University of Baguio

Assumption Road, Baguio City 2660

Gender and Society

Topic: Gender and Politics

Objectives:

1. Identify the factors that contribute to the process and phenomenon of discrimination
in government.
2. Examine the intersections of gender and power relations within a general political
system.
3. Reflect on the impact of gender discrimination in government and in governance.

Lesson Proper:

Introduction

The relationship between gender and governance is often neglected in both

conceptual and empirical work. Much influential political thought is still based on
perceptions of the separation between the ‘public’ realms of politics, military affairs
and administration and the ‘private’ realm of domestic and family life. While it focuses
on the lives of women, it is very much framed as a study of ‘gender and governance’
rather than ‘women and governance’. Thus, it recognizes the host of social norms and
expectations that condition women’s lives and that, therefore, any useful study of
gender and governance must understand governance in the broadest way – to
include the ways in which social and administrative structures affect society members’
capabilities and access to opportunities. (Demetriades, 2009)

Political Gender Inequality

Even in democratic societies in which gender equality is legally mandated, gender

discrimination occurs in politics, both about presumptions about political allegiances
that fall along gender lines, and disparate gender representation within representative
democracies. Historically, this was even more true when women were neither
considered full citizens nor could not vote.

Intersections of Gender and Politics:

A. Voting Rights for Women

Women were excluded from voting in ancient Greece and republican Rome, as well as
in the few democracies that had emerged in Europe by the end of the 18th century.
When the franchise was widened, as it was in the United Kingdom in 1832, women
continued to be denied all voting rights. The question of women’s voting rights finally
became an issue in the 19th century, and the struggle was particularly intense in Great
Britain and the United States, but those countries were not the first to grant women the
right to vote, at least not on a national basis. By the early years of the 20th century,
women had won the right to vote in national elections in New Zealand (1893), Australia
(1902), Finland (1906), and Norway (1913). In Sweden and the United States, they had
voting rights in some local elections.

World War I and its aftermath speeded up the enfranchisement of women in the
countries of Europe and elsewhere. In the period 1914–39, women in 28 additional
countries acquired either equal voting rights with men or the right to vote in national
elections. Those countries included Soviet Russia (1917); Canada, Germany, Austria,
and Poland (1918); Czechoslovakia (1919); the United States and Hungary (1920); Great
Britain (1918 and 1928); Burma (Myanmar; 1922); Ecuador (1929); South Africa (1930);
Brazil, Uruguay, and Thailand (1932); Turkey and Cuba (1934); and the Philippines (1937).
In a number of those countries, women were initially granted the right to vote in
municipal or other local elections or perhaps in provincial elections; only later were they
granted the right to vote in national elections.

Page 1 of 4
Immediately after World War II, France, Italy, Romania, Yugoslavia, and China were
added to the group. Full suffrage for women was introduced in India by the constitution
in 1949; in Pakistan women received full voting rights in national elections in 1956. In
another decade the total number of countries that had given women the right to vote
reached more than 100, partly because nearly all countries that gained independence
after World War II guaranteed equal voting rights to men and women in their
constitutions. By 1971 Switzerland allowed women to vote in federal and most cantonal
elections, and in 1973 women were granted full voting rights in Syria. The United Nations
Convention on the Political Rights of Women, adopted in 1952, provides that “women
shall be entitled to vote in all elections on equal terms with men, without any
discrimination.”

B. Women in Recent Politics

As of 1 January 2023, 11.3% of countries have women Heads of State (17 out of 151
countries, monarchy-based systems excluded), and 9.8% have women Heads of
Government (19 out of 193). This is an increase compared to a decade ago when
figures stood at 5.3% and 7.3%, respectively. Of all the regions, Europe continues to
have the highest number of countries led by women. According to the "Women in
Politics 2023" Map, the proportion of women parliamentarians has increased globally to
26.5% from 25.5% in 2021, while the number of women Speakers of Parliament increased
from 20.9% in 2021 to 22.7%.

According to recent data, women represent 22.8% of ministerial positions as of 1

January 2023. The regions with the highest share of women in ministerial positions are
Europe and North America (31.6%) and Latin America and the Caribbean (30.1%).
Central & South Asia and the Pacific Islands are the regions where women are least
represented in ministerial positions with 10.1% and 8.1% respectively. In many European
countries (13 countries), on the other hand, more than 50% of heads of ministries are
held by women.

Although underrepresented, women hold ministerial positions on environment (32%),

public administration (30%), and education (30%), and are in leadership positions on
gender equality, human rights, and social rights. In contrast, men continue to dominate
ministries such as economy, defense, justice, and interior.

