Sex & Gender Flashcards
sex
biological traits of men and women
gender
social, cultural, and psychological traits linked to males and females
gender identity
how people feel in their bodies and how they’re expected to behave
compulsory heterosexuality
when we talk to people in our daily life we assume most people are straight, but sometimes these assumptions go too far and we start to project
The sexual continuum (Kinsley)
0 - exclusively heterosexual
1 - incidental homosexual
2 - more than incidental homosexual
3 - equally homosexual and heterosexual
4 - more than incidental heterosexual
5 - incidental heterosexual
6 - exclusively homosexual
What did Kinsley’s research on men’s and women’s sexuality show?
Men are more often involved in premarital sex, extramarital sex, and sex with prostitutes, as well as more likely to have homosexual experiences
David Reiner case
Sexual reassignment case, many different opinions on what it shows
Essentialism
Belief that there are biological (essential) differences of gender & sexuality between men and women
left hemisphere of the brain is associated with language, right is associated with visual and spatial skills
Freud - oedipus and electra complexes -> Id, Superego, Ego
Social Constructionism
welfare & conquest - Marx said that capitalism exaggerated the already seen stereotype in women of staying home and etc while men went off to toll in new economy as technology emerged
gender - made up to serve particular interests
separation of public and private spheres
Critiques of essentialism
- Essentialists ignore the historical and cultural variability - there are variations in gender across cultures, societies change without any corresponding genetic change*
- Essentialists ignore the fact that gender differences are declining rapidly and in some cases have already disappeared
- Research evidence employed by essentialism is often deeply flawed - no evidence of genes that cause male jealousy, female nurturance, etc
- Essentialists exaggerate the degree to which gender differences are unchangeable - essentialists offer explanations for gender differences that ignore the role of power
Economic Inequality
Women have “double work” days
Sex segregation is often seen in labour market
Sex typing
Stereotyping based on gender, different jobs for different genders
Glass ceiling
Executive positions are always male dominated
Social Inequality & Gender Stratification
Gender stratification is a system in which men hold greater power, prestige, and wealth than women
Power
the ability to impose one’s will on others
Prestige
social ranking and respect
Wealth
economic resources
Why have women become more involved in labor force, especially, after 1961?
- An increase in demand for service sector workers such as nannies
- A decrease in the number of children born
- Family finances
Four reasons why women earn less than men
- Gender differences in the characteristics that influence pay rates (education, experience, seniority)
- Women are involved in sex-segregated, non-standard work.
- Simple discrimination
- A general devaluation of the kind of work performed by women
Political power
Women are underrepresented in politics
One Canadian PM ever lost her PM status after 4 months - Kim Campbell
Socialist feminism
Capitalism & patriarchy must be altered or eliminated to free women; capitalism benefits from women
Social feminists believe that the laws must change for positive social change
Radical feminism
Capitalism has little to do with female oppression, women are oppressed because they’re women
The state is the male state, the state is the enemy
Men are more aggressive and need to dominate women
Intersectionism
Oppression exists in many forms, and it is cumulative
Gender is a social construct
Activism based on outlining how gender is socially constructed can eliminate unwanted inequality
Social images
Mass media made for women (cosmopolitan and etc) give women unachievable beauty norms
Mathews (2000)
In “The Body Beautiful: Adolescent Girls and Images of Beauty” she found:
- Girls are not passive victims of beauty images
- Looking better means access to social groups and power
- Girls were the audience, not boys
sociobiology
those who resolve their problems pass on the genes resulting in gene differences
Mathews groups identified
The elite.
The “wannabees”.
“Life in the middle”.
The fringe.
