Midterm For Sex/Lit/Gender
assimilationist strategies
In the case of queer politics, it refers to a process by which LGBTQ movements aim to gain rights in order to be considered the same as heterosexuals. This differs from the political strategies of some queer activists taking a divergent view and fighting for the right to be different.
Alfred Kinsey
The Kinsey Scale/Sexual Diversity - developed the Kinsey scale - sex positive - focused on what people "do" (sex acts and with whom) rather than what they "are" - still adheres to gender binary (focuses on men and women separately) - studies of sexuality since Kinsey tend to stick to categories (heterosexual or homosexual)
Sigmund Freud
The Oedipus Complex - founded that sexuality is determined by how one goes through the oedipus complex - founded psychoanalysis - privileges (PIV) sex above all else - still pathologies certain sexualities and functions (the clitoris, homosexuality)
Gayle Rubin
The Sex Hierarchy/The Domino Theory - argued against oppression of sex workers, SM enthusiasts, trans people, gay, bi, pan, ace, lesbian people - 6 ideologies constrain us: sexual essentialism, sex negativity, excessive fixation on sexual behavior, the sex hierarchy, domino theory of sexual peril, no concept of benign sexual variation
TERF (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists)
The acronym for "trans exclusionary radical feminists," referring to feminists who are transphobic.
Heterosexism (also known as homophobia)
discrimination or prejudice against homosexuals on the assumption that heterosexuality is the normal sexual orientation
Gender Performativity
gender is PERFORMATIVE rather than natural, something we DO rather than something we ARE
Drag
gender-bending art form in which a person dresses in clothing and makeup to emphasize a particular gender identity
Monique Wittig
"The Straight Mind" - we are conditioned to see relationships between men and women as obligatory - we only question the "straight mind" when we aren't straight. straight people don't think about being straight the same way - for women, gender and sexuality are very linked - contends lesbian are not women because they do not exist in the patriarchal sense to serve or please men
Danez Smith
"and even the black guy's profile reads 'sorry, no black guy" - dude writes poetry about the violence that America throws at black bodies
Alok Vaid-Menon
"because we are alive, we remind them that they are not" - dude writes about violence against trans and gender non-conforming people
asexuality
A term used to describe someone who does not experience sexual attraction toward individuals of any gender
Audre Lorde
Black Feminism/Multiple Identities and Marginalization - unexamined white privilege led "women" to implicitly mean only white women - black women defined as "other" within mainstream feminism
Sandra Bem
Androgyny/Gender Schema theory - rigid adherence to masculine or feminine gender roles ("real man" or "real woman") is not healthy - actual people are more flexible (masculine and feminine in some combination) - gender is learned and internalized by children and policed
Cordelia Fine
Neurosexism (Delusions of Gender)
Bell Hooks
Black Feminism - resistance and compassion in activism - marginality as resistance rather than place of despair
Crip Theory
Combines disability studies and queer theory to show how bodies, pleasures, and identities are represented as "normal" or as "deviant."
Adrienne Rich
Compulsory Heterosexuality - rich turned the microscope back on heterosexuality - heterosexuality as an imperative rather than a choice, something people are coerced into - heterosexuality as an institution like education, the police, sanitation, etc - women are particularly oppressed by heterosexuality because of patriarchy - all of the effort put into enforcing heterosexuality reveals its instability - "lesbian continuum": all kinds of bonds between women (sexual and non-sexual) can resist patriarchy and compulsory
Jean Paul Sartre
Existentialism/"Homosexual" - we act in "bad faith" by claiming we have to be something - identity as a constant process of self-creation where we are free to create ourselves - "homosexual" as "bad faith" because Sartre disagreed it was inevitable and fixed sexuality
Simone de Beauvoir
Existentialism/"Second Sex" - some of us are freer than others to create ourselves - gender is something we become rather than something we are - women pressured to deny their freedom and become "for-others" while men encouraged to embrace freedom ("second sex")
Judith Butler
Gender Performativity - butler argues that gender is PERFORMATIVE rather than natural, something we DO rather than something we ARE - dude is a huge fan of drag because parody can reveal the performance of gender
sex hierarchy
Graduates sexual practices from morally "good sex" to "bad sex"
Kimberly Crenshaw
Intersectionality - key founder of critical race theory - intersectionality: no one axis of oppression (race, gender, SES, sexuality, citizenship, status, ethnicity, disability, etc) can exist separately from all the others - focuses on unequal power relations - with gender, we all perform gender differently based on our own unique combination of identities, and people of different groups often adapt different strategies
the closet
LGBT people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects
The Domino Theory
People feel a need to draw a line between good and bad sex as they see it standing between sexual order and chaos.
Michel Foucault
Self-Monitoring - wrote "the history of sexuality" - believed sexuality is "produced" by power structures (religion, capitalism, neoliberal politics) - self-monitoring society: people get so used to being criticized for how they "do" gender and sexuality that they learn to self-monitor or self-police - this is compounded by: a) consumer capitalism, which tells us we are missing something and b) neoliberalism politics, which blames things on individuals rather than on structural inequities
Postructuralist Queer Theory
destabilizes heteronormativity by exposing how gender identity is CONSTRUCTED and PERFORMATIVE - also examines POWER RELATIONS relating to sex, sexuality, and gender
The Straight Mind
We are conditioned to see relationships between men and women as obligatory
The Kinsey Scale
a 0-6 spectrum between heterosexuality and homosexuality
The Oedipus Complex
a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father - holds that initial attraction is to opposite sex parent
Black Feminism
a branch of feminism that focuses on the African-American woman's experiences and recognizes the intersectionality of racism and sexism
Heterosexual Matrix
a concept used by philosopher Judith Butler that refers to cultural expectations and norms surrounding the performance of sex and gender
Existentialism
a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the issue of human existence
Queer Activism
a form of sexuality/gender activism that opposes assimilationist agendas of trying to show how normal LGBT people are. Instead it celebrates difference and diversity, and challenges things like the commercialism of the gay scene.
kink
a particular sexual preference or behavior that is unconventional.
