Assignment Code: BGDG-172 / TMA / 2021 - 2022

Course Code: BGDG-171

Assignment Name: Gender Sensitization: Society and Culture

Year: 2021 – 2022 (July 2021 and January 2022 Sessions)

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Section A

Answer the following in about 500 words each.

Q1. Describe gender Roles briefly. (20 marks)

Ans) Gender roles in society refer to how we're expected to act, speak, dress, groom, and behave based on our sex. Girls and women, for example, are expected to dress in traditionally feminine styles and to be polite, accommodating, and nurturing. Men are typically thought to be strong, aggressive, and courageous. Gender role expectations exist in every civilization, ethnic group, and culture, although they can vary greatly from one group to the next. They can also change over time in the same civilization.

Gender roles necessitate activities being assigned to men and women based on these disparities in beliefs. Occupational choices are equally influenced by role inequalities. The term "Division of Labour" is used in social sciences and gender and women's studies to describe men and women's roles and responsibilities. As a result, gender roles are given solely on the basis of their abilities. Men's duties are generally associated with economic activities and are recorded in the System of National Accounts (SNA), whereas women's roles are associated with caring and nurturing. These may or may not be considered in SNA. Men, on the other hand, are not permitted to work in the home.

In most underdeveloped countries, women are triple taxed, according to Caroline Moser. They have three different types of jobs: reproductive, productive, and community management, as well as community politics. Childbearing, child raising, caring for family elders, and home labour are all reproductive roles. Women perform productive responsibilities as secondary income earners in addition to their reproductive roles. Women's economic activities are not accounted for as economic activities. It is not counted as part of the System of National Accounts (SNA). Part-time economic activity, farm wage earners, milk animal care, and involvement in the informal economy in urban areas are examples of productive roles. Women are also involved in community management and politics, in addition to the two mentioned. It's seen as a natural extension of productive activity. Provision and upkeep of community assets for collective consumption are among the activities and functions. They are also involved in the community's health care and education. Women are not compensated for their contributions to the community or in politics. Men, unlike women, participate in communal politics and activities, but they are compensated in financially or in kind. Women also perform useful tasks in many communities, such as maintaining small plots of land/agricultural plots for farming systems and animal husbandry. These duties are frequently not seen as labour and are frequently unpaid. In both the formal and informal economic sectors, women can perform a variety of professions that pay well. Women's economically productive duties, on the other hand, are frequently devalued or ignored in comparison to men.

Gender roles and responsibilities differ by culture and are subject to change over time. Unskilled labour, for example, is regarded "women's work" in India, but "men's work" in Africa. Men's involvement to household tasks are becoming increasingly essential and visible in Europe and the United States. The needs of men and women are different based on their roles and activities. It is critical to identify roles and needs and incorporate them into plans and policies.

Q2. Explain feminist’s perspectives on family in detail. (20 marks)

Ans) The family has been regarded as an integral social institution built on cooperation, harmony, shared interests, and equality in mainstream research. They have also, to a large measure, used the ‘man' inside the family as the basic unit of their research, and Family and Marriage has largely ignored women's experiences. Feminism questioned this view of the family and called for a closer look at women's experiences in the home.

Let us examine how feminism's various strengths attack the family institution.

Liberal Feminism

Liberal feminism claims that women and men are not biologically different, but rather as a result of sex-role indoctrination. They acknowledge that women are trained to be primarily housewives as a result of sex role indoctrination and are consequently inhibited from fulfilling their full potential. Women were restricted to the so-called private domain of the household, making them dependent on their husbands and hence subordinate. They urge that women be given equal opportunities in all areas because they believe that women are capable of achieving anything that men can. They maintained that this equality may be attained by removing women from the domestic sphere by providing equal opportunities for employment, which can be achieved through laws and social reforms. Many liberal feminists have explored the family and women's place within it, including Betty Friedan, Ann Oakly, and Susan Okin Moller.

Socialist Feminism

Women's subjugation, according to Marxist feminists, is linked to property ownership. They say that the usurpation of capitalism will result in the abolition of the family as well as the exploitation of women. Socialist feminists refute such claims, pointing out how the family benefits working-class men as well. They draw attention to the ways in which capitalism's family structure influences and appropriates women's labour, making them unequal both inside the home and in the labour market.

Radical Feminism

Radical feminists place a greater emphasis on sexual exploitation than on economic exploitation. Women's oppression is linked to their sexual and reproductive roles, which are mostly fulfilled within the family. They encourage women to reject their biological reproductive roles in favour of using technology to challenge male dominance. Kate Millet, Shulamith Firestone, and others provide key radical feminist analyses of family.

