ELECTIVE 2 - GENDER AND SOCIETY

LESSON 1

OVERVIEW:
This unit will give an introduction to school’s vision, mission, and quality policy and an overview
to the subject requirements and policies.

LESSON TITLE:
Introduction and Overview of the Course

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
 Aware of the course description, outcomes, contents, requirements, and class policies.
TAKE OFF:
What do you think of DEBESMSCAT? Create a visual representation of your answer.

CONTENT FOCUS:
Vision
The DEBESMSCAT as a center for social transformation in Masbate by 2025.

Mission
The DEBESMSCAT shall produce holistically developed workforce through inclusive quality education
for sustainable society.

Quality Policy
DEBESMSCAT is committed to sustain excellent service delivery for clientele satisfaction by adhering to
quality standards, compliance to legal requirements and continual improvement thereby producing
transformed communities.

College of  Provide quality and holistic learning experience to produce

Education Goals skilled, competent and effective teachers capable of developing
and modifying instructional strategies to suit the needs of
ASEAN learners.
 Create a research-driven environment and produce research
scholars and research by inspiring and supporting them to
address immediate needs and issues in education, arts and
science and technology.
 Conduct research-based literacy and numeracy extension
programs in the form of trainings, workshops, seminars,
demonstrations activities, information dissemination and
technology transfer to address research-identified issues in the
service areas.
 Build and strengthen local, national and international ties
through research collaboration and engagement in projects and
partnerships with agencies, organizations and educational
institutions within the ASEAN countries.

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BSED, BPED, and  Produce well-rounded and values-oriented pre-service teachers

BTLED Objectives in the field of English and Filipino languages, Science,
Mathematics and Social Studies.
 Develop competent research professionals who are key players
in the development of the ASEAN region through impactful
and world-class research.
 Develop self-driven individuals and transformed communities
through sustainable extension programs with competent and
committed extentionists.
 Establish linkage in local, national, and international academic
institutions through research collaboration, resources exchange,
library sharing, and faculty mobility.

BEED Objectives  Provide quality academic instruction to produce and develop

innovative and functional elementary teachers who will be
responsible in molding the young ASEAN learners.
 Develop knowledge-based solutions through research activities
along immediate pressing needs and issues in education.
 Empower pre-service teachers and communities through
research-based literacy and numeracy related extension
programs.
 Strengthen local, national and international linkages through
manpower and material-resource exchange.

BECED Objectives  Train early education practitioners dealing with diverse learners
in a various setting.
 Develop effective, efficient, and committed early childhood
practitioners who are molders of the solid foundation for
personhood development.
 Expose the early childhood education practitioners in a rich
learning environment.

Course Description
Elective 2 – Gender and Society
Gender as a social construction, its role in and impact on different facets of societal life.

Class Policies
1. Cheating/Plagiarism:
The College is an academic community that upholds the intellectual, social and ethical
development of its students. In keeping with these goals, students are expected to strive for
integrity in both academic and non-academic pursuits. Acts that involve any attempt to deceive,
to present another’s ideas as one’s own, or to enhance one’s grade through dishonest means
violate the integrity of both the student and the college and be dealt in accordance with the
policies stated in the Students’ Handbook.

2. Online Etiquettes:
With the adoption of this institution of the synchronous and asynchronous learning, students are
encouraged to display the following behaviors in communicating with their instructor and
classmates:
a. Think before you send something in the group chat or Facebook page.
b. Be respectful at all times (to the instructor as well as classmates)
c. Read and analyze the teacher’s instructions first before asking queries.
d. Maintain politeness and professionalism in communicating.
Class Reminders
1. All activities found in the module must be written or encoded in separate sheets.
2. Make sure to submit all activities and outputs.
3. You have two options in submitting your outputs:
a. Thru online (private message in messenger or email at
[email protected])
b. Compile the outputs to be retrieved per municipality

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4. Some of the activities are required to be passed online (like video presentations). If you have
unstable internet connection, coordinate with your classmates who can submit on your behalf.
5. Further announcements and reminders will be posted in the respective group chats and Facebook
groups.
6. For queries, you can reach me thru messenger or email.

SELF-CHECK:
Emoji play
Directions. Choose three emojis that will best represent your perspectives of the subject. Write two
sentences as an explanation for each of the emoji.

References:

 Student’s Handbook

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LESSON 2-3

Overview:
This unit presents a concrete differentiation of the confusing concepts of gender and sexuality. It
discusses how these concepts are often viewed in the society.

Lesson Title:
Leveling Off: Gender and Sexuality

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
 Differentiate gender from sexuality;
 Explain gender socialization;
 Identify gender stereotypes and the problem stereotyping brings; and
 Discuss sexual orientation and gender identity and expression or SOGIE
Take off:
Complete the following statements:
I think girls are _________________________________________________________________.
I think boys are _________________________________________________________________.
I think girls should ______________________________________________________________.
I think boys should ______________________________________________________________.
Society thinks that girls should ____________________________________________________.
Society thinks boys should ________________________________________________________.

Content Focus:
 Sex – often referred to as the act of reproduction (scientifically, copulation). It refers to the
biological differences between males and females, such as the genitalia and genetic differences.
 Gender – is a socially learned behavior usually associated with one’s sex. It 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 social construct that determines one’s roles, expected values, behavior, and
interaction in relationships involving men and women.
Sex Gender
Physiological Social
Related to reproduction Cultural
Congenital Learned behavior
Unchanging Varies within a culture/among cultures

Does Sex Correspond to Gender?

Many scientists, psychologists, and sociologists believe that sex does not determine one’s gender.

 Femininity – the behavior that is associated with females, may not be actually tied to woman’s
sex.
 Masculinity – is not tied to one’s gonads.
The whole idea of being a woman is based on gender and society’s belief in how woman should
act, instead of biological functions that are inescapable.

Example:
Doing household chores is said to be a woman’s job, however, there are some
men who do the cooking and cleaning at home. Aggressive sports are said to be for
men, but for every men’s sports team, there is a counterpart for women.

Gender Role Socialization

- Is defined as the process of learning and internalizing culturally approved ways of thinking,
feeling, and behaving.
- 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.
- One’s socialization regulates his or her perceptions of genders in two ways:
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a. External regulations – involves various institutions dictating what is proper and normal
based on one’s identity. It affects how one sees his or her gender, and that gender in
relation to other genders. It can happen through:
censorship of some forms of sexuality (Homosexuality is bad!)
subtle forms of control such as micro aggression (sexist assumptions like “Only girly
boys do housework!”)
b. Internalized self-control – causes a person to police himself or herself according to
society’s standards and norms. If someone finds himself or herself deviating from what
society finds normal, he or she may become deviant and excluded from society.
Gender Stereotypes
- Develop when different institutions reinforce a biased perception of a certain gender’s role.
- These institutions include the family, the church, the school, the state, and the media.
Four Types of Gender Stereotypes:
1. Sex stereotypes – 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 such as men are sexually dominant, and the assumption that all persons
should only be attracted to their opposite sex (heteronormativity).
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 fulfill these roles.
4. Compounded stereotypes – assumptions about a specific group belonging to a gender.
Examples of groups subject are young women, old men, single men or women, women
factory workers, and the like.
SOGIE
- Stands for sexual orientation and gender identity and expression
- Sexuality is the expression of a person’s thoughts, feelings, sexual orientation and
relationships, as well as the biology of the sexual response system of that person.

 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. A person
could identify himself or herself as masculine or feminine.
 Gender Expression – refers to how one expresses his or her sexuality through the actions or
manners of presenting oneself.
LGBTQIA
- Short for lesbian, gay, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual
- The labels were created to recognize the identity of those who are considered outside the
norm of society.

 Heteronormativity – defined as the notion that being heterosexual, or the attraction to the
opposite sex, is the standard for correctness.
 Heterosexual – or straight, 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 attracted to women.
 Cisgender – someone whose gender identity corresponds with his or her biological sex. A person
can be a homosexual and at the same time a cisgender.
 Lesbian – pertains to women who are attracted to other women.
 Gay – refers to men who are attracted to other men.
 Bisexual – denotes people who are attracted to both genders.
 Transgender – an umbrella term that refers to someone whose assigned sex at birth does not
represent his or her gender identity.
Why Equate Gender Issues with Women’s Issues
- Gender issues are equated with women’s issues because of sexism and gender stereotypes.
- Sexism is defined as the prejudice against a certain sex.

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- 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.
It aims to promote the full participation of women and men in society.
Take Action:
Read and analyze the passage below. In three to five sentences, react on how the person was
treated in the situation given.

A young woman, fresh out of college and ready for work, had trouble securing a
job. Her friends could not figure out why. She graduated with Latin honors and topped
the board exam in her respective field. She had applied to numerous jobs which
granted her interviews. However, after her face-to-face interview with numerous
potential employers, she was never contacted. When asked why, the company HR
merely stated that they do not allow “cross-dressing” for their employees. That young
woman is a trans woman who, while expressing herself as feminine, was recognized by
professional institutions as male.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Self-Check:
Flyer
Directions. Create a flyer that shows your answers to the following questions:
1. Difference among gender, sex, and sexuality.
2. What role does gender socialization play in the perception of gender roles?
3. Give two examples of gender stereotypes and its effects on gender.
4. How is SOGIE relevant to the Philippine society?
Rubric:
Criteria 5 pts 4 pts 3 pts 1 pt
Content Clearly explains Clearly explains Explains and Answers to guide
and answers all and answers three answers two of questions are not
the guide of the guide the guide clearly presented
questions questions questions
Grammar and Flyer contains no Flyer contains one Flyer contains Flyer contains
Conventions grammatical to two three to four more than five
errors. grammatical grammatical grammatical
errors. errors. errors.
Organization Extremely neat Neat and easy to Somewhat Very difficult to
and Layout and easy to read. read difficult to read read

References:

 Chapter 2 of textbook: “Gender and Society” by Agustin Martin G. Rodriguez and Ara Marie Leal
Rodriguez

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LESSON 4

Overview:
This lesson discusses the impacts of culture on how people value the different genders in the
society. It explains how culture shapes the way we think and perceive the people around us.

Lesson Title:
Cultures and Rationalities
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
 Discuss how culture or rationality shapes people’s perception of reality;
 State the effects of culture on a person’s perception of gender and sexuality; and
 Explain how rationalities shape sexism and discrimination.

Take off:
List three things that define maleness and femaleness.

MALENESS FEMALENESS
1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

Content Focus:
Culture
- Is the system of symbols that allows people to give meaning to experience (Clifford Geertz)
- This system is necessary because when an event or phenomenon takes place, people need to
respond to it a way that is rational to them.
- The meaning of a stimulus and the kind of response appropriate to it depends on one’s systems of
understanding.
- Culture provides people with systems of shortcuts for meaningful interpretations and responses.
Examples:
Everyone knows that doctors cure you when you are sick; that profit
is always good; that women raise children; and that men should set time
aside to drink with their friends.

The abovementioned examples reflect that culture has provided their meaning and the proper action
with regard to them. That is what culture does. It takes the place of instinct to give people a quick
representation and response based on collective experience to the things that confront them.

Cultures Can Change

- Culture is superior to instinct because it is malleable or adaptable.
- Instinct is genetically coded and needs generations of mutation to be recorded while culture is
both learned and inherited and readily determines how one understands and acts.
- Culture is the versatile system of meaning-giving.

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The Problem with Culture

When cultural systems orient people to act in a certain way that is harmful, individuals tend to act
destructively towards others without conscious decision.

Example:
If a community devalues women and oppresses them, people are almost
always programmed by their cultural system to act this way. It can be said
that treating woman badly and women being receptive to this bad treatment
are due to a cultural system.

Microaggression as a form of Violence

- Microaggression refers to “hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults that can cause
potentially harmful or unpleasant psychological impacts on the target person or group”.
- It is a subtle form of aggression that often works against historically marginalized social groups.
- Some effects of microaggression include internalized emotions such as guilt, resentment, anger,
as well as negative implication on relationships.
Example:

 Boys are teased for engaging in culturally feminine activities such

as playing house or playing with dolls.
 Girls are teased for engaging in sports.
 Men are told to “man up” if they need to be tougher.
 Women are admonished when they are too ambitious.
 The term “bakla” for homosexual male, is used to berate and control
men’s behavior.
 The statement “parang bakla”, when used in men, is used to challenge
masculinity and to show that being woman-like is bad, thus demeaning
women as a gender.

Take Action:
Give at least three more examples microaggression and how it is seen in the Philippine setting.

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Self-Reflect:
Ask yourself – How does my culture affect the way I view gender and sexuality?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

References:

 Chapter 3 of textbook: “Gender and Society” by Agustin Martin G. Rodriguez and Ara Marie Leal
Rodriguez

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LESSON 5-6

OVERVIEW:
This unit revolves on how language affect the perception of society. It gives examples of
scenarios where genders are being unequally treated by the mere words people utter.