Some of the Powerful Women in Politics

1. Ursula von der Leyen (Belgium)

• Ursula von der Leyen was appointed president of the European Commission, the
executive branch of the European Union, in July 2019.
• She is the first woman to serve in the role, which is responsible for legislation
affecting more than 450 million Europeans.
• From 2005 until 2019, von der Leyen served in Angela Merkel's cabinet--the
longest tenure of any cabinet member.
• For the last six years of her time in the cabinet, she was Germany's defense
minister.
• She spearheaded a 750-billion-euro Covid relief bill in 2020 and, in 2022, became
one of the West's staunchest supporters of Ukraine amid Russia's unprovoked
invasion.

2. Christine Lagarde (Germany)

• Lagarde became the first woman to head the European Central Bank on
November 1, 2019.
• As head of European monetary policy, Lagarde faces a critical test: ensuring
economic growth in a high-inflation environment.
• From 2011 until mid-2019, Lagarde ran the International Monetary Fund that
works to ensure the stability of the global monetary system.
• She was the first woman to hold that position.
• In analyzing the 2008 financial crisis, Lagarde has pointed to "groupthink" in the
male-dominated industry and called for gender reform.

Page 2 of 4
3. Nirmala Sitharaman (India)

• Nirmala Sitharaman was appointed as India's finance minister in May 2019, and is
also the minister for corporate affairs.
• She is India's first full-time female finance minister.
• Before her career in politics, Sitharaman held roles at the U.K.-based Agricultural
Engineers Association and BBC World Service.
• She has also served as a member of the National Commission for Women.

4. Sheikh Hasina Wajed (Bangladesh)

• Sheikh Hasina Wajed, the longest serving prime minister in the history of
Bangladesh, is currently serving her fourth term. She is also the world's longest-
serving female head of government.
• She won the fourth term, which is also her third consecutive term, after her party,
Bangladesh Awami League, won 288 of the 300 parliamentary seats.
• Hasina is running for a 5th term in January 2024 despite rising calls from the
opposition party for her to resign. She has been accused of authoritarianism and
cracking down on free speech.
• Hasina also stands accused of voter suppression. She denies the charges, but in
September, the U.S. announced visa restrictions for any Bangladeshi individual
responsible for undermining elections.

C. Gender Politics in the Philippines

The gender situation in the Philippines is characterized by sharp contradictions. It

graphically showcases samples of women’s advancement in politics, academic and
professional excellence, and even legislation. But this is contrasted by images of
prostituted women, battered wives, poor women and exploited migrant workers.

The long history of colonialism has embedded a patriarchal culture among Filipinos. The
conception of women as full-time homemakers, as subordinated to men, violence
against them is private, as reserve labor force, and as sexual objects is now being
eroded by modern women asserting themselves in many aspects of life. But on the
other hand, some are either marginalized, discriminated against, or even exploited by
the harsh realities of global economy and consumerism. This puts the gender equality
issues at the forefront of national discourse and precludes further downslide of women
status in the modern Philippine society. Indeed, there are many handles for the
changes to happen. These legal and policy gains resulted from the strong voice of
women that started even during the anti-dictatorship struggle that culminated with the
ascension of Corazon Aquino as the first woman president of the country.

The gender situation in the Philippines can be described in sum as:

1. The legal framework has provided basic frameworks and processes for women
empowerment and gender fairness, but the dynamics of political and social institutions
reinforced by the cultural standpoints continue to provide a push-pull effect on gender
equality.

2. Women have made significant advances in politics. Though there may be several
factors that tends to lessen its importance --like belonging to a political dynasty, the role
of women in national and local decision-making can no longer be ignored and their
competence, in some cases, suits up or even exceeds that of male politicians.

3. The women's voice in society is very strong due to the vibrant women's movement.
Recognized for their work in the international and national levels, the movement has
been instrumental in pushing for many changes in the various facets of the Philippine
society. Additionally, the various organizations have worked on --with pioneering
educational approaches and service-specific projects-- the "culture shift" of both men
and women.

