▪︎Cis-gender describes people whose biological body they were

born into matches their personal gender identity. This experience

is distinct

▪︎Transgender is where one's biological sex does not align with

their gender identity. Transgender people will undergo a gender
transition that may involve changing their dress and self-
presentation (such as a name change). Transgender people may
GENDER AND SOCIETY undergo hormone therapy to facilitate this process, but not all
transgender people will undertake surgery.

▪︎Intersexuality describes variations on sex definitions related to

ambiguous. genitalia, gonads, sex organs, chromosomes or
Gender is more fluid – it may or may not depend upon biological
hormones.
traits. More specifically, it is a concept that describes how societies
determine and
▪︎Gender queer drawing on several gender positions or otherwise
manage sex categories; the cultural meanings attached to men and
not identifying with any specific gender (nonbinary); or they may
women‟s roles; and how individuals understand their identities
choose to move across genders (gender fluid); or they may
including, but not limited to,being a man, woman, transgender,
reject gender categories altogether (agender).
intersex, gender queer and other gender positions. Gender involves
social norms, attitudes and activities that society deems more
appropriate for one sex over another. Gender is also determined by
what an individual feels and does.
SEXUALITY - is about sexual attraction, sexual practices and identity. Just as
sex and gender don’t always align, neither does gender nor sexuality. People
can identify along a wide spectrum of sexualities from heterosexual, to gay or
lesbian, to bisexual, to queer, and so on.
Sociology of Gender
It examines how society influences our understandings and ASEXUALITY - is a term used when individuals do not feel sexual attraction.
perception of differences between masculinity (what society deems Some asexual people might still form romantic relationships without sexual
appropriate behaviour for a “man”) and femininity (what society deems contact. Regardless of sexual experience, sexual desire and behaviours can
appropriate behaviour for a “woman”). change over time, and sexual identities may or may not shift as a
We examine how this, in turn, influences identity and social result.
practices. We pay special focus on the power relationships that follow
from the established gender order/hierarchy in a given society, as well
as how this changes over time.

Sex and gender do not always align.

 Gender and Sexuality are not just
personal identities; they are social identities.
They arise from our relationships to other
people, and they depend upon social
interaction and social recognition. As such, they
influence how we understand ourselves in Social Construction of Gender
relation to others. Gender, like all social identities, is socially constructed.

Social constructionism - is a social theory about how meaning is

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

Gender norms - (the socially acceptable ways of acting out gender) are
learned from birth through childhood socialisation. We learn what is
expected of our gender from what our parents teach us, as well as what
we pick up at school, through religious or cultural teachings, in the
media, and various other social institutions.

Gender experiences will evolve over a person's lifetime. Gender is

therefore always in flux(always changes). We see this through
generational and intergenerational changes within families, as social,
legal and technological changes influence social values on gender.
Australian sociologist, Professor Raewyn Connell, describes gender as a
social structure – a higher order category that society uses to organise
itself:

