This document discusses gender issues and stereotypes. It begins by defining sex as biological traits while gender refers to social and cultural roles. It outlines the feminist view that gender is not determined by biology alone. It discusses the works of Simone de Beauvoir and Judith Butler who argued that gender is socially constructed and performative. The document then defines common gender stereotypes around personality traits, behaviors, occupations and appearance. It explores how stereotypes can limit opportunities and lead to inequality. It stresses the need for media literacy education to help break down harmful stereotypes.

1. Workshop 3: How to take in mind
Gender issues in the covid-19 era
(EMCIii)
Charis Xinari, Associate Professor in Critical and
Cultural Theory, Coordinator of the Erasmus+ KA3
funded project The European MediaCoach
Initiative (EMCI)

2. • Sex
• ‘sex’ denotes human females
and males depending on
biological features
(chromosomes, sex organs,
hormones and other physical
features)
• Gender
• ‘gender’ denotes women and
men depending on social
factors (social role, position,
behaviour or identity).
Sex and Gender

3. Does that mean that sex is natural and gender is cultural?
Well, it depends who you ask…
● Different feminists (scholars and activists) will offer different responses
The main feminist motivation for making the distinction between sex and gender,
which is attributed to philosopher Simone de Beauvoir and the publication of her
groundbreaking work The Second Sex (1949) and to feminist and sociologist
Anne Oakley and her pioneering work Sex, Gender and Society (1972), was to
counter biological determinism or the view that biology is destiny
 sex/gender differentiation against the biology-is-destiny formulation

4. Simone de Beauvoir
One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman. No biological, psychological, or
economic fate determines the figure that the human female presents in society; it is
civilisation as a whole that produces this creature, intermediate between male and
eunuch, which is described as feminine. Only the intervention of someone else can
establish an individual as an Other. In so far as he exists in and for himself, the child
would hardly be able to think of himself as sexually differentiated. In girls as in boys
the body is first of all the radiation of subjectivity, the instrument that makes possible
the comprehension of the world: it is through the eyes, the hands, that children
apprehend the universe, and not through the sexual parts.

5. Anne Oakley
'Sex' is a word that refers to the biological differences between male and
female: the visible difference in genitalia, the related difference in procreative
function. 'Gender', however, is a matter of culture: it refers to the social
classification into 'masculine' and 'feminine' (p. 21–22).

6. • Gender as performance
• “The effect of gender is produced
through the stylization of the body
and, hence, must be understood as
the mundane way in which bodily
gestures, movements, and styles of
various kinds constitute the illusion of
an abiding gendered self. This
formulation moves the conception of
gender off the ground of a substantial
model of identity to one that requires
a conception of gender as a
constituted social temporality.”
• Gender as performative
• “constituting the identity it is purported
to be. In this sense, gender is always
a doing, though not a doing by a
subject who might be said to preexist
the deed” (25)
• “There is no gender identity behind
the expressions of gender; that
identity is performatively constituted
by the ‘expressions’ that are said to
be its results” (25)
… and then came Judith Butler causing all sorts of
Gender Trouble (1990)

7. “As a result, gender is not to culture as sex is to nature; gender is
also the discursive/cultural means by which “sexed nature” or “a natural
sex” is produced and established as “prediscursive,” prior to culture,
a politically neutral surface on which culture acts”
― Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity

8. Gender Stereotypes-Definitions
A gender stereotype is a generalised view or preconception about attributes or
characteristics, or the roles that are or ought to be possessed by, or performed
by women and men. A gender stereotype is harmful when it limits women’s and
men’s capacity to develop their personal abilities, pursue their professional
careers and make choices about their lives.
[https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/women/wrgs/pages/genderstereotypes.aspx]
Gender stereotyping refers to the practice of ascribing to an individual woman
or man specific attributes, characteristics, or roles by reason only of her or his
membership in the social group of women or men. Gender stereotyping is
wrongful when it results in a violation or violations of human rights and
fundamental freedoms.
[https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/women/wrgs/pages/genderstereotypes.aspx]

9. There are four basic kinds of gender stereotypes:
Personality traits — e.g. women are accommodating, passive, non-confrontational,
nurturing
Domestic behaviors — e.g. women will do house chores such as cleaning and cooking
(which they actually enjoy!), men are good at handling finances and fix machines/de repairs
Occupations — e.g. teachers and nurses are women, men are doctors and engineers or
police officers .
Physical appearance — women are thin and graceful, while men are tall and muscular.
Women take better care of their physical appearance and dress more “feminine” (make-up,
dresses, sexy outfits); men are relaxed about theyr appearance and their grooming

10. • MEN (instrumental
personality traits)
• Power
• Reason
• Confidence etc
• WOMEN (expressive
personality traits)
• Kind
• Nurturing
• Emotional etc
Gender stereotypes
(what are they, how are they maintained, how do they work)

11. Gender Stereotypes and Education
Watch these videos
Boys and Girls on Stereotypes
https://youtu.be/aTvGSstKd5Y
Gender stereotypes and education
https://youtu.be/nrZ21nD9I-0
A Class That Turned Around Kids' Assumptions of Gender Roles!
https://youtu.be/G3Aweo-74kY

12. What do stereotypes lead to
Unequal opportunities in life
Inequality in Society
(in the classroom, in the workplace, in the management of one’s body and
sexuality etc)
Girl toys vs boy toys: The experiment - BBC Stories
https://youtu.be/nWu44AqF0iI
Gender Equality Explained By Children
https://youtu.be/hLr2GNRnmXM

14. Sexism is a form of oppression and domination. It is a type of discrimination
based on sex or gender or the belief that men are superior to women and thus
discrimination is justified. Sexism may be conscious or unconscious. Sexism
works on the basis of a comparison between groups and understood through
the binary of inferiority and superiority, where one group—that with the most
power in society—is deemed as naturally superior to another. Male domination
is maintained through sexist discrimination against girls and women, and
oppression may take an economic, political, social or cultural form.
Sexism includes: sexist attitudes or beliefs that justify the oppression of one
gender by another; sexist practices and institutions which enable the system of
oppression of one group by another whether consciously or unconsciously.

15. Breaking the stereotypes
Watch these videos
Nike: What are girls made of?
https://youtu.be/Y_iCIISngdI
We Believe: The Best Men Can Be | Gillette (Short Film)
https://youtu.be/koPmuEyP3a0

16. Gender in the post-Covid era
● rise in domestic violence and gender based violence incidents
● increase in women’s responsibilities in the house and childcare
● backlash in women’s rights
● Women are more vulnerable to COVID-19–related economic effects because
of existing gender inequalities

17. The need for media literacy on gender issues
● need for critical media literacy: unpacking hidden power messages in the
media and learning to resist the messages
● children now use the media (especially “new” media) more than ever
● increase in use leads to overexposure in media messages which are already
products of patriarchal society
● education needs to include media literacy, especially critical media literacy to
help break the stereotypes

18. Thank you!