4. The statistics on women remain indicative of the deep-rooted and widespread

problems they encounter in their daily lives. The labor market has stereotyped women,
disadvantaged them in jobs and

Page 3 of 4
incomes, and even forced them into prostitution and slave-like work. The social image
of a Filipina is still that of a weak person, poster girl of domestic help, expert in double
burden, and a sexual object. While the mainframe of gender politics is changing, the
struggle of women to escape from the traditional mold everyday life continues.
(Anonuevo, 2000)

Gender Equality for Sound Government

Ensuring that governments reflect the diversity of the societies they represent
guarantees a balanced perspective which enables an inclusive approach to policy
making and service delivery. There are major structural, legal, and social barriers to
women’s empowerment in public life. Lack of visibility and uneven work-life balance
arrangements make it especially hard for women to be active in economic and
political life. Women also face a lack of political encouragement to run for public
office. A whole-of-government approach is crucial to advancing the role of women in
government. Holistic policy making will not only help bring more women into public light
but will ensure that gender considerations are more systematically embedded in all
policies.

To empower women and fully leverage their skills in the global economy, we need to:

• improve public institutions to ensure they have robust accountability

mechanisms.
• create defined roles for implementing a gender equality agenda.
• break down our data by gender to measure progress on gender equality.

Page 4 of 4
 University of Baguio
Assumption Road, Baguio City 2600

Gender and Society

Topic: Gender and Labor

Objectives:

1. Evaluate the labor conditions that encourage and challenge gender empowerment
in the Philippines.
2. Compare the employment opportunities, benefits, and privileges that are
determined by gender.
3. Make an informative tool that presents the current labor conditions encountered by
women in the Philippines.

Lesson Proper:

Introduction

Processes of political and economic transformation that have changed the face of the
world over the past decades have had a profound impact on the lives of women.
Many of these changes have been positive. Some, however, have strengthened the
bonds of subordination and discrimination against women, restricting them from
enjoyment of their economic and social rights. Internal conflicts and wars have led to
displacement and destruction of property and livelihoods, which place women in an
ever more vulnerable position. Military conflict also results in an increase in violence and
crime, and women and girls become targets. Extremism and religious fundamentalism
deny women’s autonomy and subject them to the most cruel and inhuman of
punishments for “transgression” of norms laid out by those in power within the
hierarchies that rule these movements.

The rapid globalization of the world’s economies has brought in its wake not only
structural adjustment programs that weaken national economies and nation-states, but
also promotion of forms of industrialization and agriculture that are more exploitative of
both human and natural resources. Statistics show that the female labor force is the
most affected. In addition, as the poor of the world become poorer, women become
the poorest of them all; the “feminization” of poverty is a reality in the contemporary
world. A decrease in social spending—for example, on public health, education,
transport, food, and fertilizer subsidies—has been a critical part of the “structural
adjustment programs” imposed on many countries by the international financial
institutions. This decrease has had a disastrous impact on the quality of life of
populations in general, and on disadvantaged communities, such as women, in
particular.

Gender Discrimination in the Workplace

Workplace gender discrimination 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 coworker. She may be
harassed, paid less, evaluated more harshly, or passed over for promotion because of
the combination of her sex and her race.

Page 1 of 3
Types of Discrimination in Workplace

Unequal Pay
One of the most common forms of gender discrimination in the workplace is unequal
pay. Even in the 21st century, women continue to earn less than men for performing the
same job and holding the same qualifications. This gender pay gap not only affects
women’s financial stability but also perpetuates gender inequality.

Stereotyping and Bias

Stereotyping based on gender is another prevalent issue in the workplace. This includes
assumptions about the abilities, behaviors, and career ambitions of individuals solely
because of their gender. For example, women may be unfairly perceived as less
competent in leadership roles, while men may face scrutiny for taking on caregiving
responsibilities.

Promotion and Advancement

Gender discrimination can also rear its head when it comes to promotions and career
advancement. Women and other gender-diverse individuals may face barriers to
climbing the corporate ladder, such as being passed over for promotions despite being
equally or more qualified than their male counterparts.

Harassment
Sexual harassment is a form of gender discrimination that creates a hostile work
environment. It includes unwanted advances, comments, or actions of a sexual nature.
Both women and men can be victims of harassment, and it can have severe emotional
and professional consequences.

Pregnancy Discrimination
Pregnancy discrimination is another form of gender discrimination that affects women.
Some employers may discriminate against pregnant employees, deny them reasonable
accommodations, or subject them to unfavorable treatment.

Unequal Opportunities
In some workplaces, men may be offered opportunities for professional development,
training, or mentorship that are not extended to women. This unequal access to
resources can hinder career growth and perpetuate gender disparities.

Retaliation
Employees who report instances of gender discrimination may face retaliation from
their employers or colleagues. Retaliation can take many forms, including termination,
demotion, or exclusion from important projects.

