Gender and Sexuality Exam 1

Sexual Dimorphism

physical differences between males and females

Four categories of evolutionary theories

- strength hyopothesis

- male aggression

- male bonding

- women's child bearing

nature

what you are born with

nurture

how your culture helps determine who you are

Margaret Mead

anthropologists who discusses a lot about nature v. nurture

biological determinism

whatever your genes said you were going to be is how you were

eugenics

idea that you can use selective breeding to get the ultimate physical machine

strength hypothesis

idea that the reason sex roles are different is because men are physically stronger than women and that made them superior in certain tasks

male aggression

males had aggressice tendencies and because of this they took on roles that fit

male bonding

women stayed with men because they were able to better protect them and their children

women's child bearing

women were bearing children. therefore, they could not participate in these activities because if they were in danger the male would have to protect them

sex

the culturally agreed upon physical differences between male and female. especially biologically related to human reproduction

Three factors that determine biological sex

1. genitalia

2. gonads (testes/ovaries)

3. chromosome patterns

gender

the expectations of thought and behavior that each culture assigns to people of different sex

intersex

those born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals

"true hermaphrodites" herms

posses one testis and one ovary

"pseudohermaphrodites" merms

have testes and some aspects of the female genitalia but no ovaries

"female pseudohemphordites" ferms

have ovaries and some aspects of the male genitalia but lack testes

sexuality

1. the complex range of desires, beliefs, and behaviors that are related to erotic physical contact

2. the cultural arena within which people debate what kinds of physical desires and behaviors are right, appropriate, and natural

evolutionary biology

all humans should be striving to reproduce

ways in which human sexuality is not aligned with other animals

1. most other mammals live individually and not in pairs, and meet only to have sex

2. moms mammals engage in public sex, while humans engage in private

3. most mammals only have sex when the female is ovulating

4. humans are one of the few species to have sex face to face

5. humans, dolphins, and bonobos are the only mammals that have sex for fun

gender studies

the study of how gender identities and expressions are shaped by and affect one's life chances

gender identity

each person's internal experience and understanding of their own gender

gender expression

how a person expresses or presents themselves in relationship to gender, whether in their behavior, appearance, name, or pronouns

transgender

people whose gender identity and expression do not correspond with the biological sex category they were assigned with at birth

cisgender

people whose gender identity and expression correspond with the biological sex category they were assigned at birth

cultural construction of gender

the ways humans learn to perform and recognize behaviors as masculine or feminine within their cultural context

masculinity

the ideas and practices associated with manhood

femininity

the ideas and practices associated with womanhood

gender performance

the way gender identity is expressed through action

gender stratification

an unequal distribution of power in which gender shapes who has access to a group's resources, opportunities, rights, and privileges

gender stereotypes

widely held preconceived notions about the attributes of, differences between, and proper roles for men and women in a culture

gender ideology

a set of cultural ideas, usually stereotypical, about the essential character of different genders that functions to promote and justify gender stratification

gender violence

forms of violence shaped by the gender identities of the people involved

structural gender violence

gendered societal patterns of unequal access to wealth, power, and basic resources such as food, shelter, and health care that differentially affect women in particular

sexuality

the complex range of desires, beliefs, and behaviors that are related to erotic physical contact, and the cultural arena within which people debate what kinds of physical desires and behaviors are right, appropriate, and natural

sexology

scientific study of sexuality

sex work

labor through which one provides sexual services for money

sex tourism

travel, usually organized through the tourism sector, to facilitate commercial sexual relations between tourists and local residents in destinations around the world