents). One associate's females with caring roles.

Activity
1. 2. Complete the following sentences:

When I was a kid, my favorite toy was

_____________________________________________________________
When I was younger, I discovered I was a girl or a male
_____________________________________________________________
Because I am a girl/boy
_____________________________________________________________

Because he/she is a boy/girl

_____________________________________________________________

8 | Page
Because x is LGBT+
____________________________________________________________

Analysis
1. Why were these toys your favorite? Elaborate further.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. When you first discovered you were a girl or a boy, how old were you?

3. If you are a non-binary student, when did you realize you weren't a boy or a girl?
Give instances and explanations.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

4. What are the different expectations your family and school have for females,
boys, and LGBT people?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

9 | Page Abstraction
W hat is Gender?

Gender is a taught social behavior that is frequently linked to one's sex. It is how
males and females relate to one another. It is based on how people see themselves and
their tendency to act either masculine or feminine. A social construct sets one's tasks
and responsibilities, anticipated values, attitudes, and interactions in male-female
relationships. It affects what access is available to men and women to decision-making,
knowledge, and resources. It identifies the characteristics and social behavior of men
and women and the relationship between them.

Gender roles and characteristics are not fixed, may change over time, may vary
from culture to culture, and are learned or acquired. However, due to advances in
science and other societal trends, one can legally and physically change their gender.

The main differences between sex and gender are the following:

Sex Gender
Physiological (born Socially constructed (not born with)
with)
Related to Cultural
reproduction
Congenital Learned behavior
Unchangeable Varies within a culture/among culture

Likewise, Gender identity refers to a person’s internal sense of being male,

female, or something else. It is a person's societal perception of themselves, either
being a man, a woman, or a combination of both. A person may have a penis but prefer
to be identified socially as a woman or have a vagina but prefer to describe as a man.

Gender expression, on the other hand, is concerned with the expression of one's
gender, how a person's gender identification is communicated to others through
behavior, dress, hairstyles, voice, or body features. The external display of a person’s
gender identity may or may not conform to the socially defined behaviors and exterior
features as masculine or feminine. These characteristics are articulated through dress,
grooming, hairstyles, jewelry, movement, mannerisms, physical features, social
interactions, and speech patterns (voice). Gender expression may also include gender

10 | Page
roles which are also defined by an individual’s culture/society. Gender roles may consist
of careers, expectations for dating, and household chores.
Sex does not determine one’s gender. Femininity is the behavior one associates
with females that may not be tied to a woman’s sex. On the other hand, Masculinity is
not linked to one’s gonads (a sex organ that produces sperm; testicle).

Gender Role Socialization

Gender role socialization is defined as learning and internalizing culturally

approved ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. It starts as soon as one is born and
manifests from the color associated with one’s gender to the roles one sees their
gender performs the most.

Socialization affects all parts of one’s identity by dictating what is acceptable

because of one’s educational background, class, religion, and gender. Thus, female and
male gender roles develop. One’s socialization regulates their perceptions of genders in
two ways:

First is the external regulation which, involves various institutions dictating what
is proper and standard based on one’s identity. It affects how one sees their gender. It
can happen through censorship of some form of sexuality (homosexuality is terrible!) or
subtle forms of control such as microaggression (like “only girly boys do homework).
Because of these external regulations enforced by society, notions of genders are
absorbed, and internalized social control is formed.

Second is the internalized social control that causes people to police themselves
according to society’s standards and norms. So, if someone finds themselves deviating
from what society finds normal, they may become deviant and excluded from the
community.

Gender Roles from a Theoretical Perspective

Gender roles are the duties that men and women are expected to fill depending
on their gender. It is the result of interactions between people and their surroundings. In
general, numerous theoretical viewpoints are used to explain it. The sociology of the
family provided the foundation for early sociological views on gender roles. These
explanations focused on why men and women have different responsibilities in the
household, which affects their roles outside of the home. This early work on the family
has influenced modern sociological thinking about gender roles. The primary
sociological perspectives on the gender–family link are listed here, along with logical
justifications.

From the standpoint of conflict. This is founded because society is a theater
where power and dominance battles are played out. This assumption can be applied to
gender roles and, by extension, the family. Its sustained male dominance necessitates a
11 | Page
belief system that fosters gender inequality, such as the assumption that women are
less important outside the home but more useful inside.

From a structural-functionalist standpoint. It is founded on the idea that society

comprises interconnected pieces, each contributing to the overall functioning. It
examines how each component of social structure contributes to total social balance,
harmony, and equilibrium. Gender roles, marriage, and the family are all critical to our
values.

Symbolic Interaction Perspective. It asserted that people do not respond
directly to the world around them, but to the meaning they bring to it. This perspective
also explained that gender roles are learned through socialization. Women are
socialized into expressive roles (traditionally associated with nurturing and emotionally
supportive roles), and men are socialized into instrumental roles (for example, task-
oriented roles).

Common Self-Identity of the Transgender People

Transgender is a word used by the American Psychological Association to
describe people whose gender identity, gender expression, or behavior differs from
what is usually associated with the sex given at birth. Transgender has several
identities, namely:
a. Drag Queen (Woman-emulating male) is a man who dresses up in women's
clothes, typically for entertainment.
b. Butch lesbian is someone who identifies as a woman and is romantically and
sexually interested in other women (that is the "lesbian" part) and who dresses,
acts, or speaks in ways that many people in society consider "masculine" (that is
the "butch" part).
c. Femme is a Feminine-appearing person.
d. Drag King (Male-emulating woman) is a woman who dresses as a man and
impersonates male characteristics for public entertainment.
e. An intersex is a person born with mixed sexual physiology.
f. Transvestite refers to a person who enjoys wearing clothes identified with the
opposite gender, often but not always straight (Crossdresser: Polite term for
transvestite).
g. A Transgender is a person who lives as the gender opposite to anatomical sex (a
person with the penis is living as a woman).
h. Androgyne appears and identifies as neither man nor woman, presenting a
gender either mixed or neutral.
i. A Transsexual is a person whose sexual character is opposite to their
assignment at birth.
j. FTM (female to male) is a born female but sees themselves as partly to entirely
masculine.
k. MTF (male to a female) describes someone born male but considers themselves
mostly or entirely feminine.

12 | Page
Gender Stereotypes

Gender stereotypes are developed when different institutions reinforced a biased

perception of a particular gender’s role. These institutions include the family, the church,
the school, the state, and the media.

There are four types of gender stereotypes. The following are:

Sex stereotypes are the broad perspective of characteristics that men and
women should possess, specifically physical and emotional roles. These stereotypes
are unrelated to the functions women and men perform.

Sexual stereotypes involve assumptions regarding a person’s sexuality that

reinforce dominant views. For example, all men are sexually dominant. Another notion
is heteronormativity, the belief that all persons are only attracted to the sex opposite
theirs.

Sex-role stereotypes encompass the roles that men and women are assigned
based on their sex and their behavior to fulfill these roles.

Compounded stereotypes are assumptions about a specific group belonging to a

gender. For example, young women, older men, single men and women, and factory
workers are just some.

Gender Stereotype in Social Roles

Men Women
Provides financially for the Takes care of the house and children
family
Works as managers, Works as a nurse, teacher, secretary
construction builders,
engineers
Portrayed as leaders Portrayed as followers

Gender Stereotype in Capacities

Men Women
Good in Math and Science Good in arts and less intellectual
pursuits
Physically strong Physically weaker

13 | Page
Firm decision-making Fickle minded in decision-making

Gender Stereotype in Traits and Characteristics

Men Women
Active Passive
Aloof Loving
Aggressive Peaceful
Independent Dependent
Brave Fearful

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE)

SOGIE stands for sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
Sexuality is different from sex as the former is the expression of a person’s thoughts,
feelings, sexual orientation, relationships as well as the biology of the sexual response
system of that person.

The different terms standing for SOGIE are further defined below:

Sexual orientation covers the three dimensions of sexuality, namely:

a. Sexual attraction, sexual behavior, sexual fantasies

b. Emotional preference, social preference, self-identification
c. A heterosexual or homosexual lifestyle

Sexual orientation involves who one is attracted to and how one identifies
themselves about this attraction, including romantic and sexual feelings.
Gender identity refers to one’s personal experience of gender or social relations.
It determines one's attitude about gender and sexuality. A person's gender identity
might be either masculine or feminine.
Gender expression determines how one expresses their sexuality through the
actions or manners of presenting oneself.

14 | Page
LGBTQIA

LGBTQIA is short for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning,

intersex, and asexual. This category describes distinct groups outside of
heteronormativity who are usually defined by their SOGIE.

The following thoughts and phrases were popular to show those who deviated
from the norm that they are not alone and that others are going through similar
problems.
Heteronormativity is the notion that being heterosexual or the attraction to the
opposite sex is the standard for correctness.

Heterosexual or straight refers to people who have sexual and romantic feelings
mainly for the opposite gender.
Men who are attracted to women.
Women who are attracted to men.

Homosexual describes people who have sexual and romantic feelings for the
same gender.
Men who are attracted to men.
Women who are attracted to women.

Cisgender is someone whose gender identity corresponds with their biological

sex. A person can be a homosexual and, at the same time, a cisgender.

Lesbian pertains to women who are attracted to other women.

Gays who are attracted to other men are referred to as gay. It is also a catch-all
term for all sorts of homosexuality.

People who are bisexual or "bi" are attracted to both genders.

The term "transgender" refers to someone whose assigned sex at birth does not
correspond to their gender identification.

Gender Issues

Gender issues are equated with woman’s problems because of sexism and
gender stereotypes.

Sexism is defined as prejudice against sex. Women and LGBT people face
persecution because we live in a patriarchal culture.

Gender equality is defined as the state's acknowledgment that all human beings
are free to live in equal conditions and to realize their full human potential to contribute

15 | Page
to the state and society. It is also defined as equality of the sexes, visible in public and
private spheres, and full participation in society. However, discriminatory gender roles
can be institutionalized through laws and policies.

Application

Activity 1. 3: Questions for Review

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

30 / 20 / VERY 15/ AVERAGE 10 / NEEDS 5 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Ideas The idea is The idea is The idea is The idea is not The idea has no
clear and mainly beginning to well-defined, and clear sense of
focused. It focused and define the there are too many purpose or central
holds the has some topic, even topics. theme.
reader's good details. though
attention. development is
still primary or
general.

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

organization paragraphs) organizational arrangement of apparent feeling of
enhances are mainly structure is parts does not direction in writing.
and organized, strong make sense, There is no
highlights the in order, enough to although the discernible internal
central idea and make guide the order of structure; ideas,
or subject. sense to reader sentences within details, or events
The reader is the reader. through the paragraphs appear to be
lured into the material does. linked together
text by the without haphazardly or
material's causing them randomly.
order and to become
organization. disoriented.

1. How did your society teach you to think, feel, and act based on your gender?
How is it limiting? How is it liberating?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
16 | Page
2. What role does gender socialization play in the perception of gender roles?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

3. Who perpetuates gender stereotypes, and what does it say about society?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Closure
Good job for accomplishing your task! Now, you can proceed to the
next lesson.

17 | Page
Lesson 2
Cultures and Rationalities
______________________________________________________________________
Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
1. discuss how culture and rationality shapes how people perceive reality;
2. describe how culture influences a person's understanding of gender
and sexuality; and
3. explain how rationalities shape sexism and discrimination
______________________________________________________________________

Introduction

Culture is at once the manifestation and the matrix of rationality. Through the
man’s cultural interaction with other persons and culturally determined things, the child
himself undergoes a process of “idealization” and becomes a social and rational person.
This lesson will help you understand how culture and rationality shape how people
perceive reality.

Activity
Activity 2.1: For this lesson, you will engage in an exercise that will make you more
aware of your rationalities. Answer the following questions:

1. In your community, what are the traits of an ideal woman?

18 | Page
2. In your community, what are the attributes of an ideal man?

3. Give examples of inappropriate male behavior.

4. Give examples of unacceptable behavior for women.

Analysis
1. Do you feel the improper conduct you've observed contradicts the basic
features of human nature?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. Is it horrifying because it represents what it is to be human? If that's the case,

why are there differences across groups?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
19 | Page
3. If not, what could be the source of the conceptions of acceptable and
unacceptable behavior?

Abstraction

Instinct and Culture

Human beings are not heavily dependent on instinct, an innate, typically fixed
pattern of behavior in animals in response to certain stimuli. Meanwhile, culture is the
system of symbols that allows people to give meaning to experience. It bears all the
accumulated knowledge of people coded into characters that will help them interpret
what is happening to or around them and respond appropriately to the experience. It
gives people systems of shortcuts for meaningful interpretations and responses. This is
what culture does; it takes instinct to give people a quick representation and answer
based on collective experience to confront us.

Culture can Change

Culture is superior to instinct because it is malleable or adaptable. It is both

learned and inherited and readily determines how one understands and acts. It changes
when it is framing of reality is no longer helpful. It is the main difference between culture
and instinct. The systems that shape human behavior are malleable (capable of being
easily changed or influenced). For example, self-promotion and publicizing oneself,
such as on social media websites, have become acceptable behavior.

20 | Page
Culture is the versatile system of meaning-giving. The problem in this setup is
that when cultural systems orient people to act in a certain what that is harmful,
individuals tend to act destructively toward others without conscious decision. Suppose
a community devalues women. Their cultural system programs people to behave this
way. Thus, mistreating women and being receptive to this lousy treatment is due to a
cultural system.

Culture can be transformed without waiting for a genetic mutation to take effect.
Culture can change when its system of meaning no longer serves human flourishing.
We must understand how culture can be changed so that world becomes more just for
women. To illustrate this point, examine micro-aggression as a form of violence.

Micro-aggression refers to hostile derogatory or negative racial slights and insults

that can cause potentially harmful or unpleasant psychological impacts on the target
person or group. It is a subtle form of aggression that often works against historically
marginalized social groups. Some effects include internalized emotions such as guilt,
resentment, and anger. For example, boys are a tease for engaging in culturally
feminine activities such as playing house or playing with dolls; girls are teased for
engaging in sports, bakla term for homosexual male and para kang babae is used to
challenge masculinity and to show that woman-like is bad thus demeaning women as a
gender. Although seemingly harmless, these instances are a form of correction that
ensures that people do not stray from the culture’s good definition. In this case, men as
strong and masculine are considered good, and men are evil.

However, those who commit acts of microaggression do not feel that they have
violated the rights of others because they are acting according to the excellence define
by the culture. It shows how culture can determine how we act toward others and
ourselves without even a critical awareness of what we do and why we do it. This
scenario illustrates the necessity for critical reflection. Everyone must look at the culture
and systems that define social structures to develop all people. How cultures get in the
way and support the flourishing of women should be understood. Humans are born into
their way of thinking. Sexist or misogynist thinking is inherited, which is why jokes or
harassment come so naturally to some. One crucial way is by proposing universal
standards by which societies can be measured.

Application

Activity 2.2: Questions for Review

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

21 | Page
40 / 30 / VERY 20/ AVERAGE 10 / NEEDS 5 / UNACCEPTABLE
EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

1. How do you define maleness and femaleness?

2. How does culture shape people’s perception of reality?

3. Why is a change in culture significant in achieving gender equality?

22 | Page
4. Why are sexism and discrimination associated with culture and rationalities?

View the video from the given link below, then write a five-sentence summary of
the video and another five-sentence learning insights based on your field of
specialization.

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

20 / 15 / VERY 10/ AVERAGE 5 / NEEDS 2 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

SNIPPET: Microaggressions in the Classroom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ji8Qae9keY

23 | Page
Closure
Congratulations! You have just finished another section.
More exciting topics are ahead. Keep going!
Lesson 3
Women's Ways of Knowing
______________________________________________________________________
Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. identify the women’s ways of knowing;

2. explain why there are different ways of knowing; and
3. discuss the implications of women’s ways of knowing
______________________________________________________________________

Introduction

Although essential feminism is still a debate or just one of the perspectives that
women are ‘essentially’ different from men, some argue that claiming that women as
sex have a unique method of knowing is an old-fashioned notion. This lesson will still
tackle women’s ways of knowing as identified by the book Women’s Ways of Knowing:
The Development of Self-Voice and Mind by Mary Belenky, Blyth McVicker Clinchy,
Nancy Rule Goldberger, and Jill Mattuck Tarule published in 1986. It will also address
the ramifications of the discovered ways of understanding the larger socioeconomic
context.

Activity

Activity 3.1: Draw an editorial cartoon about silence associated with knowledge.

24 | Page
Analysis
1. Why are there many ways of knowing, and what are their implications?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. How does your way of knowing to affect your way of being in and interacting
with the world?

3. What are the advantages and drawbacks of knowing?

Abstraction

25 | Page
Women and the Metaphor for Silence

The previous lesson discussed culture and what it takes to help people
understand the world around them. Through culture, people assign meaning and give
meanings to the different phenomena they experience. What is considered masculine or
feminine traits is heavily influenced by culture. Similarly, Individuals in particular cultures
are expected to follow these guidelines. As a result, even a woman's perspective of the
world is influenced by socialization. Women may also be excluded from specific schools
of thought due to gender-related characteristics.

Images associated with vision, seeing, or illumination are used to symbolize

knowledge in Western masculine reasoning. According to a survey conducted by
educational institutions, listening is more suggestive of women's knowledge than
seeing. Because they were frequently left unheard and mute, women connect silence
with expertise. Silence and voice were significant themes for women in the study; a
person with knowledge and authority should be listened to, but women who spoke up
were hushed. To be completely silent was to feel foolish because the voice had come to
symbolize one's intellectual and ethical growth. To have a voice was to have a self. To
have a voice was to develop a sense of voice.

Women were given the responsibility of universal caregivers in all communities.

Boys learned to be men by dissociating from their mother's role, whereas girls learned
to be ladies by following their moms. Girls learned through association and
connectedness. Women learned through empathy. Men learned by separating
themselves from one another.

How Women Know

According to Belenky and colleagues, women use the following perspectives to

see the world and to understand knowledge and truth:

Women and silence

Silence knows to specify an absence of thought or reflection. Women who live in

silence are often detached from their families and communities due to their situation, the
geographic separation of the families from the greater community, and suffocation.
These women usually come from families that are abusive or violent. Their knowledge
comes from authorities and centers on their need to survive. They cannot understand
abstract thought. They do not enjoy a space for introspection, given their environment
growing up. There is no dialogue with the self. Women without a voice have no internal
voice and self-perception, and a lack of identity separates them from what is dictated.

26 | Page
Receive knowledge: listening to the voices of others

Received knowledge is developed by absorbing knowledge. Women listen to

friends and authorities and understand what is being said enough to repeat the words.
Women can do the right thing by following the rules of authority figures. They value
authority and cannot comprehend paradoxes. If two of her officers have contradicting
information, she will not distinguish which one is correct. She will use arbitrary means to
decide who is telling the truth.

Subjective knowledge: the inner voice and the quest for self

Women who learn through personal experience learn to trust what is called their
inner voice and infallible gut. They are often those who have awakened to the previous
abuses they have suffered. They realize that the following rules will not make them
happy. They move from passivity to action.

Subjective knowers depend on their selves and their experience to attain truth.
Women who fall under this category of learners use their intuition to decipher fact from
fiction as they believe their intuition is the only thing they can trust. They often
experience a break, a separation of self from their previous communities that may have
been harmful to them. They learn to depend on themselves and find themselves as their
authority. New connections are formed, and the woman can find herself.

Procedural knowledge: a voice of reason and separate and connected

knowing

Procedural knowers learn through processes. Women utilizing this method have
known well from formal systems of knowledge enough to excel. They have a view that
differs from what they were taught. They learned to defend their beliefs and rationalize
their thoughts. They understand the language of the experts and apply this to their
views. They focus more on methods and less on the problems. Since the approach
centers on the debate and winning, it may not allow women the space to voice out their
concerns and bring their needs to light.

Procedural knowers believe that each person views the world differently and is
entitled to their own opinion. They pay attentiofeedn to how different people form their
world. The question of “Where are they coming from?” is crucial to them.

Understanding then comes as a vital aspect of knowing. It involves acquainting

oneself with the object to be known and forming a connection with it. There must be a
form of acceptance achieved by questioning what they are trying to show about
themselves. Through this process, procedural knowledge and connected knowers learn
through acquiring the experience of others.

27 | Page
The idea of connection and understanding show differences in how men and
women view morality. Men tend to separate themselves and become impartial when it
comes to giving justice. -Women often see themselves as connected to other people,
are more empathetic, and create morality based on care for others.