LESSON TITLE:
Gender Fair Language

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
 identify the ways language discriminates gender;
 state forms of discrimination in language; and
 explain how gender-fair language can be realized.
TAKE OFF:
Observe yourself for a day and answer the following questions:
1. How do you speak to your female friends and how do you speak to your male friends? Do you
shift in tone or word choice?
2. How do you describe feminine speech? What about masculine speech?
CONTENT FOCUS:
Language and Gender Relations
Language – is a potent tool for how human understand and participate in the world. It can shape
how we see society. In this regard, language is not a neutral force; it enforces certain ideas about people
including gender.
Language defines men and women differently as seen in common adjectives associated with the
genders. Thelma Kintanar and Angela Tongson (Gender-fair Language: A Primer) focused on three
aspects of language that inform how gender is shaped:
 Language articulates consciousness
 Language reflects culture
 Language affects socialization
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,
microagressions, and sexual harassment. Language can be used to abuse like 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. Language is a powerful force that plays a significant role in how one
perceives the world.
Kintanar and Tongson gave extensive examples of these violations. The following are the
condensed versions and real-life examples of violations of gender-fair language:
A. Invisibilization of Women – this rooted in the assumption that men are dominant and are the
norm of the fullness of humanity, and women do not exist. Some obvious 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 representatives of all people on this planet.
Similarly, saying “guys” when referring to a mixed-gender group gives the male gender a
stronger presence.
 The assumption that certain functions or jobs are performed by men instead of both
genders. The statements – “The farmers and their wives tilled the land” or “The
politicians and their wives lobbied for change” assume that men can have jobs as farmers

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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 male job titles or terms ending in man to refer to functions that may be given
to both genders. The titles “businessman” and “chairman” assume that all businessman or
chairmen are men and that certain jobs may not be for women, which is not true.

B. Trivialization of Women
 Bringing attention to the gender of a person, if that person is a woman. The use pf
“lady”, “girl”, or “woman” along with the noun brings attention to the gender of the
person rather than to the job or function. This notion also works for men who enter
traditionally female jobs.
Examples: girl athlete, woman doctor, lady guard, working wives, male nurses, male
nannies, 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”, “sweets”,
or “chick”, women become devalued, especially if they are in an environment that merits
formality such as the workplace.

C. Fostering Unequal Gender Relations – Language the 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.

D. Gender Polarization of Words in Use of Adjectives

Example: The personal care brand Dove came out with an advertisement that used parallel
adjectives to show the difference in perception regarding men and women. Both men and women
did the same activity, but were described differently. In the ad, men who took the lead were
considered the “boss”, while women who had the same initiative were considered “bossy”. Men
who worked overtime were seen as “providers”, while women who did the same were seen as
“uncaring”.

E. Hidden Assumptions – The statement “The father is babysitting his children” assumes that the
father is not a caregiver, and that any attempt he has at parenting is temporary as the mother is the
main caregiver.
Philippine Culture and Language
Filipino or Tagalog is mainly gender-neutral, without gendered characteristics or titles for men
and women. Words that are gendered came from another culture, which 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 a
tool for understanding the world as well as for naming and describing people and things. It provides a
definition of others and one’s relationship with them. Through language, people can reflect on their own
gendered identities, and battle the definitions society imposes on them. Naming things give them power.
Example:
 Sexual harassment was never seen as an issue as it was never given a name. It was an 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 in power as if it did not exist.
 Women who experienced date rape had no term to describe what occurred to them, but naming
their experienced helped them come to terms with their issue.

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Sexist Language and Culture

Language that admonishes certain acts depending on one’s gender is a form of externalized social
control. Common themes of a sexist language are the commercialization and trivialization of genders.
These sexist portrayals extend in the advertising industry, entertainment industry, and the arts. Using
language for gender stereotyping can contribute to sexism by reinforcing the idea that certain words and
acts should only be associated with specific genders.
Language through its repetition of roles, stereotypes, and adjectives affects how one person
enacts his or her capabilities. Constantly mocking or joking about women/LGBT, sexualizing them, and
making them appear weak would indeed make them internalize these ideas.
Language is not inherently sexist. Being sexist depends on a specific culture. The attitude of a
culture towards a certain gender may influence the words used, creating sexist language. Language is both
as symptom and a perpetrator of sexism, and is the very telling of how a society sees a certain gender.

TAKE ACTION:
Research a song that speaks about diverse genders. Have a copy of the lyrics and answer the
following questions:
1. How are genders portrayed in the song?
2. What words are used to describe the genders?
3. What verbs are used to describe them?

SELF CHECK:
Text Review
Directions. Look for a text (article, story, etc.) that talks about gender. Examine the text and mark the
specific parts that violate gender fair language. After determining the discriminatory parts, provide
gender-fair edits or revisions.

SELF REFLECT:
Cite three sample situations on how you can use a gender-fair language.

1.

2.

3.

Reference:

 Chapter 5 of textbook: “Gender and Society” by Agustin Martin G. Rodriguez and Ara Marie Leal
Rodriguez

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LESSON 7-8

OVERVIEW:
This lesson explains the different interests and needs of genders and how society respond to it. It
aims give clarification to the difference on the terms “interests” and “needs”.

LESSON TITLE:
Gender Interests and Needs

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
 identify the difference between gender interests and needs;
 give examples of gender needs and explain how policy can be made responsive to these
needs; and
 discover his or her own strategic and practical gender needs.

TAKE OFF:
Think about your needs as a person. Make a list of these basic needs and find out how society
responds to them.

My Basic Needs How Society Responds

CONTENT FOCUS:
Gender interests as defined by Maxine Molyneux are the interests that are developed by men and
women by “virtue of their social positioning through gender attributes”.
Gender interests are considered prioritized gender concerns while gender needs are “means by
which their concerns may be satisfied”. Gender needs are furthered differentiated into either practical or
strategic depending on how these gender needs are addressed.
 Practical gender needs are concerned with women’s immediate needs for survival –
nutrition, living conditions, health care, and employment. These needs are formulated from
women’s lived experiences, are immediately perceived necessities, and are identified by
women themselves in their specific context. They are based on the existing gender division
of labor: the needs of women as mothers and wives according to their socially constructed
roles in their society. Women’s practical needs often involve their roles in the households as
primary agents in the reproductive sphere. These roles may include child care, food
provision, housework, and often augmented income for the household. Policies and
programs can reinforce these socialized genders of women.
 Strategic gender needs are the needs that women identify because of their subordinate
position to men in their society. These needs are different from the practical gender needs
because they go beyond acceptance of the existing gender division of labor, focusing more
on the attainment of gender equality and women’s empowerment. The strategic gender
needs confront issues like gender inequality, gender justice, and women’s empowerment.
Strategic gender needs are those that stem from a woman’s strategic gender interest due to her
socialized gender role as a woman. These are needs that are rooted in gender inequality – lack of political

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representation, the unfair gender division of labor, violence against women, and the non-observance of
equal pay.
Example:
If a woman’s gender interest is that of gender equality, and the issue tackled concerns domestic
violence, then the gender need involves the creation of laws that could protect women from domestic
violence.

Gender Interest in planning Gender Needs

Practical Gender equality terms Elimination of gender
division in labor
Strategic Human survival Provision of food,
water, and employment

Addressing strategic gender needs involves an analysis of gender subordination. The structures
and relationships that allow this subordination to take place must also be challenged. By identifying
strategic gender needs along with practical gender needs, policymakers can contribute to the attainment of
strategic gender interests such as gender equality, empowerment, and equity. With this knowledge, gender
policies and plans can be formulated, and the tools and techniques for implementing them can be
identified.

Challenges for the Fulfillment of Gender Needs in the Philippines

The Philippines enacts gender mainstreaming of the strategy for the inclusion of a gender
perspective in all policies and programs. However, Philippine gender literature only assumes two genders
(male and female). This thinking ignores the existence of LGBT persons. Also, gender needs are equated
to women-specific, practical, and strategic gender needs. Confusion also arises because gender and
women are not defined in primary gender mainstreaming texts such as the Magna Carta of Women.

TAKE ACTION:
Using a Venn diagram, differentiate gender interests from gender needs. How are they related to
one another? Give two examples for each.

Gende
Gende
r
r
Interes
Needs
ts

SELF CHECK:
Interview
Directions. Interview at least five people with different gender preferences. List down all the gender
interests and needs gathered from the interviewed people. Accomplish the table below.

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Gender Interest in planning Gender Needs

terms

SELF REFLECT:
Evaluate yourself. What are your top three strategic and practical gender needs? List them down.

My Strategic Gender Needs My Practical Gender Needs

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

Reference:

 Chapter 8 of textbook: “Gender and Society” by Agustin Martin G. Rodriguez and Ara Marie Leal
Rodriguez

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LESSON 9

OVERVIEW:
This lesson is about the family’s role in shaping their children’s view about gender. It discusses
the traditional perspectives of families in dealing with their offspring’s gender and how it affects gender
development of the child.

LESSON TITLE:
THE GENDERED FAMILY

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
 identify the roles of parents in their children’s gendered-type behavior; and
 explain gender socialization at home.
TAKE OFF:
Cut out five pictures that show the different household chores that you do in your home. Include a
brief description of each.

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CONTENT FOCUS:
When parents have a new baby, the first question they typically ask is whether they have a girl or
a boy. Children’s gender assignment becomes a powerful social identity that shapes children’s lives.
During early childhood, girls and boys spend much of their time in the home with their families and look
to parents and older siblings for guidance. Parents provide children with their first lessons about gender.
Possible ways that parents might influence children’s gender development include role modeling and
encouraging different behaviors and activities in sons and daughters.
Differences Between Boys and Girls and Gender Stereotyping
Gender differences are developed through the process of socialization where such differences are
strengthened during childhood as well as adolescence.
For example, before the age of 3 years, there are fascinating differences between boys and girls
that further create differences in their interaction.
 Boys mostly attempt to dominate, control, and try to find out the answer of the question
“Am I better than you?” and they try to present themselves as being strong and independent.
Similarly, they also establish their dominant social status; even then, they try to continue
and use the masculine autonomy to maintain their position in the long run.
 Girls try to establish and sustain their relationships where they often ask the question, “Do
you like me?” because boys and girls want to adopt and do different things; they start to
avoid each other at the age of 3 or 4 years. At the age of 6 years, girls mostly do not like the
rough and tough male-type play and dislike boys’ dominance, and therefore, they choose the
girls as playmates instead of boys.
In childhood, boys mostly do not like girls’ games. Indeed, boys are not ready to adopt feminine
characters and even feel shame to do so, whereas this is not the case with girls. In this way, boys always
want to be active and competitive, and seem less interested to win friends and make relationships (Basow,
1992).
In light of gender differences, males are compelled to show bravery which inculcated by the
elders through storytelling of the forefathers. They must act in a traditional manner keeping the decorum
of their culture in mind. On the contrary, females are taught with emotionality and delicacy through
examples from the past. In addition, females mostly urge on this outlook including their physique in terms
of delicacy while keeping the traditional norms. Males are found to show aggression and bravery to
reflect their dominance and supremacy. Through this way, they take the bridle of leadership and thus
form a patriarchic structure. Females on the contrary are taught to be submissive and obedient.
Gender differences are not natural but rather the production of sociocultural packages where such
packages are practiced in different institutions especially in family. In a family, through socialization,
parents enact stereotypic images regarding male and female where children learn all such differences and
internalize them. At early ages, individuals do not know about gender differences where they are on the
disposal of their parents; children know about their gender as male or female, and adopt roles that their
parents prescribe to them. In familial environment, parents are the primary influence on gender role
development in the early years of one’s life (Kaplan, 1991; Miller, 1987; Santrock, 1994). Family in fact,
unlike other groups, is characterized by a specific way of living (Donati, 1997; Saraceno, 1988) and
constructing gender differences through a process that is surely biological but also relational and social.
Family is the social and symbolic place where difference in general and sexual difference in
particular are believed to be fundamental and at the same time constructed (Donati, 2006). Gender
socialization is a means to create gender differences whereby individuals learn about their gender and
adopt roles, which are viewed as gender appropriate. In the course of socialization carried out in family at
early age, parents take in consideration the stereotypic images of such differences while treating their
children as boys and girls where individuals are socialized differently under the socially and culturally
defined notions—stereotypes.
Parents’ Role in Inculcation of Gender Stereotyping
Parental behavior toward their children, either overt or covert, is the primary influence on gender
role stereotyping development in early life (Crespi, 2004; Kaplan, 1991; Santrock, 1994). Parents play a
key role in children’s socialization and provide a suitable environment in family where they contact with