Traditional understandings of sex, gender, sexualities, family conceptualizations, and individual family roles are challenged by feminist perspectives, which provide a revolutionary critical lens for studying families and challenging traditional understandings of sex, gender, sexualities, family conceptualizations, and individual family roles. Individual, personal, familial, institutional, structural, and global aspects of power, as well as the interplay of power across these levels, are all addressed by feminist thinking. Feminist philosophy in family studies is characterised by praxis (i.e., using research to achieve social justice), reflexivity, and the use of a variety of feminist perspectives. Essentialist binaries (e.g., men/women) are exposed by feminist viewpoints, as are gendered roles in families. Question biological determinism and the myth of separate private/public realms, as well as other beliefs such as: (1) that families are unquestionably safe havens; (2) that there is only one monolithic family; and (3) that only one style of family is desirable.

Section B

Answer the following questions in about 250 words each.

Q3. What is the role of media in shaping and reinforcing Masculinity and Femininity in India? Explain (10 marks)

Ans) The relationship between mass media and gender, as well as how gender is depicted within media platforms, is referred to as media and gender. Film, radio, television, advertising, social media, and video games are examples of these platforms. In the media industry and representations, there are initiatives and tools to promote gender equality and strengthen women's empowerment.

Another gendering agent that encourages both femininity and masculinity is the media. Electronic media, in particular, has a significant impact on the construction of concepts of femininity and masculinity. It makes statements on what to wear, how to speak, and how to act in the home, community, and society as a whole. Men, for example, are portrayed in the media as aggressive and macho.

Gender ideals of masculinity and femininity are reinforced in our marketing as well. When a man rides a motorcycle at high speeds in the slush on mountains, or leaps from high heights and buildings to demonstrate his toughness, it is respected and romanticised. The disclaimer that runs before the advertisement is barely perceptible and serves just to complete the legal formality, yet the audience is confronted with a raw exhibition of authority. In the serials or soap operas that air on our television station the elder men are depicted as protectors and providers, but the younger men are depicted as engaging in violence, both with men and women, in various forms and intensities. Boys learn to embrace aggressive masculinity as the norm by watching these media representations on television. The relationship between mass media and gender, as well as how gender is depicted within media platforms, is referred to as media and gender. In the media industry and representations, there are initiatives and tools to promote gender equality and strengthen women's empowerment.

Q4. Discuss Gender Gaps in Labour Force Participation and Economy briefly with suitable examples. (10 marks)

Ans) Gender disparities are one of the most important issues in the workplace today. Women are far less likely than men to enter the labour market globally, and while in the economy, they are likewise less likely to find work. Indeed, their access to high-quality job possibilities is still limited. When both paid and unpaid work is considered, for example, women are more likely than males to work longer hours. Furthermore, in paid employment, women work fewer hours for pay or profit on average, either because they want to work part-time or because part-time work is their only alternative.

Without addressing gender inequities in society, India's women will not be able to realise their economic potential. India has a smaller share of women's contribution to GDP than the global average of 37 percent, and it is the lowest of all countries. If India's women participated in paid employment in the market economy on a par with men, the country's economy would grow at the fastest rate among all regions of the world, erasing the current disparities in labour-force participation rates, hours worked, and representation within each sector. Gendering is one of the hurdles that prevents women from participating in the labour market on an equal footing with men. Because participation is ultimately a question of personal choice, work is unlikely to be completed within that time range. Women's roles in the workplace cannot be separated from their roles in society.

To realise women's economic potential, gender differences must be narrowed in both work and society—equality in one goes hand in hand with equality in the other. Women's labour force participation is much lower than men's in both urban and rural areas, according to data from India's National Sample Survey Office.

Q5. Explain the importance of the Enumeration of work from a Gender Perspective from your own words. (10 marks)

Ans) Women's labour, also known as female work, refers to work that is thought to be solely the realm of women and is connected with stereotypical occupations that have been associated with the female sex throughout history. It is most commonly used in reference to the unpaid labour that a mother or wife performs in the home and family. Women's labour is typically unpaid or paid at a lower rate than "men's work," and it is not valued as highly as "men's work." Much of the work done by women is not counted in official labour statistics, making much of what they perform virtually invisible.

