Gender and Society

“GENDER AND SEXUALITY

AS A PSYCHOSOCIAL
ISSUE”
Quick Recap:

• Gender
- A sociological cocept largely pertains to the feminity or
masculinity of the individuals as it cannotes certain social roles and
cultural expectations determined by social norms. it refers to the
characteristics of women, men, girls, and boys that are socially
constructed.
• Sexuality
- Often refers as sexual orientation. It refers to who a person is
attracted to, who they want to go out with, and who they crush on,
based on their own preference.
What is Psychosocial?
Psychosocial
- It is an encopassing term.
- Which comprised by two primary aspects, the psychological and social.

• Psychological
- Pertains to anything associated with mental process and behavior.

- The psychological aspect of gender and sexuality anchors itself on the

field of psychology.

- Psychology is a field of science which concerns itself with how people

think and feel and how thoughts and feelings interact and lead to
behavior.
Psychosocial
• Psychological
- There are three primary psychological domain, the affect, behavior, and cognition.

Affect
- Affect or affective domain pertains to people’s emotion and feelings.

Behavior
- Behavior or behavioral domain petains to people’s actions, both observable (overt)
and not readily observable (covert).

Cognition
- Cognition or cognitive domain pertains to people’s thought processes such as
memory, perception, and information-processing.
Psychosocial
• Social
- Pertains to anything associated with human relationship, connection, and interaction.
- The social aspect of gender and sexuality primarily anchors itself on the field of
sociology and allied fields such as social psychology. In essence, Sociology is a field
of science which concern itself with the human person’s realities and experiences as
part of groups and institutions, including the structures and functions of these
institutions, and the dynamics of human relationships within them.
Psychosocial
- Thus, Psychosocial is an awareness regarding to oneself on how
he/she thought his/herself as well as the way he/she behave and on
how he/she interract with other person.

-The psychosocial approach looks at individuals in the context of the

combined influence that psychological factors and the surrounding
social environment have on their physical and mental wellness and
their ability to function.
 Understanding the
Psychosocial Dimension
-There are many ways through which the psychosocial dimension of
gender and sexuality can be understood and explained. Our experience
of gender and sexuality is generally a relational experience. It is
relational because while as individuals, we have our own affect,
cognition, and behavior to be aware of, we are also viewing ourselves in
relation to others who also have their own personal preoccupations.
There are some elements of our gendered self which are best viewed in
an ecological context- that is, in the circumstances in our physical and
social environment.
 Understanding the
Psychosocial Dimension
- Being male or female is an important basic human variable that affects
health and illness throughout life.1 Men and women differ not only with
regard to their reproductive organs and bodies but also in the way they
think, feel, and behave. The physical difference is called sex, influenced
by genes and biology; the psychological difference is called gender, in
which environmental, cultural, and psychosocial factors also have a
prominent role. Researchers are just beginning to unravel the complex
interactions between sex and gender, and the roles of nature and nuture
are still unclear.
 Understanding the
Psychosocial Dimension
- Since the human female is capable of bearing a child, the society interprets this
capacity as associated to womanhood, and thus, sets fulfillment of reproductive
role as an expectation among women. On the other hand, since the human male
does not have the capability to bear the child but has a relatively larger muscular-
skeletal frame, the society expects the human male to perform productive role and
associates this role to men. However, while there are distinct physiological
differences, much of the capabilities, except those involved in reproduction, can
actually be performed by either sexes. Thus, we can exemplify that gender and
sexuality is not only biological and physiological but also psychological and social.
This perspective of exploring and understanding human sexuality in the lens of
psychological social processes is referred to as psychosocial perspective.
 Understanding the
Psychosocial Dimension
- One of the essentials of gender and society is the psychosocial
dimension. Aside from upholding human dignity and human rights, one
of the ultimate goals of discussion about gender and sexuality is to
ensure well-being among people of different genders. Understanding
psychosocial needs and concerns, as well as the various elements of
psychosocial conditions as humans, is necessary.
Awareness
- Front of our experience as gender beings.

-In simpler terms, awareness is our conscious understanding of

something.

- Knowledge or perception of a situation or fact.

Intimacy and Relationship
• Relationship
- it is defined as a bond formed between two or more people manifested
through communication and interaction. These relationship can be in a form of
family, frienships, romantic relationships, or others.

