Key Concepts in Cultural and Gender Studies

Attitude

a mental set or readiness to respond that causes individuals to react in a particular way to a given stimulus

Belief

an assumption or conviction that people hold to be true

Cultural Contested Zone

Attending to the struggles of groups distinct from the dominant culture who find themselves having to negotiate their standing relative to the mainstream or dominant culture

Cultural Patterns

The value orientations held by members of the dominant or mainstream (majority) group within a specific culture that influence communication and behavior

Hofstede's cultural dimensions

A model proposing dimensions along which to analyze cultural values; a framework used to distinguish differences in cultures

Hsu's basic US values

A model summarizing nine basic values that US citizens share

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's value orientations

A model explaining the universal problems that cultures face

Kohls's values Americans live by

A model identifying the thirteen values held in common by members of the dominant US culture

Power Distance

Describes how a culture perceives power and handles distribution of power, including power inequalities

Schwartz's cultural value orientations

A theory explaining the importance different cultures give to goals guiding behavior

Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner's cultural dimensions

A model describing seven cultural dimensions experienced in different ways suggesting that every culture has its own way of thinking and values, beliefs, and preferences

Values

Deeply ingrained beliefs about what ought to be shared by a cultural group's members

Cross-Cultural Comparison of Communication Patterns

Yum's comparison of communication differences in human relationships with a particular focus on differences between North Americans and East Asians

Dyad

Basic communication relationship

Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation

A model describing human needs for inclusion, control, and affection

Interpersonal Communication

Communication occurring between people of different races

Interpersonal Relationship

Meaningful dyadic connection in which two once independent people become interdependent to varying degrees, engage in communication by exchanging information of a more or less personal nature, develop a shared history, and respond to each other's needs

Interracial Relationship Development

A four-stage process of adaptation and negotiation involving: (1) racial/cultural awareness, (2) coping, (3) identity emergence, and (4) relational maintenance

Relational Dialectics Theory

A theory describing the relational tensions that partners need to resolve

Six-Stage Model of Friendship

Rawlins identified six friendship phases: (1) Role-limited interaction, (2) friendship relations, (3) moving toward friendship, (4) nascent friendship; (5) stabilized friendship, and (6) waning friendship

Social Penetration Theory

A theory describing the kinds and amounts of information people are willing to share

Ten-Stage Model of Romantic Relationship

Developed by Knapp and Vangelisti, the model identifies the following possible romantic relationship phases: (1) initiating, (2) experimenting, (3) intensifying, (4) integrating, (5) bonding, (6) differentiating, (7) circumscribing, (8) stagnating, (9) avoiding, and (10) terminating

alliance building

The act of facilitating dialogue and working together toward a shared goal

antiracist

Persons endorsing racial equality who claim that the roots of racism lie in power and policies

BIPOC

An acronym for Black, Indigenous, and people of color

caste system

An infrastructure of divisions designed to maintain the social order

colorblindness

Not seeing race; a society in which racial classification does not affect opportunities

colorism

Racist practices that contribute to inequality by privileging light-complexioned over dark-complexioned people

critical race theory (CRT)

American-based legal theory asserting a bias toward whiteness with legal decisions helping to mark and keep specific racial groups at a disadvantage

hegemony

The dominance of one group over another

implicit bias

Unconsciously held associations about a social group; stereotypical confirming images

in-group

Group with which one identifies

Intergroup Contact hypothesis

The theory that contact between individuals belonging to different groups precipitates more positive attitudes toward out-group members

Jim Crow laws

Racial segregation laws passed by southern states toward the end of the nineteenth century that targeted against Black Americans.

Microaggression

Exchanges characterized by denigrating messages; instances of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination directed at members of a marginalized group.

out-group

Group with which one feels they do not belong or are just not part of.

post-racial society

A society in which racial discrimination neither exists nor limits an individual's access to rights.

race-less society

A society in which race does not limit an individual's access to rights.

race privilege

When power privileges particular groups over others.

racial passing

Pretending to be another race.

self-fulfilling prophecies

A (sometimes false) belief or expectation that leads to its confirmation.

systemic racism

Racism embedded in societal systems and institutions.

transracialism

A made-up term that promotes the erroneous assumption that a person can simply change their race.

white privilege

Privilege indicative of how those belonging to the dominant culture acquire more power without their necessarily realizing it; the empowering of members of the dominant culture to enjoy benefits and advantages that many people of color do not share.

whiteness

The construction of white race, white culture, and system of privilege and advantages afforded to white people.

gender

A social construction identifying the social, psychological, and cultural differentiations between men and boys, women and girls, and gender diverse people.

gender and sexuality equality

The absence of discrimination based on gender.

gender and sexuality equity

The means and measures that society puts in place to overcome existing inequalities and achieve gender and sexual equality.

gendered communication

When gender influences the interactions between people.

gendered racism

A hierarchy of race-genders.

gender expression

An individual's unique means of communicating gender to others.

gender identity

The individual perception and subjective experience of gender.

gendering

A process accomplished through communication that shapes thinking and behavior, influencing how individuals do gender.

genderlect

The languages that men and women use.

gender spectrum

A model denoting gender as a continuum that includes male and female without considering them to be polar opposites; the belief that gender does not reflect just a male-female dichotomy.

heteronormativity

A worldview promoting heterosexuality as the normal or preferred sexual orientation.

intersectional feminism

The exploration of how overlapping oppressions (forms of inequality) exacerbate each other, compounding experiences of discrimination.

intersex

Born with ambiguous genitals; possessing biological characteristics of males and females.

liberal feminism

A mainstream feminist political and social theory whose adherents claim that gender differences are not rooted in biology.

multiracial feminists

Feminists who assert that race shapes both identity and opportunity.

nonbinary identity

A reflection of the spectrum of gender.

performative theory

The theory maintaining that individuals present their identity through performance, that is, via their expression of it.

queer linguistics

A description of language based on queer theory that questions the fundamental assumption of the male-female binary.

queer performative theory

A theory challenging the values associated with established societal/cultural categories—opting to destabilize them in favor of a wider array of gender/sexuality performances.

queer theory

A theory maintaining that identity is not fixed, but fluid.

radical feminism

Feminists who claim that all forms of oppression, economic and sexual, are a result of male patriarchy or supremacy.

sex

Often known as biological sex, sex refers to the genetic/biological composition or code of an individual.

sexual orientation

Describes the gender of persons that an individual is attracted to.

social feminism

Feminists who argue that the primary source of women's oppression is their economic dependence on a husband, followed closely by their exploitation as cheap labor in a capitalist workforce.

spotlighting

The highlighting of a person's sex.

trans linguistics

Discursive language practices relevant to transgender communities.

visual dominance

A measure comparing the percentage of time spent looking at others while speaking with the percentage of time spent looking at others while listening to them speak.