Constructed knowledge: integrating the voices

Women need the ability to reflect on and accept themselves. Women must learn
to value their methods of knowing and their own constructed knowledge. To do this,
constructed knowledge must look inward rather than outward, with the notion that
"knowledge is made, and the knower is an intimate component of the known."

Women must learn to listen to themselves in a world where the dominant voice is
male. The sharing of ideas through the open and honest discussion should be valued.
By valuing themselves and seeing themselves as an indispensable part of knowledge-
creation, women may become empowered to work towards an improvement.

Application

Activity 3.2: Questions for Review

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

20 / 15 / VERY 10/ AVERAGE 5 / NEEDS 2/ UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

28 | Page
or subject. sense to reader sentences within details, or events
The reader is the reader. through the paragraphs appear to be
lured into the material does. linked together
text by the without haphazardly or
material's causing them randomly.
order and to become
organization. disoriented.

1. Why is procedural knowledge not enough to voice women's concerns?

Explain and cite an example.

2. Choose one category under women's ways of knowing. Ask yourself how this
way of knowing affects your way of being in and interacting with the world. What
are the advantages and drawbacks of this knowledge?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 3.3: Video Analysis

View the video from the given link below, then write a five-sentence summary of
the video and another five-sentence learning insights based on your field of
specialization.

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

20 / 15 / VERY 10/ AVERAGE 5 / NEEDS 2/ UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

29 | Page
general.

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

A Woman's Way by Halie Loren (Official Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPn8kTfzFs

Closure

Congratulations on a job well done! You have successfully finished this lesson. More
learnings ahead! Keep your focus!

30 | Page
Lesson 4
Gender-fair Language
______________________________________________________________________
Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. define how language discriminates against women;

2. define the types of discrimination in language; and
3. describe how gender-neutral language might be achieved.
______________________________________________________________________

Introduction
Gender-fair language (GFL) tries to reduce stereotypes and
discrimination based on gender. This lesson will help you understand the significance of
gender-fair language at home, in school, in your workplace, and in your community.

Activity

31 | Page
Activity 4.1: In a Venn diagram, present how you assert yourself and your thoughts
through communication and the language you believe people of the other
gender would use to establish themselves.

Analysis

1. Does your use of communication to assert yourself the same as that of the
other gender? Why or why not?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. How do males of your parents' generations speak differently from women of

their generations? What makes this different from what you and your pals
discuss nowadays?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

3. In what ways can language be used to discriminate?

Language and Gender Relations

A language is a potent tool for how humans understand and participate in the
world. It can shape how we see society. It is ingrained in the culture. Language is not a
neutral influence in this regard. It imposes preconceived notions about individuals,
especially gender.

Men and women are defined differently in language, as evidenced by common

adjectives linked with these genders. It evaluates gender in as much as language
trivialized or devalues specific characteristics. Thelma Kintanar, in her 2014 book
Gender-fair language: A Primer, focused on three aspects of language that inform how
gender is shaped: Language articulates consciousness; Language reflects culture, and
Language has an impact on socialization. Terminology, like gender, stereotyping,
impacts how people perceive their gender and the gender of others.

Why Use Gender-Fair Language

Language articulates consciousness. It is through that we give utterance to our

basic needs and feelings. For example: If you say that women are “the weaker sex,”
then you, whether male or female, would feel that indeed WOMEN are WEAK and
would act accordingly.
Language reflects culture. Language verbalizes cultural meanings and values in
our society. This is where language may be used to stereotype women. It also reflects
how community, through words, reflects cultures and perspectives.

Language affects socialization. In this short script, the characters are Cecil, Joey,
and their mother.
Mother: Cecille, can you please wash the dishes?
Cecille: Inay, I am studying for my exams tomorrow. Can’t Kuya Joey do it?
Joey: How many times has Inay told you that boys don’t do housework? It’s a
girl thing.

33 | Page
Mother: That is right. Go, Cecille, please do what I ask of you because it is the
female's responsibility to care for the house.

Violations of Gender-fair Language

A sexist language is a tool that reinforces unequal gender relations through sex-
role stereotypes, micro-aggression, and sexual harassment. Language can be used to
abuse.

The following are real-life examples of language that is not gender-neutral:

Invisibilization of women. The idea that men are dominant and the norm of
humanity's fullness and that women do not exist lies at the basis of women's invisibility.

The use of masculine pronouns in a generic sense or the usage of a male

general. The term "mankind" implies that males represent all people on the earth. When
referring to a mixed-gender group, the word "guys" indicates that girls are invisible and
emphasizes the male gender, giving it a more substantial presence.

The assumption is that men, instead of both genders, perform certain functions
or jobs. For example, the sentences, “The farmers and their wives tilled the land.” or
“The politicians and their wives lobbied for change.” Assume that men can have jobs as
farmers and politicians, and women who do the same work are still made to be known
as wives, with their identities forever linked to being married to their husbands.

The use of male job titles or terms ending in man refers to both genders'
functions. For instance, the titles “businessman” and “chairman” assume that specific
jobs may not be for women, which is invalid.

1. Trivialization of women

Bringing attention to a person's gender, mainly if she is a woman. The use of

“lady,” “girl,” or “woman,” along with the noun, brings attention to the gender of the
person rather than the job or function. -These include “girl athlete,” “women doctor,” “lady
guard,” and “working wives.” This notion works for men who enter traditionally female
jobs like “male nurses,” “male nannies,” or “male secretaries.”

The perception of women as immature. Women may be labeled as “darling” or

“baby,” making them appear childlike or juvenile.

Women are being objectified or compared to objects. By being called “honey,”

“sweets,” or “chick,” women become devalued, especially if they are in an environment
that merits formality, such as the workplace.

34 | Page
2. Fostering unequal gender relations

A language lacking parallelism fosters unequal gender relations (For example,

Man and Wife) assumes that men remain men and women's identities are submerged
into beings about their spouses.
3. Word gender polarization in the usage of adjectives

Men who worked overtime were regarded as "providers," whereas women who
did the same were "uncaring." This polarization of adjectives shows how perception
does change how one sees individual acts, depending on who performs them.

4. Hidden assumptions

Hidden assumptions in sentences can also be forms of microaggression if the

underlying perceptions are sexist and degrading. “The father is babysitting his children”
assumes that the father is not a caregiver and that any attempt he has at parenting is
temporary as the mother is the primary caregiver. The use of the word “bakla” is an
insult. Gender sensitivity in a language is a sign of maturity.

Identities and Naming Things

A language is a tool for understanding the world and naming and describing
people and things. Language gives a person the power to define oneself and the
external world and its place in it.

Naming things gives them power. For example, sexual harassment was never
seen as an issue as it was never given a name. Recognizing harassment for what it is
by defining and describing the act helped women worldwide put mechanisms that would
address workplace harassment. Women who experienced date rape had no term to
explain what occurred, but naming their experience helped them understand their
issue.

Another example of “the problem that has no name” was Betty Friedan's book,
The Feminine Mystique, in 1963. Friedan described it as a discontent that middle-class
homemakers felt in the United States during the 1950s to 1960s. Friedan was able to
highlight the structural oppression experienced by housewives. Despite their basic
needs being met, they could take control of their lives due to society's limits on their
reproductive.

Sexist Language and Culture

A language that admonishes individual acts depending on one’s gender is a form

of externalized social control. Common themes of sexist language are the
commercialization and trivialization of women. These sexist portrayals of women extend
to the advertising industry, entertainment industry, and the arts. Sexist violence against
women and children has become acceptable or bearable due to the normalization of

35 | Page
sexism. Gender stereotyping through language can reinforce sexism by encouraging
the idea that certain words and traits should only be associated with specific genders.

To call someone stupid every day could affect their potential. Always mocking or
joking about women/LGBT, sexualizing them, and making them appear weak would
make them internalize these ideas.

Language is not inherently sexist. Being sexist depends on a specific culture.

The attitude of the culture towards a particular gender may influence the words used,
creating sexist language. Language is both a symptom and a perpetrator of sexism and
tells how society sees a specific gender.

Toward Gender-fair Language

The use of gender-fair language in educational institutions and the removal of

sexist language are currently being advocated. Creating a comprehensive gender-fair
language policy and evaluating its effectiveness are indicators for a gender-fair
institution. Language isn't just a collection of letters strung together. Cultures and values
are born of language, and vice versa. Language must be changed to reflect changes in
the world and to be bias-free.

The following are the guide to a gender-fair language:

1. When the gender of an object is non-existent or unknown, there is no reason to

attach a supposed gender. If you are talking about a doctor whose identity is not
given, do not assume the doctor is he.

2. Sexism is often introduced into language using a suffix. Adding ess or ette onto
an otherwise neutral noun indicates a feminine adjustment to a masculine word
and should be avoided in non-sexist language.

3. Some words diminish or demean. Examples are when a woman is referred to as

a chick. Businesspeople could be losing money each time they use sexist terms
such as lady of the house or Dear Housewife.

4. Cultural habits contribute to sexism in our language. For instance, the

indiscriminate tendency to add a man to many words is one unfortunate
peculiarity of English. For example, salesman, chairman, spokesman, and
fireman.

5. Avoid stereotyping. Stereotyping means "an unvarying form of a pattern," a fixed

or conventional notion or conception, as a person, group, idea, etc., held by
several people and allowing for no individuality. People behave according
to their self-perception. This develops through time. When males perceive
themselves as tough, powerful men, they proudly, firmly, and powerfully.

36 | Page
6. Do not practice verbal abuse. Words can be used as weapons or healers,
depending on vocabulary and how they are spoken. Even such unobtrusive
words as mother and baby can hurt others if used with a demeaning voice.
Verbal jabs of “cry baby” or “mama's boy” are often used with the intent to harm.
Women are described as “witches,” “bitchy”, “catty,” or “spiteful.” The verbally
abusive man is described as “controlling,” “demanding,” “domineering,” or “hard-
hitting.”

How to be Gender Fair

1. Stop gender stereotypes in behaviors and expectations.

2. Look out for the real needs and the security from the violence of girls/boys
and women/men.
3. Pay attention to what men and women, boys, and girls, have to say.
4. Would you mind adhering to the law when it comes to children's and women's
rights?
5. Recognize the contributions of boys/girls and men/women to social progress
on an equal footing.
6. Treat all people with the same respect and dignity.
7. Shared parenting is taking care of the body, helping the children with their
homework, or disciplining them.
8. Shared home management in doing the household chores.
9. Shared decision-making in family council, giving permission to children, and
deciding for the children's affairs.

What to Do for a Gender Fair Language?

1. Man does not always include a woman. Avoid using "man" to refer to the typical
human being.
2. When describing women, avoid describing appearance in terms of their sexuality
or femininity unless the same or equivalent terms would be applied to men in the
same situation
3. When describing women, fine detail carefully and honestly, asking, "would the
other sex be so described?" A man is seldom described according to what he is
wearing or by the color of his hair.
4. Use "man" correctly. Substitute "man" with non-sexist terms.
a. Man as a verb. Substitute with work, serve, operate, staff, run.
b. Man as a prefix.
c. Man as a suffix.
d. Men as people.
e. Man as a public servant.
5. Use pronouns correctly.
A pronoun is a word that stands in for a noun or another pronoun. First and
second-person pronouns are genderless (I, we, me, you, our, ours, yours, and
so on) .

37 | Page
Third-person. pronouns cause sexist difficulties. If we use genders accurately, no
problem exists. When we talk of a boy, we refer to him. Likewise, when we refer
to a girl. When we refer to someone we don't know or whose gender is not
specified, we get into trouble.
6. Avoid sexism by endings and implications. Use neutral words. Sex should not
be used to distinguish between two qualified individuals. Many Americans habit
of making two forms of nouns, masculine and feminine, when the only one is
required.
7. Define women by who they are, not by who their fathers or husbands are.
8. Avoid referring to the physical appearance of a female subject unless this is
relevant to the story.
9. Men are usually described by their ability or achievement, not by their physical
attributes. Accord women the same respect. Emphasis on women's physical
attributes could also take attention away from her more significant achievements.
Do not contrast a woman's appearance with her achievement or ability – the two
are not compatible.
10. Avoid descriptive terms that disparage women or trivialize their accomplishments
and infer certain women-associated traits like indecisiveness, irrationality,
vagueness, dependence, and the like.
11. Treat women as individuals, not as if they were an extension of men. Do not give
a woman's marital status if you feel this is not relevant or the same is not
necessary for a man. Do not lump a married woman with her husband under his
name.

Additional Learning Material

Gender-inclusive language https://www.engvid.com/gender-inclusive-language/

Application

Activity 4.2: Identification

Identify the statement or phrase whether it is sexist language or non-sexist

language. If the statement or phrase is sexist language, give the correct gender-fair
language. Then write non-sexist if the statement or phrase is a non-sexist language.

_______________ 1. God designed man to live on the planet.

_______________ 2. All men are created equal.
_______________ 3. We are going to watch the booth.
_______________ 4. Man-made

38 | Page
_______________ 5. During floods, manholes pose a lot of danger.
_______________ 6. Spokesperson
_______________ 7. Congressman
_______________ 8. Children should learn to tie their own shoes.
_______________ 9. A politician likes to offer opinions.
_______________10. A lawyer who is serious about winning his case will do his
research.
_______________ 11. In his task, the gardener uses his tools.
_______________ 12. Usher/ usherette
_______________ 13. Licensed physician
_______________ 14. A wife is married to a man.
_______________ 15. Mr. and Mrs. Leopoldo Perez
_______________ 16. Dr. George Lim and Prof. Nancy Lim
_______________ 17. Nancy, the wife of George…
_______________ 18. Administrative assistant
_______________ 19. Aviator
_______________ 20. Lady senator

Activity 4.3: Video Analysis

View the video from the given link below, then write a five-sentence summary of
the video and another five-sentence learning insights based on your field of
specialization. This is why Iceland ranks first for gender equality.

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

20 / 15 / VERY 10 / AVERAGE 5 / NEEDS 2/ UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

organization paragraphs) organizational arrangement of apparent feeling of

39 | Page
enhances are mainly structure is parts does not direction in writing.
and organized, strong make sense, There is no
highlights the in order, enough to although the discernible internal
central idea and make guide the order of structure; ideas,
or subject. sense to reader sentences within details, or events
The reader is the reader. through the paragraphs appear to be
lured into the material does. linked together
text by the without haphazardly or
material's causing them randomly.
order and to become
organization. disoriented.

Iceland Ranks First in Gender Equality

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/11/why-iceland-ranks-first-gender-equality/

Closure

40 | Page
Way to go! Would you please apply what you have learned for us to attain a gender-fair
society? More exciting topics are ahead. Enjoy learning!

Lesson 5
Women: A Sectoral General Report
______________________________________________________________________
Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. identify major areas where women are discriminated against;

2. explain why discrimination is unjust;
3. describe the obstacles that women confront in the Philippines' diverse
industries; and
4. state existing institutional mechanisms that protect women against
discrimination and violence.
______________________________________________________________________

Introduction
Gender penetrates all aspects of society. This idea may be hard to imagine
because oppression due to gender has been normalized, that even those who
experience the burden of this system see too wrong in it. This general report may serve
as a lens through which you can view and understand the gender inequality women
face everywhere.

Activity

Activity 5.1: Think about the education sector. Who are the women involved in
this sector? Is their gender a factor in how they are treated? Cite an
example.

1. What should be done to address the challenges female students are

experiencing?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. How does gender affect a woman’s financial stability considering different

aspects of their lives?

3. Is the discrimination against women justified? Why or why not?

Abstraction

42 | Page
The 12 primary areas of concern identified in the Beijing Platform for Action
related to women's status in various sectors in the Philippines will be the focus of this
segment of the course. The development thrust of the Beijing Platform has inspired
many agencies worldwide to improve women’s plight.

Women and the Economy: Women and Work

Work is often understood as a livelihood. Women’s work is often unseen due to

their socialized gender roles. The range of issues includes the conditions surrounding
men and women who work, how much women get paid, and the kind of work they can
do. Women who work in government are assigned to the service sector (education,
social work, health care, and domestic work). This phenomenon is called occupational
segregation of women.F

Women also experience the pay gap; they are paid less than men for doing the
same work across all sectors and occupations. In addition, because of their productive
job at home or housekeeping, women work an average of two more hours each day
than males. While many concerns relating to women and work have yet to be
addressed, other issues have gained traction, such as maternity and paternity leaves.
The number of paid workdays that a woman can take to care for her newborn child has
increased in most countries.

Women, Work, and Poverty in the Philippines

The structural adjustment program harms women living in poverty as it affects

the availability of work, the nature of one’s work, and job security. The University of the
Philippines Center for Women's Studies' 2015 Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) +20
NGO Report shows that women suffer the same difficulties at work today as they did ten
years ago. Poverty and a lack of suitable labor prospects continue to afflict both men
and women.

Women and work have multiple overlaps in the Philippines. Many women-
specific issues are present in agriculture, formal labor (retail or factory work), and
everyday work. Women overseas Filipino workers are also at high risk.

The 2013 gender statistics of the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that:
Women make up 37.5% (8.3 million) while 13.9 million or 62.5 percent were men. Four
of five women wage earners work full time. Four of five of these women wage earners
work in the service sector.

43 | Page
Women and Education

Gender parity (the quotient of the number of females by the number of males
enrolled in a given stage of education) in primary education has been achieved in the
Philippines, with girls performing better than girls in some regions. Gender parity is a
poor standard for success in education. Inequality still increases at higher levels of
education. Generally, fewer students enroll in secondary and tertiary education.

Issues in education involve the gendered nature of specific specializations.

Women may be underrepresented in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (STEM) fields for tertiary and post-graduate studies. Women are also
underrepresented in areas that involve physical activities in vocational courses such as
manufacturing and construction.

The United Nations (UN) developed the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)
from 2000 to 2015. The MDGs are comprised of eight goals and 21 targets. The
Philippine government committed itself to the Millennium Development goals goal
number 2, ensuring “that by 2015, children everywhere will be able to complete a full
course of primary schooling.” And goal number 3, target 3A, is “to eliminate gender
disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005 and in all levels of
education no later than 2015”.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were established to encourage

long-term development. The Millennium Development Goals were renamed the
Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. The framework for attaining a brighter and
more sustainable future for all is outlined in these 17 goals.

They understand that eradicating poverty and other forms of deprivation requires
initiatives that promote health and education, reduce inequality, and stimulate economic
growth. All UN Member States endorsed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
in 2015, which provides a shared roadmap for peace and prosperity for people and the
planet today and in the future.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the following data on education

was released. Literacy (being able to read and write at the age of 15) was 96.3 percent
in 2015, with basic literacy at 95.8% for men and 96.8% for women. Women have a
greater literacy rate than men, reflecting that more women complete elementary and
secondary education.

The Madrasah Education Program (MEP) is a comprehensive program for the

educational development of Filipino Muslim learners via the Standard Curriculum for the
elementary and secondary public schools and Private Madaris. MEP has been designed
to provide a strong foundation for Muslim learners to become intellectually and
educationally capable. They can participate actively in their social, economic, and
political endeavors and become globally competitive. About 52.57% of enrollees were
44 | Page
female, while 47.43% were male. Barely 3% of the total elementary level enrollees were
from the indigenous peoples’ community. Approximately 49.65% of these IP enrollees
were female.

The Women’s Development Code of Davao City provides Sunday classes for
women held in all barangays high schools in Davao City to facilitate working women’s
access to education. Similarly, the code allowed all women desiring to engage
themselves in functional and practical education shall be enlisted in adult education
programs, set up in all barangays in Davao City.

Women and Health

Access to health care and health services constitutes issues surrounding women
and health and women’s emotional, psychological, and social wellness. These are often
linked to sexual and reproductive health needs. Globally, maternal health has improved.
However, pregnancy and childbirth are still the main health concerns of women aged
15-29. HIV/AIDS adds to the complexity of the situation. Women in underdeveloped
countries are more likely to die as a result of these issues. Incidences of maternal
mortality, teenage pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS are rising.

The average life expectancy of women has risen to 72 years, while it is 68 for
men. There is a rise in obesity cases, with women becoming more obese than men.
Issues surrounding health care in the Philippines involved: Lack of access to healthcare
facilities; Lack of quality services (caused by a decrease in healthcare practitioners);
and Lack of actual health centers in the communities.

For the access to health services, women seeking treatment for abortion are still
stigmatized, regardless of whether the abortion was self-induced or spontaneous. Many
of them leave before treatment occurs dues to this discrimination, posing a threat to
their health.

