The sex / gender differences raises the issues of male –female; masculine and feminine.

1. KALINGA UNIVERSITY, RAIPUR
Concepts of Gender:
Issue of Muscularity &
Familiarity
Presented by:
Sushmita Banik
B. Ed (1st year)
Department of Education

2. Introduction to Gender concepts
 Concepts are the terms used by social
scientists as analytical categories to study
society and social behavior.
 Matthews, 1984 – first developed concept of
gender.
 Gender
 Sex

3. Sex
 Is a biological concept.
 Physiological difference between male
and female sex.
 Sex: An aspect of one’s biological
makeup that depends on whether one is
born with distinct male or female genitals
and a genetic program that releases
either male or female hormones to
stimulate the development of one’s
reproductive system.

4. Gender
 One of the universal dimensions on which
status differences are based.
 Is a social construct specifying the socially
and culturally prescribed roles that men and
women are to follow.
 It affects all parts of our lives (social,
economic and political).
 Gender: Male, Female, Transgender
 Gender: One’s sense of being male or female
and playing masculine or feminine roles in
ways defined as appropriate by one’s culture
and society.

5. Definition:
 Gender refers to the social relationship /
roles and responsibilities of men and
women, the expectations held about the
characteristics, aptitudes and likely
behaviours of both men and women
(masculinity & femininity) that are learned,
change over time and vary within and
between cultures.

6. Masculinity & Femininity
 The sex / gender differences raises the issues
of male –female; masculine and feminine,
male associated with masculinity and female
with femininity.
 With each constructions the biological
differences between men and women get
translated into social terms and descriptions.
 “strong” and “tough” is masculine character.
 “weak” and “soft” are associated with feminine
character.

7. Patriarchy
 the term implies “male domination”, “male
prejudice (against women)”, or more simply
“male power”.
 Simply, the term means “the absolute rule of
the father or the eldest male member over his
family”.

8. Patriarchal system controls women’s
lives:
 Women’s
productive or
labour power
 Women’s
Reproduction
 Control over
Women’s Sexuality
 Women’s Mobility
 Property and other
Economic

9. ISSUES:
Discrimination between men &
women

10. A BIG REASON…….
 An age old “Patriarchal Society”
in India
 Property rights only for sons
 Son as the status symbol
 Baap ko kandha dene wala
 Ladki paraye ghar ka dhan
 Ladki ghar ki ejjat

11. So…….
 Historical
 Social
 Religious
 Economic
causes of gender discrimination,
exploitation of women both at home and
work place, all kinds of injustice against
women, etc.

12. Think of the world without
women
 Sex ratio decline in India
 Correlation between
development and sex ratio
 78% of labor force in agriculture
is women folk
 Almost 100% kitchen work,
childcare and household work is
taken care of exclusively by
women.

13. FEMALE INFANTICIDE AND
SELECTIVE ABORTION
 Murder of infant or abortion of a fetus or just
because it is a girl….
 ABORTION: the ultimate exploitation of
women.

14. LACK OF EDUCATION
 Females are meant to do household work
so are highly neglected for the education.
 According to reports, Girls make up for
more than 50% of those 75 million children
currently denied primary education, and
women form the vast majority of the 776
million illiterate persons worldwide.

16. HONOR KILLING
 Violence against women committed with
the motive of protecting or regaining the
honor of the perpetrator, family, or
community.
 According to reports there are more than
1000 honor killings in India every year.
 Is the women only the piece of
demonstrating the so called honor of the
family!

17. WAGE DISCRIMINATION
 Women are almost half of the workforce. They
are the equal, if not main.
 They receive more college and graduate
degrees than men.
 Yet, on average, women continue to earn
considerably less than men gender wage gap.
!!! IS THIS EQUALITY !!!

18. CHILD MARRIAGE
 Earlier, child marriages were highly
prevalent in India. The young girls would live
with their parents till they reached puberty.
They were married to the person much elder
to them.

19. DOWRY SYSTEM
 Dowry is the money given in the form of
shelter to bride at the time of marriage so
that she is well maintained by the bride
groom…
 And those who fail to pay dowry either
daughters are ill treated and they finally
commit suicide.

20. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
 Domestic violence is not physical violence
alone. Domestic violence is any behavior
the purpose of which is to gain power and
control over a spouse, partner,
girl/boyfriend or intimate family member.
Abuse is a learned behavior; it is not
caused by anger, mental problems, drugs
or alcohol, or other common excuses.

21. Widow exploitation
 Sati system- Sati is an old, largely defunct
custom, in which the widow was immolated
alive on her husband’s funeral pyre.
 Widows are still ill treated. They are
condemned to a life of great agony shaving
their heads, living in isolation, shunned
from the society.

22. TRAFFICKING
 The Immortal Traffic (Prevention) Act was
passed in 1956.
 However many cases of trafficking of
young girls and women have been
reported. These women are either forced
into prostitution, domestic work or child
labor.

23. ORGANISATIONS WORKING
FOR UPLIFTMENT OF WOMEN
 SEWA
 WING OF RESEARCH IN LOCAL
DEVELOPMENT
 WOMEN HOPE FOUNDATION
 MANAV KALYAN SANSTHAN
 WOMEN WELFARE SOCIETY
 JEEVAN JYOTHI
 MAHILA

26. Steps we could implement
E
D
U
C
A
T
I
O
N
 Not only the female, the society
must be educated to give equal
right for female.

27. Steps we could implement
Economic
Independence  Economic
independence will
free the women from
the slavery position
and boost the self
confidence.
 Economic
independence of
women also helps in
the national
economic
development.

28. Steps we could implement
Empowerment
 Empowering women
with the help of laws
education and
employment will make
the society to accept
the women as an equal
gender like male.
Female also has all the
potential and
empowering women will
help to use her full
capability & mitigate the
economic dependence
of women.

29. Steps we could implement
Self confidence
 Boosting the morale and self
confidence of the women, is the
key to eliminate the inferior
complex of her.

30. So……………….
lets contribute something for the upliftment
of women to bring a ray of happiness in
their life.