• Intimacy
- process of knowing others and allowing others to know us, we share
resources and emotions, we, as individuals, constantly aim to further
understand our own selves as we also try to understand others and be
understood by them.
 4 Types of Intimacy
1. Physical Intimacy
- Physical intimacy refers to body closeness. It can involve hugging, cuddling, kissing,
and holding hands, depending on the nature of the relationship.
- Physical intimacy is not exclusive to romantic partners, though. Parents and children
and even friends can develop non-sexual physical intimacy.
- This type of intimacy involves safe touch and proximity that can enhance feelings of
emotional closeness.
- This type of closeness is not typical of other relationships where trust and vulnerability
may not be present.
- To nourish this type of intimacy, you can have an open conversation with the other
person about their level of comfort with different types of touch. Another way to cultivate
physical intimacy is to make the other person feel safe with your touch. For this, you may
want to start with light caresses, soft hugs, or kisses on the forehead. It’s important to be
receptive to the other person’s reactions and respect boundaries.
 4 Types of Intimacy
2. Emotional Intimacy
- Being emotionally intimate with another person means being transparent with your
deepest feelings, fears, and thoughts. It involves feeling safe and not judged, says
Lopez-Henriquez. And it’s all about being the same for the other person.
- To nourish emotional intimacy in a relationship, you need to take risks and be open,
she adds. However, if one or both people are emotionally unavailable or fear intimacy,
closeness in this aspect may become challenging.
- Emotional intimacy can be developed by listening better to the other person and
being able to speak clearly and honestly.
- This type of intimacy may also require reassurance that, despite differences in
experiences and emotions, you are safe with each other because you find support and
comfort when you express your deepest fears, pains, and doubts.
 4 Types of Intimacy
3. Intellectual Intimacy
- Mental intimacy refers to sharing your ideas, opinions, and life perspectives. It may
also involve intellectually challenging each other and being open to learning, or at
least considering, the other person’s ideas.
- Having stimulating discussions about different topics and feeling safe about
expressing your own views is part of nourishing mental intimacy.
- The key is to show mutual respect, even when you have differing views, Lopez-
Henriquez says.
- To cultivate intellectual intimacy, you may want to keep a curious attitude. It’s
important to share points of view with the intention of learning from each other more
so than debating opinions.
 4 Types of Intimacy
4. Spiritual Intimacy
- Spiritual intimacy means feeling close, validated, and safe sharing your innermost
ideas and beliefs on life’s purpose and your connection with divine energies.
- It’s still a blurred concept because it may mean different things to different people.
Spiritual intimacy doesn’t necessarily mean both people have the same beliefs, but it
may involve sharing a broader concept of spirituality.
- Sharing this higher sense of purpose may develop an intimate closeness that allows
you to project a life together, for instance.
- To nourish spiritual intimacy you may want to learn more about each other practices
and beliefs and, more significantly, why those are important to the other person.
Spiritual intimacy is about sharing the impact your beliefs have on your life and
respecting this may be different for the other person.
 Well-being as a Psychosocial Goal
The ultimate goal of understanding the psychosocial aspects of our experiences is
well-being.

Well-being
- It is a state of satisfaction, meaning, and purpose. It is also a state of being happy,
healthy, or prosperous.

2 Types of Well-being
• Objective well-being
• Subjective well-being
2 Types of Well-being
1. Objective well-being
- A kind of well-being which is observed, outward, and can be evaluated through the
presence or absence of particular elements in our environments. It includes or
involves physical factors that widely account for our basic needs.

2. Subjective well-being
- A kind of well-being which is observed in our personal experience of satisfaction,
meaning and purpose. It is a subjective because it pertains to our own appreciation of
how well we are. Sometimes, even when the environment fully provides for all our
needs, we remain unsatisfied, and thus, having low sense of subjective well-being. In
common term, the closes word to also mean subjective well-being is happiness. It
includes or involves psychological factors that widely account for our happiness.
Dimensions of Well-being
Based on what well-being means, we can see that there are various dimention
into it. The following are just the primary dimentions of well-being which we must
look into when try to understand the psychosocial condition of a person:

• Physical- physical/biological health;

• Emotional- positive feelings; mood stability;
• Mental- carity of mind; healthy thought process;
• Material- available and adequate financial and other resources; and
• Social- healthy and positive interaction and relationship with others.
Thank you
For
Listening