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their children in a face to face interaction. Parents teach stereotypes through different ways and behaviors
in daily life that increase the inculcation of gender stereotyping (Hetherington & Parke, 1999).
Examples:
 the way they use to dress their children and decorate their children’s rooms
 the toys they give their children to play with
 their own attitudes and behavior toward them
In family, parents take in consideration the emotionality of their children whenever they make
conversations with them, and similarly, they discuss matters differently with sons and daughters (Dunn,
Bretherton, & Munn, 1987).
 Parents especially mothers talk more with their daughters and encourage them for more
supportive and affiliative speech and remarks in relation to others as compared with sons (Leaper,
Anderson, & Sanders, 1998; Leaper, Leve, Strasser, & Schwartz, 1995).
 Mothers encourage independence and autonomy in their sons (Pomerantz & Ruble, 1998), and
they rarely discuss same matters with their daughters (Fivush, 1989).
In regard of father and mother role in gender socialization and stereotyping, Leaper (2000) identified
that mothers as compared with fathers used to encourage collaborative play with sons and daughters, but
similarly, they favor affiliative play with daughters; they are encouraged for supportive and responsive
interaction with others, whereas the reaction of fathers was negative especially with their sons for cross-
gender behavior.
In addition, parents share their thoughts, experiences, and behaviors with children and provide
resources in the community to assist them in developing healthy gender attitudes (Sales, Spjeldnes, &
Koeshe, 2010). Parents also socialize their children through storytelling, which is one of the dominant
ways of socialization whereby children learn regarding their gender and gender role. Furthermore, it has
also been identified that the emotionality level of men and women is different where women are viewed
as emotionally passive, whereas men having masculine attributes are aggressive. In this way, through the
process of socialization, gender stereotypes are developed and inculcated inside family where parents
treat their children with an internalized stereotypic manner to enact their sons with anger, strong, and
agentic, whereas girls with passive, weak, and delicate. This stereotypic socialization defines and decides
different and separated spheres both for male and female and resultantly provides a ground for gender
role development.
Differential Treatment in Family
Children in familial environment are socialized differently, where the parents try to prepare their
offspring for appropriate gender roles. In this connection, Basow (1992) extracted from her research
findings that due to differential treatment in family, children behave and develop their role differently.
Example:
 In most of the traditional cultural setups, boys are discouraged to cry; they are also prepared to be
emotionally strong in painful and unfavorable situations. An expression of bravery and strength is
given by resembling them to tigers where it is assumed that tigers do not cry, whereas this is not
the case with girls, because they are considered weak.
Parents use their internalized differential treatment while socializing their children, which means that
their beliefs and values will affect their parenting skills. What knowledge and beliefs regarding gender
and gender role parents have acquired will be transferred consciously or unconsciously to their children.
Family holds the responsibility to teach individuals about gender appropriate behavior and guide them
regarding the cultural and societal expectations of the sex-typed activities.
Division of Labor in Family
Parents treat their children differently and assign them different tasks considered appropriate to
their gender. In this context, parents follow the already defined notions—stereotypes that are constant and
pervasive in each and every society and culture of the world. In family sphere, activities are divided
between males and females on the basis of their gender where males are supposed to handle outdoor
activities such as farming, business, shopping, and other having masculine or energetic
characteristics, whereas female are assumed to handle domestic chores such as cooking, washing,
sweeping, and taking care of youngsters.
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Parents start teaching children’s roles shortly after birth, for example, boys are cuddled, kissed,
and stroked less than girls, whereas girls are less often tossed and handled roughly. In playing with their
infants, parents appreciate and praise the activities of boys for being tough and hard due to which boys
realized themselves as superior. From then onward, in peers’ company, in schools, and even in
workplace, the idea that males are superior is reinforced. This gendered and biased family relationship is
internalized by the individuals and then used as an institutionalized mechanism. Under this mechanism,
most of the decisions such as marriage, business, economic, and so on, are carried out by the dominant
male segment in the family. It further restricts the roles of both males and females in different spheres of
life such as education, jobs, or other decisions.
Some Recommendations to break Gender Stereotyping in the Family
Based from the 2015 research “Gender Stereotyping in Family: An Institutionalized and Normative
Mechanism”.
 Familial Environment. Gender stereotypes are primarily developed in family in early ages and
then strengthened by gender socialization, differential parental treatment, and parental role model
of behavior toward children. These stereotypes have long-term effects over the lives of
individuals such as their education, employment, and other spheres in which they participate.
Therefore, it is essential to sort out gender stereotyping at the earliest age, thereby changing
parents’ psyche and attitudes. Their behavior with children should be free of discrimination and
stereotypic attitudes. In this regard, there is a need to convince parents especially fathers to adopt
gender-balanced behavior while socializing and treating their children. In addition, to prevent
children from adopting gender stereotyping belief systems requires conscious efforts from parents
to challenge stereotypes and also for the roles and behaviors adopted by adults themselves to
become de-gendered.
 Gender Mainstreaming. To address gender concerns holistically, it is essential to mainstream
gender in all institutions of society especially in family. Gender mainstreaming is the process
whereby an assessment and implication for men and women of all planned actions such as
legislation, policies, or other programs at all levels is carried out. It is a strategy for making
women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design,
implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies and programs in all socioeconomic and
political spheres so that women and men benefit equally.
 Role of Media. Media constantly reinforces the traditional stereotypes of women and men and
thus needs to be addressed to promote gender equality by using a gender lens sensitively. Media
should project positive aspects of society, thereby highlighting the negative stereotypes,
especially women’s stereotypes, in the context of family. Media should play a role to discourage
women’s confinement merely to domestic chores and men’s roles to outdoor activities. As such
type of projection is apparent in both electronic and printed media, where through different
advertisements, pictorial presentation, stage dramas and movies.

ACTIVITY/ASSESSMENT:
A. Recall your childhood days, write a reflection paper about how your parents influence you to
acknowledge your gender. Enumerate some of the roles that your parents portrayed to enlighten
you with your gender.

B. Through a photo collage, present how gender is being viewed in the family in today’s generation.

References:

 Chapter 6 of textbook: “The Gendered Society Fourth Edition” by Michael Kimmel

 http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/gender-early-socialization/according-experts/parents-socialization-
gender-children
 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2158244015595258

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LESSON 10

OVERVIEW:
This unit presents the perspectives of the educational setting with regards to gender of students. It
presents the traditional and stereotyped views of the school when it comes to how they treat learners.

LESSON TITLE:
THE GENDERED CLASSROOM

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
 discuss how gender is viewed in school; and
 analyze how the educational setting affects children’s perception of gender.
TAKE OFF:
As a future educator, draw a quick sketch of your ideal girl and boy learner.

CONTENT FOCUS:
The interplanetary theory of gender tells us that boys and girls are fundamentally and
categorically different: that boys excel in science and math, play violently in the playground, and shout in
class; that girls, on the other hand, sit quietly, speak softly, play gingerly, and excel in literature.

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Gendering experiences begin even before children go to school. By the time they enter their first
classroom, they are learning more than just ABCs, more than spelling, math, and science, more than
physics and literature. They learn – and teach one another – what it means to be men and women. Schools
are like old-fashioned factories, and what they produce is gendered individuals. Both in the official
curriculum (textbooks and the like) and in the “hidden curriculum” (informal interactions with both
teachers and other students), we become gendered. This is reinforced in the parallel curriculum presented
by the mass media. And the message that students get (from both the content and the form of education)
is that women and men are different and unequal, that the inequality comes from those differences, and
that, therefore, such inequality is justified. As law professor Deborah Rhode writes, “What schools teach
and tolerate reinforces inequalities that persist well beyond childhood.”
The formal educational gendering process begins the moment children enter school and continues
throughout their educational lives. In nursery and kindergarten classes, one could often find the heavy
blocks, trucks, airplanes, and carpentry tools in one area and the dolls and homemaking equipment in
another area. Although they are “open” to anyone for play, the areas are often sex-segregated by invisible
but real boundaries. The classroom setting reproduces gender inequality. Education professors Myra and
David Sadker noted that “from elementary school through higher education, female students receive less
active instruction, both in the quantity and in the quality of teacher time and attention”.
 Many teachers perceive boys as being active, capable of expressing anger, quarrelsome, punitive,
alibi-building, and exhibitionistic, and they perceive girls as being affectionate, obedient,
responsive, and tenacious.
 When boys “put girls down”, as they often do at certain ages, teachers (female usually) often say
and do nothing to correct them, thus encouraging the boy’s notion of superiority.
 Many teachers assume that girls are likely to “love” reading and “hate” mathematics and
sciences, and they expect the opposite of boys.
 Teachers call on boys more often and spend more time with them. They ask boys more
challenging questions than they do girls and wait longer for boys to answer.

Example real life scenario:

One fifth-grade classroom was having a particularly noisy discussion about
who was the best president in American history. “Just a minute,” the teacher told
the class. “There are too many of us here to all shout out at once. I want to raise
your hands, then I’ll call on you. If you shout out, I’ll pick somebody else.” This
restores order for a moment. Then one boy enthusiastically calls out.
Stephen: I think Lincoln was the best president. He held the country together
during the war.
Teacher: A lot of historians would agree with you.
Mike: Lincoln was okay, but my Dad liked Reagan. He always said Reagan was a
great president.
David: Reagan? Are you kidding?
Teacher: Who do you think our best president was, Dave?
David: FDR. He saved us from the Depression.
Max: I don’t think that presidents it’s right to pick one best president. There
were a lot of good ones.
Teacher: That’s interesting.
Kimberly: I don’t think presidents today are as good as the ones we used to
have.
Teacher: Okay, Kimberly. But you forgot the rule. You’re supposed to raise your
hand.

Physical Differences in Gender Roles

Physically, boys tend to be more active than girls, and by the same token more restless if they
have to sit for long periods. They are also more prone than girls to rely on physical aggression if they are
frustrated (Espelage & Swearer, 2004). Both tendencies are inconsistent with the usual demands of
classroom life, of course, and make it a little more likely that school will be a difficult experience for
boys, even for boys who never actually get in trouble for being restless or aggressive.
During the first two or three years of elementary school, gross motor skills develop at almost the
same average rate for boys and girls. As a group, both sexes can run, jump, throw a ball, and the like with
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about equal ease, though there are of course wide significant differences among individuals of both sexes.
Toward the end of elementary school, however, boys pull ahead of girls at these skills even though
neither sex has begun yet to experience puberty. The most likely reason is that boys participate more
actively in formal and informal sports because of expectations and support from parents, peers, and
society (Braddock, Sokol-Katz, Greene, & Basinger-Fleischman, 2005; Messner, Duncan, & Cooky,
2003). Puberty eventually adds to this advantage by making boys taller and stronger than girls, on
average, and therefore more suited at least for sports that rely on height and strength.
Every teacher knows of individual boys who are not athletic, for example, or of particular girls
who are especially restless in class. The individual differences mean, among other things, that it is hard to
justify providing different levels of support or resources to boys than to girls for sports, athletics, or
physical education. The differences also suggest, though, that individual students who contradict gender
stereotypes about physical abilities may benefit from emotional support or affirmation from teachers,
simply because they may be less likely than usual to get such affirmation from elsewhere.
Social Differences in Gender Roles
Differences in social interaction styles happen in the classroom. Boys, on average, are more likely
to speak up during a class discussion—sometimes even if not called on, or even if they do not know as
much about the topic as others in the class (Sadker, 2002). When working on a project in a small co-ed
group, furthermore they have a tendency to ignore girls’ comments and contributions to the group. In this
respect co-ed student groups parallel interaction patterns in many parts of society, where men also have a
tendency to ignore women’s comments and contributions (Tannen, 2001).

Academic and Cognitive Differences in Gender

On average, girls are more motivated than boys to perform well in school, at least during
elementary school. By the time girls reach high school, however, some may try to down play their own
academic ability in order make themselves more likeable by both sexes (Davies, 2005). Even if this
occurs, though, it does not affect their grades: from kindergarten through twelfth grade, girls earn slightly
higher average grades than boys (Freeman, 2004). This fact does not lead to similar achievement,
however, because as youngsters move into high school, they tend to choose courses or subjects
conventionally associated with their gender—math and science for boys, in particular, and literature and
the arts for girls. By the end of high school, this difference in course selection makes a measurable
difference in boys’ and girls’ academic performance in these subjects.
Gender Divergence in Adolescence
The combination of exclusion from the curriculum, gender stereotypes in the media, and the
often-invisible discrimination in the classroom itself results in a divergence between girls and boys by
adolescence.
 In elementary school, girls have somewhat higher self-esteem and higher achievement levels than
boys, girls’ self-esteem plummets in junior high school. Girls’ IQs fall by about thirteen points;
boys’ IQs fall about three points.
 Girls find out they are more valued for their appearance than for their talents. As a result, girls
experience their adolescence in school in dramatically different ways from boys.
 One in ten teenage girls becomes pregnant each year. Although most of the fathers of those
babies are over twenty-one, those fathers who are still students are likely to stay in school; the
mother is most likely to drop out and stay out.
The “chilly classroom climate” for girls also takes place within a sexually “hostile environment”.
Sexual harassment has become a significant problem not just in the workplace but also in the classrooms.
The Gender Police
The central mechanism that maintains gender inequality in schools is the way people see
educational success in terms of gender conformity. When girls are asked questions about school success,
they see high achievement, ambition, and competence as ungendered – that is, as not especially related to
either masculinity or femininity. On the other hand, boys see any connection to school as “feminine’. To
be successful in school is to be seen as not acting like a real boy. And anyone who does that risks a lot –
losing self-esteem, losing one’s friends, being targeted by bullies. It’s through peer culture that students

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learn appropriate gender behavior. Peers establish the rules and enforce them – constantly, relentlessly,
and mercilessly.
The fear of being tainted with homosexuality – the fear of emasculation – has morphed into a
generic put-down. These days, “That’s so gay” has far less to do with aspersions of homosexuality and far
more to do with “gender policing” – making sure that no one contravenes the rules of masculinity.
High schools have become far more than academic testing grounds; they’re the central terrain on
which gender identity is tested and demonstrated. The tests of adequate and appropriate gender
performance are administered and graded by peers, by grading criteria known only to them.
 Bullying has become a national problem in high schools, in part because of the relentlessness and
the severity of the torments.
 Verbal teasing and physical bullying exist along a continuum stretching from hurtful language
through showing and hitting to criminal assault and school shootings. Harmful teasing and
bullying happen to more than one million school children a year.

ACTIVITY/ASSESSMENT:
A. Recall your elementary and high school days. List down the traditional roles of each gender
inside the classroom. Based from the list, answer the question: How do these roles affect your
view about gender?

B. Write a short essay about how would you ensure a gender fair classroom when you become a
teacher.

References:

 Chapter 7 of textbook: “The Gendered Society Fourth Edition” by Michael Kimmel

 https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-educationalpsychology/chapter/gender-differences-in-the-
classroom/

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LESSON 11

OVERVIEW:
This lesson presents the irregularities that religions express when it comes to gender inclusivity. It
discusses the origins of the contemporary religious beliefs that reflect the impressions of churches
towards the gender of its members.

LESSON TITLE:
GENDER AND RELIGION

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
 scrutinize the historical gendering of religion; and
 discuss the theologies of differences and inequalities.
TAKE OFF:
What are the Do’s and Don’ts of your church for men and women? Cite at least two for each.

