Unit – V: GENDER STUDIES

Unit – V: GENDER STUDIES

CHAPTER 1 –  Knowledge: Through The Lens Of Gender

Point of View:

People’s point of view usually has two meanings. It refers to a person (in a position) looking at what can be seen by him/her (being in that position). It also refers to that person’s interests.  In other words, we choose to see the world in a manner that suits us best.

Domination often makes a person believe that they are doing things freely or on their own. Usually an elite/ male point of view is taken to be the truth and other points of view appear less true or even false.

What is a Gender Lens?

Think of a gender lens as putting on spectacles. Out of one lens of the spectacles, you see the participation, needs and realities of women. Out of the other lens, you see the participation, needs and realities of men. Your sight or vision is the combination of what each eye sees. Gender is about relationships between men and women. Gender equality is about equal valuing of women and men - of their similarities and their differences. We need equal, respectful partnerships between men and women to have happy, healthy families and communities in the same way that we need both eyes to see well. A gender lens can be many things. A form of gender lens that is gaining popularity is a tool that governments and NGOs can use in their regular operations. (e.g. A gender lens for training programs would be used every time you develop training. A gender lens for planning could be used for developing each annual work plan. A gender lens for research and surveying can be routinely used in data collection.)

Applying a gender lens to civic engagement programs and materials means that those making content and curriculum decisions view those programs and materials with particular attention to gender imbalances or biases in what is being presented. Using a gender lens reveals the ways in which content and approaches are gendered – informed by, shaped by, or biased toward men’s or women’s perspectives or experiences.

It is often useful to question the assumptions and observations implicit in textbooks and other classroom material that may present a gender bias. Too often, history, political, and civic education courses reflect the prevailing gender power dynamics that have historically favored men and masculinity, perhaps even rendering women’s perspectives and experiences invisible.

 

Some Well-known Gender Sensitive Scholars:

Bhikkuni Mutta, Ismat Chughtai, Chindu Yellamma, Mahalaqa Bai Chanda, Sarojini Naidu

 

CHAPTER 2 –  Whose History: Questions For Historians And Others

Women held high status and position in Ancient times. In later ages, her status deteriorated. Evidently, a majority of the women still do not enjoy equal status.

Women’s position in the family very much depends upon the level of their education. Higher the level of her education, greater equality she enjoys in the family.

It appears that Indian woman is still not treated at par with man in social and family life. The educated women even today though earning, are in acquiescence with the doctrine of the male domination. The education may have made them economically independent, but they still lack the needed self-confidence.

The reason seems to be that they have been brought up under the old cultural atmosphere and they have not been able to shake off its influence even after the acquisition of modern education.

However, in our times, her role has changed. Society has started recognizing her contribution. There is need for complete equality among men and women. She has all the rights to command equal status with men.

Unit – IV: ISSUES OF VIOLENCE

Unit – IV: ISSUES OF VIOLENCE

CHAPTER 1 –  Sexual Harassment: Say No!

Eve teasing is a euphemism used throughout South Asia for public sexual harassment or molestation (often known as "street harassment") of women by men.

Stalking and its impacts on the Society:

A popular category of Eve teasing is stalking. The general definition of Stalking can be described as repeated harassing or threatening behaviour by an individual, such as following a person, appearing at person’s home, person’s workplace, making harassing phone calls, leaving written messages or objects or vandalizing person’s property.

Eve Teasing: Sections 294 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) prohibit any individual or group of people pass any kind of offensive comment or execute any such gesture towards a girl of any age

Films Make Sexual Harassment A Joke

We as moviegoers often consume and laugh at sexual harassment without even noticing it. The harassment here functions as part of the scenery, more or less unaddressed and is purely atmospheric.

Further reading: "Chupulu"

Chupulu, a poem translated as 'looks' or sometimes 'stares', written by Jayaprabha, is a poem about the male gaze. It begins with the poet-persona describing the assault of stares she endures daily and ends with the poet hoping for the day when women can return the stares and reclaim public spaces for themselves.

Sexual harassment: Considered a problem related to delinquency in youth, it is a form of sexual aggression that ranges in severity from sexually suggestive remarks, brushing in public places and catcalls to groping. Sometimes the severity of these incidents grew as well, in some cases leading to acid throwing.

Sexual harassment by strangers, as with any type of harassment, has been a notoriously difficult crime to prove, as perpetrators often devise discreet ways to harass women, even though Eve teasing usually occurs in public spaces, streets, and public transport.

