SEX AND GENDER DYNAMICS (Brainstorming, discussion and mini lecture) 4 Notes for the facilitator • This session aims to raise awareness and increase understanding of the background to the prevailing attitudes and feelings concerning males and females. • This will facilitate the review of beliefs and how they affect the development of men and women, as well as their contribution to their community. • The facilitator can also begin to highlight agents of socialisation, such as family, the media, the church, etc., that have an impact in the early period of children’s lives. Session learning objectives By the end of the session, participants should be able to: • Explain community beliefs about men and women; • Describe some of the origins of attitudes and feelings regarding males and females; and • Explain how community beliefs affect the development of, and contribution to, genderbiased societies. DISCUSSION Ask participants to discuss and answer the following questions: • Which of the activities/responsibilities listed in the activity at the beginning of this module did you choose to do on your own right from childhood? • Which of these activities/responsibilities do you have to carry out, or are expected to carry out, because of your sex? Who decided that you have to fulfil these roles, and why? • How does that make you feel? What is sex? ‘Sex’ can be defined as the genetic/physical or biological characteristics of a person which determine that person’s classification as female or male. A person’s sex is biologically determined at birth. The term is universal and cannot be changed. One’s sex can be easily identified by looking at parts of the body. One is either born a boy or a girl. LEARNING POINT Unlike biological sex, gender is learnt, varies from one society to another, varies over time and can be transformed. There are certain beliefs and attitudes about men and women that exist from the time that they are born. These beliefs have no scientific validity but they have been practised to such an extent that they have tended to become generally accepted truths. Such beliefs relate to various aspects of life, such as: • Personal qualities — e.g. ‘Men are cruel, women are kind’; • Mental capacities — e.g. ‘Men are decisive, women are indecisive’; • Roles and responsibilities — e.g. ‘Women do household chores, men go to work’; Module 4: Gender and community healing 71