Do’s Don’ts
Women

Men

CONTENT FOCUS:
The Historical Gendering of Religion
In pre-modern societies, goddesses proliferated; as far back as human societies existed there were
goddesses, especially of fertility, reproduction, and later for plentiful harvests. Many of the great
historical anthropologists of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries proposed that primitive
matriarchies and polytheistic cultures were gradually replaced – either by conquest or contact. Marija
Gimbutas, a professor of archeology, argued that in Neolithic Europe, between 6500 and 3500 BC, a
goddess-oriented civilization was characterized by peace, harmony, and a nurturing sensuality, which was
destroyed later by the Russian conquest.

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There are hundreds, if not thousands of goddesses who have occupied the pantheon of deities
throughout the world history. Anthropologist Peggy Reeves Sanday traces the origins of male dominance
in Europe and the Middle East to the triumph of the sky gods over earth goddesses – the triumph of the
invisible and all-powerful over the more visible, immediate, and pragmatic. Yet many cultures today
continue to worship goddesses – with significant crossovers.
Examples:
 Animist religions like the Yoruba in Africa have influenced religious cult tradition in the
Western hemisphere such as VooDoo and Santeria (traditions that maintain women’s spiritual
power).
 Greek and Roman mythology paired up gods and goddesses, and while Zeus thundered angrily,
goddesses like Athena and Hera were proved able problem solvers.
 Mesopotamians worshipped Ishtar.
 Isis and Demeter were goddesses of law and justice in Egypt and Greece, respectively.
 Ancient cultures in the Near East and Middle East routinely included fertility goddesses, who
controlled life forces such as birth and death.
 Some cultures even developed matriarchal religions in which the Great Mother was the source of
all life.
Many contemporary non-industrial cultures have been less tainted by incorporation into Western
networks which meant that they still maintain such female deities suggesting that seeing female as both
equal and divine answers some important cultural needs across historical time.
Among those religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, which are older than Judaism (which is the
oldest of the three major monotheistic religions), there is far more spiritual “diversity”. Hinduism holds
that there are many gods and goddesses and Buddhists don’t believe in any titular “god” who stands
above, but rather in the godlike potential of all humans.
Monotheism changed all that. There has never been much of a question that the single unitary God
who first spoke to Abraham was a male God. God has had many personalities – merciful, vengeful,
fraternal helper or angry judge, patient and paternal, or proud and patriarchal – but ever since Abraham
heard that voice, that voice has been male.
The monotheistic assertion of a male God, and a normative code that demanded that women be
subordinate to men, had practical historical implications. It meant not only elevating men over women,
but it meant stamping out and suppressing all those other religious traditions that posited either the
equality of women, celebrated women’s reproductive power as divine, or envisioned women as
goddesses.
Some scholars argue that as these goddess traditions were suppressed, they went underground and re-
emerged as witchcraft (the word “witch” means “wise one”). Witches were often healers, ritually in
charge of medicine, and midwives, who were in charge of birth. These were powerful women, often
independent of the rule of men.
As Carol Christ writes:
“The wise woman was summoned at the crises of the life cycle before the priest; she delivered the baby,
while the priest was called later to perform the baptism. She was the first called upon to cure illness or
treat the dying, while the priest was called in after other remedies had failed, to administer the last rites.
It is not difficult to see why she was persecuted by an insecure misogynist Church which could not
tolerate rival power.”
Theologies of Difference, Theologies of Inequality
Not only when it comes to the gender of God, but in so many areas the Bible and other canonical
texts are normative, prescribing the appropriate relationship between men and women, husband and
wives, parents and children.
 It is estimated that four-fifths of the Qur’an is concerned with prescribing and proscribing the
appropriate relations between women and men.
 The Bible, both the New and Old Testaments, are also preoccupied with regulating and
adjudicating domestic relationships.

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Sacred texts and their prophets are far more ambiguous than their subsequent male interpreters have
indicated. Those conflicting interpretations have provided the basis for centuries of conflict and discord.
Examples:
 Jesus seemed equally concerned with women as with men and made it a point to single out some
women who were scorned by others for special devotion. (One woman, Junia, is referred to in
Romans 16:7 as an apostle.) According to theologian Leonard Swidler, “Jesus neither said nor did
anything which would indicate that he advocated treating women as intrinsically inferior to men,
but on the contrary, he said and did things which indicated he thought of women as the equals of
men.”
 Mohammed insisted that women’s consent had to be obtained before marriage – a startling
reform at the time; women were also entitled to initiate divorce, to inherit, to maintain their own
property, and to exercise certain conjugal rights. Women were also subject to the same
requirements for prayer and fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. At the same time, men
were permitted to have up to four wives (provided they could adequately provide for them), and
women were subservient to men because men were “a degree above” women, because “God has
made one to excel over the other”.
Religious imperative for gender inequality seems to have been most firmly instituted in the
commentaries of the canonical texts. Such textual ambiguity might have been interpreted for greater
gender inequality.
Examples:
 Let the wives be subject to their husbands as to the Lord; because a husband is head of the wife,
just as Christ is head of the Church … But just as the Church is subject to Christ, so let wives also
be subject in everything to their husbands. (Ephesians 5:22-24)
 The head of every man is Christ, and the head of a woman is her husband. (Corinthians 11:3)
In 1998, in the wake of several decades of intense feminist campaigns, the Southern Baptist
Convention amended its official statement of beliefs to insist that a wife should “submit graciously” to
her husband and assume her “God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his
‘helper’.”
Such conflicts over the interpretations of sacred texts may be, at their heart, doctrinal, but they are
often expressed as secular policies. Doctrinal conflicts also inform the framing of political debates.
Examples:
 In the nineteenth century, it was the Protestant clergy that lead the charge against women’s rights,
whether the right to vote, go to college, or enter professions such as medicine or law.
 Many Protestant ministers were among the most fervent supporters of women’s suffrage. Rev.
Samuel B. May’s 1846 sermon – “The Rights and Condition of Women” argued that the
disenfranchisement of women “is as unjust as the disenfranchisement of the males would be; for
there is nothing in their moral, mental, or physical nature, that disqualifies them to understand
correctly the interests of the community or to act wisely on reference to them.”
 In some of the world’s largest Muslim countries, like Indonesia, women wear Western clothing
and are engaged in every profession. Girls go to school unconstrained, and women and men are
equally enfranchised.
In most religions, gender inequality is enshrined and enforced through a politicization of the body.
All the monotheistic religions prescribe some bodily practices and proscribe others.
Examples:
 Christian men are not supposed to cover their heads, but Christian women are required. As Paul
explained to the Corinthians:
A man indeed ought not to cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God. But woman
is the glory of man. For man is not from women, but woman from man. For man was not created
for woman, but woman for man (Corinthians 11;7-9)
 In some, more fundamentalist Islamic societies, women’s bodies are to be completely concealed
at all times; even if she must venture out in public in the first place, she must remain hidden
under a chador. They may show no part of their body nor face in the public. Men’s bodies are

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also policed. Since the prophet wore a beard, Muslim men, these moral enforcers believe, are
required to wear a beard.
 One of the hallmarks of women’s second-class status among Orthodox Jews has always been the
ritual cleansing. Menstruation makes women ritually unclean; for twelve days a month, women
are considered unclean. Anything she touches becomes impure, and she must be physically
segregated from men. Seven days after he menstrual cycle ends, she goes to a ritual bath called
mikvah where she is purified and thus able to rejoin social life.
It is the body and its pleasures that especially elicits religious passions. All religions require the
suppression of sex for the glory of God. Yet even about that, there are many interpretations.
 Among Orthodox Jews, women and men are both entitled – indeed encouraged to experience
sexual fulfillment in marriage.
 Christianity emphasized the strict repression of sexuality. Sex was to be avoided, and engaged in
only for procreation. According to St. Augustine, sex was the vehicle by which original sin was
transmitted from one generation to the next. Celibacy was promoted as a higher moral and
spiritual position. Lust is listed as among the seven deadly sins, and women are the repositories of
lust.

As one young man in Lubbock, Texas said:

Life in Lubbock, Texas taught me two things:
One is that God loves you and you are going to hell;
The other is that sex is the most awful, filthy thing on Earth and you
Should save it for someone you love.
Generally, that “someone you love” has to be someone of a gender different from yours. Another
of religion’s hallmark elements of maintaining gender difference is to require people to love only those of
a different gender. Many religions either discourage or prohibit homosexuality – and this is particularly
true of monotheistic religions.

ACTIVITY/ASSESSMENT:
A. Choose one religion from the options below. Scrutinize the history of gendering in religion by
comparing the historical views and contemporary views of the church about gender.

a. Christianity
b. Hinduism
c. Islam
d. Buddhism
e. Judaism

Religion: ____________________________
Historical views Contemporary views

B. In one to two paragraphs, answer the question – How could religions possibly eliminate gender
inequalities?

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References:

 Chapter 8 of textbook: “The Gendered Society Fourth Edition” by Michael Kimmel

LESSON 12

OVERVIEW:
This unit shows the transparent and hidden job inequalities of men and women. It presents
scenarios and situations where many gender discriminations happen.

LESSON TITLE:
SEPARATE AND UNEQUAL: THE GENDERED WORLD OF WORK

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
 evaluate the gender composition of the labor force; and
 analyze the gender inequalities in the workplace.
TAKE OFF:
Explain the poem below.
Well, Son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It had tacks in it,
And splinters
And boards all torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor –
Bare.
Langston Hughes “Mother to Son”

CONTENT FOCUS:
Sigmund Freud once wrote that the two great tasks for all human beings are “to work and to love”.
And it is certainly true that people have always worked to satisfy their basic material needs for food,
clothing, and shelter; to provide for children and loved ones; to participate in community life; as well as
to satisfy more culturally and historically specific desires to leave a mark on the world and to move up the
social ladder. It wouldn’t be a surprise that every society has developed a division of labor, a way of
dividing the tasks that must be done in order for the society as a whole to survive. And because
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gender is a system of both classification and identity and a structure of power relations, it is not a surprise
that every society has a gendered division of labor. There are very few tasks, in very few societies, that
are not allocated by gender. This doesn’t necessarily imply that the tasks assigned to one gender are less
or more significant to the life of the community than the tasks assigned to the other.
The universal gendered division of labor tells people nothing about the relative values given to the
work women and men do. It turns out that in societies in which women’s work is less valued – that is, in
more traditional societies in which women’s legal status is lower – women do more work than the men
do.
Workplace Gender Discrimination
It comes in many different forms, but generally it means that an employee or a job applicant is
treated differently or less favorably because of their sex or gender, or because the person is affiliated
with an organization or group that is associated with a particular sex or gender. Even though the words
“sex” and “gender” have different meanings, laws against discrimination at work often use them
interchangeably.

Sometimes workers experience discrimination because of their gender and something else, like their
race or ethnicity. For example, a woman of color may experience discrimination in the workplace
differently from a white female co-worker. She may be harassed, paid less, evaluated more harshly, or
passed over for promotion because of the combination of her sex and her race.
Some examples of treatment that could be gender discrimination include:
 not being hired, or being given a lower-paying position because of your sex (for example, when
an employer refuses to hire women, or only hires women for certain jobs)
 being held to different or higher standards, or being evaluated more harshly, because of your sex,
or because you don’t act or present yourself in a way that conforms to traditional ideas of
femininity or masculinity.
For example: if a worker who identifies as a woman receives a negative performance evaluation
that criticizes her for being too “aggressive” (while men who behave the same way are praised for
showing “leadership”), or if she wears her hair short and is told she needs to be more
“presentable,” she may be experiencing discrimination based on sex stereotypes, which is a form
of gender discrimination.
 being paid less than a person of a different sex who is similarly or less qualified than you, or who
has similar (or fewer) job duties than you
 being denied a promotion, pay raise, or training opportunity that is given to people of another sex
who are equally or less qualified or eligible as you
 being written up or disciplined for something that other employees of a different sex do all the
time but never get punished for
 being insulted, called derogatory names or slurs because of your sex, or hearing hostile remarks
about people of a certain sex, gender, or gender identity
 being intentionally or repeatedly called by a name or referred to as a different gender that you
don’t identify with – as when a transgender man is called by his former (female-associated) name
or referred to as “Miss”
 being subject to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or
physical harassment of a sexual nature.
 being rejected for a job, forced out on leave, or given fewer assignments because you’re pregnant
Not all gender discrimination is intentional or explicit. It could still count as discrimination if your
employer does something that ends up excluding or harming workers of a particular sex without intending
to. Oftentimes, a certain practice or policy — say, a hiring test or requirement — does not say anything
about gender, and may not have been put in place for the purpose of keeping women out of certain jobs,
but ends up having that effect. This kind of practice or policy could still be considered “discriminatory,”
and if you’ve been denied a job-related opportunity, paid less, or lost your job (were fired) as a result of
it, you might have a discrimination claim.
For workplace gender discrimination to be considered illegal, it has to involve treatment that
negatively affects the “terms or conditions” of your employment. Terms or conditions of employment are
all the responsibilities, rules, and benefits of a job. Most of the time, they are set by an employer or