Queer Theory
a theoretical approach that goes beyond queer studies to question the categories and assumptions on which current popular and academic understandings are based.
Why does Monique Wittig contend that lesbians aren't "women"? a. Because lesbians do not exist to please or serve men in the patriarchal sense b. Because many lesbians appear masculine or act "butch" c. Because lesbians don't want the social protections other women have d. None of the above
a. Because lesbians do not exist to please or serve men in the patriarchal sense
Lesbian Continuum
all kinds of bonds between women (sexual and non-sexual) can resist patriarchy and compulsory
Queer Studies
an academic discipline that tries to move beyond lesbain and gay studies to incorporate other sexualities and to take a more critical approach to sexuality as a whole, including heterosexuality.
Genderqueer (non-binary)
an identity term for some people who do not identify with the gender binary (man and woman)
Trans Studies
an interdisciplinary field of academic research dedicated to the study of gender identity, gender expression, and gender embodiment with a focus on issues concerning the trans population
queer reading
analyzing the structure of gender and sexuality in texts
Zara identifies as bisexual. However, her friend Addie says Zara is actually straight because she's dating Ed. What is this an example of? a. The heterosexual matrix b. Bi-erasure c. Bi-phobia d. Heterochromia
b. Bi-erasure
Which of the following would be a question asked by a queer studies scholar: a. Which label fits a certain group of queer people best? b. In what ways is heterosexuality an imperative forced upon people from birth? c. How can lesbian women and gay men show straight society that they're "normal"? d. Why even study something like heterosexuality when the category doesn't fit most people?
b. In what ways is heterosexuality an imperative forced upon people from birth?
"Queer" was first used negatively to refer to: a. George Sand, a female-bodied French novelist who wrote under a male pseudonym b. Oscar Wilde, an English novelist charged with having homosexual relationships c. Annie Lennox, a Scottish singer known for her androgynous style and powerful lyrics d. Robert Owen, a social reformer who founded the cooperative movement
b. Oscar Wilde, an English novelist charged with having homosexual relationships
Androgyny
being flexibly able to be "masculine" and "feminine"
Cisgenderism
belief in the superiority of cisgender persons and identities
What is neurosexism? a. The historical discrimination against women in neuroscience which includes sexual harassment, the gender pay gap, and sexism in the work place b. The science behind brains and how they are gendered according to genotypes and phenotypes c. Neuroscience's historical reliance on unproven gender stereotypes as a justification for sex-based discrimination and typing d. None of the above
c. Neuroscience's historical reliance on unproven gender stereotypes as a justification for sex-based discrimination and typing
Which of the following is an example of the Domino Theory of Sexual Peril? a. A person is threatened, and their body internalizes that as PTSD b. A person fears that marriage equality will lead to bestiality and pedophilia c. A person attends prom and then feels pressured to have sex they don't want d. None of the above
c. a person attends prom and then feels pressured to have sex they don't want
homosexual panic
controversial term used to describe the feeling of anxiety that may occur when someone discovers his or her own homosexual feelings
What do queer activism, queer studies, and queer theory agree on? a. They all oppose identity politics in the queer community b. They all believe that heterosexual and cisgender people cannot be queer c. They all believe that queer is about sexuality and not about gender or gender identity d. They all oppose the idea that categories like white and cisgender queer people have more privilege
d. They all oppose the idea that categories like white and cisgender queer people have more privilege
What does queer mean? a. Strange, illegitimate, odd, suspicious b. Homophobic and derogatory slang for people with same-sex attractions and "effeminate" or "camp" men c. A reclaimed umbrella term for anyone who isn't cishet d. All of the above
d. all of the above
Which of the following is NOT a binary: a. straight or gay b. cisgender or transgender c. man or woman d. asexual or nonbinary
d. asexual or nonbinary
Intersectionality
no one axis of oppression (race, gender, sexuality, class, etc) can be regarded separately from all of the others
Queer
operates as an umbrella term for people outside of the heterosexual norm, or for people who challenge the LGBT "mainstream".
Self-Monitoring
people get so used to being criticized for how they "do" gender and sexuality that they learn to self-monitor or self-police
Intersex
possessing biological sexual characteristics of both sexes
gender policing
pressure to conform to (your gender's) gender expectations
Compulsory Heterosexuality
the theory that heterosexuality is assumed and enforced upon people by a patriarchal and heteronormative society.
sexuality
the way people experience and express themselves sexually
Homosocial bonding
same-sex relationships that are not of a romantic or sexual nature
open non-monogamy (basically a threesome)
sexual activity involving a person in a committed relationship with a third or multiple persons with the consent of the partners
outing
the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent.
Sex
the biological distinction between females and males
Heteronormativity
the concept that heterosexuality is the preferred or normal sexual orientation.
bi-erasure
the idea of ignoring, or removing the evidence of bisexuality
Epistemology of the Closet
the idea that modern knowledge about sexuality and in particular homosexuality is connected to the public denial of homosexuality (sedwig)
Neurosexism
the practice of claiming that there are fixed differences between female and male brains, which can explain women's inferiority or unsuitability for certain roles
gender
the social, psychological, cultural and behavioral aspects of being a man, woman, or other gender identity