The Jakarta Center for Women's Resource Development (PPSW) is holding a critical education discussion series for Benteng Chinese women with the theme "Gender and Sex Differences." This discussion is an important effort to voice the values of gender equality and justice. Held on Tuesday, February 27 2024, this activity was attended by 24 female administrators and cadres of KWPS Lantern Merah Abadi. The location of the discussion took place at the house of the Chairman of RW 01, Mr. Cuan Hoy, in Belimbing Village, with Iqbal Yusti Ekoputro from PPSW Jakarta as the facilitator.
The aim of this discussion is to internalize the values of gender equality, eliminate violence, prioritize social inclusion, and increase women's political participation with policies that are sensitive to gender and inclusion. The focus of the second session is understanding the differences between gender and sex. It is hoped that participants can explain the meaning of gender, differentiate between gender and sex, as well as stereotypes that have been formed in society.
The facilitator starts the discussion with a word net game that leads participants to think about the differences between men and women. In this game, participants are divided into two groups and given the task of writing down the differences on paper. As a result, each group presented their views.
From the results of the discussion, the facilitator concluded that there were various reasons that prompted discussion about differences between men and women. However, the question that arises then is, what is the basic difference between the two? To answer them, participants' opinions are written down and organized clearly.
The facilitator then provides concrete examples by taking several pictures of men and asking participants to provide responses. From there, participants can see that depictions of men and women are not always based on biological characteristics. But it also includes social and cultural aspects.
Next, the facilitator asks the question whether it is possible to swap male and female symbols based on the statements that the participants have submitted. This discussion shows that there are aspects that are interchangeable and some that are not. Depends on social, cultural, religious, and biological context.
Through this discussion, participants better understand that the differences between men and women are not just about biology. But it is also about social construction which is greatly influenced by culture, customs and the surrounding environment. The facilitator emphasized that these differences are sometimes just different terms but have the same meaning.
Apart from that, the discussion also highlighted that the social roles and biological roles of men and women are not always clearly separated. There are patterns that shift as times change and values develop in society.
Suherdah, administrator of KWPS Lantern Merah Abadi, said that after participating in this discussion he became aware of the differences between gender and sex. He also added that gender can be said to be differences, diversity, roles and functions, identities which are social constructions and are formed based on the social environment.
"It can come from speech, social status and social roles that are built by the diversity of society itself," he explained.
In line with Suherdah, another KWPS Lantern Merah Abadi administrator, Enggit, added that after he attended a discussion on critical education for Chinese women in this fort, he became aware of what gender equality was.
“Equality in my understanding is only about equality between men and women. "But after Mr. Iqbal explained, it turns out that the definition is very broad, including doing housework and not only the role of the wife but also the role of the husband," he stressed.
