GENDER AND
SEXUALITY ACROSS
TIME
BY: MS. [Link]
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
• Discuss the historical roots of our
understanding of gender and sexuality;
• Show appreciation of how this
understanding evolved through time
affected various aspect of human life
DEFINITION OF TERMS
• Patriarchy
• – social system where men primarily holds power in the
political and the private spheres.
• Feminism
• – continuing series of social movements that aim to challenge
the patriarchal society that creates these oppressive political
structures, beliefs, and practices against women.
INTRODUCTION
• Society has progressed so much in a way that
information and knowledge is available to
everyone.
• Historical accounts show that across time,
human’s conception of gender and sexuality has
also changed. But how did really the
conceptualization of gender and sexuality
INTRODUCTION
• Divine Feminine
• – the sacredness of the women due to her ability
to conceive children
• Paternity
• - fatherhood / role of the father in conception
INTRODUCTION
•Egalitarian
- men and women have
equitable power roles
INTRODUCTION
• Productive Sphere
• - world of public works
• Reproductive Affairs
• - world of home and related tasks such as suckling
the young, child rearing, and home management.
PATRIARCHY
• From the Greek word Patriarkhes which means ‘ the rule of the
father’.
• Society under Patriarchy is organized and maintained in a way that
men rule over women and their children. ( women are expected to
just obey and are relegated to chores, bearing children, and child
care. )
• A Patrilineal society often follows a patriarchal society, which
means only men can inherit property and the family name.
PATRIARCHY
• Patriarchy is viewed as a social construct and not as a
biological phenomenon.
• Friedrich Engels, a German philosopher and sociologist
defends that, patriarchy came about when people
started having private property instead of a communal
living.
HISTORICAL VIEWS ON GENDER
• GREEK :
Aristotle, Plato, and other Greek philosophers
viewed women as their inferior sex and are
properties of men, whose only job was to obey their
husbands, bear children, and take care of the
household. They were forbidden to learn
philosophy, politics, and science.
HISTORICAL VIEWS ON GENDER
• EGYPT :
Men and Women are equal except for jobs.
Herodotus, a Greek historian , observed the
Egyptian civilization citing that Egyptian women
enjoyed higher social status than Greek women,
because they can inherit property and engage in
trade and politics.
HISTORICAL VIEWS ON GENDER
CHINA :
• Confucianism has strict written rules that dictate how women
should conduct themselves.
• Three obedience and Four virtues and Precepts of women:
1. Women should obey their father.
2. When married, she is to obey her husband.
3. When widowed, he is to obey her son.
HISTORICAL VIEWS ON GENDER
• CHINA:
• Virtues: Propriety, Righteousness, Integrity, Shame
• Gendered biases in ancient patriarchal societies were very strict,
heavily enforced, and often violent.
-Not being able to go to school, just because you are a woman.
-Not being able to express your opinion on important matters
even when it concerns your future and not being able to say no to
any man.
HISTORICAL VIEWS ON GENDER : CHINA
But women have come a long way since the ancient
times through the feminist movement, however
patriarchy has taken on subtle forms of oppression
that often go unnoticed such as:
• Sexism
• Gender pay gap
HISTORICAL VIEWS ON GENDER : CHINA
• Underrepresentation in politics, military, executive
positions
• Rape on women and the stigma making women
ashamed to report the crime
• Very conservative expectations on women on how
they behave.
HISTORICAL VIEWS ON GENDER: CHINA
• Unrealistic depictions of women in fiction,
often very sexualized
• Women do more housework and childcare
• Boys where trained to be leaders while
women were trained to do house chores
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
• Women’s liberation movement, women’s movement, or feminism
is a continuing series of social movements that aim to challenge
the patriarchal society that creates oppressive political structures,
beliefs, and practices against women.
• First Wave feminism spread across the western countries, during
19th and 20th century. Women demanded for their right to vote or
participate in elections and to be able to legally own a property.
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
• Second Wave feminism in 1960’s t0 1980’s, women drew
attention to various social and cultural inequalities such
as domestic violence especially marital rape,
reproductive rights, wage inequality, and etc.
• Third Wave in 90’s and Fourth Wave in 2012 show that
there is still much to be done for women’s rights.
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
• UN reports that :
1. Women do work than men because even when they work at the
office, they are still expected to do household tasks.
2. Women perform 66 percent of the world’s work, produce 50
percent of the food, but earn 10 of the income and own 1 percent
of the property.
3. Women participate in making the produce but only the father or
the head of the family controls the income.
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
• FEMINISM demands equality. Here are few salient
points that feminism demands:
1. Women Suffrage
2. Equality in politics and society
3. Reproductive rights, meaning the woman is in
control of her body.
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
• 4. Domestic Violence
• 5. Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence
• 6. Other rights include the right to divorce their
husbands, the right to make decisions on her pregnancy,
equitable wages, and equal employment opportunity
SUMMARY
• Recognizing Patriarchy in the simple things we do is very important
for us to identify these instances so we can change it.
• Feminism gained women access to education, right to vote, right to
work, take control of their reproduction, the right to say no instead
of just obeying.
• We can help in making the world a better place for women by
learning to respect and recognize that women deserve the same
right as men.
