Exam 9: Constructing Gender and Sexuality

Symbolic interactionism argues that people learn their gender identities from everyday social interactions and that the family is the primary source of gender role socialization. Explain some of the ways parents and siblings can teach children gender roles.

What is the belief that the lived experiences of women and men differ as a result of biological differences?

A key event of the second wave of the feminist movement in the United States was the publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique. To what concept does the phrase "feminine mystique" refer?

A woman is married to another woman. She is attracted to her wife, but she is also attracted to men. In the past, she has dated both women and men. How would this woman MOST likely identify?

What does the recent media focus on Caitlyn Jenner's transition tell us about the changing representations of LGBTQ lives in the media?

Your textbook describes the Vanatinai society in New Guinea as an example of

Gender is biologically natural.

The National Organization for Men Against Sexism (NOMAS), a pro-feminist men's group, believes that: Traditional masculinity includes many positive characteristics in which we take pride and find strength, but it also contains qualities that have limited and harmed us. As an organization dedicated to changing men, we care about men and are especially concerned with men's problems, as well as the difficult issues in most men's lives. Which of the following is a quality or belief associated with traditional masculinity that NOMAS would identify as being harmful to men?

Alfred Kinsey conducted research to determine what percentage of the population was heterosexual and what percentage was homosexual. Why would he have avoided asking the question, "Do you identify as gay or straight?"

You are observing children on an elementary school playground. Why might you find some girls playing sports with boys, but almost no boys playing jump rope with girls?

In terms of gendered health issues and life expectancy rates, ________ is/are viewed as "the great equalizer".

"Welfare queen" is an insulting term for a woman who is accused of cheating the government by collecting welfare payments. There is no "welfare king" insult. What sociological truth is contained in the phrase "welfare queen"?

American anthropologist Margaret Mead spent much of her career documenting the ways in which other cultures had gender roles that differed, sometimes radically, from those of twentieth-century America. Why does this matter?

Why might LGBTQ rights groups emphasize that homosexuality has a genetic origin?

Previously, bank teller positions were almost all occupied by men. Today most bank tellers are women. What could explain this shift?

In this chapter, we learned that gender role socialization is a lifelong process. Describe how the four main agents of socialization support heteronormativity throughout our lives.

A math teacher writes problems with stories that have male characters who are always given an occupation like Bob the janitor or James the lawyer, but the female characters have no occupation. This is an example of the

A black woman is followed around the store by a white sales associate while shopping for clothes. Frustrated, she leaves the store and decides to go home. Her husband, on seeing her enter the house, asks, "What's for dinner?" What concept could we as sociologists use to understand her experiences both in the store and at home?

What criticism do third-wave feminists commonly level against the first two waves of feminism?

Gender varies from culture to culture.