Republic of the Philippines

Laguna State Polytechnic University

ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited

LSPU Self-Paced Learning Module (SLM)

Course Gender and Society
Sem/AY Second Semester/2022-2023
Module No. 1
Lesson Title GENDER AND SEXUALITY, CULTURES AND RATIONALITIES, WOMEN’S WAYS OF KNOWING and
GENDER-FAIR LANGUAGE
Week Duration 4
Date February 6 – March 3, 2023
Description of This lesson will cover the difference between gender, sex, and sexuality. Identify the four types of gender
the Lesson stereotypes: sex stereotypes, sexual, sex-role, and compounded stereotypes. This chapter will also discuss
how culture or rationality shapes people’s perception of reality. For example, Culture provides people
with systems of shortcuts for meaningful interpretation and responses.

Learning Outcomes

Intended Students should be able to meet the following intended learning outcomes:
Learning • Differentiate sex, gender, and sexuality.
Outcomes • Explain gender socialization.
• Discuss the implication of these differences.
• Identify gender stereotypes.
• Show appreciation of how this understanding evolved through time and affected various aspects
of human life.
Targets/ At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
Objectives • Understand the difference between sex, gender, and sexuality
• Know the role of gender within the society
• Describe the gender stereotype

Student Learning Strategies

Online Activities A. Discussion via Google Meet

(Synchronous/ Students will be directed to attend a class discussion on the topics. To have access to the online
Asynchronous) materials the students will be directed to a google classroom. The online discussion will
happen based on the schedule provided by the College.

For further instructions, refer to face-to-face meetings, in your Google Classroom and see the
schedule of activities for this module.

B. Learning Guide Questions:

1. What are Sex, Gender, and Society
2. What are the differences among the women’s ways of knowing?
3. Why is language important?
Note: The insight that you will post on the online discussion forum using Learning Management
System (LMS) will receive additional scores in-class participation.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: SOCIETY AND CULTURE

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited
Lecture Guide

CHAPTER 1. LEVELING OFF: GENDER AND SEXUALITY

What are Sex, Gender, and Society

What is Sex?
According to popular culture, sex is something done for pleasure, and perhaps in a more
Freudian sense, it is what drives people to do certain things. For most living creatures there are
two sexes: Male and female. The female sex is determined by the following characteristics:
produces egg cells which is fertilized by another sex, and bears off spring. The male sex, on the
other hand, produces sperm cells to fertilize the egg cells.

• Often referred to as the act of reproduction (Scientifically, copulation).

• Sex in the biological sense is a category for a living being specifically related to their
reproductive functions.
• People are usually assigned male or female at birth and this marker goes on legal
documents such as a birth certificate.

Chromosomes determine one’s sex. Chromosomes XX equates to female, and XY equates to

male. These pairs of chromosomes are distinct because the difference in their characteristics are
necessary for production. Copulation, or the union of the sexes (XX and XY or male and female),
produces offspring.

Hormones are chemical messengers that help regulate bodily functions and maintain general
health. Plays a large part in the definition of one’s sex. (e.g., estrogen, testosterone). Exposure to
hormones in the womb affects how the organism develops as a male or female. Physical features
related to secondary sex characteristics are also influenced by hormones.
Offline Activities
(e-Learning/Self- Genitalia or the organs used for reproduction, and secondary sex characteristics are largely
Paced) influenced by one’s X and Y-chromosomes. These chromosomes will determine whether
someone’s body will express itself as female or male. Internal reproductive organs (e.g., uterus,
vagina,) external sexual anatomy (e.g., vulva, penis, testicles)

Figure 1.1 Male reproductive organ

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human_male_reproductive_system_en.svg
Figure 1.2 Female reproductive organ
Source: https://media.geeksforgeeks.org/wp-
content/uploads/20220628144938/femalereproductivesystemscientific128440386.webp

The male reproductive system is mostly The internal reproductive organs of a female
external to the body. The penis, scrotum, and are the vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes, and
testicles are examples of external organs. The ovaries. The vagina is a hollow, muscular tube
vas deferens, prostate, and urethra are that connects the vaginal opening to the
examples of internal organs. The male uterus.
reproductive system is in charge of both
sexual function and urination.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: SOCIETY AND CULTURE

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited
What is Gender?
It is short for gender relations between the sexes, or how the male and female relate to one
another. Gender is also based on how people see themselves and, on their tendency, to act along
either the masculine or the feminine line.
• Gender is a socially learned behavior usually associated with one’s sex.
• Is a social construct that determines one’s role, expected values, behavior, and
interaction and relationship involving men and women.