Hostile Work Environment

A hostile work environment is created when pervasive gender-based harassment,
ridicule, or intimidation affects an individual’s ability to perform their job. Such an
environment can result in emotional distress and hinder career advancement.

Unequal Dress Codes and Appearance Standards

Some employers enforce dress codes and appearance standards that
disproportionately affect one gender. For instance, requiring women to wear high heels
or makeup while not imposing similar requirements on men can be considered gender
discrimination.

Gender Identity Discrimination

It’s important to note that gender discrimination is not limited to cisgender individuals.
Transgender and gender-nonconforming employees can also face discrimination,
including misgendering, refusal of restroom access, or other forms of unequal
treatment.

Note: 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

Page 2 of 3
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) because of it, you might have a discrimination claim.

For workplace gender discrimination to be considered illegal, it must 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 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. (Gender Discrimination at Work,
2019).

Right to Work and Rights at Work

From a gender perspective, the meaning of work would be changed to include unpaid
work at home, on the family farm, and elsewhere, work that is currently not valued by
society. A redefinition of work would recognize women’s productive labor and enable
women to profitably engage in home-based work. Women are currently relegated to
low-paid and low-skilled jobs; this needs to be rectified. A fresh perspective would help
ensure that women have flexible working hours and that they are reintegrated into the
labor force after time off for marriage and childbirth without penalization for absence.

Rights at work would include protection from sexual harassment in the workplace, trade
unions and labor organizations. They would also include provision of nursing breaks for
breast-feeding mothers, and establishment of day-care centers; separate toilet facilities
and free access to them; provision of dayrooms for rest and recognition of
menstruation-related health problems as the basis of rest breaks; and ensuring
participation of women in trade unions by holding meetings at times that are
convenient to women.

Page 3 of 3
 University of Baguio
Assumption Road, Baguio City 2600

Gender and Society

Topic: Gender and Media

Objectives:

1. Define gender stereotypes as a concept and as a phenomenon.

2. Describe the existing gender stereotypes that characterize Philippine media.
3. Identify the discursive limits of gender stereotypes between men and women.

Lesson Proper:

Introduction

Of the many influences on how we view men and women, media are the most
pervasive and one of the most powerful. Woven throughout our daily lives, media
insinuate their messages into our consciousness at every turn. All forms of media
communicate images of the sexes, many of which perpetuate unrealistic, stereotypical,
and limiting perceptions. Three themes describe how media represent gender. First,
women are underrepresented which falsely implies that men are the cultural standard
and women are unimportant or invisible. Second, men and women are portrayed in
stereotypical ways that reflect and sustain socially endorsed views of gender. Third,
depictions of relationships between men and women emphasize traditional roles and
normalize violence against women (Wood, 1994).

Stereotypical Portrayals of Women and Men

Stereotypical Portrayals of Men:

• According to J. A. Doyle (1989), whose research focuses on masculinity children's

television typically shows males as "aggressive, dominant, and engaged in
exciting activities from which they receive rewards from others for their
`masculine' accomplishments."

• Relatedly, recent studies reveal that most men on primetime television are
independent, aggressive, and in charge. Television programming for all ages
disproportionately depicts men as serious confident, competent, powerful, and
in high-status 'positions.

• Gentleness in men, which was briefly evident in the 1970s, has receded as
established male characters are redrawn to be more tough and distanced from
others.

• Men are presented as hard, tough, independent, sexually aggressive, unafraid,

violent, totally in control of all emotions, and-above all-in no way feminine.

• Rarely presented caring for others.

• Typically represented as uninterested in and incompetent at homemaking,

cooking, and childcare.

Page 1 of 3
Stereotypical Portrayals of Women:

• Women are portrayed as significantly younger and thinner than women in the
population, and most are depicted as passive, dependent on men, and
enmeshed in relationships or housework. The requirements of youth and beauty
in women even influence news shows, where female newscasters are expected
to be younger, more physically attractive, and less outspoken than males.

• Media reiterate the cultural image of women as dependent, ornamental objects

whose primary functions are to look good, please men, and stay quietly on the
periphery of life.

Note: Media have created two images of women: good women and bad ones. These
opposites are often juxtaposed against each other to dramatize differences in the
consequences that befall good and bad women.

• Good women are pretty, deferential, and focused on home, family and caring
for others. Subordinate to men, they are usually cast as victims, angels, martyrs,
and loyal wives and helpmates.

• Occasionally, women who depart from traditional roles are portrayed positively,
but this is done either by making their career lives invisible, or by softening and
feminizing working women to make them more consistent with traditional views
of femininity.