MASCULINITY and FEMININITY
Masculinity
Professor Raewyn Connel
defines masculinity as a broad set of
processes that include gender
relations and gender practices
between men and women and “the
effects of these practices in bodily
experience, personality and culture.”
Connell argues that culture dictates ways of being masculine and
“unmasculine.” She argues that there are several masculinities operating
within any one cultural context, and some of these masculinities are:
▪︎HEGEMONIC - dominant form of masculinity that is expected in our
society and legitimizes men's dominant position and justifies the
subordination of the common male population and women.
▪︎SUBORDINATE - men who do not fit into the construction of
hegemonic
masculinity and are therefore treated as lower on the
gender hierarchy.
▪︎ COMPLIANT - form of masculinity that support male domination while
not actively seeking to oppress women.
▪︎MARGINALISED - masculinity that is affected by factors outside of the
gender order. It is caused by socio-economic status and race.
(ethnic groups, poor men,racial identity)
In Western societies, gender power is held by White, highly educated,
middleclass, able-bodied heterosexual men whose gender represents
hegemonic masculinity – the ideal to which other masculinities must
interact with, conform to, and challenge. Hegemonic masculinity rests on
tacit acceptance. It is not enforced through direct violence; instead, it
exists as a cultural “script” that are familiar to us from our socialisation.
The hegemonic ideal is exemplified in movies which venerate White
heterosexual heroes, as well as in sports, where physical prowess is
given special cultural interest and authority.
● Masculinities are constructed in relation to existing social hierarchies
relating to class, race, age and so on. Hegemonic masculinities rest
upon social context, and so they reflect the social inequalities of the
cultures they embody.
Femininity
Professor Judith
Lorber and Susan Farrell
argue that the social
constructionist perspective
on gender explores the
taken for-granted
assumptions about what it
means to be “male” and
“female,” “feminine” and “masculine.”
They explain:
Women and men are not automatically compared; rather, gender
categories (female-male, feminine-masculine, girls-boys, women-
men) are analysed to see how different social groups define them,
and how they construct and maintain them in everyday life and in
major social institutions, such as the family and the economy.
Femininity - the state or degree of being womanly or feminine. It is
constructed through patriarchal ideas. This means that femininity is
always set up as inferior to men. As a result, women as a group lack the
same level of cultural power as men.
Women do have agency to resist patriarchal ideals. Women can actively
challenge gender norms by refusing to let patriarchy define how they
portray and reconstruct their femininity. This can be done by rejecting
cultural scripts. For example:
 Sexist and racist judgements about women’s sexuality;
 Fighting rape culture and sexual harassment;
 By entering male-dominated fields, such as body-building or
science;
 Rejecting unachievable notions of romantic love disseminated in
films and novels that turn women into passive subjects; and
 By generally questioning gender norms, such as by speaking out on
sexism. Sexist comments are one of the everyday ways in which
people police and maintain the existing gender order.
As women do not have cultural power, there is no version of hegemonic
femininity to rival hegemonic masculinity. There are, however, dominant
ideals of doing femininity, which favour White, heterosexual, middle-
class cis-women who are able bodied. Minority women do not enjoy the
same social privileges in comparison.
The popular idea that women do not get ahead because they lack
confidence ignores the intersections of inequality. Women are now being
told that they should simply “lean in” and ask for more help at work and
at home. “Leaning in” is a limited way of overcoming gender inequality
only if you‟re a White woman already thriving in the corporate world, by
fitting in with the existing gender order. Women who want to challenge
this masculine logic, even by asking for a pay rise, are impeded from
reaching their potential. Indigenous and other women of colour are even
more disadvantaged.
Legal Basis on Gender and Development
“Women hold up half the sky", so goes a Chinese proverb. So
much so that in development, gender equality plays a crucial role.
And this term “gender” does not allude simply to women or men but
to the relationship between two sexes and the way it is socially
constructed.
In time, gender and development (GAD) came into existence. “GAD
focuses on the principle that development is for all,” explains an
expert on the subject. “Everyone in society, female or male, has the
right to equal opportunities to achieve a full and satisfying life.
Women and men enjoy the same conditions for realizing their full
human rights and potentials to contribute to development as well as
benefit from the results.”
The 1987 Constitution states three prominent provisions:
● The Declaration of Principles Article II Section 14 asserted that:
“The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building and shall
ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men.”
● Article XIII, Section 14 also states that: “The State shall protect
working women by providing safe and healthful working conditions,
taking into account their maternal functions, and such facilities and
opportunities that will enhance their welfare and enable them to
realize their full potential in the service of the nation.”
● Finally, Article XIII, Section 11, also said that: “The State shall
adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health
development which shall endeavor to make essential goods, health
and other social services available to all the people at affordable cost.
There shall be priority for the needs of the under-privileged, sick,
elderly, disabled, women, and children. The State shall endeavor to
provide free medical care to paupers.”
Based on the above constitutional provisions and the subsequent efforts to broaden
its principles, numerous legislations were enacted that relates to the various aspects
of women and gender concerns which include the following:
● Executive Order 227: The New Family Code of the Philippines
● Republic Act 6725: An act strengthening the prohibition on discrimination
against women with respect to terms and conditions of employment, ammending
135 of the Labor code.
● Joint Circular # 2012-01 [GAD Plans and Budgets and Accomplishment Report
Implementing MCW - Magna Carta of Women - a comprehensive women's
human rights law that seeks to eliminate discrimination through the recognition,
protection, fulfillment, and promotion of the rights of Filipino women, especially
those belonging to the marginalized sectors of society]
● Republic Act 7877: Anti - Sexual Harassment Act, declaring sexual
harassment as unlawful in the employment, education, and training
environment.
● Republic Act 6949: Declaring March 8 of every year as a working holiday to be
known as National Women's Day.
● Republic Act 9262: Anti-Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC)
Section 5 of the Women in Development and Nation Building Act: states: “Women of legal
age, regardless of civil status, shall have the capacity to act and enter into contracts which
shall in every respect be equal to that of men under similar circumstances.
“In all contractual situations where married men have the capacity to act, married women
shall have equal rights. To this end:
(1) Women shall have the capacity to borrow and obtain loans and execute security and
credit arrangement under the same conditions as men;
(2) Women shall have equal access to all government and private sector programs granting
agricultural credit, loans and non-material resources and shall enjoy equal treatment in
agrarian reform and land resettlement programs;
(3) Women shall have equal rights to act as incorporators and enter into insurance
contracts; and
(4) Married women shall have rights equal to those of married men in applying for passport,
secure visas and other travel documents, without need to secure the consent of their
spouses.
“In all other similar contractual relations, women shall enjoy equal rights and shall
have the capacity to act which shall in every respect be equal to those of men
under similar circumstances,” the section said.

