Deck 7: Gender

Question 1

On average, how much more do men weigh than women?

A) 5 percent
B) 15 percent
C) 25 percent
D) 30 percent

Answer 1

15 percent

Question 2

What does anthropologist Matthew Gutmann's research in Mexico indicate?

A) All men strive to be "macho."
B) Women only want to be with men who embrace machismo.
C) The traits of machismo are found only in the upper classes.
D) Masculine identity is in flux and negotiable.

Answer 2

Masculine identity is in flux and negotiable.

Question 3

Which of the following is/are considered a secondary sexual characteristic?

A) genitalia
B) testes
C) pitch of voice
D) ovaries

Answer 3

pitch of voice

Question 4

What do we call the process through which a sense of gender becomes normative and seems natural to us?

A) performance of gender
B) gender stratification
C) cultural construction of gender
D) gender hierarchy

Question 5

What is the growing field, particularly within anthropology, that focuses on research into masculinity and femininity as cultural constructs?

A) gender studies
B) cultural anthropology
C) sexuality
D) biology

Question 6

Johann Sebastian Bach, renowned for his huge repertoire of musical compositions in the sixteenth century, was also, as a boy, an outstanding singer in the soprano range until he was about sixteen. What is the change in voice a characteristic of?

A) childhood
B) sexual dimorphism
C) gender
D) cultural constructions

Question 7

An individual leaves a restaurant. He or she is wearing a suit and tie and has short hair. Based only on these observed visible traits, which of these are we most likely to think that such a person is part of?

A) male role
B) male sex
C) male community
D) male gender

Question 8

What does doing household chores, making decisions about who works outside the home, and raising children indicate about men's gender roles in Mexico?

A) Mexican men construct masculinity in the same way as men in all other cultures.
B) Conceptions of machismo and masculinity in Mexico are not rigid.
C) The construction and performance of machismo in Mexico follows a clear and rigid set of rules.
D) Mexican men accurately reflect the performance of machismo in all cultures.

Question 9

The growing issues around women serving in leadership and combat roles in the U.S. military serve to highlight the deep tensions between what?

A) men and women
B) culture and biology
C) gender and power
D) gender and sexuality

Question 10

What are we talking about when we refer to observable physical and biological differences between the male and female human reproduction systems?

A) gender
B) sex
C) chromosomes
D) dimorphism

Question 11

The behaviors encouraged in sports-where boys are rewarded for competitiveness and girls are often encouraged to play nicely-reflect what aspect of a larger cultural framework?

A) the construction and maintenance of gender roles in a society
B) the manner in which gender roles reverse during adolescence and later become normalized
C) the way in which sexual dimorphism is a natural part of our society
D) the importance of sport in the American cultural imagination

Question 12

Why are cross-cultural studies important for our understanding of sex and gender?

A) They allow us insight into an individual's chromosomal makeup.
B) They reinforce the idea that biology alone cannot predict the roles men and women play in a given culture.
C) We can then predict an individual's behavior, strength, and intelligence, as well as the roles of men and women in a given culture.
D) They help reinforce the idea that gender and sex are the same in all cultures.

Question 13

The visible expression of sexual dimorphism between male-sexed and female-sexed individuals is referred to as what?

A) genetic differences
B) gonadal differences
C) phenotypic differences
D) hormonal differences

Question 14

How do anthropologists describe the way individuals act out behaviors associated with the continuum between masculine and feminine?

A) gender stratification
B) gender performance
C) gender dimorphism
D) gender roles

Question 15

According to C. J. Pascoe, what is a primary component of the so-called fag discourse in U.S. high schools?

A) the enforcement of heterosexuality
B) the enforcement of masculinity
C) discussing gender roles
D) constant use of bullying to enforce femininity

Question 16

Jade is an anthropologist who is studying the differences in behavior and language between a man and a woman who are both running for office. She observes their physical demeanor in debates, analyzes the kinds of language they use in their speeches, and investigates the kinds of language and adjectives that are used to describe each candidate in the media. What aspect of gender is Jade looking at?