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negotiated by a worker and the employer at the time of hire. In unionized workplaces, they are negotiated
and agreed on as part of the “collective bargaining” process. “Terms and conditions” include but are not
limited to things like your job responsibilities, work hours, dress code, vacation and sick days, starting
salary, and performance evaluation standards.
Sexual Division of Labor
The world of work is “gendered.” People have definite ideas of what sorts of occupations are
appropriate for women and which are appropriate for men. These ideas have persisted despite the fact that
the workforce has changed dramatically over the past century. The percentage of women working has
risen from around 20 percent in 1900 to more than 57 percent today. And this percentage holds for
women who have children—even more among women who have children younger than 6 years old (63.9
percent). It is also true among all races, and for every single occupation, from low-paid clerical and sales
jobs to all the major professions. Today, women represent a majority of clerical and support workers and
also half of students in medical school and more than half of students in law school (American Bar
Association 2017; Association of American Medical Colleges 2016; Current Population Survey 2017).
Despite these enormous transformations in women’s participation in the workforce, it’s also true that
traditional ideologies persist about women and work. Women who are highly successful are often thought
to be “nontraditional” women, whereas men who are successful are seen as “real men.” And these
beliefs as biases also translate into practices and concrete consequences: Women are paid less, promoted
less, excluded from some positions, and assigned to specific jobs deemed more appropriate for them.
Gender discrimination in the workplace was once far more direct and obvious: Women were simply
prohibited from entering certain fields. Until the late 1960s, classified advertising was divided into “Help
wanted—Male” and “Help wanted—Female.” In job interviews, women were asked whether they
planned to marry and have children (because that would mean they would leave the job). Can you
imagine a male applicant being asked questions like that?
The chief way that gender inequality occurs in the workforce is by occupational sex segregation.
Occupational sex segregation refers to women’s and men’s different concentrations in different
occupations, different industries, different jobs, and different levels in a workplace hierarchy.
Because different occupations are seen as more “appropriate” for one gender or the other, the fact that one
job is paid more than another is often seen as resulting from qualities associated with the job, not the
gender of the person doing the job. But research has shown that jobs seen as “feminine” are paid less
regardless of the kind of work they are performing.
Think about it this way:
 Most of the women have experienced working as a babysitter and many of the men have not. And
the women were paid between $5 and $10 an hour, about $20 to $50 a day. Now, how many of
you have also shoveled snow or mowed lawns? Most of the men have done this, but fewer of the
women have. Snow shovelers and lawn mowers are paid somewhere around $25 a house and
make up to $100 to $150 a day. Why?
Many of you are saying that shoveling snow and mowing lawns is “harder.” And by that, you mean
the jobs require more physical exertion. But in our society, we usually pay those who use their brawn far
lower wages than we pay those who use their brains—think of the difference between an accountant and a
professional gardener. Besides, the skills needed for babysitting—social, mental, nurturing, caring, and
feeding—are generally considered much more valuable than the ability to lift and move piles of snow.
And most people would agree that the consequences of bad babysitting are potentially far worse than
those of bad lawn mowing! When grown-ups do these tasks—as lawn mower and baby nurse—their
wages are roughly equivalent to each other. What determines the difference is simple: Girls babysit, and
boys mow lawns. In this way, occupational sex segregation often hides the fact that gender discrimination
is occurring.
Sex segregation is so pervasive that economists speak about a dual labor market based on gender.
The idea of a dual labor market is that work and workers are divided into different sectors—primary
or secondary, formal or informal, and, in this case, male or female. About 4 out of every 10 workers
work in jobs with at least 75% other male or female employees (Institute for Women’s Policy Research
[IWPR] 2010). Men and women rarely compete against each other for the same job at the same rank in
the same organization. Rather, women compete with other women and men compete with other men for
jobs that are already coded as appropriate for one group, but not the other.

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Although we might think that different sexes are “naturally” predisposed toward certain jobs and not
others, that is not the same everywhere.
Examples:
 Most dentists in the United States are male; in Europe, most dentists are female.
 In New York City, only 49 of the 10,500 firefighters are women, whereas in Minneapolis, 12
percent of firefighters are women.
The issue is less about the intrinsic properties of the position that determine its wages and prestige
and more about which sex performs it—or with which the work is associated. So widespread is this
thinking that in occupations from journalism and medicine, to teaching, law, and pharmacy, sociologists
have noted a phenomenon dubbed feminization of the professions, in which salaries drop as women’s
participation increases (Menkel-Meadow 1987; Wylie 2000). And not all women are impacted equally.
The wage gap between men and women hurts women of color most and benefits white men the most (we
discuss the wage gap in more detail in Chapter 12).
How to Achieve Workplace Gender Equality
Workplace gender equality is achieved when people are able to access and enjoy the same
rewards, resources and opportunities regardless of gender.
The aim of gender equality in the workplace is to achieve broadly equal outcomes for women and
men, not necessarily outcomes that are exactly the same for all. To achieve this requires:
 Workplaces to provide equal pay for work of equal or comparable value
 Removal of barriers to the full and equal participation of women in the workforce
 Access to all occupations and industries, including leadership roles, regardless of gender; and
 Elimination of discrimination on the basis of gender, particularly in relation to family and caring
responsibilities.
Achieving gender equality is important for workplaces not only because it is ‘fair’ and ‘the right
thing to do,’ but because it is also linked to a country’s overall economic performance. Workplace gender
equality is associated with:
 Improved national productivity and economic growth
 Increased organizational performance
 Enhanced ability of companies to attract talent and retain employees
 Enhanced organizational reputation.

ACTIVITY/ASSESSMENT:
A. Interview family members about your ancestors’ jobs during their time. Based from the gathered
data, answer the following questions:
1. What are the common jobs of women and men in your family?
2. Why do you think people usually assign works for a specific gender?
3. Does today’s societal workforce become inclusive in accepting workers? Explain.

B. Below two scenarios that happened in the world of work. Analyze and supply the table based
from the situations presented.

Situation 1:
Erica Baker, a former engineer at Google (now at Slack), created a spreadsheet earlier this year
that enabled people to fill out their salaries and share that information more broadly within the
company. Nearly 5 percent of workers at Google have since completed the spreadsheet, according
to Baker, although she noted that she was penalized for creating it: At Google, employees are able
to give each other $150 bonuses as a nod to good work, but, Baker says, seven of the bonuses she
received, all of which mentioned the spreadsheet, were denied by her manager.

Situation 2:
When she was pregnant, Peggy Young, a former driver at a certain company, requested an
adjustment to her workload, per her doctor’s recommendations. The company refused and put her
on unpaid leave, citing her inability to lift the 70 pounds required of her in the job description.
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Situation 1 Situation 2
Employee’s name and
gender
Issue/problem in the
workplace
Possible reason/s why the
issue arose
Your recommended solution

References:

 Chapter 8 of textbook: “The Gendered Society Fourth Edition” by Michael Kimmel

 https://revelpreview.pearson.com/epubs/pearson_kimmel_soc/OPS/xhtml/ch09_pg0018.xhtml
 https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/12/gender-equality-workplace-2015/422328/
 https://www.equalrights.org/issue/economic-workplace-equality/discrimination-at-work/
 https://www.wgea.gov.au/topics/about-workplace-gender-equality

LESSON 13

OVERVIEW:
This lesson will give students insights about the role of media in the society.

LESSON TITLE:
THE GENDERED MEDIA

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
 know the gender roles in the media; and
 react on the gender stereotypes commonly shown and reflected in media.
TAKE OFF:

https://www.hurlbutacademy.com/the-10-types-of-movie-a-poster-analysis/

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My favorite movies/movie series

Answer the following questions.

1. What are your favorite movies or movie series? List down at least three of your favorites.
2. What do you like from these movies?
3. Who are the main characters? Classify the gender of the main characters of each movie.
4. How many are men, women, bisexuals, transgender, queer, lesbian and gay as the main
characters of these movies?
5. Are there any roles played by these genders (men, women, bisexuals, transgender, queer,
lesbians and gay)?
6. Is there any inequality or issues in the division of the roles played in each movie?

CONTENT FOCUS:
Media play important roles in society. They report on current events, provide frameworks
for interpretation, mobilize citizens with regard to various issues, reproduce predominant culture
and society, and entertain (Llanos and Nina, 2011). As such, the media can be an important actor
in the promotion of gender equality, both within the working environment (in terms of
employment and promotion of female staff at all levels) and in the representation of women and
men (in terms of fair gender portrayal and the use of neutral and non-gender specific language).

Media and gender refers to the relationship between media and gender, and how gender is
represented within media platforms. These platforms include but are not limited to film, radio,
television, advertisement, social media, and video games. Initiatives and resources exist to
promote gender equality and reinforce women's empowerment in the media industry and
representations. For example, UNESCO, in cooperation with the International Federation of
Journalists, elaborated the Gender-sensitive Indicators for Media contributing to gender
equality and women's empowerment in all forms of media.

Participation and influence of women in the media

Image from: https://oversexualization-of-wom.tumblr.com/

Studies have found that although the number of women working in the media has been
increasing globally, the top positions (producers, executives, chief editors and publishers) are
still very male dominated (White, 2009). This disparity is particularly evident in Africa, where
cultural impediments to women fulfilling the role of journalist remain (e.g. travelling away from
home, evening work and covering issues such as politics and sports which are considered to fall
within the masculine domain) (Myers, 2009). The Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP)
reports that throughout the world, female journalists are more likely to be assigned ‘soft’ subjects

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such as family, lifestyle, fashion and arts. The ‘hard’ news, politics and the economy, is much
less likely to be written or covered by women.

The level of participation and influence of women in the media also has implications for
media content: female media professionals are more likely to reflect other women’s needs and
perspectives than their male colleagues. It is important to acknowledge, however, that not all
women working in the media will be gender aware and prone to cover women’s needs and
perspectives; and it is not impossible for men to effectively cover gender issues. Recent research
from 18 disparate countries shows that male and female journalists’ attitudes do not differ
significantly (Hanitzsch & Hanusch, 2012). Nonetheless, the presence of women on the radio,
television and in print is more likely to provide positive role models for women and girls, to gain
the confidence of women as sources and interviewees, and to attract a female audience.

Media content and portrayal of men and women in the media

Fair gender portrayal in the media should be a professional and

ethical aspiration, similar to respect for accuracy, fairness and honesty
(White, 2009). Yet, unbalanced gender portrayal is widespread. The
Global Media Monitoring Project finds that women are more likely than
men to be featured as victims in news stories and to be identified
according to family status. Women are also far less likely than men to be
featured in the world’s news headlines, and to be relied upon as
‘spokespeople’ or as ‘experts’. Certain categories of women, such as the
poor, older women, or those belonging to ethnic minorities, are even less
visible.

Stereotypes are also prevalent in every day media. Women are

often portrayed solely as homemakers and careers of the family,
dependent on men, or as objects of male attention. Stories by female
reporters are more likely to challenge stereotypes than those filed by male reporters
Image from: (Gallagher et
al., 2010). As such, there is a link between the participation of women in the media and
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_okcUH2vUzQA/TAQSs8J1FKI/AAAAA
AAAF7U/UbEQkE7AexA/s1600/the-twilight-saga-eclipse-movie-
poster-final.jpg
improvements in the representation of women.

Men are also subjected to stereotyping in the media. They are typically characterized as
powerful and dominant. There is little room for alternative visions of masculinity. The media
tends to demean men in caring or domestic roles, or those who oppose violence. Such portrayals
can influence perceptions in terms of what society may expect from men and women, but also
what they may expect from themselves. They promote an unbalanced vision of the roles of
women and men in society.

Attention needs to be paid to identifying and addressing these various gender imbalances
and gaps in the media. The European Commission (2010) recommends, for example, that there
should be a set expectation of gender parity on expert panels on television or radio and the
creation of a thematic database of women to be interviewed and used as experts by media
professionals. In addition, conscious efforts should be made to portray women and men in non-
stereotypical situations.

Participatory community media

Participatory community media initiatives aimed at increasing the involvement of women

in the media perceive women as producers and contributors of media content and not solely as
‘consumers’ (Pavarala, Malik, and Cheeli, 2006). Such initiatives encourage the involvement of
women in technical, decision-making, and agenda-setting activities. They have the potential to
develop the capacities of women as sociopolitical actors. They also have the potential to promote
a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in the media and to challenge the status quo.
In Fiji, women who took part in a participatory video project presented themselves as active
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citizens who made significant contributions to their families and communities. These recorded
images improved the status of women in the minds of government bureaucrats.

There are limitations to participatory community initiatives, however. If unaccompanied

by changes in structural conditions, participation may not be sufficient to foster substantive
social change. Baú (2009) explains that the establishment of a women’s radio station (run and
managed by women) in Afghanistan faced constraints in that women engaged in self-censorship
in order to avoid criticism from local male political and religious leaders.

Under-representation and misrepresentation

In spite of their monumental achievements, women's representation in media remains

drastically different to that of their male counterparts. Women are the focus of only 10% of news
stories, comprise just 20% of experts or spokespeople interviewed, and a mere 4% of news
stories are deemed to challenge gender stereotypes.
According to the report investigation of female characters in popular films across 11
countries, 1 woman for 2.24 men appeared on the screen between 1 January 2010 and 1 May
2013. In 2009, the Screen Actors Guild (US) also found that men continue to make up the
majority of roles, especially Supporting Roles, where they contribute around two roles for every
female role, whereas females hold a slightly larger proportion of lead roles compared to their
proportion of supporting roles, but still less than lead roles occupied by male counterparts.
The same is true for television programs. In general, from the 1950s to the 1970s,
television programs had 30–35% female roles in American TV shows. The female roles
increased in the 1980s, but there were still twice as many roles for men in television. However,
these disparities change depending on the type of program: in mid-1970s sitcoms there were
"nearly equal proportions", whereas in action-adventure shows "only 15 per cent of the leading
characters were women".[17] In the 1980s, female characters represented 43% of roles in comedy
shows and only 29% in action-adventure programs, however, they had outnumbered male
characters two to one in dramas.[17] Since the 1990s, "gender roles on television seemed to
become increasingly equal and non-stereotyped ... although the majority of lead characters were
still male.

