Lesson 2

Cultures and Rationalities

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Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
1. discuss how culture and rationality shapes how people perceive reality;
2. describe how culture influences a person's understanding of gender
and sexuality; and
3. explain how rationalities shape sexism and discrimination
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Culture is at once the manifestation and the matrix of rationality. Through the man’s
cultural interaction with other persons and culturally determined things, the child himself
undergoes a process of “idealization” and becomes a social and rational person. This
lesson will help you understand how culture and rationality shape how people perceive
reality.

Activity 2.1: For this lesson, you will engage in an exercise that will make you more aware
of your rationalities. Answer the following questions:

1. In your community, what are the traits of an ideal woman?

2. In your community, what are the attributes of an ideal man?

3. Give examples of inappropriate male behavior.

4. Give examples of unacceptable behavior for women.

 1. Do you feel the improper conduct you've observed contradicts the basic
features of human nature?

2. Is it horrifying because it represents what it is to be human? If that's the

case, why are there differences across groups?

3. If not, what could be the source of the conceptions of acceptable and unacceptable
behavior?

Instinct and Culture

Human beings are not heavily dependent on instinct, an innate, typically fixed
pattern of behavior in animals in response to certain stimuli. Meanwhile, culture is the
system of symbols that allows people to give meaning to experience. It bears all the
accumulated knowledge of people coded into characters that will help them interpret what
is happening to or around them and respond appropriately to the experience. It gives
people systems of shortcuts for meaningful interpretations and responses. This is what
culture does; it takes instinct to give people a quick representation and answer based on
collective experience to confront us.
Culture can Change

Culture is superior to instinct because it is malleable or adaptable. It is both learned

and inherited and readily determines how one understands and acts. It changes when it
is framing of reality is no longer helpful. It is the main difference between culture and
instinct. The systems that shape human behavior are malleable (capable of being easily
changed or influenced). For example, self-promotion and publicizing oneself, such as on
social media websites, have become acceptable behavior.

Culture is the versatile system of meaning-giving. The problem in this setup is that
when cultural systems orient people to act in a certain what that is harmful, individuals
tend to act destructively toward others without conscious decision. Suppose a community
devalues women. Their cultural system programs people to behave this way. Thus,
mistreating women and being receptive to this lousy treatment is due to a cultural system.

Culture can be transformed without waiting for a genetic mutation to take

effect. Culture can change when its system of meaning no longer serves human
flourishing. We must understand how culture can be changed so that world becomes
more just for women. To illustrate this point, examine micro-aggression as a form of
violence.

Micro-aggression 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 include internalized emotions such as guilt,
resentment, and anger. For example, boys are a tease for engaging in culturally feminine
activities such as playing house or playing with dolls; girls are teased for engaging in
sports, bakla term for homosexual male and para kang babae is used to challenge
masculinity and to show that woman-like is bad thus demeaning women as a gender.
Although seemingly harmless, these instances are a form of correction that ensures that
people do not stray from the culture’s good definition. In this case, men as strong and
masculine are considered good, and men are evil.

However, those who commit acts of microaggression do not feel that they have
violated the rights of others because they are acting according to the excellence define
by the culture. It shows how culture can determine how we act toward others and
ourselves without even a critical awareness of what we do and why we do it. This scenario
illustrates the necessity for critical reflection. Everyone must look at the culture and
systems that define social structures to develop all people. How cultures get in the way
and support the flourishing of women should be understood. Humans are born into their
way of thinking. Sexist or misogynist thinking is inherited, which is why jokes or
harassment come so naturally to some. One crucial way is by proposing universal
standards by which societies can be measured.
Activity 2.2: Questions for Review

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

40 / EXCELLENT 30 / VERY GOOD 20/ AVERAGE 10 / NEEDS 5 / UNACCEPTABLE

IMPROVEMENT

Ideas The idea is clear The idea is The idea is The idea is not The idea has no
and focused. It mainly focused beginning to well-defined, and clear sense of
holds the reader's and has some define the topic, there are too purpose or central
attention. good details. even though many topics. theme.
development is
still primary or
general.

Organization The organization Paper (and The organizational The There is no apparent
enhances and paragraphs) structure is strong arrangement of feeling of direction in
highlights the are mainly enough to guide parts does not writing. There is no
central idea or organized, in the reader through make sense, discernible internal
subject. The order, and the material although the structure; ideas,
reader is lured make sense to without causing order of details, or events
into the text by the the reader. them to become sentences within appear to be linked
material's order disoriented. paragraphs together
and organization. does. haphazardly or
randomly.

1. How do you define maleness and femaleness?

2. How does culture shape people’s perception of reality?

3. Why is a change in culture significant in achieving gender equality?

4. Why are sexism and discrimination associated with culture and rationalities?
 Activity 2.3: Video Analysis

View the video from the given link below, then write a five-sentence summary of
the video and another five-sentence learning insights based on your field of specialization.

The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.

20 / EXCELLENT 15 / VERY 10/ AVERAGE 5 / NEEDS 2 / UNACCEPTABLE

GOOD IMPROVEMENT

Ideas The idea is The idea is The idea is The idea is not The idea has no
clear and mainly beginning to well-defined, clear sense of
focused. It focused and define the and there are purpose or
holds the has some topic, even too many central theme.
reader's good though topics.
attention. details. development is
still primary or
general.

Organization The Paper (and The The There is no

organization paragraphs) organizational arrangement apparent feeling
enhances and are mainly structure is of parts does of direction in
highlights the organized, in strong enough not make writing. There is
central idea or order, and to guide the sense, no discernible
subject. The make sense reader through although the internal
reader is lured to the the material order of structure; ideas,
into the text by reader. without causing sentences details, or events
the material's them to within appear to be
order and become paragraphs linked together
organization. disoriented. does. haphazardly or
randomly.

SNIPPET: Microaggressions in the Classroom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ji8Qae9keY

Congratulations! You have just finished another section. More exciting topics are
ahead. Keep going!