Chp 8 Terms - Sexualities & Genders Flashcards
gender
A person’s sense of being male or female and playing masculine or feminine roles in ways defined as appropriate by culture and society.
intersex
Intersex people do not fit into conventional male or female sex categories. Often, intersex people do not have a sex chromosome that is XX or XY, and their genitals, reproductive system, and secondary sexual characteristics (such as breasts and body hair) are not distinctly male or female in the conventional sense of the terms.
gender identity
A person’s identification with, or sense of belonging to, a particular sex—biologically, psychologically, and socially.
sex
A person’s sex depends on genetic makeup—specifically, on whether a person’s sex chromosome is XX (female), XY (male), or X, XXY, XXYY, and so on; the last listed sex chromosomes often belong to a person who does not fit into conventional male or female sex categories.
cisgender
The condition of correspondence between gender, gender identity, and birth sex.
social constructionism
A school of thought that views gender differences as a reflection of the different social positions occupied by women and men.
essentialism
A school of thought that views gender differences as a reflection of biological differences between women and men.
gender ideology
A set of ideas about what constitutes appropriate masculine and feminine roles and behaviour.
glass ceiling
A social barrier that makes it difficult for women to rise to the top level of management.
transgender
People who are uncomfortable with the gender assigned to them at birth or who do not fit neatly into conventional male or female gender categories.
sexual orientation
A person’s preference(s) with respect to sexual partners.
queer theory
Examines empirical mismatches among sex, gender, and sexual desire to debunk the notion that sex, gender, and sexuality are always highly correlated; emphasizes how changing social contexts influence sexual identities and the performance of sexual acts.
heterosexuals
People who desire members of the other sex as sexual partners.
bisexuals
People who desire sexual partners of either sex.
homosexuals
People who prefer sexual partners of the same sex as themselves. People usually call homosexual men gay and homosexual women lesbians.
