GROUP 3: GENDER AS SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION That observation suggests that we learn gender through

all the agents of socialization For many people, this

ELSISURA, DAVIE A. process even begins before one is born. This is
ERNI, RACHELLE ANN ERNI manifested when parents tend to selecting gendered
names on the basis of the sex of a fetus, and by
ESPARES, JEROME decorating the incoming baby's room and selecting its
ESPIRITU, ALEX toys and clothes in color-coded and gendered ways that
reflect cultural expectations and stereotypes.
What do you think?
• One result of gender socialization is the
formation of gender identity, which is a
definition of oneself as a man or woman.
Gender identity shapes how we think about
others and ourselves and also influences our
behaviors.

• Social constructionism is a social theory about

how meaning is created through social
interaction-through the things we do and say
with other people. This theory shows that
gender it is not a fixed or innate fact, but instead
it varies across time and place

• Gender norms (the socially acceptable ways of

acting out gender) on the other hand are
learned from birth through childhood
socialisation. We learn what is expected of our
gender from what our parents teach us, as well
as what we pick up at school, through religious
The social construction of gender comes out of the or cultural teachings, in the media, and various
general school of thought entitled social other social institutions
constructionism. This thought implies that how people
see "reality" or how they react to it or response to any B. Sociological Theories of Gender
social situation is attributed if not entirely by one's During the mid-twentieth century, functionalist theorists
gender. To say that gender is socially constructed does argued that men filled instrumental roles in society while
not reduce the essence of the concept women filled expressive roles, which worked to the
The repetitious performances of "male" and "female" in benefit of society.
accordance with social norms over time reinforces the • Functionalism therefore recognizes that gender
rectification of such differences on the assumed role exist in society which is expected to promote
gender in the community. However, gender construct is social stability and shared public values From
never a stable descriptor of an individual, because an this perspective, disorganization in the system,
individual is always "doing" gender, performing or gender-based injustice, discrimination and
deviating from the socially accepted performance of inequality lead to chaos because societal
gender stereotypes. Doing gender is not just about components must complement each other to
acting in a particular way. It is about embodying and achieve stability. When one part of the system is
believing certain gender norms and engaging in practices not working or is dysfunctional, it affects all
that map on to those norms. other parts and creates social problems, which
A. Social Construction of Gender leads to social change.

That gender is a social construct becomes especially • Another popular and contemporary approach
apparent when compared how men and women behave within the sociology of gender is influenced by
in their respective cultures, how in some cultures and The symbolic interaction perspective, also called
societies, and hence other genders exist too. symbolic interactionism, is a major framework of
 sociological theory. This perspective relies on relationship seen in the labor force is also seen
the symbolic meaning that people develop and in the household, with women assuming the role
rely upon in the process of social interaction of the proletariat. This is due to women's
which includes how people act as manifestation dependence on men for the attainment of
of their perceived gender. wages, which is even worse for women who are
entirely dependent upon their spouses for
• Sociologists West and Zimmerman popularized economic support.
this approach with their 1987 article on "doing
gender," which illustrated how gender is • Contemporary conflict theorists suggest that
something that is produced through interaction when women become wage earners, they can
between people, and as such is an interactional gain power in the family structure and create
accomplishment. This approach highlights the more democratic arrangements in the home,
instability and fluidity of gender and recognizes although they may still carry the majority of the
that since it is produced by people through domestic burden, as noted earlier
interaction, it is fundamentally changeable.
• The theory also analyses society by addressing • Meanwhile, Feminist Theory is a type of conflict
the subjective meanings that people impose on theory that examines inequalities in gender-
objects, events, and behaviors which believe an related issues. It uses the conflict approach to
expression of their gender orientation. This goes examine the maintenance of gender roles and
to show that subjective meanings are given inequalities. Radical feminism, in particular,
primacy because it is believed that people considers the role of the family in perpetuating
behave based on what they believe and not just male dominance. In patriarchal societies, men's
on what is objectively true. Thus, society is contributions are seen as more valuable than
thought to be socially constructed through those of women. Patriarchal perspectives and
human interpretation. People interpret one arrangements are widespread and taken for
another's behavior and it is these interpretations granted. As a result, women's viewpoints tend to
that form the social bond. be silenced or marginalized to the point of being
discredited or considered invalid.
• Within the sociology of gender, those inspired
by conflict theory on the other hand, focus on C. Prevailing and Current Gender Perspectives
how gender and assumptions and biases about
gender differences lead to the empowerment of 1. Gender Role
men, oppression of women, and the eructural
inequality of women relatie to men. According A gender role is a set of societal norms dictating
to conflict theory, society is a struggle for what types of behaviors are generally
dominance among social groups (like women considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable
versus men) that compete for scarce resources. for a person based on their actual or perceived
When sociologists examine gender from this sex.
perspective, we can view men as the dominant
group and women as the subordinate group. World Health Organization on their part defines
According to conflict theory, social problems are gender roles as "socially constructed roles,
created when dominant groups exploit or behaviours, activities and attributes that a given
oppress subordinate groups. Consider the society considers appropriate for men and
Women's Suffrage Movement of the debate women" (WHO, 2015).
over women's "right to choose" their
reproductive futures. It is difficult for women to Some systems classified gender roles into some
rise above men, as dominant group members distinct categories - gender roles are culturally
create the rules for success and opportunity in specific, and while most cultures distinguish only
society (Farrington & Chertok, 1993). two (boy and girl or man and woman), others
recognize more.
• Friedrich Engels, a German sociologist, studied
family structure and gender roles. Engels • Androgyny, for example, has been proposed as a
suggested that the same owner-worker third gender (Graham, 2001).
 • Other societies have claimed to see more than and power structures impact on the lives and
five genders (and some non-Western societies opportunities available to different groups of men and
have three genders-man, woman and third women. It is also a process towards sustainable way of
gender (Trumbach, 1994), community development incorporating all the gender
• while some individuals (not necessarily being with equal participation and involvement. It is believed
from such a culture) identified with no gender at that absence of equal opportunity and participation of
all (LGBTQ, 2013). both women and men in any development process,
there will be no real sustainable development. Real
2. Theories on Gender Role development considers all contributions of diverse
Traditionally, both gender identity and gender role are components of society.
believed to be a natural ven Hence, through the years, 4. Gender Sensitive
this has proven to be different. Men and women have
learned to share and perform similar occupations and The concept of gender sensitivity has been developed as
responsibilities on which they demonstrate adaptability a way to reduce barriers to personal and economic
to perform various tasks regardless of differences (such development created by sexism. Gender sensitivity helps
as physical strength), but made to complement one to generate respect for the individual regardless of sex
another. (UNESCO, 2017).

