MODULE 1

SEXED BODIES AND

GENDERED CULTURES

LESSON 1 DIFFERENTIATING SEX AND

GENDER
LESSON 2 GENDER/SOGIE CONCEPTS

LESSON 3 THE “GENDERING” OF

SOCIETIES
 INTRODUCTION

It is conventionally perceived that there are only two types of people in

the world: male and female. The study of gender provides a progressive
account of the diversity of our human population by situating male and female
sexed bodies in the cultural arena. It is in this premise that the module
explores on the gender construction of individuals in society by focusing on how
social arrangements influence the way we portray and identify ourselves.

Gender construction is a life-long process. When people are born, we

can only determine our sexes. No one simply becomes a man or a woman or
something else. It is through our human interaction that we are able to know
who we are. Exposure to the existing social structures of the society we live in
will also make us understand the assigned roles and expected actions that are
thrown into us. However, the experience can be limiting and discriminatory for
those who do not succumb to the male and female divide. It is, therefore,
important to implore certain changes in the values of our families, schools,
religious institutions, and mass media platforms to fulfill a vision of the society
that is inclusive for everyone regardless of one’s sexual orientation, gender
identity, and expression.

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this module, the student will be able to:

1. Differentiate gender from sex;

2. Distinguish the relationship between sex and gender;
3. Distinguish sex from sexuality and from “sexual activity”;
4. Examine why societies “gender”;
5. Look into the roots of gender stereotypes and gender-based inequalities;
6. See the role of social institutions in the life long process of gender
construction; and
7. Comprehend concepts that are aligned with gender responsiveness and
gender sensitivity.
 DIRECTIONS/ MODULE ORGANIZER
1. Study each lesson in the module.

2. Answer the learning activities and summative test.

3. Refer to supplemental materials or virtual meetings for deepening of
understanding.
4. There is a need to read the lessons, links, and related presentation
materials one by one without skipping any of them. One lesson is the
continuation of the next lesson. The presentation materials are essential
in the deepening of the lessons.
5. There are evaluation activities within and at the end of each lesson.
There is also a summative test at the end of the module. Please answer
them and be sure that you answer them properly.

Lesson 1

 DIFFERENTIATING SEX AND GENDER

I. Exploring Gender

When a child is born in a family, the parents are usually

recognizing the child’s identity based on the norms that the society
imposes to them. For instance, the birth of a male child requires parents
to buy robots, toy guns, and blue-colored objects to satisfy the child’s
masculine condition. On the other hand, it is demanded that a female
child has to grow up in an environment filled with pink-colored objects
to emphasize her feminine nature. These have always been the set-up in
our families that are being passed on from generation to generation. It is
in this light that these binary arrangements are perceived to be so
“natural” that we tend to believe that it is part of the order of nature
(Connell 2009, 5).

Since we always base our moral judgments depending on the

recognition of a person as either a girl or a boy, we take for granted
the topic of gender. Situations that deviate from the conventional
arrangements between men and women usually are shameful and are
 thus subjected to either formal orzimmermamindependentjudith
laws. An example of this would be when people of the same gender fall
in love with each other. As we tend to believe that homosexuality is
“unnatural”, formal laws in the form of ordinances usually criminalize
gays and transsexuals for violating public order. Aside from this, they are
also judged by informal laws which make them victims of discrimination
and oppression. In the attempt to understand the complexities in our
society, it is vital that we veer away from the rigid cultural constructions
of masculinity and femininity as they reinforce ideas that are not
gender-appropriate.

It is therefore important to understand that no one is simply a

man or a woman (Disch 2003). Being a man or a woman is not a
predetermined identity but a result of a person’s exploration of
himself or herself as he or she goes along with his or her life (Connell
2009, 5). In other words, it involves a process of becoming which puts
human condition in a state of flux. In the phrase of Simone de Beauvoir,
a famous French feminist philosopher: ‘One is not born, but rather,
becomes a woman (Beauvoir 1949, 295).’ Applying this principle to men
as well, we can still arrive at the preposition that a person’s identity is
built through his or her constant interaction inside the society.

By deviating from the fixed nature of manhood or womanhood,

Beauvoir recognized the complexity and uncertainty in the narrative of a
gendered person due to the opening of various paths, tensions, and
ambiguities. Although the process sometimes produces unstable results,
the construction of one’s identity is not just driven by social norms or
pressure from authorities. It is also intrinsically determined by people
in order for them to claim their respective places in the gender order.


LEARNING ACTIVITY 1.1.1

TRUE or FALSE. Write TRUE if the statement is true and FALSE if otherwise.

____________1. The society imposes norms that affect parents’ recognition of

their child identity.
____________2. Gender is a pre-determined state readily available to a person
once he/she is born.

____________3. People who fall in love with the same gender do not
experience societal discrimination.

____________4. The process of gender construction is not just driven by social

norms as it is also intrinsically determined by the individual.

____________5. In the study of gender, it is important to understand that no

one is simply a man or a woman.

____________6. According to Simone de Beauvoir, one is not born but rather

becomes a woman.

____________7. It is commonly perceived that a female child has to grow up in

the blue-world to emphasize her feminine nature.

____________8. Being a man or a woman does not involve a process of

becoming since gender is already a fixed condition.

____________9. The binary arrangements between male and female are viewed
to be so “natural” that we tend to believe that it is part of the order of nature.

____________10. Beauvoir recognized the simplicity of the process of gender

construction since it is only dealing with the fixed nature of manhood and
womanhood.