● Republic Act 6972: Mandates the establishment of Day care centers in every
barangay.

● Republic Act 7322: Mandates the increase of maternity benefits of women in

the pr8vate sector.

● Republic Act 7655: Increasing the minimum wage of domestic helpers.

● Republic Actn 10361: popularly known as Batas Kasambahay SEX AND GENDER
INTERSEX or DSD (Difference of Sexual Development)
• Intersex is an umbrella term that describes differences in sex
characteristics that do not fit the typically binary idea of male or female.
Sex characteristics include genitals, hormones, and chromosome patterns.
• It should be the person’s choice as to which gender they identify with.
They should not feel that they must adhere to the gender typically
associated with the sex a doctor or family assigned them at birth or to the
gender that society may assign them based on their appearance or
anatomy.

• Being intersex is not a disease. As it is not a disease, many believe that

intersex does not require treatment. It is a naturally occurring variation in
How to identify intersex
humans. Likewise, being intersex does not affect an infant’s physical health,
individuals:
though it may cause complications as time goes on, including potential
•Doctors will always assign issues with fertility.
intersex infants a legal sex
• Other times, it may only become apparent that someone is intersex
and this will be male or
during puberty, when they do not reach the expected milestones for their
female. However, this does
sex due to hormonal differences.
not have to influence a
person’s gender identity. • In other cases, a person may not discover that they are intersex until
adulthood. For example, some may find out when they are trying to
• Doctors may sometimes
conceive, while others may find out during an unrelated medical
perform surgery on the
procedure.
infant’s genitals, but most medical organizations now consider this
unacceptable. Some may also prescribe hormone treatments during • According to some estimates, up to 1.7% of the population has intersex
puberty, but this is also seen as unacceptable.The aim of these treatments traits. This is comparable with the number of people who have red hair.
has typically been to make the infant better “fit” into either the male or
female category. • There are many ways that a person can be intersex. The organization
Intersex Human Rights Australia state that there are at least 40 different
• People can self-identify as another gender and choose to live according to intersex variations.
this gender. Some may identify as nonbinary and have multiple genders or
no gender, while others may move between genders or consider
themselves other-gendered.