Women's Studies Final Exam

Front 1

biological determinism

Back 1

a general theory holding that a group’s biological or genetic makeup shapes its social, political, and economic destiny; a view is used to justify women’s subordination, or the subordination of peoples of color on the argument that they are biologically or genetically different from, and usually inferior to, men or white people.

Front 2

commodification of women

Back 2

the process of turning people and intangibilities into things, or commodities, for sale; an example is the commodification of women’s bodies through advertising and cultural practices.

Front 3

compulsory heterosexuality

Back 3

refers to the idea that heterosexuality, as a default sexual orientation, can be adopted by people regardless of their personal sexual preferences.

Front 4

gender expression

Back 4

communication or perception of gender. ranges from male to androgenous to female.

Front 5

gender identity

Back 5

psychological identity. man to bi-gendered/two spirit/ third gender.

Front 6

gender performativity

Back 6

Butler characterizes gender as the effect of reiterated acting, one that produces the effect of a static or normal gender while obscuring the contradiction and instability of any single person's gender act. This effect produces what we can consider to be 'true gender', a narrative that is sustained by "the tacit collective agreement to perform, produce, and sustain discrete and polar genders as cultural fictions is obscured by the credibility of those productions – and the punishments that attend not agreeing to believe in them."[1] The performative acts which Butler is discussing she names to be performative and within the larger social, unseen world, they exist within performativity.

Front 7

internalized oppression

Back 7

the manner in which an oppressed group comes to use against itself the methods of the oppressor. For example, sometimes members of marginalized groups hold an oppressive view toward their own group, or start to believe in negative stereotypes of themselves.

Front 8

intersectionality

Back 8

a sociological theory suggesting that—and seeking to examine how—various socially and culturally constructed categories of discrimination interact on multiple and often simultaneous levels, contributing to systematic social inequality. Intersectionality holds that the classical models of oppression within society, such as those based on race/ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, class, or disability do not act independently of one another; instead, these forms of oppression interrelate creating a system of oppression that reflects the "intersection" of multiple forms of discrimination.[

Front 9

levels of analysis

Back 9

micro: personal, individual
meso: community, neighborhood
macro: national
global: global

Front 10

matrix of oppression and resistance

Back 10

refer to how differences among people (sexual orientation, class, race, age, etc.) serve as oppressive measures towards females, and ultimately change the experiences of living as a woman in society.

Front 11

objectification of women

Back 11

degrade to the status of a mere object: a deeply sexist attitude that objectifies women.

Front 12

patriarchy

Back 12

Systematic organization of male supremacy that gives men systematic advantages over women

Front 13

reproductive health

Back 13

Fertility
Contraception, abortion
Information and access to pre-natal and post-natal care,
Sterilization,
Forced child-bearing.

Front 14

reproductive justice

Back 14

Reproductive justice is a concept linking reproductive health with social justice. The term emerged from the work of reproductive health organizations for women of color in the United States in the 1990s.

Front 15

sexual orientation

Back 15

romantic/erotic response. ranges from attracted to women to pansexual and bisexual to attracted to men.

Front 16

situated knowledges

Back 16

Situated knowledge is knowledge specific to a particular situation

Front 17

social location

Back 17

Social location basically has to do with a person's place in society. It has to do with a person's race, gender, sexuality. It also is a key element in understanding who a person is.

Front 18

socially lived theorizing

Back 18

means that each of you theorizes from the place you are standing. Your theories emerge from your experience.

Front 19

standpoint theory

Back 19

An individual's unique world perspective
A standpoint is a place from which human beings view the world.
A standpoint influences how the people adopting it socially construct the world.
Social group membership affects people's standpoints.
The inequalities of different social groups create differences in their standpoints.
All standpoints are partial; so (for example) Standpoint feminism coexists with other standpoints.

Front 20

cult of thinness

Back 20

proposes that thin is beautiful and will make you happy

Front 21

alliance

Back 21

working with others as a result of deepening understanding of one another's lives, experiences, and goals

Front 22

battered women syndrome

Back 22

A pattern of signs and symptoms, such as fear and a perceived inability to escape, appearing in women who are physically and mentally abused over an extended period by a husband or other dominant individual.

