GWSS 262 Study Guide - Winter 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - National Collegiate Athletic Association, International Olympic Committee, Title Ix
12 Oct 2018
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Department
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GWSS 262
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
GWSS 262 – LECTURE 1
Vocabulary Toolbox:
Sex:
oBiological characteristics which define humans as FEMALE or MALE
Chromosomes
Hormones
Internal genitalia
External genitalia
oAn individual's sex is NOT ALWAYS clearly male or female
Intersex conditions
o"female vs male"
Gender:
oArray of
Socially constructed roles and relationships
Personality traits
Behaviors
Attitudes
Values
Relative power and influence that are ascribed to the two sexes on a differential
basis
Changes over time
Varies across cultures
oBiology comes with you, gender is added later
oGender constructs
Gender reveal parties
Wheels or heels
Should be really called sex reveal parties
oAcquired identity that is learned, changes over time, and varies widely within and across
cultures
o"masculine vs feminine"
oGender is relational
oNot everyone falls neatly between the two categories
Exist along a continuum
Towards the middle of the continuum, you "confuse" people
Social judgment
Family stress
Cisgender and Transgender
oCisgender: when they identify with the gender that matches the sex they were assigned
at birth
oTransgender: individual usually does not identify with the gender that matches the sex
they were assigned at birth
But that doesn't mean they automatically identify as the "opposite" gender
Queer
Agender
Gender non binary
Some don't like being either thing
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
oBy product of our highly separated gender system
Essentialism:
oIt came that way from nature
oUnchanging
oUnchangeable
oBelief that things are the way they are because of nature
Unchanging and unchangeable
oEx. "human beings breathe with their lungs"
oEx. "maple leaves start out green, change color, and die"
oSome people believe women should only work at home
oSome people believe black people are more violent naturally
Social construction:
oOpposite of something that is essential
oIf something isn't essential, innate, inborn, natural, then how does it become what it is?
It is CONSTRUCTED by members of a SOCIETY
oDecades and centuries of traditions and assumptions can lead to something becoming a
social construct
oEthnicities, socioeconomic statuses, genders, etc. don't actually MEAN anything on their
own
We only have categories for those ideas and assumptions about them
We have socially constructed those identities as a way to explain to ourselves,
as humans, how the world works
oFor something to be a social construct it must follow two rules:
It must APPEAR that the thing we're looking at is inevitable
That thing does not NEED to be the way it is; it is NOT inevitable after all
oPulling the rights of people, can constantly change
oBecause social constructs are not given" by nature, so they must be constantly
maintained and re-affirmed in order to persist
Socialization:
oHow one learns about and ends up complying with social constructions of gender, race,
class, etc.
oUsually we are unaware of socialization and how it leads us to perpetuate social
construct
oUsually when we're younger
Girls are pretty
Boys are strong
Learning the skills over time helps perpetuate it without even realizing that you
are
People are responsible for keeping social constructs in tact but many times
we're unaware of doing it
Race:
oBiologically engineered features
Skin color
Skin tone
Eye and hair color
Tendency toward developing certain diseases
oRace cannot be changed, regardless of where you grow up
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
