Gender and Sexuality

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Gender and Sexuality

• Maria Theresa D.Ujano- Batangan Ph.D.
• Department of Psychology and Center for Womens
  Studies
• University of the Philippines
• Diliman, Quezon City

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Setting the stage

• Learning about sexuality requires a willingness
  to listen with an open mind,
• in an atmosphere of trust and equality
• so that people can explain and explore feelings
  and behavior.
• - K. Zeidenstein and K. Moore

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Objectives

• To identify the foundations of gender and
  sexuality education
• To present an initial nested ecological framework
  in looking at gender and sexuality

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Objectives

• To discuss the content areas included and
  approaches used in gender and sexuality
  education
• To identify the challenges in instituting and /or
  mainstreaming gender and sexuality in the
  curriculum

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Context

• Early sexual maturation
• Absence of consensus on acceptable sexual
  behavior
• Lack of knowledge about sexuality and sexual
  health
• Increasing exposure to sexual and nonsexual risks

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Context

• Vulnerabilities of young individuals
• Physical vulnerabilities
• Emotional vulnerabilities
• Socio- economic vulnerabilities

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Foundations of Sexuality Education

• Varying Perspectives (Johnson)
• The best sexuality education is no sexuality
  education
• Sexuality education should be quite frank, but
  it must be on a highly moral and/or religious
  plane
• The best place to learn about sexuality is on
  the streets

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Foundations of Sexuality Education

• Varying Perspectives
• There should be an accepting and blending of
  sexuality and love in human life, resulting from
  the belief that sexuality is a foremost rather
  than a rearmost aspect of human personality
• Sexuality education should be a do it yourself
  activity

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Foundations of Sexuality Education

• Varying Perspectives
• Sexual information should be presented with
  unrestrained frankness and bluntness
• If children are kept busy with healthful and
  educational pursuits, sexual problems can be
  avoided and the need for sexuality education
  is minimized

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Foundations of sexuality education

• Varying Perspectives
• Comprehensive sexuality education
• An approach to educating young people about
  human sexuality that includes information about
  sexuality but also encourages clarifying values
  and developing decision making skills

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Foundations of Sexuality Education

• Objectives
• Provide knowledge
• Explore and critique meanings
• Gain insights
• Develop tolerance/acceptance of individual
  differences

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Foundations of Sexuality Education

• Objectives
• Recognize sexual rights and responsibilities
• Translate what has been learned to everyday life

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Foundations of sexuality education

• Researches show that sexuality education
  reduces sexual risk taking behaviors and does
  not lead to increase in sexual behavior (WHO
  Kirby,2002)

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Framework (SOBRITCHEA AND UJANO-BATANGAN,2003)
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Sexuality

• Human sexuality encompasses the sexual knowledge,
  beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviors of
  individuals. It deals with the anatomy,
  physiology and biochemistry of the sexual
  response system with roles, identity and
  personality with individual thoughts, feelings,
  behaviors, and relationships. It addresses
  ethical, spiritual, and moral concerns, and group
  and ethical variations - SIECUS

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Content areas (Kelly)

• Social and Biological Foundations of Human
  Sexuality
• Historical, research, and cross- cultural
  perspectives
• Sexual anatomy and physiology
• Human sexual response
• Developmental and social perspectives on gender

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Content areas

• Understanding Sexuality in Ourselves and Our
  relationships
• Sexuality through the life cycle
• Sexual individuality and sexual values
• Sexuality, communication, and relationships

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Content areas

• Sexuality ad Social Policy
• Reproduction, reproductive technology and
  birthing
• Decision making about pregnancy and parenthood

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Content areas

• Sexual Behavior and Contemporary Society
• Solitary and shared sex
• Same-/opposite- gender orientation and behavior
• Spectrum of human sexual behavior
• Sex, art, the media and the law

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Content areas

• Dealing with Sexual Problems and Issues
• Sexual coercion, rape and abuse
• Sexually transmitted infections and other
  physical problems
• HIV/AIDs and sexual decisions
• Sexual dysfunctions and their treatment

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Content areas (Tan)

• Cultural and Social Context of Gender and
  Sexuality
• The body, gender and sexuality
• Social expressions of gender and sexuality
• Cultural expressions of gender and sexuality

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Content areas

• Economics, Politics and Framing of Gender and
  Sexuality
• Gender and sexuality in various economic systems
• Contemporary sexuality
• Political economy of sexuality (macro and micro)
• Stigmatization and gender discrimination

