Is your gender an issue?

The first film, "Is your gender an issue?" posed the many stereotypes of gender from the perspective of the youth of the 1990's. As was said in class and in the film, gender was defined as a socially constructed notion. It is not constructed overnight but rather shaped by the primary social institutions such as the family, education, church, and the mass media. The film showed the youth's view points as to the question, "Is your gender an issue?". Noticeable were the commonality of the answers from the women. They say that they have limited opportunities because of the stereotypes imposed upon them by the society such as being housewives, and being weaklings that depended their security from the men among other issues.

The three most important highlights I can clearly remember were: (1) the discrimination against women both in the home and in the society, (2) violence against women and children, (3) trafficking and prostitution of women and children.

Feminism was surprisingly defined in a very different way. The definition was not at all lexical. It highlighted the importance of affirming the condition of women in the society. The definition was posing a challenging question in such a way that those who are aware and informed of the oppression against women must stand and live out "FEMINISM" as what they believe to create a movement of liberating the women from the shackles that hinder them from fully achieving their potential as human beings of heart and mind. Feminism according to the film does not seek to overthrow the men nor reverse the patriarchal status quo; rather liberate both men and women. Men per se can also become feminists for feminism is a cause that needs both the support of men and women who stand for social equality and liberation.

I find the whole film interesting. The social ills of society is created by both the consensus of men and women. Men cannot dominate if women did not allow them to. I found out that social problems are perpetual. It takes generations to cross a threshold only to repeat a vicious cycle of oppression and aggression. In the end, only the liberation of the mind of both men and women can determine the end of social ills.