Deck 8: A Third Sex

Question 1

Someone with a natural attitude about gender would agree with all of the following statements, except: _________

A) One's genitals determine to whom we are attracted.
B) Gender is a two-sided, binary, or dichotomous system.
C) A person with XXY chromosomes is abnormal.
D) People with vaginas may not necessarily be women.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Of every 1,000 births, an estimated _____ babies are born with anomalous or atypical genitalia-that is, it is difficult to decide if they should be raised as boys or as girls.

A) 10
B) 25
C) 50
D) 150

Answer 2

C

Question 3

When a baby is born, the parents and those assisting in the delivery assign a gender to a newborn; this is called ___________.

A) gender role
B) gender attribution
C) gender identity
D) gender awareness

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following concepts is most useful in explaining people's relationships to gender cross-culturally?

A) dualism
B) the natural attitude
C) gender continuums
D) intersexualism

Question 5

The term used to describe a person whose gender identity is in accordance with their gender assignation is _________.

A) cisgender
B) intersexed
C) transgender
D) naturally gendered

Question 6

Which term refers to someone whose gender identity conflicts with their biological sex?

A) homosexual
B) bisexual
C) intersexed
D) transsexual

Question 7

Which of the following statements about sexual reassignment surgery is correct?

A) All transsexuals eventually undergo sexual reassignment surgery.
B) Some transsexual people choose sexual reassignment surgery.
C) Sexual reassignment surgery is needed in order to become transsexual.
D) This form of surgery only exists in the United States.

Question 8

Hijras are _________.

A) thousands of men in India who dress and live as women
B) thousands of women in India who dress and live as men
C) thousands of men and women in India who are confused about what gender they really are
D) thousands of men in India who want to be gay

Question 9

What attitudes and policies do the members of the Intersex Society of North America advocate?

A) A reduction in the hormones given to intersexed infants, in favor of surgical intervention.
B) Intersexed people-not doctors-should make their own decisions about their bodies.
C) An increase in the number of intersexed births, to promote mutual understanding.
D) Ambiguous genitalia should be surgically altered to create penises, not vaginas.

Question 10

A culture that supports varieties of sexual behavior is called _________.

A) promiscuous
B) pro-sex
C) sex-positive
D) hedonistic

Question 11

Doctors who treated young John/Joan believed that _________.

A) at birth, a child's sense of a gendered and sexual self is already imprinted in the brain
B) the child should be raised as "Joan" because she was born with XY chromosomes.
C) nature was more important than nurture in developing one's gender identity
D) healthy psychosexual development depends on how one's genitals look

Question 12

Which of the following terms is correctly paired with its associated culture or region?

A) hijras/Indonesia
B) two-spirits/native North America
C) tombois/Suriname
D) mati work/India

Question 13

Which of the following statements about hijras is correct?

A) Hijras act modestly and pass as women in mainstream Indian society.
B) Hijras live in their birth mothers' households and perform domestic duties for the family.
C) Hijras recognize that their inability to bear children distinguishes them from women.
D) Hijras wish they could be "real men."

Question 14

Historians have found that women dressed as men and went to war _______.

A) because they wanted to escape unhappy marriages
B) in order to remain near their husbands or lovers
C) for economic reasons
D) all of the above

Question 15

Which of the following would be an example of gynemimesis?

A) a biological male who dresses and acts as a woman
B) a biological female who dresses and acts as a man
C) tombois and femmes in Indonesia
D) women who fought in the American Civil War

Question 16

What is the problem with the terms "berdache" and "amazon?"

A) They reflect Western biases.
B) They do not accurately reflect the patterns of gender variation found in Native American communities.
C) They are outdated.
D) all of the above

Question 17

Why do scholars consider the Zuni man-woman to be an example of a third gender?

A) They had sex with both men and women.
B) Their culture validated them through religious belief, language, and specific role assignments.
C) They had ambiguous sex characteristics.
D) They were neither male nor female.

Question 18

According to Gone-to-the-Spirits, how did she become a man?

A) She had genital reassignment surgery.
B) She put on men's clothing and was transformed.
C) White people changed her into a man.
D) She successfully hunted a deer and offered it to the spirits.

Question 19

What is mati work?

A) a way of earning money by performing sexual services
B) a term used to describe having sex with one's husband in West Africa
C) the term used by hijras to refer to their ritual performances
D) a Surinamese term referring to sexual relationships between women

Question 20

Which of the following statements about tombois and femmes is accurate?

A) Femmes are attracted to the masculine characteristics of tombois.
B) Tombois are considered to be the same as men by their femme lovers and their natal families.
C) Tombois are sexually attracted to other tombois; and femmes to femmes.
D) Femmes and tombois are both highly androgynous in terms of their mannerisms, dress, and behavior.

Question 21

Imagine someone you know has given birth to a beautiful, healthy, intersexed baby. Given our cultural beliefs, how would your friend react? How would you? Be honest!

Question 22

It is sometimes true that "opposites attract," but humans have the capacity to be attracted to and identify with many more sociosexual identities than simply male and female. Describe at least three of the potential varieties for identity and desire mentioned in your text.

Question 23

Compare and contrast the man-woman of Zuni society with the hijras of India. Describe the cultural environment in which they live and explain their social roles.

Question 24

Discuss gender crossing in the United States both historically and today. Have the reasons for gender crossing changed? Do men and women have different reasons for gender crossing? How have the ways people cross gender boundaries changed over time? Give specific details to support your answer.

Question 25

Analyze the concepts of third sex and third gender. Explain how sexual desire, physical characteristics, and cultural expectations factor into sex and gender. Do you think third sex and gender categories clarify human behavior? Why or why not?