Stereotypical Images of Relationships Between Men and Women

Given media's stereotypical portrayals of women and men, we shouldn't be surprised to

find that relationships between women and men are similarly depicted in ways that
reinforce stereotypes. Four themes demonstrate how media reflect and promote
traditional arrangements between the sexes.

1. Women's dependence/men's independence.

Walt Disney's award-winning animated film The Little Mermaid vividly embodies females'
dependence on males for identity. In this feature film, the mermaid quite literally gives
up her identity as a mermaid to become acceptable to her human lover. In this
children's story, we see a particularly obvious illustration of the asymmetrical relationship
The male dominance/female subservience pattern that permeates mediated
representations of relationships is no accident. Beginning in 1991, television executives
deliberately and consciously adopted a policy of having dominant male characters in
all Saturday morning children's programming (Carter, 1991).

2. Men's authority/women's incompetence.

A second recurrent theme in media representations of relationships is that men are the
competent authorities who save women from their incompetence. Children's literature
vividly implements this motif by casting females as helpless and males as coming to their
rescue. Sleeping Beauty's resurrection depends on Prince Charming's kiss, a theme that
appears in the increasingly popular gothic romance novels for adults.

3. Women as primary caregivers/men as breadwinners.

A third perennial theme in media is that women are caregivers and men are providers.
Once again, as in the 1950s, we see women devoting themselves to getting rings off
collars, gray out of their hair, and meats on the table. Corresponding to this is the
restatement of men's inability in domestic and nurturing roles. When media portray
women who work outside of the home, their career lives typically receive little or no
attention. Although these characters have titles such as lawyer or doctor, they are
shown predominantly in their roles as homemakers, mothers, and wives. We see them
involved in caring conversations with family and friends and doing things for others, all
of which never seem to conflict with their professional responsibilities. This has the

Page 2 of 3
potential to cultivate unrealistic expectations of being "superwoman," who does it all
without her getting a hair out of place or being late to a conference.

4. Women as victims and sex objects/men as aggressors.

A final theme in mediated representations of relationships between women and men is

representation of women as subject to men's sexual desires. The irony of this
representation is that the very qualities women are encouraged to develop (beauty,
sexiness, passivity, and powerlessness) to meet cultural ideals of femininity contribute to
their victimization. Also, the qualities that men are urged to exemplify (aggressiveness,
dominance, sexuality, and strength) are identical to those linked to abuse of women.
Women are portrayed alternatively either as decorative objects, who must attract a
man to be valuable, or as victims of men's sexual impulses. Either way, women are
defined by their bodies and how men treat them. Their independent identities and
endeavors are irrelevant to how they are represented in media, and their abilities to
resist exploitation by others are obscured. Advertising in magazines also communicates
the message that women are sexual objects. While men are seldom pictured nude or
even partially unclothed, women habitually are. Advertisements for makeup, colognes,
and hair products often show women attracting men because they got the right
products and made themselves irresistible.

Page 3 of 3
 University of Baguio
Assumption Road, Baguio City 2600

Gender and Society

Topic: Gender and Sports

I. Objectives:

1.Identify the points of conflict between gender equality as a principle and sports as a
practice.
2.Compare the implications of gender equality between male and female dominated
sports events.
3.Construct a simple critique of the intersections of gender equality and sports
.

Introduction:

Since the 1970s, gender has become an important category of analysis in the sociology
of sport. Research has clearly demonstrated that sports are gendered activities as well
as social contexts in which boys and men are more actively and enthusiastically
encouraged to participate, compared with girls and women. Evidence also shows that
more males than females participate in organized competitive sports, and that male
dominance characterizes the administration and coaching of sports. Sports, it is
theorized, operate as a site for the inculcation, perpetuation, and celebration of a type
of (heterosexual) masculine identity based on physical dominance, aggression, and
competitiveness. Associated with such masculine imagery, sports serve to legitimize a
perceived natural superiority of men and reinforce the inferiority of females who are
defined with reference to relative weakness, passivity, and grace – the characteristics
of femininity. Therefore, sports are often described as a ‘‘male preserve.’’

Three key themes have driven debates about gender and sport since the 1970s.

▪ Leading scholars in the sociology of sport have highlighted that throughout history,
sporting practices inculcated behaviors and values defined as male, manly, and
masculine.

▪ Issues surrounding the body, physicality, and sexuality have been brought to the
understanding gender relations in sport.