II. Sex or Gender? ge

In the beginning, there was a clear-cut distinction between sex

and gender. The late 1960s up to the early 1970s had witnessed the
efforts of American scholars in carefully distinguishing one from the
other: sex as ascribed by biology and gender as an achieved status
(West and Zimmerman 1987, 125). Determining the sex of an individual
can be done through the fields of anatomy and physiology, while the
creation of one’s gender is through psychological, cultural, and social
means. However, confusion had started to plague universities as more
and more students became confused of the biological standard of sex as
well as the so-called achieved identity of gender. There were accounts
that illustrated that biological ascription was sometimes ambiguous and
often had conflicting criteria. This can be manifested on individuals who
are born with some combinations of male and female characteristics. If
sex was associated to biology, why could it not categorize and explain
the condition of hermaphrodites? On the other hand, students were
also hesitant to call gender as an achieved status due to the social
condition of men and women in the society. If gender was a form of
achievement, why did females experience subordination in terms of
the division of labor when they identified themselves as women?

It is in this note that West and Zimmerman recognized the

analytical definition between sex, sex category, and gender to
understand how an individual becomes a gendered person in society. To
respond to the claim that biological standards are sometimes ambiguous,
sex has been defined to be a “determination made through the
application of socially agreed upon biological criteria for classifying
persons as females or males (Ibid., 127).” This relates to the nature of
science that is not necessarily fixed as it also debunks and reformulates
its past stances based on the availability of concrete evidences. Up to
this day, the criteria for classification can be genitalia at birth or
chromosomal typing before birth. Placement in a sex category starts
with the application of one’s sex but it is only sustained when one
displays socially required activities that proclaim his or her sex (Ibid.).
For example, it is not enough for a female child to identify herself as a
woman since there is a need for her to show it in the way she dresses
and the manner that she speaks for her to be categorized in such nature.

On the other hand, gender is defined to be “the activity of

managing situated conduct in the light of normative conceptions of
attitudes and activities appropriate for one’s sex category (Ibid.).” In
other words, the process of identifying one’s gender involves how a
person accepts or rejects claims to membership in a sex category. The
choice that the individual undertakes always takes its origin from the
interaction between the self and the society. It is the individual who
identifies himself or herself but its conception is always an outcome of
various social arrangements that reflect existing structures in society.
Thus, the study of gender necessitates looking into the arrangements in
society as one’s identity is always shaped by the collection of socially
constructed roles and relationships, personality traits, attitudes,
behaviors, and values.
 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1.1.2
Determine whether the words/statements refer to SEX or GENDER. Write your
answer in the space provided before each number.

___________1. examination of an individual through the fields of anatomy and

physiology

___________2. individual choice based on the interaction of the self and

society

___________3. created through psychological, cultural and social means

___________4. genitalia at birth and chromosomal typing before birth

___________5. males and females

___________6. collection of socially constructed roles and relationships,

personality traits, attitudes, behaviors, and values

___________7. an achieved status

___________8. socially agreed upon biological criteria

___________9. its process involves the person’s acceptance or rejection of

claims to membership in a sex category

___________10. ascribed by biology

III. Relationship Between Sex and Gender

Dichotomizing sex and gender has resulted to a number of

accounts that debunked the biological and naturalistic assumptions
attached to gender. The social constructionist argument takes its roots
from the idea that gender is something that is created through complex
social and cultural processes, and therefore, far from being outward
manifestation of innate biological drives and desires (Gagnon and Simon
1973; Padgug 1979; and Weeks 1977).

However, this should not be the case because sex and gender
must always be studied hand-in-hand in order to understand how an
individual becomes a gendered person in society. Judith Butler was one
of the pioneering thinkers who claimed that gender reflects sex and sex
restricts gender (Butler 1990, 6). Following West and Zimmerman’s
account of sex that is a determination made through the socially agreed
upon biological criteria, sex mirrors gender as something culturally
constructed (Ibid.). In this case, the genitalia and the type of
chromosomes that a child has frame the way a society treats him or her.
It is in this context that sex is still important as it serves as the starting
platform for the societal development of a child.

Moreover, Butler also argued that gender could be the causal

result of sex or can be multiple interpretations of sex (Ibid.). This
points to the idea that a constructed status of gender is not independent
of sex. The way a man portrays himself in public is a result of his
placement in a sex category. In other words, the gender construction for
an individual starts with the assignment to a sex category based on the
socially agreed upon biological criteria found at birth (Lorber 2003).
However, the placement in the male and female categories is not the
case for everyone since Butler also posited that gender can also exist in
various manifestations of sex. Therefore, identifying one’s gender
cannot be done without the consideration of one’s sex.

Due to the involvement of sex, most discussions of gender in

society have put emphasis on the idea of dichotomy. Building on the
biological divide between male and female, most scholars are radically
following the logic that gender is a social or psychological difference. In
its most common understanding, the term “gender” means the social
and cultural difference between men and women based on the
biological division presented at birth. Although it follows the argument
of Butler, the causal connection between sex and gender has deviated
from her idea that gender could also be seen as multiple interpretations
of sex. When a definition is built on difference, the construction of
gender of people who do not succumb to the existing dichotomy cannot
be recognized. The lives of lesbians and gays are prime examples of
gender construction using the notion of similarity. It is therefore
important to point out that human life does not simply divide into two
realms nor does it divide human character into two types only.

