Psychology of Gender & Diversity Vocabulary

Flashcards defining key vocabulary terms related to sex, gender, sexism, privilege, and research practices.

Sex vs. gender

Sex refers to biological characteristics; gender refers to socially constructed roles, expectations, and identities.

Gender essentialism

The belief that gender differences are natural, fixed, and inherent to men and women.

Intersex

A person born with sex characteristics that do not fit typical definitions of exclusively male or female bodies.

Androcentrism

Treating men or male experiences as the default, standard, or central perspective.

Femmephobia

Negative attitudes toward, devaluation of, or discomfort with femininity and feminine traits.

Pink Tax

The tendency for products or services marketed to women to cost more than comparable products for men.

Heteronormativity

The assumption that heterosexuality is normal, natural, or the default.

Alice Walker and womanism

Alice Walker coined womanism to describe a perspective centered on Black women's experiences and identities.

The Doll Study

Research using children's doll preferences that provided evidence about racial attitudes and became important in U.S. desegregation history.

Diverse gender identities

Gender identities extend beyond only man and woman, including identities such as nonbinary, genderfluid, and agender.

Gender-neutral pronouns

Pronouns that do not specify a person's gender, such as they/them.

Deadnaming

Using a person's former name after they have changed it, particularly when it does not reflect their current identity.

Hostile sexism

Overtly negative attitudes or hostility toward women.

Benevolent sexism

Seemingly positive or protective attitudes that reinforce traditional gender roles and stereotypes.

Modern sexism

Subtle sexism involving denial, minimization, or dismissal of continuing gender inequality.

Paternalistic chivalry

Treating women as needing protection, help, or special treatment in ways that can reinforce gender roles.

Gender and language

Language can reflect and reinforce gender stereotypes, expectations, and social inequalities.

Marked vs. unmarked terms

An unmarked term is treated as the default; a marked term is specifically labeled as different from that default.

Power and privilege

Power is the ability to influence outcomes; privilege refers to unearned advantages associated with social group membership.

Intersectionality

The idea that multiple social identities interact to shape people's experiences of privilege and disadvantage.

Structural inequality

Inequality produced or maintained by institutions, policies, systems, and broader social structures.

Cissexism

Beliefs or systems that privilege cisgender people or disadvantage, invalidate, or marginalize transgender people.

Cisgender privilege

Advantages associated with having a gender identity that matches the sex assigned at birth.

WEIRD samples

Samples that are Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic; they may limit how broadly findings generalize.

Bias in psychological research

Systematic influences in research that can affect who is studied, what is measured, interpretation, or whose experiences are treated as typical.

Participatory action research

Research in which members of the studied community actively participate in the research process and action.