Lesson 1
Leveling Off: Gender and Sexuality
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Objectives:
At the end of this section, you should be able to:
1. distinguish between sex, gender, and sexuality;
2. explain gender socialization;
3. recognize gender stereotypes and the issues they cause;
4. talk about sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression (SOGIE); and
5. contemplate your sexuality and the importance of appreciating sexual diversity.
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It means being a man or a woman, a man, or a woman, a masculine or feminine
person. Our mind and body are complex to answer this question, and we must return to
the beginning.
First, you need to understand the complexities of differentiating sex, gender, and
sexuality. Having a clear grasp of the concepts is necessary. Moreover, as you start
reading gender and sexuality as social realities, you also want to understand how gender
is expressed from birth to adulthood. Your goal is to understand the diversity of human
experiences and how they say their sexuality.
1.1. Complete the following statements:
I think girls are ________________________________________________________
I think boys
are ________________________________________________________
I think girls should
________________________________________________________
I think boys should
_________________________________________________________
Society thinks that girls should
_________________________________________________________
Society thinks that boys should
_______________________________________________________
1. What do you think girls and boys should be or do?
2. Explain what society thinks boys and girls should do.
What is Sex?
From birth until adulthood and old age the society looks differently at women and
men. There are two types of differences between men and women: gender and
sex. Gender and sex are two fundamental but undervalued aspects of human life. They
impact all parts of our life, from how we look and act to the jobs we take and our society's
laws and beliefs.
Sex refers to the physiological characteristics which define humans as either male
or female. It is often referred to as the act of reproduction (copulation), thus an essential
notion of how population culture sees sex. According to popular culture, sex is done for
pleasure, and in a Freudian sense, it motivates people to act in specific ways. People
may ignore sex as a serious academic topic because it is associated with pleasure and
vice versa. Sex, in a biological sense, is a category for living being beings specifically
related to their reproductive function.
The following are the determinants of sexes:
Determinants of Sex Female Male
Genitalia vagina; clitoris penis; scrotum
Internal reproductive uterus; ovaries testes
organ
Chromosomes XX XY
Hormone estrogen; progesterone androgen; testosterone
Others produced eggs fertilized by produces sperm cells to
another sex fertilize the cell
Our sex differences are usually used to explain the status, roles and characteristics
ascribed and dictated by society to women and men. For example, we typically consider
it “natural” for a woman to take care of her child and her husband as well as do household
chores (gender) as she is the one who gets pregnant and gives birth (sex). Since we
consider men as more potent, they are expected to become breadwinners, heads of the
family, and leaders in society.
We ascribe female characteristics as sensitivity, weakness, and a “cry baby” to
women, while male traits such as strong, brave, and aggressive are aggressive. Suppose
all males presented in advertisements are powerful and dominant. In that case, one can
presume that power and dominance are associated with maleness or masculinity if all-
female in advertisements takes care of people (spouses, children, parents). One
associate's females with caring roles.
1. 2. Complete the following sentences:
When I was a kid, my favorite toy was
_____________________________________________________________
When I was younger, I discovered I was a girl or a male
_____________________________________________________________
Because I am a girl/boy
_____________________________________________________________
Because he/she is a boy/girl
_____________________________________________________________
Because x is LGBT+
____________________________________________________________
1. Why were these toys your favorite? Elaborate further.
2. When you first discovered you were a girl or a boy, how old were you?
3. If you are a non-binary student, when did you realize you weren't a boy or a girl?
Give instances and explanations.
4. What are the different expectations your family and school have for females, boys,
and LGBT people?
What is Gender?
Gender is a taught social behavior that is frequently linked to one's sex. It is how
males and females relate to one another. It is based on how people see themselves and
their tendency to act either masculine or feminine. A social construct sets one's tasks and
responsibilities, anticipated values, attitudes, and interactions in male-female
relationships. It affects what access is available to men and women to decision-making,
knowledge, and resources. It identifies the characteristics and social behavior of men and
women and the relationship between them.
Gender roles and characteristics are not fixed, may change over time, may vary
from culture to culture, and are learned or acquired. However, due to advances in science
and other societal trends, one can legally and physically change their gender.
The main differences between sex and gender are the following:
Sex Gender
Physiological (born with) Socially constructed (not born with)
Related to reproduction Cultural
Congenital Learned behavior
Unchangeable Varies within a culture/among culture
Likewise, Gender identity refers to a person’s internal sense of being male, female,
or something else. It is a person's societal perception of themselves, either being a man,
a woman, or a combination of both. A person may have a penis but prefer to be identified
socially as a woman or have a vagina but prefer to describe as a man.
