Introduction: The Understanding of Culture, Society, and Politics - Cultural Variations and Social Differences (Gender)

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to discuss gender roles in Philippine society from pre-colonial to the present era.

How do gender roles vary across cultures according to a particular culture’s beliefs and expectations concerning men and women’s
roles?

Find out the answer in this lesson!

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.
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 Japaneseperiod,
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.

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?

Try it!
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?
What do you think?
Is it proper to limit a person’s choices based on his or her gender? Why or why not?

Tips
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.

Keypoints
 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 was 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.