WGS 2500 Midterm

social construction

The process by which society makes meaning out of, and changes to, material reality

gay

males attracted to males

Sex of the external genitals

vulva (female) and penis (male)

gonadal sex

ovaries (female) or testes (male)

brain sex

such a thing as female brain and male brain and a difference between them (in wiring)-most controversial because many people question if this even exists

Privilege

unearned advantages produced by someone else's oppression

Sex of the internal reproductive organs

womb/uterus- female prostate- male

intersectionality

The theory that multiple social identities or oppressions overlap, or intersect, producing distinct experiences

transgender

(1) Transitioning from female to male or from male to female; (2) different from gender norms.

origin of the Me Too movement

-Founded by Tarana Burke, the civil rights activist -Raises awareness about sexual harassment, violence, and assault -Popularized by actress Alyssa Milano (Twitter), sheds light on the Harvey Weinstein assaults

how publication bias impacts research on brain sex

-publishers have a bias towards research findings that they think are more/less interesting and don't want to publish anything boring (marketing appeal) -bias towards publishing experimental findings in differences between male and female brains without covering the tests with no difference -exaggerated effect on the diff. of male and female brains

How neuroplasticity impacts research on brain sex

-the ability of the brain to be molded/shaped/changed in response to the environment -society tells us you have to do xyz to be a man so it wires the brain that way -people are socialized to think they are a particular gender

goals of the intersex movement

1. educate 2. provide support for intersex people and their families 3. end unnecessary medical intervention on intersex infants

Positive and negative advantages according to Peggy McIntosh

1. positive advantage: forms of privilege in a just world that everyone would have. -The sense of belonging to the community 2. Negative advantages- in a just world, this is an advantage no one would have. -Racial superiority

queer

Different from sexual norms

path of least resistance

A course of action that minimizes negative sanction

What does it mean to claim that "the system presses one's people down"?

A pattern of how people interact with one another applies pressure, placing a group at a social advantage or disadvantage Presses on people through socialization and paths of least resistance. Patterns of oppression in which people oppress another person or group is a disadvantage to you and your people.

publication bias

A predisposition toward publishing academic research with particular findings

social system

A set of patterns of how individuals interact with one another

Explain lawyer Kimberle Crenshaw's perspective on intersectionality

Compared black women's discrimination to a car accident at the intersection of 2 roads Many factors to take into consideration. One is not separate from the other. Race, gender, class, sexuality, trans status, immigration "Discrimination, like traffic through an intersection, may flow in one direction, and it may flow in another. If an accident happens in an intersection, it can be caused by cars traveling from any number of directions and, sometimes, from all of them. Similarly, if a Black woman is harmed because she is in the intersection, her injury could result from sex discrimination or race discrimination." (Crenshaw 149)

the politics of location

The feminist method of beginning one's analysis with the material conditions of particular women rather than with a generalization about women.

socialization

The process of teaching one to internalize social norms

DeGraffenreid v. General Motors (1977)

Discriminated against for being both black and a woman- "This lawsuit must be examined to see if it states a cause of action for race discrimination, sex discrimination, or alternatively, either but not a combination of both." The judge threw out the case, she wasn't legally allowed to claim discrimination based on 2 factors For black women, blackness and womanhood intersect, producing a different experience of racism than other black people, and a different experience of sexism than other women.

hormonal sex

Female: HIGH ESTROGEN, low androgen Male: HIGH ANDROGEN, low estrogen

core tenets of feminism

Feminism is a movement for the liberation of women's freedom; the presence of choices 1. Women are oppressed 2. Women's liberation is possible 3. Women's liberation is desirable

asexual

Having little or no sexual desire

international Dalit Solidarity Network's perspective on Dalit women's oppression

India and surrounding regions They are so low in the caste system they are not seen fully as people They face oppression at an intersection of gender, class, and poverty. This is not seen in any other part of the world

anthropologist Emily Martin's perspective on the egg and the sperm

Martin discusses how scientists and others talk about human biology- egg and sperm. Don't talk about it in a neutral, unbiased way. Example: sperm interpretation is skewed by masculine stereotypes and feminine stereotypes (eggs), result in putting women down Academic, scientific definitions, unbiased

% of people who are intersex at birth

Meta-Analysis about the prevalence of intersex: 1 in 50, 2% of people are intersex

intersex

Neither entirely female nor entirely male at birth

Marilyn Frye's (philosopher) perspective on oppression

Notes that the term oppression comes from "pressing, pressure" The passage "the way that oppression presses on people are like a bird cage and we have to picture a bird cage where there are bars coming down on all sides. If you focus on 1 bar (one type of oppression), it ignores the structure of the whole cage (the comprehensive and systematic oppression). Look at the structure of the whole cage (look at all the oppression).

