chapters 1 - 3 terms Flashcards
panethnic labels
“broad terms applied to diverse subgroups that are assumed to have something in common—have historically been used by people outside those groups for the sake of convenience”
assimilation
“the process by which members of minority groups alter their ways to conform to those of the dominant culture”
“One of the fundamental goals of U.S. society has always been the ultimate absorption of groups into mainstream society.”
multiculturalism
“emphasizes the importance of maintaining those diverse cultural elements that make us different from one another.”
stereotypes
widely held, but fixed and oversimplified images or ideas of types of people or things
Constructionism
“argues that what we know to be real and essential is always a product of the culture and historical period in which we live.”
— categorical distinctions may have some biophysical components, but they are human creations and don’t exist independently of our ideas about them and responses to them
Essentialism
“focuses on what are believed to be universal, inherent, and unambiguous “essences” that clearly distinguish one group from another.”
— “From an essentialist perspective, people’s definitions and labels can change, but an individual’s essence is permanent”
— “people’s definitions and labels can change, but an individual’s essence is permanent.”
The Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity
process by which humans come together and give meaning to people, objects, and events
Gender
designates the psychological, social, cultural aspects of masculinity and femininity
Doing Gender
– gender is ingrained social construct that actively surfaces in everyday human interaction
– children acquire knowledge abt gender through socialization and learn gender rules
– to accomplish gender one must “do gender” continuously through everyday interaction
The Sexual Dichotomy
“sexual dichotomy—the natural division of sex into two binary categories: male and female.
— These categories are considered to be biologically determined, permanent (you are what you’re born with), universal (males are males and females are females whether one lives in Seattle, Seoul, or São Paulo; in the 15th century or the 21st century), exhaustive (everyone can be placed into one of the two categories), and mutually exclusive”
Intersexuality and Anatomical Ambiguity
“individuals in whom anatomical sexual differentiation is either incomplete or unclear,”
Sexual Orientations
“sexual orientation—which indicates the sex for whom one feels erotic and romantic desire. ”
– “saying that sexual orientation is socially constructed does not necessarily mean that it is simply a learned behavior with no inherent genetic, hormonal, or physiological correlates.”
Heteronormativity
“heteronormative—that is, a culture where heterosexuality is assumed to be the normal, taken-for-granted mode of sexual expression.”
“The Closet”
– “people whose sexuality places them outside the heteronormative lines of acceptability would choose to keep this component of their identity hidden”
– “remaining in the closet has been a life-shaping strategy of concealing one’s sexual identity to avoid interpersonal rejection, social discrimination, or in extreme cases, violence. Historically, the closet has been a rational ”
Identity
“the definitional categories we used to specify, both to ourselves and to others, who we are inheritance of,”
Race
“a category of individuals who are believed to share common inborn biological traits, such as skin color; color and texture of hair; and shape of eyes, nose, or head”
Ethnicity
“the nonbiological traits such as shared ancestry culture, history, language, patterns of behavior, and beliefs, that provide members of a group with a sense of common identity”
Racial formation
the sociohistorical process by which races and the concepts of races are created, modified, or destroyed
Racialization
“the extension of racial meaning to a previously racially classified relationship”
– Attaching a race identifier to things that don’t inherently require it
Gender socialization
process by which people learn the cultural, norms, attitudes, and behaviors appropriate to their gender through sanctions
Social class
group of people who share similar economic position in society based on their wealth and income
Heterosexism
anti-homosexual prejudice
Moral boundaries
Moral boundaries between the classes consist of assessments of such qualities as honesty, integrity, work ethic, and consideration for others.
Cultural boundaries
“cultural boundaries identified on the basis of education, taste, and manners. In other words, class resides as much in how people talk, the way they dress, and the books, movies, and music they prefer as it does in how much money they make.”
