Sex
An Individual's membership in one of two biologically distinct categories - male or female.
Intersexed
A term to describe a person whose chromosomes or sex characteristics are neither exclusively male nor exclusively female. (About 17 in 1,000 babies are born intersexed.)
Gender
The physical, behavioral, and personality traits that a group considers normal for its male and female members.
Human Sexual Dimorphism
The extent, much debated in recent years, to which inherent physical differences define the distinctions between the two sexes.
Essentialists
Those who believe gender roles have a genetic or biological origin and therefore cannot be changed.
Gender Identity
An individual's self-definition or sense of gender.
Constructionists
Those who believe that notions of gender are socially determined, such that a dichotomous system is just one possibility among many.
Patriarchy
Literally meaning "rule of the father", a male-dominated society.
Instrumental Role
The position of the family member who provides the family's material support and is often an authority figure.
Expressive Role
The position of the family member who provides emotional support and nurturing.
Transgendered
Term describing an individual whose sense of gender identity transgresses expected gender categories.
Transsexuals
Individuals who identify with the other sex and have surgery to alter their own sex so it fits their self-image.
Gender Role Socialization
The lifelong process of learning to be masculine or feminine, primarily through four agents of socialization: families, schools, peers, and the media.
Social Learning
The process of learning behaviors and meanings through social interaction.
Feminization of Poverty
The economic trend showing that women are more likely than men to live in poverty, caused in part by the gendered gap in wages, the higher proportion of single mothers compared to single fathers, and the increasing costs of child care.
Second Shift
The unpaid housework and child care often expected of women after they complete their day's paid labor.
Feminism
Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes; also the social movements organized around that belief.
First Wave
The earliest period of feminist activism in the United States, including the period from the mid-nineteenth century until American women won the right to vote in 1920.
Suffrage Movement
The movement organized around gaining voting rights for women.
Second Wave
The period of feminist activity during the 1960s and 1970s often associated with the issues of women's equal access to employment and education.
Third Wave
The most recent period of feminist activity, focusing on issues of diversity and the variety of identities women can possess.
Male Liberationism
A movement that originated in the 1970s to discuss the challenges of masculinity.
Men's Rights Movement
An offshoot of male liberationism whose members believe that feminism promotes discrimination against men.
Pro-feminist Men's Movement
An offshoot of male liberationism whose members support feminism and believe that sexism harms both men and women.
Sexuality
The character or quality of being sexual.
Sexual Orientation or Sexual Identity
The inclination to feel sexual desire toward people of a particular gender or toward both genders.
Heterosexuality
Sexual desire for the other gender
Homosexuality
The tendency to feel sexual desire toward members of one's own gender.
Bisexuality
Sexual attraction to both genders; bisexuals are sexually attracted to both males and females.
Asexuality
Involves the lack of sexual attraction of any kind; asexual people have no interest in or desire for sex.
Queer Theory
Social theory about gender identity and sexuality that emphasizes the importance of difference and rejects as restrictive the idea of innate sexual identity.
LGBTQ
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer; sometimes "A" is added to include "allies
Civil Unions
Proposed as an alternative to gay marriage; a form of legally recognized that provides gay couples some of the benefits and protections of marriage.
Homophobia
Fear of or discrimination toward homosexuals or toward individuals who display purportedly gender-inappropriate behavior.