Teenage pregnancy in the Philippines has been increasing. The Commission on

Population and Development (PopCom) has noted the alarming rise in teen
pregnancies in recent years. Infants born to girls below 20 years old are 30% more
likely to be victims of infant mortality, whereas teenage mothers make up 20% of
maternal deaths in the Philippines. The increase in teenage pregnancy is a lack of
information on sexual and reproductive health and rights, lack of comprehensive sex
education inside and outside the school, and universal access to contraceptives.
Teenage pregnancy is a factor for high dropout rates to support their families or take
care of their children.

The 2012 Responsible Parenthood and ReproducBEtive Health Act (RA 10354)
attempts to close the gaps in reproductive health. It “guarantees universal access to all
family planning methods, fertility management, sexuality education, and maternal care”
for the Filipinos. It aims to be pro-women as it helps young girls take charge of their
bodies. The promotion of this information empowers adolescents to make informed

45 | Page
choices about their bodies while respecting their autonomy. A part of this law states that
persons below 18 years old must have parental consent to avail of family planning
services and contraception unless the person has already been a parent or had a
miscarriage. The issue surrounding RA 10354 includes the definition of “age-
appropriate” sexual reproductive health issues.

Violence against Women (VAW)

VAW exists on a global scale and affects millions of women daily. This is a
gender-based epidemic. VAW has afflicted one out of every three women in the world at
some point in her life. Of these women, one in five will have experienced attempted or
actual rape in her lifetime. Half of these victims are made up of girls below 16
worldwide. Up to 30% of women’s first sexual encounter was forced or non-consensual.

Culture-specific violence (bride burning, child bride, female genital mutilation) is

still practiced despite its violation of a person’s fundamental human rights—three million
girls are at risk of female genital mutilation in Africa. Women make up 80% of the
victims of human trafficking, showing that they are becoming victims of violence due to
their sex.

Women and Armed Conflict

Armed conflict is a critical area of concern regarding women’s participation in

peace panels and peacekeeping and their victimization during the global conflict. The
UN women report states that only 7 out of 10 peace agreements had special provisions
for gender in 2015.

A particular form of victimization occurs for women in armed conflict. Women

have gender-specific needs apart from the basic survival needs those other victims of
the battle have. Due to women’s socialized gender roles as the keeper of culture and
bearers of a race, rape and sexual violence are seen as war tactics to instill fears in
communities. Women in neighborhoods occupied by armed forces are prone to
harassment or made to enter domestic servitude. Women who hope to find work outside
of their camps become victims of forced prostitution and human trafficking.

The long-standing conflict in Mindanao has displaced 240,000 people as of 2009.

Rido or clan violence and military occupation make indigenous Filipino women prone to
harassment and sexual violence or displacement. Women's other issues include
subhuman evacuation conditions, forced recruitment into rebel camps, killings,
abductions, psychosocial trauma, and hostage-taking.

However, the Women’s Development Code of Davao City protects women in an

armed conflict situation. It states that no women shall be deprived of essential social
services in armed conflicts areas. No women or girl children shall be kept by any
PNP/military personnel in police/military detachment/checkpoint or any comparable

46 | Page
quarter for comfort purposes. Violation shall be penalized through summary dismissal
proceeding of the local AFP/PNP and at the discretion of the Court.

Women in Power and Politics

The number of women in parliament worldwide has doubled in the years since
the implementation of the BPfA. However, women compose only 22% of the parliament
today. Globally, 143 of 195 countries have constitutional provisions to ensure gender
equality.

About the Political Empowerment, The Global Gender Gap Report 2021 reports
that 108 countries of the 149 covered in both current and last year’s editions have
improved their overall scores, driven mainly by a significant increase in women in
parliaments compared to women to the previous assessment. Notably, in some
countries such as Latvia, Spain, and Thailand, women in parliament have increased
substantially. Nonetheless, to date, only 25% of these 35,127 global seats are women,
and only 21% of the 3,343 ministers are women; and in some countries, women are not
represented at all.

The Philippines made it to the top ten countries in the World Economic Forum
Global Gender Gap Index for 2015. It has risen from 13th place to 7th place of the 142
countries surveyed regarding gender equality. The markers for the study include
education, health, economic participation, and political empowerment.

The Women’s Development Code of Davao City provides self-organization of

women at the barangay level to include young women, and a Council of Women can be
organized at a district level. Moreover, women sectoral representatives to the
Sangguniang Panlungsod shall be elected by members of the accredited women
organizations in Davao City as a concrete manifestation of women’s places in the local
governance and accordance with RA 7160. Similarly, all qualified women shall be
allowed to assume key law enforcement positions.

Some issues that hamper women’s participation in the elections involve sex-role
stereotypes and gendered assumptions. Women in the political sphere deal with the
multiple burdens of their political careers and taking care of their families. Also, because
women in politics are stereotyped by their roles, Filipino voters often look for someone
aggressive and assertive. Moreover, women in positions of power may not even
prioritize women’s issues.

Institutional Mechanisms and the Human Rights of Women

The Magna Carta for Women is a groundbreaking law that serves as the
“comprehensive bill of rights for Filipino women,” ensuring that gender equality is met in
various sectors. It is an effective mechanism that enforces gender equality in the
Philippines. It calls for the abolition of structures that cause gender inequality and all
forms of discrimination.

47 | Page
Under the Philippine Commission on Women (PWC), gender equality and the
advancement of women in the Philippines are accomplished under three tracks:
Issuance of administrative memorandum circulars by PWC and partner agencies across
the three branches of government; Issuance of guidelines to enhance the capacity of
agencies in gender planning and Legislative review to amend discriminatory provisions
of existing laws and advocate for the passage of new ones to address festering and
emerging gender issues. Rampant sexism and violations against women based on
gender and sex occur, especially on specific laws that are anti-women.

Discrimination against the Girl-child

The girl-child faces numerous forms of injustice. Female children are vulnerable
due to their double oppression. Women experience their first forms of discrimination
during childhood. When this continues until their adult life, it creates a systematic cycle
of abuse.

Globally, it is the girl-child who is most vulnerable to harmful cultural practices.

Girl-children may fall victim to female infanticide and sex-selective abortion. In other
developing countries, low-income families choose to give boys more food, causing
malnutrition in girls.

Despite child marriage being illegal in most countries, there is a prevalence of

forced marriages that involve marrying young girls to older men. Teenage pregnancy is
still an issue that hampers the young mother’s access to education and economic
opportunities. Child trafficking, child labor, and domestic slavery are issues that girls
face.

In the Philippines, anyone under the age of 18 is considered a child. About 40%
of the Philippine population is composed of children, with half of this number as the girl-
child. Many children in conflict-affected areas in Central Mindanao are out of school due
to military and rebel attacks. Indigenous and Muslim girls in the Philippines are
subjected to forced and early marriages. This practice is allowed due to the indigenous
customary laws and the Code of Muslim Personal Laws. Children may be married off as
a repayment for a loan or a way for parents to receive a large dowry.

Female circumcision is a hazardous, age-old procedure that primarily affects

young girls. It serves as a ritual of passage in certain tribes (Yakan of Basilan). Girls as
young as five have their labia majora scraped off while a prayer is whispered before and
after the procedure. This ritual is part of the women’s identity in the community yet
poses risks to the girl’s health due to infection and bleeding.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a set of rights designed to protect
and promote children's fundamental human rights. Republic Act No. 7610, or the
Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act,
is the local adaptation of this convention.

48 | Page
Women and the Environment

Women and the environment have been named a critical area of concern due to
the disproportioned impact of environmental issues on women. Women's global
problems include access to clean water and sanitation, access to energy, exposure to
natural disasters, and lack of consultation ad the position of women in decision-making
bodies.

Women are often excluded from land titles and ownership of other natural
resources. Women are not sufficiently involved in decision-making bodies about
environmental management. Gender and disaster resilience are strongly correlated.
Case studies show that women and girls are more susceptible to the effects of a
tragedy.

Recommendations have been forwarded concerning disaster response and

mitigation like ensuring the participation of women in consultation, gender-based
information gathering; information dissemination to raise awareness on gender-sensitive
planning; and programming for disaster relief and response.

Women in the Indigenous Communities

In 2013, the UN Development Program estimated that 14 to 17 million indigenous

people in the Philippines belonged to 110 ethnolinguistic groups. Land ownership is a
problem for women in indigenous societies.

Regarding women's reproductive rights in indigenous communities, DOH

discourages home births dubbed the “no home-birthing policy,” which affects the
traditional birthing practice of most indigenous women. Indigenous women deal
with “discriminatory attitudes and insensitivities” of mainstream health facilities. Child
marriage is another pressing issue in indigenous communities.

Violence against indigenous women occurs when indigenous communities resist

the intrusion of mining companies. All indigenous people groups face the fear of cultural
erasure that may come with the push of globalization. Displacement and destruction of
their homes is also another concern alongside environmental degradation and
militarization of their communities.

On the other side, Article II, Section 11 of the Women’s Development Code of
Davao City states that Indigenous and Moro women shall be allowed enrollment in
schools and colleges and enjoy employment opportunities without prejudice to their birth
and marriage rituals where no birth and marriage certificates are issued as evidence of
such life events. Failure to comply with these provisions shall be subjected to a
maximum fine of 5 000.

49 | Page
Filipino Women in other Sectors

Muslim women in the country are affected by armed conflict. They have become
widows and survivors. When communities are uprooted, women and children make up
the majority of those who are internally displaced.

Additional Learning Materials

Men and Women Handbook 2016

https://psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/Women%20and%20Men
%20Handbook%202016.pdf

The Global Gender Gap Index 2020

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf

Application

Activity 5.2: Infographics

Choose a particular area or sector discussed in this lesson that interests you (ex.
Women workers, access of women to essential services). Gather primary data and the
sector's problems (ex. A particular form of discrimination propagated in the industry).
You may use current events, statistics, history, and the like. Discuss why you believe
women particularly suffer this form of discrimination. Make an infographic that captures
your ideas for this issue, then explain and justify your chosen indicators.

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating infographics for this task.

20 / EXCELLENT 15 / VERY 10/ AVERAGE 5 / NEEDS

GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Content Appropriate details Most details Few details No details to support

support the main support the idea. support the main the main idea.
idea. Accurate and Accurate idea. Lacking Information is not
detailed information for accurate accurate. The
information. almost all subject information. information does not
Information matter. Data is Inadequate help the visual’s
adequately helps primarily information is not purpose.
the purpose of adequate and supportive of the
visuals. supportive of visual’s purpose.
visuals' purpose.

Focus Topic and title are Topic and title Topic and title are Topic and title are not
clear and easily are primarily challenging to identified. No main

50 | Page
identified. The main clear and easily identify. The main idea. Illustrations do
idea is appropriate identified. The idea is not clearly not complement the
to the topic. All main idea is stated. Few purpose of visuals.
illustrations appropriate to the illustrations
complement the topic. Most complement the
purpose of visuals. illustrations purpose of visuals.
complement the
purpose of
visuals.

Activity 5.3. Video Analysis

View the video from the given link below, then write a five-sentence summary of
the video and another five-sentence learning insights based on your field of
specialization.

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

20 / 15 / VERY 10/ AVERAGE 5 / NEEDS 2 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

51 | Page
still primary or
general.

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

Education Plays Key Role in Advancing Women, Girls, and Communities

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2014/05/14/education-key-role-
women-girls-communities-report

Closure

52 | Page
Great job! You now have a transparent background of women’s discrimination in
different sectors. Keep your focus!

Lesson 6
Women, Development, and the World
______________________________________________________________________
Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. identify the ways women are excluded from the discourse of development; and
2. explain how women can and should be part of the definition and realization of
development.
______________________________________________________________________

Introduction

The empowerment strategy acknowledged the importance of addressing long-

term strategic gender issues, such as women's rights to property, control over their
bodies, and encouraging men to share home responsibilities. Gender and development
experts have also questioned whether certain efforts, such as microfinance, will
empower women. This part will help you understand the involvement of women in the
definition and realization of development.

Activity
53 | Page
Activity 6.1: Watch the film Food Inc. using the link provided below.
Food Inc. https://www.documentarymania.com/player.php?title=Food
%20Inc

Analysis

1. What is your reflection on the movie?

2. Take the opportunity to ponder on the economic system that governs us.

3. Do you look at your dinner the same way after watching the movie? Why or why
not?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Abstraction

Growth and Development

54 | Page
Growth and development issues have a significant impact on how a person
structures their life. Growth is defined by how much a country can produce, consume,
and earn and is measured in the Gross National Product (GNP) and the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP). The entire market value of all final goods and services
produced by citizens in or outside the country each year is known as the Gross National
Product (GNP). The entire market value of all final goods and Fmeasu produced inside
a country in a given year is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The greater the GDP
and GNP, the more economic activity there is. An economy is one in which the gross
domestic product (GDP) increases because more people earn higher wages and
purchase more goods, increasing production.

The more commodities or services that are consumed, the more essential
resources for human subsistence are depleted. Humanity is currently experiencing a
severe water shortage. Every year, the globe loses millions of species of flora and
fauna. Forests are fast disappearing. The world's petroleum supply is also on the
decline and will eventually run out. According to scientists, we have hit “peak oil.” Peak
oil is when all readily available oil has been depleted, and the remaining petroleum
supply comes from difficult-to-quantify sources.

Global warming is causing a severe shortage of water that will soon reach crisis
proportions. When the earth is getting warmer, the wind patterns in the sea are
changing directions such that rain is not coming to its usual destinations. Underground
water tables fed by rainwater are drying up. Mountain glaciers are beginning to melt,
which implies water scarcity. Pollution is threatening the water supply system making
the water harmful and toxic to the animals. Human production and consumption are
causing significant warming and corruption that is threatening the water supply. High
levels of production and consumption are the fundamental reasons for humankind's
dependency on oil and its depletion.

Women and the Dominant Economic System

The pursuit of development is destructive to the world, threatening human

existence and well-being. It is unsustainable, yet people insist on pursuing growth
because it is assumed necessary for sustaining economies and maintaining a collective
presence. Environmental destruction exposes most of the world’s people to flooding and
severe weather conditions. A more significant proportion of these vulnerable people are
poor women. The development draws cheap labor to the cities where economic activity
is high.

Women participating in cheap labor must take an additional burden of child-

rearing. Women suffer from the adverse health effects of global warming,
industrialization, and expanding urbanization, and these are the direct effects of the
pursuit of growth. Backyard farmers suffer from competition with giant food
corporations, and the national government supports the entry of global, multinational
corporations into their territories.

55 | Page
When industrialization began to peak and cheap labor was needed to address
growing demands for workers, women were made to fill the gap. Women are expected
to produce and raise the future workforce for industries having to take on the double
burden of child-rearing and income generation

Gender and Development

From the perspective of the dominant system, these values are supposed to
result in a better life. The same values compel women to decide between success in the
economic system and the cultivation of family and community life. The dominant system
is mainly defined by western male values that do not regard alternative values. Well-
being based on consumption, income growth and the push for more wealth is never
questioned, while well-being founded on relationships, community, and fulfillment is set
aside.

Successful entrepreneurship may entail employing poor women who will have to
work for long hours in unfavorable conditions to cut expenses and increase profit.
Frequent commutes and long hours of work translate to less time with the children.
Such life takes away time from the family and community and adapts the value of
individualism and aggressiveness that do not encourage or allow deep relationships.
These beliefs tend to place women in a position of subordination in the dominant
economic system.

Agriculture and the Values of Development

Today, food is controlled by a few large corporations that value profit over
ecology. Big companies plant in large farms where their crops will be grown by the ton.
They use massive machinery that pumps large amounts of chemicals. This is
advantageous to big companies because: They get a supply in the size and shape that
they can process in large volumes efficiently; Producing this way provides a cheap
supply because it can be farmed in mass production. This allows a big company to earn
more. After all, they are the primary buyers of most farmers; thus, they can dictate the
buying price to the farmers. This factory farming system allows other multinational
corporations to earn more money by producing and selling the inputs required by the
seeds.

The problems with this form of production are: It pollutes the water system and
destroys the soil; Small farmers do not earn enough from this system because they
have to keep buying expensive inputs from multinational corporations; Farmers have to
borrow money for these inputs from traders who charge high-interest rates; and This
system promotes monoculture, which means that many species of plants will get wiped
out because farmers no longer cultivate them.

This significant reduction in biodiversity has a destructive effect on the

sustainability of life. The lack of diversity leads to the depletion of DNA stock that may

56 | Page
influence the resilience of the surviving species. It is imperative to maintain the variety
of species in the imminent adverse effects of climate change.

The following are the facts:

1. Since the 1900s, farmers worldwide have abandoned their diverse local variety in
favor of genetically homogenous high-yielding kinds, resulting in a loss of 75
percent of plant genetic diversity.
2. Around 30% of livestock breeds are at the risk of extinction; six species are lost
every month.
3. Today, 75% of the world’s food is generated from just 12 plants and five animal
species.
4. humans and only three (rice, corn, and wheat) contribute roughly 60% of the
calories and proteins received by plants.
5. Animals provide some 30% of human requirements for food and agriculture, and
12% of the population lives almost entirely on product from ruminants (animals
that chew again what has been swallowed)

How Women Feed the World

Women are known keepers of biodiversity across the globe. Women cultivate
small, backyard farms preserving hundreds of species. Small agricultural farms are
hundreds of times more productive than industrial farms based on conventional farming.
Food grown by women is healthier than food produced by multinational corporations.
Because it is not processed, food created through women's ways of knowing rooted in
traditional practices is more nutritious.

Women are essential to human development. Rural women are more capable of
sustaining life than large corporations. Their method of production has a lower
environmental impact. The dominant economic practices could bring about the demise
of women who care for the earth and favor alternative methods.

Women Concerning Development

Many non-governmental and multi-lateral agencies like the UN and the World
Bank understand that women empowerment and capacity-building are keys to realizing
self-development and achieving the well-being of women. The critical area is the
exclusion of women in decision-making and governance structures, and many agencies
have worked at overcoming hindrances against the participation of women in these
processes. Women's empowerment is only encouraged within a system determined by
dominant agencies and only according to certain conditions. The method in which they
are empowered to serve does not serve their interests.

57 | Page
The approach to development known as Women, Culture, and Development
(WCD) is a revolutionary model for empowering women. It advances women's liberation
by realizing the capacity of women to become an agent of change. This builds the
possibilities of women as agents of change in a holistic perspective based on women’s
culture, the system of values, and understanding and economic structures and social
networks. The essential purpose of WDC is to support women's initiatives that liberate
themselves without imposing ideas.

Women’s development must be rooted in transforming the totality of the

societal/cultural and economic realities that shape and limit a woman’s agency. They
should be agents of their development according to their understanding of human
growth. Women today are said to have acquired economic power. They are now able to
shape policies in corporations as executives and as consumers who have buying fuels.
This progress means that women can influence what gets manufactured, how
employees are treated, and what safety standards should be adopted.

Pro-women Perspective on Development

Pro-economic development may be detrimental to everyone, but it has a more

negative impact on women. The economic system intervenes and harvests nature to be
turned into commodities using energy-hungry multistep processes. This cycle of
intervention, transformation, and processing for accumulation and consumption forms
destructive development.

Women need to participate in development that is more than just an expansion of

the existing economic system. Women must be allowed to help reimagine a future
economic system that defines success and well-being. Since women have valuable
knowledge about ecological preservation, solidarity building, and shared prosperity, they
can enlighten the dominant system about building a more sustainable and humane
economic order amidst global warming and poverty threats.

Application

Activity 6.2: Questions for Review

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

30 / 20 / VERY 15/ AVERAGE 10 / NEEDS 5 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

58 | Page
Ideas The idea is The idea is The idea is The idea is not The idea has no
clear and mainly beginning to well-defined, and clear sense of
focused. It focused and define the there are too many purpose or central
holds the has some topic, even topics. theme.
reader's good details. though
attention. development is
still primary or
general.

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

1. How are women displaced from dialogues about development? Cite some
examples discussed in the text.

2. Differentiate the perceived gender roles of women from men. How can these
roles influence the existing models of development?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

3. How can women advocates realize the inclusion of a pro-women perspective

in the present economic system?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

59 | Page
Activity 6.3: Video Analysis

View the video from the given link below, then write a five-sentence summary of
the video and another five-sentence learning insights based on your field of
specialization.

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

20 / 15 / VERY 10/ AVERAGE 5 / NEEDS 2 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

The role of women in rural development, food production, and poverty

eradication
https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/rural-women-day/2013

60 | Page
Closure
Nice going! Refresh your mind as you proceed to the next
lesson.