The development of social sciences in the 1970s has addressed

sexuathese issues at hand by shifting the focus of gender from the idea
of “difference” to the concept of “relations”. In general, social
sciences introduced a way of understanding reality through the patterns
of behavior that human beings create and follow through time. In our
everyday activities, we follow certain patterns or social arrangements
among the relations that we built and this is what social theory calls
“structures”. Once an individual enters a social structure, it enables
 the individual to enhance his or her capabilities by following the set of
practices that governs the structure. However, it also limits him or her
to certain things that are not part of social relations within which
individuals and groups act. An example of a social structure is a religious
institution. Once individuals decide to join a religious institution, they
are enabled by the structure to see and fight for the principles that they
are adhering to. However, the religious institution also limits its people
to do activities that are beyond the teachings of the church, for these
will only stain their fragile existence. Aside from religion, family,
education, and politics are examples of social arrangements that we
follow in our daily lives.

It is in this context that gender must be viewed as a matter of

social relations that exist in the interaction between individuals and
groups. Specifically, gender is “the structure of social relations that
centres on the reproductive arena, and the set of practices that bring
reproductive distinctions between bodies into social processes
(Connell 2009, 11).” Since gender is a social structure, it is concerned
with how human societies deal with human bodies and the consequences
of these actions in their collective and personal lives. By taking into
account the importance of reproductive bodies, the study of gender
involves people’s sexes and how cultural patterns of a society express
their bodily difference. Establishing our gender identities, therefore,
is putting into the social arena the biological bases of individuals to
understand how their sexes are framed by the existing patterns of
social arrangements (Ibid.). These include, for instance, circumcision
for males to signify their transition to adulthood, and the celebration of
menstruation for females which represents their shift into womanhood.

 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1.1.3

Fill in the blanks.

1. Claiming gender as far from being the outward manifestation of innate

biological drives and desires is leaning towards the ___________
argument.
2. According to Judith Butler, __________ mirrors __________ as the
genitalia and the type of chromosome that a child has determines how
the society will treat him/her.

3. The gender construction for an individual starts with the assignment to a

____________ based on the socially agreed upon biological criteria found
at birth.

4. Dichotomizing sex and gender has resulted to the study of gender that
focused on ___________ and ____________ difference between men and
women.

5. When the definition of gender was still based on “dichotomy”, the lives
of gays and lesbians were not properly recognized since their gender
construction was based on ______________.

6. In the 1970s, the development of ______________ has addressed issues

concerning gender construction by shifting the focus from the idea of
“difference” to the notion of “relations”.

7. Enabling the individual to enhance his or her capabilities but also limits
him or her to activities that are not part of social relations within which
individuals and groups act is called a ___________.

8. Gender is the structure of social relations that centres on the

____________ arena, and the set of practices that bring ____________
distinctions between bodies into social processes.

9. Our everyday activities can be understood by looking at the

_________________ that human beings create and follow through time.

10.Establishing one’s gender is situating the biological sexes of individuals

in the _____________ to understand how sexes are framed by existing
norms.

IV. The Case of Agnes

In 1967, Harold Garfinkel conducted a study of a transsexual

woman named Agnes which demonstrates how gender construction is
created through the interplay between the concepts of sex, sex
category, and gender. Agnes was raised as a boy and wanted to
undergo a sex reassignment operation at the age of 17 for her to pass
the societal standard of a “normal, natural female” (Garfinkel 1967).
It was based on the belief that she did not possess the socially agreed
upon biological standard to be considered as a part of the female sex
(West and Zimmerman 1987, 131). With this belief that there are
essential biological criteria that she must fulfill in transitioning as a
woman, she insisted that her penis was a “mistake” in need of a
remedy (Garfinkel 1967). This kind of thinking was actually a result of
how society only divided its population before into two realms: male or
female. It is therefore necessary for people who deviate from these
types to undergo sex reassignment for them to fit into the standards that
the society imposes to them.

The task of being a woman for Agnes, however, did not end in
the sex reassignment operation as she needed to simultaneously learn
what it was to be a woman since she had been living as a boy
throughout her life. To be categorized as a member of the female type
was not an easy assignment for she needed to display herself in public as
a woman all the time. This is based on the idea that if she can be seen
to being doing what a “normal, natural female” does, then she should be
categorize as such (Sacks 1972, 332-335). It was because of this
argument that she was obliged to mimic the appearance of a 1960
normal female from her figure to her clothing to her hairstyle and so on
(West and Zimmerman 1987, 133). From a more personal standpoint,
Agnes also attended to the criticisms of her fiancée by avoiding to
sunbath in front of their lawn for it was viewed by their neighbors as
offensive, and by being silent in offering her opinions regarding politics
(Garfinkel 1967, 147-148).

In general, the case of Agnes presents how the 1960s setting in

the United States dealt with human bodies, or to be more specific, how
social and cultural norms dictated people’s bodily differences and the
normative gender behaviors for males and females, respectively.
However, it is important to take note that the idealized depictions of
being a woman or a man that can be seen in books and magazines do not
in any way successfully display gender and only produce rigid cultural
constructions of masculinity and femininity (West and Zimmerman 1987,
135). To be successful in displaying and identifying one’s gender, it is
not required to follow some sort of a manual of procedure since
gender construction is not merely done by following a universal,
welldefined bundle of behavior. Gender construction, therefore, is
multidimensional as it may differ from one cultural context to
another. In other words, doing gender cannot be easily found in popular
culture as it must be a reflection of a particular context and there
should be room for adjustments when the occasion demands.
 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1.1.4

1. What were the measures done by Agnes for her to pass the societal
standard of a “normal, natural female”?

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

2. How important is cultural context in the gender construction of an

individual? Relate your answer to the case of Agnes.

