Glenda Simms
IT IS very obvious that at this point in Jamaica's political history, there is great confusion around the terms 'gender' and 'sex'. This confusion can be picked up from many of the articles in the print media, the discourse on the airwaves and by the 'flies on the walls' of the well-appointed living rooms of the nation.
Indeed, it is clear that the election of the Honourable Portia Lucretia Simpson Miller as the first female president of the People's National Party and the seventh Prime Minister of the Jamaican state has generated a lot of 'hot air' around the concepts of 'gender' and 'sex'.
This heightened awareness of these terms is of great sociological and psychological importance. It is indeed a timely and long overdue discussion. Since the landing of Christopher Columbus on the Jamaican shores, the country has seen the control of the male of the species in the governor's residence, in the big houses on every banana, sugar and pimento plantation, in the hierarchy of the churches, in the boardrooms of the corporate sector, and in the political apparatus of both the colonial and post-colonial periods in our history.
SYMBOL OF A GRAND DESIGN
For over 500 years, the patriarch and his sons were socialised to believe that the presence of the male genitalia was a symbol that all the gods of the universe had a grand design which ensured that men must rule, wage wars, divide up the best lands among themselves and take credit for all the significant intellectual, cultural, religious and natural resources of the earth.
It is against this mindset that overt discussions about the role of sex and gender were never in vogue among the mainstream of the Jamaican population. Such concerns were left as the exclusive preoccupation of those described as feminists or womanists, or those who are seen as part of the 'Looney fringe'. All this has now changed in Jamaica. As of the February 25, 2006, gender and sex have become the most popular words on the lips of progressive thinkers, reactionaries, misogynists and the ordinary woman and man who always wanted to think about these issues.
Prior to this historic day in Black History Month, Media Watch, a local non-governmental organisation, developed a number of public education tools which were distributed to sections of the population from time to time. One such tool is a purse-size seven-page booklet entitled Understanding Gender.
In plain language, this very useful guide clarifies the terms sex and gender. Sex is defined as the biological differentiation which is most often signalled by the presence of either a vagina or a penis. It is this biological difference which classifies a newborn baby as either female or male.
Of course, a deeper knowledge of the human complexity has informed us that even these self-evident markers are not necessarily the complete answer to the definition of every male or female. Gender identity, on the other hand, derives from the teachings, attitudes and other socialising processes which determine what it means to be a man or woman in society. This meaning determines which position in family, church and state should be occupied by a woman or a man.
MOST PRESTIGIOUS POSITIONS
Overwhelmingly, societies have assigned to the masculine gender the most prestigious positions and the best-paying jobs in the public sector, the political directorate and in the hierarchy of the oldest religious denominations.
In the same vein, the feminine gender has traditionally been expected to be subservient and less important while being nurturing and supportive of men, children and the family pets.
These stereotypical ideas of the gender roles into which men and women have been socialised have created a political and social backdrop that underplays the role of gender in development and/or underdevelopment.
This is the reason the issues of gender and sex are never part of the general discussion where men are overwhelmingly elected to run national and local government sectors.
When men rule, very few persons ask if their gender propelled them to their lofty positions, and not too many people are bold enough to point out that their
gender-blind or gender-neutral approaches to planning and development are the most formidable deterrent to economic growth, social stability and the development of the human capital.
It is, therefore, up to women at the highest levels of decision-making to place issues of women's equality and gender justice on the agenda of all developing societies.
Why? Because women have been the most disadvantaged in societies which continue to pursue gender-blind policies and approaches to the social, economic and spiritual development of their people. It was very encouraging to learn in the March 12 edition of The Gleaner that the Women Business Owners will on March 29 honour five 'women of vision' who dared to dream big, took risks at times when their gender posed a problem and when women dared not enter non-traditional business ventures, or businesses dominated by men. Hopefully, such an initiative and many others that recognise the gender constraints on women of all classes will assist in the clarification of the meaning of the terms gender and sex.
ABILITY, NOT SEX
In the Flair magazine of March 13, staff reporter Nashauna Drummond states that she is a "strong advocate of female equality", but we need to keep Mrs. Simpson Miller's gender out of the issues that are uppermost in the minds of people now. In her article Ms. Drummond argues that the delegates elected Mrs. Simpson Miller "more for her ability than because of her sex."
I found this statement intriguing, not only because it conflated the concepts of gender and sex but because it tries to ignore the tremendous boost that the election of the Honourable Portia Simpson Miller has given to the hopes and aspirations of 52 per cent of the Jamaican population who are women and girls. Indeed, gender, race and class are sociological, biological and psychological barriers to the development of the human capital. The deconstruction of these systemic barriers will unleash the potential of all our citizens.
In short, let us all come to terms with the limitations of our sexual identity and our gender socialisation. 'Sistah P' indeed represents the complexity of these constructs and it is in this representation that as Prime Minister of Jamaica she will help all of us to try to climb to the mountain peaks of our human potential.
Glenda P. Simms, Ph.D., is a gender expert and consultant.
