Cultural Anthropologyby Nancy Bonvillain Chapter 10Gender

Gender = the roles that people perform in their households and communities and the values and attitudes that people have regarding men and women

Sex = biological differences between males and females

Gender construct (gender model) = the set of cultural assumptions about gender roles and values and the relations between the genders that people learn as members of their societies

Cultural construct = models of behavior and attitudes that a particular culture transmits to its members

Transvestism = dressing in the clothes usually worn by members of the opposite gender

Berdaches = Male Two-Spirits in some Native American societies who adopted some of the economic and social roles of women

Two-Spirits = In Native American societies, males who adopted some of the social and economic roles of women, and females who adopted some of the social and economic roles of men

Gender roles = constellations of rights, duties, attitudes, and behaviors that are culturally associated with each gender

Gender relations = norms of interaction between men and women, which may reflect differences in the relative staus, prestige, and power between men and women

Gender equality = a constellation of behaviors, attitudes, and rights that support the autonomy of both women and men

Gender inequality = the denial of autonomy and equal rights to one group of people based on their gender

Male dominance = a constellation of behaviors and attitudes that grant men access to roles of prestige and reward and deny the same to women

Gender gap = the difference in wages and income earned by men and women for comparable work

Cult of domesticity = constellation of beliefs popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that promoted the notion that women were, by nature and biology, suited to the domestic tasks of nurturing and caring for their husbands and children

Social reproduction = the care and sustenance of people who will be able to contribute productively to society