This behavior is sometimes referred to as a kind of "little rape". Some people warn women to avoid attracting the attention of these kinds of men by wearing conservative clothing. However, this harassment is reported both by the conservatively dressed Indian women  and by the modern women including women in foreign countries.

The problem first received public and media attention in the 1970s. In the following decades, more and more women started going to college and working independently, meaning that they were often no longer accompanied by a male escort as had been the norm in traditional society. In response, the problem grew to alarming proportions, despite this not being the case in other cultures where women go and come as they please. Soon the Indian government had to take remedial measures, both judicial and law enforcement, to curb the practice. Efforts were made to sensitize the police about the issue, and police started rounding up Eve teasers. The deployment of plain-clothed female police officers for the purpose has been particularly effective. Other measures taken in various states by the police were setting up of dedicated women's help lines in various cities, police-stations staffed by women, and special police cells.

Also seen during this period was a marked rise in the number of women coming forward to report cases of sexual harassment, due to changing public opinion against this practice.

CHAPTER 2 –  Domestic Violence: Speaking Out

Domestic violence is abuse that happens in a personal relationship. It can happen between past or current partners, spouses, or boyfriends and girlfriends. Domestic violence affects men and women of any ethnic group, race, or religion; gay or straight; rich or poor; teen, adult, or elderly. But most of its victims are women. In fact, 1 out of 4 women will be a victim at some point. 

The abuser may use fear, bullying, and threats to gain power and control over the other person. He or she may act jealous, controlling, or possessive. These early signs of abuse may happen soon after the start of the relationship and might be hard to notice at first. 

After the relationship becomes more serious, the abuse may get worse.

• The abuser may begin making threats, calling the other person names, and slamming doors or breaking dishes. This is a form of emotional abuse that is sometimes used to make the person feel bad or weak.
• Physical abuse that starts with a slap might lead to kicking, shoving, and choking over time.
• As a way to control the person, the abuser may make violent threats against the person's children, other family members, or pets.
• Abusers may also control or withhold money to make the person feel weak and dependent. This is called financial abuse.
• Domestic violence also includes sexual abuse, such as forcing a person to have sex against her will.

When Women Unite: The story of an Uprising” by Shabnam Virmani

It recreates a piece of history that took place in Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh, India, between 1992 and 1995. Arrack, a type of country liquor, was being manufactured by the government and supplied to the villages through middlemen. Since arrack was easier to obtain than water, the village men were staying intoxicated and becoming more and more abusive to their families. The women of the villages in Nellore District rallied and got the government to stop the sale of arrack in the villages.

 

CHAPTER 3 –  Thinking About Sexual Violence

 What should you do if you're being abused?

It's important to get help. Talk with someone you trust, such as a friend, a help center, or your doctor. Talking with someone can help you make the changes you need.
Your first step is to contact a local advocacy group for support, information, and advice on how to stay safe.

Here are some other things you can do:

• Know your legal rights. Consider asking the police for help.
• Make sure that you know phone numbers you can call and places you can go in an emergency.
• Teach your children not to get in the middle of a fight.
• If you think you may leave, make a plan to help keep you safe. This will help when you are getting ready to leave.
•  Your plan might include:
• Putting together and hiding a suitcase of clothing, copies of your car and house keys, money or credit cards, and important papers, such as Social Security cards and birth certificates for you and your children. Keep the suitcase hidden in your home or leave it with friends or family or at work if possible.
• Open a savings account or get a credit card, if you can do so in secret.
• If you are a teen, talk to a trusted adult, such as your parents, family friend, or school counselor.

Divorce and Domestic Violence:

Domestic violence affects millions of households each year. Over the past several decades, every state has enacted laws to protect domestic abuse victims. Many laws specifically address how domestic violence or other abuse affects court decisions in divorces.

I fought for my life:

Sohaila Abdulia is an Indian born author and journalist who currently lives in the U.S.  In 1980, at the age of 17 she survived a violent gang rape in India.  Faced with a gang of violent men, Sohaila makes a choice to survive. Three years later she wrote about her experience in the Indian magazine, Manushi.
She has researched and given numerous public talks on issues of sexual violence.  She’s Senior Editor at Ubuntu Education Fund, an international NGO working with children in South Africa. Her website is www.sohailaink.com

The Caste Face of Violence:

Bhanwari Devi (also spelled Bahveri Devi) is an Indian dalit social-worker from Bhateri, Rajasthan, who was allegedly gang raped in 1992, by higher-caste men, angered by her efforts to prevent a child marriage in their family. Her subsequent treatment by the police, and court acquittal of the accused, attracted widespread national and international media attention, and became a landmark episode in India's women's rights movement.

