Define/Discuss - Sex/Gender Flashcards
Sex v. Gender?
Sex- biological/physical traits; genitals
Gender- the associations/meanings attached to certain physical characteristics that people within a culture associate with sexes
Gender roles?
Expectations people in a culture have of people based on gender
Gender Ideology?
A set of ideas used to explain or justify a gendered social order
Polygamy? Polygyny?
Polygamy- having many spouses
Polygyny- having many wives
Exogamous v. Endogamous
Exogamous- marry someone not from your group
Endogamous- marry someone from your group
Brideswealth? Bridesduty? Dowry?
Brideswealth- groom’s family pays the bride’s family or couple
Bridesduty- groom works for the bride’s family until he pays off the brideswealth
Dowry- bride’s family is putting money into the marriage
Matrilineal descent? Patrilineal descent? Bilateral descent?
Matrilineal- passing down mother to daughter
Patrilineal- passing down father to son
Bilateral- passing down to both daughters and sons
Patrilocal residence? Matrilocal residence? Bilocal residence? Neolocal residence?
Patrilocal- couple live near the groom’s family
Matrilocal- couple live near the bride’s family
Bilocal- couple live near either’s family
Neolocal- couple live wherever they want
Universality? Generality? Particularity?
Universal- something almost every culture embodies
Generality- something many cultures embody
Particularities- something few cultures embody
Ethnology v. Ethnography?
Ethnology- comparing two or more cultures
Ethnography- writing about an in-depth study of one culture
Emic v. Etic perspectives?
Emic- insider’s view
Etic- outsider’s view
Holism? Historical particularism? Cultural relativism? Multiple perspectives?
Holism- understanding how any particular cultural item relates to the whole context is essential to informing an appropriate assessment
Historical particularism-
Cultural relativism- knowing that cultural elements make sense in context, that one group of people is just as sensible and rational as another, that we should approach all groups with respect (rather than pre-judging) is key to a reliable understanding of that group; stepping away from stereotypes
Multiple perspectives- groups tend to be diverse; even within subgroups, there may be different patterns in thought, behavior, experience, etc. Thus it is critical to search out these multiple perspectives in order to have a more thorough, complex understanding of a group
Cultural relativity and activism? Self-Determination? Ideas about how to handle hot topics?
Remember that an idea or practice makes sense to the people in the culture—they are not stupid. You need to understand it. (holism & cultural relativity)
Remember that “we” are not perfect. (cultural relativity)
Culture is not an obstacle. Culture is the terrain. Culture is a resource. Look for ideas and solutions within the culture, from the people.