▪ It is emphasized that both women and men reinforce and challenge dominant
gender ideology in sport in various ways.

Historical Development

Victorian Era

The roots of contemporary sports lie in the Victorian period in Britain when sports began
to be characterized by organized structures and standardized rules. In terms of gender,
late nineteenth century British developments in sports largely centered on the beliefs
and values of white middle class males. The prestige, status, and superiority afforded to
men in society became marked at this time. In institutions such as public schools,
universities, churches, and private clubs, sports came to represent a Victorian version of
masculinity based on physical superiority, competitiveness, mental acumen, and a
sense of fair play. Established ideals of femininity such as passivity, frailty, emotionality,
gentleness, and dependence were in stark opposition to the strenuous task of playing
sports. The belief that male and female traits were innate, biological, and somehow
fixed prevailed. Women’s participation in sports was therefore a subject of debate
regarding what type and how much physical activity was appropriate for them.

Page 1 of 3
19th Century American Society

In both Britain and the US, changes in social life during the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries impacted gender relations in sport. British and American society at
this time was characterized by social relations that were becoming less violent, there
was a decreasing reliance on physical strength in the workplace, and home and
educational environments were becoming ones in which young males spent increasing
amounts of time with females. Eric Dunning (1999) and Michael Messner (1990) refer to
these social transformations as the ‘feminization’ of society. One consequence of these
processes was the reconstruction of sporting opportunities and social enclaves (such as
the Boy Scouts and the YMCA) for boys and men to reclaim and reassert their
masculinity. While opportunities for women in sports also increased in the early part of
the twentieth century, participation rates for females remained considerably smaller
compared to males. Some sports were acceptable for women so long as they were not
as strenuous or competitive as the male version. Women’s sports were still the subject of
intense debate reflecting and maintaining the Victorian myth of women’s physical
ineptitude.

Women’s Sports in the 1900s

• Golf
• Tightrope Walk
• Hot Air Balloon Race
• Swimming
• Association Football
• Softball
• Tennis
• Cricket

Claims and Controversies

Scholars in the sociology of sport have illustrated that many people are empowered by
being involved in sport despite traditional gender ideology. Examples show how sport is
a site where established values about gender have been resisted, negotiated, and
sometimes transformed. The assumption that homosexuality does not exist in sport is
challenged in research about the many gay men competing in sports at recreational
and elite levels. There are events such as the Gay Games that allow athletes to
compete in a relatively unprejudiced environment where they have less to fear about
derogatory and violent responses to their publicized sexual orientation. Several scholars
question the assumption that sport is a site for the oppression of women by exploring
the ways in which women gain from their sporting achievements. Such research shows
that it is possible for women to experience feelings of independence, confidence, and
increased self-esteem from their involvement in a variety of sporting practices. Female
participation in physical activity can also contribute to broadening and alternative
definitions of physicality that are not simply based on traditional ideals about feminine
appearance. In the case of professional sports, some women can gain consider able
financial wealth and worldwide recognition from their sporting achievements. (Gender
and Sports, 2020).

Conclusion

Scholars concerned with the relationship between sport, ethnicity, and femininity
emphasize that sportswomen are not a homogeneous group. Increasingly, there is
literature that presents a challenge to dominant universalistic conceptions of women in
sport that serve to construct white, western, middle class, able-bodied women’s
experiences as representative of all sportswomen.

Sociologists of sport have argued that the dominant assumption about female sports
operates to marginalize or even silence the sporting triumphs and struggles of women
who live outside the West and those who represent minority groups of females. A
central feature of scholarship in this area is the recognition of difference between and
within groups of women in relation to ethnicity, religious affiliation, social class, age, and
physical (dis)ability.

Page 2 of 3
A sense of difference is characterized by power relations operating simultaneously at
the personal and institutional level. In many ways, sport can be empowering for black
women, Muslim women, Aboriginal women, lesbians, and disabled women. At the
same time, these women are incorporated into the wider social networks of power in
which they live out their lives.

Page 3 of 3
 University of Baguio
Assumption Road, Baguio City 2600

Gender and Society

Topic: Gender and Disability

I. Objectives:

1. Examine the intersections of gender and disability as a general determinant of

discrimination.
2. Compare the manifestations of gender and disability as an interwoven phenomenon
in the public and private spheres.
3. Evaluate the conceptual applications of gender and disability in specific contexts.

