Content 1 Introduction to Understanding Culture, Society and Politics
Topic 1 Cultural Variations and Social Differences (Gender)
Topic 1: Cultural Variations and Social Differences (Gender)
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this lesson, the learners should be able to
discuss gender roles in Philippine society from pre-colonial to the present era.
Questions:
How do gender roles vary across cultures according to a particular culture’s beliefs and expectations concerning
men and women’s roles?
Gender and Gender Roles
People play different roles in society depending on 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 or her
sex.
For example, in traditional Philippine society, women are expected to be plain housewives and take care of their
children, while men are expected to be professionals and provide the needs of their family.
Another example is that society expects women to be more emotional and sensitive while men are expected to be
strong and capable of doing things that women cannot do.
Gender Roles in Pre-colonial Philippine Society
In pre-colonial Philippines, males and females enjoyed the same rights and privileges. Different social functions were
assigned to different members of society. There were functions that were specifically given to males, females, or both.
Aside from being a priestess, the babaylan was also considered a healer, an adviser, and a seer.
Understanding Culture, Society and Politics Page 1
Content 1 Introduction to Understanding Culture, Society and Politics
Topic 1 Cultural Variations and Social Differences (Gender)
Gender Roles in Philippine Society During the Colonial Period
Gender roles during the colonial period 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.
With the coming of the Spaniards and the introduction of Catholicism, the babaylan lost their role in the
religious life of the community. This role was taken over by Catholic priests. Women were relegated to doing
household chores and taking care of children. More often than not, young women were not sent to school but
instead trained to be good wives and mothers for their future families. Some women were also forced to marry
for economic and political gain.
During the American period, women had more freedom in society. They were allowed to study and work in any
field they wanted. They also adopted American values. Men and women became equal in the sense that it
became acceptable for both genders to have jobs and be educated.
Although men and women were able to maintain their status in society during the Japanese period, 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
At present, Philippine society 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 are often associated with men, have long been open to women. Likewise, there are also lots of male
teachers, nurses, chefs, and hairdressers nowadays.
Gender Types
There are several types of gender based on a person's orientation. Depending on the community, these gender identities
can be further subdivided into more specific categories.
Heterosexual - A person with this gender is inclined to be sexually attracted to a person of the opposite sex.
Understanding Culture, Society and Politics Page 2
Content 1 Introduction to Understanding Culture, Society and Politics
Topic 1 Cultural Variations and Social Differences (Gender)
Homosexual - A person is sexually attracted to a person of the same sex (gay and lesbian).
Bisexual - A person is attracted to both male and female.
Asexual - A person incapable of being attracted to any sex.
Polysexual - A person who is attracted to multiple type of gender.
Pansexual - a person who accommodates all types of gender
Transsexual - (also known as transgender) people whose gender identities do not match their biological identity
as male or female. Their sexual orientation is not related to their genitalia. These individuals believe that the
discord between their internal gender and the gender role that they have to perform can be addressed through
medical sexual reassignment
Key Points:
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 effeminate
because the things he likes are often associated with women.
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 or her
sex.
In pre-colonial Philippines, males and females enjoyed the same rights and privileges. Different social
functions were assigned to different members of society. There were functions that were specifically given to
males, females, or both.
Gender roles during the colonial period 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 were
occupied by new colonizers.
The present Filipino society has become more open in allowing people of different genders to do things not
based on their sex but based on their capabilities.
Activity:
Ask five of your friends about their dream jobs. Does any of these jobs tend to be associated with men or
women? What do you think about your friends’ dream jobs?
Go online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV96IYVhyxo (Bekitaktakan)
Through this video, student will be further enlightened with the different types of gender and the common
misconceptions that people have regarding people they consider as sexually different. Before watching the video, they will
be asked to list down their thoughts regarding people who belong to gender identities that are different from them. After
watching the video, check which of their listed thoughts were proven correct and which one were faulty.
Points for reflection:
What are your hobbies? Do you have a hobby that is typically done by the opposite sex? What do people say
about your "unusual" hobby?
Is it proper to limit a person’s choices based on his or her gender? Why or why not?
Do you see any advantage and/or disadvantage of our current gender role status in our Philippine society?
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