Gender & Society

GENDER
AND SEXUALITY AS A
SOCIAL REALITY
LESSON 1:
SEX, GENDER, AND
SEXUALITY
DEFINITION OF TERMS
SEX – the biological aspect of sex; maleness or

femaleness
GENDER – the social interpretation of sex;

masculinity, femininity, etc.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
SEXUALITY – the totality of our own experience of
our sex and gender
SEX CHROMOSOMES – chromosomal markers
that distinguish females (xx) from male (xy)
INTERSEX – individuals with composite genitals
(possessing some characteristics of both male and
female genitals).
 SOCIALIZATION – IS A PROCESS OF
INTERNALIZING THE NORMS AND IDEOLOGIES OF
SOCIETY.
 ENCOMPASSES BOTH LEARNING AND TEACHING
 THE MEANS BY WHICH SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
CONTINUITY ARE ATTAINED
 IS STRONGLY CONNECTED TO DEVELOPMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY
LOOKING GLASS SELF
CHARLES HORTON COOLEY
The LOOKING-GLASS SELF is a

social psychological concept
It states that a person’s self grows out of
society’s interpersonal interactions and
the perceptions of others.
LOOKING GLASS-SELF
GEORGE HERBERT MEAD
The SELF is made up of two components the “I”
and the “ME”
The ‘ME’ represents the expectations and attitudes
of others organized into a social self (“generalized
other”)
 Individuals define their behavior
in reference to the generalized
attitude of the social group
THE GENERALIZED OTHER
The GENERALIZED OTHER (internalized in the
“ME”) is the major instrument of social control.
For it is the mechanism by which the community
exercises control over the conduct of its individual
members
When people can view themselves from the standpoint
of the generalized other, self consciousness is attained.
The “I” is the response to the “ME” or the person’s
individuality.
It is the essence of agency in human actions, so, in
effect, the “ME” is the self as object, while the “I” is
the self as subject.
The self is developed through 3 activities:
LANGUAGE,
PLAY
GAME
LANGUAGE allows people to take on the role of the
other and respond to their own behaviors through the
symbolized attitudes of others
PLAY during play, individuals take on the roles of
different people and pretend to be them to express
their expectations.
This process of ROLE-PLAYING is the key to the
generation of self-consciousness.
GAME
People must comprehend the rules of

the game and internalize the roles of
everyone else involved.
GENDER AS A SOCIAL FACT
How we express our gender is based on
our social and cultural setting
Each culture has different standards on
how to be a man and a woman and how
they should present themselves according
to their sex and gender
SCHOOLING AND GENDER
Two of the primaryPRACTICE
needs of individuals are:
 Access to Education
 Access to health services
 The UNICEF (2011) report on adolescence show that
while there is already an increase in access to
education for all genders, there remains to be many
girls and women who are unable to go to school.
FUNCTIONAL LITERACY,
EDUCATION, AND MASS MEDIA
(2013)
This study showed that there are more males (4-6 in
1000) children aged 6-14 who are able to attend
school compared to females (2-4 in 1000).
However, for people aged 15-24, there are actually
more females (24 in a 1000) who are able to go to
school compared to males (11.2 in a 1000)
PHILIPPINES STATISTICS
AUTHORITY, 2015
This may mean that while there are more
males who are able to receive basic
education, there are more females who
are able to proceed to higher education
Practically, this only shows that
interventions towards making education
accessible to women and men may also
differ, e,g., encouraging younger girls to
go to basic education, and providing
opportunities for men to earn a college
degree.
GENDER IDENTITY
One important aspect of our gender is our sense of who we
are:
 Do we see and experience ourselves
as a man, a woman, or neither
 Typically, males are comfortable
identifying as a man and females
are comfortable identifying as a
woman
However, there are cases wherein a person’s
biological sex does not align with one’s gender
identity
TRANSGENDERS
 A male who does not feel comfortable identifying
as a man
 A female who is not comfortable identifying as a
woman
 TRANSGENDER People who undergo
surgery to align their physical characteristic to their
gender identity
CONTEMPLATE
 Let us think about how gender is portrayed
in your community
 List down as many words or phrases used
to identify and describe the following
genders.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
Another aspect of our gender pertains to our
emotional and sexual attractions to a person.
 SEXUAL ORIENTATION
 Typically at ages 6 or 8 we experience or develop
attraction to other people
 By adolescence we already know who we are
attracted through dating relations
EVERYONE SEXUALITY IS
DIFFERENT AND DEEPLY
PERSONAL
FEW COMMON TERMS OR LABELS
FOR
 People who are US TO
attracted USE
to the opposite sex are called
‘heterosexuals’ or “straight.”
 People who are attracted to people of the same sex are
called “homosexual”, “gay” or “lesbian.”
 “Bisexual” or “bi” people are attracted to
both sexes, male or female
 LGBT refers to the lesbian, gay,

bisexual, and transgender community
COMMUNICATE
Reflect on the following questions. Find a friend
you are comfortable to discuss your thoughts.
Share ideas with them.
 How can you describe your discovery of your sexuality,
your sense of being male or female
 How does your being a female or male influence your
family’s and peers’ expectations
from you.
OVERVIEW
As we start our discussion of GENDER &
SEXUALITY as a social fact or realities. We want to
understand how a person’s gender is expressed from
birth to childhood
 Sex is the biological dimension of your Gender and
sexuality – BIOLOGICAL SEX
 Sex is typically determined by examining your
genitals – Reproductive External Organ
WAYS THROUGH WHICH GENDER
IS MANIFESTED
As soon as a new baby arrives in the family
 Adults manifests their social interpretation
of the baby’s sex by colors, toys, clothes
 Throughout childhood and adolescence
 There are set of behaviors that all female
and male individuals must follow
However, there are people who do not follow
culturally-accepted standards of masculinity and
feminity
 Like girls not wanting to wear dresses
 Boys not wanting to play rough sports
 This is a natural variation of the human gender
expression
 Social and cultural practices change through time
ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
Nature and nurture play a complex role in shaping our
sexual orientation
Homosexuality and Heterosexuality are part of human
sexuality and is large part of human experience
Identifying LGBT is a deeply personal process so it is
more difficult for others to come out or to become
comfortable with their sexuality
We can only truly tell if the person is gay, lesbian,, or
bisexual if the person shares with us his or her
experiences and feelings of attraction towards them
That is why it is important for everyone to feel safe as
they share their sexuality since it is a personal and
sensitive topic
We can do that in an environment wherein we do not
feel judged and discriminated
 People who experience prejudice and discrimination
suffer negative psychological effects. So we must
work towards an inclusive environment where
everyone feels safe.

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GENDER

SEX – the biological aspect of sex; maleness or

GENDER – the social interpretation of sex;

The LOOKING-GLASS SELF is a

People must comprehend the rules of

 LGBT refers to the lesbian, gay,

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