Sexualization
Mass media has become a driving force to discrimination based on gender. Images and
expectations of gender roles are highlighted through a variety of platforms and sources like the
structure of language, activities, media, school settings, historical passages or art pieces, and the
workplace.[19] Sexualization of women, in particular, is heavily centralized in mass media. When
these platforms hyper sexualize women, portray them in a lack of clothing, or depict women as
subordinate to men, a women's self-esteem, body image and emotional wellbeing may be
negatively affected.[20] One of the earliest studies of role portrayal in advertisement was done in
1971 by Courtney and Lockeretz. These researchers discovered that the central four themes of
female Stereotypes were that a woman's place was in the home, the second was women didn't
make important decisions, third that women were dependent on their male counterparts and lastly
that women perceived as sexual objects. Two other follow up studies done by Wagner and
Banos, and Belkaoui and Belkaoui reached similar outcomes. The final two points highlight the
angle that women are viewed in regards to their sexuality and bodies.
The Western ideal of female beauty is that of the fit, young and thin woman, and the
media spreads this ideal through movies, TV shows, fashion shows, advertisements, magazines
and newspapers, music videos, and children's cartoons. For women to be considered attractive,

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they have to conform to images in advertisements, television, and music portraying the ideal
woman as tall, white, thin, with a 'tubular' body and blonde hair.
Studies show that typical female roles fall into cultural stereotypes of women and are
often sexualized with minimal clothing and sexualized roles. For example, a content analysis of
video games found that "41% of female characters wore revealing clothing and an equal number
were partially or totally nude", whereas the male characters were not. However, sexualization is
not the only stereotypical way in which women are represented in the media.
In advertisement, celebrity endorsement of products are thought to be especially effective
if the celebrity is a physically attractive woman, as the attractiveness is thought to transfer to the
brand's image and studies have shown that audiences respond better to female endorsements.
The objectification of women in the media is transmitted verbally and nonverbally, as
well as directly and indirectly, and it is not only visual but can also be expressed subtly by
commenting on women's appearance in a humorous way, making jokes and gags, and using
double meanings. Thus, women are often victims of online and offline violence as a result of
the normalization of their bodies' objectification. To advocate against the objectification of
women in the media, some programmes are implementing projects on this issue. For instance,
some trainings and handbooks are being developed by International organizations and NGOS for
media professionals to improve the gender-sensitivity of media representations.[28]
Some shows focused entirely on successful professional women and their "quests for sex,
pleasure and romantic love", such as Ally McBeal (1997–2002) and Sex and the City (1998–
2004). Even if the main character in Ally McBeal was portrayed as desperate to find a husband,
the show had other non-stereotypical female characters and "sided with the women". Sex and the
City had assertive female protagonists, especially in matters of sex, and did not punish them for
wanting pleasure, knowing how to get it, and being determined to do so, which can be seen
especially in the case of Samantha Jones, played by Kim Cattrall.[17] Another female icon from
the 1990s is the title character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a teenage girl who starred and
became hugely popular in the "typically male-dominated world of sci-fi fans". Buffy Summers,
played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, was powerful, heroic, confident, and assertive, characteristics
that were generally ascribed to male characters.
In her 1973 article "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema", feminist film critic Laura
Mulvey coined the term male-gaze to describe the way that women in film serve as projections
of male fantasies.

Domestication
On TV, marriage, parenthood, and domesticity have been shown as more important to
women than men. From the mid-1940s to the 1960s, women (predominantly white, middle-class
women) were portrayed mostly as housewives who had seemingly "perfect" lives: their houses
were always impeccably clean, their children were always healthy, and they were always
beautiful and organized. TV didn't portray the reality that by 1960 "40 per cent of women
worked outside the home ... [and that] divorce rates spiked twice after World War II". According
to a study from 1975 conducted by Jean McNeil, in 74 per cent of the cases studied women's
interactions were "concerned with romance or family problems", whereas men's interactions
were concerned with these matters in only 18 per cent of the cases. Furthermore, female
characters often didn't have jobs, especially if they were wives and mothers, and were not the
dominant characters or decision-makers. The boss is usually a man. Men are portrayed as more
assertive or aggressive, adventurous, active, and victorious, whilst women are shown as passive,
weak, ineffectual, victimized, supportive, and laughable.
As one study about gender role portrayals in advertisements from seven countries' shows,
women are more likely to play the role of the housekeeper and men are more likely to play the
roles of professionals.
In another study, Souha R. Ezzedeen found that career-driven female characters in film
are f a woman, like sexual attraction, maternal roles, and relations in general tend to be
underrepresented in most media; however, this seems to specifically effect female actors who
appear less frequently in film and television than their male colleagues and younger

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women. While 40+ male roles are on the rise in both theatrical and television productions,
female 40+ roles represent only 28% of female roles. Actors such as Harrison Ford and Clint
Eastwood continue to undertake major roles as ageless heroes, whereas the normative structure
for older women is that their ageing is part of the plot (for example in Mamma Mia! (2008)
and Sex and the City (2010)). This is typically seen in relation to female roles relying on
sexualization and the superficial (apparent) effects of aging on their body are presented as
something to be hidden. They continue to be defined mainly by their appearance. In gossip
culture, the older female body is represented in largely negative terms unless it has been
modified "correctly" by cosmetic surgery. Aging female celebrities have become one of the
mainstays of gossip magazines and blogs, which endorse a culture of consumption in which
cosmetic technologies and procedures are not questioned but in which female celebrities who
have used them are either figured as glamorous for getting it right or as monstrous for going too
far. Another consequence of portraying aging women in the media, is that in most TV shows,
actresses who are playing characters in their 40s and 50s tend to have younger appearing body
types. This has led to critiques that these representations are first and foremost framed in terms
of how well older actresses are managing their aging bodies. Midlife women have grown
accustomed to seeing their age group portrayed in a seemingly unrealistic way, and this had led
to an increase of eating disorders and negative body image among this group.
In one court case in 2011, English television actress Miriam O'Reilly successfully sued
the BBC for age discrimination after being dropped from a show. It was claimed that she had
been told to be careful about her wrinkles and to consider Botox and dyeing her hair.
The commercial potential of older consumers is becoming more significant (an increased
'active lifespan', the baby boom generation entering retirement, retirement ages that are raising).
A multiplication of images of successful aging are explicitly tied to consumerism by the anti-
ageing industry and older female celebrities advertising their products. Examples abound: Sharon
Stone for Christian Dior, Catherine Zeta-Jones for Elizabeth Arden, Diane Keaton and Julianna
Margulies for L'Oreal, Christy Turlington for Maybelline, Ellen DeGeneres for CoverGirl, etc.
These advertisements are paradoxical in that they allow older celebrities to remain visible while
encouraging an ageist and sexist culture in which women are valued for their appearance. Baby
boomers are an increasingly important audience group for the cinema industry, resulting in more
and new kinds of stories with older protagonists. Romantic comedies in which women
protagonists take on the romantic heroine role provide one of the few spaces in popular culture
showing appealing representations of older women, such as I Could Never Be Your
Woman (2007), Last Chance Harvey (2008), and It's Complicated (2009). They are part of a
phenomenon called the "girling" of older women, where the protagonists and celebrities are
portrayed as being just as excited and entitled to be going out on dates as younger women.

Abuse
Heterosexual romantic relationships in media, particularly in film, often romanticize
intimate partner violence wherein the woman is the victim. Film like Once Were
Warriors (1994) is an example of film in which abusive behavior, such as manipulation,
coercion, threats, control and domination, isolation, excessive jealousy, and physical violence,
are all exhibited by the male romantic lead. A 2016 study on women's interpretations of abusive
behavior found that many women see the sort of abusive behaviors shown in popular films as
romantic or desirable. This conflation of abuse and romance is widely attributed to the
prevalence of abusive tropes in popular media.

Representations of Men

Men are proportionally represented by media more often

compared to women, but the representations that do exist are often
criticized for their portrayal of sexist stereotypes. Most critics discuss
the ways male characters in film and television are typically more
tough, aggressive, domineering, etc. than the average man they are
meant to represent.

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Media has the power to shed the light on what is frequently stereotyping images, actions
and values that are no more acceptable on all humanitarian levels because they represent all kind
of violence and gender discrimination. The importance of mainstream media when it affects the
way that people think, understand and talk about violence within our communities; also when it
plays
Image from:a role in shaking the mentalities and promoting positive images for women who are strong
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZDJ
leaders and powerful survivors, yet what media should start highlight is positive masculinity.
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EwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTA3MTA4Mzgw._V1_.jpg
Many examples show that masculinity is usually represented by negative values such as
violence, dominance, cruelty, illegal or unhuman actions. Media are way too often diffusing and
showcasing this negative representation. Thus, they are playing a role in the acceptance of the
society, by men and women, to these negative values as the norm to depict men and masculinity.

‘Masculinity’ is the ideas of how men and boys should behave. In

fact, most societies socialize men and boys to assume that they are
superior, leader, aggressive and entitled. According to
the hegemonic masculinity model, men who demonstrate power,
strength, bravery, fearlessness, virility, competitiveness etc.. can
assert their (supposed) superiority over women and consolidate
their general position of dominance over them (physically,
intellectually, and sexually).
Media representations of sports and athletes contribute to the
construction of a dominant model of masculinity centered on
strength and an ambivalent relationship to violence, encouraging
Image from: boys and men to take risks and to be aggressive.
http://www.impawards.com/intl/india/2019/post
ers/war.jpg
The UNESCO's section for Media Development and Society
advocates for gender equality in sports media. "Sports coverage is hugely powerful in shaping
norms and stereotypes about gender. Media has the ability to challenge these norms, promoting a
balanced coverage of men's and women's sports and a fair portrayal of sportspeople –
irrespective of gender". The campaign "Her Moments Matter" highlighted the fact that biased
media representations of sports athletes have repercussions on women's self-confidence and the
perception they have of themselves.
In advertising, men usually promote alcoholic beverages, banking services, credit cards, or cars.
Although women also promote cars, advertisements involving women are usually highly
dependent on their sexuality, which is not the case for those with men, who are shown in these
ads in an elegant and powerful way. Also, when men are acting on a television commercial, they
are usually performing activities such as playing sports, driving around girls, repairing cars,
drinking, relaxing, and having fun.
Also, when a man is promoting on an advertisement, they usually speak about the product and do
not use it. They seem to be the beneficiary of the product or service, typically performed by
women.
Film historian Miriam Hansen argues the way female gaze came to film during the flapper films
of the 1920s, specifically citing the famous Italian-American actor Rudolph Valentino as having
been used on the screen to draw in a female audience as an embodiment of male beauty.

Representations of Non-Binary Characters

Virginie Julliard and Nelly Quemener remark that even though the dominant conception
of sexuality in media is heterosexuality with
construction of traditional models
of femininity and masculinity, sexually diverse
versions are being used in media which can also be
a source of identification by the audience.
In 1985, a U.S. non-governmental media
monitoring organization called GLAAD was
founded by Vito Russo, Jewelle Gomez, and Image from: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vQY3ovBBkp0/maxresdefault.jpg

Lauren Hinds with the support of

other LGBT people in the media to combat media discrimination. The name "GLAAD" had been
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an acronym for "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation", but is also known for its
inclusivity of bisexual and transgender people.

Effects on Youth
Stereotypes
The media is generally regarded as playing an important role in defining prevailing social
norms concerning sexual harassment, especially television, which is "widely accessible and
intentionally appealing and engaging, [making] massive use of stereotypical messages that the
majority of the people can easily understand". Media affects behaviors and is "of prime
importance for adolescents' general ideas of romance, sex, and relationships". Thus, objectifying
media has important social consequences, among which is greater acceptance of stereotypical
attitudes. Studies have found that exposure to objectifying media can be linked to increased
probability of male viewers engaging in sexual harassment, abuse, or acts of violence against
women.
In the U.S., for example, exposure to TV has been associated with "more stereotypical
sexual attitudes [like the idea that men are sex-driven and the notion that women are sexual
objects] and evaluation styles". Also popular is the idea that appearance or sexiness is essential
for men and women. Additionally, pop music and music videos have been shown to increase
stereotypical gender schemas, and promote the ideas that gender relationships are adversarial and
that appearance is fundamental.
The stereotyped portrayals of men and women have been argued to be valued and
internalized by younger viewers, especially during puberty and the construction of their sexual
identity.
Advertising/Television
Gender-related content has been portrayed in stereotypical ways in advertising,
commercials on multiple platforms, and in Television shows. Most of the gender-related content
in these different platforms of media are examples of the roles of females and males that are
geared mostly towards children. A study was done on the content of children television shows.
Looking at the four main emotions (happiness, sadness, anger and fear), it was concluded that
males portrayed more than females. The maturer the show got, the less females are seen, while
males are shown to "manly" and aggressive. Young people and adolescents are the main targets
for different advertisements due to their buying power for a variety of products. According to
Aysen Bakir and Kay Palan, associate professors of marketing, researchers have conducted a
study with eight-and nine-year-old children about the perception children have towards
advertisements with gender-related content. The researchers express that the issue of
stereotypical gender roles in these platforms of media leads to closed minded effects on
youth. The experimental design examined children and researched ways to combat the closed
mindedness as well as the concept of gender flexibility.[62] The concept is the degree to which an
individual is able to be open minded about stereotypes and understand Gender roles. Male as
well as female roles in advertisements are viewed differently in clarity and value. At a very
young age, children are susceptible by Environmental factors like media, strangers, parents, and
much more. A study by Ruble, Balaban, and Cooper, researchers examining gender
development, expressed gender stereotypes in media and observed that children younger than
four years old are likely to choose gender-typed toys if they have seen them on television being
used by the same-sex models. This explains the factor of children becoming closed minded,
researchers explain, at a very young age due to how certain genders are portrayed in media and
television.
Female Roles
The gender-related content in advertising in the past as well as today portray females with
certain labels. The roles that women play in advertising, such as in television commercials or
Magazines, shows them as delicate characters who tend to act very innocent. The commercials
prominent on television today show females struggling with some issue or problem. Not only is
this example of female roles portrayed in advertising, but also media content online under-
represent women very often; women are put in traditional roles in advertisements and
television. On platforms aside from television, like on radio or Podcasts, women have quiet and
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calm voices. They are seen as shy and gentle, which makes youth stereotype as well as
categorize them in a negative way. In a content analysis in 1970 by Courtney and Lockeretz,
researchers who study women roles, it was suggested that there are four very common
stereotypes that women are seen under:
1. A woman's only place is in her home.
2. Women have no ability to make their own decisions or important ones.
3. A man must always protect women as they are dependent on them.
4. Men only see women as housewives and as sexual objects.

