final Flashcards
sex
the observable physical difference between male and female, especially biological differences related to human reproduction.
gender
the expectations of thought and behavior that each culture assigns to people of different sexes.
sexual dimorphism
the phenotypic differences between males and females of the same species.
gender studies
research into masculinity and femininity as flexible, complex, and historically and culturally constructed categories.
cultural construction of gender
the ways humans learn to behave as a man or woman and to recognize behaviors as masculine or feminine within their cultural context.
masculinity
the ideas and practices associated with manhood.
femininity
the ideas and practices associated with womanhood.
gender performance
the way gender identity is expressed through action.
judith butler
gender is essentially a performative repetition of acts associated with male or female.
hijras
religious followers of the hindu mother goddess, bahuchara mata, that are usually born male or intersex and go through ritual surgery to remove the penis and testicles.
two-spirits
men and women who have adopted both roles and behaviors of the opposite gender. considered to have both masculine and feminine spirits and supernatural powers.
sexism in biology
the multiple sexes, besides male and female, are overtly sexualized or discriminated against. people who are born intersex face discrimination because of chromosomal biology. people who are intersex will face discrimination in workforce’s and cultural communities, be physically mutilated at young ages to fit heterosexual societal normativity.
essentialist vs. constructivist argument
essentialist view that sexuality does not change and is biologically fixed.
constructivist view that sexuality is a cultural construction and social convention.
non binary
someone who’s gender identity is not exclusively male or female.
gender stratification
an unequal distribution of power in which gender shapes who has access to a group’s resources, opportunities, and privileges.
gender stereotypes
widely held and powerful, preconceived notions about the attributes of, differences between, and proper roles for women and men in a culture.
gender ideology
a set of cultural ideas about men’s and women’s essential character, capabilities, and value that consciously or unconsciously promote and justify gender stratification. (usually stereotypical)
emily martin
fairytale of the egg and sperm. wrote an essay about how the egg and sperm are give passive (egg) and aggressive (sperm) characteristics but are indeed both equal and active partners in an egalitarian relationship.
reproduction (emily martin)
in biology books the egg is referred to as passive and awaiting the aggressive sperm to penetrate the egg wall for fertilization. in emily martin’s citing, the sperm actually has a weak tail that mainly functions to ensure that the sperm doesn’t get stuck to anything except the egg and the egg actually moves it’s nucleus to meet the sperm and the two are connected by adhesive molecules that create a chemical bond.
gender violence
forms of violence shaped by the gender identities of the people involved.
structural gender violence
gendered societal patterns of unequal access to wealth, power, and basic resources such as food, shelter, and health care that differentials affect women in particular.
globalization
the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operations on an international scale.
margaret mead’s “three primitive societies”
temperament is the way you tend to behave or the types of emotions you tend to exhibit. (sexually: sensitivity and emotions towards sex)
- arapesh: both men and women were peaceful in temperament and neither men nor women made war. (pacifists with occasional warfare)
- mundugumor: both men and women were warlike in temperament.
- tchambuli: women were the practical ones and worked while men primped and decorated themselves. (female dominance and sexual aggression and male social & sexual passivity)
kathoeys
a male to female transgender or person of a third gender who are immersed in beauty and stage performance.
toms and dees
Toms: afab masculine women with feminine female partners. (from “tomboy”)
dees: gender-normative feminine female partners to the Toms. (from “lady”)
mahū
a gender role in traditional hawaiian society that refers to people who exhibit both feminine and masculine traits.
kumu hina
a movie that follows the life of a mahu teacher who teaches traditional hula in hawaii.
travestí
a gender in brazil and cuba that is defined through sexual activity. usually born as male but operate in society as female.
sworn virgins of the balkans
women who take a vow of chastity and wear male clothing in order to live as men in patriarchal northern albanian society.
muxes of mexico
a person who is assigned male at birth but who dresses and behaves in ways otherwise associated with women. (seen as a third gender)
kinship
the system of meaning and power that cultures create to determine who is related related to whom and to define their mutual expectations, rights, and responsibilities.
nuclear family
the kinship unit of mother, family, and children.
descent group
a kinship group in which primary relationships are traced through certain consanguineous (“blood”) relatives.
lineage
a type of descent group that traces genealogical connection through generations by linking persons to a founding ancestor.
clan
a type of descent group based on a claim to a founding ancestor but lacking genealogical documentation.
affinal relationship
a kinship relationship established through marriage and/or alliance, not through biology or common descent.
marriage
a socially recognized relationship that may involve physical and emotional intimacy as well as legal rights to property and inheritance.
arranged marriage
marriage orchestrated by the families of the involved parties.
companionate marriage
marriage built in love, intimacy, and personal choice rather than social obligation.
polygyny
marriage between one man and two or more women.