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

Sex Vs. Sexuality

In Political Science classes, you were taught that we are all political
beings. In Sociology, your professor must have mentioned to you that we are by
nature social beings. In this subject, you shall condition your mind that human
beings are all sexual beings as well. As such, you must put things in perspective
that as human beings we are biologically and socially shaped to express,
identify with, and recognize our sexual needs. But there is more to sex than
the biology behind it- scholars point out sexuality as the bigger dimension of
our being. While sex and sexuality are sometimes used interchangeably, sex is
just one facet of a person’s sexuality.

To recall what was previously mentioned, the term sex refers to

categories (male, female) to which people are typically assigned at birth based
on physical characteristics (e.g. genitals). Some people may be assigned
intersex, when their reproductive, sexual or genetic biology doesn’t fit the
traditional definitions of male or female. It may also refer to the sexual
activity or intercourse but it can be just a matter of words. We may use sex to
refer to female/male dichotomy and use ‘sexual activity’ to refer to the sexual
behaviors.

Sexuality, on the other hand, may be understood as a core dimension of

being human which includes the understanding of, and relationship to, the
human body; emotional attachment and love; sex, gender, gender identity,
sexual orientation, sexual intimacy, pleasure and reproduction. It is complex
such that it includes biological, social, psychological, spiritual, religious,
political, legal, historic, ethical, and cultural dimensions that evolve over a
lifespan (see UNESCO, 2018).

According to the UNESCO, the word ‘sexuality’ has different meanings in

different languages and in different cultural contexts. Taking into account a
number of variables and the diversity of meanings in different languages, the
following aspects of sexuality need to beconsidered in the context of CSE:

• Sexuality refers to the individual and social meanings of interpersonal

and sexual relationships, in addition to biological aspects. It is a
subjective experience and a part of the human need for both intimacy
and privacy.
• Simultaneously, sexuality is a social construct, most easily understood
within the variability of beliefs, practices, behaviours and identities.
‘Sexuality is shaped at the level of individual practices and cultural
values and norms’ (Weeks, 2011).
• Sexuality is linked to power. The ultimate boundary of power is the
possibility of controlling one’s own body. CSE can address the
relationship between sexuality, gender and power, and its political and
social dimensions. This is particularly appropriate for older learners.
• The expectations that govern sexual behaviour differ widely across and
within cultures. Certain behaviours are seen as acceptable and
desirable, while others are considered unacceptable. This does not mean
that these behaviours do not occur, or that they should be excluded from
discussion within the context of sexuality education.
• Sexuality is present throughout life, manifesting in different ways and
interacting with physical, emotional and cognitive maturation. Education
is a major tool for promoting sexual well-being and preparing children
and young people for healthy and responsible relationships at the
different stages of their lives.
 A person’s sexual health includes their physical, mental, emotional
and social well-being. Taking care of your sexual health is an important part
of your overall health and wellness (Teaching Sexual Health.ca).

What are Sexual Rights?

• Decide freely and responsibly on all aspects of their sexuality, including

protecting and promoting their sexual and reproductive health.
• Be free from discrimination, coercion or violence in her sexual lives and
in all sexual decisions; and

• Expect and demand equality, full consent, mutual respect and shared
responsibility in sexual relationships (in DOH.gov.ph)

What is Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE)?

Incorporation of sexuality concepts into the Gender and Society course is a

product of progressive legislation. The United Nations Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Asia-Pacific Resource and Research
Center for Women (ARROW) both support the inclusion of Comprehensive
Sexuality Education (CSE) into formal and non-formal education settings.
Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is a curriculum-based process of
teaching and learning about the cognitive, emotional, physical and social
aspects of sexuality. It aims to equip children and young people with
knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that will empower them to: realize their
health, well-being and dignity; develop respectful social and sexual
relationships; consider how their choices affect their own well-being and that
of others; and, understand and ensure the protection of their rights throughout
their lives (see UNESCO, 2018).

ARROW (2018) posits that comprehensive sexuality education imparts

critical information and skills for life. These not only include knowledge on
pregnancy, prevention and safe sex, but also understanding bodies and
boundaries, relationships and respect, diversity and consent. The ARROW
reports that CSE is effective in delaying the initiation of sex, decreasing its
frequency and partners, and increasing the use of condoms and/or other forms
of contraception. Over and above all these, the CSE is grounded on the
fundamental human rights of having the right to education, health, sexuality,
non-discrimination, and privacy.

The 8 major components of CSE based on UNESCO and ARROW are:

1. Gender
2. Values, Rights, Culture, and Sexuality
 3. The Human body and development
4. Sexuality and sexual behavior
5. Skills for health and well-being
6. Violence and staying safe
7. Relationships
8. Sexual and Reproductive Health

These components are integrated across this module on Gender and

Society.


LEARNING ACTIVITY 1.1.5

Below is the sexuality wheel. Write down your ideas within each concept
associated with sexuality. You may include thoughts, experience, or perception
related with the concept.
Lesson 2


GENDER/ SOGIE CONCEPTS

One of the problems that individuals face is the struggle with rigid
cultural constructions of masculinity and femininity. By making students aware
of the existing gender stereotypes and inequalities in the past discussions, it is
vital for this part of the module to introduce concepts that are aligned with the
ideals of gender responsiveness and gender sensitivity. The main aim of this
lesson is to shed light on concepts, such as sexual orientation, gender identity
and gender expression that will make students conscious and respectful of all
kinds of individuals in the world.

