WMST 1000 UOG Definitions Exam
Latest Update
Standpoint Theory - ANSWER Every subject is situated because our social positions and
experiences shape our perceptions and standpoint, a more complete understanding of
social relations must incorporate the perspectives of marginalized voices (who have
been ignored and appropriated)
White Privilege - ANSWER the invisible package of unearned assets, special right,
advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of
people. (white people/dominant group)
Cis-Gender - ANSWER Individuals whose gender identity corresponds to their biological
sex
Transgender/Transsexual - ANSWER Gender identity or gender expression that differs
from their sex assigned at birth. Those who transition via medical assistance identify as
transsexual
Mythical Norm - ANSWER A term coined by Audre Lorde that labels the societal norm for
a human is white, male, middle-class, heterosexual, healthy abled, thin and a young
adult. No one will always fit this norm, and those people are discriminated and
oppressed.
Beauty Myth - ANSWER society pressures women to measure their worth in terms of
physical appearance and use media to portray unattainable and unrealistic standards of
beauty (young, very thin, white or very light-skinned and able-bodied)
Gender - ANSWER the socially constructed roles, characteristics and behaviours a
culture expects from masculinity (male) and femininity (female)
Essentialism - ANSWER Concept used to examine the attribution of fixed, intrinsic,
innate qualities or true nature to women, racial groups etc. that one cannot observe
directly (underlying reality or essence) yet gives them their identity and is responsible
for similarities category members share
Gender Binaries - ANSWER a concept or belief that there are only two genders and that
one's sex or gender assigned at birth will align with traditional social constructs of
masculine and feminine identity, expression, and sexuality. (Male -dominant, Female-
marked/abnormal)
Intersectionality - ANSWER framework that considers the multilayered dimensions of
social identities (race, sexual orientation, gender identity etc.) and/or locations and how
, they intersect to shape experiences. coined by Kimberly Crenshaw 1989
Sexism - ANSWER the belief that one sex is innately superior to the other (male vs
female) a set of attitudes that are entirely entrenched in the structure of society
(patriarchy and gender binaries)
"Problem With No Name" - ANSWER the anxiety and oppression felt by women
(housewives) in the 50s & 60s to achieve something more in life than just a home and a
family like an education or career
Purity Myth - ANSWER the contemporary focus on virginity as an indicator of female
moral worth and commodifying it (purity rings)
Madonna/Wh*re Dichotomy - ANSWER Indicates the polarized perceptions of women in
general as either "good," chaste, and pure Madonnas (an object of worship and
everything that all women should aspire to be); or as "bad," promiscuous, and seductive
Wh*res (sexually active is lacking in morality and humanity)
Cult of Domesticity - ANSWER set of cultural assumptions made clear to women from
Victorian Europe to the early 1960s. (women are idealized as mothers and
housekeepers, take care of the home and raise the children) and must remain in the
private sphere
Male Gaze - ANSWER the way in which the visual arts and literature depict the world and
women from a masculine point of view, presenting women as objects of male pleasure
(objectifying them/scopophilia)
Gender Wage Gap - ANSWER the gap in earnings between women and men, usually
expressed as a percentage or proportion of what women are paid relative to their male
equivalents
Care Deficit - ANSWER as more women enter the workforce, there is a decline in the
caregiving services that they can perform, including care to children, aging family
members, and family members with disabilities or long-term illness (Women from
developing countries fill these gaps and are typically underpaid)
Social Constructivism - ANSWER learning is a collaborative process, and knowledge
develops from individuals' interactions with their culture and society (Vygotsky)
socially constructed - ANSWER Values or norms that are invented or "constructed" in a
culture; people learn these and follow the conventional rules
Marxists - ANSWER Criticizes systems such as capitalism as a set of structures,
practices, institutions, incentives, and sensibilities that promote exploitation of labor,
the alienation of human beings, social inequalities and the debasement of freedom (This
includes relations of domination such as racism and sexism)
Liberalism - ANSWER A political ideology whose advocates prefer a government active
in dealing with human needs, support individual rights and liberties, and give higher
Latest Update
Standpoint Theory - ANSWER Every subject is situated because our social positions and
experiences shape our perceptions and standpoint, a more complete understanding of
social relations must incorporate the perspectives of marginalized voices (who have
been ignored and appropriated)
White Privilege - ANSWER the invisible package of unearned assets, special right,
advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of
people. (white people/dominant group)
Cis-Gender - ANSWER Individuals whose gender identity corresponds to their biological
sex
Transgender/Transsexual - ANSWER Gender identity or gender expression that differs
from their sex assigned at birth. Those who transition via medical assistance identify as
transsexual
Mythical Norm - ANSWER A term coined by Audre Lorde that labels the societal norm for
a human is white, male, middle-class, heterosexual, healthy abled, thin and a young
adult. No one will always fit this norm, and those people are discriminated and
oppressed.
