Culture and Identity Lecture Notes

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes for FEM1101: Culture and Identity, covering key terms like Culture, Epistemology, Ontology, Gender, Sex, Performativity, and historical facts about color designation.

Culture

A set of beliefs, practices, and symbols that are learned and shared, forming an all-encompassing, integrated whole that binds people together, shapes their worldview and lifeways, and is always dynamic or in flux.

Epistemology

The study of how we know; the theory of knowledge.

Ontology

The study of being; the essence of who we are.

Gender

A social construct often understood as fluid and distinct from biological sex, a key theme in identity studies.

Sex

Biological characteristics distinguishing male and female, often contrasted with gender.

Performativity

A concept suggesting that identity, particularly gender, is constructed through repeated actions and expressions rather than being an inherent state, aligning with the idea that 'one is not born a woman, one becomes one'.

Simone de Beauvoir

Author of 'The Second Sex', known for the influential statement 'One is not born a woman, one becomes one'.

Pink and Blue Color Designation

The assignment of pink and blue as masculine and feminine colors was not consistently applied until after World War II.