A) roles
B) stereotypes
C) stratification
D) performance

Question 17

With which of the following statements about human behavior would an anthropologist be most likely to agree?

A) It is a combination of biology and enculturation.
B) It is almost entirely dictated by biology.
C) It is almost entirely dictated by enculturation.
D) It is a result of biology or cultural expectations depending on the person, but never both in the same individual.

Question 18

Human males may weigh only a small percent more than human females, which underscores which idea about human sexual dimorphism?

A) It is a significant determinant of biological sex.
B) It is a minor determinant of biological sex.
C) It is significant in assessing differences between human males and females.
D) It is a minor consideration in assessing differences between human males and females.

Question 19

In one gender study, what was one of the ways that the game of co-ed T-ball reinforced gender ideals in U.S. children?

A) Boys typically received more playing time than girls.
B) Girls typically received more playing time than boys.
C) Parents tended to encourage boys and girls equally.
D) Girls and boys received the same amount of praise for playing well.

Question 20

Which best describes the learned behaviors perceived as masculine or feminine?

A) sexual dimorphism
B) alternate sexualities
C) cultural constructions
D) gender stratification

Question 21

In India, what are individuals who are identified as "neither man nor woman" called?

A) berdache
B) hijras
C) Two-Spirits
D) transgender

Question 22

The unequal distribution of power, prestige and responsibility between men and women in the U.S. military, even as policies change to attempt to be more inclusive, are a prime example of what?

A) gender stereotypes
B) gender roles
C) gender stratification
D) politics of gender

Question 23

A United Nations survey recently found that less than 22 percent of the world's parliamentarians are women. What does this suggest about the role of gender in establishing and maintaining power dynamics?

A) Gender plays a key role in power relationships.
B) Power is based on biological characteristics.
C) Gender is less important than other factors when establishing powerful leaders.
D) Power is unrelated to both sex and gender.

Question 24

Through the 1960s, Western medicine has attempted to "manage" children born with ambiguous genitalia. This has primarily consisted of what treatment regimen?

A) performing surgery once the child is old enough to make his or her own decision
B) cognitive behavioral therapy
C) parental decision support
D) genital reconstruction surgery and hormone therapy

Question 25

Home is often considered the domain of women, while men go to work. Although this idea has changed dramatically in many places in the past several decades, it remains a common theme. How does anthropologist Michelle Rosaldo see male and female gender roles?

A) Gender roles are rigid in all countries regardless of changes.
B) Gender roles are often split between private and public spheres.
C) Gender roles are unified across both private and public spheres.
D) Gender roles are exclusively defined by gender performance.

Question 26

How might we refer to an individual who dresses and identifies as a woman but was designated male at birth due to biological characteristics?

A) hijra
B) mentally ill
C) hermaphrodite
D) transgender

Question 27

In 2008, a little more than 50 percent of live births in the United States were male, the remainder designated as female. Recent medical studies suggest that of all live births, many individuals do not fit neatly into either biological category. What is the current estimate of the percentage of such births?

A) at least 5 percent
B) almost 7 percent
C) almost 2 percent
D) less than 1 percent

Question 28

About 1.7% of all babies are born with a combination of male and female genitalia, gonads and/or chromosomes, leading many scholars to believe that sex can occur on a continuum. What are these babies referred to as?

A) transgender
B) bisexual
C) intersex
D) transsexual

Question 29

Anthropologists have recently spent a great deal of time bringing to light the challenges that many gay, lesbian, transgender, transsexual, or Two-Spirit Native Americans have historically faced. As a result, what French-based term has fallen into disrepute to describe transgender people in Native American communities?

A) hijra
B) berdache
C) transsexual
D) gay

Question 30

What did Annette Weiner's restudy of women's role in the Trobriand Island exchanges indicate about women?

A) that women participated in elaborate economic exchanges of banana fiber skirts
B) that women participated in elaborate economic exchanges of shell armbands and necklaces
C) that women played a limited role in rituals and ceremonial exchanges
D) that both women and men played complementary roles in the exchange of foods

Question 31

What groups of people might anthropologists study if they want to learn more about what it means to be transgender in different religious communities?

