Women and Gender Studies

Question 1

Gender schema

Answer 1

mental structures that an individual uses to organize knowledge and incoming information according to gender categories and in turn lead people to perceive the world in terms of gender

Question 2

Male generic terms

Answer 2

mankind, manpower, the use of “guys” to refer to both women and men

Question 3

Male precedence

Answer 3

male and female, boys and girls, men and women

Question 4

Parallel language

Answer 4

words with equivalent terms for females and males
E.g., ladies and gentlemen, guys and gals

Question 5

non-parallel language

Answer 5

language has a parallel term
E.g., Mr., Miss, and Mrs.

Question 6

Androcentrism

Answer 6

a male-centered world view that positions men as representatives of the human condition or experience and women as diverging from the human condition

Question 7

Gender-neutral language

Answer 7

language that is not specifically gendered (e.g., using the pronoun “they” instead of “he”, using neutral words or phrases such as “person” or “individual”, eliminating pronouns from sentences completely)

Question 8

Queer

Answer 8

“Queer” meanings
16th century – odd or eccentric
19th century – colloquial term for gay men (often derogatory)
1960’s/1970’s – term reclaimed from its hurtful usage
1990’s – used as a critical and political identity that challenged normative ideas of sexuality and gender
2000’s – an umbrella term for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities

Question 9

Gender

Answer 9

socially constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of women, men, and gender diverse people

Question 10

Gender identity

Answer 10

how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves

Question 11

Cisgender

Answer 11

gender identity is consistent with assigned sex at birth

Question 12

Transgender

Answer 12

gender identity is not consistent with assigned sex at birth

Question 13

Gender dysphoria

Answer 13

A feeling of discomfort or distress that might occur in people whose gender identity differs from their assigned sex at birth

Question 14

Agender

Answer 14

Not identifying with any particular gender; sometimes referred to as “nongender” or “genderless”

Question 15

Bigender

Answer 15

Identifying with two genders

Question 16

Gender nonconforming

Answer 16

An umbrella term encompassing other terms like “genderqueer” and “genderfluid.”

Expressing or identifying gender in a way outside of or beyond cultural or societal expectations for gender expression.

Question 17

Gender queer

Answer 17

One whose identity lies outside the gender binary of male or female

Question 18

Gender fluid

Answer 18

A genderfluid person can identify as multiple genders and feel more like one or the other at different points in time.

Question 19

Non-binary

Answer 19

A person who does not identify as one of the two genders on the gender binary.

Question 20

Polygender

Answer 20

Identifying with multiple genders

Question 21

Two-Spirit

Answer 21

A term used by Indigenous groups for someone who possess the qualities and spirit of multiple genders

Question 22

Gender policing

Answer 22

The act of imposing or enforcing normative gender expressions on an individual who is perceived as not adequately performing these via their appearance, behaviour, or the sex that was assigned to them at birth

Question 23

Sex

Answer 23

The different biological and physiological characteristics of females, males, and intersex persons, such as chromosomes, hormones, reproductive organs

Question 24

Intersex

Answer 24

An umbrella term that describes bodies that fall outside of the strict male/female binary

Question 25

Third sex/Third gender

Answer 25

An umbrella term for people across various cultures who go outside usual sex and gender boundaries

Question 26

Gender as a social construct

Answer 26

Certain behaviors are specific to a person’s gender. This applies to the belief that boys should play with trucks and girls with dolls.

The social construction of gender is based on the idea of social construction

Question 27

Sexual orientation

Answer 27

The attraction one has to others based on one’s sex and/or gender in relation to another’s sex and/or gender

Question 28

Patriarchy

Answer 28

is a domination of elder men over women and younger men in a social system
is a “rule of men over women” or a structure where men are valued more highly than women

Question 29

Feminism

Answer 29

Feminism is a social movement, an ideology, a worldview, and a theoretical perspective

Question 30

Sexism

Answer 30

prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex

Question 31

Gender parallelism

Answer 31

genders are separate, with different roles, but equal

Question 32

Intersectionality

Answer 32

the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage

Question 33

What is the difference between sex and gender?