Front 23

beauty myth

Back 23

It examines beauty as a demand and as a judgment upon women. Subtitled How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women, Wolf examines how modern conceptions of women's beauty impact the spheres of employment, culture, religion, sexuality, eating disorders, and cosmetic surgery.
Wolf argues that women in Western culture are damaged by the pressure to conform to an idealized concept of female beauty—the Iron Maiden throughout modern society, from Victorian Times to today. She argues that the beauty myth is political, a way of maintaining the patriarchal system. It allows women to enter the labour force, but under controlled conditions.

Front 24

blame the victim syndrome

Back 24

an analysis or recommended course of action that attributes responsibility for a problem to those who experience it. an example is to urge women not to be alone at night out, for their safety, rather than to curb male violence against women.

Front 25

comparable worth

Back 25

a method of evaluating jobs that are traditionally defined as men's work or women's work- in terms of the knowledge and skills required for a particular job; the mental demands or decsiions making involved; the accountability or degree of supervision involved; and working conditions, such as how physically safe the job is- so as to eliminate inequities in pay based on gender

Front 26

cultural meaning of advertisments

Back 26

relies on the cultural knowledge and background of the reader. We all 'make sense' of ads by relating them to our culture and to the shared belief systems held in common by most people

Front 27

cultural workers

Back 27

Jobs that support and construct the current ideals in culture. For instance, advertisers, directors, publishers, or actors.

Front 28

dismemberment

Back 28

the identity of women is associated with the anonymity of body parts. 
A body part stands in for the woman as object

Front 29

exoticization

Back 29

the act of romanticizing elements of something, like a culture, that is foreign to oneself

Front 30

export processing zone

Back 30

labor intensive manufacturing centers that involve the import of raw materials or components and the export of factory products
National import duties and local and environmental laws are often suspended

Front 31

formal sector of work

Back 31

All the jobs offering hourly wages and benefits but also taxed and monitored.

Front 32

gender violence

Back 32

Violence perpetuated against women because of their gender
A broad range of violent acts perpetrated by men upon women
Grounded in macro-level systemic inequalities based on hierarchies of power
Affects all women

Front 33

gender-wage gap

Back 33

Male–female income disparity, also referred to as a "gender gap in earnings", in the United States, also known as the "gender wage gap," the "gender earnings gap" and the "gender pay gap", is used by government agencies and economists to refer to statistics gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau, as part of the Current Population Survey, comparing median male wages to median female wages.

Front 34

glass ceiling

Back 34

an unseen barrier to women's promotion to senior positions in the workplace. Women can see the senior positions in their company or field, but few women reach them because of negative attitudes toward senior women and low perceptions of their abilities and training. This barrier may also be based on race/ethnicity.

Front 35

globalization

Back 35

contemporary form of cultural and economic integration facilitated by electronic media, international financial institutions, trade agreements, and national immigration policies

Front 36

hierarchy of oppression

Back 36

believing one group’s experienced oppression is worse than another.

Front 37

hostile environment

Back 37

unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

Front 38

human security

Back 38

Human security is an emerging paradigm for understanding global vulnerabilities whose proponents challenge the traditional notion of national security by arguing that the proper referent for security should be the individual rather than the state. Human security holds that a people-centered view of security is necessary for national, regional and global stability

Front 39

identity politics

Back 39

activism and politics that put identtiy at the center. This usually involves the assumption that a particular characterisitc, such as race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, is the most important in the lives of group members and that the group is not differentiated according to other characteristics in a significant way

Front 40

identity based politics

Back 40

activism and policits that have a strong identity component but also a broader view that allows people to make connections to other groups and issues

Front 41

informal sector of work

Back 41

Another work that doesn’t get counted is paid work in informal sector like women sitting on the side of the road selling food. Also, women do domestic work that is paid under table.

- no taxes

Front 42

internalized domination

Back 42

– ex. NGO groups helping others. When we have been privileged and unconsciously assume that privilege and say we know what you need and we know what is best for you.

Front 43

internalized oppression

Back 43

attitudes and behavior of some oppressed people that reflect the negative, harmful, sterotypical beliefs of the dominant group directed at them.