The Gendered Experience of Disability

Disabled people have often been represented as without gender, as asexual creatures,
monstrous, the ‘Other’ to the social norm. In this way it may be assumed that for
disabled people gender has little bearing. Yet the image of disability may be intensified
by gender - for women a sense of intensified passivity and helplessness, for men a
corrupted masculinity generated by enforced dependence. Moreover, these images
have real consequences in terms of education, employment, living arrangements, and
personal relationships, victimization, and abuse that then in turn reinforce the images in
the public sphere. The gendered experience of disability reveals sustained patterns of
difference between men and women. For people with disabilities, gendering is
conditional (Gerschick 2000). Age of onset combined with the type of impairment leads
to gender expectations.

Disability

Disability is a physical or mental impairment, especially one that hinders or prevents a

person from performing tasks of daily living, carrying out work or household
responsibilities, or engaging in leisure and social activities.

Patterns of Gendered Studies of Disability

Public Pattern:

Impairment

While disabled people are much more likely to live in poverty, women are likely to be
poorer than men; especially in developing countries where women are often heads of
households. In 2020 survey, 15% of females have severe disability while 9% are for men.
49% of women have moderate disability and 45% are for men.

Educational Attainment

Even before the pandemic, gender inequalities in education already exist. Accessing to
education remains unequal because of persisting marginalization, disability
discrimination and poverty.

Discrimination in the Workplace

People with disabilities (PWD) are less likely to be paid in the workforce and in general
have lower incomes from employment.

Rehabilitation and Development

People with disabilities are less likely to have access to rehabilitation, and to
employment outcomes when they do receive rehabilitation.

Page 1 of 2
History of Disability

The type of impairment is different for women and men, with women more likely to
experience degenerative conditions, while men are more likely to experience injury-
related events.

Social Space

People with disabilities are more likely to experience public spaces as intimidating and
dangerous.

Private Pattern:

Dependence

Disabled women are more likely to be living on their own, or in their parental family than
men.

Marital Status

Disabled women are more likely to be divorced and less likely to marry than men with
disabilities.

Sexual Urges and Violence

People with disabilities are more likely to experience sexual violence in relationships and
in institutions. They experience more extreme social categorization, being more likely to
be seen either as hypersexual and uncontrollable, or desexualized and inert.

Gender has been widely used within the humanities and social sciences as both a
means to categorize differences, and as an analytical concept to explain differences.
In both the humanities and social sciences, feminist disability studies have emerged
partly because of attempts to explain gendered experience of disability and partly as a
challenge to contemporary feminist theory on gender.

The Social Lens of Gender and Disability

Sociological accounts of gender and disability stress the systemic nature of the social
order, and its reinforcement of powerful social institutions and their capacity to enact
and impose definitions and allocate resources. For disabilities the most central
institutions remain those associated with the medical profession, rehabilitation, and
social support. Many other institutions also reproduce patterns of gender discrimination
- such as education, employment, and transport. One of the most potent patterns of
discrimination is in the access to and use of public space.

The social relations of gender and the social relations of disability are now viewed as
much more complex and nuanced. The social model of disability has demonstrated
that wider power relations (e.g. class relations in capitalist societies) significantly affect
the pattern of disability disadvantage - making disability survival into a lottery critically
affected by the individual’s income and other material resources. Because the model
drew on political economy it emphasized political and economic processes that
generate disabling environments. These patterns together with conventional norms of
femininity have hindered the quest for independence for women with disabilities.
Women thus confront major obstacles not only in relation to overcoming disabling
environments, but also in achieving equal outcomes as men similarly disabled.
(Mekosha, 2004)

Page 2 of 2
 University of Baguio
Assumption Road, Baguio City 2600

Gender and Society

Topic: Gender – based Violence

Objectives:

1. Contextualize a contemporary definition of gender-based violence that is relevant to

local and global conditions.
2. Identify the types and sites of gender-based violence.
3. Distinguish traditional assumptions of gender-based violence from actual and legal
definitions of gender-based violence.

Introduction

Gender-based violence is violence against men and women based on their

subordinate status in society. It includes any act or threat that inflict physical, sexual, or
psychological harm on man or woman because of their gender. In most cultures,
traditional beliefs, norms, and social institutions legitimize and therefore perpetuate
violence against women.

Gender-based violence includes physical, sexual, and psychological violence such as

domestic violence; sexual abuse, including rape and sexual abuse of children by
family members; forced pregnancy; sexual slavery; traditional practices harmful to men
and women, such as honor killings, burning or acid throwing, genital mutilation,
violence in armed conflict, such as murder and rape; and emotional abuse, such as
coercion and abusive language. Trafficking of women and girls for prostitution and
human trafficking for men, forced marriage, sexual harassment and intimidation at work
are additional examples of violence against women.

