A simple way to define gender and differentiate between Gender and sexuality definitions is that ‘Gender'refers to the socially constructed roles and relationships between men and women. Gender concerns men and women, including interpretations of both femininity and masculinity.
The difference between ‘gender’ and ‘sex’ is only to biological differences. Gender definition does not mean only focusing on women rights and studies, but somewhat on the inequalities between females and males, and should not be confused with feminism or women’s studies.
Talking about gender roles and how we are expected to act, speak dress, and conduct ourselves based upon our specified sex. As an example, girls and women are generally supposed to dress in typically feminine ways and be polite, acting more quickly and choose specific colors and do particular actions. Men are typically expected to be Strong, aggressive, and emotionless. Every society, culture and ethnic group has their gender role expectations, but the roles vary from group to another. They can also change in the same community over time. When it comes to gender, we have another definition which is Gender expression which is the ways we present ourselves. The definitions of gender expression vary from society to society, because what gender means in ours, means something completely different in another. We often think of gender expression as being on a scale from masculine to feminine, but two systems and measurement on each of them. For some people, their gender expression matches their gender identity. For some people, their gender expression does not align, And for some people, gender expression is a representation.
In Egypt, the Arab world's powerhouse, women may work outside the home, go to school, university, and are free to vote. However, in education and the labor market, women struggle behind. On paper, women are four times more likely to be unemployed than men. They are also paid less. Four years after the revolution, in which women were a defining presence, they are still fighting for basics equal rights.
Egyptian society is built on the belief that men and women have different natures, talents, and inherent tendencies. This becomes most clear in the range of the family where each gender has a different part to play. Men are created for going out in the world and are responsible for providing financially for the family. Women are accommodated for remaining within the family, caring for the home, the children, and their husbands. Moreover, women's natural sexuality is believed to be continually threatening the social balance of society (notably, men) and is, therefore, best controlled through women's modesty and women remaining as much as possible within the private sphere of the family. This belief is reinforced through cultural and religious norms that are increasingly advocating that family roles of both women and men are necessary for maintaining societal structure; dominant gender constructions, therefore, support keeping women in the home and oppose women working and abandoning their original roles. Nonetheless, modern images of women as economic assets and providers are rapidly coming into conflict with what is perceived as divinely inspired roles.
This short documentary was made by al Jajera channel about four different women in Egypt, breaking one of the most significant gender roles back in Egypt by working as drivers and driving different vehicles which are stereotyped by the society as "Men job," They drive from a rickshaw to a 36-tonne truck. I founded their stories very inspiring, watching them deal with all the difficulties and struggle. Starting with their families and their effort to convince them about their jobs, dealing with the state and pressuring to get their licenses as drivers in a society that believes that women's place is their home considered to be enormous progress.
To me, the title looks more like a teaser to tempt into reading the post just to realize that there is no simple way to define gender and sexuality. As Judith Lorber pointed in her article “The Social Construction of Gender”, “gender, like culture, is a human production that depends on everyone constantly “doing gender” (Judith Lorber, 2004, p. 129). Therefore, it varies from group to group, from society to society, and – even in the same context – it is changing over the time. The example of Egypt is a case in point.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated this opportunity to immerse into the Egyptian context and learn about some of its specifics. I came to realize that Egypt may also be somewhat representative of the Arabic world given its “powerhouse” status. It’s been great to see the various sides and their respective arguments. I think you’ve done a great job at balancing the varying views with their pro’s and con’s.
I also found in this post some interesting elements I came across on earlier occasions, and namely the merit of gender roles in preserving the societies who’ve been there for ages. This obviously comes into conflict with some of the western individual-centered philosophies. While some may question the direct applicability of “imported” values into the traditional societies, I am a strong believer in the universality of certain core values such as freedom from suffering or pursuit of happiness at the individual level. I think the video is a great illustration of this.