Unit – III: GENDER AND LABOUR

Unit – III: GENDER AND LABOUR

CHAPTER 1 –  Housework: The Invisible Labour 

The society which we live in believes that the roles of boys and girls are different in a well-defined manner. Broadly speaking, our societies are mostly patriarchal i.e., a male is always the head of the family. As compared to boys, girls spend more time in the kitchen and they are the ones who help the mother in taking care of the requirements of the household.

It is a preconceived notion that women who stay at home do not work, but it is not true. Women who stay at home do almost an equal amount of work as compared to their male counterparts by running the household, which is not an easy task. On an average, women spend more time working as compared to men.

 Housework is invisible and unpaid work, is physically demanding and is time consuming. 

Invisible here means something which is not noticed. A good example will be breakfast in the morning, which we eat without realizing the amount of effort put in making it.

Physically demanding means something which requires hard work. An example of this is washing clothes.
Time consuming means something which takes a long time to be done. Cleaning the house is an example of this

Since our society considers men to be the breadwinners of the family, any work that a woman does is not valued much because it does not contribute to the total income of the family. However, it must be noted that the amount of time women spend in taking care of the household, which involves tasks such as preparing three meals, getting kids ready for school, taking care of the general cleanliness of the household, managing rations, dealing with maids or other such domestic helps etc., and the effectiveness with which they do it is truly commendable.

The poem “Vantillu” by Vimala is the story of the poet’s mother and all mothers and mothers’ mothers. It tells us how modernity brings a fancy kitchen with modern gadgets and points out that there has been no change in women’s lives.

Abburi Chaya Devi expresses the difference between an academic feminist vision and the material reality for modern women in her famous story “Srimathi Udyogini”.


Judy Brady's "I want a wife" 

At some point in our lives, we have wanted to have someone else do things for us. These things range from doing chores and tasks, such as laundry and cooking, to just keeping us satisfied in life, dealing with our mental, physical, social, and sexual needs. In Judy Brady’s essay, “I Want a Wife”, she explores why she would like to have a wife.

Judy Brady's purpose of the essay, "I Want a Wife", is to show women how men think, act, and feel. She being a feminist wants to show how men truly think of woman, that when they get what they want men set women aside for bigger and better things. Not only that but she wants to let the world know that she is fed up with everything that she is doing and wants to switch roles where she is the husband. Brady wants to have the satisfaction of not having to do those household things. Brady writes this essay in the 1st person,  She is writing as the man who wants a wife. She makes a list of the responsibilities that a typical woman from the 1970's would have.

CHAPTER 2 –  Women's Work: Its Politics And Economics

“My mother does not work”. In country after country, this expression is heard each time someone describes a woman not engaged in paid employment. None of the family enterprises would run if women refuse to shoulder the responsibility of the household. Whether women have a paid job or not, they all do the housework, as it is seen as a woman's duty.

Employment and social security policies disregard women's labour at home. Women are sentenced to dependence on husbands and fathers and to housework. Neglect of women’s contribution to our economies as homemakers or care-givers has a common sense-like acceptance. In India, claims for a non-earning woman’s accident or death are often of negligible value.

As daughters, siblings, wives or mothers, women are mostly employed in full-time work that involves household chores, and production of goods and services not sold in the market and so on. They also perform a swathe of care-giving work besides the rearing of children. The major difference between this work and paid employment is financial compensation. Some women work from home, i.e. their work is home based work and some others work part time.

Many women across the employment spectrum in India drop out of paid work once they have children. In case of earning women, their wages are often seen as supplementary or supportive wage for the family. Working women also carry the burden of housework and childcare. It is vital that this burden is taken away from them with the formation of childcare centres at work and new social security policies.

Gender pay gap in India refers to the difference in earnings between women and men in the paid employment and labor market. For the year 2013, the gender pay gap in India was estimated to be 24.81%. A report by the World Economic Forum highlights that in the corporate sector in India, a woman is paid only one-third of what a man in the same position is paid. 

Further, while analyzing the level of female participation in the economy, this report slots India as one of the bottom 10 countries on its list. Thus, in addition to unequal pay, there is also unequal representation, because while women constitute almost half the Indian population (about 48% of the total), their representation in the work force amounts to only about one-fourth of the total.

If trade unions see women as members with equal rights, they need to fight against conditions that prevent women from having work or a social life and that make their work at home invisible.

Men, the state, trade unions and society need to accept that housework exists and has market value. It has to be shown that women who work outside of the home and then also do the housework are doubly exploited.

