SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF GI-

Family, Caste, Religion, Culture, Region, Media

& Popular Culture
 Gender Identity

gender identity is about

how you identify as male
or female.
It is important along children to make
choices regarding what sports and other
activities will get involved in.

Other factors like setting norms,

assignment of tasks, modeling of
behaviour & rewards & punishments
 Ways to identify gender
Clothing or hair style
preferred name or nickname
social behaviour that reflects varying degrees of
aggression, dominance, dependency and
gentleness
manner and style of behaviour and physical
gestures and other non- verbal action identified as
masculine or feminine
social relationships including the gender of friends
and the people he or she decided to imitate
Piaget : states ‘observation’

Santrock (1994): hair,clothes & shoes

Fox(1993): girls are shy &weak, boys are

strong & bold , stereotyped behaviour
 In short
GI construction found to associated
with:

Physical structure
Physical power
Outlook
Profession
Cultural Practices
 S0CIAL CONSTRUCTION OF GI- Family

In ancient India women’s position is not

pathetic.
Rugveda: woman is like a empress –
mastery over the skills – enjoys freedom,
honour & affections
Equal status in Vedic period – word
‘Dampati’
During Medieval period status of
women started deteriorating
Female infanticide, Sati, child
marriage, purdah, polygamy
At present little development in our
women’s status & condition within
the family.
Through EDUCATION:
Conscious of Health & Hygiene
(herself & family)
Widen occupational opportunities
Decision making power
 Still……..problems

Dowry
Sex-selective abortion
Female feticides
Honour killing
Domestic violence
 S0CIAL CONSTRUCTION OF
GI-Family
The family is the primary agent of socialization.

Talcott Parson call it is the most important agent of

socialization and apply states that children had children
find gender identity at home through following:
Environment
family talk
culture
tradition
family activities
rules and principles
thinking or ideology
behavioural aspect
interest of family
beliefs
providing work
Attachment
visual ability
 what parents can do
children's book on puzzles showing men and
women in non- stereotypical and diverse gender
roles.
wide range of toys for all children
by age 6 most children spend the majority of the
playtime with members of their own sex and may
gravitate towards sports and other activities that
area associated with their gender
 Caste
Historical background:

Rig-veda –Patriarchy

Niyoga practice- man marry his brother’s

widow

Manusmrutri- patriarchy values

Sexuality of upper caste women was
controlled by restricting her movements
Lower caste women are often sexually
exploited by upper caste men
Their children did not get legitimate place
In Maharashtra – ‘Tamasha’ ‘ Devdasi
system’
Differences: division of labour by name of
‘Khandan’
Khap panchayat is monitored by sexuality of
women through violence & force.
Kadimod
Women are still..
Sexual abuse: rape, appalling working conditions,
limited access to basic needs
Deprived from human rights: property resources
like land, health check up etc.
Facing sexual slavery, social exclusion
 UN: Dalit women
Verbal abuse62.4%
Physical assault 58.4%
Sexual harassment &assault 56.8%
domestic violence 43.%
rape 23.2%
Education slowly changing the
scenario & more women are
protesting derogatory customs.
Ghunghat, devdasis, menstruring
women removed to cattle house
 Religion
Hindu religion
Sati pratha

Practices like tonsure of widows

Ashtaputrabhava

Rituals like Karvachauth

 Muslim
women are better equipped to take
children. Their prior role as wife & mother.

Emphasis both have right to education

despite of this women come across the
restrictions.

Customs like polygamy,purdah

 Christian
Christianity is linked to patriarchal gender role orientations

Protestant catholic are more progressive than catholic

Christians.

Churches are often reserved for men.

Roman catholic churches women do not become a priests

BUT Protestant catholic churches women priests are
permitted.
 Sikhism
Guru Granth Saheb Ji 473 notes
‘ Man is born from woman; within women a man is
conceived; to a woman he is engaged & married.
Man is friends with woman , through woman, the
future generations exist. When his woman passes
away, he seeks another woman; to a woman a
man is bound. So why call her bad? From her kings
are born, from woman are born; without her there
would be no one at all.’
Gender Free ideology

It advocates active & equal participation in

academics, health care military & other
aspects of society.

Even names are same.

 Our Role
Religious books should be read & rightly
interpreted.

Their background should be analysed.

Today’s need Keeping up with changing

times, many religions have modified certain
practices.
 Region
Migration because of marriage rural to urban –
more opportunities.

Urban women : better facilities, opportunity ,

more chances of development

Joint family to nuclear family also gives better

life to women
 Mass Media
until 1990s women depicted: sati Savitri
More forgiving
Sacrificing
Sorrowful etc.
Few films like Arth, Masoom etc. extra marital
affairs
Most films- Women’s physical beauty & shape
 Few films-
Queen, Lajja, Dor, Peeku, Pink, Mardani etc.
Black, Hichaki
 Mass Media
by creating a certain type of messages media can
manipulate people's attitude and opinion

Aim: to be Universal and suitable for everywhere

everyone, in order to gather the largest possible
audience.

Because of stereotypical way of explaining the reality,

some groups are underrepresented or ignored and
therefore the society image is incomplete.
For example: male and female roles presented
in commercials reflects the traditional notions of
gender, where women are dominated by men.

Although people are aware of the dangers

caused by generalisation, they tend to
conformist and would rather submit to the
dominant patterns than oppose them and risk a
negative reception of such behaviour from the
others.
 Popular Culture

Popular culture is generally recognized by members of a

society as a set of the practices, beliefs, and objects that
are dominant or prevalent in a society at a given point in
time. Popular culture also encompasses the activities and
feelings produced as a result of interaction with these
dominant objects

It related to the articles, news paper etc.