Midterm Flashcards
certain people experience degradation due to political, economic, or social realities
oppression
This framework describes the ways in which different types of oppression (e.g., racism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, sexism) are interconnected and, therefore, cannot be examined separately
intersectionality
different types of feminism
Liberal, Radical, Socialist, Cultural, Women of Color, Queer, Post-Colonial
First wave
- 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention
- they didn’t have legal authority over their children, and they weren’t allowed to own land, keep their wages, or refuse to have sex with their husbands. The top priority, though, was gaining women’s right to vote—something that didn’t happen until 1920, when the 19th Amendment was passed.
Second wave
- 1960s
- feminists were primarily interested in changing the day-to-day lives of women, including creating more equitable access to the paid labor force and re-defining a woman’s role as wife and mother
- Miss America pageant
- red stockings, “freedom trash can”
Third wave
- mid-1990s
- a struggle to change mainstream ideas of feminism by rejecting the idea that everyone’s experience of being a woman is the same
Fourth wave
- feminists have been active even when there has been no definable wave. Some would say we’re currently in a retraction between waves; others claim we’re in a fourth wave characterized by more sophisticated use of social media to promote activism
Liberal feminism
a form of feminism that focuses on the similarities between women and men and on using government policies to eliminate barriers that keep women from achieving their potential.
Radical feminism
claims that it’s naïve to think that women and men can become equal through attaining legal rights. Therefore, radical feminists advocate for separatism. They believe that the unjust treatment of women is the most fundamental and widespread form of oppression
Socialist feminism
links gender oppression with capitalism, an economic system in which power is constructed through work and production
Cultural feminism
a perspective that focuses on the differences between women and men and views women’s inequality as related to a lack of value placed on the unique experiences, perspectives, and qualities of women
Women of Color feminism
sees women’s inequality as deeply linked to White supremacy, a form of racism in which White people are considered superior to people of color
Queer feminism
claims that inequality is related to the ways in which the categories of woman and man have been constructed, studied, and used to organize society
Post-colonial feminism
connects women’s inequality to the legacy of colonialism and critiques the belief that women in Western countries are the most liberated in the world
a social system in which men hold positions of authority and power, is so normative that, according to radical feminism, most people see men’s authority as natural and inevitable.
Patriarchy
the idea that women and men are fundamentally different because of deep and unchanging properties that are generally due to biology or genetics.
Gender essentialism
a person’s sense of self, which is based on that individual’s affiliations with different social groups
Social identity
the idea that people are ranked in a hierarchy such that some people and groups have more power and status than others.
Social stratification
a negative attitude toward someone because of their actual or perceived membership in a certain social group.
Prejudice
a form of prejudice that occurs when someone is treated unfairly because of actual or perceived membership in a social group that is less powerful than the dominant group.
Discrimination
a set of beliefs about the characteristics of a particular group that are generalized to all members of that group
stereotype
consists of negative and derogatory beliefs about girls and women.
hostile sexism
takes a positive spin, suggesting that girls and women should be treated differently than men because they are special and worthy of being cherished and in need of protection.
benevolent sexism
dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against Black women.
misogynoir
Claiming that there are fixed, biologically based differences between women and men as a means to justify or reinforce gender stereotypes
neurosexism
the strategic support of gender essentialism to promote social change to address causes that affect many women (e.g., spaces for breast feeding, workplace policies on family leave)
strategic essentialism
the brain’s ability to change in response to aspects of the environment and learning experiences
plasticity
emphasizes how gender roles are responses to, rather than causes of, different roles in society
social role theory
feeling a match btw one’s assigned sex/gender at birth & current gender identity
cisgender
- may have a vagina formed from tissue that was once a penis and to maintain, need regular dilation; if no penetration desired, - may remove penis, create clitoris w/o forming vagina
augmentation mammoplasty for breasts may not be needed if hormonally managed
transwoman
- may have clitoris released or neophallus created, may use pump to allow penetration.
- may have a mastectomy, chest re-contouring.
transman
unique form of sexism leveled at trans women (Serano)
transmisogyny
whether one feels like a woman, man, or non-binary person
gender identity
do not conform to societal expectations for the sex they were assigned at birth
gender expression
can be experienced by people with other marginalized identities
stigma awareness
- a term that describes a wide variety of conditions in which a person’s body isn’t sex typical
- The term _______ is more widely used, but leaders in the medical community decided to replace _______ with _____________________
intersex/disorder of sex development (DSD)
a process of dehumanization that occurs when medical providers treat a person’s body separate from that person’s sense of self.
medical gaze
internalizing the social expectations & attitudes associated with one’s gender
gender socialization
children’s look for clues about how to behave, integrate this info into own understandings of how people, including self, “should” act
self-socialization
saying whether someone is female or male
gender labeling
understanding gender doesn’t change despite changes in physical appearance (e.g., short hair cut, jewelry, etc.)
gender constancy
social construction theories emphasize the concept of _____________ (i.e., performing or enacting behaviors associated with a specific gender in day-to-day life) rather than having a gender
doing gender
- children tend to separate by gender
- may be partly due to gender-typed play
most spend 10% of their time w/ other-gender peers - The more time spent in gender segregated groups, the more gender-typed behavior becomes.
