02: Ordained by Nature Flashcards
biological determinism
biology determines the way we are (life is pre-determined) 2 components; leaves out social interaction, socialization, social influences, but also leaves out social agency
evolutionary theory
i.e. social darwinism, sociobiology; attempts to explain biological differences between the sexes
social darwinism
thinly associated with theories of Darwin; rather a philosophy that applies the theory of natural selection to differences, competition, and inequality among ‘races’, nations, and families, and between men and women
eugenics
offspring of Darwinism; theory that natural selection can be assisted through conscious efforts to improve human popns, either by preventing the production of the ‘unfit’ or by increasing the health and fitness of reproductive popns
sociobiology
the study of the biological basis of behaviour in all organisms, including human beings; it’s about passing the genes on
evolutionary psychology
explains psychological traits, including differences btwn women and men, as evolutionary adaptations
“his” brain and “her” brain
differences between right hemisphere and left hemisphere -> males and females use diff parts supposedly
intersex
people born with sex characteristics that do not find typical binary notions of male or female bodies
feminism by Goldberg
the feminist cannot have it both ways; she will lose . Goldberg argues that because male domination is ubiquitous and eternal, it simply has to be based on biological origins rather than social.
Russian Nesting Dolls
using such dolls as a framework suggests that history, culture, relationships, psyche, organism, and cell are each appropriate locations from which to study the formation and meanings of sexuality and gender
corpus callosum
the tissue that connects the left and right brain
stereotype threat
a situational predicament in which people are or feel themselves to be at risk of conforming to stereotypes about their social group
