CHAP 1-GENSOC

• Sex is a physical characteristic that is biologically determined, universal, congenital, unchanging, and unvarying.
• Gender is a social characteristic that is socially determined, culturally defined, learned behavior, and can vary over time or among cultures.
• Sex refers to the biological and physiological differences between males and females as determined by nature.
• Gender refers to the distinctive qualities of men and women, the masculinity and the femininity of an individual that are culturally created.
• Male is characterized as logical, leader/achiever, sexually aggressive, independent, and can do anything, anytime, anywhere.
• Female is characterized as emotional, follower/supporter, sexually submissive, dependent, and incompetent.
• Heteronormativity is the phenomenon of determining the normality of a behavior based on whether it conforms or not to the expectations relative to one’s biological sex.
• Gender Identity is an aspect of gender referring to the sense of who we are and how we see and experience ourselves (as a man, a woman, or neither).
• Transgender refers to cases when a person’s biological sex does not align with one’s gender identity and may undergo gender reassignment surgery.
• Sexual Orientation is an aspect of gender that pertains to our emotional and sexual attraction to a person: Heterosexuals or “straight” are attracted to the opposite sex, Homosexuals (gay or lesbian) are attracted to people of the same sex, and Bisexuals are attracted to both sexes, male or female.
• Dawn of civilizations – human societies have high regard for women
• Concept of divine feminine (the sacredness of woman due to her ability to conceive children) has prevailed
• Egalitarian societies – men and women have equitable power and roles
• Agricultural era (presumably) – humans’ discovery of paternity (fatherhood/role of the father in conception)
• Industrial era – gender disparity was intensified
• From the Greek word, Patriarkhes (“the rule of the father”)
• Society is organized and maintained in a way that men rule over women and their children
• Patrilineal - only men can inherit property and family name
• Development of agriculture – led to creating product surplus which allows people to have private property.
• Greek philosophers viewed women as inferior sex and are properties of men whose only job was to obey their husbands, bear children, and take care of the household.
• In Greek Women are forbidden to learn philosophy, politics, and science
• Egyptian women enjoyed higher social status than Greek women because they can inherit property and engage in trade (Herodotus)
• Distributive justice in research means that the benefits of the study should be for all.
• Quantitative research focuses more on characterizing a population (total number of individuals in a group) or a sample ( a sub-group within the population), making generalizations about the population based on the behavior of the sample.
• Distributive justice in research means that any study should not disadvantage a particular group, especially the marginalized and oppressed (e.g
• Survey involves collecting information from a sample.
• Mixed methods involve combining qualitative and quantitative methods to derive data form multiple sources.
• Experiment creates actual set-ups to observe behavior of people in an experimental group (receives treatment like training or new experience) and comparing it to the behavior of people in control group (without any treatment).
• Ethnography and ethnomethodology involve immersing in a community and taking note of their experiences, beliefs, attitudes, & practices.
• Phenomenology focuses on meanings created and interpretations made by people about their own personal or vicarious (observed) experiences.
• Confidentiality and anonymity in research mean that the researchers should not reveal any information provided by the participants, much so, their identity to anyone who is not concerned with the study.
• Hermeneutics involves understanding the meaning of texts (literary/art works) and what they convey about human realities.
• Non-maleficence and beneficence in research mean that a study should do no harm (non-maleficence) to anyone and should be beneficial (beneficence) for it to be worth implementing.
• Ethical principles in research ensure that people involved in the study are protected from harm.
• Informed consent in research means that the participants in the study are aware of the purpose and processes of the study they are participating in.
• Greek influence quickly spread in Egypt through the conquests of Alexander the Great across Asia and Africa
• Confucianism's written rules – dictate how women should conduct themselves
• “Three Obedience’s and Four Virtues” and “Precepts of Women” states that women should obey their father, when married she is to obey her husband, and when widowed she is to obey her son.
• Patriarchy has taken on subtle forms of oppression:
• Sexism – prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination based on sex