SEX, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY • Sex-the biological aspect of sex, mateness or femaleness • Gender-the social interpretation of sex: masculinity, femininity, etc. • Sexuality-the totality of our own experience of our sex and gender • Sex chromosomes - chromosomal markers that distinguish females (XX) from male (XY) species • Intersex-individuals with composite genitals (possessing some characteristics of both male and female genitals) • SEX • Sex is the biological dimension of your gender and sexuality. Also referred to as biological sex or physical sex, the term generally pertains to your identity depending on your sexual anatomy and physiology-the parts of your body that are relevant to reproduction and the function of these parts. Sex is typically determined by examining your genitals- these are external organs that are associated with reproduction-the process or the ability to create offspring. • Among humans, sex is often assigned at birth. If at birth, a child is observed to have a penis and testicles, then the child is categorized as male. If on the other hand, a child is observed to have a vagina, then the child is categorized as female. However, there are cases when the baby's genitals appear to be a conglomerate of male and female organs such that it may be difficult to classify the baby's sex without further examination. In the past, this condition is referred to as hermaphroditism (from Hermes, a male Greek god, and Aphrodite, a female Greek goddess). In modern times, the term intersexuality is used to refer to this phenomenon. Hermaphroditism or intersexuality is a naturally occurring variation in humans and animals (1 in 1,500 births) according to the American Psychological Association (APA) (2006). • Since it may be difficult to distinguish biological sex by merely examining the genitals, there are other biological markers used. For instance, your chromosomes-protein structures which contain your genetic materials-are also used to determine sex. There are specific chromosomes referred to as sex chromosomes, which marks a person's biological sex. An individual with a set of XY sex chromosomes is said to be a male, while an individual with a set of XX sex chromosomes is said to be a female. The level of some hormoneschemicals in our body that are responsible for sustaining bodily processes-are also used as markers. For example, human males tend to have higher levels of testosterone, which is associated to sex drive and aggressions. On the other hand, human females tend to have higher levels of estrogen and progesterone, which are associated to lactation, menstruation, and other female reproductive functions. GENDER • However, humans are meaning-making organisms. Our ability for higher order thinking and our tendency to create social norms, allow us to attach social and cultural meanings to things, including our sex. For example, males are typically expected be masculine and females are expected to be feminine. Once parents are aware of their child's sex (male or female) during birth or through prenatal procedures such as ultrasound, they automatically attach social and cultural meanings to their child's sex and in doing so, they already set an expectation in terms of how their child should behave and how they should treat their child. • There are set of behaviors that all female individuals must follow and so with the male individuals, and all are expected to stick to these behaviors that are aligned with their biological sex. This phenomenon of determining the normality of a behavior based on whether it conforms or not to the expectations relative to one's biological sex is referred to as heteronormativity 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. This refers to our gender identity. 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. People with this experience are referred to as transgenders, such as a male who does not feel comfortable identifying as a man (transgender woman) or a female who is not comfortable identifying as a woman (transgender man). Transgender people may undergo gender reassignment surgery to align their physical characteristics to their gender identity. However, due to many factors such as belief systems, culture, and economics, some do not opt for surgery. SEXUAL ORIENTATION • Another aspect of our gender pertains to our emotional and sexual attraction to a person. This aspect refers to our sexual orientation. According to the Psychological Association of the Philippines, typically at ages 6 or 8, we experience or develop attraction to other people. By adolescence, we already know who we are attracted to and would experiment through dating and relationships. Everyone's sexuality is different and deeply personal. Our capacity for emotional and sexual attraction is diverse and complex, but there are a few common terms or labels for us to use. People who are attracted 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 APPRECIATING DIVERSITY • According to the American Psychological Association (APA), nature and nurture play a complex role in shaping our sexual orientation. Homosexuality and heterosexuality a of the human sexuality and is a large part of the human experience. Identifying as a heterosexual, lesbian, bi, gay, or transgender is a deeply personal process, so it may be more difficult for others to come out or for them to become comfortable enough with their sexuality that they feel safe to share it with other people. For