Chapter 12 and 13, gender, sex and sexuality; Aging and the Elderly Flashcards
(40 cards)
differences between men and women - are they “natural” or socially constructed?
some have claimed that the differences are natural and they have been used to justify unequal opportunity in education, employment, politics and more.
sex
a term that denotes the presence of physical or physiological differences between males and females (biological).
Gender
a term that refers to social or cultural distinctions of behaviors that are considered male or female (masculine or feminine)
Gender varies across time and place
We “socially construct” gender by attaching social and cultural significance to the presumed biological differences between sexes.
sexual orientation
a person’s physical, mental, emotional, and sexual attraction to a particular sex (male or female)
heteronormative society
assumes sexual orientation is biologically determined and unambiguous
heterosexism
an ideology and a set of institutional practices that privilege heterosexuals and heterosexuality over other sexual orientations.
homophobia
an extreme or irrational aversion to homosexuals.
gender roles
society’s concept of how men and women should behave.
gender identity
a person’s deeply held internal perception of his or her gender.
gender dysphoria
people whose gender at birth is contrary to the one they identify with (DSM-V).
transgender
an adjective that describes individuals who identify with the behaviors and characteristics that are other than their biological sex.
transsexuals
transgender individuals who attempt to alter their bodies through medical interventions such as surgery and hormonal therapy.
gender-role socialization
the process by which children learn the attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that society deems as masculine or feminine.
sexism
the prejudiced belief that one sex should be valued over the other.
In Gender-role socialization who contributes:
Family: is the primary socializer
education: schools socialize us
peer groups: whip you into shape quicker than family, plays a bigger role.
mass media: very stereotypical; gender stereotypes
stratification
a system in which groups of people experience unequal access to basic, yet highly valuable, social resources.
all major institutions of our society
including the government, the armed forces, large corporations, the media, universities and medical establishment - are controlled by men.
glass ceiling
an invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified individual in a work environment because of the individual’s gender, race or ethnicity.
glass escalator
although male nurses, grade school teachers, and librarians may experience some scorn in the large society- they get paid more than women in those jobs, and they are more likely to be encouraged to become administrators.
home and work
the gender gap in the performance of housework still exists, but is narrowing.
Second shift
workload women have above and beyond men.
in households where both work full time, wives do on average 15.7 hours of housework while husbands 9.4
Labor force participation
2013- 57.2 % of women were in labor force (compared to 43% in 1970) 69.7% of men were in the labor force (compared to 80% in 1970) obstacles -“women’s jobs” -often in service roles-
2011- 98% off all dental hygienists, 22% of dentists 69% of professional women are in health care or education
2013-women held 15% of board of directors seats of the 1500 largest corporations and 20% had no female board members at all.
2015- of the 535 members of Congress
only 84 females in the House and 20 females in the Senate