Gender, Sex, and Sexuality

Flashcards covering key vocabulary related to gender, sex, and sexuality from the lecture notes.

Sex

Refers to the anatomical and other biological differences between females and males that are determined in the moment of conception and develop in the womb and throughout childhood and adolescence.

Gender

The physical, behavioral, and personality traits that a group considers to be normal, natural, right, and good based on an individuals’ biological sex; it’s a social construction.

Gender Roles

Society’s expectations of people’s behavior and attitudes based on whether they are females or males.

Gender Identity

How you, in your head, define your gender, based on how much you align (or don't align) with what you understand to be the options for gender.

Gender Expression

The ways you present gender, through your actions, dress, and demeanor, and how those presentations are interpreted based on gender norms.

Sexual Orientation/Identity

The inclination to feel sexual desire and attraction toward and engage in sexual behavior with a person(s) of a particular gender.

Gender Role Socialization

The lifelong process of learning to be masculine or feminine primarily through the agents of socialization (family, school, peers, and media).

Heteronormativity

The assumption and belief that heterosexuality is and should be the only acceptable orientation.

Kinsey Scale

A scale used to describe a person's sexual experience or response at a given time. It uses a range from 0 (exclusively heterosexual) to 6 (exclusively homosexual).