WOST 21000 Final Flashcards

Agency

The power to make decisions and take actions.

Agents of socialization

Family (most influential), school, peers, mass media, government, religion, workplace, and ethnic background.

Agnotology

Culturally induced ignorance. Spreading false information and creating deliberate doubt and uncertainty in order to influence opinion, sell a product, or gain an advantage. Passive forms of ignorance from gaps caused by social, racial, or class division. It’s not just about what we do not know, but why we are prevented from knowing it (either intentionally or unintentionally).

Androcentrism

Male-centered understanding of the world in which men and masculinity are considered the standard or default.

Bechdel Test

Demonstrates the androcentric perspective of a majority of feature-length films. 

• Films only pass the Bechdel Test if they: 

  • 1) Feature two female characters

  • 2) Those two female characters talk to each other

  • 3) They talk to each other about something other than a man. 

Who created the term “Bechdel Test”?

Alison Bechdel in 1985

Biopolitics

The ways governments manage and regulate laws, territory, and human life through policies, institutions, and technologies. Including health, reproduction, and population management. The political rationality and governance framework that emerges from biopower.

Who created the term “biopolitics”?

French philosopher Michel Foucault in 1976/1978

Biopower

Techniques and strategies through which power is exercised over individual bodies and populations. A form of power that optimizes, regulates, and controls life through surveillance, discipline, and social policies.

Who created the term “biopower”?

French philosopher Michel Foucault in 1976/1978

Conflict theory

Society is shaped by ongoing struggles between groups with different economic interests. 

Social structure maintain power of dominant groups

Inequality is not accidental; it is built into the system

• The “myth” of scarcity: a surplus of goods but still not everyone receives those resources

• “Coercion, not consensus” - asking why there is an inequality.

Who created the term “conflict theory”?

Karl Marx in the 19th century

Critical media literacy

The ability to analyze, evaluate, and create media while understanding the social cultural, and political contexts that shape media messages and influence perceptions of power, identity, and representation.

Feminism

the advocacy of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. There are many different types of feminism that focus on certain areas.

Feminist epistemology

Explores the nature, sources, and limits of knowledge of feminism. Questions traditional views on objectivity and neutrality in knowledge. Argues that these views often reflect the interests of those in power (particularly men). Women’s knowledge is frequently marginalized in conventional industries (ex: dula and midwifery was considered knowledge for women until medicine became valued and a sign on male work.) Women’s knowledge and traditions being de-valued in favor of male tradition in patriarchy.

Feminist standpoint theory

Women’s social perspectives can provide unique insights, expressing that these perspectives are valuable, not necessarily superior. Claiming that knowledge is socially situated, and marginalized groups have a heightened awareness of social structures and can provide valuable insights into power dynamics and social inequalities.

Who created the term “feminist standpoint theory”?

Developed by Dorothy Smith, Nancy Hartsock, and Sandra Harding in the 1970s.

Gender socialization

A lifelong socialization experience through which individuals learn and internalize the behaviors, roles, and expectations associated with gender roles within a society.

Gender stratification

The unequal distribution of power, resources, and opportunities between men and women in society. Examining the systemic inequality between genders, where social structures and cultural norms create hierarchical relationships, affecting access to education, economic resources, political representation, and healthcare. It is a form of social stratification that shapes life chances and opportunities based on gender, rather than individual merit.

Gender wage gap

The systemic differences in average wages or salaries between men and women.

Globalization

Globalization refers to the increasing interconnectedness of economies, politics, cultures, and communication across national borders

•  It brings benefits (access to goods, communication, global activism) and costs (labor exploitation, environmental harm, unequal economic gains).

•  Its effects vary depending on one’s social location—class, gender, nationality, etc.

Pop culture globalization - anime, Kpop, food, language, clothing trends

Hegemonic masculinity

The explanation as to why we always see the same types of men in power and always reemerge in power. Hegemonic masculinity is the pattern of practice (i.e., things done, not just a set of role expectations or an identity) that allowed men's dominance over women to continue. Hegemonic masculinity was distinguished from other masculinities, especially subordinated masculinities. The “ideal” man encompasses physical strength, emotional restraint, and dominance. But it was certainly normative. It embodied the currently most honored way of being a man, it required all other men to position themselves in relation to it, and it ideologically legitimized the global subordination of women to men. Men who received the benefits of patriarchy without enacting a strong version of masculine dominance could be regarded as showing a complicit masculinity.

Ideological State Apparatuses

Institutions that propagate ideology to maintain the dominant social order, shaping individuals’ beliefs and behaviors without relying on physical force.

Who created the term “Ideological State Apparatuses”?

Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser in 1969

Ignorance

lack of knowledge, education, or awareness.

Intersectionality

Systems of oppression working interconnectedly to create overlapping systems of discrimination or disadvantage. Notions of gender and the way a person’s gender is interpreted by others are always impacted by notions of race and the way that person’s race is interpreted. So notions of blackness, brownness, and whiteness always influence gendered experience, and there is no experience of gender that is outside of an experience of race. This is also shaped by age, sexuality, class, and ability.

Who created the term “intersectionality”?

Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989

Media representation

How individuals, groups, and communities are portrayed in media, shaping perceptions, identity, and societal norms.

Popular culture

Traditions and material culture of a particular society. Referring to cultural produces such as music, art, literature, fashion, dance, film, cyberculture, television, and radio that are consumed by the majority of society’s population.

Pornography

Sexually explicit videos or photographs whose purpose is to elicit sexual arousal.

“Race to the bottom”

When competition between governments leads to excessive deregulation. Elimination of perks or amenities, often in the interest of cutting costs.

Racial wage gap

The disparity in income between racial or ethnic groups, often highlighting systemic inequalities that affect employment opportunities, wages, and economic advancement.

Rape culture

A societal concept that sexual violence is common, normalized, excused, and trivialized (less significant than it really is), often placing blame one victims rather than perpetrators.

Repressive State Apparatuses (RSAs)

State-controlled institutions that maintain social order primarily through coercion and force, ensuring dominance of the ruling class. Examples: police, military, judiciary, prison systems.

Who created the term '“Repressive State Apparatuses”?

French Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser in 1970.

Reproductive justice

The human right to make decisions about having or not having children, maintain personal bodily autonomy, and parent in safe and sustainable communities.

Who created the term “reproductive justice”?

Loretta Ross and the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective in 1994.

Transmedicalization

The medicalization of transgender identity, where being trans is seen as a medical condition to be diagnosed and treated, rather than a social or personal identity. Beliefs include:

• gender dysphoria necessary condition to be trans

• only those who experience dysphoria and seek medical transition are “legitimately” trans

• non-binary people or those without dysphoria are excluded from the trans label

“Wallet dad”

A father whose primary role is providing financially for his family and feels his value is for only that. Concept derives from the traditional view of fatherhood where financial responsibility is assigned to the man rather than emotional presence or active parenting (many men feel negatively about being a “wallet dad” and feel that they’re being used for their money.)

Waves of US feminism

• 1st Wave: Vote for women. (1848-1920)

• 2nd Wave: Equal rights in jobs, family, and society. (1960s-1990s)

• 3rd Wave: Inclusive feminism for all women. (1990s-early 2000s)

• 4th Wave: Digital activism for equality and safety. (2010s-present)