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Content areas

• Toward a More Humane, Gender Sensitive Society
• Womens movement and feminism
• Social movements and changes in gender and
  sexuality
• Human rights and sexual rights

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Life Skills

• Self awareness
• Empathy
• Effective communication
• Interpersonal relationships
• Ability to manage emotions

• Ability to cope with stress
• Creative thinking
• Critical thinking
• Decision- making
• Problem solving

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Identity and Orientation

• Sex refers to physiological attributes that
  identify a person as a male or female
• Gender refers to widely shared ideas and norms
  concerning women and men including ideas about
  feminine and masculine characteristics and
  behavior gender reflects and influences the
  different roles, social status, and economic and
  political power of women and men in society

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Identity and Orientation

• Gender label words that identify ones gender
  as boy, girl, man, woman etc.
• Gender role preference preference for the
  behaviors and attitudes associated with being
  male or female
• Gender schema personal theory about cultural
  expectations and stereotypes related to gender
• Sex role identification integration of knowledge
  about ones gender, awareness of cultural
  expectations associated to each sex,
  identification with like sex parent and
  preference for ones role

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Identity and Orientation

• Sex role preference positive value for the
  expectations and norms held for a specific
  gender group
• Sex role standards attributes held by culture
  for males and females these can include both
  precepts and sanctions
• Sexual orientation refers to ones preferences
  for partners in sexual and affectional
  relationships

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Identity and Orientation

• Heterosexuality sexual orientation in which a
  person is attracted to people of the opposite
  sex
• Homosexuality sexual orientation in which a
  person is attracted to people of the same sex
• Bisexuality sexual orientation in which a
  person is attracted to members of both sexes
• Transvestism person who dresses and acts like
  a person of the opposite gender. Both
  heterosexuals and homosexuals can behave this
  way.

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Identity and Orientation

• Transexual person desires to change or has
  changed her/his biological sex because her/his
  body does not correspond to her/his sexual
  identification.
• Transgenderperson who lives as the gender
  opposite to their anatomical sex, sexual
  orientation varies.

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Sexuality Educator

• Johnson and Beltzar
• Must come to terms with his/her own sexuality
• Needs to know the appropriate factual materials
  associated with the subject matter
• Needs to be able to use the language of sex
  easily and naturally

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Sexuality Educator

• Needs to be familiar with the sequence of
  developmental events through out life
• Needs an accurate awareness of the enormous
  changes in patterns of sexual attitudes,
  practices, laws, institutions etc.

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Learning strategies

• Lectures
• Class discussions
• Structured learning exercises
• Individual (e.g. reflections, checklists etc.)
• Group (e.g. case studies, field trips, exercises,
  skills training, videos etc.)

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Challenges

• SEX EDUCATION, FAMILY LIVING, HUMAN GROWTH AND
  DEVELOPMENT
• Dont be misled by the title they all mean the
  same thing. The whole concept of public and group
  education in sex knowledge and practices is a
  bestial and degrading monstrosity. Come to
  Jackson High, Sept.1, 8 p.m. and let the school
  board know that you intend to retain your
  God-given right to raise your children in the
  manner you see fit. Tax payers for Decency
  (Bruess and Greenberg)

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Challenges

• What is going on? Why is the west so obsessed
  with sex? The West is attacking sovereignty and
  self determination of developing countries, the
  family, efforts to curb prostitution. The West is
  promoting forcing the homosexual agenda and
  widespread abortion on other countries through
  rights language, sexualizing youngsters while
  weakening parental rights, sexual rights that
  include prostitution. This wont help womenDont
  let them do this to your country! World Policy
  Center

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Dealing with opposition

• -Recognize differences in perspectives
• -State position in an understandable way and
  avoid arguments with the opposition
• -Develop and implement evidence- based
  programs
• -Identify, plan and implement effective
  strategies in dealing with opposition

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Dealing with value conflicts

• Acknowledge your reactions and identify the
  feeling behind it
• Identify the source of the feeling
• Ask yourself will this value/reaction affect
  my relationship with---?
• If the answer is yes, then you need to READ,
  DISCUSS, FIND OUT MORE about the subject
• Reassess the value, it may be strengthened,
  modified, discarded and replaced with a new one

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Sexual Health

• The integration of the physical, emotional,
  intellectual and social aspects of sexual being
  in ways that enhance personality, communication
  and love.
• -World Health Organization