Module 4, Sex, Gender, Sexuality & Physical Culture

Question 1

Sex

Answer 1

a classificatory scheme that is intended to divide humans into groups on the basis of their reproduction capacities
- dividing bodies into their primary sex characteristics into either male or female (v)

Question 2

Gender

Answer 2

the cultural expectations about behaviour, attitudes and appearance that are imposed on people in relation to their physical sex
- idea that male bodies should perform masculinity and female bodies should perform femininity
(sex is the biology and gender is socially constructed ideas)

Question 3

Sex/gender system

Answer 3

process by which sex is turned into gender
- only works to serve gender people (those who fit the typical male and female profile)
- gender is socially constructed, meaning that gender ideas are norms are invented and reinvented over the course of time in particular social and cultural contexts

Question 4

Patriarchy

Answer 4

is an unequal hierarchical social system in which men have more power than women
- in patriarcal sex/gender system, domination of men and subordination of men is reproduced by a whole range of insititutional practices and structures

Question 5

Sex segregation in sport (3 ways)

Answer 5

1. separate events for men and women
   - sex-testing make sure ‘female’ athletes are ‘female’
   (no ‘sex-testing’ for male)
   - race plays a role in ‘sex-testing’
   - the main issue with trans-athletes is the ability to participate in the category with which they identify
2. some sports for exclusively male (eg. CFL, NFL)
3. sports have different rules for women and men

Question 6

Transsexual

Answer 6

people who identify with the sex that they were not assigned at birth

Question 7

Intersex

Answer 7

a person in whom sexual differentiation is ambiguous or incomplete

Question 8

Transgender

Answer 8

a umbrella term that refers to people who gender identity does not line up with the sex assigned to them at birth

Question 9

Sport typing

Answer 9

assumption that some sports are better suited for girls and women and others are better suited for boys and men (more power, aggressive sports -> men - delicate, sophisticated sports -> women)

Question 10

Biological determinism

Answer 10

• a framework that explains social behaviour as a product of human biology
  explains complex human behaviour, such as athletic performance as a product of human biology (ex. boys have more testosterone make them more likely to engage in power, muscle based sports because of their biological bodies)

Question 11

Heteronormativity

Answer 11

the social and cultural privileging of heterosexuality over other forms of sexual identity or expression
the assumption that it is not just more common, but it is also normal ex. media (movie, news, tv) are heteronormative, represent it as normal

Question 12

Homophobia

Answer 12

the fear of homosexuals
- product of a heteronormative culture

Question 13

Heterosexual matrix

Answer 13

the interlocking relationships between body, identities and desires (very problematic because it normalizes certain gender identities)
- born female so express yourself as feminine (vice versa) - applied to sports as well

Question 14

Cisgender (t)

Answer 14

a term that refers to people who gender identity lines with with the sex assigned at birth

Question 15

Binary categories of sex and gender (t)

Answer 15

the classification of humans into two distinct groups (female/male)

Question 16

Feminism (t)

Answer 16

a social, political and cultural movement that has a primary goal; the resolution of inequities related to sex and gender and the elimination of oppression and discrimination experienced by women and girls

Question 17

Hegemonic masculinity (t)

Answer 17

a dominant and “idealized form of masculinity” that has achieved broad public acceptance and operates as “common sense,” serving to define what men should be like
- the hegemonic ideal subordinates femininity and other ways of being a man

Question 18

Intersectionality (t)

Answer 18

a theoretical approach that tries to understand how different categories of identity and different structures of power, such as ableism, racism, sexism and class are intertwined

Question 19

Social constructionism (t)

Answer 19

a preferred social scientific framework that explains social behaviour as an outcome of social and historical forces