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Gender and Development

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ATHROPOLOGY OF GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT [HANTH 107]
INTRODUCTION
Defining Key Concepts
Gender is not about women as most people think. Gender is about both men and women. Gender is a set of characteristics distinguishing between male and female, and is a result socio – cultural construction, it describes the characteristics that a society or culture delineates as masculine or feminine. Thus the term gender has social, cultural and attitudinal connotations. Gender is a set of characteristics distinguishing between male and female, and is a result socio – cultural construction, it describes the characteristics that a society or culture delineates as masculine or feminine. Thus the term gender has social, cultural and attitudinal connotations.
Sex on the other hand refers to the biological differences in chromosomes, hormonal profiles as well as internal and external sexual organs or genitalia.The term sex since classical times has been used to designate matters related to biological and anatomical makeup of a person. Thus while ones’ sex as male or female is a biological and universal fact that is however not the same with gender since sex is tends to be similar across all cultures while gender varies one society to another. Sex relates to the biological characteristics that categorise someone as either female or male; whereas gender refers to the socially determined ideas and practices of what it is to be female or male.
Patriarchy - Systemic societal structures that institutionalise male physical, social and economic power over women.
Culture - The distinctive patterns of ideas, beliefs, and norms which characterise the way of life and relations of a society or group within a society.
Gender discrimination - The systematic, unfavourable treatment of individuals on the basis of their gender, which denies them rights, opportunities or resources.
Gender division

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