The difference between Sex and Gender

Gender Identity
Gender identity is how you feel about your gender on the inside. It is the psychological sense of
feeling like a woman, a man, both, in between or something else.

Gender socialization
The process through which children learn about the social expectations, attitudes and behaviors
typically associated with boys and girls.

Gender Role socialization

Is defined as the process of learning and internalizing culturally approved ways of thinking,
feeling, and behaving. It starts as soon as one is born and manifest from the color associated with
one’s gender to the role one sees his or her gender performs the most. Socialization affects all
parts of one’s identity by dictating what is acceptable to do because of one’s educational
background, class, religion, and gender. Thus, female and male gender roles.
Major agents of socialization
1. Family
2. Schools
3. Peer groups
4. Mass media

Gender Stereotypes
Develop when different institution reinforces a biased perception of a certain gender’s role.
These institutions include the family, the church, the school, the state, and the media. These
beliefs can be limiting if seen as prescriptive of a gender’s role rather than descriptive of the
many possible role ne can have.

Four types of Gender Stereotypes

1. Sex stereotypes are generalized view of traits that should be possessed by men and
women, specifically, physical and emotional roles.
2. Sexual stereotypes involve assumptions regarding a person’s sexuality that reinforce
dominant views.
3. Sex-role stereotypes encompass the roles that men and women are assigned to based
on their sex and what behaviors they must possess to fulfil these roles.
4. Compounded stereotypes are assumptions about a specific group belonging to a
gender.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: SOCIETY AND CULTURE

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited
SOGIE
The abbreviation for 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 and relationship, as well as the biology of the sexual response system of that
person.

Terms standing for SOGIE are further defined below:

1. Sexual orientation covers three dimensions of sexuality;
a) sexual attraction, sexual behavior, sexual fantasies;
b) Emotional preference, social reference, self-identification
c) Heterosexual or homosexual lifestyles

Sexual orientation involves the person to whom one is attracted and how one identifies himself
or herself in relation to this attraction which includes both romantic and sexual feelings.

Gender identity refers to one’s personal experience of gender or social relations. It determines
how one sees himself or herself in relation to gender and sexuality. A person could identify
himself or herself as masculine or feminine.

Gender expressions determines how one expresses his or her sexuality through the actions or
manner of presenting oneself.

LGBTQIA
The abbreviation LGBTQIA Lesbian, Gay, transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual.
This category describes distinct groups outside of heteronormativity who are usually defined by
their SOGIE.
Heteronormativity
Is defined as the notion that being heterosexual, or the attraction to the opposite sex, is the
standard for correctness.

Heterosexual
Refers to people who have sexual and romantic feelings mostly for the opposite gender: Men
who are attracted to women, and 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, and women who are attracted to women.

Cisgender is someone whose gender identity corresponds with his or her biological sex. A
person can be a homosexual and at the same time a cisgender (identify with the gender they
were assigned to at birth because of their sex).

Lesbian pertains to women who are attracted to other women.

Gay refers to men who are attracted to other men. It can also be used as an umbrella term for
homosexuality.

Bisexual or “bi” denotes people who are attracted to both genders.

Transgender is a term that refers to someone whose assigned sex at birth does not represent
his or her gender identity.

The labels were created to recognize the identity of those who are considered outside the norm
of society. These words and terms were popularized to show those who fell outside the norm
that they are not alone, that there are others facing the same struggles.

Gender Equality
Is defined as the recognition of the state that all human beings are free to enjoy equal conditions
and fulfill their human potential to contribute to the state and society.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: SOCIETY AND CULTURE

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited

CHAPTER 2: CULTURES AND RATIONALITIES

Instinct and Culture

Human beings like animals, are not heavily dependent on instinct. Certainly, instinctual aspects
are present in specific actions such as breathing, making sounds when surprised or shocked,
upright waking, or choosing between flight and fight.

Instinct
An inborn impulse or motivation to action typically performed in response to specific external
stimuli.

Three Main Survival Instincts

• Self-Preservation. survival instinct is the action of keeping yourself safe or alive in a
dangerous situation, often without thinking about what you are doing. This includes health,
strength, diet, fitness, and endurance. This facet of self-preservation is like a management
system for your body. It seeks to find a root cause for problems in the body, and it can seek
to test the body’s endurance to harm or stress.
• Sexual. The sexual survival instinct is the instinct of attraction and seduction. Beyond the
physical drive to actually have sex, this instinct is the drive to attract sex.
• Social. The social survival instinct is the instinct of connection. Connection is a gigantic
domain and so this instinct is multi-faceted and adaptable, which is part of its innate skill.