• Psychologist Sandra Lipsitz Bem (1981) This also takes into consideration promoting of policies
developed the gender schema theory to explain and programmes that take into account the peculiarities
how individuals come to use gender as an pertaining to the lives of both women and men, while
organizing category in all aspects of their life. aiming to eliminate inequalities and promote gender
She believed that through gender-schematic fairness, including an equitable distribution of resources.
processing, a person spontaneously sorts
5. Gender Differences
attributes and behaviors into masculine and
feminine categories. Therefore, individuals Gender differences are variances between males and
process information and regulate their behavior females that are based biological adaptations that are
based on whatever definitions of femininity and the same for both sexes. Gender differences between
masculinity that the respective culture provides men and women have been described throughout
(Lindsay, 2004).. history. Not only are our physical bodies different, but
• Talcott Parsons, Parsons believed that the there are significant character differences as well.
feminine role was an expr one, whereas the
masculine role was instrumental. He believed a. Differences in Cognitive Abilities
that expressive activities of the woman fulfil spatial ability is one of these slightly larger
"internal" functions, for example, to strengthen differences this means that men are somewhat
the ties between members of the family, better at rotating figures in their heads and
whereas the man performed the "external" finding their way around town. If the
functions of a family, such as providing performance of men and women on spatial
monetary support (Brockhaus, 2001), ability tests were graphed, there would be two
curves that overlapped a huge amount, with
men's curves slightly ahead. This does mean that
• psychologist John Money (1921-2006)
among those very talented in this area there are
developed the use of gender to describe one's
many more men than women, as a small
feelings about oneself. His team of researchers
average difference creates more of a
determined that people do not have a concrete
discrepancy at the high and low ends of the
sense of gender identity until they are at least
curve. There is no gender difference at all in
two years old. According to this team, a child's
overall intelligence.
gender identity can be changed without undue
psychological stress.
b. Differences in Personality Traits and Self-
Esteem
3. Gender Role Development
Gender differences in personality traits are also
Gender is always an important consideration in small. An analysis by Alan Feingold found that
development. It is a way of looking at how social norms women tend to score higher in anxiety and
neuroticism, but they also score highet in identity) should avoid distinguishing roles
extraversion (linked with positive emotions). So according to people's sex or gender, in order to
there are some evidences that women avoid discrimination arising from the impression
experience more emotional ups and downs than that there are social roles/fits for which one
men. gender is more suited than another

c. Differences in Attitudes D. GAD Mainstreaming in the philippines

There are also some small gender differences in GAD - Gender and Development Program
attitudes. Women tend to be more liberal than
men on social issues. As one might expect, Gender mainstreaming is the public policy
women are more progressive in their attitudes concept of assessing the implications for people
about women's roles. Women are also more of different genders of a planned policy action,
tolerant of gay men (there are no gender including legislation and programmes.
differences in attitudes toward lesbians). Mainstreaming offers a pluralistic approach that
values the diversity among people of different
d. Differences in Behavior genders.

Generally speaking, men (compared to women) • provides and pursues equal opportunity
are more interested in things (like cars, for development among Filipino men and
buildings, and machines), and women are more women. The said plan was approved and
interested in people (eg, how people think, and adopted by former President Fidel V.
how their bodies work). For example, Richard Ramos through Executive Order No 3 on
Lippa (1998) found that men were more likely to September 8, 1995. This executive is the
prefer professions centered on the successor of the Philippine Developmen
"manipulation of objects, tools, machines, and Plan for Women of 1989-1992 adopted
animals," and women were more likely to prefer by Executive No. 348 of February 17,
professions that involved "activities that entail 1989,
the manipulation of others to inform, train,
develop, cure, or enlighten" (note, however, • Philippine Commission on Women (PCW)
that these differences could be caused by reported that efforts to make governance
cultural expectations, biological sex differences, gender response are promoted through
or-most likely-both). legislation such as the Magna Carta of
Women (MCW) or RA 9710. That was
6. Gender Cross-Cultural Differences approved on August 14, 2009 which
mandates non-discriminatory and pro-
Gender is a cultural construct and perceptions of gender equality and equity measures to
men and women differ from culture to culture enable women's participation in the
or even during different periods even in a single formulation, implementation and
culture or society. Gender construct varies evaluation of policies and plan for
significantly across cultures, Gender is therefore national, regional and local development.
culturally and historically contingent, meaning it
cannot be understood outside of its cultural and • RA 9710 affirms the role of women in
historical context. Gender differences remain in nation building and ensures the
its unique culture and history. substantive equality of women and men.
It shall promote empowerment of
7. Gender-neutral women and pursue equal opportunities
for women and men and ensure equal
Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender- access to resources and to development
neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the results and outcome.
gender neutrality movement, is the idea that
policies, language, and other social institutions
(social structures, gender roles, or gender