Film Genres
Gender stereotyping is based on who is considered
to be the target audience for a given film and is considered
to be a prominent issue in the United States. It is believed
that romantic movies and or shows are more directed
towards and intrigue more females than they do males.
Due to the reputation that is upheld in romantic films,
males feel that they are unable to enjoy or watch films in
this genre, forming this stereotype. It is also believed that
these gender expectations in movie genres are developed
at a young age as both girls and boys direct their interests
towards different film categories. Researchers Oliver and
Green displayed a preview of Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles as well as Beauty and the Beast to a group of both
girls and boys. The researchers asked the children whether
the movies previewed would be more appealing to girls or
boys and the majority response was that Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles was more directed towards boys due to the
violence in the film. While boys are more intrigued by
Image from: action movies, girls tend to enjoy a film that is more
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91D1FS0cL9L.
_AC_SL1500_.jpg feminine and contains a female protagonist. In addition,
targeting a specific gender through different genres and displaying that particular sex's desires
helps to intrigue that targeted audience even further. The protagonist also helps determine the
viewers of the movie. Different genres attract different audiences. Therefore, the intended
audience is more likely to watch the movie if the protagonist is relatable or easy to identify with.
In addition, another study was conducted that looked at men and women's preferences in regard
to 17 different movie genres. The participants within the study determined whether the genre
presented was more directed towards male or females. The researchers were able to determine
from their study that animation, comedy, drama, and romance were genres that interested
females. While action, adventure, fantasy, history, horror, thriller etc. movies were considered to
be more liked by males.

Body image
There are many studies that aim to prove that sexual objectification is the root cause of
body image issues. One 1995 study intended to prove that sexual advertising contributes to body
dissatisfaction. One hundred and thirty nine women were involved. They were split into two
groups: The first group where the women watched an advert that showed attractive women. The
second part where they showed adverts that were non-appearance related. The results showed the
group of women that watched the appearance related advertisement experienced feelings of
depression and body dissatisfaction.
Relationships between media exposure and personal concepts of body image have also
been increasingly explored. Psychology Today conducted a survey and observed that "of 3,452
women who responded to this survey, 23% indicated that movie or television celebrities
influenced their body image when they were young, and 22% endorsed the influence of fashion
magazine models".

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Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors have increased in the UK, Australia,
and the US due to a "perceived environmental pressure to conform to a culturally-defined body
and beauty ideal" which is promoted mainly by the media. This ideal of unrealistic and artificial
female beauty is "impossible for the majority of females to achieve".
A study conducted in 2015 by the Department of Communication at University of
Missouri tested the potential impact of gendered depictions of women in the superhero movie
genre on female undergraduates. The study concluded that the exposure to sexualized and
objectified images of women in superhero movies resulted in lower body esteem, increased
priority for body competence and altered views on gender roles.
Factors involved in the composition of self-image include the emotional, physical, and
reasoning aspects of a person, and these aspects affect one another. One of the main contributors
to negative body image is the fact that forms of media like commercials and magazines promotes
the "thin ideal". From seeing images of women with extremely thin bodies, some people have an
increase of negative emotions, and these individuals tend to take actions like dieting to help
relieve the undesirable feelings about their body image. This act of dieting could lead to
dangerous behaviors such as eating disorders if the negative perceptions about one's body image
does not improve. Considering that an average North American will watch about 35,000
commercials a year, it is to be expected that commercials presenting images of skinny and
gorgeous women will have a bigger impact on increasing negative body image, than ads in
magazines. The author of "Influence of Appearance-Related TV Commercials on Body Image
State", Tanja Legenbauer, conducted a study to demonstrate that images presented in
commercials can lead to harmful effects in those that watch them. Her study included
participants who looked at different silhouettes of differently shaped women, and their response
to these images was reviewed. These participants included those with and without eating
disorders, and usually those participants with eating disorders reacted more negatively to the
images presented to them in the study.
One explanation for why TV shows could negatively affect body image is the idea of the
"third" person. The "third" person idea explains that women can start to develop negative body
image because they are constantly seeing images of thin and beautiful women on TV. From
seeing these images, they realize that men are seeing these same women and thinking that those
images are the standards for a perfect or ideal woman. Body image can be defined as the
perception of how one sees themselves and whether or not they are happy with what they are
seeing. This image of oneself can be positively or negatively affected by the opinions of those
that matter to the person. When a woman thinks about the "third person", the gender and
relationship of the "third person" to the woman can change the amount of impact their opinion
has on the woman. So, an example would be if a woman knows that her boyfriend is seeing these
images of lean and beautiful women, her boyfriend's opinion can more negatively affect how she
sees herself and her body than if she thinks about a female stranger seeing the same images.
Eating disorders are presumed to mainly affect teenage girls, but they are starting to
become more common in middle aged women. When women want to work on bettering their
health or when they want to get into shape, they often look to fitness or health magazines. One
problem with women looking towards health magazines for help is that these magazines are
often filled with images of women who are in their 40s and 50s, but are very lean and
beautiful. To establish that these health magazines are having a negative impact on body image
in the readers of the magazines, Laura E. Willis, the author of "Weighing Women Down:
Messages on Weight Loss and Body Shaping in Editorial Content in Popular Women's Health",
conducted a study. She looked at issues of five different health and fitness magazines, and
realized that these magazines tend to focus more on appearance rather than health, and focused
on reducing caloric intake rather than exercise. The messages presented in these magazines can
cause a negative perception of oneself, and instead of motivating people to better themselves,
they have the ability to make the reader feel bad about their body.

Social Media
With the rise in popularity of social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook,
Twitter, and Snapchat, new standards of beauty have emerged in the relationship between media

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and gender. This can create a false image of how individuals, particularly young children, should
look. Young people are more likely to purchase products endorsed by social media personalities
such as Instagram models in hopes of getting that model's body type when in reality the figures
are likely attained through plastic surgery. This look has also lead to a 115% increase in the
number of plastic surgeries since 2000.

Responses and movements for change

Feminist Response
Germaine Greer, Australian-born author of The Female Eunuch (1970), offered a
systematic deconstruction of ideas such as womanhood and femininity, arguing that women are
forced to assume submissive roles in society to fulfill male fantasies of what being a woman
entails. Greer wrote that women were perceived as mere consumers benefiting from the
purchasing power of their husband. Women become targets for marketing, she said, and their
image is used in advertising to sell products. American socialist writer and feminist, Sharon
Smith wrote on the first issue of Women and Film that women's roles in film "almost always
[revolve] around her physical attraction and the mating games she plays with the male
characters" in contrast to men's roles, which according to the author are more varied. In 1973
Marjorie Rosen, an important contributor to feminist film theory, argued that "the Cinema
Woman is a Popcorn Venus, a delectable but insubstantial hybrid of cultural distortions". In 1978
Gaye Tuchman wrote of the concept of symbolic annihilation, blaming the media for imposing a
negative vision of active women and making an apologia for housewives.
From media representations, feminists paved the way for debates and discussions about
gender within the social and political spheres. In 1986, the British MP Clare Short proposed a
bill to ban newspapers from printing Page 3 photographs of topless models.
In the early 2000s, feminist critics began analyzing film in terms of the Bechdel test. This
feminist assessment of cinema was named after Alison Bechdel, feminist cartoonist and creator
of the long-running comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For. This test determines the level of gender
equality present in a film by assessing whether a work of fiction features at least two named
women who talk to each other about something other than a man.
In the 1970s, TV critics, academics, and women started to point out the way TV shows
portrayed female characters. TV Guide magazine called out the industry for "refusing to rise
above characterizations of women as pretty, skinny, dopey, hapless housewives or housewife
wannabes", and a poll conducted by Redbook magazine in 1972 showed that "75 per cent of
120,000 women ... agreed that 'the media degrades women by portraying them as mindless
dolls'". In that sense, The Mary Tyler Moore Show was a television breakthrough because it
introduced the first female character whose central relationships were not her husband or
boyfriend or her family, but her friends and coworkers. The main character was a sort of stand-in
for the "new American female" who put her job before romance and preferred to be alone than
with the wrong men, but still had to do stereotypically female office work (like typing and
getting coffee) and didn't speak up to her boss and other male coworkers.

International Organization and NGO response

UN Women
UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of
women. To increase women's leadership, to end violence against women and to engage women
in all aspects of peace and security processes, it's important to give women the right place in
media landscape, and their representations must be fair and equal. UN Women supports media
monitoring studies on how women are depicted in the media. For instance, the organization
"engage media professionals by raising awareness of gender equality and violence against
women, including through special workshops and tool-kits, to encourage gender-sensitive
reporting."
UNESCO
In line with UNESCO's Global Priority Gender, "UNESCO is contributing to achieving
full gender equality in the media by 2030". To reach this goal, the Organization developed the
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Gender-sensitive Indicators for Media (GSIM) to measure gender awareness and portrayal within
media organizations (e.g. working conditions), but particularly in editorial content. The
Organization has been promoting their application by governments, media organizations,
journalists unions and associations, journalism schools and the like. They set the basis for gender
equality in media operations and editorial content. In addition, each year, UNESCO organizes a
campaign named "Women Make the News"; in 2018 the theme was Gender Equality and Sports
Media as "Sports coverage is hugely powerful in shaping norms and stereotypes about gender.
Media has the ability to challenge these norms, promoting a balanced coverage of men's and
women's sports and a fair portrayal of sportspeople irrespective of gender."
Geena Davis Institute
The Geena Davis Institute advocates for gender equality in media. It is a NGO
specialized in researches on gender representation in media. It advocates for equal representation
of women. To increase women's leadership, to end violence against women and to engage
women in all aspects of peace and security processes.
Stereotypical Images of Relationships Between Men and Women

The following are the themes anchored to stereotyping gender roles in media:

1. Women’s dependence/men’s independence

2. Men’s authority/women’s incompetence
3. Women as primary caregivers/men as breadwinners
4. Women as victims and sex objects/men as aggressors

ACTIVITY:

Read and analyze the following situations. Write a reaction in each situation about the views
and experiences of each individuals.

 JILL
I remember when I was little I used to read books from the boys’ section of the
library because they were more interesting. Boys did the fun stuff and the exciting things.
My mother kept trying to get me to read girls’ books, but I just couldn’t get into them.
Why can’t stories about girls be full of adventure and bravery? I know when I’m a
mother, I want any daughters of mine to understand that excitement isn’t just for boys.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

 PAUL
I wouldn’t say this around anyone, but personally I’d be glad if the media let up a
little on us guys. I watch those guys in films and on TV, and I just feel inadequate. I
mean, I’m healthy and I look okay, and I’ll probably make a decent salary when I
graduate. But I am no stud; I can’t beat up three guys at once women don’t fall dead at
my feet; I doubt I’ll make 1 million bucks; and I don’t have muscles that ripple. Every
time I go to a film, I leave feeling like a wimp. How can any of us guys measure up to
what’s on the screen?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

 JOANNE
I’d like to know who dreams up those commercials that show men as unable to
boil water or run a vacuum. I’d like to tell them they’re creating monsters. My boyfriend
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and I agreed to split all chores equally when we moved in together. Ha! Fat chance of
that. He does zilch. When I get on his case, he reminds me of what happened when the
father on some show had to take over housework and practically demolished the kitchen.
Then he grins and says, “Now, you wouldn’t want that, would you?” Or worse yet, he
throws up Hope or one of the other women on W, and asks me why I can’t be as sweet
and supportive as she is. It’s like the junk on television gives him blanket license for
doing nothing.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

ASSESSMENT:

I. Answer the following questions below.

1. What is media?
2. How do the different forms of media affect the way we see gender?
3. What are some strategies for looking at and thinking about gender in media more
critically?
4. How can we work together to creatively counteract some of the rigid ideas about
gender we get from media?

References:

 Analyzing Gender Stereotypes in Media. Retrieved from:

https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/tolerance-lessons/analyzing-gender-stereotypes-in-media
 Media and Gender. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_and_gender#mw-head
 Wood, Julia T (1994). Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender. Retrieved from:
http://www1.udel.edu/comm245/readings/GenderedMedia.pdf

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LESSON 14

OVERVIEW:
This lesson will mainly discuss about gender-based violence, its types and the root causes
of gender crimes and violence.