A) hijras and Two-Spirits
B) Two-Spirits and berdaches
C) intersex and gay
D) hijras and Hindu

Question 32

How must individuals living in cultures with a binary gender system (such as the United States) be classified in order to gain certain legal recognition?

A) One must choose either male or female.
B) One is either male, female, or intersex.
C) One is either male, female, or transgender.
D) One must choose either male, female, or neither sex.

Question 33

For many women around the world, life is a seemingly unending process of childbirth, child-rearing, and hard domestic labor, while men often enjoy free time and more opportunities to socialize. What is this a result of?

A) enforced gender stereotypes
B) normal gender roles
C) gender stratification
D) enforced performance

Question 34

Female bodybuilders go to a great deal of effort to shape their physiques in a manner that is highly similar to their male bodybuilder counterparts. What do these female bodybuilders demonstrate about sexual dimorphism?

A) Human males are always stronger than females due to biological differences.
B) Females are actually stronger than males due to sexual dimorphism.
C) Gender roles are determined by the different physical abilities of males and females.
D) Male and female bodies are much more similar than different.

Question 35

What did much of the early feminist anthropological studies focus on identifying in regard to gender and society?

A) the myth of matriarchy in prehistoric societies
B) the underlying roots of universal male dominance
C) gender equality in industrialized societies
D) sources of female power in nonindustrialized cultures

Question 36

In searching for an explanation for what appeared to be women's universally low status, what did anthropologist Sherri Ortner argue about women's biological functions?

A) that women are biologically inferior to men
B) that biological functions are the result of cultural practices
C) that men do not understand women's biological functions
D) that women and nature are strongly conflated

Question 37

On what does Emily Martin's analysis of the "fairy tale" of the egg and the sperm as presented in U.S. textbooks primarily focus?

A) how scientific language can reflect and promote the idea that differences in male and female behavior is natural.
B) the idea that "female" eggs aggressively pursue more "passive" male sperm until conception occurs
C) the ways in which gender roles are natural and supported by real biological differences
D) how stereotypical male and female behavior is portrayed as a cultural construction by biologists

Question 38

The establishment of the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations in 2015 specifically includes a goal to achieve what?

A) gender equality and empowerment for women
B) abolishment of paid domestic work
C) achievement of universal secondary education for women
D) creation of a global partnership for implementation of gender rights

Question 39

Going out on a date can mean many things. As a man, you might bring flowers, offer to pay the bill, and open doors. As a woman, you may offer to split the tab and offer soft thanks. What does this constitute from an anthropological perspective?

A) the performance of stereotypes
B) cultural practices shaped by biological differences between men and women
C) the performance of gender
D) a particular type of gendered ritual

Question 40

Anne Fausto-Sterling's analysis of biological sexual identity identifies how many different sexes?

A) three
B) four
C) six
D) five

Question 41

The process of becoming "male" or "female" begins during childhood and youth. Provide two specific examples of ways that parents start this process by "doing gender." Provide two specific examples of ways that participating in sports reflects personality traits (e.g., gentleness versus competitiveness) commonly associated with women and men in the United States. How is this tied to the constructions of masculinity inherent in the "fag discourse" in U.S. high schools?

Question 42

Evaluate which of the five sexes in biologist Anne Fausto-Sterling's continuum represents the hijras of India. How do they perform their gender identity in daily life? What economic and social roles do they play in society? Why are they often victims of violence?

Question 43

According to the text, increased participation in the global economy means that many women can do what?

A) They can transform the normative expectations of motherhood.
B) They can be easily exploited in a global capitalist market.
C) They can transform the nature of their interaction between the local and the global.
D) Women can easily learn to assert their agency and become industrial leaders.

Question 44

Define gender stratification. Using one specific example from the text, identify and analyze ways that women resist patriarchy or gender stratification in their societies. Specifically, how do women use organizing for political action to express their displeasure with the systems under which they live? Provide the context for their actions in different settings. Ultimately, does women's resistance to these structures result in change?

