Chapter 10, Gender

Key Terms

sexA biological concept determined on the basis of primary sex characteristics.

primary sex characteristicsThe anatomical traits essential to reproduction.

intersexedA broad term used by the medical profession to classify people with some mixture of male and female biological characteristics.

transsexualsPeople whose primary sex characteristics do not match the sex they perceive and know themselves.

secondary sex characteristicsPhysical traits not essential to reproduction that result from the actions of so-called male and female hormones.

genderA social distinction based on culturally conceived and learned ideas about appropriate appearance, behavior, and mental or emotional characteristics for males and females.

masculinityThe physical, behavioral, and mental or emotional traits believed to be characteristic of males.

femininityThe physical, behavioral, and mental or emotional traits believed to be characteristics of females.

gender polarizationOrganizing social life around male-female distinctions so that people’s sex is connected to every other aspect of human experience.

gender schematicA term describing decisions that influenced by a society’s polarized definitions of masculinity and femininity rather than by criteria such as self-fulfillment, interest, ability, or personal comfort.

social emotionsInternal bodily sensations experienced in relations with other people.

UlaSamoan practice in which individuals engage in highly sexualized entertainment including joking, jesting and imitating.

aspirational dollA doll considered to be a role model for a child.

structural constraintsThe established and customary rules, policies, and day-to-day practices that affect a person’s life chances.

ethgenderPeople who share (or are believed by themselves or others to share) the same sex, race and ethnicity.

evolutionary viewThe idea that human societies progress in stages from primitive to civilized, with each stage being characterized by a gradually more complex form of social organization.