Gender violence occurs in both the ‘public’ and ‘private’ spheres. Such violence not
only occurs in the family and in the general community but is sometimes also
perpetuated by the state through policies or the actions of agents of the state such as
the police, military, or immigration authorities. Gender-based violence happens in all
societies, across all social classes, with women particularly at risk from men they know.
The following types and sites of gender-based violence present an insight into the
nature of gender-based violence.

Types of Gender-Based Violence

• Overt physical abuse (includes battering, sexual assault, at home or in the workplace)

• Psychological abuse (includes deprivation of liberty, forced marriage, sexual

harassment, at home or in the workplace)

• Deprivation of resources needed for physical and psychological well-being

(including health care, nutrition, education, means of livelihood)

• Treatment of women as commodities (includes human trafficking for sexual

exploitation and slavery)

Sites of Gender – based Violence

Family is one of the primary sites of gender violence. It prepares its members for social
life, forms gender stereotypes and perceptions of division of labor between the sexes. It
is the arena where physical abuses (spousal battering, sexual assault, sexual abuse)
and/or psychological abuses occur. (Domestic violence can also take such forms as
confinement, forced marriage of woman arranged by her family without her consent,
threats, insults and neglect; overt control of a woman’s sexuality through either forced
pregnancy or forced abortion.) Because violence within the family and household
takes place in the home, it is often seen as a ‘private’ issue and information about it is
lacking.

Page 1 of 3
Community/Society is a group sharing common social, cultural, religious or
ethnic belonging, it perpetuates existing family structure and power inequalities in
family and society. The community justifies the behavior of male and female abusers
aimed at establishing control supports harmful traditional practices such as battering
and corporal punishment.

Workplace can also be a site of violence. Either in governmental service or in a business

company, women are vulnerable to sexual aggression (harassment, intimidation) and
commercialized violence (trafficking for sexual exploitation)

State legitimizes power inequalities in family and society and perpetuates gender-
based violence through enactment of discriminatory laws and policies or through the
discriminatory application of the law. It is responsible for tolerance of gender violence
on an unofficial level (i.e. in the family and in the community). To the extent that it is the
State’s recognized role to sanction certain norms that protect individual life and dignity
and maintain collective peace, it is the State’s obligation to develop and implement
measures that redress gender violence.

Concepts:

A) The primary inequality that gives rise to gender-based violence is the power
inequality between women and men.

B) The majority of perpetrators of gender-based violence are men. However, even

though no society is free from it, male violence against women varies in degree and
intensity according to the specific circumstances. Many men choose to reject
dominant stereotypes of violent, controlling masculinity.

C) Some types of violence against women are perpetrated by women. Some authors
(e.g. Francine Pickup, in Ending Violence Against Women: A Challenge for
Development and Humanitarian Work, Oxfam GB 2001) point out that oftentimes,
women commit violence to ensure their own survival and security within a social,
economic, and political context that is shaped and dominated by men.

D.) Gender-based violence is not exclusively a woman’s concern. It is both a cause and
consequence of gender perceptions. The use of the term ‘gender-based violence’
provides a new context in which to examine and understand the phenomenon of
violence against women. It shifts the focus from women as victims to gender and the
unequal power relationships between women and men created and maintained by
gender stereotypes as the basic underlying cause of violence against women.

Frameworks Against Gender-based Violence

Violence against women was defined in 1993 by the United Nations Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence against Women as “any act of gender-based violence that
results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to
women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty,
whether occurring in public or in private life”.

The Declaration stated that such violence encompasses, but is not limited to, the
following:

• physical, sexual, and psychological violence in the family including battering,

sexual abuse of women in the household.
• dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation, and other
harmful traditional practices, non-spousal violence and violence related to
exploitation.
• physical, sexual, and psychological violence in the community including rape,
sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and intimidation at work, in educational
institutions and elsewhere.
• trafficking of women and forced prostitution.
• physical, sexual, and psychological violence perpetuated or condoned by a
State, wherever it occurs.

Page 2 of 3
This definition was expanded in 1995 by the Fourth World Conference on Women in its
Beijing Platform for Action, which added that such violence includes:

• forced sterilization and forced abortion.

• coercive or forced contraceptive use.
• female infanticide and prenatal sex selection
• women’s human rights violations in situations of armed conflict – particularly
murder, systematic rape, sexual slavery and forced pregnancy.

Page 3 of 3