Question 45

Pei-chia Lan describes "global Cinderellas," or immigrant women who take on domestic responsibilities for a household and send remittances back to their families in their home countries. In Taiwan, Taiwanese women hire these "global Cinderellas" so that they can do what?

A) have careers outside the home while still fulfilling their duties as women
B) maintain their households as single mothers
C) show support for immigrant labor in Taiwan
D) have more children than they would be able to care for on their own

Question 46

The phrases "boys will be boys" and "it's a girl thing" reflect what aspect of gender?

A) stratification
B) genetic variation
C) stereotypes
D) intelligence

Question 47

What does Carla Freeman's research on women's participation in the industrialized labor force in Barbados indicate?

A) that women are victims of an exploitative work environment
B) that women cannot resist male dominance once they enter the global economy
C) that women are not simply victims in the practices of flexible accumulation
D) that the exploitation of women increased as women asserted a different status

Question 48

Millions of women migrate outside of their home countries each year in search of economic opportunities. Many of them work primarily in what sector?

A) manufacturing
B) information technology
C) office management
D) domestic work

Question 49

Analyze how idealized gender roles and attributes of both sexes are reflected in the sexual division of labor and jobs that adult men and women tend to pursue in the United States. Provide two examples for each gender.

Question 50

Since violence against hijras is common, we might conclude that gender-based violence is also more likely to be committed against which particularly vulnerable group?

A) lesbians
B) bisexuals
C) transgender persons
D) gay men

Question 51

The notion of appropriate male behavior in Mexico is changing, in part because more women are entering the paid workforce. Thinking like an anthropologist, consider how you would structure your fieldwork to explore this phenomenon. Be scientific and explain whether your research will be qualitative or quantitative and why, how you will prepare, what your hypothesis will be, and what strategies you will use.

Question 52

The section of the text about CO-MADRES in El Salvador is a powerful example of what aspect of gender in a society?

A) politics
B) performance
C) stratification
D) violence

Question 53

Evaluate the merits of the "man the hunter, woman the gatherer" debate. What are two of the specific cultural debates used to support the notion that there is a biological basis for the behaviors reported in this model? Provide two examples from the text that do not support the biological argument in favor of a gendered division of labor in foraging societies. Conclude by discussing the accuracy of the evolutionary model for understanding the idealized model of the sexual division of labor.

Question 54

Define the concept of intersex, and explain how physicians' attitudes toward children born intersex have changed in recent decades in parallel with changes in attitudes toward sexuality.

Question 55

Who formed the group CO-MADRES during El Salvador's civil war (1977-1992)?

A) political activists protesting the rape of women
B) mothers and relatives demanding information about missing individuals
C) teachers who demanded a peaceful resolution to the war
D) nuns who worked for peace within the Catholic Church

Question 56

Describe why anthropologists have shifted their focus from looking at gender roles to gender performance. What is the difference between the two? What role do gender ideologies and gender stereotypes play in gender performance?

Question 57

How have women's roles in the U.S. military evolved over the last few years? What are the tensions that still exist? Explain how women in the U.S. military serves as an example of gender stratification and highlights the relationship between gender and power in the U.S.

Question 58

The "man the hunter, woman the gatherer" story is based on the idea that greater male strength and aggression is imprinted in human DNA. On what does this theory rely?

A) the concept of sexual dimorphism
B) the concept that gender is performed
C) the understanding that there are five genders
D) archeological evidence

Question 59

Explain how feminist research on gender stratification and gender roles has changed since Margaret Mead's pioneering research, paying particular attention to the approaches and findings of Sherri Ortner, Michelle Rosaldo, and Annette Weiner. What do we understand about how gender should be studied today?

Question 60

An anthropologist observes a young man holding a door open for a woman entering a building. From the perspective of someone studying gender, how can this be interpreted?

A) as a form of gender performance
B) as a type of gender dysphoria
C) as a form of gender ideology
D) as an example of gender stratification