polyandry
marriage between one woman and two or more men.
monogamy
a relationship between only two partners.
incest taboo
cultural rules that forbid sexual relations with certain close relatives.
exogamy
marriage to someone outside the kinship group.
endogamy
marriage to someone within the kinship group.
bridewealth
the gift of goods or money from the groom’s family to the bride’s family as part of the marriage process.
dowry
the gift of goods or money from the bride’s family to the groom’s family as part of the marriage process.
sherry ortner
gender inequality is a result of distinctions between “nature” and “culture”. (natural vs. cultural roles)
michelle rosaldo
gender inequality results from distinctions between “public” and “domestic” spheres. (sexual division of labor)
eleanor burke leacock
gender inequality is the result of capitalist social relations. (get rid of capitalism, get rid of inequality)(marxist-feminist)
family of orientation
the family group in which one is born, grows up, and develops life skills.
family of procreation
the family group created when one reproduces and within which one tears children.
religion
a set of beliefs and rituals based on a unique vision of how the world ought to be, often focused on a supernatural power and lived out in community.
fraternal polyandry
marriage between one woman and two or more men who are brothers. (one uterus that limits the amount of kids born and maintains the land in a family)
martyr
a person who sacrifices his or her life for the sake of his or her religion.
saint
an individual considered exceptionally close to god and who is then exalted after death.
sacred
anything that is considered holy.
profane
anything that is considered unholy.
ritual
an act or series of acts regularly repeated over years or generations that embody the beliefs of a group of people and create a sense of continuity and belonging.
rite of passage
a category of ritual that enacts a change of status from one life stage to another, either for an individual or for a group.
liminality
one stage in a rite of passage during which a ritual participant experiences a period of outsiderhood, set apart from normal society, that is key to achieving a new perspective on the past, future, and current community.
communitas
a sense of camaderie, a common vision of what constitutes a good life, and a commitment to take social action to move toward achieving this vision that is shaped by the common experience of rites of passage.
pilgrimage
a religious journey to a sacred place as a sign of devotion and in search of transformation and enlightenment.
cultural materialism
a theory that argues that material conditions, including technology, determine patterns of social organization, including religious principles.
shamans
part-time religious practitioners with special abilities to connect individuals with supernatural powers or beings.
magic
the use of spells, incantations, words, and actions in an attempt to compel supernatural forces to act in certain ways, whether for good or for evil.
imitative magic
a ritual performance that achieves efficacy by imitations the desired magical result.
contagious magic
ritual words or performances that achieve efficacy as certain materials that come into contact with one person carry a magical connection that allows power to be transferred from person to person.
symbol
anything that represents something else.
authorizing process
the complex historical and social developments through which symbols are given power and meaning.
matrilineal
constructing the group through female ancestors.
patrilineal
tracing kinship through male ancestors.
unilineal
building kinship groups through either one line or the other.
ambilineal/ bilateral
trace kinship through both the mother and the father.
consanguineal kin
an individual related by common descent from the same individual; a blood relative.
affinal kin
individuals who are related to you by marriage.
fictive/claimed kin
individuals that are unrelated by either marriage or birth, but have an emotionally significant relationship with another individual that would take on the characteristics of a family relationship.
durkheim & religion
religion is communal and it reinforces social bonds. it maintains social order, unites people into a moral community, and distinguishes between the sacred and the profane.
malinowski & magic
argued that magic has more in common with science than it does religion. both magic and science are about exerting control and magicians and scientists are alike because they both attempt to try and control the laws of nature.
holiness
According to anthropologist Mary Douglas, “holiness” is exemplified by completeness/wholeness that is considered “deity-like”.
separation in rites of passage
the separation from a former status to a new one.
science
searches for answers without the appeal to the supernatural while also following certain culturally regulated processes from which to build knowledge.
uncertainties
religion, science, and magic are all full of uncertainties.
rituals
any repetitive behaviors or practice, either religious or non religious, that uses performative symbols to communicate meaning.
taboos
opposite of rituals and are embodied by the action that is associated with bad luck, misfortune, or negative consequences.
fetishes
material objects believed to be embedded with supernatural power.
ex:
karl marx & religion
religion is like other social institutions in that it is dependent upon the material and economic realities in a given society.
“the religious world is but the reflex of the real world”
max weber & religion
religion, which is based on cultural needs of man, has now added new dimensions to human life and human development. religion is essentially a system of ideas surrounding a set of powerful symbols.
mary douglas & abominations
the abominations of Leviticus were not truly the case. the rules expressed the Hebrew characteristics of holiness- wholeness, completeness, and separateness. it affirms and strengthens the definitions to which they do not conform.
baseball magic
baseball players use charms such as special clothing because they believe good magic is contagious. if it worked before and the player uses the same ritual than it will be the same.