61 | Page
Lesson 7
Gender Interests and Needs
______________________________________________________________________
Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. identify the difference between gender interests and needs;

2. state examples of gender need and explain how policy can be made
responsive to these needs; and
3. evaluate their gender demands in terms of strategy and practicality.
______________________________________________________________________

Introduction

This lesson will assist you in understanding the difference between gender
interests and needs and discover once own strategic and practical gender needs.

Activity

Activity 7.1: Make a list of your needs as a person and find out how society
responds to you.

62 | Page
Analysis

1. Differentiate gender interests from gender needs by giving five examples

each.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. Do women have special needs for which the Philippine society must assist?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Abstraction

Gender Interests and Needs in Development

The empowerment of women, especially the poor and the marginalized, is crucial
to sustainable human development. Care-oriented or socialized feminine values must
also be prioritized. Women's roles are still determined by development organizations
that don't seem to grasp the context or rationale of grassroots women.

Caroline Moser highlighted how women's needs are divided into three categories
in her seminal book, Gender Planning and Development: Theory, Practice, and
Training, to enable development planners to quickly identify programs that can benefit

63 | Page
low-income women in developing countries. Gender roles, women's empowerment, and
access to resources and decision-making are all on the table.

Women are frequently lumped together in development plans and programs. This
viewpoint presupposes that all women have the exact wants. As a result, determining a
woman's gender preferences vs. needs in the context of her culture and religious
identity is critical.

Gender Interests
Many people believe that all people of the same sex have the same gender
interests because they share similar biological characteristics. This view discounts
women’s socialized gender roles. Interests those men or women develop by “virtue of
their social positioning through gender attributes.” Gender interests are preferred to use
the phrase “gender interests” over “women’s interests” because the latter tends to focus
on the generic notion of women based on their biological similarities.

Planners translate gender interests into identifiable and concrete gender needs.
“Means through which their concerns may be satisfied” are gender needs. Prioritized
gender problems are referred to as gender interests, classified as either practical or
strategic depending on how they are addressed.

Gender Needs

While gender interests are essential in gender analysis, these interests should be
translated into needs in gender planning. Gender needs are of two types:

Practical gender needs in terms of planning are not necessarily feminist in

content. These are concerned with women’s immediate needs for survival like nutrition,
living conditions; health care; and employment. These needs are formulated from
women’s lived experiences, are immediately perceived necessities, and are identified by
women in their specific context.

Women's needs as mothers and wives about their socially imposed roles in
society. Women's practical gender demands frequently involve their position as vital
reproductive agents in the home.

Unequal gender division of labor and the structures that support unequal gender
relations are not sufficiently challenged by merely addressing practical gender needs.
Dealing with suitable gender needs alone will not transform social structures and
processes.

Strategic gender needs are needs that women identify because of their
subordinate position to men in their society. These stem from a woman’s strategic
gender interest due to her socialized gender role as a woman who has a subordinate
position in society. These are needs rooted in gender inequality: Lack of political

64 | Page
representation; Unfair gender division of labor; Violence against women; and Lack of
equal wages.

These needs go beyond accepting the existing gender division of labor, focusing
on attaining gender equality and women’s empowerment. It confronts issues that are
the heart of the feminist movement: Gender inequality; Gender justice; and Women’s
empowerment

Addressing strategic gender needs involves an analysis of gender subordination.

By identifying strategic gender needs and practical gender needs, policymakers can
attain strategic gender interests such as Gender Equality, Empowerment, and Equity.
With this knowledge, gender policies and plans can be formulated, and the tools and
techniques for implementing them can be identified.

Obstacles to Gender Needs Fulfillment in the Philippines

The Philippines enacts gender mainstreaming or the strategy to include a gender

perspective in all policies and programs. Philippine gender literature only assumes two
genders (male and female) and ignores the existence of LGBT persons. Gender needs
are equated to women-specific practical and strategic gender needs. Confusion arises
because “gender” and “women” are not defined in primary gender mainstreaming texts
such as the Magna Carta of Women. This assumes homogeneity and disregard LGBT
person’s gender needs.

The enacting policies and laws often assume these women are the same and
experience similar factors influencing their access to resources and constitute needs.
The lack of clarity in addressing women’s needs based on their roles, biology, culture,
and subordinate positions shows how gender needs may become confused.

Application

Activity 7.2: Questions for Review

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

30 / 20 / VERY 15/ AVERAGE 10 / NEEDS 5 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Ideas The idea is The idea is The idea is The idea is not The idea has no
clear and mainly beginning to well-defined, and clear sense of

65 | Page
focused. It focused and define the there are too many purpose or central
holds the has some topic, even topics. theme.
reader's good details. though
attention. development is
still primary or
general.

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

1. Why is it vital to differentiate between "gender interests" and "women's

interests?”
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. What is gender mainstreaming, and how does it work? What elements in the
Philippines obstruct actual gender equality?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

3. How can policymakers contribute to the achievements of gender equality and

women empowerment?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

66 | Page
Closure
Great job! You now have a clear understanding of gender interests and needs. More
exciting topics are ahead. Enjoy learning!
Lesson 8
Laws, Policies, and Programs for Philippine Women
______________________________________________________________________
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, you can:
1. name Philippine laws that protect and empower women;
2. elucidate the significance of policies that safeguard and empower women;
and
3. state the purposes of these policies for women and society.

______________________________________________________________________

Introduction
The Gender and Development Program (GAD) is defined by the Magna Carta of
Women (Republic Act No. 9710) as a participatory and empowering development
perspective and process that is equitable, sustainable, free of violence, respectful of
human rights, supportive of self-determination, and actualization of human potentials. It
aspires to make gender equality a fundamental value that should guide development
decisions. It contends that women are active agents of development, not just passive
recipients of the action. This lesson will help you inform and understand the laws,
policies, and programs to empower Philippine women.

Activity
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Activity 8.1: Look for news articles or current events that show how influential people
treat women.

Analysis
1. Do you think these actions empower women from the news article or current
events you have found?

2. Reflect on the data you have gathered and identify the laws relevant to
addressing these problems.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

3. Evaluate the potential effectiveness of these policies in solving the problems.

Abstraction

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Human Rights Approach

The human rights approach to women's development is essential since it can

increase awareness about women, their plight, and their needs. In this, human rights-
based development initiatives are ratified and accepted by states. They can be an
effective instrument for enforcing the promotion and protection of women’s rights. It is
the reason why most women advance gender equality using the rights-based approach.
Laws had been passed responding to these demands for the protection of women’s
rights.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights acts as a standard benchmark for all
peoples and countries. Its core idea is to ensure that all people, regardless of gender or
sex, have access to the same fundamental human rights. These are essential human
entitlements since a person's existence has inherent value, and some entitlements are
required to actualize one's humanity.

Without these entitlements, human growth is almost impossible. Therefore, in the

rights-based approach, human rights must be protected and promoted. All humans have
the: right to life, right to a nationality; right to education; and right to a livelihood. These
rights ratified by a majority of the members of the UN are fundamental to the realization
of genuinely human existence. They are universal; however, women have certain rights
due to their particularities or specifications. The Philippine Commission on Women
(PCW) is a government institution that promotes women's empowerment and gender
equality

The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women

(CEDAW)

The UN's Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW),

also known as the International Bill of Rights of Women, is the only human rights treaty
that affirms women's reproductive rights while also focusing on culture and tradition as
influential forces shaping gender roles and family relationships. It seeks to identify the
different places where women may experience discrimination and suggests policy
strategies to overcome this problem.

CEDAW defines discrimination as “any distinction, exclusion, or restriction made

based on sex that has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition,
enjoyment, or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, of human rights
and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, civil, or any other fields, based on
the equality of men and women.”

Any state or country that ratifies the CEDAW must pledge to eliminate gender
discrimination. A form must seek to: incorporate the principle of gender equality into

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their legal system, repeal any discriminatory laws, and implement appropriate legislation
forbidding discrimination against women; To establish tribunals and other governmental
institutions to ensure that women are adequately protected from discrimination, and to
ensure that people, organizations, or corporations perpetrate no discrimination against
women. The Philippine government's commitment to the CEDAW is established via the
Magna Carta of Women (MCW).

The Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA)

The Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) underlines those women have similar
issues that can only be resolved by working together and in partnership with men to
achieve the common goal of global gender equality. The BPfA aims for women's full
participation in all spheres of life through the shared responsibility of men and women at
home, in the workplace, and in the public sector. It seeks people-centered sustainable
development.

The BPfA is a landmark act that recognizes the subordinate position of women
around the globe and aims to promote and protect their full rights while diagnosing
problems related to women’s issues. The aim was to enact policies and programs
addressing women's concerns within five years of its creation in 1995. The UN-
mandated its Commission on the Status of Women to monitor the integration of gender
perspectives of the critical issues in the BPfA. The BPfA has special considerations for
the: Girl-child; Indigenous women; Women workers; and Women who were victims of
violence in armed conflicts.

The BPfA focuses on the social dimension of growth, recognizing that structural
adjustment plans had left behind women and led to a feminization of poverty, the
phenomenon in which most of the world poor are women.

The BPfA identified 12 major areas of concern that require immediate attention to
maintain gender equality:

1. The persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women

2. Inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to health care and
related services
3. Inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to education and
training
4. Violence against women
5. The effect of armed or other kinds of conflict on women, including those living
under foreign occupation
6. Inequalities in economic structures and policies, in all forms of productive
activities, and access to resources
7. Inequalities between men and women in the sharing of power and decision-
making at all levels
8. Insufficient mechanisms at all levels to promote the advancement of women

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9. Lack of respect for and inadequate promotion and protection of the human
rights of women
10. Stereotyping of women and inequality in women’s access to and participation
in all communication systems, especially in the media
11. Gender inequalities in the management of natural resources and the
safeguarding of the environment
12. Persistent discrimination against and violence of the rights of the girl-child.

Gender mainstreaming was formed as a method for gender equality due to the
Fourth UN World Conference on Women. It was the most important mechanism to fulfill
the commitment made to the BPfA in 1995. Signatories of the BPfA must adopt national
policies and programs that incorporate gender mainstreaming. Gender issues and
gender mainstreaming are the adopted mechanisms of the Philippine government to
address gender needs.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals to address

significant concerns confronting the world's poor. The UN drafted them in 2000 to
combat the most pressing issues of developing countries. The goals focus on reducing
poverty, hunger; disease; gender inequality; and Ensuring access to water and
sanitation by 2015. MDGs promote international commitment to meeting women’s
needs and women’s empowerment.

Three of the eight MDGs focus on education and gender:

Goal 2 “to achieve universal primary education.”
Goal 3 “to promote gender equality and empower women.”
Goal 5 “to improve maternal health.”

All state parties to the UN Millennium Declaration in 2000 committed to

incorporating these goals into their development plan.

Sustainable Development Goals

The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target to address the root
causes of poverty and inequality in the world today. The SDGs are built from the MDGs
and desire to continue the latter’s goals and complete the targets by 2030.

SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. It has the
following targets:

1. End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.
2. Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and
private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of
exploitation.

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3. Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage, and
female genital mutilation.
4. Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through public services,
infrastructure, and social protection policies and promote nationally
appropriate shared responsibility within the household and the family.
5. Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for
leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public
life.
6. Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive
rights as agreed following the International Conference on Population and
Development Program of Action and the Beijing Platform for Action and the
outcome documents of their review conferences.
7. Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources and
access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property,
financial services, inheritance, and natural resources following national laws.
8. Enhance the use of enabling technology, mainly information and
communications technology, to promote women's empowerment.
9. Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation to promote
gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels.

Gender-specific targets of the SDGs include “the end of all forms of

discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.”

Women's Policies and Laws in the Philippines

The existing legislation protecting Philippine women's rights reflects our

foremothers' desire to struggle for gender equality. Women's rights were formalized
during the post-Martial Law era when the 1987 Constitution declared women and men
equal before the law.

The Philippine Constitution guarantees women's rights. Women play a critical

part in the development of a country. To achieve equality and progress, they must be
included in societal institutions and procedures. The Women in Development and
Nation Building Act, or Republic Act 7192, is based on this section of the Constitution.
The National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), now the Philippine
Commission of Women (PCW), created and implemented gender-responsive
government policies, initiatives, and projects nationwide.

On problems of gender and development, the PCW serves as an advisory body

to the President and Cabinet members. It responds to the concerns and issues raised
by the CEDAW. It is the country's monitoring body for gender mainstreaming
implementation.

The national government then aimed to adopt gender mainstreaming to address

gender issues in all aspects of life. Executive Order No. 348 was created in the
Philippine Development Plan for Women (PDPW) 1989-1992. It was the first

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development plan to integrate women’s interests. It listed the Philippine objectives for
gender mainstreaming and projects until 1992.

The Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development (PPGD) was later

drafted to supplement the PDPW. This 30-year perspective plan from 1995 to 2025
covers the following domains: individual issues, family issues; socio-cultural issues;
economic issues; political issues; and legal matters. The PPGD considers gender and
development mainstreaming priority concerns and seeks to achieve gender equality in
all public programs and policies. It was created to integrate a gender-responsive
framework within development plans, policies, budgets, and programs under the
Philippine government. It was adopted as the country’s implementing vehicle for the
BPfA. It pays special attention to women in difficult circumstances by analyzing national
policies and programs that affect them. The additional thrusts on consciousness-raising,
advocacy, and affirmative action are included in the plan.

All government departments, bureaus, offices, agencies, and affiliates or GOCCs

must formulate and realize a Gender and Development (GAD) plan to incorporate
gender perspectives in their institutional frameworks. GAD planning includes allocating
at least five percent of any agency’s total budget to GAD-related programs, policies, and
projects such as gender mainstreaming.

The Philippine government produced two recent publications on gender

mainstreaming, which were created more than two decades ago:

The Harmonized Gender and Development Guidelines were published in 2010

by the NEDA, PCW, and the Official Development Assistance Gender and Development
Network. The guidelines are concrete responses to the Magna Carta of Women, which
calls for gender mainstreaming in all government programs and policies. The document
outlines sector-specific implementations of the GAD perspective in gender-responsive
planning.

The PCW published the Women’s Empowerment, Development, and Gender

Equality (EDGE) Plan 2013-2016. It addresses previous gaps in the PDPW and PPGD
while calling attention to emerging issues on gender responsiveness. It aims to address
women’s issues through women’s economic inclusion and concrete mechanisms for the
gender-responsive provisions of the previous PDP. The Women’s EDGE Plan promotes
integrating a gender lens into all aspects of planning, emphasizing the efficient use of
the annual GAD plan and budget by the government agencies and local government
units.

The government has enforced numerous laws to protect Philippine women from
gender-specific forms of discrimination and violence. These include the following:

Additional Learning Resources

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List of laws protecting women
https://www.smartparenting.com.ph/life/news/womens-rights-in-the-philippines-a-
list-of-laws-protecting-women-and-mothers

The Women Development Code of Davao City and its Implementing Rules and
Regulations
https://www.philippinecouncilorsleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Women-
Code.pdf

Application

Activity 8.2: Questions for Review

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

30 / 20 / VERY 15/ AVERAGE 10 / NEEDS 5 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

74 | Page
1. What is the advantage of the human rights approach to women’s
development?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. How would women, and the public, benefit from policies or laws that protect
and empower women?

3. What are the declared objectives of some of the Philippine women's policies
and guidelines discussed in this lesson? Why are they necessary?

Closure

Well done! You now have a complete grasp of Module 1 – Grasp of Gender and
Sexuality. Get ready to learn Module 2, understanding women’s oppression and
feminism.

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Module 2
Understanding Women’s Oppression and
Feminism

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Module Overview:
This module presents the theories and origin of women’s oppression and women’s
movement and feminism from the west and the Philippines.
Module Objectives:

1. Explain the theories and origin of women’s oppression.

2. Understand the history and significance of feminism.

Lessons:
Lesson 1 Theories on the Origin of Women’s Oppression
Lesson 2 The Western Women’s Movement
Lesson 3 Women in the Philippines

Lesson 1
Theories on the Origin of Women’s Oppression
______________________________________________________________________
Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. state your understanding of the roots of sexual discrimination; and

2. describe why prejudice is unnecessary for the advancement of human civilization
and how it evolved based on historical events.
___________________________________________________________________

Introduction

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Oppression is defined as the inequitable use of authority, law, or physical force to
keep others free or equal. Injustice is a sort of oppression. Feminists fight women's
oppression. For all of human history, women have been unfairly denied full equality in
many societies worldwide. This part will give you information and an understanding of
the origin of women’s oppression.

Activity
Activity 1.1: View the myth of Pandora’s box using the link provided
below, then articulate how the sources of this story view women and their role in
society.

Myth of Pandora's Box - Greek Mythology Explained
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXmHA-XySmk

Analysis

1. Reflect the myth of Pandora. Are there equivalent myths in your locality?
Recall this myth about women in your local culture and analyze what these
say about women.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. If you were a girl child growing up with many myths, what would have been
your sense of worth?

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______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

3. What would you think of women if you were a boy, and how would it change
your relationship with them?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Abstraction

Everyone, regardless of gender, is entitled to the same rights. Aside from the
fundamental rights, one merits due to humanity, and one must also give value to the
traditional role of women. Women are crucial in food production and preparation.
Women bear children and raise their children from infancy up to their early years.
Women are the source of children's cultural and emotional education, teaching them
how to navigate the social order. Their primary task in many cultures is taking care of
the family. Women are the first healers, given their extensive knowledge of herbs.
Women bear part of the essential DNA that makes us human. In ancient cultures,
women are hailed mediators to the Gods.

Many theories explain why women are oppressed, but so far, none are
conclusive. Below are some theories that demonstrate the discrimination against
women is not a natural phenomenon but a situation that evolved through time.

Goddess Worship to God Worship

One prominent theory on the oppression of women concerns the shift of

paradigms: from ancient civilizations that worshipped the earth goddess to the male
suppression of this goddess. The progression from female-centric to male-centric
worship was a slow and violent process. It is one theory on the root of women’s
oppression. The theory claimed that women were less valued, and their status was

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threatened with the expansion of phallus worship around 1500BC. Phallic worship is the
veneration of nature's reproductive powers as represented by the male generative
organ. Archaeological expeditions worldwide have discovered phallic symbols,
commonly regarded as reflections of humanity's longing for rebirth.

Historian, Rosalind Miles, explains that early civilizations’ first great gods were
women. There is proof of the worship of a mother goddess figure dating back 5000
years in the world's leading cultures. This mother figure was celebrated and revered for
her fertility. Because of this observance, it is believed that women were respected more
than men, who wanted to be persons of power emulated women. Men’s penises were
carved out into vaginas to seize the goddess's influence in some ancient civilizations.
These early social orders were matriarchies characterized as egalitarian (the idea that
everyone is equal and deserves the same rights and opportunities), allowing for
cooperation between men and women in most areas of life.

This early goddess-based social organization theory stipulates that the worship
of the mother goddess lasted for as long as people experienced the development of life
as a mystery and a gift. A significant paradigm shift was thought to have occurred the
moment people started to focus on the empirical rather than the mythical. This new
understanding of cause and effect was another way of seeing reality. As people became
interested in controlling food production through agriculture, this kind of knowledge
became necessary. Men realized that they too played a part in fertility; their seed was
essential in creating offspring.

Thus, the Phallus cults began to prosper, and the pre-eminence of the male and
his organ began to assert itself. Somehow, ancient societies concluded that the source
of life was the penis and not the womb because life was not seen as something that
emerges mysteriously from the womb but was planted there by the male organ, men
appropriated for themselves the position of power in the universe. With this
development, male dominance grew because people believed that the male bore the
creative force. At the same time, the female was merely the receptive vessel of life in
which the seed of man developed. Women were considered passive incubators. Men
did not want the woman's power to regain its prominence and overthrow that of the
man. Men had convinced themselves that they provide the active principle of life, and
those women were the passive incubators of life. They needed to reinforce this belief
by continuously treating women lowly.

The theory of the mother goddess cult seems highly speculative. There is
historical evidence through the appearance of female deities, their prevalence as well
as their destruction. It is not taught in mainstream history classes. The erasure from
history was because history has been written mainly through victors or, in this case,
men. The elimination of women’s power came with the unlearning that women had
power and equal rights in ancient civilizations but had great authority.

