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.
