Chapter 11, Gender

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Chapter 11, Gender

• Key Terms

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• SexThe biological differences between male and
  female.
• GenderThe social classification of masculine and
  feminine.

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• Androcentric Male-centered.
• Cultural construction of gender The idea that
  gender characteristics are not inborn but rather
  constructed within each culture.

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• XanithAn alternative gender role of Oman on the
  Saudi Arabian peninsula.
• Two-spirit roleAlternative gender role in native
  North America.

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• Maju Alternative gender role of Tahiti.
• HijraAn alternative gender role in India
  conceptualized as neither man nor woman.

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• Manhood puzzle The question of why in almost all
  cultures masculinity is viewed not as a natural
  state but as a problematic status to be won
  through overcoming obstacles.
• MachismoA cultural construction of
  hypermasculinity as essential to the male gender
  role.

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• Gender roleThe cultural expectations of men and
  women in a particular society, including the
  division of labor.
• Gender hierarchy The ways gendered activities
  and attributes are related to the distribution of
  resources, prestige, and power in a society.

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• Private/public dichotomyGender system in which
  womens status is lowered by their cultural
  identification with the home and children, while
  men are identified with public, prestigious
  economic and political roles.