Introduction to Gender

Defining Gender

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Gender is the expression of how a society organizes its expectations, norms, and values of men and women, boys and girls, and sexual and gender minorities through its social institutions.

“My father always defined my gender to my brothers. He‘d say, ’This is your sister; you must take care of her.’”

-Sandra Cisneros-

Key Terms and Definitions

Key Question: What are the key terms for understanding gender and sexual diversity?

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Article: The Cycle of Socialization

From the article: “We are each born into a set of social identities…and these social identities predispose us to unequal roles in the dynamic system of oppression. We are then socialized by powerful sources in our worlds to play roles prescribed by an inequitable social system. This socialization is pervasive (coming from all sides and sources), consistent (patterned and predictable), circular (self-supporting), self-perpetuating (intradependent), and often invisible (unconscious and unnamed).”