Understanding Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity

and Gender Expression
 THE SOGIE SCALE

Based on The Equity Project’s Understanding Sexual Orientation, Gender

Identity and Gender Expression Lesson 1 Module, the GENDERBREAD PERSON
can be interpreted using these concepts:

• Gender Identity: A person’s internal identification or self-image as man,

woman, or genderqueer. Everyone has a gender identity. A person’s
gender identity may or may not be consistent with his or her sex
assigned at birth. It is important to note that no one else but us can
determine our gender identity and we are not forced to reveal our
gender identity to others.
o Cisgender - describes a person whose gender identity matches his or
her sex assigned at birth. It is high time that we remove the notion
“straight”.
o Genderqueer - an umbrella term used to refer to all LGBT people;
the term can be a political statement as well as an identity, seeking
to expand upon limited sexual and gender-based categories.
▪ Lesbian: describes a woman who is attracted to other women
▪ Gay: describes a person who is attracted to individuals of the
same gender. While historically used to refer specifically to
 men, it is often used to refer to women attracted to other
women, as well
▪ Bisexual: describes a person who is attracted to both men
and women
▪ Transgender: describes a person whose gender identity and
sex assigned at birth do not match
°°Trans is often used as shorthand for transgender. °°A
transgender boy or transgender man is someone who was
assigned a female sex at birth but whose gender identity is
male. He understands himself to be male and lives, or desires
to live, as a boy and, later, a man.
°°A transgender girl or transgender woman is someone who
was assigned a male sex at birth but whose gender identity is
female. She understands herself to be female and lives, or
desires to live, as a girl and, later, a woman.
°°A transgender person may know their gender identity at a
very young age, as early as two or three years old. Some
children, with supportive parents and adults, may start to
express that gender identity—through clothing, hairstyles,
chosen names and pronouns, or even taking hormone blockers
when they begin puberty. Other transgender people may not
do any of these things until they are adults.
°°The medical community often refers to individuals who
wish to alter their bodies to align with their gender identities
as transsexuals. Transsexual is not a term that is used very
often among youth or by transgender community members.

• Gender Expression: How individuals communicate their gender to

others. People express and interpret gender through hairstyles, clothing,
physical expression and mannerisms, physical alterations of their body,
and by choosing a name that reflects their own idea of gender identity.
o Gender is constructed continually and produced through markers
and activities related to being a man or a woman.
o Deviation from the opposing poles of masculinity and femininity is
also possible since gender expression is fluid or even situational.
o Gender Non-Conforming (GNC): Describes a person who does not
subscribe to gender expression or roles imposed by society. Similar
terms include: gender creative, genderfluid, gender variant,
genderqueer, and pangender. One example would be a girl or
woman who, in the past, may have been referred to as a “tomboy.”
 o All people communicate their gender identity in a way that feels
comfortable to them.
o Goffman argued that gender displays are optional. We have the
option of being seen by others as masculine, feminine, or something
else.

• Biological Sex: Assigned at birth, a biological construct based primarily

on physical attributes such as chromosomes, external and internal
genital and reproductive anatomy, and hormones.
o Intersex - describes a set of medical conditions that feature
congenital anomaly of the reproductive and sexual system. That is,
intersex people are born with sex chromosomes, external genitalia,
or internal reproductive systems that are not considered “typical”
for either males or females. It is important to note that the term
“hermaphrodite” is no longer use since this is an offensive and
outdated term.

• Sexual Orientation: An attraction to others that is shaped at an early

age (usually by about the age of ten). Sexual orientation falls on a
spectrum that ranges from exclusive attraction to only men or only
women, to varying degrees of attraction to both men and women, to no
attraction to either men or women.
o Heterosexuals – people who are attracted to the opposite gender
o Homosexuals – people who are attracted to the similar gender o
Bisexuals – people who are both attracted to men and women o
Asexuals – people who are not attracted to either men or women

Some important notes:

1. The terminologies used to have conversations about the SOGIE are ever
evolving and can be both cultural and generational. This can be rooted
from the idea that gender construction is multi-dimensional as it varies
from one cultural context to another.

2. Although there may be disagreements with the precise definitions within

the LGBT community, SOGIE is continuously created and studied for
people to be more sensible of how diverse the human population is
and to avoid irrational hate or fear towards lesbian or gay people, or
 even disapproval of other sexual orientations regardless of the
motive.

3. Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation are different and separate from
each other. A person’s internal identification or self-image is exclusive
from his or her attraction to others.

4. The inclusion of LGBT is not just done by the genderqueer/ LGBT

community because there are also cisgenders who confront and
challenge heterosexism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and
heterosexual privilege in themselves. They are called allies.

5. We are in no position to assume and reveal in public the gender identity

of a person. The process of coming out is a personal decision to
disclose one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. There are also
members of the LGBT community who opt to just stay in the closet. “In
the Closet” refers to a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex
person who chooses not to disclose his or her sex, sexual orientation, or
gender identity to friends, family, co-workers, or society. There are
varying degrees of being “in the closet.” For example, a person can be
“out” in his or her social life, but “in the closet” at work or with family.

 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1.2.1

Place the SOGIE concepts in their appropriate categories.

