Download Gender Roles

GENDER AS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT
GENDER ROLES
GENDER BIAS & EDUCATIONAL
PRACTICE
Group 1
– List differences between women and men and
consider:
• On what are these perceived differences based?
(e.g. biological, social, cultural or religious
beliefs)
Group 2
– List similarities between women and men and
consider:
• On what are the perceived similarities based?
(e.g. biological, social, cultural or religious
beliefs)
2
All participants to consider together:
–To what extent do assumptions
about biologically determined sex
differences between women and
men influence popular culture,
sayings or beliefs in your cultural
setting?
3
Definitions
• Write down your own definitions of
the terms sex and gender
• Compare your definitions with those
of the person next to you
• Each pair to report back to whole
group
• Brief group discussion
4
SEX
GENDER
• categorization of • cultural or social
interpretation of sex
people into male
• behavioral
and female
expectations
groups based on
associated with
biological
being a socially
appropriate man or
characteristics
woman
SEX
• XX (female) or XY
(male)
chromosomes
• eggs or sperm
• facial hair
• breasts
• “female, male”
GENDER
•
•
•
•
masculine
feminine
“man”
“woman”
Sex
• Sex refers to the physical and biological
attributes of men and women
• Sex includes the chromosomal, hormonal,
and anatomical components of males and
females.
Gender and Gender Identity
• Gender refers to the social, psychological and cultural
attributes of masculinity and femininity, many of
which are based on biological distinctions
– Gender includes people’s self image and
expectations for behavior among other things
• Gender describes societal attitudes and behaviors
expected of and associated with the two sexes.
• Gender identity refers to the degree to which an
individual sees herself or himself as feminine or
masculine based on society’s definitions of
appropriate gender roles.
Gender Characteristics?
• Generally, sex is considered to be an ascribed
status while gender is an achieved status
• Examples of gender characteristics? What
physical, emotional, or other characteristics
are considered “masculine” or “Feminine”?
• Sheena and Jaye are sister and brother.
Sheena is invited by a neighbor to an all girl
birthday party. Jaye wishes to go, but the
neighbor said that he can’t go because he’s a
boy. What would you tell Jaye if you were his
parent?
• Now, reflect on what the different ways say
about your assumptions of gender.
Gender as a Social Construction
• Gender is a process, stratification system
and structure;
• Process = day to day interactions reinforce gender as
opposites. For examples, conversations, rituals of daily life,
sayings, etc
• Stratification = Men as a group have more status and power
than women as a group. Women are treated as “other,” and
compared to men.
• Structure = Gender divides work in the home and economic
production. It legitimates those in authority and organizes
sexuality and emotional life.
Gender as a Social Construction
• What is necessary for society’s perpetuation?
• Rules for allocating goods
• Assigned responsibility for children and others who can’t care
for themselves
• Common values and the transmission of them.
• Legitimate leadership.
• Expression of the above through arts, music, stories, etc.
• What social categories influence the way the above exist?
Gender as a Social Construction
• What is work?
• Any activity that creates goods and services
for one’s own use or for exchange or pay.
There is paid work (market); coerced work
(slavery) and domestic work.
Gender as a Social Construction
• Industrialization reduced work
to pay. Why?
• Most domestic work is
devalued or invisible.
• For example: babysitter
versus lawnwork. Also,
domestic work not included in
the economy
Gender as a Social Construction
• How does our conception of
gender affect work?
• Products created for different tasks
• Expectations for different jobs.
• Value for the tasks done: for
example, is it truly more valuable to
work outside than inside?
• Gender displays both men and
women create to control the
workplace.
The Social Construction
of Gender
• Gender Roles
– Expectations regarding proper behavior,
attitudes, and activities of males and
females
– Gender roles evident in work and in how
we react to others
Gender Roles in the society are
gendered in nature.
Gender roles are cultural and personal.
They determine how males and females
should think, speak, dress, and interact
within the context of society.
A gender role is a set of social and behavioral
norms that are generally considered
appropriate for either a man or a woman in a
social or interpersonal relationship.
Gender roles adopted during
childhood normally continue into
adulthood.
Traditionally, fathers teach boys how to fix and
build things; mothers teach girls how to cook, sew,
and keep house. Children then receive parental
approval when they conform to gender
expectations and adopt culturally accepted and
conventional roles. All of this is reinforced by
additional socializing agents, such as the media.
Gender Bias
Society produces bias that is structured on the
basis of gender identities. Patriarchy strengthens
the gender bias and recognises the society as a
male dominated space. Thus, women face bias from
the dominant patriarchal society.
Gender bias is the construction of socialization
process and it is the extension of patriarchal
ideology. Gender bias is commonly considered to be
discrimination and/or hatred towards people based
on their gender rather than their individual merits, but
can also refer to any and all systemic differentiations
based on the gender of the individuals.
EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE
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