Answer 33

Sex – has biological differences between females and males
Gender – has roles, behaviors, and identities society assigns to people

Question 34

When did feminism emerge and how?

Answer 34

Emerged in the 19th century in Europe and north America due to women rebelling against women’s oppression

Question 35

What are the characteristics of Western patriarchy?

Answer 35

Exclusion of women from political authority.

Exclusion from cultural authority.

Division of labour and economic exploitation.

Vulnerability to sexual exploitation.

Question 36

How did feminism develop?

Answer 36

First wave – focus on rights and equality, civil and political rights: women’s suffrage, property rights, access to education and work (teaching, medicine, journalism, etc.); marriage (custody, names, etc.)

Second wave – Focuses on oppression and liberation, Liberal feminism with a focus on equal rights but also radical feminism that identified structural disadvantages that women face and patriarchy as the root cause of women’s subordination

Third wave – Wage gap, classism, racial discrimination, discrimination of 2SLGBTQ+ people, fluid gender identities, media image, lack of representation, sexual violence and harassment, choice

Fourth wave- internet, language, and campaigns against body shaming, for women’s empowerment, sexual harassment and violence, and the deconstruction of gender norms

Question 37

What are the main theories of feminism? And how do they differ from each other?

Answer 37

Liberal Feminism - Equal opportunity for men and women; meritocracy but also some support for affirmative action

Radical Feminism - Abolishment of patriarchy, women’s empowerment

Socialist feminism - Restructuring of social and economic structures and women’s liberation

Question 38

Queer theory

Answer 38

One’s preferred or perceived sexuality does not affect one’s social position; disrupting binaries

Question 39

Who is Kimberle Crenshaw?

Answer 39

Coined the term “intersectionality” in a paper: Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics

Scholar of critical race theory, civil rights, social justice, Black feminist legal theory, and race/racism and the law

Question 40

What are the origins of intersectionality?

Answer 40

Developed out of Black feminist thought in the 19th century

Black women involved in both “a woman question” and a “race problem”

Divisions between the “sex” and “race” emancipation struggles

“Proto-intersectional” analyses identified as early as the 1830’s in Black feminism

Mostly through activist organizing and campaigning that challenged racism and sexism simultaneously

Recognition not just of multiple identities, but of multiple systems of oppression that work together and reinforce one another

Question 41

What are the critiques of intersectionality?

Answer 41

The use of Black women as prototypical intersectional subjects

A lack of clearly defined intersectional methodology

The ambiguous definition of intersectionality

The coherence between intersectionality and lived experiences of multiple identities

Question 42

How can intersectionality be applied in social work?

Answer 42

Continuously develop critical and structural analyses of issues clients face

Practice self-awareness and critical self-reflection, particularly regarding privilege

Subvert normative power dynamics

Question 43

How did the feminist views on reproduction evolve?

Answer 43

Women were concerned about “excessive sexual demands on wives”

Women’s rights to refuse marital sex to avoid pregnancy

Early feminists associated condoms with easier access to prostitutes

Abortions were unsafe and could lead to death

Question 44

What are the feminist pro-choice arguments?

Answer 44

Legal abortion is often safe, illegal is unsafe.

Woman’s body - woman’s choice.

The decision is intimate and therefore, a private matter – nobody can interfere into women’s decisions.

Women should be able to control their own reproduction and sexuality.

Women are affected uniquely by pregnancy, therefore they should be the ones to decide.

Women should not be forced to abort and they should feel safe to give birth

Fetuses are not persons are dependent on women’s body.

Question 45

What is the relationship between eugenics and sterilization?

Answer 45

Eugenicists supported the sterilization of other races, the poor, the immigrants, and the disabled.

Question 46

What is reproductive justice and how does this differ from the discussion on reproductive rights?

Answer 46

Reproductive rights are not only a choice and access to abortion but also it is about achieving and fighting for reproductive justice, especially for Indigenous women and women of color.

