GENDER ISSUES

HOMOSEXUAL FLAG

HOMOSEXUALITY

Homosexuality can refer to both attraction or sexual behavior between organisms of the same sex, or to a sexual orientation.

It refers to enduring sexual and romantic attraction towards those of the same sex, but not necessarily to sexual behavior.

Homosexuality is contrasted with heterosexuality (attraction, behavior, or orientation between opposite sexes), bisexuality (both sexes), and asexuality (neither sex).

Etymologically, the word homosexual is a Greek and Latin hybrid with homo (often confused with the later Latin meaning of "man", as in homo sapiens) deriving from the Greek word for same, thus connoting sexual acts and affections between members of the same sex, including lesbianism.

Generally, and most famously in ancient Greece, erotic attraction and sexual pleasure between males has been an ingrained, accepted part of the cultural norm. However, particular sexual activities (such as receptive anal sex in some cultures, or oral sex in others) were disapproved of, even as other aspects were admired.

In cultures under the sway of Abrahamic religions, the law and the church established sodomy as a transgression against divine law, a "crime against nature" practiced by choice, and subject to severe penalties, including capital punishment often inflicted by means of fire so as to purify the unholy action.

In the last two decades of the nineteenth century, a different view began to predominate in medical and psychiatric circles, judging such behavior as indicative of a type of person with a defined and relatively stable sexual orientation. Karl-Maria Kertbeny coined the term homosexual in 1869 in a pamphlet arguing against a Prussian anti-sodomy law. Richard von Krafft-Ebing's 1886 book Psychopathia Sexualis elaborated on the concept.

In 1897, British physician Havelock Ellis published similar views in his influential book Sexual Inverasion.

In the course of the twentieth century, homosexuality became a subject of considerable study and debate in Western societies, especially after the modern gay rights movement began in 1969. The legal and social status of people who perform homosexual acts or identify as gay or lesbian varies enormously across the world and in places remains hotly contested in political and religious debate

TRANSGENDERED FLAG

CHRIS CROCKER

is an openly gay Tennessee-based YouTube and MySpace personality and self-described edutainer who produces and acts in transgressive videos.

ALEXIS ARQUETTE
landed her first significant acting role, playing a transgender character in Last Exit to Brooklyn. She also went through her own transition from male to female, an experience that was documented in the film, Alexis Arquette: She's My Brother, which debuted at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.

GENDER ISSUES BESETTING THE WORLD TODAY

The World Bank is committed to making gender equality central to its fight against poverty. After many years of research and on-the ground experience, the importance of gender equality for reducing poverty can no longer be questioned.

The Bank also believes that helping women and men become equal partners in development, and giving them equal voice and better access to resources, are important development objectives in their own right. Poor people across the world suffer from multiple liabilities: lack of food and adequate shelter, victimization by landlords, and a sense of hopelessness in the face of overwhelming odds, to name a few.

Gender inequalities add additional costs, not only to women, but to children, men, and the society as a whole. We know that domestic violence disables women, leads to a loss of income, increases what society spends on health careand unwittingly teaches children to find violent rather than peaceful solutions to problems.

When girls are prevented from attending school and are denied the gifts of literacy and numericacy, as women they will have fewer opportunities for employment, will be less likely to participate in important decisions, and will be less able to prevent unwanted pregnancies and ensure the survival of the children they bear.

Gender issues and stereotypes also affect men: In many societies with high male unemployment, alcoholism and male mortality have increased rapidly, something that harms men, women, and children.

Since the 1995 Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women, the World Bank has sought to give ownership to the poor and marginalized in the fight against poverty. Coalitions for change have been built with partners in civil society, governments, the private sector, and the development community.

The World Bank is responding to the voices of womenand menin the fight to end poverty and improve human wellbeing. We regard these efforts as the continuation of our program to incorporate gender considerations into all aspects of our work. In the next five years, we hope to build on our achievements to date and, in concert with our partners, help all men and women build lives of dignity, free from want.

THE POLICY RESEARCH REPORT ON GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

The Policy Research Report on gender and development, which is based on existing and newly commissioned research, focuses on the links between gender inequality, public policy, and development.

The report makes three important points: Disparities between men and women in basic rights, access to resources, and power exist in all countries of the world, although the extent and nature of these disparities vary across countries.