Eve and the Other

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Western religion also influenced the negative perception of women, as evidenced
in the Judeo-Christian story of Eve being the first woman and its mythic variations. Eve
had caused the downfall of humanity because she had listened to the snake. It must be
noted that this story shows how a woman had deprived all humankind of the abundance
that the garden of paradise had to offer. A woman’s folly had brought suffering to man

In the Greek myth, Pandora was the first woman created by Zeus as a form of
petty revenge on humankind because they had received the gift of fire from
Prometheus. Pandora was made to be the most beautiful and desirable woman
ever created and was given to Epimetheus as a gift. Epimetheus was admonished not
to take any gift from Zeus by Prometheus, but he was eventually persuaded to accept
Pandora because his denial would anger Zeus. Pandora was rendered dumb and
slothful by Zeus. One day she opened the jar where Prometheus locked away all the
Sprites that can cause humankind grief, such as old age, sickness, and vice.
Prometheus warned Epimetheus to keep the jar closed, but the foolishness of a woman
let the Sprites loose.

The fall of the goddess cult to the rise in discriminatory treatment against women.
The progression from goddess worship to phallus worship may be connected to their
diminished status. All of this fuels the negative perception of women. Women were
viewed of lesser value than men or were deemed the root of all suffering. Women were
perceived to be feeble-minded, with no moral fortitude or manipulative. In the most
extreme sense, women had the potential to cause the downfall of great men. Women
were the catalyst for men to lose their reason and responsibility. Therefore, men were
convinced that women were unfit to run governments, incapable of setting standards for
literature and commerce, could not be priests, or could not be left to their own devices.

Although it is puzzling why some of the world’s religions are so biased against
women, the fear theory offers some explanation for it. “Male supremacy does more than
imply female inferiority; it demands it. How then was that demand brought home to
every woman? The first step had to be the eradication of all traces of woman’s previous
superiority. This meant the onslaught on the worship of the Mother Goddess and by
extension to woman’s right to rule or command.”

The shift to production is likewise a plausible theory for the suppression of

women. It requires a workforce and longer periods of work in one area for an extended
amount of time. This workforce must be committed to the work and the community that
it is feeding. Thus, human reproduction to create more workers became a crucial task in
society. In this theory, suppression of the value of women and their awareness of their
importance is evident. When productivity increased with the advent of new farming
processes, men focused on agricultural labor. Women were no longer involved in food
production but in laborer production. Those who were involved in food production were
more empowered. Women lost significance in their communities and were withdrawn
from public life. Because employment brings home cash was becoming necessary for
survival, men’s roles were viewed as more essential while women’s functions as
housewives were perceived unproductive.

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Women’s Oppression

Essentialist reasons often justify oppression. Essentialist arguments assert that

the oppression of women is due to the nature of their gender or their socially
constructed roles. Women are fundamentally built for childbearing and child-rearing
because of these bodies. Not only are their bodies being weak, but their minds are
also perceived weak as well. Women’s minds are assumed to be incapable of
abstract, logical thinking. They are believed to be less capable of scientific and highly
academic endeavors. Oppression of women is possible because existing systems
orient people toward oppressing women, not because women are fundamentally
weaker or flawed.

Application

Activity 1.1: Questions for Review

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

30 / 20 / VERY 15/ AVERAGE 10 / NEEDS 5 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

82 | Page
order and to become randomly.
organization. disoriented.

1. The socialized position of women as housewives was strengthened by mass

production and industrialization. What are the advantages and drawbacks of
these changes on women's social perceptions?

2. What is gender essentialism, and what does it mean? What role does
essentialist logic play in women's oppression?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

3. What can you do to change people's perceptions of women as second-class

citizens?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 1.2: Video Analysis

View the video from the given link below, then write a five-sentence summary of
the video and another five-sentence learning insights based on your field of
specialization.

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

20 / 15 / VERY 10/ AVERAGE 5 / NEEDS 2 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

83 | Page
general.

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

Origins of Women’s Oppression

http://www.socialistworkeronline.net/the-origins-of-womens-oppression/

Closure
Congratulations on a job well done! Now you learned
about the origin of women’s oppression. This will help you understand women more.
You are halfway done.
Keep going!
Lesson 2
The Western Women’s Movement
______________________________________________________________________
Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. outline the development of Western feminism; and

2. explain the factors that shaped its development.
______________________________________________________________________

Introduction
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The Women's movement affected change in Western society, including women's
suffrage, the right to initiate divorce proceedings, and "no-fault" divorce, the right of
women to make individual decisions regarding pregnancy, including access to
contraceptives, and abortion, the right to own property. This lesson will inform you of the
development of Western feminism and the factors that shaped its development.

Activity
Activity 2.1: Research online the phrase “influential feminists.” From your search results,
select a feminist you are not familiar with.

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

Analysis

1. From your selected influential feminist, why is she considered influential?

2. What impact does one's generational cohort have on one's perspective on

gender issues?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. What impact might your identity (class, gender, religion, etc.) have on gender
issues?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Abstraction

Where does Liberation Begin

The origin of women’s oppression seems far removed from

our lived realities. The western women's movement may spring to
mind when discussing women's history. This movement brought to
light the systemic inequity that women experienced in different
eras. Women were identified as an oppressed category in this
movement. Male and female students alike believe that gender
equality has been reached and that fighting for gender rights is no longer required.

While "social justice warriors" post about different causes on social media
platforms, including women's issues, their lack of understanding of the history of the
women's movement and their battles results in a weak call to social change. Without
knowing the history of an issue, it is impossible to comprehend its origins and handle it
holistically.

What is Feminism, exactly?

Feminism is a way of viewing the world through the eyes of a woman. It is

socially created and is dependent on how society perceives femininity and gender in
general.

The patriarchal nature of society has compelled it to focus on women's

oppression, with the ultimate objective of releasing women through gender equality. It is
an idea that has gained popularity in Western societies. It is firmly founded in western
ideals of liberal democracy and equal rights ideology.
86 | Page
Brief History of Western Women’s Movement

There are three different waves of feminism in the Western World, each
associated with another school of thought. The first wave of feminism involves the call
for equal rights, focusing on women’s rights to vote; it is primarily rooted in liberal
political thought, prioritizing the power of reason and the mind. The next wave is radical
feminism, a post-world war era of feminism when women were already recognized as
having different physiological needs from men that arose from their being socialized as
women. The last wave of feminism is rooted in recognition of various theories and
modes of being. To be genuinely free from patriarchy, the recognition of intersectionality
considers women’s struggle from different parts of the globe; this feminist thought aided
in shaping our local feminist thinking.

The First Wave of Feminism: Women and Civil Rights

Theoretical roots of the first wave are liberal feminism. The women’s struggle for
equality characterizes the first wave. This was the time when women began to speak up
about their equality with men. Women were encouraged to build their philosophy of
equality with men because of the growth of liberal political thinking by philosophers such
as Kant, Mill, and Roseau, who emphasized the equal rights of all men. After all, if all
men were born with inherent rights, then all women were born with inherent rights as
well.

The beginning of the documented feminist movement may be traced back to the
French Revolution in the late 1700s. The French Revolution was a movement that
destroyed the bourbon monarchy, a powerful family that had dominated France for
nearly a century and possessed the majority of its resources.

France was poor and starving. The right to consume bread was the starting point
of the French revolution. Thousands of women in Paris marched to the Paris City Hall in
1789 to demand the right to cheaper bread, a right they were deprived of under the
Bourbon monarchy. The French Revolution was a triumph for the poor and oppressed,
with both men and women fighting for their rights, showing the power of the people over
the elite. The movement inspired the seminal text for the Western women’s movement:
Revolutionary Republican Women Citizens; It demanded that women be granted the
same voting rights as men and hold civilian and military positions. However, it is evident
in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizens of 1789, which only focused on
men and men’s rights, excluding women. Hence, women still did not have the same
rights as men during the French Revolution.

Olympia de Gouges, a French feminist, writer, and political activist, believed

strongly in justice and equality for all. She published in 1791 her Declaration of the

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Rights of Women and the Female Citizen, defending the rights of women as sentient
human rights. Her progressive thinking led her to write against slavery, the
discrimination against children borne out of wedlock, and the ill-treatment of orphaned
children. Her manifesto inspired what can be considered the keystone text of liberal
feminist thought, a Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1792 by Mary Wollstonecraft.
Mary Wollstonecraft was considered the mother of Western and Anglo-Saxon
Feminism, who advocated for uplifting women’s rights by valuing their work within the
family. Her works highlight the need for women’s education as educators and caregivers
of their children. Her works declare that women deserve the same fundamental rights as
men. Her works inspired modern feminist writings. She is concerned about eliminating
domestic tyranny and women’s denial of political rights, education, and similar work
issues that permeate present society. Her ideas influence other women to press
policymakers in creating women-inclusive policies for their needs, specifically their
education.

Friedrich Engels proposed a convincing explanation for women's oppression.

Engels saw the relation between women and goods as the root of women’s subjugation
(to bring under control). Engel’s text, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the
State, published in 1884, describes marriage as gaining control of women. Monogamy
was a creation necessary to pass on wealth to one’s offspring. In non-communal
societies, marriage was a way to keep their money within the family through
intermarriage and inheritance. This idea of property and inheritance of marriage as a
social contract prevented women from deciding whom to marry. This practice reinforced
the dominant patriarchal system that allowed men to be polygamous and women to be
monogamous. Thus, a woman’s virtue was heavily guarded—this type of oppression
guaranteed that women had no choice concerning their bodies. Hence, marriage
became a sort of lifetime slavery.

Women and the Anti-Slavery Movement. The idea that a woman is her husband's
property may explain the strong connection between the women’s liberation
movement and the anti-slavery movement in the Western World. Women participants
were also forced to listen to proceedings behind closed doors during London's 1840
World Anti-Slavery Convention. Two prominent figures of the American women’s
movement who attended the convention Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Candy Stanton,
were moved by this insulting experience. Mott and Stanton’s involvement in the
advocacy against slavery paved the way for them to realize that specific social
structures and laws oppressed women. They liberate themselves from their perceived
social status, which involves the right to participate in the public sphere.

Women and the Right to Vote. Women’s role in the domestic sphere meant that
every woman was invisible to the public eyes. Participants in the first wave of the
women’s emancipation movement fought for: the right to vote, equal opportunity for
employment and commerce, and the right to education. The struggle for equality was
most apparent in the campaign for the right to vote. Still, it was accompanied by
struggles for women’s education, equality at work, and freedom of expression in literary
and artistic genres. Women’s fought for equal access to opportunities was formalized in

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the Declaration of Sentiments that emerged from the Seneca Falls Convention, the first
women’s rights convention in New York City in 1848. Stanton enumerated various
women’s issues in this declaration that eventually led to what would be known as the
suffrage movement.

A woman’s right to vote may not seem like a significant issue. Yet, it was
controversial insofar as it was believed that women were too emotional and did not
possess the proper faculties to make rational decisions. This was controversial because
not all women were allowed to study; hence, allowing women to vote allows even
illiterate women and women of color to claim this right.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, the suffrage movement was a central
women's fight that brought together Northern American and Western European
women's movements. Householders and college-educated won the right to vote in the
1920s, and the movement splintered into various groups like the labor movement and
the right to education movement. The first wave of women’s struggle borrowed its
ideology from political liberalism that assumes equality of all people regardless of race
or gender. The first wavers called for the right to vote, smoke, wear pants, and
promiscuity like men (the right to have many romantic partners).

The Second Wave of Feminism and Women’s Liberation

A new struggle arose, involving marginalized sectors such as black women,

lesbians and homosexuals, women in developing countries, and other marginalized
women. The second wave of feminism is more concerned with the idea of womanhood
and the issues that came with the social construction of a woman’s role and, therefore,
her identity. Thus, a deeper understanding of womanhood, its implications, and the
issues surrounding women emerged.

The second wave of feminism was rooted in the movements of liberation in the
1960s and 1970s and the heightened feminist consciousness. One work that Awoke
numerous women across America was Betty Frieda’s book, The Feminine Mystique,
published in 1963. The second wave of feminism was founded on Simone de Beauvoir’s
The Second Sex, Kate Millett’s Sexual Politics, and Shulamith Firestone’s The Dialectic
of Sex. These books marked the spirit and ideology of the second wave of feminism
because they articulated the heart of a new struggle. Feminists in this wave did not seek
only equality but also examined the very ground of inequality. According to them,
inequality is deeply rooted in the existing patriarchal system, the system of belief that
placed the male as the dominant gender. The second wave sought to transform
inequality's structural and political roots and liberate women from oppressive
institutions.

World Wars I and II greatly influenced the second wave of the feminist movement
because women volunteered to assist in the war effort. American propaganda “Rosie
the Riveter” became an icon of women. It shows a poster image of a woman doing
mechanical work to invite women to work in factories as most men were assembled for

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war. However, when the war ended, men returned, and women were sent back to the
domestic sphere.

Betty Friedan's concept of a "problem without a name" united homemakers

across American regarding the growing helplessness that women felt due to their lack of
power as they remained trapped in the domestic sphere and lack representation in the
public sphere.

In her book, The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir explored how women were
seen as unequal by men and that the very realization of women’s existence as persons
was structured to be inferior. They were reduced to an object at every turn, as a wife, a
daughter, a lover, and a mistress. Women were constructed by society to be servants of
men and producers of children. Her work also claims that patriarchy and patriarchal
structures further reinforce the wrong notions that women are secondary to men despite
women and men being treated equally in the eyes of existing laws. She asserts that she
will not attain true freedom until a woman is seen as a woman in her own right.

The second wave of feminism also tackled that the construction of womanhood
was fundamentally political. Shulamith Firestone, in her text The Dialectic of Sex, called
for a feminist revolution that could help liberate women from the inequality brought
about by their biology, specifically, those concerning conception, childbirth, and child-
rearing. She believed that society must change to help address women’s concerns
about the limitations of their biology, specifically: childcare, the right to economic
independence and self-determination; their integration into all aspects of society; and
their freedom about their sexuality. Kate Millet’s text focuses on politics as power
structures and sex, thus creating the fundamental link between gender socialization, the
patriarchal system, and the formation of women as oppressed.

Theoretical Roots in the Second Wave of Feminism –Socialist Feminism

Socialist feminism was developed after Marxist feminism to address gaps found
in Marxist theories. Socialist feminists believe that women are oppressed in all aspects
of their lives, not only in the economic part. It differs from the Marxist idea of human
productivity as one’s productive activity is based on the sexual division of labor, which is
determined by society and human nature.

Socialism believed that women’s subjugation is rooted in the concept of having a

monogamous family in which monogamous women are confined in their homes and are
discouraged from participating in productive labor. Socialism asserts that both
productive and reproductive work must involve the greater society; hence the state must
prioritize social welfare and structures supporting reproductive needs. The second wave
of the women’s movement was built on radical feminist principles, which focused on
sexuality and alienation arising from one’s womanhood and motherhood.

Theoretical Roots in the Second Wave of Feminism – Radical Feminism

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The civil rights movement in the US-inspired another form of feminism that is
grounded on structural change. This feminist perspective, known as radical feminism,
ensured that women’s differences from men were recognized and celebrated. At this
moment, equality meant being diverse and equally talented and valuable rather than
being the same. Radical feminism came about due to the lack of attention to sex and
sexuality in the women’s struggle. The second wave was crucial because it looked at
the desire for equality and the core causes of inequality. It explained that women were
oppressed because mechanisms that form society identified them as the weaker sex.

The Roots of Inequality: Patriarchy

Many second-wave feminists concentrated on examining society's structural

causes of inequality. According to this generation of feminists, women were forced into
roles, not because of their inherent inclinations but because the patriarchal system
moves them to do so. Women's enslavement benefited society because the working
class (men) and future laborers (children) were cared for at home. While this
partnership could be mutually beneficial, a woman had no say in the issue. Their
perception may have reinforced women's subjugation and domestic enslavement as
essentially lower and weaker beings.

In many instances, theorists of the second wave articulated the roots. They
exposed the structures of subjugation so that the activists could lobby for changes that
would lead to the redefinition of women’s functions and capabilities in society. Radical
feminists also saw the destruction of male supremacy as an essential step in the fight
against oppression. This line of thinking was promoted by establishing women-centered
beliefs and systems—a call to acknowledge women’s ways of knowing as different and
valuable began to surface.

The reproductive rights and a woman's freedom to choose her own body are
essential topics for radical feminists. Women campaigned for the right to use birth
control, sterilization, and abortions, among other things. Other issues include sex-
gender roles and relationships in public policies and personal relationships, the
pornography industry and prostitution, and critiques of traditional female roles like
parenting and marriage.

The man-hating and bra-burning feminist myth was created during the women’s
liberation movement, specifically in 1968. During the 1968 Miss America contest in
New Jersey, feminists decided to stage a protest. Various women staged peaceful
protests in response to the objectification of women and the notion that the contest
supported women being paraded about like meat. During the demonstration, women
were encouraged to bring items that symbolized their oppression by the patriarchy and
place them in the Freedom Trash Can. One of these items was a bra. While there was
no fire, one of the myths pervaded the movement due to the lack of information about
women’s rich history.

The Call for Affirmative Action

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One of the efforts of the second wave of the women’s movement was affirmative
action, which means a deliberate preferential option for women to have equal
opportunity in a particular field. This move was based on the need to counter years of
what many consider the preferential option for the male gender in productive work.

The Third Wave of Feminism

The 1990s brought about the recognition of the different oppressions women
face around the globe. The rise of communism and the new global order and biomedical
and technological advances shaped this era's issues. The feminist movement shifted
focus to include the needs of women from developing countries considering
globalization and neoliberal economic policies. There was a call for feminism that
embraced the plurality of women’s experiences. This new wave of feminism was
deemed more inclusive as voices from post-colony and post-socialist countries were
involved in the movement.

Third-wave feminists were “motivated by the need to develop a feminist theory

and politics that honor contradictory experiences and deconstruct categorical thinking.”
It characterizes local, national, and transnational activism in violence against women,
trafficking; body surgery; self-mutilation; and the overall pornification of the media.

Third-wave feminists lived by the principles of gender equality and women’s

empowerment. The feminists of this time had numerous publications on women and
gender issues. Gained academic riches in universities that include women’s studies in
their curriculum had greater economic capabilities and work opportunities.

The idea of post-feminism manifested during the third wave of feminism.

According to the book by Leslie Heywood and Jennifer Drake, Third Wave Agenda,
post-feminism sought to critique previous feminisms regarding what work had yet to be
done. Despite the difference in women's experiences, the call for sisterhood was
present as ever, embracing the disparity of women worldwide. Womanhood as an
identity was one significant movement that was scrutinized. This movement that
questioned, renamed, and reclaimed the concept of womanhood was called
postmodern feminism. Gender, beauty, sexuality, and the concepts of feminine and
masculine were also questioned.

The theme of “gender as a social construct” was prevalent due to the pivotal text
Gender trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity by Judith Butler, published
in 1990. The challenge for feminists in this period was to be conscious of how one
could express their gender identity in a manner that genuinely represented them.
Identity politics was a driving force for discussion. Butler assumed that gender is the
repetition of specific characteristics that created the idea of gendered behavior. One
of the keywords explained by Butler is the philosophy of performance.

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Application

Inquire of your mother or aunt, as well as your grandmother or an elderly lady,

about the most serious issues confronting women in their generation. Report the result
of your inquiries.

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating a report for this task.

20 / 15 / VERY 10/ AVERAGE 5 / NEEDS 2 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

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Closure
Congratulations on a job well done! You have successfully finished this
lesson. More exciting topics are ahead. Enjoy learning!

Lesson 3
Women in the Philippines
______________________________________________________________________
Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. describe how the role of Filipino women in society evolved;

2. state at least three kinds of responses of Filipino women to oppression; and
3. explain how oppression emerges in Philippine society.
______________________________________________________________________

Introduction

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This lesson will give you information and understanding of the role of Filipino
women and how women oppression emerged in Philippine society.

Activity

Activity 3.1: Watch a film on the Philippine Revolution or the Reform Movement in the
Philippines. It might be Rizal in Dapitan, Heneral Luna, the Katipunan
series, Sakay, or any other film in the same vein. Notice the roles of
women play and reflect on the accuracy of the portrayals.

Analysis
1. In these flicks, how empowered were the women?

2. What social, political, economic, and cultural events and trends affected the
many generations of the Philippine women's liberation struggle?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

3. In the Philippines, how did the concepts of class and hierarchy emerge? What
role do they play in women's oppression and gender inequality?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

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Abstraction

The Pre-colonial Philippines

The actual condition of pre-Spanish women in the

Philippines can be reflected from the practices of the indigenous
people and the testimonies of Spanish chronicles. These
sources indicate that there was an accurate measure of equality among men women
during the pre-Spanish period.

