HDF 306 Notes 1

Gender Binary

A classification system that assigns masculine and feminine attributes strictly to men and women, ignoring individual identity differences.

Stereotypes

Fixed, distorted, and oversimplified ideas about categories of people that can lead to stereotype threat.

Stereotype Threat

The risk of conforming to stereotypes about one's social group, potentially impacting academic performance.

Intersexuality

A condition involving individuals with reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't fit typical definitions of male or female.

Transgender

Individuals whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.

Non-Binary

A gender identity that does not fit within the traditional binary of male and female.

Cisgender

Individuals who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.

Sexual Dimorphism

Typical differences in body type and behavior between males and females of a species.

Biocultural Interaction

The perspective that emphasizes the interplay between biological and cultural factors in shaping human behavior.

Privilege

Unearned social and economic advantages based on one's location in a social hierarchy.

Intersectionality

The interconnected nature of social categories like gender, race, and class, which create overlapping systems of discrimination.

Heteronormativity

The assumption that heterosexuality is the default or norm, marginalizing non-heterosexual identities.

Heterosexism

Systemic bias against sexual minorities and the privileging of heterosexual individuals.

Compulsory Heterosexuality

The societal expectation that all individuals will be heterosexual.

Ableism

Prejudice against people with disabilities, often denying them access and resources.

Ageism

Institutionalized preference for youth, associating aging with decreased social value.

Gender Rules

Socially constructed expectations about how men and women are supposed to behave.

Doing Gender

The process of actively obeying and breaking gender rules in daily life.

Sexual Minority

Individuals who identify as something other than heterosexual, including gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and others.

Cultural Constructions of Race

Racial categories are socially meaningful and vary across cultures, lacking significant biological basis.

Gender Fluidity

The idea that a person's gender identity can vary over time.

Gender-Affirming Care (GAC)

A range of services that support transgender and nonbinary individuals' mental and physical health needs.

Mosaicism

A condition where an individual has cells with different genetic makeup that occurred from a single fertilized egg.