Sociology Quiz 6

Sex

An identity assigned to you at (or before) birth based upon visible primary sex characteristics.

Primary Sex Characteristics

Genitals.

Secondary Sex Characteristics

Those characteristics that commonly emerge during puberty or when taking sex hormones.

Gender

Cultural and social differences between gendered people based on meanings, beliefs, and practices that a culture associates with “femininity,” “masculinity,” or other gendered identifications.

Sexuality

Who one is attracted to.

• Sexual minorities include Polyamory and Consensual Non-Monogamy

• LGBTQIA+

Gender Roles

The ways in which a culture believes that people of different genders are to behave and the hierarchies that come along with differently assigned gendered bodies.

Gendered Division of Labor

The process whereby productive tasks are separated on the basis of gender.

The Arapesh

Both males and females are gentle, responsive, and cooperative.

The Mundugumor (now Biwat)

Both males and females were violent and aggressive, seeking power and position.

The Tchambuli (now Chambri)

Male and female temperaments were distinct, the women being dominant, impersonal, and managerial and the males less responsible and more emotionally dependent.

The Social Construction of Sexuality

• Sexuality is Socially Constructed. The meanings attributed to sexual acts have varied across time and place.

• Our different social identities and social structures will produce different experiences of sex and sexuality.

• Sexuality, like others identities, is “scripted.”

• We are taught by society what feelings and desires count as “sexual” and what the appropriate scripts for sexual behavior are.

Homophobia

Fear or intolerance of homosexuality.

Heterosexism

The belief that heterosexuality is superior to other sexualities.

Transphobia

Fear or intolerance of transgender people.

Compulsory Heterosexism and Compulsory Monogamy

Ideologies that deny, denigrate, and stigmatize sexual minorities while encouraging compliance with heterosexuality and monogamy.