GNED 10 (GENDER AND SOCIETY)

 Gender- a casual notion of distinction as male or female, man or woman, and boy or girl.
 Each person has individual desires, thoughts, and feelings regardless of their gender.
Gender and Development: Historical Background
 1945 United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948
- Established the first official worldwide recognition of women’s equality and non-
discrimination on the basis on sex. On late 1960’s the focus was shifted on women’s
reproductive roles, as women were seen as wives and mothers and their main issues
were supposed to be obtaining access to food, contraceptives, nutrition, and health
care.
First World Conference for Women held in Mexico in 1974
- UN decade for women with “76-85” and the promotion of Women in Development (WID)
approach emphasized women’s right to development, recognition of women’s economic
role in national economies and, most significantly, gave a voice to women in developing
countries.
In the late 80’s the Gender and Development (GAD) approach was developed.
- Its goal was to improve the development model by “removing disparities in social,
economic, and political balances between women and men as a pre-condition for
achieving people-centered development.
- Alternative to Women in Development
- Unlike WID, GAD is not concerned specifically with women but with the way society
assigns roles, responsibilities, and expectation of both men and women.
GAD focuses in two major frameworks:
 Gender Roles
- It focuses on social construction of identities with the household; it also reveals
expectation from “maleness and femaleness” in their relative access to sources.
 Social Relations
 Exposes the social dimensions of hierarchal power relations imbedded in social
institutions; also it’s determining influence on “the relative position of women in society”

 GAD policies aim to redefine traditional gender role expectations

In 1990’s
 The gender perspective is still struggling to be clearly set into the development agenda
of international treaties or objectives such as the Millennium Developmental Goals. The
principles only focus on gender equality and did not give much emphasis on women’s
accessibility to other development opportunities.

Gender: A Social Reality

  Gender as it is strongly believed is evidently a social construction which resulted from
the sociocultural influences along the process of an individual’s development.
 Gender identity can be affected by social various factors and it may also appear
different from one society to another depending on the way members of the way the
members of society evaluate and understand these unique roles attributed one as
female or male.
 It can also be influenced from the ethnic origin of the group, their traditional practices,
mores, and beliefs as salient framework of their cultural background like family values
and religion.
SEX
 Biological distinction of being male and female.
GENDER
 more than a mental construct but a tangible structure feature of society which provides
sociological significance to society to device appropriate social controls among its members
such as rules, policies, guidelines or ordinances aiming to protect and secure each gender
individual rights and privileges.
SEXISM
 any bias against an individual or group based on the individual’s or group’s sex
GENDER DISCRIMINATION
 Term or behavior associated to sexism against an individual as indicative stereotyped beliefs
against women in particular. Stereotypes are baseless assumption about the characteristics,
attributes, and behaviors of members of certain groups and most of them are sociocultural
beliefs.

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

 Mainstreaming – or integrating gender into development planning in all sectors of society
requires a uniform understanding of various concepts. These concepts include the concept of
gender as compared with sex, and the concept of mainstreaming or integration itself. The
rationale for mainstreaming and the gains that could be achieved from such a strategy should
also be clearly understood.
 Development – Sustained capacity to achieve a better life.
 Quality of life involves:
a. The capacity to do
b. The capacity to be
c. …
 Development aims at the fulfillment of three (3) basic human needs:
a. The ability to provide for basic necessities
b. The ability to become persons with identity, dignity and self-worth; and
c. The ability to exercise freedom and responsibility
Gender and Development (GAD)
  Refers to the development perspective and process that is participatory and
empowering, equitable, sustainable, free from violence, respectful to human rights,
supportive of self-determination and actualization of human potentials. It seeks to
achieve and contends that women are active agents of development, not just passive
recipients of development
 GAD as an approach and practice perspective should be carried out by all, especially
those working in the government. Some people will think that studying gender and
development is difficult and it is only for technical people or those experts who studied
gender.
The rationale of the Gender and Development is generally summed up through the following:
1. Compliance – The general Appropriations Act (GAA) states that our government should have
a GAD program to which at least 5% of an agency’s total budget should be allotted.
2. Commitment – The Philippines is committed internationally by virtue of being a signatory in
the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) or otherwise
known as the International Bill on Rights of Women. As a signatory to this international law,
which was signed by 179 countries

