The Gender Spectrum

Cherish Aileen A. Brillon, Ph.D.

Public Intellectual Lecture Series
Far Eastern University Manila
08.01.18
why are we here?

Get to know the difference

between sex and gender

Learn about various

gender-related issues

Suggest steps on how to

create a gender-safe space
for students
How do you define a
man?

How do you define a

woman?
 Gender
The complex interrelationship between physical
traits and one’s internal sense of self as male,
female, both or neither, as well as one’s outward
presentations and behaviors related to that
perception.
 Dimensions of gender

Body: our body, our experience of our own

body, how society genders bodies, and how
others interact with us based on our body

Identity: our deeply held, internal sense of

self as male, female, a blend of both, or
neither; who we internally know ourselves to
be.

Expression: how we present our gender in

the world and how society, culture,
community, and family perceive, interact
with, and try to shape our gender. It is also
related to gender roles and how society uses
those roles to try to enforce conformity to
current gender norms.
Let’s talk about sex…
 Gender Identity

Do you know the difference?

 Sometimes
you are what
you wear…but
sometimes
you are not.
#hugot: You fall in love with the person not with
the gender
 What did we learn?

That the rainbow has many colors.

SEX and GENDER are not the same.

GENDER is a socially-constructed concept that can

be used to oppress and repress.

We cannot essentialize gender and sexuality or

assign it a religion nor blame biology because it has
many dimensions.
 Issues we need to confront

Congress passed the Anti-Bullying Law of

2013, with implementing rules and regulations
Bullying
that enumerate sexual orientation and gender
identity as prohibited grounds for bullying and Discrimination
harassment.
18% of LBT respondents, who were almost
all between the ages of 18 and 29, had The right to be a person
attempted suicide - GALANG 2015
Research
The right to a space

The right to celebrate who we are and our relationship

 What can we do?
Implement a dress code policy that is
inclusive and flexible.
Create gender desks, support the
initiatives of gender-based
organizations and include gender-
based topics in the curriculum.
Include women and members of LGBT
in the decision-making process,
especially on matters that will directly
impact them.
Provide continuous gender sensitivity
training to the staff, faculty members,
and students.
Refrain from using derogatory terms
associated with gender.
Engage with various departments,
institutes, academic services, and
even organizations, groups, and
institutions, and other stakeholders
within and outside the University in
order to continuously improve
response to gender-related issues.
Respect the preference of transgender
people to be called by their preferred
names and pronouns.
Provide a safe-space for everyone to
address their grievance and, most of
all, to be themselves.
Taken from FEU DEPCOMM Gender Fair Polic
Paraphrased from Sheng Wang, 2011, Comedy Central
References

Photos from Google Images

Introduction to Sexuality and Gender Identity (n.d.). Available [http://www.ucl.ac.uk/support-pages/lgb/lgb-information-

pages/sexuality_and_identity]

Tobia, J. (2013). LGBTQIA: A Beginner’s Guide to the Great Alphabet Soup Of Queer Identity. Available
[http://www.policymic.com/articles/28093/lgbtqia-a-beginner-s-guide-to-the-great-alphabet-soup-of-queer-identity]

LGBT Terms and Definitions. University of Michigan. Available [http://internationalspectrum.umich.edu/life/definitions]

The Gender Spectrum. Available [http://www.pflagsf.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Understanding_Gender.pdf]

Human Rights Watch (2017). “Just Let Us Be”: Discrimination Against LGBT Students in the Philippines. Available
[https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/06/21/just-let-us-be/discrimination-against-lgbt-students-philippines]

FEU Department of Communication Commitment to the Advancement of a Gender-Fair Education. Creative Commons.
The Gender Spectrum
Cherish Aileen A. Brillon, Ph.D.
Public Intellectual Lecture Series
Far Eastern University Manila
08.01.18