Reproductive justice includes:
(1) the right to have a child;
(2) the right not to have a child;
(3) the right to parent own children;
(4) the right to control birthing options, such as midwifery;
(5) the right to parent children in safe and healthy environments

Question 47

Patriarchy

Answer 47

Patriarchy originates from the Greek “rule of the father.” It is a “historic creation” that was understood as a social structure where men were valued more highly than women. However, with queer theory, we also talk about heteropatriarchy, referring to the imposition of heteronomativity.

Question 48

Economic man

Answer 48

The typical individual of mainstream economic models

Engages in market transactions
Supports himself by earning an income from paid employment
Spends the money he earns on consumption goods

Question 49

Occupational segregation

Answer 49

The separation of women and men into different types of occupational industries, roles, and tasks

Horizontal segregation: When men and women work in different types of occupations

Vertical segregation: When men work in higher grade occupations and women work in lower grade occupations

Question 50

Glass ceiling

Answer 50

The glass ceiling: Invisible barriers that keep women from promotion to upper management and leadership positions in the business world

Question 51

Glass cliff

Answer 51

The glass cliff: The tendency for women to be appointment to leadership positions that are risky or precarious (e.g., during a time of financial decline, scandal, or crisis)

Question 52

Motherhood Penalty

Answer 52

A phenomenon where women’s pay decreases after having a child

Question 53

Fatherhood Bonus

Answer 53

A phenomenon where men’s pay increases after having a child

Question 54

Gendered division of labour

Answer 54

The way each society divides work among men and women or boys and girls, according to socially established gender roles or what is considered suitable and valuable for each sex

Question 55

Domestic labour

Answer 55

Cleaning and household maintenance, cooking, household errands (shopping for groceries, household supplies, etc.), laundry, caring for children and/or other family members

Question 56

Second shift

Answer 56

double burden, or double shift: The situation of women who engage in paid work outside of the home and unpaid domestic work inside the home

Question 57

Third Shift

Answer 57

triple burden, or triple shift: The situation of women who engage in paid work outside of the home, domestic labour inside the home, and childcare

Question 58

Emotional labour

Answer 58

Emotional management and life management combined
Unpaid, invisible work performed to keep others happy

Question 59

Beauty premium

Answer 59

The notion that physically attractive workers are more likely to be hired, promoted, and earm high salaries

Question 60

Halo effect

Answer 60

When people attribute socially desirable personality traits to physically attractive individuals

Question 61

Gender-based violence

Answer 61

violence committed against a person “because of their gender, gender expression, gender identity or perceived gender

Question 62

Colonization

Answer 62

Colonization is a process of acquiring someone else’s land for economic ends. However, a human-being is central to the process of colonization because land occupied is rarely empty. Colonization is a form of domination - ideological, psychological, and political. Colonization deprives humans of their power to have control over their lives. Colonization is a process that invalidates the past, takes away the control of the present and deprives people of the power to define their future

Question 63

Double colonization

Answer 63

Often, women experience oppression of colonialism and patriarchy simultaneously in colonized societies; women are “twice colonized – by colonialist realities and representations, and by patriarchal ones, too.” This is often referred to as “a double colonization

Question 64

What are the gendered features of feminist economics?

Answer 64

An understanding of gender as a fundamental category of analysis in economics

The need to value unpaid domestic labour and caregiving

The use of human wellbeing as a measure of economic success

The implementation of intersectional analysis, taking into consideration the different social layers that define people’s lives and identities

The belief in the importance of social action and in the need to incorporate ethical judgments in economic analysis

Question 65

Why is there a gender pay gap?

Answer 65

Women underrepresented in leadership roles

Differences in working hours

Occupational segregation and feminized jobs

Education

Time out of the workplace

Unexplained parts in the gap

Question 66

What is the impact of domestic labour on women?

Answer 66

Mental and physical health
* Increased cortisol levels
* Anxiety
* Depression
* Stress
* Isolation
* Burnout
* Less time to rest
Economic security and paid labour
* Ability to participate in the paid labour force
* Career progression
* General economic security

Question 67

What are the expressions of eurocentrism in our understanding of beauty?