CHAPTER 1. SOCIETY
 Society is defined as a grouping of individuals, which is characterized by common
interest and may have distinctive culture and institutions. It is definitely an organized
group of people associated together for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific,
political, patriotic or other purposes to obtain a common goal.
 Human beings are inherently and essentially social creatures, with the desire and need
to be in close contact with others and environment. Beginning with the family, human
life is one medium for interdependence and sharing of physical, mental, and spiritual
items.
ETHNIC GROUP
 An ethnic group is a human population whose members identify with each other usually on the
basis of a presumed common genealogy or lineage.
 Usually united by common cultural, behavioral, linguistic, or religious practices.
CHIEFDOM
 Is any community led by an individual known as a chief. In anthropological theory, one model
of human social development describes chiefdom as a form of social organization more
complex than a tribe, and less complex than a state or civilization.
STATE
 Political association with effective dominion over a geographic area. It usually includes the set
of institutions that claim the authority to make rules that govern the people of society in that
territory, though its status as a state often depends in part over it. In sociology, the state is
normally identified with these institutions: in Max Weber’s influential definition, it is that
organization that has a “monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a given
territory”, which may include the armed forces, civil service, or state bureaucracy, courts, and
police.
BAND
 A band society is the simplest form of human society. A band generally consist of a small
kinship group, often no longer than an extended family or small clan. Bands have very informal
leadership; the older members of the band generally are looked to for guidance and advice,
but there are none of the written laws and law enforcement like that seen in more complex
society.
CLAN
 Group of people united by kinship and descent, which is defined by perceived descent from a
common ancestor. As kinship based bonds can be merely symbolic in nature, some clans
share a “stipulated” common ancestor, which is symbol of the clan’s unity.
TRIBE
 Consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of states, though
some modern theorists hold that “contemporary” tribes can only be understood in terms of their
relationship to states.
SOCIETY IN VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES:
1. Evolutionary
2. Political
3. Economical

CHAPTER 2: GENDER
GENDER
 Socially-constructed notion of and relationships between men and women.
 Concerns men and women including conceptions of both femininity and masculinity.
 According to FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), Gender is not determined
biologically, as a result of sexual characteristics of either women or men, but is
constructed socially.
 Gender has become more fluid – it may or may not depend upon biological traits alone.
 It is not limited to being a man, woman, transgender, intersex, gender queer and other gender
orientations or dispositions.
Sociology of Gender
 Sex - are the biological traits that societies use to assign people into the category of either
male or female.
 The sociology of gender examines how society influences our understandings and perception
of differences between masculinity and femininity.
Sexuality
 It is about sexual attraction, sexual practices and identity
 People can identify along a wide spectrum of sexualities from heterosexual, to gay or lesbian,
to bisexual, to queer, and so on.
Gender and Sexuality
  People identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transpeople or intersex (LGBTI) often face
discrimination, bullying or violence.
 Sex is a biological classification based on body parts.
 Gender is a social classification based on one's identity, presentation of self, behaviour, and
interaction with others.

GENDER
Transpeople
 Transpeople refers to when a person identifies with the opposite gender those who identify
themselves opposite to their sex-assigned at birth and eventually to their gender.
 This is a broad term often used to refer to either transsexual and/or transgender.
Transexual
 transexual individuals identify as the opposite gender to their biological sex. Physical
transformations.
Transgender
 Transgender is most often used to describe non-traditional gender behaviours or identities.
Intersex
 Refers to a range of conditions where a person’s sex is not strictly male or female.
SEXUALITY
 Young people often begin to explore and understand their sexuality throughout their
adolescent and childhood years, with many including straight, gay, lesbian and bisexual people
are aware of sexual attractions from an early age
Heterosexual or Straight
 Heterosexual refers to when people tend to be attracted to the opposite sex or gender.
Gay
 Gay refers to same-sex attraction and is most often used to in reference to men.
Lesbian
 Women who are mostly attracted to other women, or people identifying as women.
Bisexual
 Individuals who are attracted to both sexes and genders. Pansexual or pan is also often to
indicate a diverse sexuality, and attraction to people regardless of their gender.
Asexual
 Individuals who do not or have not yet experienced sexual attraction to anyone.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
 Which describes patterns of emotional, romantic and sexual attraction to people.
 Refers to each person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to,
and intimate and sexual relations with individuals of a different gender or the same gender or
more than one gender.
FORMS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION
A. HOMOSEXUAL
 Refers to a person who is emotionally, physically, and sexually attracted to those of the
same sex/gender.
B. HETEROSEXUAL
 Refers to a person who is emotionally, physically, and sexually attracted to those of the
opposite sex/gender.
C. BISEXUAL
 Refers to a person who is emotionally, physically, and sexually attracted to individuals
of more than one gender.
D. PANSEXUAL
 Refers to a person who is capable emotionally, physically, and sexually attracted to
anyone regardless of their biological sex and gender identity.
E. ASEXUAL
 Person who is not physically and sexually attracted to anyone but has the same
emotional needs as everybody.