Culture
It can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that
are passed down from generation to generation. Culture is the system of symbols that allows
people to give meaning to experience. It bears all the accumulated knowledge of people coded
into symbols that will help them interpret what is happening to or around them, and how they
can give an appropriate response to the experience.

Rationality the quality of being based on or in accordance with reason or logic.

Rationalization as the way or a process which organizes daily-life of an individual socially.

Max Weber 4 Types of Rationalization

• Practical Rationality It refers to understanding and then deciding the best possible
way to achieve something based on what is practical.
• Substantive Rationality It refers to the selection of the best possible means in order to
make the system compatible with other systems.
• Formal Rationality It refers to making decisions with the help of and under the
guidance of universal laws, larger social structure of the society and the regulations,
which are enforced with rigidity and quantifiable methods.
• Theoretical Rationality It refers to understanding the society, the environment and
particularly the world around us with the sole help of abstract concepts.

CHAPTER 3: WOMEN’S WAYS OF KNOWING

Women and the Metaphor for Silence
this chapter discussed knowledge and culture, and what it takes to help people make sense of
the world around them. Through this system, people assign and give meanings to different
phenomena thy experience.
• Culture plays a large part in determining what are considered masculine or feminine
traits.
• Women’s way of understanding the world is affected by socialization.
• Women associate silence with knowledge as they themselves are often left unheard and
silent.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: SOCIETY AND CULTURE

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited
The book Women’s Ways of Knowing: The Development of Self, Voice, and Mind by Mary
Belenky, Blythe Mc Vicker Clinchy, Nancy Rule Goldberger and Jill Tarule in 1986. Discuss in this
book the implications of the identified ways of knowing in relation to the greater societal context.
• Examine and describes five different perspectives from which women view reality and
draw conclusions about truth, knowledge, and authority.
• This show how women's self-concepts and ways of knowing are intertwined and
describe how women struggle to calm the power of their own minds.

Differences in Ways of Knowing: Women and Connectedness

Women and men have different ways of knowing, judgments, forms of human development,
values, and visions of humanity and existence. It assumes that the main difference between men
and women comes from upbringing and gender socialization. The role of universal caregiving in
all societies was given by copying their mothers, and boys learned to be men through
disassociation with their mother’s role. Young girls had their mothers as role models, they
learned through association and connectedness. Women learned through empathy. Men learned
through separation.

Separate and Connected Ways of Knowing

• Separate knowers begin by objectively analyzing a situation, and then trying to
understand another person's perspective.
• Connected knowers, on the other hand, first seek to understand, and then step back
and evaluate.

The Five Stages of Knowing

According to Belenky and colleagues, women use the following perspectives to see the world and
to understand knowledge and truth. This perspective compromises the Five categories, which
describe the general ways women learn about the world and come to conclusions about the
truth.
• Silence
• Received Knowledge
• Subjective Knowledge
• Procedural Knowledge
• Constructed Knowledge

What is Meant by Silence?

Silence as knowing indicates an absence of thought or reflection. Women who live in silence are
often disconnected from their families and communities due to their situation, the geographical
separation of the families from the greater community, and suffocation, all of which bring about
lack of space for constructive or violent.
• Words viewed as weapons--worried about being punished for using words
• Women often talked about voice and silence in describing their lives
• Speaking of self was almost impossible
• Blind obedience to authorities of utmost importance for keeping out of trouble

Received Knowledge- Listening to the voices of others

Received Knowledge is developed by absorbing knowledge. Women who learned through
receiving knowledge listen to friends and authorities, and understand what is being said enough
for them to repeat words. These women see words as imperative to learning.
• The longer you work, the higher the grade
• Worry that developing their own powers would be at the expense of others
• Think of words as central to the knowing process--learn by listening
• Feel confused and incapable when required to do original work
• Look to others for self-knowledge--unable to see themselves as growing.
• Equate receiving, retaining, and returning the words of authorities with learning

Subjective Knowledge- The inner voice and the quest for self
Women who learned through subjective knowledge learn to trust their intuition or their inner
voice and infallible gut. Women who utilize this form of knowledge are often those who have

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: SOCIETY AND CULTURE

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited
awakened to the previous abuses they have suffered, or have broken off with the authority
figures they have held dear. They also realize that following rules will not make them happy.
• Fear that using combative measures in support of her opinion may jeopardize
connections with others
• A sense of voice arises
• Truth is an intuitive reaction, experienced not thought out.
• Firsthand experience is a valuable source of knowledge--The predominant learning
mode is inward listening and watching

