WOMEN, MEN, AND SOCIETY

Key Concepts

Sex – refers to the biologically determined physical distinction between men and women, usually based on their genitalia, or external sex.  

Gender –  refers to the social meanings attached to people's biological sex, such as the traits defined as masculine and feminine.  In essence, gender refers to the cultural patterning of maleness and femaleness. 

Socialization – the process through which individuals learn the way of life (or "culture") of their society and acquire a sense of identity. 

Gender socialization – the process by which individuals learn the attitudes, norms, and behaviors that their culture defines as appropriate for men and women.

Gender identity – An individual's conception of self as male or female.

Gender ideology – beliefs about how people ought to look, think, feel, and act as males or females.

Gender roles – sets of expectations that dictate how members of each gender should behave. 

Sociology – the scientific study of human society and patterns of human interaction.                     

Stereotype – an exaggerated and rigid mental image of what members of a particular group are like. 

Patriarchy – a gender system in which (1) men dominate women and (2) what is considered masculine is more highly valued than what is considered feminine.

Gender system – the institutionalized traits, behaviors, and patterns of interaction that are prescribed for members of a society on the basis of their biological sex.

        Oppression – the systematic dehumanization of members of an identifiable target group.

Biological reductionism – the tendency to see or explain all gender differences as caused by biological factors.                           

Gendercide – the practice of deliberately killing females simply because of their sex.