others, it comes early in adolescence while for some, it may take time to understand and discover themselves. According the Psychological Association of the Philippines, "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 upon. People who experience prejudice and discrimination suffer negative psychological effects (APA), so we must work towards an inclusive environment where everyone feels safe. GENDER AND SEXUALITY ACROSS TIME • Patriarchy-social system where men primarily holds power to the political and the private spheres. • Feminism - continuing series of social movements that aim to challenge the patriarchal society that creates these oppressive political structures, beliefs, and practices against women • • • • Society has progressed so much in a way that information and knowledge is available to everyone. This gives us an opportunity to examine our social and political conditions in more detail than when information was scarce and limited to only a few individuals. Historical accounts show that across time, humans' conception of gender and sexuality has also changed. Archeological artifacts reveal that in the distant past, during the dawn of civilizations, human societies have high regard for women. The concept of the divine feminine (the sacredness of the woman due to her ability to conceive children) has prevailed, and thus, women are treated equally with men. This make societies egalitarian (men and women have equitable power and roles). However, humans' discovery of paternity (fatherhood/ role of the father in conception). presumably during the Agricultural era, when societies began to establish communities and tame rear cattle and stocks, have also changed how societies have viewed women and men therefrom. For the longest time thereafter, societies have privileged men over other genders, mainly because of the preferential given to them in the productive sphere (world of public work). Women who have been revered due to their ability to conceive have been viewed as solely capable only of reproductive affairs (world of the home and related tasks such as suckling the young, child rearing, and home management. The gender disparity was intensified by the Industrial era where factors were built and men were preferred because they did not have to bear children for nine months and because of their perceived physical strength. But how did really the conceptualization of gender and sexuality changed? This lesson tackles movements in history which shows how men, women, and people of other genders are viewed in human societies. PATRIARCHY • A close examination of our society can lead us to see the invisible layers of oppression in our society like patriarchy-a system based on the control and oppression of women wherein they are perceived to be the weaker sex. It is a structure that upholds male supremacy in the law, at home, in the work place, and in society. • Patriarchy is from the Greek word Patriarkhes which means "the rule of the father". It is a social system where men primarily holds power in the political and the private spheres. This means that in this social system, society is organized and maintained in a way that men rule over women and their children. In the social, legal, political, and economic spheres, men are expected to lead while women are expected to obey and are relegated to house chores, bearing children, and child care. • A patrilineal society often follows a patriarchal society, this means only men can inherit property and the family name. Women were left with no inheritance and are expected to marry a man who can support her economically. In fact, women were not allowed to go to schools, or even vote, because they are viewed as a weaker sex and should not concern themselves in learning science or politics. Women had to fight for the right to vote, to go to school, to go to work, and even participate in politics. • Patriarchy is viewed by most sociologists as a social construct and not as a biological phenomenon. This is because history proves that in the prehistoric hunter-gatherer tribes and civilization, they prioritized equality of all members, male and female. History suggests an egalitarian system rather than a patriarchal system. Men and women contribute to society. and they enjoy the same social status. • Friedrich Engels, a German philosopher and sociologist, argues that patriarchy came about when people started having private property instead of a communal living. The development in agriculture and domestication of animals led to creating product surplus which allows people to have private property. As a way to control the excess wealth generated by these advancements, male dominance was asserted over women so only the male heir can inherit family wealth. HISTORICAL VIEWS ON GENDER Greek • Aristotle, Plato, and other Greek philosophers viewed women as the inferior sex and are properties of men whose only job was to obey their husbands, bear children, and take care of the household. They were forbidden to learn philosophy, politics, and science. Egypt • Herodotus, a Greek historian, observed the Egyptian civilization citing that Egyptian women enjoyed higher social status than Greek women because they can inherit property and engage in trade and politics. However, Greek influence quickly spread in Egypt through the conquests of Alexander the Great across Asia and Africa. China • Confucianism has stringent written rules that dictate how women should conduct themselves. The