Empirical studies show that societies that discriminate on the basis of gender tend to experience more poverty, slower economic growth, and a lower quality of life than societies in which gender inequality is less pronounced.

Societies that simultaneously provide the same basic rights for women and men, create institutions supportive of gender equality, and promote economic growth are more effective in reducing gender disparities than societies that focus on growth alone. One lesson from past experience has been that educating girls is one of the most effective ways to promote development.

But research described in the report shows that school attendance rates for girls relative to those for boys are highest in countries where both incomes and gender equality in rights are relatively high.

The report also discusses the policies that are most effective in promoting gender equality. It emphasizes the importance of taking a comprehensive approach to the problem of gender inequality by strengthening institutions, promoting economic growth and development, and establishing active programs where needed.

The report recommends a three-part strategy of public action: Establishing supportive legal, economic, and social institutions, including a focus on equal rights.

When a society ensures that its citizens have basic legal, social, and economic rights, it provides them with the opportunity, security, and power they need to direct their own lives.

UNIFEM works to foster women's empowerment and gender equality throughout the world.

UNIFEM has identified four strategic areas that are of critical concern for the achievement of gender equality and women's empowerment and which guide our work: Reducing feminized poverty Ending violence against women

Reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and girls Achieving gender equality in democratic governance in times of peace as well as war.

UNIFEM places the advancement of women's human rights at the centre of all its efforts.

All UNIFEM programmed contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

ETHNIC GROUP OR ETHNICITY

is a population of human beings whose members identity with each other, usually on the basis of a presumed common genealogy or ancestry. also defined as a distinct group and by common cultural, linguistic, religious, behavioral or biological traits. according to some, it is a fundamental factor in human life: it is a phenomena inherent in human experience.

According to a sociologist, Max Weber he defined ethnic groups as human groups that entertain a subjective belief in their common descent because of similarities of physical type or of customs or both, or because of memories of colonization and migration.

Anthropologist Joan Vincent observed that ethnic boundaries often have a mercurial character.

Ronald Cohen conclude that ethnicity is a series of nesting dichotomizations of inclusiveness and exclusiveness.

ETHNICITY AND RACE

Ethnicity and race are related concepts in that both are usually defined in shared genealogy. Ethnicity also connotes shared cultural, linguistic, behavioral or religious traits. Race, by contrast, refers to some concentrations, as relative to frequency and distribution, of hereditary particles (genes) and physical characters, which appear, fluctuate, and often disappear in the course of time by reason of geographic and or cultural isolation.

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PHILIPPINES

There are several women's issues in education, training and employment in the Philippines. During the study tour in October, 2006; the level of effectiveness and necessity of TESDA Women's Center was examined. Gender issues and TESDA Women's Center's functions and objectives are to be introduced.

In the Philippines, there is a limited access of women to non-traditional technicalvocational courses, such as automotive technology, industrial electrician, building wiring electrician and others. Besides, there is a low absorption rate of women in the labor market; while the labor force participation rate for males is 82 percent, it is 50.36 percent for females.

The total share of employment is 62.2 percent for males and 37.8 percent for females. Inadequate social protection for women and lack of promotion of women's welfare is also an issue in the Philippines. The Governments of the Philippines and Japan began in 1993 regarding the construction of a women's vocational training center in the Philippines.

The TESDA Women's Center aims at developing highly skilled, globally competitive women workers and forges a conductive environment that expands women's choices.

The available pre- employment training programs are mentioned below: General Automotive Mechanic Course 2. Jewelry Making

3. Ceramics 4. Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) 5. Consumer Electronics 6. Food Processing 7. Gifts, Toys and House wares 8. Hotel

GENDER IDENTITY

Gender identity (or core gender identity) is a person's own sense of identification as male or female. It was originally a medical term used to explain sex reassignment procedures to the public. The term is also found in psychology, often as core gender identity. Sociology, gender studies and feminism are still inclined to refer to gender identity, gender role and erotic preference under the catch-all term gender.

Gender identity is affected by "genetic, prenatal hormonal, postnatal social, and postpubertal hormonal determinants. Biological factors include the influence of testosterone and gene regulation in brain cells. Social factors are primarily based on the family, as gender identity is thought to be formed by the third year of life.