- gender-variant children may be left out
gender segregation
activities reinforcing spaces separating girls and boys, such as teasing about cooties or playing catch
border walk
the ways the school environment indirectly teaches norms, beliefs, and values
hidden curriculum
strict gender typing, and a sense of inflexibility in terms of what girls and boys are supposed to do
gender rigidity
girls and boys start to more rigidly enact their gender roles.
gender intensification
refers to the process whereby lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) persons internalize societal messages toward gender and sex as part of their self-image
internalized homonegativity
viewing a person as an object to be seen (rather than as a human with interiority)
objectification
Women are commonly objectified through the _________ and via media images emphasizing women’s bodies.
male gaze
the objectifying gaze is turned to self, evaluated in terms of societal beauty standards
self-objectification
girls and women being dissatisfied with their bodies
normative discontent
shared standards for attractiveness held by members of a given social group.
beauty norms
preference for lighter skin closer to “White” skin.
colorism
The degree to which people view their bodies positively
body esteem
- Talk negatively about their bodies, may elicit compliments
- Associated w/ body dissatisfaction
fat talk
the process of checking one’s appearance against cultural beauty standards and the actual appearance of others
social comparison
taking an observer’s perspective on one’s own body
body surveillance
feeling persistent negative emotions as a result of judging one’s body as undesirable
body shame
What is intersectionality? Why is an intersectional perspective needed when studying the psychology of women and gender? Give a specific example of how intersectionality may affect people who have multiple converging social identities but at least one divergent identity. For example, you could describe the different lived experiences or experiences of oppression faced by two young cis women with the same sexual orientation but different racial/ethnic identities. Your specific examples can be based on yourself, people you know personally, or people you know of (including fictional characters or famous
celebrities)
note book
Define gender-fair language and explain why it is important. Be able to provide examples of such language. Be able to revise sexist language by offering understandable alternative terms.
note book
Suppose you read a magazine article about how women and men show differences in moral reasoning. On average, women score a 79, whereas men score a 72. The researchers conclude that women are moral and men are not. What are at least three questions that could be asked about how universal or pervasive this difference truly is? Why is each of these questions important to consider?
note book
Consider the research presented on common biases that parents exhibit toward young children. Based on this research, be able to offer at least three pieces of specific advice to help parents identify and prevent engaging in potential gender-related biases that affect children’s gender socialization.
note book
A mother who is parenting a young preteen daughter asks you, a college student, for advice. She wants to help her daughter combat unhealthy messages about beauty that might decrease her sense of self- worth. Based on what you know about the tripartite model of social influence, offer at least three specific pieces of parenting advice and a rationale for each.
note book
Identify the four “waves” of feminism, be familiar with events from each wave, and differentiate between the branches of feminism.
notebook
Describe the rationale for post-feminism as well as the consequences of post-feminism and not identifying as a feminist.
A defining feature of post-feminism is the idea that the women’s movement has reached its goals and, therefore, feminism is no longer needed. Feminists disagree with this belief.
Identify why a member of certain social groups or minorities may be reluctant to identify as a feminist. Describe why womanism is a more relevant perspective of feminism, especially for some women of color.
term womanist, an identity label that stems from the experiences of Black women and other women of color. The term encompasses feminism, but it also differs because it doesn’t prioritize sexism over other forms of oppression
women of color are more likely to identify with womanist beliefs rather than those associated with different types of feminism. Several researchers have found that, among women of color, holding womanist beliefs was associated with higher self-esteem
Describe how feminists have challenged the production and interpretation of knowledge, including how feminist epistemologies inform the practice of psychology.
- One principle of feminist epistemology is that norms are inherently biased. Another principle is the idea of situated knowledge, which has the context of the life experiences of the person who acquires the information.
Identify mechanisms by which people with a dominant status maintain their power and analyze why it is difficult to notice one’s own privilege. Know the following terms: scapegoating, matrix of domination, conferred dominance, legitimizing myths
- scapegoating: Blaming a person or a group for things that are not their fault.
- matrix of domination: The idea that all systems of bias (e.g., racism, homophobia, sexism) stem from the same systems of social stratification.
- is conferred dominance, in which one group (e.g., men) is socially assumed to have more authority or power over another group
- legitimizing myths: Attitudes, values, or beliefs that exist to justify social hierarchies.
Describe the two types of sexism (hostile and benevolent) and explain how they work together to maintain gender hierarchies
Explain how language is used to maintain gender hierarchies, and know the following terms: binomial pair, unmarked word, gender fair, name shifting, degrading language
- binomial pair, a two-word expression in which the word order is fixed and unchangeable
- Unmarked words tend to be used as the generic. For example, the unmarked word lion can describe a male or female lion. The word lioness, however, only refers to a female lion. The female version is a marked word and can’t be used to describe a male.
- Name shifting is A strategy by which some individuals (usually women) use their surname in some situations (e.g., professional settings) and their spouse’s name in other settings (e.g., familial situations).
- degrading language is like mean slang words towards someone
Know and be able to apply the four questions that should be asked when studying sex/gender differences, including the role of other identities or qualities, the role of contexts, the difference between categorical and dimensional differences, and the sources of difference.
- Does everyone show this difference?
- Does the difference change in different contexts?
- Is the difference categorical or dimensional?
- What is the source of the difference?
- categorical (women are one way, men are another way)
- dimensional (any differences between women and men are a matter of degree)
- sources of difference (different array of variables across various social identites)
Asexual
A term used to describe someone who does not experience sexual attraction toward individuals of any gender.
Aromantic
little or no romantic attraction to others.
Bisexual
romantic or sexual attraction to both males and females, to more than one gender, or attraction to both people of the same gender and different genders.
Biromantic
having the capacity to be romantically attracted to people from more than one gender group.
