Unit 9 - Gender and Sexuality

Why might a third-wave feminist be annoyed with members of the second wave for talking about how women needed access to education and careers, like those available to men, that would give their lives meaning?

Second-wave feminists hid the differences between women, so the concerns of women of color, lesbians, and lower-class women tended to be marginalized

In The Mismeasure of Women, social psychologist Carol Tavris argues that there is nothing "universal and nonvarying . . . in the natures of men and women." If you agree with her, you would have to reject the concept of

Essentialism

Alfred Kinsey conducted research to determine what percentage of the population was heterosexual and what percentage was homosexual. Why would he have avoided asking the question, "Do you identify as gay or straight?"

He believed that people were not exclusively either gay or straight and that those two binary classifications were too limiting.

American anthropologist Margaret Mead spent much of her career documenting the ways in which other cultures had gender roles that differed, sometimes radically, from those of twentieth-century America. Why does this matter?

It shows that the meaning of masculinity and femininity differs in different societies.

In terms of gendered health issues and life expectancy rates, ________ is/are viewed as "the great equalizer".

college education

Which term is used to describe a person whose chromosomes or sex characteristics are neither exclusively male nor exclusively female?

intersex

The changing representation of LGBTQ people in the media, such as their greater inclusion and more positive treatment on television shows, can lead us to conclude that

media representation of LGBTQ people is slowly changing to reflect increasing tolerance toward them.

Laura is a married mother of three who works a full-time job. She drops her kids off at school every day at 7:30 A.M., arrives at the office at 8 A.M., works until 4 P.M., and then drives to pick up her kids from after-school care at 4:30 P.M. She gets home around the same time as her husband, who works a full-time job from 9 A.M. until 5 P.M. He expects that she will have dinner ready for the family by 6 P.M. From 7 to 9 P.M., Laura usually does housework and reads to the children. What sociological concept does Laura's situation exemplify?

second shift

Some newspapers, magazines, and other media tend to use gender-inappropriate names or pronouns as well as other language that trans people find insensitive or offensive when describing transgender people. This is an example of

Microaggression

Some people believe that women are better suited to be homemakers because they are naturally more caring and emotional than men. What perspective is expressed in this statement?

an essentialist perspective