Before Hispanic colonization, there was no discrimination between sons and

daughters. Parents took pride in their children equally, even to the point of deriving
nicknames from their children. Children had an equal division of inheritance. They were
educated equally. They took an active role in society when they grew up. Sexual
inhibitions regarding virginity in marriage were not universally valued. Sex education
has seen a mother's responsibility to her daughter.

Marriages were arranged, and the groom paid a dowry to the wife’s family. The
woman kept her name, and if she was exceptionally meritorious, the husband took her
name. Each family member was viewed as an equal partner in marriage. Women ran
the household and were equally responsible for all significant decisions regarding the
running of the household. They participated in the talks with their spouses. Women had
complete autonomy over their reproductive choices, including the option of abortion.
Both husband and wife may divorce, and both had equal rights to property and children.

Women played a crucial part in people's economic lives. They were involved in
planting and harvesting crops and weaving, pottery making, and commerce. They
oversaw billings, contracts, and correspondence. They fought alongside n battles. They
led as direct rulers, caretakers for the young datu.

Aida Santos Maranan in Do Women Hold Up Half the Sky? Highlights an

essential point for women's equality: women were independent because they had equal
access and control of production resources. Meanwhile, Estelle Freedman notes that
there is some equality in society whenever women are involved in food production.
When society is structured on surplus and wealth accumulation, women’s oppression
and inequality become an issue. Before colonialism, women were leaders in the
community.

Alongside the datu (chieftain) and panday (smith), a babaylan held a central
place in society. Babaylan refers to individuals who have special knowledge or can
converse with spirits. During pre-colonial times, the babaylan was a woman or a man

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who took on the persona of a woman chosen supposedly by the spirits and given
special powers to engage the unseen beings of nature. Babaylan was recognized for
possessing special knowledge about nature, religious rituals, and cultural practices. If
someone suffered a misfortune, the babaylan help them overcome or even prevent
future misfortunes. The babaylan was a culture bearer, priest and myth keeper, healer
of one’s body and soul, and relationship with the spirits and nature.

The babaylans led the resistance against the colonization of their world. They
fought the relocation and reorganization of communities around the reduccion parish
system. They convinced locals to refuse conversion from the new religion to the new
religion as they fought to preserve their old beliefs. The babaylans could organize
resistance by persuading their communities to destroy their crops, kill their livestock,
and evacuate to the mountains the deprive the Spanish of the supplies. The babaylan
still shapes the present worldviews of many traditional communities, from the urban
centers to the worlds of the indigenous peoples. These traditional women leaders still
serve their communities as they did in ancient times. They have taken on different
aspects of various communities and have learned to adapt to the westernized Philippine
culture.

Philippine Women in the Hispanic Period

The Spanish clergy saw early Filipinas as too sensuous and free with their
behavior but were appreciated as intelligent, strong-willed, and practical. Spanish friars
admonished (warned) women to remain pure and obedient and exploited the latter’s
influential position in traditional communities to spread the new religion. It was important
for the Spaniards the Filipina be completely subjugated (bring under control) to her
husband or her father and the Catholic Church. They were taught to avoid sin by
keeping chaste, not being vain, dressing modestly, keeping busy at home, and self-
sacrificing. The colonizers created a woman who was only active at home and
withdrawn from the public sphere.

They were allowed to seek education and were placed in schools that forced in
them the values and character of the new Filipina. Chastity, purity, and forbearance
were promoted to subdue early Filipinas to their new role and constrict their creative
participation in society. Rizal portrayed this kind of woman through the character of
Maria Clara, who was sweet, docile, obedient, self-sacrificing, and who never dared to
share the fate of her beloved.

Filipinas were victims of the Spanish patriarchal system and its version of
Catholicism. Their diminished roles in the communal sphere and production systems
confined women to supporting functions such as status display and maintenance
(organizing parties and keeping appearances), reproduction, and child-rearing.

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Women participation in uprisings by the Katipunan and the millenarians suggest
that Filipinas played significant roles in conflicts as leaders, soldiers, healers, and head
of logistic operations. Women in the 1890s organized a masonic lodge called Logia de
Adopcion, which gathered many intellectual women with anti-Spanish sentiments.
Gabriella Silang and Gregoria de Jesus were active participants in the war against
Spain. Women enlisted in Emilio Aguinaldo’s army to fight against the American regime.
Agueda Iniquinto Cahabagan rose to the rank of Heneral Brigada in 1899 and led a
military unit under Aguinaldo’s army.

Filipino Women in the American Era

From the 1900s to the 1920s, most women groups furthered the presence of
women in the public sphere by focusing on charity work and social services. These
groups were formed to keep the elite women busy working with orphans and assisting
prisoners, among others. Aida Maranan observed that women groups were bearers and
implementers of social reforms within institutions initially established by men.

Development of Women Groups in the Philippines:

1899 The Women’s Red Cross Association was formed to help in the Philippine
war effort.
1902 The Philippine Women’s League of Peace was set up to assist in the US
pacification of the Philippine islands.
1905 The Associacion Femenista Filipina, an organization that gathered volunteers
to reform the Philippine society, was created. It promoted social change
through prison reforms, education reforms, the improvement of women’s
condition in factories, and the inclusion of women in certain local governing
bodies.
1906 the Associacion Femenista Ilonga was created. It fought for women’s
suffrage.
1907 La Gota de Leche was formed to assist women in maternal and infant care.
1909 A magazine devoted to women’s issues came out to foster the struggle for
women’s rights and improvement.
1912 the first women’s club called the Society for the Advancement of Women was
founded.
1921-1937 the Philippines saw its suffragette movement.
1922 the National League of Filipina Women was organized to aim for Philippine
independence and better working conditions for factory women.
1928 the suffragette movement was enhanced by the creation of the Women’s
Citizen League.

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1929 the Philippine Women Suffragette Movement organized the first women’s
convention, wherein women's suffrage rights were agreed for. The fight for
maternity leave with pay was also brought to the table.
1935 Act No. 2711 granted women the right to vote, thus creating the General
Council of Women to ensure that this right would be exercised by 1937.
1937 Filipina women realized their right to vote.
1939 the League of Women’s Voters was organized for voter’s education.
1950 Women organized the Civic Assembly of the Philippines to engage in
policymaking and “reinforce the belief that women's primary concern was the
home.”
1951 the first National Political Party of Women was set up but did not last because
of the dominance of established parties.

There are four insights about women’s movements:

1. These movements were begun and dominated by men.

2. That women’s involvement in these movements gave them liberties and
roles that had traditionally denied them.
3. The goals and objectives of these movements were valid for and essential
to a smaller or greater section of Filipino women.
4. Most of the movements involved welfare work led by upper-class women
that only addressed the latter’s issues.

Most women groups were led by the elite and only represented one side of the
Filipina women. Women groups during the American period furthered the interests of
the ruling classes and western countries.

The Birth of the Militant Groups with a Feminist Agenda

Revolutionary groups that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s were associated with
the communist and socialist movements. These groups argued that the nation was
suffering from underdevelopment because its economy served the interest of the US by
providing cheap labor and free access to resources and serving as a dumping ground
for US goods. The agenda for liberation can also help women’s quest for equality. Many
of the problems women faced resulted from abusive structures that kept them poor and
exposed to various kinds of exploitation.

The nationalist and militant women’s movement, as they called themselves,

believed that the only way to achieve equality in the society was to liberate the nation
from exploiting the elite and the US. Women’s issues on equality were considered
secondary within the communist and socialists’ movements. Militant women had to

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gather under the socialist party to push for women’s agenda while struggling for national
liberation.

The iconic Malayang Kilusa ng Bagong Kababaihan (MAKIBAKA), a radical

women’s group led by student activists, Feudalism, capitalism, and colonialism, were
shown to be at the basis of women's concerns. They took part in organizing and
educating women peasants and laborers and establishing daycare centers for the latter.

The Kilusan ng Kababaihang Pilipina (PILIPINA) and the Katipunan ng

Kababaihan Para sa Kalayaan (KALAYAAN) formed groups the 1980s that challenged
the potentially anti-women ways of the Communist Party’s leadership. PILIPINA focused
on mainstreaming women’s concerns in the transformation of society. It promoted the
welfare of women through social development work, like establishing cooperatives.
KALAYAAN worked within the national liberation agenda to ensure that the women’s
liberation issues were not made secondary in the movement.

The assassination of Aquino brought women’s groups into the limelight as they
pushed for their political agenda. The National Organization of Women (NOW) was a
prominent group, which supplemented the United Democratic Opposition party coalition.
It was oriented toward the socio-political formation of women and the campaign for
clean elections. During this time, the intensifying call for conscientization and honest
governance resulted in the foundation of other women groups: Alliance of Women for
Action Towards Reconciliation (AWARE); and Women for the Ouster of Marcos and
Boycott (WOMB). Religious women came together in an alliance: the Association of
Women in Theology (AWIT), which brought pastors, catholic nuns, and deacons.
Kapisanan ng mga Madre sa Maynila, which was composed of religious women.
Church Women United, which was affiliated with the National Council of Churches in the
Philippines. The universities established groups: Samahang Makabayan ng Kabataang
Kababaihan of the University of the Philippines: Atenista Women of Ateneo de Manila;
and Katipuneros of the universities Maryknoll College.

On October 28, 1983, about 9000 women took part in the largest women’s march
that protested human rights abuses and the abuses of the military. This movement was
dubbed the Women’s Protest Day. The following year, the women who took part in this
protest formed the General Assembly Binding Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equality,
Leadership, and Action (GABRIELA). GABRIELA protested against the policies and
projects of the Marcos regime that were harmful to the people’s interests. Since 1986
women’s movements in the Philippines shifted from a broad coalition to minor tactical
and issue or project-based alliances. This observation remains steadfast until today
when women’s actions are more issue-based, focusing on particular causes such as
trafficking, domestic violence, and domestic workers' maternal and reproductive health
protection. They are also concerned with services that support women like daycare or
women’s health centers, livelihood projects; training to protect women’s rights; and
cooperative formation.

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One area of coalition formation that did not work at the turn of this century is the
party-list system. When this system was implemented in 1996, women’s groups unite
into three main groups: GABRIELLA transformed itself into the apolitical party and
brought together people’s organizations and other women affiliated with the National
Democratic left groups. Pushed for laws and continued to get to the public discourse
particular problems of women. Abanse! Pinay, the more centrist and middle-center
groups. As a party-list representative, Abanse Pinay was able to push for the passage
of the: Solo Parents Welfare Act of 2000, Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, and
Anti-Violence Against Women Children Act of 2004. Akbayan supported the:
Reproductive Health Law, Magna Carta of Women, and Gender Balance Bill.

These three groups used their government positions to Increase public

awareness on issues affecting women; Push for the implementation of government
projects in ways that would benefit women; Help channel funds to women’s projects and
organizations; Provided training and education; and Network grassroots organizations.

Women’s party-list groups made valuable contributions to women’s liberation,

including the agenda of the marginalized women as a national interest. They serve as
platforms for organizing women into multi-sectoral collective actions. Women’s party-list
groups mostly spring from civil society organizations or ideological movements that
valued participatory processes. Women played an auxiliary role in development work.

Ten Filipinas Who Advanced Modern Feminism in the Country

1. Leticia Ramos-Shahani

She was a former senator and the chair of the National Commission on Filipina
Women's Roles. Country representative to the first Commission on the Status of
Women in Mexico. UN assistant secretary-general for Social Development and
Humanitarian Affairs. During the height of international recognition of women's human
rights in 1967, she spearheaded and authored the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). She formed the National
Commission on the Role of Filipino Women in 1975, together with Helena Benitez,
Cecilia Munos Palma, and Irene Cortes.

2. Patricia Benitez-Licuanan

She presided over the Commission on Higher Education as its chairperson.

Chairwoman of the National Commission on Filipina Women's Role at the time.
Commission on the Status of Women Chairperson. Chairperson of the Main Committee
fourth World Conference on Women. Co-founder of the Asia Pacific women’s Watch.
Convenor of the Asia-Pacific NGO Forum in Beijing.

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3. Teresita Quintos-Deles

She is a proponent of peace. Former chair and co-founder of the National Peace
Conference's Coalition for Peace. During the Aquino administration, he served as a
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. She was the lead convenor of the National
Anti-Poverty Commission from 2001 to 2003. She represented civil society in crucial
governance partnerships, such as the Ramos administration's Social Reform Council,
which established the framework for significant reform policies like the Social Reform
and Poverty Alleviation Act, the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act, and the Anti-Rape Law.

4. Sister Mary John Manazan, OSB

She is a feminist activist, former GABRIELLA chairwoman, former president of

St. Scholastica's College, and prioress of the Manila Priory's Missionary of Benedictine
Sisters. During her time as director of the Institute of Women's Studies of St.
Scholastica in 2011, she was named one of the top 100 most inspirational people on the
planet. and cited to be instrumental in developing a feminist Third World theology within
the Catholic Church and introducing feminist activism. She led many women-centered
programs and organizations like Women Crisis Center, Women’s Ecology, and
Wholeness Farm.

5. Sister Christine Tan

She was the first Filipina to lead the Religious of the Good Shepherd in the
Philippines. Former chairperson of the executive board of the Association of Major
Religious Superiors of Women in the Philippines. Alay Kapwa Christian Community's
founder. She was a delegate to the 1986 Constitutional Convention, which aimed to
give the Philippines' urban poor a voice in reforming the country's constitution.

6. Joi Barrios

To Be a Woman is to Live at a Time of War, a collection of poems published by

the Institute of Women's Studies at St. Scholastica's College in 1990, is one of her
works. She was one of 100 women selected as Weavers of History for the Philippines
Centennial Celebration. In 2004, she was named one of the Ten Outstanding Women in
the Nation's Service.

7. Lorena Barros

During the dictatorship struggle, she was one of the well-known heroes who
founded the Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan or MAKIBAKA.

8. Raissa Jajurie

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A moro program coordinator of the Alternative Legal Assistance Center. She
advocates Muslim women’s rights, believing in justice for Muslim women following
Islamic teachings and human rights standards. She founded Nisa Ul-Haqq fi
Bangsamoro (Women for Justice in the Bangsamoro), an organization for Muslim
women conducting training, community dialogues, research, and policy advocacy. She
was appointed to join the MILF Peace Panel in 2014.

9. Roselle Ambubuyog

The first visually- impaired Filipina to be awarded summa cum laude. Graduated
with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics at Ateneo de Manila University with all the
possible awards for student's excellence and service.

10. Rosa Henson

A 16-year-old comfort woman joined the Hukbalahap and served as a

messenger.

Forms of Oppression Against Women

Author Cynthia Nolasco summarizes the three major issues women face. The
first aspect of a woman’s oppression is due to her gender. Women are oppressed
simply because they are women. The second is their membership in a social class or
sector of the society. Women suffer hardships because they are marginalized farmers,
domestic servants, or factory workers. Finally, women are oppressed as citizens of a
former colony due to the continuing effects of exploitative globalization. The
combination of these three is called Intersectional oppression, or the multiple
oppression women face due to the marginalization of other parts of their identity.

Application

Activity 3.2: Questions for Review

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this
task.

30 / 20 / VERY 15/ AVERAGE 10 / NEEDS 5 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

103 | Page
Ideas The idea is The idea is The idea is The idea is not The idea has no
clear and mainly beginning to well-defined, and clear sense of
focused. It focused and define the there are too many purpose or central
holds the has some topic, even topics. theme.
reader's good details. though
attention. development is
still primary or
general.

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

1. The Spanish version of Christianity introduced misogynistic attitudes against

women. Why is this so?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

2. How did Filipino women respond to oppression and inequality in various

stages of women’s struggle throughout Philippine history?

3. Is it possible to empower women without tarnishing society’s perception of

men?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
104 | Page
Activity 3.3: Video Analysis

View the video from the given link below, then write a five-sentence summary of
the video and another five-sentence learning insights based on your field of
specialization.

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

20 / 15 / VERY 10/ AVERAGE 5 / NEEDS 2 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

100-Year-Old Photos of the Most Beautiful Women of the Last Century

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43ZMB_tvPhw

105 | Page
Closure
Good Job! You have successfully finished Module 2 – Understanding Women’s
Oppression and Feminism. More exciting topics in the last module. Keep your focus!

Module 3
Some Cross-cutting Issues in Gender and Sexuality

Module Overview:

This module presents the topics that affect all major issues in gender and sexuality.
These include issues of women in education, the workplace, and violence. Masculinity
is also included for a full grasp of gender and equality.

Module Objectives:
1. To understand the issue of women in education and the workplace as well as
violence against women.
2. To explain masculinity as an essential topic in gender equality.

Lessons:

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Lesson 1 Women and Education
Lesson 2 Women and Work in the Philippines
Lesson 3 Women and Violence
Lesson 4 Masculinity

Lesson 1
Women and Education
______________________________________________________________________
Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. identify the primary educational issues that women confront;

2. explain the value of equality in education for women; and
3. name the policies that protect the rights of women in education.
______________________________________________________________________

Introduction
This lesson tackles gender and education both theoretical and in
practice. The issues surrounding education, the structure of education, and learning
methods will be discussed. It will help you understand the major problems women face
in the education sector and learn the policies that protect women's rights in education.

Activity

Activity 1.1: Think about your experiences as a student. What feelings arise when you
hear issues regarding violence in your school. What were your emotions
like if you were a victim of discrimination?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
107 |______________________________________________________________________________
Page
______________________________________________________________________________
Analysis
1.Think of ways that could reform discrimination in your campus culture.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. When you hear of violence in your school, how do you feel?

3. If you were a victim of discrimination, how did you feel at the time?

4. Do you have any ideas for how to change the culture on campus?

Abstraction

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Gender and Education

Education is a fundamental human right that is

necessary for societal growth. The United Nations made
education the second Millennium Development Goal in the last decade (MDG). The
Right to Universal Primary Education aims to bridge the gap between boys and girls in
primary and secondary school. The right to education still finds itself as the fourth
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). This new UN-mandated goal aims to “ensure
inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.”

It may be challenging to comprehend the gendered aspect of education at first.

Many Filipinos see education as a way out of poverty and thus, strive to send children
regardless of gender to school in hopes of a better future. As Philippine law and policies
echoed, education has been a priority agenda for most government and development
agencies. The right of both genders to education was a right to fight for the various
people across the globe. However, the battle continues because much has to be done
regarding true gender equality in education.

Gender can influence an individual’s experience with education. It can affect a

person’s access to quality education. Women are still struggling for their right to
education in several countries. The quality of education, the knowledge being taught in
the classroom, and gendered interactions in educational institutions must be evaluated.
Through these assessments, one may realize the gender parity does not mean gender
equality. Education has a favorable impact on girls, resulting in a more just and
equitable society. Better economic prospects, delayed marriage, reduced fertility,
improved sexual and reproductive health and rights, and equality and empowerment are
just a few advantages.

The Beijing Platform for Action (1995) and Education

Education is a fundamental human right and a necessary instrument for

promoting equality, development, and peace. A person knows she can help them
improve their situation and enhance their general state, family situation, and overall life.
The idea of education as a critical strategic tool for gender equality was solidified in the
1995 Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA).

The BPfA prioritizes women’s and men’s equal access to quality education. It
also highlights the importance of investing in formal and non-formal education. The
strategic objectives of UN BPfA about education are as follows:

1. ensure access to education.

2. Eradicate illiteracy among women.
3. Improve women’s access to vocational training, science and technology, and
continuing education.

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4. Develop non-discriminatory education and training.
5. Allocate sufficient resources for and monitor the implementation of
educational reforms.
6. Promote lifelong education and training for girls and women.

Philippine Laws on Gender-responsive and Gender-fair Education

The Filipinos hold education in high regard because they believe it is a “pillar of
national progress and the main conduit for social and economic mobility.” “The State
shall preserve and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and
shall take appropriate efforts to make education accessible to all,” the Philippine
Constitution states. Education in the Philippines is a constitutional right, regardless of
one’s status in life.

Numerous laws enforce and protect one’s right to education, explicitly

considering the issues that arise from one’s strategic and practical gender needs. Two
preliminary plans that highlight the value of education as an essential social sector are
the Philippine Development Plan for Women 1989-1992 (PDPW) and the Philippine
Plan for Gender-responsive Development 1995 – 2025 (PPGD). These are updated and
supplemented by the Women’s Empowerment, Development, and Gender Equality Plan
(Women’s EDGE Plan, 2013) and the Magna Carta of Women (MCW). These
documents have target areas for gender within education, in varying degrees, and with
varying commitments. The MCW and the National Economic Development Authority’s
(NEDA) handbook Harmonized Gender and Development Guidelines for Project
Development, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation published in 2010 identify
other recommendations to achieve a gender-fair education system.