Procedural knowledge: Voice of reason and separate and connected Knowing

Procedural knowers learn through the process. Often, the women utilizing this method have
learned well from formal systems of knowledge, enough to excel. They then use the tool they
acquire from these formal systems to defend their own view. Understanding then comes as a
vital aspect of knowing. The ideas of connection and understanding show an important
difference in how men and women view morality.
• Relationship orientation has to do with connected knowing--truth emerges through
care
• Thinking is encapsulated within systems--"can criticize a system, but only in the
system's terms, only according to the system's standards. Women in this position may
be liberal or conservative, but they cannot be 'radicals.'"
• Knowing requires careful observation and analysis--simple becomes problematic
• At first this does not feel like progress--confidence wanes--the inner voice becomes
critical
• Procedural Knowledge has elements of separate knowing and connected knowing

Constructed Knowledge: Integrating the voice

Knowledge construction is a collaborative process that aims to produce new understanding
or knowledge which exceeds something that anyone alone could not achieve. It is also
essential that knowledge construction is based on each other’s' ideas and thoughts. To do this,
the constructed knowledge must turn inward instead of outward, with the idea that “knowledge
is constructed, and the knower is an intimate part of the known”. Women must listen to
themselves in the world where the dominant voice is male, and when it stifles their own.
• Integration
• Develop a narrative sense of self
• High tolerance for internal contradiction and ambiguity
• Do not want to compartmentalize reality
• Constructed Knowledge

CHAPTER 4: GENDER-FAIR LANGUAGE

Language and Gender Relations

Language is a potent tool for how humans understand and participate in the world. I can shape
how we see society. It is part of the culture. In this regard, language is not a neutral force; it
enforces certain ideas about people including gender. Many gendered assumptions are present
when it comes to language. Language defines men and women differently as seen in common
objectives associated with these genders. Like gender stereotyping, language influences how one
sees his or her gender and perceives other people’s gender.

Violations of Gender-fair Language

Sexist language is a tool that reinforces unequal gender relations through sex-role stereotypes,
macroaggressions, and sexual harassment. Language can be used to abuse, such as in the case of
sexual harassment, or to perpetuate stereotypes. It can form subtle messages that reinforce
unfair relations, such as how “men cannot take care of children” or women cannot be engineers’,
which may impact how one views his or her capabilities. All in all language is powerful force that
plays a significant role in how one perceives the world.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: SOCIETY AND CULTURE

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited
Invisibilization of women
The invisibilization of women is rooted in the assumptions that men are dominant and are the
norm of the fullness of humanity, and women do not exist. Some examples of women
invisibilization in language are:
• The generic use of masculine pronouns or the use of a masculine general. The use
of the word “mankind” assumes that men are representative of all people on this planet
and women’s presence or roles are not acknowledged. Similarly, saying “guys” when
referring to a mixed-gender group assumes that girls are invisible, and calls attention to
the male gender, giving them a stronger presence.
• The assumption that certain functions or jobs are performed by men instead of
both genders. For example, the sentences “The farmers and their wives tilled the land”.
or “The politicians and their wives lobbied for change” assumes 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 make job titles or terms ending in man to refer o functions that may be
given to both genders. For instance, the titles “businessman’ and ‘Chairman” assumes
that all businessman or chairman are men and women and that certain jobs may not be
for women, which is not true.
Trivialization of Women
• Bringing attention to the gender of a person, if that person is a woman. The use of
lady”, “girl” or “women” along with the noun bring attention to the gender of the person
rather than to the job or functions. Example of these include “girl athlete”, “woman
doctor”, “lady guard”, and “working wives”. This notion also works for men who enter
traditionally female jobs such as “male nurses”, “male nannies”, or “male secretaries”.
• The perception of women as immature. Women may be labeled as “darling” or “baby”
by those who do not know them, making them appear childlike or juvenile.
• The objectification or likening to objects, of women. By being called “honey”,
“sweet”, or “chicks”, women become devalued, especially if they are in an environment
that merits formality such as the workplace.

Fostering unequal gender relations

Language that lacks parallelism fosters unequal gender relations. The use of “man and wife”
assumes that men are still men and women’s identities are subsumed and shifted into beings in
relation to their husbands.

Hidden assumptions
Hidden assumptions in sentences can also be forms of macroaggressions if the underlying
perceptions are sexist and degrading. For example, the statement, “The father is babysitting his
children”, assumes that the father is not a caregiver, and that any attempt he has parenting is
temporary as the mother is the main caregiver.