Gender expression, on the other hand, is concerned with the expression of one's
gender, how a person's gender identification is communicated to others through behavior,
dress, hairstyles, voice, or body features. The external display of a person’s gender
identity may or may not conform to the socially defined behaviors and exterior features
as masculine or feminine. These characteristics are articulated through dress, grooming,
hairstyles, jewelry, movement, mannerisms, physical features, social interactions, and
speech patterns (voice). Gender expression may also include gender roles which are
also defined by an individual’s culture/society. Gender roles may consist of careers,
expectations for dating, and household chores.
Sex does not determine one’s gender. Femininity is the behavior one associates
with females that may not be tied to a woman’s sex. On the other hand, Masculinity is not
linked to one’s gonads (a sex organ that produces sperm; testicle).
Gender Role Socialization
Gender role socialization is defined as learning and internalizing culturally
approved ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. It starts as soon as one is born and
manifests from the color associated with one’s gender to the roles one sees their gender
performs the most.
Socialization affects all parts of one’s identity by dictating what is acceptable
because of one’s educational background, class, religion, and gender. Thus, female and
male gender roles develop. One’s socialization regulates their perceptions of genders in
two ways:
First is the external regulation which, involves various institutions dictating what is
proper and standard based on one’s identity. It affects how one sees their gender. It can
happen through censorship of some form of sexuality (homosexuality is terrible!) or
subtle forms of control such as microaggression (like “only girly boys do homework).
Because of these external regulations enforced by society, notions of genders are
absorbed, and internalized social control is formed.
Second is the internalized social control that causes people to police themselves
according to society’s standards and norms. So, if someone finds themselves deviating
from what society finds normal, they may become deviant and excluded from the
community.
Gender Roles from a Theoretical Perspective
Gender roles are the duties that men and women are expected to fill depending on
their gender. It is the result of interactions between people and their surroundings. In
general, numerous theoretical viewpoints are used to explain it. The sociology of the
family provided the foundation for early sociological views on gender roles. These
explanations focused on why men and women have different responsibilities in the
household, which affects their roles outside of the home. This early work on the family
has influenced modern sociological thinking about gender roles. The primary sociological
perspectives on the gender–family link are listed here, along with logical justifications.
From the standpoint of conflict. This is founded because society is a theater where
power and dominance battles are played out. This assumption can be applied to gender
roles and, by extension, the family. Its sustained male dominance necessitates a belief
system that fosters gender inequality, such as the assumption that women are less
important outside the home but more useful inside.
From a structural-functionalist standpoint. It is founded on the idea that society
comprises interconnected pieces, each contributing to the overall functioning. It examines
how each component of social structure contributes to total social balance, harmony, and
equilibrium. Gender roles, marriage, and the family are all critical to our values.
Symbolic Interaction Perspective. It asserted that people do not respond directly
to the world around them, but to the meaning they bring to it. This perspective also
explained that gender roles are learned through socialization. Women are socialized into
expressive roles (traditionally associated with nurturing and emotionally supportive roles),
and men are socialized into instrumental roles (for example, task-oriented roles).
Common Self-Identity of the Transgender People
Transgender is a word used by the American Psychological Association to
describe people whose gender identity, gender expression, or behavior differs from what
is usually associated with the sex given at birth. Transgender has several identities,
namely:
a. Drag Queen (Woman-emulating male) is a man who dresses up in women's
clothes, typically for entertainment.
b. Butch lesbian is someone who identifies as a woman and is romantically and
sexually interested in other women (that is the "lesbian" part) and who dresses, acts, or
speaks in ways that many people in society consider "masculine" (that is the "butch"
part).
c. Femme is a Feminine-appearing person.
d. Drag King (Male-emulating woman) is a woman who dresses as a man and
impersonates male characteristics for public entertainment.
e. An intersex is a person born with mixed sexual physiology.
f. Transvestite refers to a person who enjoys wearing clothes identified with the
opposite gender, often but not always straight (Crossdresser: Polite term for
transvestite).
g. A Transgender is a person who lives as the gender opposite to anatomical sex (a
person with the penis is living as a woman).
h. Androgyne appears and identifies as neither man nor woman, presenting a gender
either mixed or neutral.
i. A Transsexual is a person whose sexual character is opposite to their assignment
at birth.
j. FTM (female to male) is a born female but sees themselves as partly to entirely
masculine.
k. MTF (male to a female) describes someone born male but considers themselves
mostly or entirely feminine.
Gender Stereotypes
Gender stereotypes are developed when different institutions reinforced a biased
perception of a particular gender’s role. These institutions include the family, the church,
the school, the state, and the media.
There are four types of gender stereotypes. The following are:
Sex stereotypes are the broad perspective of characteristics that men and women
should possess, specifically physical and emotional roles. These stereotypes are
unrelated to the functions women and men perform.