SEX GENDER SEXUAL
ORIENTATION

Biology Identity Expression Attraction

Cisgender Intersex
Gender Non-Conforming Heterosexua
Androgynous l

Masculine Gay

Feminine Transgender

Genderqueer Female

Male Homosexual
Asexual
Lesbian

 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1.2.2

ART TIME! On any canvass and using any material you have right now, create
your own Genderbread Person with labels suitable to YOUR sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. You are given the creative
freedom to make your work reflect you and your personality and SOGIE. You
may write up t three-line caption below your work. To submit, simply take a
photograph of your work and send.
Lesson 3


THE “GENDERING” OF SOCIETIES

I. Why Do Societies “Gender”?

✓ Gender and the Division of Labor

The view that gender is a social structure pushes forward the

notion that it is one of the routine grounds of our everyday activities.
Like other social structures, gender organizes human societies.
According to Disch, human society depends on a predictable division of
labor, a system in which there are assigned tasks and expected actions
that its members need to fulfill with regards to the allocation of scarce
goods, the responsibility for children, the legitimacy of societal
leadership, and other symbolic interactions (Disch 2003, 97). It is in this
way that people link different tasks of society on the basis of gender.
For instance, whenever people are faced issues of allocation - who is to
 do what, get what, plan or execute action, direct or be directed – the
social categories of male and female become relevant (West and
Zimmerman 1987, 143). It can be, therefore, said that gender is born
out of social interaction and its existence is necessary to order our
social lives.

As stated in previous discussion, gender construction is

multidimensional as it may vary from cultural context to another.
Although gender is a social structure that classifies people and assigns
them to different roles and responsibilities, it is also important to
account that societies might vary on the extent of allocating people to
perform important tasks (Disch 2003, 97). Some societies are now trying
to deviate from the traditional roles that males and females performed
in the past, while some are still preserving this kind of social
relationship. Nevertheless, once individuals are born and become
accustomed to the norms of their society, they learn what is
expected of them and what must be seen from them. Due to the
existence of a gender order built on the dichotomy between male and
female, people learn how to act and react on expected ways that the
“established” societal roles and expectations impose to them. In the
1960s context of Agnes living in the
United States, it was part of the arrangement that women perform domestic roles, such
as cooking meals, cleaning the house, and taking care of their children, while men
engage in a life outside their homes (West and Zimmerman 1987, 143). Butler claimed
that this pattern of interaction shapes women’s and men’s life experiences and the
additional layers of gendered parenting and work behaviors contribute to the
construction of their gender identity (Butler 1990 in Disch 2003, 97).

 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. 3.1

In a conventional Philippine setting, there are assigned tasks and
expected actions that men and women have to fulfill. List down 5 activities
that you usually observe for both genders.
MEN’S TASKS AND ACTIONS WOMEN’S TASKS AND ACTIONS

1. 1.

2. 2.
3. 3

4. 4.

5. 5.

✓ Gender Stereotypes and Sex/Gender-Based Inequalities

With gendering, societies do not only assign roles and

responsibilities that continually reconstruct one’s gender. It also results
to the creation of gender stereotypes. Gender stereotypes are
preconceived ideas that are attached to men and women which color
how we treat them and how roles are determined and limited to such
categories (Bohan 2011). By assigning expectations in gender
construction, societies could either limit or expand men’s and women’s
opportunities for work and education, and participation in political
activities. In popular culture, a woman’s brain is regarded to think about
“girly” stuff like chocolates, shopping, musicals and sitcoms, gossip, and
so on. On the other hand, people tend to believe that a man’s brain is
always confronted with subjects concerning sex, job, beer, ball sports,
and so on.

Gender stereotypes have also resulted to the sexual asymmetry

between men and women, promoting and valuing what the former do
than the latter. According to Richardson and Taylor, such sexual
asymmetry exists due to the unequal distribution of valued commodities
or scarce rewards of production, namely wealth, power, and prestige
(Richardson and Taylor 1987, 91). When people hear the term “CEO” of a
company, they usually picture a man in a black suit who possesses great
charm and confidence. When people think of a known politician, they
conventionally depict an old man who is educated and is from an
influential family. With this kind of thinking, women were only confined
to follow the standards that men enforce to them since they occupy a
more dominant and superior position in the society. In industrialized
societies, the assignment of “extradomestic” tasks for men, or those
activities involving work and politics, has produced a kind of thinking
that what they do is more important than what women do since they are
responsible in providing basic necessities for their families, and they also
control the distribution of resources outside their homes (Ibid.).
Traditionally, people also believed the idea that “women’s place is in
the home” which points to the essential “domestic” tasks that women
ought to do to be recognized as women, such as lactation and nurturing
 of their children (Ibid.). It is in this regard that men have achieved and
maintained dominance in the society while women historically and
continuously experience subordination.

There are 3 positions/perspectives in understanding women subordination:

• First is the analysis of Sherry Ortner concerning gender roles using

symbolisms of nature and culture to explain the universal phenomenon
of women subordination (Ortner 1974). Based on the existing
physiological and social roles of women and men, women can be
associated to nature while men can be linked to culture. Since nature
is already fixed and unchanging, Ortner claimed that women’s
subordination is due to their natural role in reproduction and giving
birth. On the other hand, men are linked to culture and are viewed to be
superior to the natural world due to their ability in maintaining,
regulating or even changing the forces and conditions of the environment
to fit to their own advantage.

