Child, Family, and Community: Gender Issues (Chapter 11)

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers key concepts, research studies, historical facts, and educational strategies related to gender roles and equity in early childhood as presented in Chapter 11 of Gonzalez-Mena's Child, Family, and Community.

Sex

The biological aspect of a person related to body parts (physical organs) that distinguish males from females, as well as a specific type of activity.

Gender

A social term that refers to the roles of masculinity and femininity as defined by society, culture, or individual/family ideas, including appearance, attitudes, and behaviors.

Gender Fluidity

The concept that gender is not strictly regulated by biological sex but can be flexible, varying, or accepted as different from the gender assigned at birth.

Gender Spectrum

An organization located in San Francisco, California, that serves as a resource for information about gender and gender fluidity.

"Odd man out" test

A research test designed to rate people's ability to spot unusual objects in their field of vision, which showed that women could improve their scores to match men's through practice.

Money and Ehrhardt (1973)

Researchers who argued that babies are born gender-neutral and can be assigned a gender through socialization, though their research was later disputed.

Joan

The name given by Milton Diamond and Keith Sigmundson to a male baby who was surgically reassigned as female after a botched circumcision and later rebelled against that gender assignment.

1964 Voting Rights Act

Legislation that, along with its 1974 amendments, helped eliminate barriers such as literacy taxes and intimidation that kept diverse groups of women from voting.

Glass Ceiling

A metaphor for the unseen barriers that keep women at a lower professional level than men in various business and industrial arenas.

SPCA

The organization whose laws originally protected battered children more than half a century before spousal abuse laws were enacted.

Disney Princess Marketing

A business that earned $4$ billion in 2009 by marketing items that often promote the role of looking pretty and waiting for a prince.

Family Lifestyles Project

A 1970s study that assessed children raised in families emphasizing gender-role equality, finding they had broader interests than comparison groups.

Unit Blocks

Standard wooden kindergarten blocks that represent multiples of a basic square, helping children learn spatial relations, math, and physics.

Stacey Zeitlin (1997)

A kindergarten teacher who intentionally assigned opposite-sex partners for science activities to break down self-imposed gender segregation.

Gender-neutral Language

The use of non-gender-specific titles such as firefighter, police officer, or chairperson instead of fireman, policeman, or chairman.

Conversational Politics

The study of how people use language to show power, such as the pattern of men interrupting women more frequently than the reverse.

Assertive Language

Direct and informative speech that avoids powerless 'hedging' phrases such as "sort of" or "I guess."

Modeling

A method of teaching gender roles where children imitate the behaviors and capabilities of important adults in their lives.

Sexualization of Girls

A problem identified by the APA that equates attractiveness with sex appeal, leading to low self-esteem, depression, and high-risk sexual behavior.

Differential Socialization

The process by which adults treat and socialize boys and girls differently from birth, often based on assumptions rather than biological differences.

Anti-bias Attitude

A skill taught to children to help them recognize injustice, challenge sexism, and speak out against unfair discrimination.