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Definition
| In most studies, males have been found to behave more aggressively than females. Aggression seems to have increased among girls in recent years. Bullying in both genders in elementary school is highly predictive of aggression in later dating relationships. |
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Definition
| Did a TED talk on how attitudes, preferences, and behaviours dictate gender. Did work with people with unconventional bodies, including conjoined twins, those with dwarfism, and intersex individuals. |
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Term
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Definition
| Male sex hormones. Produced by the testes once they develop in the embryo. Lead to development of male external reproductive organs. Includes testosterone. Without androgens, we would all develop female external reproductive organs. |
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Term
| Androgen insensitivity syndrome |
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Definition
| An intersex condition in which a genetic male (XY) who has, as a result of a mutated gene, a lower than normal prenatal sensitivity to androgens. As a result, genitals do not become normally masculinized during embryonic development. Testes are undescended, male duct systems do not develop, and external genitals are feminized, including a small vagina. |
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Definition
| A Swedish investigator. With colleagues, studied gender-typed behaviours and interests in 26 girls with CAH and 26 girls without CAH, aged 2 to 10. Those with CAH showed more interest in masculine-typed toys, and were more likely to have boys as playmates and want masculine-typed careers. |
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| Anne Cummings and Alan Leschied |
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Definition
| From University of Western Ontario. Conducted extensive research on aggression among girls. Found that aggressive adolescent girls were more likely than aggressive adolescent boys to experience isolation, powerlessness, and depression. |
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Definition
| Mistakenly believed that sexual differentiation was determined by the heat of semen at the time of sexual relations. Warmer semen was thought to produce males, whereas cooler semen made females. |
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Definition
| The classification of anatomic sex assigned to an individual at birth. Either male, female, or intersex. |
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Definition
| Descriptive of male-to-female transgender individuals who are sexually stimulated by fantasies that their own bodies are female. |
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Definition
| From University of Waterloo. Found that university students were about evenly divided in liking or disliking trans people. Students reported more negative attitudes towards trans people than towards gays and lesbians. Studied how having a trans person speak to a university class could change perceptions. Found that only 5% of students in a human sexuality class had knowingly met a trans individual before. Students reported that hearing a trans person talk was the best way to learn about transgender issues, and increased understanding and empathy towards transgender people. |
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Definition
née George Jorgenson
A former American soldier. In 1953, journeyed to Denmark for a sex change operation, and changed her name. This made headlines at the time. |
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Term
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Definition
| A rod-like structure found in the nucleus of every living cell. Carries the genetic code in the form of genes. When a sperm cell fertilizes an ovum, 23 chromosomes from the male parent normally combine with 23 chromosomes from the female parent. The 23rd pair are sex chromosomes, which may be X or Y chromosomes. Females have XX pattern, and males have XY pattern. An ovum carries an X sex chromosome, and sperm carry an X or Y sex chromosome. |
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Term
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Definition
| A gender identity that matches the assigned sex. Most people are cisgender. |
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Term
| Cognitive-developmental theory |
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Definition
| A psychological perspective on gender typing. Children play an active role in gender typing through the formation of schemas about gender. Children are motivated to behave in gender appropriate ways once they've established the concepts of gender stability and gender constancy. |
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Term
| Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) |
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Definition
| An intersex condition in which a genetic female (XX) has internal female structures, and masculinized external genitals. The most common female intersex condition. The clitoris is so enlarged that it may resemble a small penis. Caused by high levels of androgens. Girls with CAH showed more interest in masculine-typed toys, and were more likely to have boys as friends and want masculine-typed careers. |
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Term
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Definition
| A condition in which at least one of the testes fails to descend, and remains in the abdomen at birth. Occurs in a small percentage of males. The testes usually migrate into the scrotum during infancy, but sometimes at puberty. |
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Term
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Definition
| Conducted a large cross-cultural study to examine sex differences in desire for sexual variety. In every world region, men reported a higher number of desired sex partners than women. |
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Term
| Dominican Republic syndrome |
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Definition
| An intersex condition in which a genetic enzyme disorder prevents testosterone from masculinizing external genitalia. First documented in a group of 18 boys in two rural villages in the Dominican Republic. There are normal testes and internal male reproductive organs, but the penis is stunted, resembling a clitoris, and the scrotum is incompletely formed, resembling female labia, with a partially formed vagina. Often children are raised as girls, but at puberty, testes descend, the clitoris expands into a penis, and male secondary sex characteristics form. Only one out of the 18 boys did not choose to shift into a masculine gender identity at puberty. |
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Term
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Definition