written documents titled "Three obedience's and four virtues" and "Precepts of women" states that women should obey their father, when married she is to obey her husband, and when widowed she is to obey her son. • Gendered biases in ancient patriarchal societies were very strict, heavily enforced, and often violent. Imagine not being able to go to school just because you are a woman, not being able to express your opinion on important matters even when it concerns your future, and not being able to say no to any man. • Women have come a long way since the ancient times through the feminist movement, however, patriarchy has taken on subtle forms of oppression that often go unnoticed such as: 1. sexism - prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination based on sex; 2. gender pay gap-men earn more that women; 3. underrepresentation in politics, military, executive positions, etc; 4. rape on women and the stigma making women ashamed to report the crime; 5. very conservative expectations on women on how they behave; . 6. unrealistic depictions of women in fiction, often very sexualized; . 7. women do more housework and childcare; 8. boys were trained to be leaders while women were trained to do house chores. WOMEN EMPOWERMENT • Women's liberation movement, women's movement, or feminism is a continuing series of social movements that aim to challenge the • • • • patriarchal society that creates these oppressive political structures, beliefs, and practices against women. It started at different decades in different countries, some are far more advance in their struggle while others are still starting a movement. During the 19th and early 20th century, first-wave feminism spread across the western countries as women demanded for their right to vote or participate in elections and to be able to legally own property. In France, Simone de Beauvoir wrote book titled "The Second Sex" in 1949. It outlined how the patriarchal society disadvantaged women by slowly raising her into submission and hindering their productivity and happiness by relegating them to housecleaning. This inspired many women to write and speak their truths, such as Betty Friedan (The Feminine Mystique, 2963), Kate Miller (Sexual Politics, 1969), and Germaine Greer (The Female Eunuch, 1970). Beauvoir's book was instrumental in awakening women about their plight as the "wife-servant" to their husbands in her famous quote "one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman". Le Mouvement de Liberation des Femmes or the women's liberation movement was formed in Europe and they sought the right to education, right to work, and right to vote in the 1940s. Later, they also won women's right to decide on their own bodies and their sexualities. This liberation movement views the intersectionality of economic status or class to patriarchy. Inspired by Beauvoir's book, second-wave feminism in 1960's through the 80's, women drew attention to various social and cultural inequalities such as domestic violence especially marital rape, reproductive rights, wage inequality, and etc. The 90's gave birth to the 3rd wave and 2012 started the forth wave. These movements only show that there is still much to be done for women's rights. The United Nations reports that women do more work than men because even when they work at the office, they are still expected to do household tasks. Another report from UN Women states that "women perform 66 percent of the worlds work, produce 50 percent of the food, but earn 10 of the income and own 1 percent of the property". This is because in agricultural countries, women participate in making the produce, but only the father or the male head of the family controls the income. • To put simply, feminism demands equality. Here are a few salient points that feminism demands. 1. Women suffrage - women were not allowed to vote before because they were viewed as irrational and temperamental and therefore, not able to make rational decisions. This changed after World War I (1914 to 1918) wherein women were uprooted from the household. They took on jobs and made significant contributions to their country. Many countries soon started letting women vote since they can no longer argue that women are "irrational and temperamental". 2. Equality in politics and society - for hundreds of years, women's voices were silenced, so society must make an effort to restore their rights. Representation is very important for women, so that their genuine concerns are heard in politics and in society. Feminist have always criticized that old, privileged men always make the decisions for women at home and in politics. 3. Reproductive rights means the woman is in control of her body, and she can decide for herself on what she sees is best for her. Contraception, abortion, and other reproductive options should be available to women because it is their body. 4. Domestic violence- such as marital rape and physical abuse are often dismissed by society as part of a "marriage". Although we have RA 9262 or Anti Violence Against Women and their Children, our culture still dismiss such incidents as "away mag-asawa". 5. Sexual harassment and sexual violence The Center for Women's Resources in the Philippines estimates that one woman or child is raped every hour mostly by someone they know. 6. Other rights include the right to divorce their husbands, the right to make decisions on her pregnancy, equitable wages, and equal employment opportunity.