Gender Issues in Education

Currently, gender parity is present in the Philippines, with girls outperforming

boys in test scores and degree of completion. However, equal access does not mean
that discrimination has been eliminated from education. The Beijing +20 non-
governmental organization (NGO) report shows that education issues have more to do
with discrimination caused by cultural beliefs and gender biases. Others include early
pregnancy, sexual harassment, lack of accessible facilities, and access to quality
education. The report also maintains that these barriers to education affect women’s
lives.

Most development reports prioritize gender in primary and secondary education,

overlooking the impact of gender and discrimination on one’s access to quality higher
education. Thelma Kintanar, in her 2013 text, Gender Concerns on Campus – An
Information Kit for College Administrators and Educators, highlights the gender gap in
higher education. Kintanar believes it is necessary to analyze the quality of education
given to women. Gender concerns, she notes, should include the following issues:
gender balance in curriculum, sexual harassment on campus, sexism and sexist
language, violence against women (VAW) on campus, and concerns on sexuality and

110 | Page
sexual orientation. The last topic on sexuality acknowledges that gender and education
literature in the Philippines does not directly address LGBT issues, thus creating a gap.

Stereotyping is a Violation of Human Rights. Education can be utilized to break

down detrimental gender stereotypes. However, it can also serve as an instrument to
keep the status quo because it may be used as a tool for external regulation on specific
gender acts. Primary and secondary education significantly impact women's life
choices, economic security, employment, and life goals. Gender inequality cannot be
achieved if these stereotypes are perpetuated in this form.

One key term that has risen from the BPfA is eliminating stereotyping in gender
and education. A 2013 report by the High Commissioner for Human Rights declares
gender stereotyping as a violation of human rights. The report states that misidentifying
stereotyping, misunderstanding how stereotyping affects women, and the non-
recognition of behavior and laws that stereotype women. The CEDAW states that there
is limited awareness about stereotyping and its elimination. As a response, the CEDAW
requires eliminating stereotypes in educational material and promoting materials that
show women in all aspects of life.

Gender stereotyping occurs when different institutions such as the family, the
church, the school, the state, and the media reinforce a biased perception of a specific
gender’s role. Note that stereotypes include what roles and attitudes women and men
must possess and the assumptions on how certain groups such as the LGBT act. The
media's lack of positive representation of gender roles can be dangerous because of the
discrimination one may face and disturb one’s internalized self-image.

Gender stereotyping is a consistent issue in education. Stereotypes that enforce

the de-sexualization of young girls make education on sexual and reproductive health
and rights a low priority for women.

The Women’s EDGE Plan shows that gender stereotypes are found not just in
textbooks but also in the classroom as well as through “teaching strategies, including
teacher’s use of sexist stereotypes in language and the design of classroom activities.”
Despite stereotyping being identified as a priority sector in Philippine education, it has a
long way to go.

STEM-related issues (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). According

to the Beijing +20 NGO report, promoting women’s successes in science and
technology is lacking. Older textbooks overlook female research and achievements in
the sciences. Most scientists in various books are male. Thus, it creates a gap
between the genders represented in the scientists that students learn. As a
result, science textbooks may not relate to the lived experiences of young women and
girls, making it harder for them to see themselves in this field. While the CHED offers
scholarships to females who wish to enroll in male-dominated courses, access to these
scholarships is limited, or their existence is relatively unknown.

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The technologically driven state of society necessitates that women create,
develop, and maintain technologies. Women need math and science training to have an
active role in developing new technology. However, a female-specific activity that
considers both physiological and socialized functions of women seems unavailable, so
many research priorities are still inclined toward male interests. Hence, the scientific
world needs people who can use technology to alleviate women’s practical and strategic
gender needs.

Nontraditional Skills Training. More support for women is still needed in the
agricultural sector and the informal sector. This necessity entails further career
counseling that covers nontraditional skills for girls. These nontraditional skills are vital
for women to grab economic opportunities. Given the sex-stereotyped role of women in
the economy, their jobs in the public sphere are often like their reproductive roles at
home. Since they learned from their gender socialization, the skills necessary for these
jobs may not translate to high-paying jobs. This observation is the root of other issues
in education, such as the lack of women in STEM fields and the lack of valuation
attached to jobs associated with feminine gender roles like caregiving.

Inhibited Access to Education. Special issues affect a child’s access to education

like relocation to communities, natural disasters, and the encampment of military forces
in school sites of indigenous people. Some children are relocated to far-flung areas with
no nearby school and walk for hours just to get to school—girls walking long distances
on dimly lit streets. Girls' access to education is also affected by natural disasters and
conflicts. These events damage school facilities and cause a lack of safety in the area
and available teachers.

Similarly, schools of young indigenous people have been used for an

encampment by military forces. School operations are often shut down indefinitely
during encampments to accommodate these armed forces. In these conditions, girls
and women are frequently subjected to aggressive harassment.

Gender-fair Textbooks and Programs. According to the 2015 PCW report for the
th
20 anniversary of the BPfA, the Department of Education (DepEd) makes numerous
efforts to correct gender-biased textbooks, teaching materials, and methods by the
MWC and Women’s EDGE Plan. These endeavors may include the addition of gender-
sensitive instructional materials in science high schools as provided by the Department
of Science and Technology. One of the DepEd’s plans is to incorporate gender-
sensitive principles into teaching guides for primary and secondary education. However,
DepEd has not introduced a core subject on gender and socialization, gender
development, and the like.

Inclusive Education and Alternative Learning Systems. DepEd recognizes the

need for alternative learning systems to help out-of-school youth and older students
who have yet to complete their primary education. DepEd also pushes for the creation
of Madrasah schools for the education of Muslim students and indigenous peoples. This
flexibility is necessary for students who could not complete their primary education due

112 | Page
to circumstances such as financial issues, early pregnancy, relocation and
displacement, and natural disasters. This display of sensitivity is essential in addressing
gendered issues experienced by students from different sectors. Several agencies
have also heightened their call to integrate women and girls with disabilities in regular
schools. This plan can be achieved by institutionalizing a Leadership Training Manual
for female PWDs developed by the National Commission on Disability Affairs.

Male Performance in Schools. According to statistics, female involvement in

education has increased, but male performance in schools has decreased. This
disparity calls for a need to find out why a more significant percentage of male students
drop out of school or do not enroll in the first place. What are the issues affecting boys
in education? Part of the feminist plan is to increase men, not just women's participation
in education.

Application

Activity 1.2: Questions for Review

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

20 / 15 / VERY 10/ AVERAGE 5 / NEEDS 2 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

113 | Page
organization. disoriented.

1. How do schools unconsciously promote the harmful biases of gender

stereotyping?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the importance of investing in quality education for both women and
______________________________________________________________________________
men?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Closure

Well done! You now have a full grasp of educational issues that women confront. Get
ready for the next topic. Keep going!

114 | Page
Lesson 2
Women and Work in the Philippines
______________________________________________________________________
Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. identify the primary issues that women confront in the labor and livelihood
sectors;
2. describe the importance of gender equality in the workplace and labor; and
3. list the policies that safeguard women's rights in the workplace and livelihood
______________________________________________________________________

Introduction
This part will help you understand the productive sphere and the
reproductive sphere, the sex-gender system, the valuation of care work, the laws about
women and employment. Lastly, issues that specific sectors face in the Philippines will
be given special attention.

Activity
Activity 2.1: Write down and outline the tasks you do in a day. What kind
of obligations or chores do you have at home? How about in school? In
minutes or hours, how long do you devote to each task?

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
115 | Page
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Analysis
1.Think about the sector you might be going into for your future career and
imagine yourself facing the same difficulties. How would you feel? What would
you do?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. What are some of the significant difficulties that women face in the workplace
and labor market?

3. What steps does the Philippine government take to address women's

workplace and labor market challenges?

Abstraction

116 | Page
The Role of Women in the Workplace
Given the current situation of our world, the adage "a woman's
labor is never done" resonates true. Women contribute to the
economy in various ways, from working in the production
sector to supporting reproductive workers. The impact of women is present in
development. Despite this progress, women still face the same issues they did ten
years ago, the wage gap, poverty, and the lack of decent work opportunities, all of
which affect men. Feminization is observed in some industries, while others impose
exclusion of women. Moreover, women face “restricted career options, a lack of support
services, sexual harassment, a lack of protection for the marginalized sector and
domestic workers, shaky social protection, inadequate labor standards monitoring, and
unrelenting labor export policy promotion.” One may ask what makes women so
different from men, such that they lag in terms of work.

The Right to Work

According to the Magna Carta of Women in a Respectable Environment, Women

have the right to decent labor. Specifically, Section 22 of the Magna Carta asserts that
“The state shall progressively realize and ensure decent work standards for women that
involve creating jobs of accessible quality in conditions of freedom, equity, security, and
human dignity.”

Women's decent work requires support services that consider their material
needs, family commitments, and job responsibilities. Decent work also involves access
to daycare services, breastfeeding stations, and maternity and paternity leave access.

Women's Multiple Burdens

Women who enter the workforce must still take care of their reproductive
responsibilities at home. Having both reproductive and productive work is what feminists
call the “double day” or “multiple burdens.” Household chores include cooking, cleaning,
washing the dishes, childcare, and caring for their homes' elderly or sick persons. While
this work benefits both men and women, the fact that these tasks fall on the shoulders
of women is often unquestioned.

The typical work environment pressures people to function efficiently and

effectively. This pressure may jeopardize workers’ time with their family or their own
social lives. It continues to plague women due to the societal expectation to care for
their children, severely limiting the possible work they can assume. If women work away
from home or take on the night shift, their relationship with their family may be
compromised. This concern becomes an issue if women are judged for taking on work
outside of the reproductive sphere.

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The perception of the multiple burdens of women compels many employers to
assume that women cannot commit to their work. Though illegal, employers may also
have specific preferences for single, unmarried women with no family obligations. They
are more flexible in terms of the time they can devote to their jobs. Note that these
issues are not considerations for hiring and promoting men.

One option to mitigate this concern is to have gender-responsive policies in the

workplace that allow both women and men to fulfill their duties at home. Procedures
may include granting maternity and paternity leaves and promoting men’s participation
in reproductive work.

The Nature of Women’s Paid Work

Women may be forced to take dangerous occupations, accept employment that

does not provide job security, or migrate overseas for better job possibilities due to a
lack of job options. Part-time work is also typical among women to balance their
reproductive requirements. Others choose to participate in informal labor. These types
of work involve less job security, lower wages, and less social protection. The idea that
women are merely casual workers makes them more susceptible to lower pay.

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises

A notable industry with active female participation in the Philippines is the micro,
small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The Philippines is the country with the second
most dynamic women in MSMEs, next to Peru. In 2015, around 45% of microenterprise
owners were women. Roughly 62% of these SMEs are made up of women.

An MSME is a small enterprise consisting only of the owner and the employee
with a business capital below 10,000. Most MSMEs are in the form of food stalls, retail
services, or personal services for women. However, an identified issue in this sector is
the lack of entrepreneurial knowledge and skills among owners. Women often embark
on MSME without careful thought about the feasibility and sustainability of their
businesses in the market. Tension also arises when these women give up their
business to return to their reproductive responsibilities.

The government has installed numerous economic support programs to assist

women in requesting loans and availing of funds in launching their businesses. These
efforts are among the capacity-building schemes being pursued by the government to
change women’s “survival” mindset to an “entrepreneurial” one. The Gender-
Responsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women (GREAT Women
Project), a gender-responsive initiative specially set up for women in microenterprises.
The Advancing Philippine Competitiveness (COMPETE) project is another endeavor
that supports small and medium enterprises. The United States funds it.

Women in the Rural/Agriculture Sector

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Agriculture is fundamental as it contributes to a nation’s food production and
industries and the national economy. In the Philippines, women farmers, and rural
women, in general, play an essential role in agriculture at all levels. Rural women are
recognized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as active economic actors.
They are among the landless laborers, agricultural and fishery dealers, and agents in
micro-manufacturing industries.

The Asian Development Bank cites agriculture as the second-largest sector of

women’s employment in the Philippines. However, few women farmers have access to
high-quality production inputs, credit, information on farming techniques, and markets.
They also must face domestic work and care burden challenges, limited access to
resources such as credit and financial services, inadequate education, government
services, disadvantages in social protection, and discrimination in most aspects of work
in the Philippine labor context. They were limited to property and decision-making also
women in the agricultural sector. The recognition of male adults as heads of the
household in rural communities makes women regarded as farmers or agricultural
holders, consequently reducing their decision-making position. Legal entitlements such
as certificate of land ownership award or land titles awarded to their names would have
provided women with formal and legal rights that could improve their access to financing
and credit facilities, among others.

Migrant Women

Many Filipinos, including the younger generations, aspire to go abroad as

overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in such territories as the Middle East, Europe of the
US. Sending Filipino workers abroad was initially a stopgap measure against the
unemployment crisis in the 1970s. However, what started as a trend became a primary
form of employment for many Filipinos. This almost male-dominated arena eventually
became the opposite as the demand for care workers increased due to the aging
population of the developed world. This phenomenon brought about the further
feminization of labor among Filipino workers.

As a result, more women OFWs were employed as laborers and “unskilled”
workers than their male counterparts in trade-related jobs such as plant and machine
operators and assemblers. This observation mirrors the United Nations Women
Committee findings that women OFWs are predominantly service workers whereas
male OFWs are mainly production workers.

Women OFWs are often reported to experience various challenges due to their
low skills and low education level. They are susceptible to abuse and exploitation,
illegal recruitment, contract substation, and debt bondage. Other women become
victims of human trafficking or sex trafficking because they were offered a front for an
unlawful recruitment scheme. Some women also experience violations of their sexual
and reproductive health due to various discrimination laws in the countries where they
work.

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The OFWs are a great resource to the country. Their hard work and sacrifices
must not be romanticized but rewarded with gender-responsive government projects.
One such project is the Balik Pinay! Balik-Hanapbuhay! Project. It aims to assist the
reintegration of women overseas workers in skill training in entrepreneurship and other
business-related topics once they return to the Philippines.

Women and the Domestic Sphere

The reproductive sphere is the women’s place, where she is said to have power
and authority. However, this glorification of women who are delegated to the domestic
sphere is mere tokenism. It ignores the fact that domestic women are dependent on
men for their income. The spending power of women is limited to their husband’s
salaries or the money that their husbands leave them.

Some women must work to supplement the meager income of their husbands.
They might engage in the informal economy or become casual workers to augment the
family’s income. Only middle or upper-class women are privileged enough to stay in
their homes and care for their families. These women may also hire domestic workers,
mostly poor women, to assist them in home and care duties.

The current model of the Philippine economy places value in monetary income
and devalues care work. It also isolated women from the public sphere and public
participation. This separation of the private and public spheres is an excuse for men to
dismiss their role as caregivers, using their earnings as a method to avoid the
responsibility for housework and childcare. Men hold the resources the women need to
survive - income. Thus, men may exercise direct power over women. Women’s
subordination is both a personal experience at home and a collective experience as it is
a phenomenon encountered by almost all women.

To address this problem, policies that seek to empower women in the economic
sphere have been formulated. These are as follows:

RA9501 or the Magna Carta for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
This law hopes to create policies that will assist women entrepreneurs in various stages
of development.

RA 10151 or an Act Allowing the Employment of Night Workers of 2011. It is a

response to Articles 130 and 131 of the Labor Code of the Philippines. The two articles
prohibit women from working the night shift due to their reproductive roles. As a result,
women's opportunities became severely limited, especially those working in the BPO
industry. The act aims to expand women’s employment or work options.

RA 10361 or the Domestic Workers Act of 2013 (Batas Kasambahay). The law
defines the labor rights of domestic household workers, the majority of which are
women, increases their minimum wage, and provides regular employment and social
protection benefits.

120 | Page
Application

Activity 2.2: Questions for Review

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

30 / 20 / VERY 15/ AVERAGE 10 / NEEDS 5 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

1. What do you think women's exceptional contributions to economic

development are?

3. What makes women in the informal sector especially vulnerable?

Closure
Congratulations! You have successfully finished this lesson.
More exciting topics are ahead. Enjoy learning!

122 | Page
Lesson 3
Women and Violence
______________________________________________________________________
Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. recognize the many types of violence directed towards women;

2. elucidate how women are affected by even the subtlest kinds of
violence; and
3. articulate ways to prevent violence against women
______________________________________________________________________

Introduction
This section will address violence against women (VAW), as
VAW is inextricably linked to women's issues. It describes VAW and explores the
different varieties of VAW and national and international laws and policies that can help
protect women against it. The impact of VAW on human beings and ideas of violence
and women's rights will be discussed.

Activity

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Activity 3.1: Look at the sector you have been working on and identify the practices that
manifest violence against women in the industry.

Analysis
1. Explain why you consider these practices to be acts of violence against women.

2. When is it appropriate to call an act a subtle kind of violence?

3. How might acts of violence against women be avoided?

Abstraction

124 | Page
Violence Against Women
Violence against women
is the idea of causing harm to others a complicated idea to grasp,
but the denial of a specific type of violence by most cultures is also saddening.

Why is there a distinction between male and female-related violence? Is violence

not enough of an umbrella term for any form of force or intimidation to harm. Yet,
categorizing VAW in the same category as other forms of violence ignores the gravity of
the crime.

While the women’s movement has discussed women’s issues and their right to
education and sovereignty, reproductive health rights, and reproductive problems, VAW
was only placed on the agenda beginning the 1980s. Why is this so? VAW is one of the
most taboo topics in feminism and has a long history of contention. There are two
reasons for disagreements. First, some people assume that gender-specific violence
does not exist. Second, those who witness and recognize violence against women view
it as usual and avoidable. Gender-specific violence is just part of how the world is, and
nothing can change it.

Additionally, there is the matter of who is involved in VAW. VAW happens most
often behind closed doors, not a concern of the state or society. It had such an
immense effect on women's mental health, which revealed how important the
discussion of VAW was in the public sphere. Incidents concerning VAW overlap with
other women’s issues, such as issues regarding work (sexual harassment in
employment), education (sexual harassment, rape), family life (incest, spousal abuse,
female genital mutilation).

Defining Violence Against Women

The Magna Carta of Women in the Philippines defines VAW as “any act of
gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or
psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or
arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.” VAW may be
one of the first crimes committed against a person because of their gender. Men are
less likely to be victims of violence because of their socially defined roles or physical
characteristics that deter others from doing so. Violence against men simply for
humiliating the male gender does not occur as much as the hostility experienced by
women.

Types of Violence Against Women

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There are two umbrella terms for VAW: sexual violence and physical violence.
While all anti-women violence is related to their gender, all VAW occurs because of the
disproportionate view concerning the worth of women. Sexual violence strikes when
women are perceived to be biologically different from men, which also serves as a basis
for gender roles.

Physical violence. Physical violence is the most evident type of VAW. It entails
inflicting bodily injury on another person.

Psychological violence. Psychological force or violence involves causing harm to

a victim through emotional manipulation resulting in mental suffering. These include
constant putting-down of a woman, diminishing her value because of her socially
constructed role, judging how she acts or what she does. The core idea of psychological
violence is that women are weaker and looked down on or controlled.

Mental infidelity is also considered a form of psychological VAW in marriage.

The supposed role of a woman in marriage includes being a good and faithful wife, and
infidelity may make her feel that she has little to no worth for her partner, lowering her
self-esteem.

Forcing a woman to witness a form of violence is also psychological violence.

Making her view graphic material or watch pornography she is not comfortable with can
be considered abuse. Stalking or harassment is a form of both sexual and psychological
violence. The deprivation of women’s rights to see a child can be regarded as
emotional manipulation and violence.

Economic Abuse or Violence. Economic abuse is the deprivation of a woman’s

financial independence. This can be realized through explicit acts such as denying
women the right to use property or materials legally hers, destroying her things, solely
controlling her money or property, or threatening to deprive her of financial support.
More subtle forms of economic abuse involve removing support from one’s partner,
having her father, spouse, or relative disallow her from participating in the labor market
or topping her from creating her income-generating project. The woman is exposed to
the risk of being refused support by her relatives or doing domestic labor to earn her
keep.

Sexual Violence. Sexual violence is defined as the forcing of unwanted sexual

acts upon a person. It is not limited to copulation; any action that is sexual can be
considered sexual violence. It ranges from rape, marital rape, incest, sexual abuse of
children to the sexual objectification of women and children. Molestation and the
attacking or unwanted touching of a woman’s private parts are included in this
definition.