Sarah Jaffe's (journalist) perspective on the Me Too movement

One thing that the me too movement has raised awareness about is that it drives a lot of women out of prestigious working conditions (in fear of being sexually assaulted), and does not allow them to pursue more desirable occupations Sexual harassment drives women out of good jobs and keeps women in a bad position in less desirable jobs. "Sexual harassment is just one of the many tools used to keep women compliant and their labor cheap. It drives women out of prestigious occupations and terrorizes them in substance occupants" (Jaffe 86)

gender assignment

One's *legal* or administrative gender

sex

One's body insofar as it is classified as female, male, or intersex

gender identity

One's inner sense of being a woman, a man, or another gender

gender expression

One's outward presentation or behavior insofar as it is classified as feminine, masculine, or androgynous

sexual orientation

One's pattern of sexual attraction to particular genders

Tim Wise's (educator) examples of white privilege

Privilege and unearned advantage Material advantages: physical and economic- better housing, job, educational access Psychological: feeling at ease and relaxed knowing one might not be racially profiled in public or by the law. "I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day"

Gina Crosley-Corcoran's (columnist) perspective on white privilege

Privilege is often conferred on people without them being aware Misconception about privilege- should they feel guilty? Moral responsibility comes in when someone is deciding what to do about their privilege. Don't feel guilty for having privilege. Give up privilege? Sometimes yes, but other times you can use it to make a difference. Don't be a cop out. Just world is when no one has a sense of racial superiority What value does gaining perspective and awareness about white privilege have? "We might at least start by distinguishing between positive advantages that we can work to spread, to the point where they are not advantages at all but simply part of the normal civic and social fabric, and negative types of advantage that unless rejected will always reinforce our present hierarchies"

David Reimer's story

Recount David Reimer story In the mid-1960s, psychologist John Money encouraged the gender reassignment of David Reimer, who was born a biological male but suffered irreparable damage to his penis as an infant. Born in 1965 as Bruce Reimer, his penis was irreparably damaged during infancy due to a failed circumcision. After encouragement from Money, Reimer's parents decided to raise Reimer as a girl. Reimer underwent surgery as an infant to construct rudimentary female genitals, and was given female hormones during puberty. During childhood, Reimer was never told he was biologically male and regularly visited Money, who tracked the progress of his gender reassignment. Reimer unknowingly acted as an experimental subject in Money's controversial investigation, which he called the John/Joan case. The case provided results that were used to justify thousands of sex reassignment surgeries for cases of children with reproductive abnormalities. Despite his upbringing, Reimer rejected the female identity as a young teenager and began living as a male. He suffered severe depression throughout his life, which culminated in his suicide at thirty-eight years old. Reimer, and his public statements about the trauma of his transition, brought attention to gender identity and called into question the sex reassignment of infants and children.

cisgender

Roughly, non-transgender; an adjective for someone whose gender identity conforms to their biological sex & meets societal expectations

neuroplasticity

The capacity of the brain to change in response to environmental factors

oppression

When the system presses one's people down

historian Estelle Freedman's perspective on the politics of location

Women's oppression is not the same all around the world; changes with one's location in the world. Needs to be tailored for that location's culture, norms, etc.

chromosomal sex

XX (female) or XY (male)

Me too

a movement against sexual harassment and assault

Feminism

a movement for women's liberation

bisexual

a romantic or sexual attraction to both men & women

Bell Hook's (writer) perspective on feminism

believes that feminist don't all share the same issues 1. the problem is men -sexist thinking and action in society 2. the solution is gender equality -men are not equal with each other amongst social classes upper and lower equity

lesbian

describes a woman, or woman-identified person who is sexually/romantically attracted to women

liberation

freedom from oppression