Week4
Chapter 11: Sexuality and Gender
Intersexed: infants are babies born with ambiguous genitals because of a hormone imbalance in
the womb or some other cause.
Sex: depends on whether you were bor n with distinct male or female genitals and a genetic
program that released either male or female hormones to stimulate the development of your
reproductive system
Gender: is your sense of being male or female and your playing of masculine and feminine roles
in ways defined as appropriate by your culture and society
Gender Identity: is a person’s identification with, or sense of belonging to, a particular sex –
biologically, psychologically, and socially.
Gender Role: is the set of behaviours associated with widely shared expectations about how
males and females are supposed to act
Heterosexuality: is the preference for members of the opposite sex as sexual partners
Essentialism: is a school of thought that views gender differences as a reflection of biological
differences between women and men
Gender Ideology: is a set of interrelated ideas abou t what constitutes appropriate masculine and
feminine roles and behaviour
Glass Ceiling: is a social barr ier tha t makes it diff icult for women to r ise to the top level of
management
Transgendered: people break society’s gender nor ms by defying the r igid distinction between
males and females
Transsexuals: believe they were born wit h t he “wrong” body. They identify with, and want to
live fully as, members of the “opposite” sex
Homosexuals: are people who prefer sexual partners of the same sex. People usually call
homosexual men gay and homosexual women lesbians.
Bisexuals: are people who enjoy sexual partners of both sexes
Homophobic: people afraid of homosexuals
Gender Discrimination: involves rewarding men and women differently for the same work
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