WMST Chapter 4

Question 1

Alyha

Answer 1

Among the Mojave people, a boy who underwent a transformation to the social role of female.

Question 2

Berdache

Answer 2

Anthropological term for third gender individuals of the male sex. “Female berdache” is sometimes used for the female sex. Term is considered offensive by indigenous communities.

Question 3

Circumcision

Answer 3

Excision of the foreskin of the penis. Primarily used in North America.

Question 4

Couvade

Answer 4

Anthropological term for rituals observed by men to “mimic” pregnancy when their wives are pregnant. Perform same acts and restrictions.

Question 5

Cultural Determinism

Answer 5

The belief that cultures in which we are raised determine our character, personalities, emotional lives, and behaviours.

Question 6

Cultural Relativism

Answer 6

The belief, developed and named by anthropologists, that any individual’s belief’s and behaviours should be understood in the context of their culture vs. universal tendencies/values.

Question 7

Descent Theorists

Answer 7

Anthropology: those who study kinship, esp. how cultures shape and understand blood relationships.

Question 8

Female Genital Cutting (FGC)/ Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Answer 8

Alteration of the female genitalia.

Question 9

Functionalism

Answer 9

A school of thought that maintains that the sex-based division of labour arose because it was necessary for the survival of early human societies , might have some biological imperative.

Question 10

Hijras

Answer 10

In India, biologically male or intersex people who adopt female social identities. Distinct caste.

Question 11

Hwame

Answer 11

Among the Mojave people, a girl who underwent transformation to a male soical role.

Question 12

Hypermasculinity

Answer 12

The exaggerated display of or adherence to behaviours, traits, and beliefs seen as masculine.

Question 13

Infibulation

Answer 13

A practice that involves the removal of the clitoris and much of the tissue of the external genitalia, with the vaginal opening being sewn much smaller.

Question 14

Matriarchy

Answer 14

A women-centred form of social organization in which women, particularly mothers are the centre of prestige and power.

Question 15

Matrilineality

Answer 15

The practice of reckoning kinship, naming, inheritance, and descent through the mother, rather than the father.

Question 16

Muxes

Answer 16

In Zapotec communities in Mexico, males who take on feminine modes of dress and social roles.

Question 17

Nadle

Answer 17

Among the Navajo, a third gender assigned to either individuals of ambiguous sex or biological males. Individuals may also choose this role.

Question 18

Patrilineality

Answer 18

The practice of reckoning kinship, naming, inheritance and descent through the father.

Question 19

Polygamy

Answer 19

In anthropology and sociology, marriage to more than one partner at the same time.

Question 20

Polygyny

Answer 20

A man’s marriage to more than one woman at a time.

Question 21

Purdah

Answer 21

The (primarily Islamic) practice of the social seclusion of women; a system of segregation aimed at keeping women completely separated from the world of men.

Question 22

Ritual Segregation

Answer 22

The segregation of the sexes through rituals that provide a sense of identity and group membership.

Question 23

Sex Segregation

Answer 23

The concentration of men and women in gender specific roles and locations within a society. Can be vertical or horizontal.

Question 24

Sworn Virgin

Answer 24

In Albanian society, a daughter who swore perpetual chastity and took on the social role of a man in order to serve as her family’s head of household.

Question 25

Two-Spirit

Answer 25

Transgender or gender-variant people in North American indigenous cultures. Term used since the 1990s.

Question 26

Xanith

Answer 26

Omani biological male whose social and sexual role is female. Can retain this role throughout life or adopt masculine identities.

Question 27

Alliance Theorists

Answer 27

Those who study the constitution of society through the perspective of family formation, particularly marriage structures and roles.