Sexual stereotypes involve assumptions regarding a person’s sexuality that
reinforce dominant views. For example, all men are sexually dominant. Another notion is
heteronormativity, the belief that all persons are only attracted to the sex opposite theirs.
Sex-role stereotypes encompass the roles that men and women are assigned
based on their sex and their behavior to fulfill these roles.
Compounded stereotypes are assumptions about a specific group belonging to a
gender. For example, young women, older men, single men and women, and factory
workers are just some.
Gender Stereotype in Social Roles
Men Women
Provides financially for the family Takes care of the house and
children
Works as managers, construction builders, Works as a nurse, teacher,
engineers secretary
Portrayed as leaders Portrayed as followers
Gender Stereotype in Capacities
Men Women
Good in Math and Science Good in arts and less intellectual pursuits
Physically strong Physically weaker
Firm decision-making Fickle minded in decision-making
Gender Stereotype in Traits and Characteristics
Men Women
Active Passive
Aloof Loving
Aggressive Peaceful
Independent Dependent
Brave Fearful
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE)
SOGIE stands for sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. Sexuality
is different from sex as the former is the expression of a person’s thoughts, feelings,
sexual orientation, relationships as well as the biology of the sexual response system of
that person.
The different terms standing for SOGIE are further defined below:
Sexual orientation covers the three dimensions of sexuality, namely:
a. Sexual attraction, sexual behavior, sexual fantasies
b. Emotional preference, social preference, self-identification
c. A heterosexual or homosexual lifestyle
Sexual orientation involves who one is attracted to and how one identifies
themselves about this attraction, including romantic and sexual feelings.
Gender identity refers to one’s personal experience of gender or social relations.
It determines one's attitude about gender and sexuality. A person's gender identity might
be either masculine or feminine.
Gender expression determines how one expresses their sexuality through the
actions or manners of presenting oneself.
LGBTQIA is short for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning,
intersex, and asexual. This category describes distinct groups outside of
heteronormativity who are usually defined by their SOGIE.
The following thoughts and phrases were popular to show those who deviated from
the norm that they are not alone and that others are going through similar problems.
Heteronormativity is the notion that being heterosexual or the attraction to the
opposite sex is the standard for correctness.
Heterosexual or straight refers to people who have sexual and romantic feelings
mainly for the opposite gender.
Men who are attracted to women.
Women who are attracted to men.
Homosexual describes people who have sexual and romantic feelings for the same
gender.
Men who are attracted to men.
Women who are attracted to women.
Cisgender is someone whose gender identity corresponds with their biological sex.
A person can be a homosexual and, at the same time, a cisgender.
Lesbian pertains to women who are attracted to other women.
Gays who are attracted to other men are referred to as gay. It is also a catch-all
term for all sorts of homosexuality.
People who are bisexual or "bi" are attracted to both genders.
The term "transgender" refers to someone whose assigned sex at birth does not
correspond to their gender identification.
Gender Issues
Gender issues are equated with woman’s problems because of sexism and gender
stereotypes.
Sexism is defined as prejudice against sex. Women and LGBT people face
persecution because we live in a patriarchal culture.
Gender equality is defined as the state's acknowledgment that all human beings
are free to live in equal conditions and to realize their full human potential to contribute to
the state and society. It is also defined as equality of the sexes, visible in public and
private spheres, and full participation in society. However, discriminatory gender roles
can be institutionalized through laws and policies.
Activity 1. 3: Questions for Review
The following rubrics are provided for you to use in creating an essay for this task.
30 / EXCELLENT 20 / VERY GOOD 15/ AVERAGE 10 / NEEDS 5 / UNACCEPTABLE
IMPROVEMENT
Ideas The idea is clear The idea is The idea is The idea is not The idea has no
and focused. It mainly focused beginning to well-defined, and clear sense of
holds the reader's and has some define the topic, there are too purpose or central
attention. good details. even though many topics. theme.
development is
still primary or
general.
Organization The organization Paper (and The organizational The There is no apparent
enhances and paragraphs) structure is strong arrangement of feeling of direction in
highlights the are mainly enough to guide parts does not writing. There is no
central idea or organized, in the reader through make sense, discernible internal
subject. The order, and the material although the structure; ideas,
reader is lured make sense to without causing order of details, or events
into the text by the the reader. them to become sentences within appear to be linked
material's order disoriented. paragraphs together
and organization. does. haphazardly or
randomly.
1. How did your society teach you to think, feel, and act based on your gender? How
is it limiting? How is it liberating?
2. What role does gender socialization play in the perception of gender roles?
3. Who perpetuates gender stereotypes, and what does it say about society?
Good job for accomplishing your task! Now, you can proceed to the next lesson.
