What is Gender ?
Underpinning this short e-learning course is the focus on gender. Before introducing relevant methods for researching gender and the link to violence, we will introduce some key terms and gender related concepts. Firstly try this activity:
Now let’s introduce a couple more concepts which are important when studying gender issues.
In many countries men and women are rewarded differently even for the same work and responsibilities. Do you think this is a issue of equality or equity ?
In this course we view gender as a social construction, which means that it can be understood differently in different contexts, but in most contexts it is a concept that explores the differences and relations between males and females. These vary widely among societies and cultures and change over time. The term “gender” is not interchangeable with the term “sex”, which refers exclusively to the biological differences between men and women, which are universal and do not change.
Gender Relations and Roles
Gender relations are relationships of power which affect who can access and control tangible and intangible resources. So when we focus a study on gender relations we are exploring power dynamics and how women and men participate and are empowered in different situations. These dynamics are influenced significantly by the gender roles that exist in a society.
By gender roles we mean learned behaviours in a given society, community or other social group. They condition which activities, tasks and responsibilities are perceived as appropriate to males and females respectively. Gender roles are affected by age, socio-economic class, race/ethnicity, religion, and the geographical, economic, political and cultural environment.
The term “masculinities” is an example of how a gender role is described. It refers to patterns of conduct linked to men’s place in a given set of gender roles and relations. The plural is used because patterns of masculinity vary over time, place and culture, and because there co-exist different versions of masculinity within a given time, place and culture.
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