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