| The stage of prenatal development that begins with implantation of a fertilized ovum in the uterus, and concludes with the development of the major organ systems at about two months after conception. At five to six weeks, it is 0.5 - 1.0 cm long. During the first six weeks, structures of both sexes develop along similar lines. Has a pair of sexually undifferentiated gonads, two sets of primitive duct structures called Müllerian ducts (female) and Wolffian ducts (male), as well as primitive external genitals which cannot be visually distinguished. At the seventh week, genetic code (XX or XY) begins to assert itself; if the Y chromosome is absent, ovaries will begin to differentiate. |
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Term
| Erin Connell and Alan Hunt |
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Definition
| From Carleton University. Analyzed literature containing marital and sexual advice for heterosexuals from the early part of the twentieth century to present. Found that throughout the years gender stereotypes have heavily influenced the type of relational and sexual advice provided to couples. |
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Term
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Definition
| Female fetuses are sensitive to estrogen. The hypothalamus of male fetuses is insensitive to estrogen due to testosterone. Important for regulation of the menstrual cycle. |
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Term
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Definition
| A biological perspective on gender-typing. Men's role as hunters and warriors and women's roles as caregivers and gatherers are carried forward in our genes. Has been criticized for implying that the stereotypical gender roles reflect the natural order of things. |
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Term
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Definition
| In Samoan culture, feminine males who are sexually attracted to masculine men. In Samoa there is high tolerance for men with feminine characteristics, and cross-gender behaviour in children is seen as unproblematic. Interviews found no evidence that female-typical behaviours in children provoke distress; most fa'afafine men say they loved engaging in such activities. |
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Term
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Definition
| The psychological state of being male or female, as influenced by cultural concepts of gender-appropriate behaviour. Distinct from anatomic sex, which is based on the physical differences between males and females. A complex concept, based partly on anatomy, partly on psychology of the individual, and partly on culture and tradition. |
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Term
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Definition
| A social system that defines gender as either strictly male or female. A socially prescribed way of classifying gender in our culture; does not accurately reflect the diverse range of gender identities that actually exist. |
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Term
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Definition
| A concept in the cognitive-developmental theory of gender typing. The concept that people's genders do not change, even if they alter their dress or behaviour. Develops in most children by age 7 or 8. |
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Term
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Definition
| An assumption is that gender differences in sexual attitudes and behaviours are quite large, but meta-analysis found differences in sexual permissiveness were relatively small and decreasing over time. Larger gender differences were found related to masturbation and the use of sexually explicit materials. There is greater variation within genders than between genders. Research and theory concludes that men are more sexually motivated than women, and women are more romantically motivated than men. Explanations may differ (evolutionary, social, psychological); most research relies on self-report. Researchers used an Implicit Association Test (IAT) to compensate for social desirability, and assessed differences in students' pleasant and unpleasant associations to romantic and sexual stimuli. Both men and women had stronger automatic preference for romantic stimuli. Perhaps previous research overstated actual gender differences, or findings reflect changes in ways that men are socialized in Western culture. |
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Term
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Definition
| A sense of incongruity between assigned sex and gender identity that causes significant distress. Until 2013 edition, it was listed as a psychiatric diagnosis in the DSM. The newer edition adopted a less pathologizing diagnosis. There must be a marked difference between the person's expression and experience of gender, and the gender others would assign them. The APA stresses that gender nonconformity is not a mental disorder; diagnosis is dependent upon distress. |
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Term
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Definition
| One's internal and individual sense of being female, male, or other shade of gender. One of the most central aspects of self-concept. Usually emerges by age 3. May be determined by brains and hormones, learning and the environment, or biological and environmental influences. Usually consistent with chromosomal gender; however this does not prove that it is biologically determined. |
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Term
| Gender identity disorder (GID) |
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Definition
| Children who indicate that they prefer to be a gender different from their assigned sex were in the past clinically diagnosed with GID, and given therapy aimed at conforming to societal standards. Some clinicians continue to offer such interventions; this practice is increasingly opposed. Treatments designed to change gender identity or expression are no longer considered ethical. Supportive and/or affirming approaches are now more common. |
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Term
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Definition
| A component of transitioning. Surgery may be an element. Health professionals conduct careful evaluations to determine that people seeking reassignment are competent to make such a decision, and have thought through the consequences. Usually requires that the person live openly as a member of their desired sex for an extended trial period before surgery. Involves a lifetime of hormone treatments. Surgery is largely cosmetic; it is impossible to construct internal genitals or gonads. Most post-operative reports are positive; patients are no longer gender-dysphoric. Most function well sexually, psychologically, and socially. Adjustment is most favourable for female-to-male transitions. |
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Term
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Definition
| Complex clusters of ways males and females are expected to behave. Cultures have broad expectations of men and women. In Western culture, gender roles have evolved in recent decades. |
