agents of socialization
the significant people, groups, and institutions that act to shape our gender identity � whether we identify as male, female, or something in between. Agents of socialization include family, classmates, peers, teachers, religious leaders, popular culture,
biological sex
the physiological, including genetic, characteristics associated with being male or female
commercialization of sexual ideals
the process of introducing products into the market using advertising campaigns that promise consumers they will achieve a sexual ideal if they buy and use the products.
commodification
a process by which economic value is assigned to things not previously thought of in economic terms such as an idea, a natural resource (water, a view of nature), or a state of being (youth, sexuality).
commodification of sexuality
a process by which companies create products for people to buy with the promise that those products will allow them to express themselves as sexual beings or elicit a sexual response from others.
female infanticide
the targeted abortion of female fetuses because of a cultural preference for males and corresponding low status assigned to females.
femininity
traits believed to be characteristic of females.
feminism
a perspective that seeks to understand the position of women in society relative to men and that advocates equal opportunity.
gender
the socially created and learned distinctions that specify the physical, behavioral, mental, and emotional traits characteristic of males and females.
gender gap
the disparity in opportunities available for men and women.
gender ideals
a standard against which real cases can be compared. A gender ideal is at best a caricature, in that it exaggerates the characteristics that make someone the so-called perfect male or female.
gender identity
the awareness of being a man or woman, of being neither, or something in between (gender identity also involves the ways one chooses to hide or express that identity).
gender polarization
the process of organizing social life around gender ideals about what it means to be male and female. Male-female distinctions shape every aspect of life, including how people dress, the time they wake up in the morning, what they do after they wake up an
gender role
the cultural norms that guide people in enacting what is considered to be feminine and masculine behavior.
gender roles
the behavior and activities expected of someone who is male or female. These expectations channel male and female energies in different gender-appropriate directions.
gender stratification
the extent to which opportunities and resources are unequally distributed between men and women.
gendered
an established pattern of segregating the sexes, empowering one sex and not the other, and/or subordinating one sex relative to the other such that gender systematically affects the experiences, constraints, and opportunities of the participating men and
glass ceiling
a barrier that prevents women from rising past a certain level in an organization, especially for women who work in male-dominated workplaces and occupations. The term applies to women who have the ability and qualifications to advance but who are not wel
glass escalator
the invisible upward movement that puts men in positions of power, even within female-dominated occupations. In this case, management singles out men for special attention and advancement.
heteronormativity
a normative system that presents the gendered heterosexual nuclear family as the ideal and departures from that system as deviant, even threatening.
homophobia
an irrational fear held by some heterosexuals that a same-sex person will make a sexual advance toward them. It also refers to a fear of being in close contact with someone of the same sex.
intersexed
people with some mixture of male and female primary sex characteristics.
life chances
the probability that an individual's life will turn out a certain way. Life chances apply to virtually every aspect of life�the chances that a person will be an airline pilot, play T-ball, major in elementary education, spend an hour or more getting ready
masculinity
traits believed to be characteristic of males.
misandry
sexism directed at men that is so extreme that it involves a hatred of those in that category.
misogyny
sexism directed at women that is so extreme it involves a hatred of those in that category.
patriarchy
an arrangement in which men have systematic power over women in public and private (family) life.
primary sex characteristics
the anatomical traits essential to reproduction.
secondary sex characteristics
physical traits not essential to reproduction such as breast development, quality of voice, distribution of facial and body hair, and skeletal form, that supposedly result from the action of so-called male (androgen) and female (estrogen) hormones.
sex
a distinction based on primary sex characteristics.
Sexism
the belief that one sex � and by extension, one gender � is innately superior to another, justifying unequal treatment of the sexes.
sexual orientation
an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, or both sexes. Sexual orientation also refers to a person's sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who
sexual scripts
responses and behaviors that people learn, in much the same way that actors learn lines for a play, to guide them in sexual activities and encounters. These scripts are gendered in that males and females learn different scripts about the sex-appropriate r
sexuality
encompasses all the ways people experience and express themselves as sexual beings. The study of sexuality considers the range of social activities, behaviors, and thoughts that generate sexual sensations and experiences and that allow for sexual expressi
structural constraints
the established and customary rules, policies, and day-to-day practices that affect a person's life chances.
transgender
people whose primary sex characteristics do not match the gender they perceive themselves to be.