It is vital that equal work brings equal pay, that childcare centres are opened at work places and trade unions, that jobs with trade union membership, social security and guarantee are demanded, and that the principle of the social state is defended against neoliberal politics

Men today do a higher share of chores and household work than any generation of men before them. Yet working women, especially working mothers, continue to do significantly more.

Each week, mothers spend nearly twice as long as fathers doing unpaid domestic work. But while it’s important to address inequality at home, it’s equally critical to acknowledge the way these problems extend into the workplace. Women’s emotional labor—which can involve everything from tending to others’ feelings to managing family dynamics to writing thank-you notes—is a big issue that’s rarely discussed.

Assignment on Page 110

Unit – II: GENDER AND BIOLOGY

Unit – II: GENDER AND BIOLOGY

CHAPTER 1. Missing Women: Sex Selection  And Its Consequences

Sex Ratio / Overall Sex Ratio: The sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. In most sexually reproducing species, the ratio tends to be 1:1.

In India, the Child Sex Ratio is defined as the number of females per thousand males in the age group 0–6 years in a human population. In the Population Census of 2011, it was revealed that the population ratio of India was 940 females per 1000 of males.

Causes for Decling Sex Ratio:

The main reasons for a decreasing sex ratio in India are:

•          Selective terminations of pregnancy, and female infanticide.
•        Abortions are legal in India, but determining the sex of the foetus is not. But finding a doctor or   a sonologist who's willing to tell you the sex of the foetus is ridiculously easy.
•         A third factor is that female babies are more likely to be undernourished, resulting in disease and death.

The underlying reason is basically that a girl is seen as a liability -

1. She will get married and leave the house, so cannot be counted for support in your old age
2. You have to pay a huge dowry (although this is illegal in India, the practice isn't uncommon)
3. Needs to be protected much more - so makes it difficult for both parents to work (i.e. somebody needs to be at home with the girl to make sure she is safe)
4. Much higher chance of bringing disgrace to the family if something goes wrong.

Demographic Consequences


India has a lot of social problems, and female foeticide is the perhaps the most depressing one. This is a very tough issue to tackle. The difference might look small in the chart, but that is 30-40 Million girls missing.
Simply put, there aren't enough girls in our country, and this will have a wide variety of problems in the future when the 0-19 age group moves on to the 25-39 age group. It is going to screw up productivity, fertility ratios, and the country as a whole.

Social Consequences of a Skewed Sex Ratio:

A skewed sex ratio may instead be making the lot of women worse. Sociologists say it encourages abuse, notably in the trafficking. Reports circulate of unknown numbers of girls who are drugged, beaten and sometimes killed by traffickers.

Men, especially if poor and from a low caste, suffer too. Women in India are sometimes permitted, even encouraged, to “marry up” into a higher income bracket or caste, so richer men find it easier to get a bride. The poor are forced into a long or permanent bachelorhood; a status widely frowned upon in India, where marriage is deemed essential to becoming a full member of society. Poor bachelors are often victims of violent crime.

CHAPTER 2 –  Gender Spectrum: Beyond The Binary

The gender spectrum perceives gender as having many options; it is a linear model, ranging from 100% man to 100% woman, with various states of androgyny in between.

Two or many?

Let’s see an example: When we meet a newborn baby, most of us ask the same question: boy or girl? Often, the answer is easy. Often, but not always.

Boy or girl? 

When we meet people for the first time, we look for gender cues in a way so automated we don’t even know we’re doing it.

Long hair, Dress, Makeup = Female.
Short hair cut, Broad shoulders, Well built body  = Male.

Then someone different from both of the above walks into the room, and everything we thought we knew about gender flies out the window.

Gender may seem simple, but the myths surrounding this concept mask its true complexity. Experts who work with youth and gender issues tell us the two most common myths are these: First, gender is binary, offering only two options; second, gender and sex are the same thing. Summed up, the myth goes like this: Every person is either male or female, and the distinction is based on that person’s anatomy.

For most kids, birth sex and gender identity match. This population is referred to as being cisgender. But in some cases, children’s gender identity—how they feel about themselves—differs from their biology. Some kids know their gender identities and birth sexes don’t match almost as soon as they begin to talk. For some it is as simple as wishing to swap one gender for another—“I was born a girl, but I’m really a boy.” For others, their sense of gender exists somewhere between male and female, at various points along what is known as the gender spectrum.

The terminology used to describe these identities is vast and evolving. Gender nonconforming and transgender are common terms. Increasingly popular are such phrases as gender independent, gender creative, gender expansive and gender diverse.

