Gender Studies

Class: Basic 5

Subject: Social Studies

Topic: Gender Studies

Gender is the meaning a society gives to a person’s biological sex.

It is what it means to be a boy or a girl or a man or a woman.
A person’s gender is their biological sex and all social behaviour that go along with it.

Similarities between Men and Women.

The following are similarities between men and women:

1. Men and women are both human beings.
2. They are equal.
3. They are similar in their personality traits, their ability to communicate effectively and the ability to lead.
4. Men and women are also similar in the ways their brains function.

Differences between Men and Women.

Most differences between men and women are physical. This means that men and women look different.

I. Men are usually larger than women. They are also physically stronger than women, especially on the upper body.
II. Men usually have more hair on their bodies than women do.
III. Men have deeper voices than women do.
IV. Men and women have different reproductive organs.

Gender Inequality is the believe that men and women are unequal. As a result of this belief, they discriminate against women.

Gender discrimination is the act of treating people unfairly because of their gender.

In Nigeria today, there is still a lot of gender discrimination and many people believe girls and women are inferior to boys and men.

Some of the areas in which girls and women are treated unfairly in Nigeria include:
(a) Education
(b) Politics
(c) Inheritance
(d) Jobs

Exercise:

1. What is gender?

2. State two similarities between men and women.

3. What do you understand by gender discrimination?

4. Identify two areas in which girls and women are treated unfairly in Nigeria.