Front 44

international economic institutions

Back 44

international network of commercial orginazations who generate, distribute, and purchase goods and services i.e. manufacturers, producers, wholesalers, retailers, and buyers

Front 45

marriage

Back 45

The legal union of a couple as spouses: a legal contract 
(1) the parties' legal ability to marry each other, 
(2) mutual consent of the parties,
(3) a marriage contract as required by law [religious ceremony not required]
(4) Chiefly regulated by the states but state law cannot prohibit marriage in the absence of a valid reason

Front 46

mommy tax

Back 46

– hourly wages drop 7% for each child.
When women leave work force, she loses experience and seniority.
mommy tax is not supportive of families

Front 47

national security

Back 47

the requirement to maintain the survival of the nation-state through the use of economic, military and political power and the exercise of diplomacy.

Front 48

neo-liberalism

Back 48

economic philosophy and policies that call for the freedom of business to operate with minimal interference from governments, international organizations, or labor unions. Basic tenets include the rule of the market, free trade, economic deregulation, privatization of government owned industries, reduction of social welfare spending, and belief in individual responsiblity rather than valuing community and the public good. Termed neo liberal because it calls for a revival of the free market philosophy that prevailed in the US through the 1800s and early 1900s prior to the enhanced role of govt that gained legitimacy during the depression culminating in the war on poverty and other great society programs

Front 49

objectification

Back 49

attitudes and behaviors by which people are treated as if they were "things" One example is the objectification of women through advertising images

Front 50

occupational segregation

Back 50

the distribution of groups defined by ascribed characteristics, mostly gender, across occupations. More basically, it is the concentration of a similar group of people (be they males, females, whites, blacks, etc) in a job. Occupational segregation levels differ on a basis of perfect segregation and integration. Perfect segregation occurs where occupation and group membership correspond perfectly, where no job is populated by more than one group.

Front 51

pay equity

Back 51

When jobs filled mostly by women are judged "comparable" to jobs filled mostly by men, wages for both should be the same.
comparable worth

Front 52

performance/art as activism

Back 52

expressing ideas through poems, speeches, painting murals, dance, song, organizing a film series etc.

Front 53

politics of scarcity

Back 53

there just isn’t enough to go around. It is a fatalistic belief. If we believe in it, we won’t do anything and it tends to justify the fact that there will always be people who don’t have equal rights.

Front 54

quid pro quo

Back 54

making conditions of employment (hiring, promotion, retention, etc.) contingent on the victim’s providing sexual favors.

Front 55

rape trauma

Back 55

term used by mental health and legal professionals to refer to women's coping strategies following rape

Front 56

reproductive work

Back 56

this domestic labor includes biological and social reproduction, mainly done by women, to maintain daily life, raise children, care for elders, and so on. It is often considered unproductive because it is unwaged, but it is fundamental to the ability to do waged work

Front 57

second shift

Back 57

responsibilities for household chores and child care mostly by women after having already done a full day's work outside the home

Front 58

sexual harrassment

Back 58

intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors.[

Front 59

sexual objectification

Back 59

refers to the practice of regarding or treating another person merely as an instrument (object) towards the person's sexual pleasure

Front 60

sticky floor

Back 60

structural limiations for women in low-paid, low-status jobs that block them from moving up.

Front 61

structural adjustment policies

Back 61

a term used to describe the policy changes implemented by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (the Bretton Woods Institutions) in developing countries. These policy changes are conditions (Conditionalities) for getting new loans from the IMF or World Bank, or for obtaining lower interest rates on existing loans.

Front 62

surface meaning of advertisments

Back 62

consists of the overall impression that a reader might get from quickly studying the advertisement...you can describe this surface level of meaning by simply listing all the objects and people in the ad

Front 63

sweatshops

Back 63

unhealthy, oppressive working conditions. Little voice or pay. extremely exploitative.

Front 64

third wave feminism

Back 64

feminist perspectives adopted in the 1990s, often by younger women, with an emphasis on personal voice and multiple identities, intersectionality, ambiguity, and contradicitions

Front 65

trafficking

Back 65

when people are tricked and forced to work with little to no payment on exploitative terms.

Front 66

transnational company

Back 66

company that manages production or delivers services in more than one country.

Front 67

transnational feminism

Back 67

feminism on a global scale, without borders. Race, gender, sex orientation, economic exploitation viewed on a global scale.