Application and comparison cards

how do lucal and pfeffer both show that gender is socially shaped?

lucal shows how people assign gender based on appearance and behaviour, pfeffer shows how social recognition affects identity and group belonging

what is an example of lucal and pfeffer?

• lucal explains that she is a woman who has been repeatedly been called ‘sir’ because her appearance doesn’t match what a woman is ‘supposed’ to look like

• pfeffer explains that cisgender women with transgender men partners may have been seen as heterosexual, even when that doesn’t match how they understand their identities or relationships

• what this shows: society uses appearance and relationship expectations to categorize people. those categories don’t always match people’s identities

how do lucal and preves challenge the gender binary in different ways?

lucal shows how social interactions enforce binary gender categories, while davis and preves shows how intersex bodily variation challenges the assumption that sex fits neatly into 2 categories

what is an example of lucal and davis and preves challenge the gender binary?

lucal: being mistaken for a man shows how people enforce the categories of man and woman thru everyday interactions

davis & preves: intersex people may be pressured into medical procedures intended to make their bodies fit typical male or female categories

difference: lucal focuses on social interactions; davis and preves focus on bodies, medical treatment, and bodily autonomy

What is the difference between the social construction of gender and intersectionality?

Social construction explains how society creates gender meanings and expectations. Intersectionality explains how gender interacts with other identities and systems of power.

What is an example of the difference between the social construction of gender and intersectionality?

• Social construction: Society creates meanings and expectations about gender. For example, Lucal is called “Sir” because people associate her appearance with masculinity.

• Intersectionality: Gender interacts with other systems of power. For example, Pyke and Johnson studied 100 Korean American and Vietnamese American women and how they navigated gender expectations across different cultural settings.

• Remember: Social construction asks how gender meanings are created; intersectionality asks how gender interacts with other inequalities.

How does Pyke and Johnson’s reading demonstrate Dill and Kohlman’s argument?

Pyke and Johnson show that femininity is shaped by gender alongside race, ethnicity, and cultural context, illustrating why gender cannot be studied in isolation.

What is an example of Pyke and Johnson’s reading demonstrating Dill and Kohlman’s argument?

• Dill and Kohlman: Gender cannot be studied separately from other systems of power, such as racism and class inequality.

• Pyke and Johnson: They interviewed 100 second-generation Korean American and Vietnamese American women about femininity in mainstream and Asian ethnic cultural settings.

• What this shows: Women's experiences of femininity differ depending on race, ethnicity, and cultural context. Women do not all experience gender in the same way.

What do Helliwell and Lang have in common?

Both challenge the assumption that Western ideas about gender and sexuality are universal and show why cultural context matters.

How do the intersex reading and “Transgender Basics” distinguish different concepts?

The intersex reading focuses on variations in sex characteristics and medical treatment; “Transgender Basics” distinguishes gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. These concepts should not be treated as interchangeable.

how do they distinguish between different concepts?

• Davis and Preves: Intersex refers to variations in sex characteristics. Their reading examines how medical treatment can pressure people to fit typical male or female categories.

• “Transgender Basics”: Gender identity is who someone understands themselves to be; gender expression is how they present themselves; sexual orientation concerns attraction.

• Example: A masculine hairstyle does not automatically mean someone identifies as a man or is attracted to women.

• Remember: Sex characteristics, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation are different concepts.

A person is classified as a man because of their clothing and hairstyle, despite identifying as a woman. Which reading is most relevant, and why?

Lucal’s “What It Means to Be Gendered Me,” because it examines how people use appearance and social expectations to assign gender to others.

A researcher studies sexism but ignores how racism and class inequality affect women differently. Which concept does this illustrate?

Inequality and the limitation of a single-axis approach. Intersectionality shows why gender inequality must be examined alongside other systems of power.

• Example: Pyke and Johnson studied Korean American and Vietnamese American women to examine how race, ethnicity, and gender shape experiences of femininity.

• Explanation: Studying sexism alone can hide how racism and class affect women's experiences differently.

• Key idea: Women do not all experience gender inequality in the same way.

A researcher assumes that every society has the same gender roles as their own. What concept applies?

Ethnocentrism. The researcher is treating their own culture as the standard instead of examining the other society’s cultural context.

• Example: Nanda discusses gender-variant roles in some Native American societies that differ from conventional Western gender categories.

• Explanation: A researcher who assumes every society must follow Western gender categories is treating their own culture as the standard.

• What to do instead: Examine how the specific culture understands gender and its social roles.