Sex, gender and sexuality

sex (biological classification)

refers to the bodily traits typically used for classification, e.g. chromosomes, gonads, hormones, reproductive anatomy

how are biological facts interpreted

through social processes

gender

learned meanings, norms, roles and expectations attached to being read as ‘woman/man’ and beyond

how is gender acquired and policed through

• family, peers, media, institutions

• varies across cultures and history

what is the key point of gender

gender is patterned, changeable and linked to power (who gets what and why)

sexuality 

experience and expression of sexual feelings/behaviours

how is sexuality shaped

• by culture, context and life stage

• includes pleasure, intimacy and norms

sexual orientation

direction of attraction, e.g. heterosexual, gay/lesbian, bisexual, queer, etc.

name the psychological theories of gender

• biological (essentialist) theory

• psycholanalytic theory

• social learning theory

• cognitive developmental theory

• gender schema theory

• social constructionist theory

what does each theory try to explain 

• how ‘being a woman/man’ and beyond is learned, organised and policed 

• why individuals differ in gendered attitudes and behaviour 

• where gendered inequalities come from and whether they can change 

how is the nature → nurture spectrum too simple

bodies and worlds co-construct gendered life

what are some evidence prompts for gender

• cross-cultural variation

• historical shifts

• experimental/longitudinal studies

• policy impacts

what ate the types of prejudice and discrimination faced by gender and sexual orientation

• persistent prejudice and discrimination against people who are not hetero

• homosexuality pathologised until as recently as the 1970s

• in many contexts, same-sex relationships remain criminalised

• sexual orientation is an important part of identity, which makes such prejudice especially harmful

explain the continued discrimination against women

• unemployment is higher among women

• poverty impact on women more

• women take on more work within the home and in families

• invisibilised’ unpaid labour

how does feminism critique society

• belief in social, political, economic and cultural equality of the sexes

• also a movement for action

• liberal, radical, Marxist, Black, African, womanist

explain the 1980 feminist crisis

exclusion of Black, lesbian, working-class women → emergence of Black feminism and African feminism

traditional masculinity 

aggression, authority, dominance 

hegemonic masculinity

a culturally dominant form that legitimises male power

critical men’s studies

view masculinity as dynamic, contested, socially constructed