Other forms of sexual violence defined by the Anti-Violence Against Women and
their Children Act of 2003 include forcing women or their children to watch pornography,

126 | Page
look at sexually suggestive material, or do indecent acts. It is also illegal to record or
video these acts.

Rape is defined as forced or coerced penetration of the vulva or anus using a

penis: other body parts or an object. Rape is considered rape even if the penetration is
minimal. Unsuccessful rape is called attempted rape. If more than one person commits
rape on any one person, it is called gang rape. Assaulting other sexual organs can be
considered sexual violence, including forced contact between sex organs or the mouth
and penis, vulva, or anus. The lack of consent is essential to sexual violence. The
person may be unable to give consent due to being drunk, drugged, or incapacitated.
Those who lack to understand the ramifications of their decision, such as children and
persons with disabilities, cannot consent for sex. Rape is more than an issue of sex
and lust; it is an issue of power. With rape comes the removal of free will and control of
the victim, attacking the person's dignity.

Marital rape includes acts that are covered by rape, although it occurs between a
married couple. While this form of violence is recognized by the law (Anti-Rape Law of
1997), there are cultural barriers to its full implementation. A woman who experiences
marital rape may be too ashamed to come forward as she feels that her issue is private.
Others may not even pursue their case against their husbands because they have
supposedly resolved the problems independently.

Incest. Incest refers to sexual acts done between family members or closely
related persons. The root of incest comes from the violation of a victim's trust in their
assailant. It concerns the lack of power. Victims lose their voice to speak up regarding
the abuse because they may not know that what is happening to them is wrong, as in
young children or because the perpetrator threatens them to keep quiet about the
interaction. Victims may feel that they must fulfill the elder’s wish to sexual acts for
survival because they take care of them. Victims may also keep silent to keep the peace
in their family or community.

Incest may occur inside or outside of the home. Often, there is a relationship
between the victim and the perpetrator before the act though not necessarily be blood
relatives. Incest may also involve the neighbor who the family trusted to care for the
child or the caregiver or nanny.

Cultural Practices and Sexual Violence. Some cultural practices may be

considered as forms of sexual violence. Forcing children to become child brides is a
cultural practice that can be classified as sexual violence. Female genital mutilation
also falls under this category because it involves explicit acts that harm a person’s
sexual organs. While one can argue that these practices are cultural and sometimes
considered sacred, they may be harmful to women and is, therefore, a form of violence.

Sexual Harassment. Sexual harassment is a specific form of sexual violence

that occurs outside one’s home. The sexual act may not necessarily be forced or take a
physical form. The Philippine Anti-Sexual Harassment Law of 1995 defines sexual

127 | Page
harassment as the demand of sexual act or favor in an institution wherein a person
demands moral ascendency or influence over the person being solicited. It is
considered harassment regardless of whether the victim agrees to partake in the act. If
a woman feels discomfort or distress during the request, solicitation, or action, it is
considered harassment.

The UN Women Watch has a list of possible acts of sexual harassment. These
include verbal, physical, and non-verbal incidents. Whistling at someone; catcalling;
making sexual comments about a person's body; sexual innuendos; bringing up sexual
themes in the workplace; delivering sexual jokes or anecdotes; inquiring about sexual
fantasies, preferences, or history; inquiring about personal questions about social or
sexual life; making kissing sounds, howling or smacking lips; asking about personal
questions about social or sexual life; making kissing sounds, howling or smacking lips;
enquiring about sexual remarks made regarding a person's clothing, anatomy, or
appearance; Telling lies or spreading rumors about a person's personal sex life; and
persistently asking someone out who isn't interested. Non-verbal incidents include the
following: staring or leering at someone; looking someone up and down; blocking one’s
path; following the person; stalking; giving unwanted gifts; gesturing sexually; licking
one’s lips; and throwing kisses.

Sexual harassment is an issue because it is “a form of gender-based violence,

which seriously inhibits women’s ability to avail rights and freedoms based on equality
with men.

Violence Against Women in Public Spaces

Sexual harassment in a public place is known as street harassment. A prior

relationship between the assailant and the victim is not required. The harassment may
involve catcalls, shouting of sexual obscenities, unwanted sexual gestures, blocking a
person’s path, indecent exposure, grouping, and the like. These actions create a hostile
public environment, and women are primarily victims. Street harassment creates an
environment of fear, often linked to male violence and sexual violence.

Street harassment is about power and the desire to show control over another
gender (usually male to a female) and remind the other gender that they are nothing
more than sexual objects to be scrutinized or used by the dominant gender, especially
in public spaces.

Pornography. Pornography may be the most controversial issue in the feminist

circle. It is defined as the “representation of a person engaging in actual or simulated
explicit sexual actions or any representation of the sexual parts of a person for
principally sexual purposes” by publication, exhibition, cinematography, indecent shows,
information technology, or any other means. It is any product that has sexually explicit
acts, which are sold for consumption. The idea of selling and consuming bodies visually
is present in pornography. However, some pieces that illustrate explicit sexual acts are
considered erotic art, thus creating a blurry line between erotica and pornography. This

128 | Page
becomes a problem when women are seen as props for someone’s sexual fantasy and
nothing else.

Prostitution. Any act, transaction, arrangement, or design involving the use of

another person for sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct in exchange for money,
profit, or any other consideration is considered prostitution. The woman and the person
she has to serve sexual favors do not need to be in a relationship. Like pornography,
prostitution involves the buying and selling of sexual intercourse or sex-related
activities.

Issues that are related to prostitution involve sex tourism, sexual exploitation, and
sex slavery. Sex tourism uses sexual services as a selling point for tourism in which a
person may go to a specific location to experience sexual activities. Escort services are
also considered forms of sex tourism. Sexual exploitation is the participation of a
woman in the sex industry because of force or intimidation. When a woman is
compelled to enter this industry because of a lack of options, exploitation occurs.
Women who are deceived into entering the sex industry and cannot leave
independently become sex slaves. An example of sexual slavery was the situation of
the comfort women during World War II.

Sex trafficking. Sex trafficking involves relocating a woman from one place to
another without knowing where they are going. These women often agree to go to
these places because they were promised employment from a legitimate employer.

Spiritual Violence. Spiritual force is a form of violence against women that uses
religion or spirituality to discredit, harm, or disempower them. It happens when
influential religious leaders are supposedly religious ideologies to control and rule over
women. Part of this violence involves sexual abuse, such as when women are called to
be sacrificed as virgins to the leader. These acts are forms of rape and sexual
molestation often seen in cults that abuse and exploit their members.

Prevention and Response

Three things are to be considered when looking at the cause of VAW: one’s
personal experience, one’s context, and one’s culture and society. On a personal level,
one can view VAW based on their relationships and the actual relationship between the
victim and the perpetrator. Formal and informal structures surrounding the victim, such
as her school, neighborhood, church, and workplace, can affect how she views and
experiences VAW. Lastly, her environment also affects her notion of VAW.

Perhaps the perpetuation of VAW is a result of its normalization in society. VAW

can be wrongly perceived as a form of love because of how some institutions
romanticizes it. A man stalking a woman and being overly possessive can be justified
as trying and “caring” for the woman. Jealousy that limits one’s movement is seen as a
partner’s right. Moreover, gender roles can be factors that add to the culture of VAW. A

129 | Page
good example is the “macho culture,” or the need to prove one’s manliness by causing
aggression in all forms.

Weak policies and legal sanctions put people at risk of experiencing VAW and
its effects. The lack of awareness of VAW and one’s rights also affects one’s
perception of VAW. Different agencies should respond appropriately in educating
people about VAW, its cost, and its effect on one’s health. Supporting national efforts
and groups VAW and care for its victims can help tackle the issue at its root. VAW is
a very personal issue. The stigma associated with reporting VAW is a major issue
that hinders these cases from being addressed. It is every citizen’s responsibility to
foster a culture that makes VAW unacceptable.

Application

Activity 3.2: Questions for Review

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

30 / 20 / VERY 15/ AVERAGE 10 / NEEDS 5 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

130 | Page
Organization The Paper (and The The There is no
organization paragraphs) organizational arrangement of apparent feeling of
enhances are mainly structure is parts does not direction in writing.
and organized, strong make sense, There is no
highlights the in order, enough to although the discernible internal
central idea and make guide the order of structure; ideas,
or subject. sense to reader sentences within details, or events
The reader is the reader. through the paragraphs appear to be
lured into the material does. linked together
text by the without haphazardly or
material's causing them randomly.
order and to become
organization. disoriented.

1. How could a person, for example, avoid various types of violence against
women?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. What are these VAW's negative consequences and subtle forms? What
about a VAW's unsettling effect on witnesses?

3. What are the costs involved in treating someone who experienced VAW? Is
VAW prevention more cost-effective than responding to a VAW victim?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Closure
131 | Page
Well done! You now understand women and violence. Get ready for the last topic.
Keep going!

Lesson 4
Masculinity
______________________________________________________________________
Objectives:

132 | Page
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. explain why it is essential to understand that masculinity is a construer;

and
2. state why the concept of masculinity can be oppressive to men.
______________________________________________________________________

Introduction
A book on women should include men as well. Gender equality can be seen as
anything beneficial both to women and men. This part will discuss the idea of manhood
and masculinity. The discussion of masculinities will center around straight or
heterosexual men. It is essential to discuss that masculinity is the prevalent notion
which shapes all aspects of society, from politics and legislation to schoolyard
interactions. Only then can one see the effect of gender inequality and gender
socialization on both genders.

Activity
Activity 4.1: Make a poster that reflects your views on masculinity.

Analysis
133 | Page
1. How do boys become boys?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. What makes a boy as a boy as imposed by your friends? By your school? By

your church? By the media?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

3. How are your findings above like each other? How are they different?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Abstraction

Beginning of Masculinity

Carol Gilligan, an American psychologist, known for her study of women’s way of
learning, noted that women’s ways of learning said that women’s socialized roles as
caregivers tasked them with caring for young children.

More traditional household models have the men working solely outside of their
homes, making them absent during a child’s early years. This scenario leaves young
boys with no male model to learn from. The presence of females and the absence of the
male lead to boys learning masculinity through disassociation from their mothers. The
analysis of boyhood shows that men know to be men through disassociation and

134 | Page
separation. Gilligan posits that it may be the root of men’s problems – men learn to be
men through disassociation.

Boys and then later young men learn masculinity from what they see on media
and interactions in their schools. The lack of empathy of men may be rooted in the fact
that they are socialized to be unlike women who must have the compassion to raise
children. What then happens when what is shown on television normalizes sexism,
violence, and the objectification of women?

What Makes a Man a Man?

One can say that man is strong, but the degree of strength may depend on age,
biology, and physical ability. Similarly, people may have different kinds of power, from
physical to emotional and even mental. Is a man less of a man because he is physically
weaker than his wife? Or because he earns less than his female counterpart? Manhood
can be described through adjectives – tough, brave, strong – but whose definition is
often continuously evolving. Sociologist, Michael Kimmel, describes the specific
meaning of masculinity to be fluid. However, one thing remains constant the need to
prove one’s masculinity, regardless of how it is defined in each culture at a specific
period.

Kimmel identifies four rules of American masculinity in the 1970s as described by

the psychologist Robert Brannon:

1. No Sissy Stuff: Masculinity is built on a constant rejection of femininity. Being a

sissy is never a part of masculinity.
2. Be a Big Wheel: The size of your paycheck is how we judge manhood. Wealth,
clout, and status are all markers of masculinity. As a US bumper sticker put it:
“He who has the most toys when he dies wins.”
3. Be a Sturdy Oak: What distinguishes a guy from a woman is his ability to rely
on him in a crisis. And the fact that he resembles an inanimate object makes him
trustworthy. A tree, a pillar, and a rock.
4. Send them to Hell: Exude a fearless and aggressive demeanor. Take chances
and live on the ledge. Take a chance.

While these factors may have changed, some remain true until today but in
different forms. Joseph Vandello and Jennifer Bosson, two psychologists who study
manhood, added various forms of masculinities. However, only one masculinity
dominates the gender hierarchy above all femininities and other masculinities at a given
time. This is known as hegemonic masculinity. It explains why some men who act a
certain way feel like they can dominate men and women. Vandello and Bosson also
show factors that surround manhood: Hard to win, constant proof, and easy to lose.

Proving Masculinity

135 | Page
The fact is that masculinity is so strongly connected to a shared gender identity
that men must constantly prove their masculinity to other men. Men perform their
masculinity primarily to and for other men. They also compare themselves to other men,
as was done in childhood. Women may even be the objects or the means to the end of
impressing other men.

Other men may win manhood through physical activities, sports, or even through
public acts of homophobia. The idea that manhood requires proof places men in
positions to commit dangerous or violent tasks. Alternatively, men will also avoid or
even ridicule tasks that challenge their manhood, such as doing activities usually
performed by women.

Masculinity as Homophobia

Manhood, at its essence, is still defined as womanhood or in opposition to

women. Women and non-dominant masculinities are seen as the other in which
heterosexual men project their identities, against whom they stock the desks to compete
in a situation that they will always win. By suppressing them, men may stake a claim for
them their manhood.

The argument for the conditions of manhood blinds people to the content of
manhood or the behavior that men must display. This content is equally important to
note. It provides one with the expected behaviors and behaviors to explain why men do
what they do and how gender drives these behaviors. For example, is the condemning
of non-masculine actions. A true man must then have aversions to anything feminine or
consciously declare themselves as secure with their masculinity before being
stereotypically feminine.

Masculinity, through its dissociation with women and femininity, may have
become a form of homophobia. Homophobia is not the fear of gay men but the fear that
a man can become gay or feminine. Kimmel sees homophobia as the cause of sexism,
racismasculinity. In its extreme self, masculinity then is the desire to be not women or
not feminine, which has become fragile due to the changing gender norms of society.

Masculinity as Power

The ever-pervading fear of losing one’s masculinity may be tied to the fear of
losing power. Masculinity is about power: a masculine man is a powerful man who
controls various resources. When the man is challenged, he loses power unless he
defends himself. Masculinity is challenged when a man is associated with the feminine
or perhaps when he is seen supporting women or members of the LGBT. While making
sexist, homophobic, or racist statements are often part and parcel of heterosexual
masculinity, silence, and consent to these put-downs gender-biased violence and
oppressive structures thriving in society. This fear causes silence to be mistaken for
approval – men consent to what is being done to women and the LGBTs, those without
power, and the like. Those who do not speak up and condone gay bashing, rape jokes,

136 | Page
and sexist comments. Accepting these comments keeps this harmful system running.
Masculinity has this power over men: the fear of becoming effeminate when they stand
to defend non-dominant masculinity. This fear is a representation demonstrating that
society thinks lowly of women.

Men as the Masculine Generic and Male Entitlement

When people think of gender, they readily think of the female or the LGBTs, and
rarely the male. Men are viewed as the masculine generic, so gender studies often only
bring women to mind. Privilege has made a man’s gender invisible – a man’s gender is
not essential to his being, as there are no societal barriers that hinder him access goods
because of his gender. However, gender is something that significantly influences a
man’s life.

The lack of recognition that men are gendered beings has excluded men from
conversations on gender. This lack of recognition has made women’s, the LGBTs', and
other’s fights for gender equality a fight solely a non-straight, non-male concern. This
view was very different from how men saw themselves. Men do not know that they are
included in this discourse since they are considered gender beings. Men may see
themselves as weak, although numerous privileges are afforded to them at work,
school, and growing up. The gender movement constantly speaks of men and their
rights, yet men are unaware of the wrong idea of manhood that society forces on men.
Even those in power may be constrained by gender. Furthermore, men may feel the
need to prove their manhood through violence, addiction, and oppressing non-dominant
groups.

Men and Fragile Masculinity

One buzzword that surrounds masculinity involves what is called fragile

masculinities. Men have the privilege of being the generic template of a human being.
Given their right, men may ignore their gender completely. Unless society challenges or
brings attention to their manhood, it will never be questioned. Masculinity is fragile
because it can be easily lost.

The idea of precarious manhood perhaps comes from the idea that women
indeed have been changing their ways of life. With manhood as something that is so
quickly challenged or lost, it isn't easy to maintain manhood if the very thing men have
used to define themselves is changing. After all, womanhood is retained, inherited,
inborn, and remains secure.

The Responsibility of Man

It is necessary to change men's attitudes towards gender equality to show them

that it is also beneficial to be allies for gender equality. After all, it takes both genders’
cooperation to change the sexist culture.

137 | Page
Men’s gender identity is rooted in their dissociation with women may be viewed
as the cause of man’s gender confusion, unlike women who have been afforded the
same opportunities through gender equality. Unexpectedly, what men have used to
define their masculinity has taken over their masculine roles. Perhaps an end to
traditional masculinity, given its harmful nature, could be the big stop in the direction of
global equal rights.

Application

Activity 4.2: Questions for Review

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

20 / 15 / VERY 10/ AVERAGE 5 / NEEDS 5 / UNACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

1. How do you explain the statement “Masculinity is a socially constructed set of

attributes that defines how to be manly”? Why do people need to understand
that masculinity is a social construct?

138 | Page
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. Why is it essential for Filipino men to prove that they are not effeminate?
Would this kind of thinking lead to creative or destructive behaviors?

Closure
Congratulations on a job well done. You have successfully finished
Module 3 – Some Cross-cutting Issues in Gender and society.

139 | Page
Is Gender Equality Possible?

As the world’s civilizations have changed, women are taking on other roles they
have only been allowed to pursue in recent years. They are now laborers, activists,
social reformers, soldiers, artists, entrepreneurs, and leaders. They have taken on every
job alongside men, demonstrating that they are equal but different. With the enormous
accomplishments of women in various professions, it is clear to all those women are
men's equals. They should be given equal rights depending on their abilities, functions,
and requirements. They should enjoy equal opportunities to develop and realize their
capabilities. Realization of these endeavors may help us achieve genuine gender
equality.

Furthermore, to attain equality, society should be reformed. No matter how

progressive and liberal an organization has become, it has cultivated some form of
oppression against women, from the most intimate relationships to the most brutal
forms of exploitation. Everyone must get an agent in exposing and transforming these
harmful systems into a more gender-responsive one. It must start at a more personal
level. It is imperative to awaken the hearts of individuals to the violence that permeates
society for them to resist this violence and reform their actions. This is a challenge to
those who are open to thinking about gender and development.

Nevertheless, it is difficult for people who wish to live caring and creative lives not
to perpetrate violence against women when the structures make non-violence the more
complex alternative. Similarly, it is difficult for men not to think of women as sex objects
when art, pornography, and entertainment portray them as such. Violence against
women becomes acceptable when women are considered the lesser sex and only exist
to serve men. The social structures that allow these forms of abuse should be
transformed.

Women need to be liberated to legislate and otherwise create policies to

eliminate violence against women. Policies aimed at correcting the historical injustices
that place women at a disadvantage should also be instituted. To give women the
freedom to choose how to flourish as people, policies that encourage their
empowerment and discourage discrimination should be present. More importantly,
women leaders must be current from every sector to advocate for women's
development. The country needs more women leaders who would advocate for social
reform. The first step to this goal is education, awareness-raising, and consciousness-
building. Hopefully, this work would contribute to the formation of leaders with an
awareness of gender and a genuine desire for gender and equality.

140 | Page
Congratulations!!!

You have just finished your journey toward a better knowledge of men and
women, as well as the prospect of creating a more gender-responsive society.
You are one step closer to realizing your ambition of working in the industry you
have chosen.

141 | Page
References

Andreassi, J. K., and Thompson, C. A. (2008). Handbook of Work-Family Integration,

from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/women-and-
development

Napikoski, L. (2020). Oppression and Women’s History.

https://www.thoughtco.com/oppression-womens-history-definition-3528977

Peralta, E.A., Botor, M.J., and Laude, T.R. (2019). Gender and society: A human
ecological approach. Manila: Rex Book Store

Philippine Summary (2002). Gender Profile of the Philippines. From:

https://www.jica.go.jp/english/our_work/thematic_issues/gender/background/
c8h0vm0000anjqj6-att/philippines_summary_2008.pdf

Pitcher, J (2005). Fifty key concepts in gender studies. New Delhi: Sage Publication.

Rodriguez, A.M., and Rodriguez. A.M.L. (2018). Gender and Society. Quezon City: C &
E Publishing Inc

The Women Development Code of Davao City and its Implementing Rules and
Regulations (2017). From: https://www.philippinecouncilorsleague.org/wp-
content/uploads/2017/07/Women-Code.pdf

142 | Page

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