• Second is the explanation of Michelle Rosaldo based on the domestic

and extradomestic divide between women and men (Rosaldo 1974).
Women are subordinated to men because they are fixated to accomplish
domestic roles, such as mothering and child-nurturing. Therefore,
motherhood is a natural process that a woman goes through her life. On
the other hand, men’s life is public or outside the home as they are
responsible to provide and distribute food for their families. Unlike
women who undergo a natural process of motherhood, fatherhood is a
social status that is achieved. In other words, a man cannot be called as
a father when he is not doing his duty as a man and as a provider.

• Third is Joan Huber’s industrialist take that centres on the use of the
tools of production (Huber, 118). Throughout the history of
industrialization, men and women have already come up with a set-up to
organize duties and responsibilities in the family and in the workplace.
Gender stratification exists based on who controls the tools of food
production and who secures substantial needs of the family such as
food, clothing and shelter. Men usually have learned how to use
mechanical tools in order for them to participate in food production
while women could not accumulate power and have remained to have
low contribution in food production since they are confined with
domestic duties of child-rearing. Although it was mentioned by Huber
that there was already an increase in women’s participation in food
production due to the rise of technology, it only contributed to the
 increase in divorce rates among families. The heated arguments between
a husband and a wife were usually because of (1) the inability of the
wife to fulfill her primary task of nurturing their children, and (2) the
egoistic tendency of the husband to assume his dominant position in the
family.

 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. 3.2

Identify the position/perspective on women subordination that is described

for each number. Write whether it is ORTNER, ROSALDO, or HUBER.

_____________1. Women’s physiology and social roles are closer to that of

nature

_____________2. Women assume domestic roles

_____________3. Women are subordinated because they are fixated with

reproductive roles

_____________4. Men’s life is public

_____________5. The use of symbolisms to explain gender roles

_____________6.Women could not accumulate power because their food

production is low

_____________7. Men are associated to culture as they seek to mark out or

socialize nature in order to regulate and maintain
relations between society, and the forces and conditions
of the environment

_____________8. Gender is stratified according to who controls the tools of

food production and provide substantial food supply

_____________9. Fatherhood is a social status that is achieved

_____________10. Work is organized upon the use of subsistence tools and

technology

II. Gender Socialization Process

 The life long process of gender construction for an individual is
determined by his or her interactions and building of relationships within
four main agents/institutions of socialization: family, school, religion,
and mass media.

• The Family
The process of learning the social attributes of one’s gender
begins in the formative years of children in a family setting. Family
practices strongly shape the gender socialization of children as their
interactions with the parents determine how they are going to act
and perceive the world. To understand the sexual asymmetry between
men and women, it is vital to point out that the different ways in which
parents treat their children are conventionally driven by gender biased
perceptions of child development (Coman 2016, 65). From the moment
that children open their eyes, they are already exposed to the “blue
world” and the “pink world”. Girls are being gifted by their parents
with pink-colored objects in the form of dolls to emphasize their
feminine nature while the toys that boys usually receive develop their
aggressive character which can be manifested in toy guns and robots.
Since children are being treated based on this divide, they are left with
no choice but to observe male and female behaviors that they perceive,
and try to imitate their appropriate gender behavior in their formative
years.

How the parents divide gender roles in the family has a massive
contribution in the gender socialization process of children. In a
functionalist sense, mothers teach their daughters how to do
household chores with the belief that this is part of the marital and
maternal roles that they have to fulfil as wives and mothers in the future
(Ibid., 66). The attention of mothers for teaching boys the household
chores is minimal since they have been accustomed in a patriarchal
setting which does not require husbands and fathers to do such activity
(Nivette et al. 2014). Aside from gender roles, expressions taught by
parents in their formative years define how children are also molded.
To become a man, a conventional father would advise his son to have
success, earn a useful educational degree, strive to be fit and healthy,
and only rely on themselves (Coman 2016, 66). The aggressive
character that fathers teach their sons prohibit them to cry in front
of other people because this is an act that is believed to be feminine.
Aside from teaching them how to do the household chores to become a
woman, mothers also pay attention to how girls look and how they act in
 front of the public because women are naturally perceived to look good
and be sensible of what other people feel.

• The School
The next institution that children will enter is the school where
ideas of gender relations are being taught. A quick scan of textbooks
used to teach students in their formative years would reveal and
reinforce the gender stereotypes that these children learn from their
homes. The images that small kids see from their books are women
carrying their babies in their hands, or women doing household
chores, or women who become nurses and teachers. In the same time,
men are always depicted to end up as soldiers carrying their guns in
pursuit of protecting their community against intruders, or doctors
who save many lives, or architects who plan the blueprint of high rise
buildings. Moreover, textbooks also link the subjects that the sexes are
naturally good at: math and science for young males and reading and
singing for young females (Marinova 2003, 3). In turn, these
preconceived notions will mold the thinking of children that there are
limits to their career options once they enter higher institutions of
learning. M. Miroiu argued that the formal education curricula establish
“a comfortable feminine” environment which restricts girls to
divergent thinking while allowing boys to behave aggressively (Miroui
1999 in Coman 2016). From the images that textbooks uncovered, boys
are also encouraged to think outside the box and to engage in various
professional tracks in the attempt to increase vertical mobility in the
professional market. On the other hand, girls are advised to mirror their
professional roles based on the traditional jobs that they are perceived
to be naturally good at. This has resulted to a kind of thinking that what
men do are more important than what women do since they are to
make heroic acts than to just give birth and take care of their children.
Looking at school manuals revealed how gender stereotyping has
ballooned to the consciousness of women to stand down and just accept
what men are to offer while men have to take and to impose (Marinova
2003, 3).

