What is Gender?

Our last meeting gave birth to a lunch time hashtag - #BeingfemaleinNigeria - that caught fire nationally and beyond, and sparked off discussions about the plight of women and apparently, various genders in given cultural contexts. Florence has also given a whiff of corresponding hashtags to give an idea of where discussions ended.

But wasn't it clear the depth of gender illiteracy prevalent within our context? Did you not get a fit, reading to certain pre-conceptions? Not a few are unaware of what gender really implies. So I think that the next plausible thing to do will be to give a further insight on the what gender and gender sensitivity implies. That should set the tone and stage for subsequent discourse and write up on related issues.

So what exactly is gender and how should it be understood? Gender refers to the attitudes, feelings, and behaviours that a given culture or society associates with a person's biological sex. It is important that we do not confuse this with ‘sex’ - which is the biological and physiological characteristics that define or differentiate a man and a woman. From the above, you can see that the concept of gender, is socially constructed, differ from one society to another, and attribute, behaviours, feelings and responsibilities are not the same overall. So that, aside the biological functions and roles nature assigns to a man or women, there nothing else about gender that is globally accepted. It changes from one society to another.

Gender is also often misunderstood as being a promotion of women’s issues only. Nothing can be more rubbish that this statement. What has given rise to this rhetoric is an increasing advocacy to include women in platforms they should have been a part of right at the beginning. How terrible is it to ask that you be included and your plight be considered when issues that affect you are being considered? Imagine you being a member of the family, and discussions over a movement that will affect you do not include you. Such sense of alienation can kill.

Again, given the socially constructed concept of women being the weaker sex, society has treated the female gender (gender in the context of biological make-up) in a more gruesome and demeaning way than men, accorded the male folk more privileges and rights than women. Hence, it is usually a campaign towards the prevention of obnoxious acts like rape, female genital mutilation, child bride, forced marriage etc, that usually presents gender as 'women issue'.

In such 'struggles', what is being considered mainly, is gender equality, which is an offshoot of or a branch of the discussion on the equality of all mankind. So if you think it is right to stop racism, kill ethnic bigotry and treat all men as equal, but you consider gender equality as 'women issue', then you need a refresher on hypocrisy and double standards.

It is in a bid to address inequality that gender and gender mainstreaming came about. Gender Mainstreaming is a globally accepted strategy for promoting gender equality. Mainstreaming is not an end in itself but a means to achieve the goal of gender equality. Mainstreaming involves ensuring that gender perspectives are central to all that we do in life -  planning, implementation and monitoring of the things we do that affect all sex. It does not pertain to just one sex alone. It affects all.

Women are humans. They have needs like just like any other man on the street. They have ego and sensibilities and desire respect, regard just like their men folk. I have not seen an aspect of their make up or creation that make them less human. What we see today is an extension of mankind's desire to classify itself and assume more importance above others.

Hence, we need to be clear about the following when talking about gender. Gender is socially constructed and not the way God or nature made it. It is impacted by time and context. It is perceived differently by societies and groups. There are functions a man performs in Igbo land that a woman does in India. It is acceptable for women to marry more than one man in some places but a taboo in other places. Gender is also a determinant or shapes the relationship between men and women. A number of considerations about gender are taken from an economic of financial lens. Hence, how is it that a male child is more important than a female? 

But the biggest of them all is the timeless question; How I am supposed to act or not act because I am a woman/ man? This is what it means to be a woman/man at any given place at a particular time.

For me, things will begin to make real sense when we begin to drop specific biases and socially constructed roles and do things because it is what we want to do. That will be the real freedom. But behind every of this definition, the truest sense of freedom lies in our ability to decide how we want to live and truly live it without feeling that social pressure.

So it appears the respondents to our lunch time hashtag did not understand gender in this perspective. That would have made all the difference.

My take away is; maybe if all men are treated equally, all gender are treated equally, the disparities we see today in our society will cease to exist. Just maybe!