CHAPTER 1:

UNDERSTANDING
CULTURE, SOCIET Y,
AND POLITICS
L E S S O N 1 : D E F I N I N G C U LT U E ,
S O C I E T Y, A N D P O L I T I C S
C U LT U R A L V A R I A T I O N S
AND SOCIAL
DIFFERENCES (GENDER)
GENDER AND GENDER ROLES

People play different roles in society depending on one’s age and occupation.
There are jobs that require a specific gender to perform tasks while other
jobs are open to both men and women.
GENDER

• Gender refers to social, cultural, and psychological characteristics or traits related to males
and females based on certain social contexts.
• It is different from sex, which refers to the biological characteristics that distinguish a male
from a female.
• Thus, sex makes a person male or female, while gender makes a person masculine or feminine.
GENDER ROLES

• Gender roles refer to attitudes and behaviors that the society expects a person to exhibit
based on his/her sex.
• For example, in the traditional Philippine society, women are expected to be plain housewives
and take care of the children, while the men are expected to be a professional and provide the
needs of his family.
• Another example is how society expects women to be more emotional and sensitive while
men should be strong and capable of doing things that women cannot do.
GENDER ROLES IN PRE-COLONIAL
PHILIPPINE SOCIETY
• During pre-colonial Philippines, males and females enjoy the same rights and privileges.
• There are different social functions that are assigned to different members of the society.
• However, there are functions that are specifically given to males or females or both.
• The babaylan (Visayan) or catalonan (Tagalog) is a shaman or priestess who performs
various religious and social functions.
• The babaylan can either be a man or a woman, but the role is often given to women.
• Aside from being a priestess, the babaylan is also considered a healer, an adviser, and a seer.
 GENDER ROLES IN THE PHILIPPINE
SOCIETY DURING COLONIAL PERIOD
• Gender roles during the colonial period had changed drastically. Women were restrained from other
activities outside their homes, while men were given more social functions. These roles also changed as
the Philippines was occupied by new colonizers.
– Upon the coming of the Spaniards and the introduction of Catholicism, the babaylan lost their role in the
religious life of the Indios. This role was taken over by Catholic priests.
– Women were also relegated to doing household chores and taking care of children. More often than not, young
women were not sent to school; rather, they are trained to be good wives and mothers for their future families.
Some women were also forced to marry someone they do not love for economic and political gain.
– During the American period, women became more open. They were allowed to study and work in whatever
field they want. They also became “liberated,” which is a term used by older people to refer to Filipino women
who have adopted American values. Men and women became equal, in the sense that it is acceptable for both
genders to have jobs and to be educated.
– Although men and women were able to maintain their status in society during the Japaneseperiod, women
were usually kept inside their houses to protect them from abusive Japanese soldiers. Men also became busy
defending the country, with most of them serving as soldiers.
GENDER ROLES IN CURRENT
PHILIPPINE SOCIETY
• Philippine society today is more open to allowing both men and women to perform different
tasks, not based solely on gender, but on an individual’s capabilities and strengths.
• For example, fields like engineering, architecture, and medicine, which is often associated with
men, have long been open to women.
• Likewise, there are also a lot of male teachers, nurses, and even chefs and hairdressers.
TIPS & KEY POINTS