• The Church
The exclusion of women from many spheres of life can be traced
back in how religious institutions treat women’s bodies based on
biblical assumptions. In a critique of church institution, A. Manolache
argued that it was only in the time of Jesus that taboos accusing women
of their being dirty and impure were abolished (Manolache 1994 in
 Coman 2016). Although the concept of evil has shifted from the impurity
of women to the way people act and think, some members of the church
still claimed that women cannot represent Jesus in Christian
communities because their gender is different from Jesus and their
profound feminine experiences such as menstruation and giving birth
continue to produce negative energies that hinder them to become one
with the Divine (Johnson 1993 in Coman 2016). In the Middle Ages, the
attempt to contain the devil inside the woman’s body was done through
witch hunting based on the justification that the moon cycle and
menstruation gave women the ability to lure people into various traps. It
was therefore advised by the clergy to women to just assume their
domestic roles as a contribution to God’s will since their acts in the past
were against His ideals.

In the modern era, R.R. Ruether posited that the Christian church
works on misogynistic assumptions. Although men and women have equal
rights, the Pope’s letter in 1988 affirmed the special condition of
women that makes them equal to men by nature but unequal by
grace (Ruether 1991 in Coman 2016). Aside from their historically rooted
“mistakes” due to their impurities, this argument legitimized why
women were not ordained to become priests. In an analysis advanced by
J. Grahn in “Sacred Blood to the Curse and Beyond”, the discrimination
of woman by man is a way to establish patriarchal control (Grahn 1982
in Coman 2016). In the attempt to preserve the church’s power, women
were banned from entering the altar, as well as from occupying key
positions in the clerical hierarchy.

• Mass Media
Mass media is a platform readily available mostly for adolescents
and young people that reinforce gender inequalities across ages. In
television shows, ds and roles are employed to promote women’s and
men’s image. In B. Gunter’s “Television and Sex Role Stereotyping”, the
study revealed that women spend much time in the house and are not
shown working (Gunter 1986 in Coman 2016). The traditional female
roles of women are far from what they do in the contemporary time but
are still presented to be incapable of doing things that are not
connected to household chores. Women that work outside their homes
and pursue their professional careers are less shown as TV productions
give more importance to how much they are concerned with their
physical appearance. Aside from the gender role associated to women,
mass media also promotes an obsessive feminine beauty which limits
women in the second half of the 20 th century. They are not able to be
 comfortable with their various shapes and sizes because of the existing
standards of beauty that require them to undergo a massive
transformation.

On the other hand, the aggressive behavior of boys nurtured in

schools can also be seen in media’s discourse on aggressiveness. S.
Feshbach and R. Singer found out that violent TV scenes do not just
result to cathartic effects to young boys but also results to long term
effect of higher aggression (Feshback and Singer 1971 in Coman 2016).
Famous movies always link masculine protagonists to violence in the
likes Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, and Jean Claude Vandame
which depict masculine aggression as art or spectacle. Since boys are
perceived to be aggressive, A. Bandura claimed that they are more
prone for exposure to pornographic materials which objectify women
and support men’s dominance towards them (Bandura 1977 in Coman
2016). By encouraging men to arrive to an inhuman judgment and
women’s need to be abused, men are portrayed as rapists and women as
sexual victims.


LEARNING ACTIVITY 1.3.3

Write a short reflection of how the four main agents/institutions of

socialization influence your gender construction as you grow up. Use the
following questions to serve as your guide:

• In your formative years as a child, how did your parents divide the roles
in the family? As a boy/girl, what were the expectations and values that
your parents taught to you as child that massively contributed to your
gender identity today?

• What do you remember in textbooks that you were using in elementary

and high school that shaped your view of yourself? Were you encouraged
of some sort to pursue a career based on what you have learned from
your textbooks and teachers?
 • How did your affiliation in a religious institution influence your gender
construction? Did it enable or limit you to display and express who you
truly are?

• What gender portrayals in mass media do you adhere to? Did you
subscribe to the men’s/women’s image that mass media employed?

In Lesson 1, you learned the difference and relationship between gender

and sex. Sex is defined as the determination made through the application of
socially agreed upon biological criteria for classifying persons as males or
females. On the other hand, gender is the activity of managing situated
conduct in the light of normative conceptions of attitudes and activities
appropriate for one’s sex category. In other words, the process of identifying
one’s gender involves how a person accepts or rejects claims to membership in
a sex category. It is in this way that the study of gender always involves
people’s sexes as a starting point of our identity construction. Establishing
one’s gender, therefore, is putting into the social arena the biological basis of
an individual to understand how his/her sex is framed by the existing patterns
of social arrangements. Lastly, you were oriented that sex is just a component
of a bigger idea called sexuality.

In Lesson 2, you learned the terminologies and concepts in the Sexual

Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression (SOGIE) Scale. The rigid cultural
constructions of masculinity and femininity in the past lessons served as a
motivation for you to align yourself with the appropriate thinking that
recognizes the diversity of the human population in the world.

In Lesson 33, you learned that the very purpose of gender as a social
structure is to organize human societies by employing division of labor.
Whenever people are faced with issues of allocation, the conventional
categories of girl and boy, male and female, or men and women, become
important. With gendering, people also create gender stereotypes for these
categories that could either expand or limit their opportunities in terms of
education and work. However, these preconceived notions resulted to the
sexual asymmetry between men and women due to the unequal distribution of
power, wealth, and prestige. The continuous shaping of this unequal divide can
be manifested in institutions of socialization such as family, school, religion,
and mass media.