Chapter 12 and Chapter 14

Based on Notes

Sex

refers to physical or physiological differences between males and females, including both primary sex characteristics (the reproductive system) and secondary characteristics such as height and muscularity

Gender

a term that refers to social or cultural distinctions and roles associated with being male or female

Gender identity

the extent to which one identifies as being either masculine or feminine

Gender is viewed as fluid

in many cultures - not North American cultures

Berdache or two spirit person

refer to individuals who occasionally or permanently dressed and lived as the opposite gender

Fa’afafine - Samoan culture

a term used to describe individuals who are born biologically male but embody both masculine and feminine traits - referred to as a third gender

Sexuality

refers to a person’s capacity for sexual feelings and their emotional and sexual attraction to a particular sex

Heterosexuality

the attraction to individuals of the opposite sex

Homosexuality

the attraction to individuals of one’s own sex

Bisexuality

the attraction to individuals of either sex

Asexuality

no attraction to either sex

Heteronormativity

heterosexuality as the norm

Alfred Kinsey

among the first to conceptualize sexuality as a continuum - six -point rating scale ranging from heterosexual to exclusively homosexual

Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick

coined the term “homosocial” to oppose “homosexual” -describing nonsexual same-sex relations

Homophobia

an extreme or irrational aversion to homosexuals

Gender role

refers to society’s concept of how men and women are expected to act and how they should behave - reinforcement of roles begins in early childhood

Cisgendered individuals

identify their gender with the gender and sex they were assigned at birth

Transgendered individuals

individuals who identify with the gender that is the opposite of their biological sex

The dominant gender schema

An ideology that serves to perpetuate inequalities in power and status - States that sex is a biological characteristic that produces only two options, male or female, gender is a social or psychological characteristic that manifests or expresses biological sex

Fausto-Sterling’s research

• indicates there are 5 different sexes

  • male

  • female

  • herms (true hermaphrodites with both male and female gonads)

  • merms (male pseudo-hermaphrodites with testes and a mixture of sexual organs)

  • ferms (female pseudo-hermaphrodites with ovaries and a mixture of sexual organs)

Patriarchy

the set of institutional structures based on the belief that men and women are dichotomous and unequal categories

Socialization

teaches people to behave according to social norms

Sexism

refers to prejudiced beliefs that value one sex over another

Gender socialization occurs through four major agents of socialization

family, education, peer groups, and mass media

Family

first agent of socialization - treating sons and daughters differently based on gender roles

Education

would try to push girls to take home economics or humanities courses and boys to take shop, math, and science courses

Mass media

women tend to serve less significant roles in media - often portrayed as wives or mothers

Stratification

refers to a system in which groups of people experience unequal access to basic, yet highly valuable, social resources

Gender discrimination

in hiring and salary, different work, distribution of domestic duties

Functionalists argue that gender roles

were established well before the preindustrial era when men typically took care of responsibilities outside of the home

Bifurcated consciousness

women often perceive a disconnect between their personal experiences and the way the world is represented by society as a whole

Marriage

a legally recognized social contract between two people - traditionally based on a sexual relationship - implying a permanence of the union

Family

a socially recognized group joined by blood relations, marriage, or adoption, that forms an emotional connection and serves as an economic unit of society

A family of orientation

refers to the family into which a person is born

A family of procreation

describes one that is formed through marriage

We can analyze the family as a social form that comes into existence around five different contents or interests

sexual activity, economic cooperation, reproduction, socialization of children, and emotional support

Family is an excellent example of an institution that can be examined at

micro-, meso-, and macro- levels of analysis

Nuclear family

a cohabiting man and woman who maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and have at least one child - as the basic unit of an orderly and functional society

Exchange theory

proposes that all relationships are based on giving and returning valued “goods” or “services”

Romantic love

can be defined as the desire for emotional union with another person

Romantic love turns into

companionate love - deep friendship, comfortable companionship, and shared interests

Robert Sternberg’s triangular theory of love - romantic love consists of three components

• Passion or erotic attraction (limerance)

• Intimacy or feelings of bonding, sharing, closeness, and connectedness

• Commitment or deliberate choice to enter into and remain in a relationship

Mate selection

implicit or explicit cost/benefit analysis - affects who falls in love with whom

People tend to select mates

who have a similar social status, social group and good socioeconomic resources

Socioeconomic resources

income potential or family wealth, cultural resources, within social group to avoid conflict, local marriage markets

Monogamy

when someone is married to only one person at a time

Polygyny

refers to a man being married to more than one woman at the same time

Polyandry

refers to when a woman is married to more than one man at the same time

Bigamy

The act of entering into marriage while still married to another person - prohibited by the criminal code of Canada

Bilateral descent

Tracing kinship

Kinship

Traceable ancestry, can be based on blood, marriage, or adoption

Unilateral descent

The tracing of kinship through one parent only

There are three types of unilateral descent

patrilineal, matrilineal, ambilineal

Patrilineal

which follows the father’s line only

Matrilineal

which follows the mother’s side only

Ambilineal

which follows either the father’s only or the mother’s side only - depending on the situation

Family life cycle

The set of predictable steps and patterns families experience over time - in specific stages

Key factors in children’s quality of life

educational levels and economic condition of the family - not about if children’s parents are married, common-law, or single

Single parenting and cohabitation

becoming more acceptable in recent years, people may be less motivated to get married

Marriage rate is declining

decision to marry or not to marry can be based a variety of factors including religion and cultural expectations

Functionalists

the differentiation of the roles on the basis of sex ensures that families are well-balanced and coordinated

Critical perspectives

emphasize that the diversity of family forms does not indicate the “decline of the family”

Symbolic interactionism

draws our attention to how the norms that define what a “normal” family is, and how it should operate, come into existence