Struggles with discrimination:

Compared to the general population, gender-diverse kids face drastically increased rates of bullying, assault, depression, school drop-out, drug abuse, self-harm and suicide. A 2009 report from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network paints a grim picture. Nearly 90 percent of transgender youth surveyed had experienced verbal harassment at school because of their gender expression. Two-thirds expressed feeling unsafe at school; more than half experienced physical harassment. A quarter experienced physical assault. Most of these incidents were never reported to school officials.

Students in the study who experienced high levels of gender-identity harassment were more likely to skip school for safety reasons and to have significantly lower grade-point averages than their peers who experienced little to no harassment.

Gender Diversity: Words You Should Know

Sex
Either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and most other living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions.

Gender
The state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones).

Assigned Gender
The gender a baby is given upon birth, usually based on the child’s birth sex.

Gender Identity
How we feel about our gender in our hearts and minds.

Gender Expression/Gender Presentation
How we show our gender to the world through external choices (e.g. dress, behavior, hairstyle).

Cisgender
Describes a person whose birth sex and gender identity align.

Birth Sex/Biological Sex
A specific set of genetic, chemical and anatomical characteristics that we are either born with or that develop as we mature.

Binary Gender
The faulty concept that there are only two genders: male and female.

Genderqueer
A broad descriptor many people use to indicate a person does not identify as either male or female.

Transgender
Describes anyone whose gender identity and birth sex do not align. The word should be used as, “transgender,” not “transgendered.” For example, “My brother Sam is transgender. His birth name was Samantha.”

Preferred Personal Pronouns
In addition to the traditional pronouns (he/him, she/her, they), some people prefer to use gender-neutral pronouns, such as ne, ve, ze/zie and xe. If you don’t know a student’s preferred personal pronoun, it’s always best to ask.

The Humiliating Practice of Sex-Testing Female Athletes

For years, international sports organizations have been policing women for “masculine” qualities — and turning their Olympic dreams into nightmares. But when Dutee Chand appealed her ban, she may have changed the rules.

The tests were meant to identify competitors whose chromosomes, hormones, genitalia, reproductive organs or secondary sex characteristics don’t develop or align in the typical way. The word “hermaphrodite” is considered stigmatizing, so physicians and advocates instead use the term “intersex” or refer to the condition as D.S.D., which stands for either a disorder or a difference of sex development.

Scientists are trying to unravel the complex biological breakdowns of gender, and as they learn more, it’s becoming more apparent there aren’t just men and women among us.

The scientists discovered the XX and XY cells that differentiate between genders can actually behave in different ways. When scientists took a closer look, they found not all people have cells that contain the same set of genes. Instead, it’s more like a mosaic of different unevenly divided sex cells, which biologists have taken to calling “mosaicism.” Although it’s a rare condition that only affects about 1 in 15,000 people, it still leaves an unidentified population of society outside of the familiar dichotomy.

Dutee Chand, is one of the most fastest woman sprinters India  has ever produced.

She won India’s sprint title in 2013, but the following year, weeks before she was to run at the Commonwealth Games, the sport’s governing body informed her she was permanently banned from competition unless she had surgery or took other medical steps to alter her body chemistry. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) ruled that she had failed a test for hyperandrogenism (the latest iteration of gender verification) because her natural testosterone level had been ruled too high for her to be considered a woman.

Ms. Chand was by all accounts mystified – she had not even known that gender testing existed. When the South African runner Caster Semenya faced a similar controversy in 2009, her country stepped up to defend her and filed a human rights complaint with the United Nations. India, however, did not seem prepared to fight for Ms. Chand.

Last year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport agreed with Indian athlete Dutee Chand's contention that hormone testing for females was discriminatory and ineffective.

It suspended the tests, allowing Chand and other "hyperandrogenic" athletes, including South African Caster Semenya, to compete.

Hyperandrogenism is a medical condition characterised by excessive levels of androgens (the male sex hormone) in the body. It is a common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive-age and a majority of patients also have polycystic ovary syndrome.

Manabi Bandyopadhyay:

Manabi Bandyopadhyay took charge of Krishnanagar Women's College in West Bengal's Nadia district. She is the first transgender person in the country to be appointed the Principal of a college. On 9 June 2015, Manabi Bandyopadhyay took charge of Krishnanagar Women's College in West Bengal's Nadia district. She is the first transgender person in the country to be appointed the principal of a college.

CHAPTER 3: ADDITIONAL READING: OUR BODIES, OUR HEALTH

This includes an extract from TARSHI’S “The Blue Book” about the sexual organs in male and female bodies.