Beauty Myth - ANSWER society pressures women to measure their worth in terms of
physical appearance and use media to portray unattainable and unrealistic standards of
beauty (young, very thin, white or very light-skinned and able-bodied)
Gender - ANSWER the socially constructed roles, characteristics and behaviours a
culture expects from masculinity (male) and femininity (female)
Essentialism - ANSWER Concept used to examine the attribution of fixed, intrinsic,
innate qualities or true nature to women, racial groups etc. that one cannot observe
directly (underlying reality or essence) yet gives them their identity and is responsible
for similarities category members share
Gender Binaries - ANSWER a concept or belief that there are only two genders and that
one's sex or gender assigned at birth will align with traditional social constructs of
masculine and feminine identity, expression, and sexuality. (Male -dominant, Female-
marked/abnormal)
Intersectionality - ANSWER framework that considers the multilayered dimensions of
social identities (race, sexual orientation, gender identity etc.) and/or locations and how
, they intersect to shape experiences. coined by Kimberly Crenshaw 1989
Sexism - ANSWER the belief that one sex is innately superior to the other (male vs
female) a set of attitudes that are entirely entrenched in the structure of society
(patriarchy and gender binaries)
"Problem With No Name" - ANSWER the anxiety and oppression felt by women
(housewives) in the 50s & 60s to achieve something more in life than just a home and a
family like an education or career
Purity Myth - ANSWER the contemporary focus on virginity as an indicator of female
moral worth and commodifying it (purity rings)
Madonna/Wh*re Dichotomy - ANSWER Indicates the polarized perceptions of women in
general as either "good," chaste, and pure Madonnas (an object of worship and
everything that all women should aspire to be); or as "bad," promiscuous, and seductive
Wh*res (sexually active is lacking in morality and humanity)
Cult of Domesticity - ANSWER set of cultural assumptions made clear to women from
Victorian Europe to the early 1960s. (women are idealized as mothers and
housekeepers, take care of the home and raise the children) and must remain in the
private sphere
Male Gaze - ANSWER the way in which the visual arts and literature depict the world and
women from a masculine point of view, presenting women as objects of male pleasure
(objectifying them/scopophilia)
Gender Wage Gap - ANSWER the gap in earnings between women and men, usually
expressed as a percentage or proportion of what women are paid relative to their male
equivalents
Care Deficit - ANSWER as more women enter the workforce, there is a decline in the
caregiving services that they can perform, including care to children, aging family
members, and family members with disabilities or long-term illness (Women from
developing countries fill these gaps and are typically underpaid)
Social Constructivism - ANSWER learning is a collaborative process, and knowledge
develops from individuals' interactions with their culture and society (Vygotsky)
socially constructed - ANSWER Values or norms that are invented or "constructed" in a
culture; people learn these and follow the conventional rules
Marxists - ANSWER Criticizes systems such as capitalism as a set of structures,
practices, institutions, incentives, and sensibilities that promote exploitation of labor,
the alienation of human beings, social inequalities and the debasement of freedom (This
includes relations of domination such as racism and sexism)
Liberalism - ANSWER A political ideology whose advocates prefer a government active
in dealing with human needs, support individual rights and liberties, and give higher