Philippine Culture and Language

Filipino or Tagalog is mainly gender-neutral, without gender characteristics or titles for men and
women. Words that are gendered came from another culture and were adopted after 400 years
of colonization. The values and the shaping of the education system were influenced by Western
powers and ideals. Filipinos portray a mix of identities, an infusion of both native and foreign
perspectives and values.

Identities and Naming Things

Language is used to define what is feminine, masculine, and outside feminine or masculine. It is
tool for understanding the world as well as naming and describing people and things. Language
gives a person the power to define oneself and the external world and one’s place in it. Through
language, people can reflect on their own gendered identities and battle the definitions society
imposes on them. Naming things give them power. For example, sexual harassment was never
seen as an issue as it was never given a name. it was unwanted behavior in the workplace but
was seen as something that could not be contended with. Because it was unnamed, it was ignored
by those as if it did not exist. Recognizing harassment for what it is by defining and describing

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: SOCIETY AND CULTURE

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited
the act helped women around the world put mechanisms that would address workplace
harassment.

Sexist Language and Culture

The language that admonishes certain acts depending on one’s gender is a form of externalized
social control. Common themes of sexist language are the commercialization and the
trivialization of women. These sexist portrayals of women extend to the advertising industry,
entertainment industry, and the arts. The normalization of sexism makes violence against
women and children acceptable or tolerable. Using language for gender stereotyping can
contribute to sexism by reinforcing the idea that certain words and traits should only be
associated with specific genders. Constantly mocking or joking about women/LGBT, sexualizing
them, and making them appear weak would indeed make them internalize these ideas.

Toward a Gender-fair Language

The use of gender-fair language in educational institutions and the removal of sexist language is
imperative to gender-responsiveness is currently being advocate. GABRIELA (General Assembly
Binding Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equality, Leadership, and Actions) Women’s party
national president and party-list representative Liza Maza called for a ban of sexist language in
all official communication s and documents in the House of Representatives. The creation of
comprehensive gender-fair language policy and the evaluation of the effectiveness of gender-fair
institution. Language, then, is more than just the arrangement of words. Culture and values come
from language and vise-versa. Language also a process that represents one’s views, belief, and
experience. It must be change to reflect the changes in the world as well as to be free from bias
since words can affect how a person sees oneself and others around him or her.

ENGAGING ACTIVITY:
Explain your answer briefly
1. How does your society or culture teach you to think, feel and act based on your gender?
How it is limiting? How it is liberating?
2. When did you realize that you were a boy or a girl? For non-binary students, when did
you realize that you fell outside the boy and girl label? What are the different
expectations for girls, boys, and the LGBT according to your families and school?

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: SOCIETY AND CULTURE

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited

Learning Resources

• Gamble, P., Stone, M. and Woodcock, N. (1999) Customer relationship marketing: up close and personal.
London:Kogan Page; Jain, S.C. (2005). CRM shifts the paradigm. Journal of Strategic Marketing, Vol. 13,
December, pp. 275–291; Evans, M., O’Malley, L. and Patterson, M. (2004) Exploing direct and customer
relationship marketing. London: Thomson
• Kotler, P. (2000) Marketing management: the millennium edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall
International.
• Thomas, K. W., & Kilmann, R. H. (2011). Five conflict management styles at a glance. Retrieved from
http://sourcesofinsight.com/conflict-management-styles-at-a-glance/ and
http://peacebuilding.caritas.org/index.php/Conflict_Handling_Styles
• Administrative Professional Theories and Procedures, 2015, 7th Edition Philippine Edition by Karin Stulz,
Kellie A. Shumack, Patsy Fulton-Calkins
• Administrative Professional Theories and Procedures, 2010, Edition Philippine Edition by Karin Stulz,
Kellie A. Shumack, Patsy Fulton-Calkins
• Office Procedures in Global Environment by Carmel A. Tongo Mosura, Marjorie May T. Mosura edited by
Ernie T. Bhagwani
• Office Management by V. Balachadran, V Chandrasekaran
• Complete Office Handbook 2nd edition by Susan Jaderstrom, Leonard Kruk and Joanne Miller, Susan W.
Fenner
• Customer relationship management, 2003, by Judith W. Kincaid
• Customer Service Training 101, 2005, Renee’ Evenson
• Telephone Courtesy and Customer Service, 2009, Lloyd C. Finch
• Customer relationship management concepts and technologies, 2009, second edition by Francis Buttler
• https://www.tutorialspoint.com/customer_relationship_management/customer_related_databases.htm

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: SOCIETY AND CULTURE