Chapter 9 - What is Sex? What Is Gender?

Gender Identity

An individual's self-definition or sense of gender

Feminism

Belief in social, political, and economic equality of the sexes; also the social movements organized around that belief

Asexuality

Involves the lack of sexual attraction of any kind; asexual people have no interest in or desire for sex

LGBTQ

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer; sometimes "A" is added to include "allies"

Patriarchy

Literally meaning "rule of the father"; a male-dominated society

Male Liberationism

A movement that originated in the 1970s to discuss the challenges of masculinity

Human Sexual Dimorphism

The extent, much debated in recent years, to which inherent physical differences define the distinctions between the two sexes

Sexual Orientation/Identity

The inclination to feel sexual desire toward people of a particular gender or toward both genders

Gender Role Socialization

The lifelong process of learning to be masculine or feminine, primarily through four agents of socialization: families, schools, peers, and media

Third Wave

The most recent period of feminist activity, focusing on issues of diversity and the variety of identities women can possess

Suffrage Movement

The movement organized around gaining voting rights for women

Second Wave

The period of feminist activity during the 1960s and 1970s often associated with the issues of women's equal access to employment and education

Gender

The physical, behavioral, and personality traits that a group considers normal for its male and female members

Expressive Role

The position of the family member who provides emotional support and nurturing

Instrumental Role

The position of the family member who provides the family's material support and is often an authority figure

Homosexuality

The tendency to feel sexual desire toward members of one's own gender

Second Shift

The unpaid housework and child care often expected of women after they complete their day's paid labor

Essentialists

Those who believe gender roles have a genetic or biological origin and therefore cannot be changed

Constructionists

Those who believe that notions of gender are socially determined, such that a dichotomous system is just one possibility among many

Sex

An individual's membership in one of two biologically distinct categories - male or female

Pro-Feminist Men's Movement

An offshoot male liberationism whose members support feminism and believe that sexism harms both men and women

Men's Rights Movement

An offshoot of male liberationism whose members believe that feminism promotes discrimination against men

Homophobia

Fear of or discrimination toward homosexuals or toward individuals who display purportedly gender-inappropriate behavior

Transsexuals

Individuals who identify with the other sex and have surgery to alter their own sex so it fits their self-image

Civil Unions

Proposed as an alternative to gay marriage; a form of legally recognized commitment that provides gay couples some of the benefits and protections of mariage

Bisexuality

Sexual attraction to both genders; bisexuals are sexually attracted to both males and females

Heterosexuality

Sexual desire for the other gender

Queer Theory

Social theory about gender identity and sexuality that emphasizes the importance of difference and rejects the idea of innate sexual identity

Feminization of Poverty

The economic trend showing that women are more likely than men to live in poverty, caused in part by the gendered gap in wages, the higher proportion of single mothers compared to single fathers, and the increasing costs of child care

Transgendered

Term describing an individual whose sense of gender identity transgresses expected gender categories

Intersexed

Term to describe a person whose chromosomes or sex characteristics are neither exclusively male nor exclusively female

Social Learning

Th process of learning behaviors and meanings through social interaction

Sexuality

The character or quality of being sexual

First Wave

The earliest period of feminist activism in the United States, including the period from the mid-nineteenth century until American women won the right to vote in 1920