Chapter 11, Sex and Gender

Key Terms

breadwinnerTraditional gender role in the United States that views males as responsible for the economic support and protection of the family.

double workloadEmployed married women, particularly those with children, are both wage employed and primarily responsible for housework and child care.

dowry deathFollowing marriage and the required giving of a dowry, the family of the groom makes additional demands on the bride’s family for more money or goods. Since the bride is living with her husband’s family, she is subject to harassment, humiliation, abuse, and death from beatings, burnings, and suicide for failing to meet the dowry demands.

extramarital activitySexual activity outside marriage.

female genital mutilation A traditional practice, found in Africa and the Middle East, of performing dramatic and traumatic operations on the genitalia of girls and young women.

female infanticideThe killing of female children.

femininityThe social definition of femaleness, which varies from culture to culture.

feminization of povertyRefers to the high proportion of female-headed families below the poverty line, which may result from the high proportion of women found in occupations with low prestige and income.

genderThe way members of the two sexes are perceived, evaluated, and expected to behave.

gender ideologyA system of thoughts and values that legitimizes sex roles, statuses, and customary behavior.

genderlectsLinguistic gender differences.

gender rolesExpected ways of behaving based on a society’s definition of masculinity and femininity.

gender stratificationA division in society where all members are hierarchically ranked according to gender.

heterosexual Sexual desire toward members of the opposite sex.

homosexual Sexual desire toward members of one’s own sex.

honor killings A euphemism referring to a practice found in various Middle Eastern cultures whereby women are put to death by the hands of their own family members because they are thought to have dishonored the family.

housewife A traditional gender role found in the United States that views females as responsible for child rearing and domestic activities.

human sexualityThe sexual practices of humans, usually varying from culture to culture.

infant mortalityInfant death rate.

male gender biasA preference found in some societies for sons rather than daughters.

masculinity The social definition of maleness, which varies from society to society.

nutritional deprivation A form of child abuse involving withholding food; can retard learning, physical development, or social adjustment.

occupational segregation The predominance of one gender in certain occupations.

purdah Rules involving domestic seclusion and veiling for women in small towns in Iraq, Iran, and Syria.

sex driveDesire for sexual activity.

sexual asymmetryThe universal tendency of women to be in a subordinate position in their social relationships with men.

sexual dimorphismRefers to the physiological differences between men and women.

universal male dominanceThe notion that men are dominant over women in all societies.