Exam 2 Flashcards
Intersex
- to be born with any combination of sexual characteristics such as genitals, hormones, etc
- almost 2% of the world’s population is intersex
- there are 3 sexes
Gender
- refers to social classification of feminine and masculine
- certain behaviors associated with each gender
- gender expectations/roles can change
- some cultures have more than two genders, 5 or 10
- example: Hijara of India, Bugis of Sulawesi, Sworn Virgin of Albania
Sex
- differences between male and female sexes are anatomical and physiological
- relates to biological differences
- based on biology and cannot be changed
Gender Roles: Expendability theory
Men are more expendable (of less significance) than women and therefore men should take on the more dangerous and harmful jobs
Gender Roles: Division of Labor Theory
Women give birth to live young which take up a lot of time and resources. So, women care exclusivley for the young and the men do not
Gender Roles: Proximity to Residence Theory
Women give birth to young who are vulnerable and require care and monitoring. Since the woman is now tethered to the home, she may as well take on domestic tasks while men take on more external tasks
The Hijara
- ambigous gender role in INDIA
- found in parts of South Asia
- typically born male
- Considered NEITHER male or female
- may undergo procedures to remove genitals (castration and tie and fall method both non-medical)
Hijara Continued -Role and Status
- part of becoming Hijara is mimicking menstruation
- presence is often at wedding and childbrith (typically male child)
- considered powerful blessing and curses
- blessing regarding fertility
- LOW STATUS TODAY
- FOUND BEGGING OR FALL INTO PROSTITUTION
Bugis People
From Sulawesi in Indonesia
- Five Genders
1) Bissu - intersexed (sometimes)
2) Calalai - “false men”
3) Calabai - ‘false women”
4) female
5) male
Bugis People - Bissu
- bissu is often intersexed but not always
- considered both male and female
- considered sacred due to “duality”
- often take role of shaman
- thought 2B powerful bc they are both male and female
The Sworn Virgin OR Burrneshas
- From Albania
- have existed since at least 15th century
- women who take on roles/duties of a man
- act as a man and are accepted as men by community
- Kanun - tribal code of law
- if there were households with no male heirs or due to other conflict, honor was “salvaged” by a woman taking on the role of a man for her family
- take a vow of celibacy
Two Spirits - Fred Martinez - Nadleehi
- gender roles in Western Society have generally been strictly binary
- there are men and there are women, and what they are expected to do follows from the moment the doctor says ‘it is a boy’ or ‘it is a girl’
- why is it considred upsetting that sometimes it may be “it is niether!” or “it is both”
Cisgender
Those whose gender identity and expression match their assigned birth sex
Transgender
Umbrella term for people whose gender identity or gender expression does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they are assigned at birth
Transvestite
Someone who dresses in what would conventionally be worn by the opposite gender and acts in that manner
Transexual
Someone who takes steps to medically changed their body (sex) to align with what they believe their gender is
LGB”T”Q
- Lesbian
- Gay
- Bisexual
- those 3 have to do with sexual orientation
- T stands for transgender and does not have to do with sexual orientation
- Q stands for Queer or Questioning
Sexual Orientation
Chemical and biological reaction within an individual causing sexual desire and arousal - what you are attracted to (gay, straight, lesbian, etc)
Is sexual orientation nature or nurture?
Nature - not consciously controlled
Nurture - the ability to control acting on that attraction or arousal
Sexuality
the complete range of desired, beliefs, and behaviors that are related to erotic physical contact and the cultural arena within which people debate about what kinds of physical desires and behaviors are right, appropriate, and natural
Ways people interpret sex
- kissing
- petting
- oral sex
- anal penetration
- vaginal intercourse
Kinsey Scale
No one is exclusivley heterosexual or exclusivley homosexual, everyone lies somewhere in the middle
Sexual Expresssion
- adolscent boys in Sambia have homosexua relations as part of initiation but enter heerosexual marriages as adults
- Inis Beag (ireland)
- described as “one of the most sexually naive of the world’s societies”
- women are expected to endure sex
- refusing intercourse is a mortal sin
- Mangaia (Pacific Islands)
- adolescent boys are given sexual intruction and an experience with a woman in the village
- majority of youth has experinced intercourse before marriage
Sexuality and culture
- sexual norms affect sexual behavior
- culture can determine importance of sexual activity, the ways people make themselves appear attractive, and age ate what sexuality begins and ends
How does Gender affect life and death
Sex and gender determine whether you live or die
- often in patriarchal cultures
Patriarchy
-Often connected with Gendercide
- Patr (father) + Archy (ruling/power) - where the power lies with the male head of household, often the father
- power is held by men and enforces traditional and sterotypical gender roles and is oppressive to both men and women
- patriarchal cultures are also often Patrilineal
- Patrilineal - descent is traces through male side of family only
Gendercide
the systematic extermination of a group of people belonging to a certain gender - most often female
- seen as the resut of patriarchy
- resulted in 200 million missing girls and women
- also contributes to human trafficking
Infantacide
the systematic extermination of infants - most often female
Feticide
systematic extermination of a fetus - most often female
Systems of economic exchange under patriarchy include . . .