An enumeration is a list of things. The collected objects must be listed in chronological sequence. In mathematics, theoretical computer science, and applied computer science, the word is frequently used. In terms of work enumeration, the Indian government has been attempting to estimate the total number of economically engaged people in the country for the previous hundred years.

By examining the insufficiency of current surveys, feminists have tried to establish frameworks that include the contribution of women's work. This effort began with a review of the existing conceptual frameworks and techniques used by data collection organisations to gather information on the number of women's economic participation.

According to official Indian statistics, women continue to trail behind men in all aspects of life, including socioeconomics, politics, and economics. Women's economic actions appear to be less essential than men. Women's participation in the labour force has never exceeded 28% of the total female population in recent years. Women are put in an unfavourable position due to the sexual division of labour. Due to patriarchy, society's current perceptions value women's work less. This viewpoint is mirrored in the design of data collection equipment. It fails to acknowledge the importance and significance of women's labour.

Section C

Answer the following questions in about 100 words each.

Q6. Write short notes on Gender Boundaries and Gender identity. (6 marks)

Ans) Gender Boundaries

These are not physical or geographical barriers, but rather conceptual ones. As a result, they are referred to as "conceptual." They are subject to change over time. Women and girls in India, for example, did not wear pants or jeans a few decades ago; now they do. Today, it is completely accepted for men to wear earrings. Similarly, today's women are pursuing higher education as a result, gender lines can and do shift over time.

Gender Identity

The personal perception of one's own gender is referred to as gender identity. Gender identity can be the same as or different from a person's designated sex at birth. Gender expression usually corresponds to a person's gender identification; however, this isn't always the case. While a person's behaviours, attitudes, and appearances may be congruent with a specific gender role, they do not always represent their gender identification.

Q7. What is Representation? (6 marks)

Ans) Representation is the use of symbols to represent and replace something else. People arrange the world and reality through the act of naming its aspects through representation.

The act of re-presenting/ presenting again, something that symbolises as an image or a symbol, such as a verbal picture, according to the dictionary definition. Other words that might be used to describe representation include portrayal, depiction, rendition, characterization, and so on. Representation also refers to the act of speaking or acting on someone's behalf. Literature, gender studies, politics, sociology, cultural studies, and many other disciplines are all concerned with representation. However, we will limit our discussion to the gender-representation link.

Q8. What is Empowerment? (6 marks)

Ans) People that are empowered have more authority and influence over their lives. People receive the assistance they require, which is tailored to their specific needs. People who are empowered are treated as equal citizens. In their communities, they are respected and confident.

“Empowerment,” according to Naila Kabeer, “is the expansion of people's ability to make strategic life choices in situations where this ability was previously denied to them.” She defines empowerment as having three dimensions: (1) resources (conditions), (2) agency (process), and (3) achievement. Both women and men gain control over their life as a result of empowerment. They are in charge of their own schedules. They improve their abilities. They boost one's self-esteem. They learn to solve issues and become self-sufficient. The case study that follows elaborates on the topic of empowerment.

Q9. Write in your own words about Glass Ceiling with an example. (6 marks )

Ans) A metaphorical invisible barrier that prohibits certain individuals from being promoted to managerial and executive-level positions within an organisation or industry is referred to as the glass ceiling. The phrase is frequently used to characterise the challenges that women and minorities encounter when attempting to advance in a male-dominated business hierarchy. The obstacles are frequently unwritten, implying that these people are more likely to be held back by accepted standards and unconscious biases than by clearly established business policies.

The following are some instances of behaviours or actions that can be considered discriminatory due to a glass ceiling: Being passed over for promotions despite having the necessary qualifications and a good work record; Being forced to delegate job responsibilities to a male or Caucasian co-worker.

Q10. Describe Social Attitudes and Stereotypes concerning disability. (6 marks)

Ans) People with disabilities have long been stereotyped in a variety of ways. Some of the preconceptions that were once used to categorise persons with disabilities still exist today. Many prejudices have been perpetuated by incomplete information, erroneous views, isolation, and segregation.

Many people view disability as a personal misfortune, and disabled persons deserve to be pitied. PWDs are frequently portrayed as tragic individuals who society should sympathise with. It is considered that disabled persons cannot have a decent "quality of life" according to this stereotype. PWDs are frequently depicted as superhumans who persevere in the face of adversity. This stereotype places a lot of pressure on disabled individuals to be happy, accepting, and willing to "make the best of their situation."

The society that continues to exclude persons with disabilities from meaningful involvement in the development processes of their respective communities has carved out the stereotypes and attitudes mentioned above.