• Tips
– Gender is a set of characteristics that pertains to a person’s masculinity or femininity while biology determines sex. For
example, a man is male because he has male sex organs. He, however, can be considered feminine because the things he
likes are often associated with women.
• Key Points
– Gender refers to social, cultural, and psychological characteristics or traits related to males and females based on
certain social contexts.
– Gender roles refer to attitudes and behaviors that the society expects a person to exhibit based on his/her sex.
– During pre-colonial Philippines, males and females enjoy the same rights and privileges. There are different
social functions that are assigned to different members of the society. However, there functions that are specifically given
to males or females or both.
– Gender roles during the colonial period had changed drastically. Women were restrained from other activities
outside their homes, while men were given more social functions. These roles also changed as the Philippines was
occupied by new colonizers.
– Current Filipino society has become more open to allowing people of different genders to do things not based on their
gender but based on their capabilities.
C U LT U R A L V A R I AT I O N S
AND SOCIAL DIFFERENCES
(SOCIOECONOMIC CLASS)
T H E P H I L I P P I N E S O C I E T Y C A N B E C AT E G O R I Z E D I N TO
VA R I O U S S O C I O E C O N O M I C C L A S S E S . D U R I N G T H E
P R E H I S TO R I C T I M E S , O U R A N C E S TO R S H AV E
DEVELOPED A SOCIETY WHERE PEOPLE WERE
ASSIGNED WITH DIFFERENT SOCIAL FUNCTIONS.
HOWEVER, AS THE SOCIETY CHANGES, DIFFERENCES IN
ONE’S FUNCTION IN THE SOCIETY BECAME WIDER AND
MORE DIVERSE.
SOCIOECONOMIC CLASSES DURING THE
PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD
• Prior to the coming of the Spaniards, the community is called a barangay. It is headed by
a datu orraha. Our ancestors were divided into three different groups: the maharlika,
the timawa, and thealipin.
• Maharlika (Leaders and Royals)
• Timawa (Freemen)
• Alipin (Slaves)
• Aliping namamahay
• Aliping saguiguilid
MAHARLIKA (LEADERS AND ROYALS
• first social class
• composed of the leaders (datu) and their families
• also called the group of the maginoo, raha, or gat
TIMAWA (FREEMEN)
• second or “middle” social class
• composed of all freemen living in the barangay
• consists of workers, warriors, merchants, and others who are not under debt bondage
• have their own property like their own houses and a piece of land to cultivate
ALIPIN (SLAVES)
• third class
• serve another person or family as payment for debt
• became an alipin when their family lose in a war with another family
• are not bound to their master for life
• can go back to their previous status as soon as they pay off their debts, or if they marry
amaharlika, who will then pay for their debt
• has two kinds of alipin: the aliping saguiguilid and the aliping namamahay
ALIPING NAMAMAHAY
• has their own property, like a house or a piece of land
• often from the timawa class and became alipin because of debt or as punishment for a
wrongdoing
• can go back to being part of the timawa class once they pay off their debt
ALIPING SAGUIGUILID
• does not have the right to own any property
• often came from a family of alipin or are captives in war
• can also be sold or exchanged for goods or other alipin
SOCIOECONOMIC CLASSES DURING
THE SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD
• Upon the coming of the Spaniards, they changed the society and created a new set of
socioeconomic class.
• During this period, the people were divided based on their ancestry—
peninsulares, insulares,mestizo, and indio.
 SOCIOECONOMIC CLASSES DURING
THE SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD
• Peninsulares
– Spaniards in the Philippines who were born in Spain
– came from “peninsula,” meaning "came directly from the Spanish peninsula"
• Insulares
– Spaniards who were of Spanish descent but were born in the Philippines
– came from “insular,” meaning "from the islands"
• Mestizo
– those of mixed ancestry
– usually children of Spanish and Chinese couples or of Spanish and Indio couples
– have both economic and political power, coming from their mixed heritage
• Indio
– consists of the natives
– the lowest class in the society
– were stripped of their rights and freedom and were forced to bow down to the Spanish colonizers
MODERN SOCIOECONOMIC CLASSES
• Socioeconomic classes changed when the Philippines gained independence from Spain.
• The Americans introduced democracy and did not impose any form of socioeconomic classes.
• At present, a person’s position in the society is based mainly on his or her family’s economic
status.
• Social stratification, or the division of society based on occupation and income, wealth or
power; is simpler at present than in the past.
 MODERN SOCIOECONOMIC CLASSES
• The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) divided the population into high-income,
middle-income, and low-income classes.
• High-income Class
– people earning an average of P200,000 a month, or approximately P2.4 million a year
– the “rich” class and accounts for merely one percent of the country’s total population
• Middle-income Class
– people earning an average of P36,000 per month
– consists of professionals and small-scale entrepreneurs
• Low-income Class
– people earning less than P10,000 a month
– consists of laborers and minimum wage earners
SOCIAL MOBILITY
• Unlike in other societies where one who is born into a specific class has no choice but to die
as part of the same class, people in the Philippines usually have the opportunity to transfer
from a lower socioeconomic class to a higher one.
• This is called social mobility.
– the movement of people or families within or between different levels in the society
– the opportunity to transfer from a lower socioeconomic class to a higher one
– possible through education, or in some cases, through marriage