GENDER EXPRESSION
An external manifestation of person’s gender identity, expressed through one’s name,
pronouns, clothing, voice, and body characteristics.
A. MASCULINE
 A person who has qualities and characteristics which are traditionally associated with a
man.
B. FEMININE
 A person who has qualities and characteristics which are traditionally associated with a
woman.
GENDER NEUTRAL

A person whose qualities and characteristics differ from those which are traditionally
associated with a man or a woman.
C. GENDER NEUTRAL
 A person whose qualities and characteristics differ from those which are traditionally
associated with a man or a woman.
D. ANDROGYNOUS
 A person whose qualities and characteristics are combination of those traditionally
associated with a man or a woman
GENDER SOCIALIZATION
- Is the process of learning the social expectations and attitudes associated with one’s sex
MAJOR AGENTS OF GENDER SOCIALIOZATION
1. PARENTS FAMILY
2. TEACHERS SCHOOL
3. PEERS
4. MEDIA
5. CHURCH RELIGION
6. THROUGHOUT LIFE
COMMON STEREOTYPES

1. RACIAL PROFILING
2. GENDER PROFILING
3. CULTURES
4. GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS
5. SEXUAL STEREOTYPES

IMPLICATIONS OF STEREOTYPES

 VIOLATIONS AGAINST WOMEN

 CULTURE GAPS
 GENDER INEQUALITY
IDENTIFIED GENDER INEQUALITY

 LACK OF MOBILITY
 FREEDOM OF MARRIAGE
 DISCRIMINATORY DIVORCE RIGHTS
 CITIZENSHIP
 CUSTODY RIGHTS
 VIOLENCE
 PROFESSIONAL OBSTACLES
 RESTRICTED LAND OWNERSHIP
GENDER AS SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION
- Comes out of the general school of thought entitled social constructionism. It implies on how
people see “reality” or how they react to it or response to any social situation is attributed if not
entirely by one’s gender.
- Gender is maintained as a category through a socially constructed displays of gender.
- Gender is interactional rather than individual - social relationships.
- Gender is also omnirelevant people are always judging our behavior to be either male or
female.

GENDER ROLE
- Set of societal norms dictating what types of behaviors are general, considered acceptable,
appropriate, or desirable for a person based on their actual or perceived sex.
Sandra Lipsitz Bem (1981)
- Developed gender schema theory to explain how individuals come to use gender as an
organizing category in all aspects of their life.
Talcott Parsons
- Developed a model of the nuclear family in 1995.
John Money
- Developed the use of gender to describe one’s feelings about oneself.
Robert Stoller
- Focused on gender identity rather than gender role.
Judith Butler
- Asserted that gender is fluid rather than dichotomous, that gender was an activity rather than a
trait one has.
GENDER SENSITIVITY
- Is the ability to recognize gender issues and especially the ability to recognize women’s different
perceptions and interest arising from different social location and different gender roles.
GENDER DIFFERENCES
COGNITIVE ABILITIES
- Boys are good at math; girls are good at English.
PERSONALITY TRAITS AND SELF ESTEEM
- Women tend to score higher in anxiety and neuroticism, but also in extraversion
- Men have higher self-esteem.
ATTITUDES
- Women tend to be more liberal than men on social issues.
BEHAVIOR
- Men are more interested in things; women are more interested in people.
GENDER NEUTRALITY
- The idea that policies, language, and other social institutions should avoid distinguishing roles
according to people ’ s sex or gender, in order to avoid discrimination.
GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT (GAD)
- Philippine Plan for Gender and Development, 1995-2025, is a National Plan that addresses,
provides and pursues full equality and development for men and women. Approved and
adopted by former President Fidel V. Ramos as Executive No. 273, on September 8, 1995, it is
 the successor of the Philippine Development Plan for Women, 1989-1992 adopted by Executive
No. 348 of February 17, 1989.

RATIONALE FOR GAD

 COMPLIANCE – General Appropriations Act (GAA) states that our government should have a GAD
Program to which at least 5% of an agency’s total budget should be allotted.

 COMMITMENT
- The Philippines is committed internationally by virtue of being a signatory in the Convention on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) or otherwise known as the International Bill on
Rights of Women. As a signatory to this international law, which was signed by 179 countries, the
Philippines is committed for Gender and Development.

- Nationally, the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article II. Section 14 states that “The State recognizes the
role of women in nation building and shall promote the FUNDAMENTAL EQUALITY before the law of
women and men. ” As well as the Magna Carta of Women (MCW) – R.A. 9710 establishes the
Philippine government’s pledge of commitment to the CEDAW. It is the local translation of the
provisions of the CEDAW, particularly in defining gender discrimination, state obligations, substantive
equality, and temporary special measures. (Republic Act 9710).