1. What is the women’s role in society in the ancient times?

Women in ancient societies were afforded very little to no rights whatsoever. This meant that
they were extremely limited in terms of their control of their lives. They were treated as second
class citizens who were mainly seen as mothers and wives and not as leaders or contributing
citizens. The main role of women in the past was to take care of their children. They were also
tasked to serve their husbands or older brothers, or basically men. They had traditional roles
which restricted them to household roles like washing clothes, preparing food, cleaning the
house, as well as making clothes. Society was male dominated, wherein men were given all the
power and influence in terms of politics and economics. Women were simply household
servants, fully dependent on their male counterparts.

2. How was the female circumcision conducted?

Female circumcision, or more accurately termed as female genital mutilation, is practiced in
various countries. Although, it is seldomly done today, it still is being done in certain African
nations. There are three ways female genital mutilation is practiced. First, it can be done by the
partial or total removal of the clitoris. This can be done by pulling on the clitoris and then cutting
it off. Second, it could include the excision of the labia minora together with the clitoris. And
third, the removal of the a portion or all of the labia minora and sewing together of the labia
majora.

3. “For girls, Freud believed, the path is complementary but not nearly as traumatic.” Kindly
elaborate this phrase and why Freud stated this.
According to Freud, adult males and females’, personalities and behaviors are influenced by their
childhood experiences. It is known the Freud always asserts the nature and nurture approach in
gender development. This means that he believes that how children are socialized in terms of
their sex affects how they perceive the world or life in general. The statement mentioned above
is related to his proposed theory on psychosexual stages. He rationalizes that children, ages 3-6,
undergoes a phase called phallic stage. In this stage, male children develop sexual desires
towards their mothers, also known as Oedipus complex. On the other hand, female children
develop similar desires toward their fathers, also known as Electra complex. This experience is
complementary in a sense that both male and female children experience sexual desires with
the parent with opposite sex to them. However, what makes the experience for girls less
traumatic is that they do not see their mothers as rivals for the affection of their fathers. Boys on
the other hand, see themselves competing with their fathers. This is an internal conflict boys
must resolve which is seen by Freud as traumatic.

4. What is Feminism to you?

Most people perceive Feminism as anti-male. They see it as a movement that degrade men and
uplift women. However, for me, Feminism is nothing like that. I see feminism as a catalyst to
change the status quo from a patriarchal, male dominated reality to a more gender sensitive,
egalitarian society. It is obvious that societal power leans more towards the male population.
Feminism can force this tilted power dynamics straight and distribute power in society more
equally.
 Feminism gives women a platform to air their grievances and affect change in the political
landscape of today that greatly favors men. Feminism is revolutionary, it is this movement that
paved the way for women to be given the right to vote. Moreover, Feminism dismantles the
culture of having traditionally identified feminine characteristics, like being emotional and
caring, as a weak attribute. Men, who are caged in the idea of what a man should be, can be
more free in expressing themselves. Feminism can pave the way to a much healthier society not
only for women but also for men. Feminism, for me, is a movement that allows men and women
to collaborate and not compete, to inspire one another to build a future wherein both benefit
from each other.

1. State a situation in the book that because of their biological differences (on page 22 onwards)
between men and women, they were treated differently in society. How did it affect the
woman’s or man’s life then? Has the situation improved now?
A biological difference that was mentioned in the book is the size and number of reproductive
cells produced by each sex. Females produce one large ovum while males produce billions of
sperm cells at a time. This biological difference is translated in how women and men approach
sexual pursuits. Females tend to be choosy or selective as they are more profoundly affected by
the product of sexual behavior (they get pregnant). Conversely, males tend to be more
promiscuous and have more active sexual affairs. This is hinged on the idea that for males to
have reproductive success, they have to fertilize many eggs at a time. However, with the nature
of women and the concept of monogamy, females take on or monopolize the male sexuality.
Therefore, in the past, women are expected to be more conservative while men were expected
to be more sexually active. Behaviors related to sexual activity were celebrated among male
peers while females who were seen to be sexually active were frowned upon by society.

Today, men and women are given more freedom to pursue sexual behavior equally. This may be
due to the presence of contraceptives like condoms or intrauterine devices. Moreso, people are
more open minded and does not relate sexual activity with one’s assigned genders at birth.
Nevertheless, men today are still given more freedom in terms of tolerance in their sexual
activities while women are still constrained by many social norms- this includes what clothes
they wear and how they present themselves in public.

2. On page 33, state difference between a man’s brain and woman’s brain. Please state the
trait/behavior/perception of the woman vs that of man.
One situation narrated in the book is the treatment of women as inept to college education
because of their inferior brain structure to men. There were theories and false assumptions
made in the past to further oppose educating women. One of which was that their uteruses
would shrink if they developed their brains through schooling. Men also argued that women
should be excluded from higher education as it gets in the way of their main purpose which is to
bear children. It was also mentioned that women’s brains are similar to those of children or
savages; that they are the inferior forms of humans.
 Today, women are given the opportunity to get higher education. Many of whom are even
leaders in certain schools of thought and institutions. Women of today are more empowered to
learn and achieve accolades similar or even greater to their male counterparts. We have truly
come a long way from the sad reality of women being left uneducated to today’s reality where
women are at the forefront of educating the younger generation. We see women take up space
in institutions where men once predominated.

3. On page 39, what has been the former understanding of the “gay brain”? Has it changed in
today’s situation? What is the change?
The earliest understanding of the “gay brain” suggested that it was uncontrollable because of its
intrinsic naturality in certain individuals. Freud suggested that its existence is due to early
childhood socialization wherein once established, cannot be retracted. Today, scientists have
asserted that the presence of such sexual orientation is due to chemical or hormonal obscurities
in the brains of those who identify as homosexual. They noted how the brain of gay men
resemble those of women- a rather female-differentiated brain. This is the main difference in the
understanding before and now- that homosexuality is biological and not a product of cultural
differences or socialization. We now understand the “gay brain” through the amount of present
androgen and or lack thereof. Nevertheless, there is still a lot to uncover when it comes to these
realities.

4. What is a “hermaphrodite”? as stated on page 51? What did the research interpret to these
hermaphrodites?
According to the book, hermaphrodites are organisms that have both male and female
characteristics. This includes individuals with at least one ovary and one testicle or have a single
organ with both types of reproductive tissue. A research done on two villages that produced a
great number of genetically male hermaphrodites showed how children who were reared and
raised as female can easily accept the change or transition that was necessary to “correct” their
perceived sexuality. I can infer that, indeed, despite being influenced by the kind of childhood
socializations, as proven by some of the subjects insisting to live as females, one’s sexuality is
primarily determined by the organs one have. At the same time, gender roles are nothing but
mere construct as these individuals successfully took on traditional male jobs despite being
raised as females. Similarly, the researchers interpret their findings as an effect if prenatal and
pubertal sex hormones. They assert that dormant male brains existed in the presumed little girls
due to prenatal dose of testosterone despite of their physical appearance. A second dose of
testosterone activated their masculine brains during puberty.