LESSON TITLE:
THE GENDERED VIOLENCE

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
 define gender-based violence;
 identify the root causes of gender crimes and violence;
 identify different types and sites of gender-based violence, its main victims and
perpetrators;
 discuss what gender-based violence is and why it is a violation of women’s human
rights;
 analyze gender-based violence from the women’s human rights perspective; and
 review current policies that protect people from gender violence.

TAKE OFF:
Analyze the picture and answer the following questions.

Image from: https://academicimpact.un.org/sites/academicimpact.un.org/files/styles/large/public/field/image/Domestic%20Violence.jpg?

itok=0Ph-YYR1

1. What is the image all about?

2. What acts do you classify as violence? Why?

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3. What does the phrase “gender-based violence” means to you? And how it is different
from other types of violence?

CONTENT FOCUS:
Gender-based violence (GBV)

GBV is violence directed against a person because of that person's gender or violence that
affects persons of a particular gender disproportionately. Violence against women is understood
as a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women and shall mean all
acts of gender-based violence that result in, or are likely to result in

 physical harm,
 sexual harm,
 psychological,
 or economic harm
 or suffering to women.

It can include violence against women, domestic violence against women, men or children
living in the same domestic unit. Although women and girls are the main victims of GBV, it also
causes severe harm to families and communities.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a grave human rights violation that can cause long-term and
life-threatening injury and trauma to victims/survivors. All human rights and humanitarian actors
must ensure that efforts are made from the onset of an emergency to prevent and respond to acts
of gender-based violence and provide adequate care, treatment and support to its
victims/survivors.

Forms of Violence

GBV can take various forms:

 Physical: it results in injuries, distress and health problems. Typical forms of physical
violence are beating, strangling, pushing, and the use of weapons. In the EU, 31 % of
women have experienced one or more acts of physical violence since the age of 15.
 Sexual: it includes sexual acts, attempts to obtain a sexual act, acts to traffic, or acts
otherwise directed against a person’s sexuality without the person’s consent. It’s
estimated that one in 20 women (5 %) has been raped in EU countries since the age of 15.
 Psychological: includes psychologically abusive behaviours, such as controlling,
coercion, economic violence and blackmail. 43% of women in the 28 EU countries have
experienced some form of psychological violence by an intimate partner.
 Harmful traditional practices Include female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C); forced
marriage; child marriage; honour or dowry killings or maiming; infanticide, sex-selective
abortion practices; sex-selective neglect and abuse; and denial of education and economic
opportunities for women and girls.
 Socio-economic violence Includes discrimination and denial of opportunities or services
on the basis of sex, gender, or sexual orientation; social exclusion; obstructive legal
practices, such as denial of the exercise and enjoyment of civil, social, economic, cultural
and political rights, mainly to women and girls.

Main Causes of gender-based violence

Gender-based violence is deeply rooted in discriminatory cultural beliefs and attitudes

that perpetuate inequality and powerlessness, in particular of women and girls. Various other
factors, such as poverty, lack of education and livelihood opportunities, and impunity for crime
and abuse, also tend to contribute to and reinforce a culture of violence and discrimination based
on gender.

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Such factors are frequently aggravated in times of conflict and displacement as the rule of
law is eroded and families and societies are torn apart. The result is often an increase in both the
frequency and brutality of gender-based violence. In its worst form, gender-based violence has
become a weapon of war, intentionally directed against and aimed at terrorizing, displacing and
destroying certain communities or ethnic groups.

Combating gender-based violence requires an understanding of its causes and

contributing factors, which often also serve as barriers to effective prevention and response:

Causes Common barriers to Prevention and Response

Physical Lack of physical security owing to break-down of law and order, presence of
factors armed forces/groups, collapse of law enforcement, justice institutions and
family, social or community structures. Women and girls are particularly
vulnerable when leaving their communities in search of work, food, water
and/or firewood.

Poverty, lack of education and livelihood opportunities, and inadequate

access to shelter, food, water, fuel, and income generation can increase
exposure to GBV, including forced prostitution or survival sex.
Social / Discriminatory social, cultural or religious laws, norms and practices that
cultural / marginalize women and girls and fail to respect their rights.
political
factors Collapse of family, social and communal structures and disrupted roles within
the family often expose women and girls to risk and limit coping mechanisms
and avenues for protection and redress.

Lack of confidence and/or trust in social or public institutions, including law

enforcement and justice institutions that discourage victims/survivors from
seeking redress.
Judicial Lack of access to justice institutions and mechanisms, resulting in culture of
barriers impunity for violence and abuse

Lack of adequate and affordable legal advice and representation.

Lack of adequate victim/survivor and witness protection mechanisms.

Inadequate legal framework, including national, traditional, customary and

religious law, that discriminate against women and girls, fails to guarantee
their rights, or exposes them to further harm and abuse. As an example,
national law may fail to guarantee a certain right (e.g. non-discrimination),
fail to criminalize certain cts (e.g. rape), or narrowly interpret them (e.g. rape
defined as not including marital rape). In some cases, national law also
criminalizes the victim (e.g. rape defined as adultery) or criminalizes acts that
allegedly are primarily associated with women (e.g. witchcraft or sorcery). In
some cases, the victim/survivor faces harassment, intimidation and/or severe
punishment.
Individual Threat or fear of stigma, isolation and social exclusion.
barriers
Exposure to further violence at the hands of the perpetrator, the community or
the authorities, including arrest, detention, ill-treatment and punishment.

Lack of information about human rights and on how and where to seek
remedies.
Humanitarian Failure to address or prioritize GBV in assessments, strategy development,
programming planning and programming because of a lack of information or understanding
obstacles about the extent or nature of GBV.

Lack of gender-sensitive design of programmes, services and facilities,

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including inadequate registration practices and distribution of food and non-

food items.

Sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers, human rights and

humanitarian workers.

Other challenges including weak links with other assistance and protection
programmes, lack of confidentiality, confusing reporting and referral
mechanisms, and GBV committees that are isolated, under-resourced and
weak, and lack support from the wider community.

Examples of gender-based violence

 Domestic violence includes all acts of physical, sexual, psychological and economic
violence that occur within the family, domestic unit, or between intimate partners. These
can be former or current spouses also when they don’t share the same residence. 22 % of
all women who have (had) a partner have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by
a partner since the age of 15.
 Sex-based harassment includes unwelcome verbal, physical or other non-verbal conduct
of a sexual nature with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person. Between
45% to 55% of women in the EU have experienced sexual harassment since the age of
15.
 Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the
external female genitalia. It violates women’s bodies and often damages their sexuality,
mental health, well-being and participation in their community. It may even lead to death.
Today, more than 200 million girls and women alive worldwide have undergone female
genital mutilation. At least 500,000 women living in the EU have undergone FGM.
 Forced marriage refers to marriage concluded under force or coercion – either physical
pressure to marry or emotional and psychological pressure. It’s closely linked to child or
early marriage, when children are wed before reaching the minimum age for marriage.
 Online violence is an umbrella term used to describe all sorts of illegal or harmful
behaviours against women in the online space. They can be linked to experiences of
violence in real life, or be limited to the online environment only. They can include
illegal threats, stalking or incitement to violence, unwanted, offensive or sexually explicit
emails or messages, sharing of private images or videos without consent, or inappropriate
advances on social networking sites. One in 10 women in the EU has experienced cyber
harassment since the age of 15.

What are the consequences?

Gender-based violence can have serious long-term and life-threatening consequences for
victims/survivors. These can range from permanent disability or death to a variety of physical,
psycho-social and health-related problems that often destroy the survivor’s self-worth and
quality of life, and expose her or him to further abuse. Gender-based violence can lead to a
vicious cycle of violence and abuse as survivors risk being rejected by their family, excluded and
ostracized by society, and even arrested, detained and punished – and sometimes abused again –
for seeking protection, assistance or access to justice.

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Who are
the primary victims/survivors?
Gender-based violence affects women and men of all ages and backgrounds. Women and
girls are the primary victims/survivors but men and boys are frequently targeted as well. They
may however face different forms of violence. As an example, women and girls may be more
often exposed to rape and other forms of sexual violence, while men and boys may be more
likely to be forcibly recruited into armed forces or groups.
Persons who have been separated from their family or community, and/or lack access to
shelter, education and livelihood opportunities, are among those most at risk of GBV. This
includes unaccompanied or separated children, female and child heads-of-households, boys and
girls in foster families or other care arrangements, persons with disabilities, persons in detention,
working girls, girl mothers, and girls and boys born to rape victims/survivors. Persons that have
been exposed to such violence are referred to as “victims/survivors.”
Who are the main perpetrators?
Gender-based violence is usually perpetrated by persons who hold a position of power or
control others, whether in the private or public sphere. In most cases, those responsible are
known to the victim/survivor, such as intimate partners, members of the (extended) family,
friends, teachers or community leaders. Others in positions of authority, such as police or prison
officials, and members of armed forces and groups, are frequently responsible for such acts, in
particular in times of armed conflict. In some cases, this has also included humanitarian workers
and peacekeepers.
The Responsibility Of The State
The State has primary responsibility for preventing and responding to gender-based
violence. This includes taking all necessary legislative, administrative, judicial and other
measures to prevent, investigate and punish acts of gender-based violence, whether in the home,
the workplace, the community, while in custody, or in situations of armed conflict, and provide
adequate care, treatment and support to victims/survivors. To that effect States should, for
example:
 Criminalize all acts of gender-based violence and ensure that national law, policies and
practices adequately respect and protect human rights without discrimination of any
kind, including on grounds of gender.
 Investigate allegations of GBV thoroughly and effectively, prosecute and punish those
responsible, and provide adequate protection, care, treatment and support to
victims/survivors, including access to legal counseling, health care, psycho-social
support, rehabilitation and compensation for the harm suffered.
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 Take measures to eliminate all beliefs and practices that discriminate against women or
sanction violence and abuse, including any cultural, social, religious, economic and legal
practices.
 Take action to empower women and strengthen their personal, legal, social and
economic independence.
The Role Of Human Rights And Humanitarian Actors
While primary responsibility lies with the national authorities, human rights and
humanitarian actors also play an important role in preventing and responding to gender-based
violence. In addition to ensuring an effective GBV response from the outset of an emergency,
this entails ensuring that gender concerns are adequately integrated into and mainstreamed at all
levels of the humanitarian response.
Human rights and humanitarian actors, as well as peace-keepers, must not under any
circumstances, encourage or engage in any form of sexual exploitation or abuse. We must at all
times ensure that such acts do not take place by our staff or partners or as a result of our
interventions. This includes any act or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential
power, or trust, for sexual purposes, as well as any actual or threatened sexual act, whether by
force or under unequal or coercive conditions. Such acts include, but are not limited to, all forms
of rape and sexual assault, forced prostitution, trafficking and various forms of transactional or
survival sex in exchange for money, food, access to shelter, education and other services.
Several guidelines provide useful guidance on GBV prevention and response. These
include, in particular, the IASC Guidelines for Gender-based Violence Interventions in
Humanitarian Settings, which focus on minimum prevention and response to sexual violence in
all sectors during emergencies; the UNHCR Guidelines for Prevention and Response,5 which
provide a comprehensive guidance on prevention and response, including in post-emergency and
early-recovery settings; and the IASC Gender Handbook,6 which sets forth standards that guide
the integration of gender in humanitarian action.
In the Philippines, there are also several laws which aims to protect individuals
particularly women and child against violence.

ACTIVITY:
Read the following scenarios and answer the questions below.
 Scenario 1
Fatima comes from a very traditional family. She is 16 and does very well in
school. She has always dreamed of becoming a doctor, and her teachers have told her
about scholarship opportunities if she keeps up her studies. She has decided to tell her
father that she wishes to apply for scholarships to study in the capital. The same day she
comes home from school to speak to her father, he tells her he has arranged for her to
marry a very wealthy man from the next village, and she will have to discontinue her
studies. Fatima has never met the man, and she does not wish to get married, but she
respects her father and was raised to not disagree with her parents. Although she is very
sad, she agrees to marry the man and is forced to drop out of school.

1. Does Fatima give her consent to the marriage?

2. Was any force used in this incident?
3. Who has the power in this situation?
4. What kind of power does the father have?
5. What kind of power does the daughter have?
6. How does power relate to choice in this example?
7. What advice would you give Fatima?
8. What advice would you give her father?
9. Does this happen in your community?
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 Scenario 2
Mrs. Hernandez is a teacher at a primary school and often has morning duty to
monitor the students while they are playing outside before school. She notices that the
boys and girls play separately, which is normal at this grade level. One of the girls is
older and much larger than the other girls. She is always with a group of girls and picks
on the younger girls. One day, Mrs. Hernandez notices that they are being very cruel to a
smaller girl; some are running up and pinching her breasts and she is crying. They are
calling her names and teasing her. Mrs. Hernandez can tell that the smaller girl is upset,
but she thinks this sort of teasing is normal so she leaves the girls alone.

1. Is force being used in this situation?

2. Who has the power in this situation?
3. What kind of power does the older/bigger girl have?
4. What kind of power does the smaller girl have?
5. What advice would you give to the smaller girl?
6. What advice would you give to the larger girl?
7. What advice would you give to the teacher?
8. Does this scenario happen in your school?

ASSESSMENT:
Directions. Search a news story or article related to gender violence. Identify and analyze
why the violence happened and cite a law or policy (in the Philippines or International) that
could prevent such violence to happen again. Include the full story if possible.

References:

 What is gender violence? (European Commission) https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/justice-and-

fundamental-rights/gender-equality/gender-based-violence/what-gender-based-violence_en
 http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/svaw/advocacy/modelsessions/what_is_GBV.PDF
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_against_women_in_the_Philippines
 shttps://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED507890.pdf

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