Answer 67

Eurocentrism: Reflecting a tendency to interpret the world in terms of European or Anglo-American values and experiences
Beauty standards that favour European features
Lighter coloured skin
Lighter coloured eyes (blue, green, hazel)
Small noses
Straight hair

Question 68

Domestic labour within heterosexual and 2SLGBTQ+ relationships, do they differ?

Answer 68

Discrimination, income disparities, and barriers to finding employment

Question 69

What is the typology of gender-based violence?

Answer 69

Self-directed violence (self-starvation, e.g.)
Interpersonal violence
Intimate partner violence; intimate partner sexual assault
Sexual violence (rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment)
Human trafficking
Stalking
Technology-facilitated violence
Femicide
Gender-based microaggressions
Collective violence
Custom-based (FGM, honour killings, neglect of girls versus boys, child marriage).
Rape as a weapon of war
MMIWG

Question 70

What are the theoretical perspectives on GBV and how do they differ from each other?

Answer 70

Biological: Head injury, infection, genetics - eliminates responsibility for the offender.

Psychological: personality disorder, psychopathology, substance use, etc. – limited capability to explain causes of violence, including structural ones.

Feminist: cycle of violence, learned helplessness, coercive control, power and control, patriarchy.

Sociological: social learning theory, resource theory, social norms, nested ecological framework.

Question 71

What are the discussions around terms victim and survivor?

Answer 71

Victim/survivor
Some feminists advocate for the use of the term “survivor”
it recognizes women’s agency: many women resist. They are not just victims.
Others argue for the use of victim
It can centre the structural causes of GBV.
Forces victims to be strong.

Question 72

What is IPV and what are its forms?

Answer 72

actual or threatened physical, psychological, or sexual violence by a current or former partner - is the most common violence perpetrated against women
physical violence
sexual violence
psychological violence
economic abuse
technology abuse (TFIPV)
Coercive control
Post-separation abuse

Question 73

What is the impact of IPV?

Answer 73

Physical health-related: fractures, injuries, death.

Mental health-related: anxiety, depression, PTSD, substance use and self-harm

Socio-economic impact: difficulty to find a job, loss of housing, etc.
Socio-political impact: loss of immigration status, barriers to accessing justice

Impact on interpersonal relationships and social isolation: difficulty to make friends, isolation, reputation damage, etc.

Impact on mothering and children: accused of alienating children’s fathers, intensive mothering, etc.

Question 74

What is the difference between formal and informal help-seeking for IPV?

Answer 74

Informal help-seeking is seeking help from friends and family, neighbours and colleagues at work.

Formal help-seeking is seeking help from social services, police, shelter, CFS, and others.

Question 74

What is power and control wheel? How does it explain IPV?

Answer 74

Using intimidation
Using emotional abuse
Using iolation
Minimizing dinying and blamng
Using children
Using male privallage
Using economic abuse
Using coerson and threats

Question 74

How has gender been imposed on Indigenous nations in the process of colonization?

Answer 74

Some Indigenous men collaborated with colonizers. “The white colonizer constructed a powerful inside force as colonized men were coopted into patriarchal roles.”
E.g., the British took some Cherokee men to England and gave them education.
Intersection of race and gender constitutes the coloniality of power. This contributed to the construction of an image of white womanhood versus Black/Indigenous female.
The white women were seen as “sexually pure,” “passive,” and “heterosexual” whereas Indigenous/Black women were seen as “animals,” “wild,” and “sexual.” “Women of color are seen as over sexualized and thus undeserving of the social and sexual protection accorded to white middle-class women.”
“Men of color are viewed not as the protector, but rather the aggressor–a threat to white women.”

Question 75

What is the male gaze?

Answer 75

is a sexualized way of portraying women. By objectifying women, the male gaze represents women through the sexual desires of heterosexual male viewers. It depicts the female body and personality as an object for men to view, own, and conquer.

Question 75

What is the female Gaze?

Answer 75

aims to empathize rather than objectify, to show emotion and intimacy while also showing respect