- bride service
- bride wealth or bride price
- dowry
Bride Service
the husband must work for a specified period of time for hiw wife’s family in exchange for his marital rights
- occurs in societies with very little access to material things
Bride Wealth or Bride Price
the most common for of marriage exchange
- cash or goods are given by the groom’s kin to the bride’s kin to seal a marriage
Dowry
- a presentation of goods by the bride’s kin to the groom’s family
Human Traficking
modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor of commercial sex act
Interactionist perspective
focuses on the everyday interactions between individuals as the basis for the development of society
Functionalist perspective
everything in society has a function, good or bad, to maintain stability
Conflict perspective
society is built upon inequality on a basis of social class, gender, race, etc
Race
- Any one of the group that human beings can be divided into based on shared distinctive physical traits (MERRIAN-WEBSTER)
- A group of people of common ancesrty, distingusihed from others by physical charcateristics, such as hair type, color of eyes and skin, stature etc (DICTIONARY)
Primary Races
Caucasoid, Aricoid, Mongloid, American, Australoid
Problems with race
- social scientists consider race a social classification
- Race is a matter of convenience
- Race is an umbrella term
- Oversimplification of racial categories
- Race is not just a category (it also define rank)
- Association of race with intelligence & civilization
-Different societies define race differently
Seven Factors of American Racism
- Racism is universal
- Categories: Factions, Segregation, Hierarchy, Power, Media, & Passivism
1) Factions
- Social Identity Theory
- group of people with similar ideas, characteristics ect
Social Identity Theory —> Minimal Groups Phenomenon/Paradigm
MGP leads to . . .
- People’s perceptions of themselves extend to the group
- People interpret the groups they are part of as requiring their cooperation, trust, support
2) Segregation
- Setting people apart based on characteristics
- Racial segregation is universal and present in both micro and macro levels
- Redlining has played major role in household racial segregation
- Segregation minimizes contact between different races
Segregation does not allow for . . .
- Intergroup mixing
- weakening of sterotypes
- promotion of diversity
- positive beleifs about “other groups
For example) black children recognize white faces better than white children recognize black faces
3) Hierarchy
- Ranking of people and placement into higher or ower groups based on some characteristics
- Hierarchy is universal
- American racial heirarchy is incontrovertible
- Nearly 60% of American are WHite only
- A disproportionate # of positions of power and status held by this group
- “Automatic American” status granted only to White Americans
4) Power
- Power is the abilty to control and manipulate other people to do what you want them to do
- Historically, White Americans have had power
- Allowed this group to establish social norms (what is normal, what is right)
- Acheive goals (set “standardized” tests)
- Give orders (how things should be done)
- Control resources
- Dominate and exploit others
5) Media
- Living in a time of immense access to media
- Media portrayal or races plays a role in racism
- Like Hierarchy, disproportionate respresentation of White Americans
- Minority representation often marred by stereotypes of historical figures
- WHen represented, characterization could be limited to lower classes or marginalized sections
6) Passivism
- Passive racism
- “AN apathy toward systems of racial advantage or denial that those systems exist”
- Active racism: acknowledging “racial hierarchy and the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that reinforce it”
- Passive racism: do nothing about racism - but that not doing also constitues support of the system of racism (ignorance, denial, bystander effect)
7) Racism
- The belief that one race is superior to another/others
- Analysis of race from the three sociological perspectives
Functionalist Perspective of Race
- Moral justification to routinely deprive a group of its rights and privileges
- Discourage subordinate people from attempting to question their status
- Encourage support for the existing order
- Relieves dominant group of responsibility to address economic and educational problems faced by the subordinate group
Dysfunctions of Race
- fails to use the resources of all members in a society
- aggravates social issues
- society must invest money and time to defend established barriers
- limited social change and mobility
- Racism costs both the dominant group and subordinate group
Conflict Perspective of Racism
- often selected when discussing race and ethnicity
- Tensions between competing groups (economic disparity, educational disparity, housing and healthcare disparity)
- Subordinate group is blamed for its low status
- blaming the victim
- labeling approach
All-weather liberal or unprejudiced nondiscriminator
No prejudice attitude
No discriminatory behavior
Reluctant liberal or unprejuced discriminator
No prejudice attitude
Yes Discriminatory behavior
Timid Bigot or Prejudiced Nondiscriminator
Yes Prejudice Attitude
No Discrimnatory Behavior
All-weather bigot or Prejudiced Discriminator
Yes Prejudice Attitude
Yes Discrimnatory behavior
Interactionist Perspective
- race you belong to might decide class
- might impact interactions with others and interactions with you
- cooley’s looking glass self
- goffman’s dramaturgical approach
- mead’s theory of self