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Term
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Definition
| A cluster of mental representations about male and female physical qualities, behaviours, and personality traits. Children develop them as a means of organizing their perceptions about the world. Gender gains prominence as an organizing construct, because of society's emphasis on it. |
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Term
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Definition
| A concept in the cognitive-developmental theory of gender typing. The concept that people retain their genders for a lifetime. Developed by age 4 or 5. Prior to this, boys may think they will become mothers, or girls may think they will become fathers. |
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Term
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Definition
| The process by which children acquire behaviours deemed appropriate for their sex or gender. Biological perspectives tend to focus on the roles of genetic and prenatal influences, including evolutionary perspective and prenatal brain organization. Psychological perspectives include psychoanalytic theory, social-cognitive theory, cognitive-developmental theory, and gender-schema theory. Entails the emergence of three concepts: gender identity, gender stability, and gender constancy. |
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Term
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Definition
| An individual who possesses both ovarian and testicular tissues; there is one testicle and one ovary. From the Greek myth of the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, who's body became united within a nymph while he was bathing. Individuals usually assume the gender identity and gender role they were assigned at birth. |
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Term
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Definition
| Some women consider themselves "highly sexual". They may: think about sex a lot, enjoy fantasizing about sex, be willing to try almost anything, confident about their sexual abilities, and enjoy masturbating. Many women are attempting to change the perception in society that women are not interested in sex. |
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Term
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Definition
| A fetal canal that connects the scrotum and the testes, allowing the testes to descend into the scrotal sac. After the descent of the testes, it closes up. |
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Term
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Definition
Intersexual
Intersexualism
A person who possesses the gonads of one gender and external genitalia which are ambiguous, or typical to the other gender. Gonads match chromosomal sex. Occurs in one in 5,000 infants. |
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Term
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Definition
| A professor at Dalhousie University. Does work in health promotion policy research related to health equity, specifically in LGBTQ individuals and uterine cancer. |
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Term
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Definition
| A professor at the University of Wisconsin. Did meta-analysis research in gender and sexuality. Found there was no benefit for single-sex schooling. |
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Term
| Jennifer Petersen and Janet Shibley Hyde |
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Definition
| Examined the meta-analytic reviews of previous studies and large sample data sets of heterosexual behaviours, masturbation, use of sexually explicit material, attitudes towards premarital sex, and other variables related to gender differences in sexuality. Found that although men were more likely to have engaged in heterosexual intercourse than women, the gender difference is small and decreasing. In the USA, a large-sample survey indicates that 77% of men and 68% of women had performed oral sex on partners, while 79% of men and 73% of women said they'd received oral sex. Differences in relative sexual permissiveness between men and women were relatively small, and decreasing over time. Attitudes towards premarital sex were becoming more accepting, and gender differences in attitudes smaller. Men were more likely to report more lifetime sexual partners than women, but the difference was small. Men were more likely to masturbate than women, but the gender difference is decreasing over time. Men were more likely than women to access magazines, videos, and the internet for sexual content. |
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Term
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Definition
| From University of Guelph. With colleagues, conducted an online survey to compare women who considered themselves to be highly sexual women with women who did not. A sample of 1,549 revealed that more than 80% of highly sexual women agree with the following statements: I think about sex a lot, I enjoy fantasizing about sex, I'm willing to try almost anything when it comes to sex, I'm confident about my sexual ability, fantasizing about sex can quickly get me aroused, and I really enjoy masturbating to orgasm. |
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Term
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Definition
| Did a TED talk on social media and technology, and what it means for gender. |
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Term
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Definition
| A sex therapist. Wrote Fearless Sex: A Babe's Guide to Overpowering Your Romantic Obsession and Getting the Sex Life You Deserve, in which she encourages women to let go of sexual inhibitions and "bad girl" attitudes, electrify their libidos, liberate their most daring fantasies, and feel good about their "kinkier" sexual desires, and explore them safely. |
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Term
| Kathy Witteric and David Stoker |
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Definition
| Toronto parents who decided to raise their child, Storm, without gender. |
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Term
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Definition
| Did research on sex and gender. |
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Term
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Definition
| A disorder in which a male has an extra X sex chromosome: an XXY pattern, rather than XY. Affects one in 500 males. Fail to develop appropriate secondary sex characteristics. There are enlarged breasts, poor muscle development, infertility (failure to produce sperm), and sometimes there is mild mental retardation. |
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Term
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Definition
| Conducted a study of Americans aged 18 to 59. Found that 63% of men, and 42% of women said they had masturbated during the previous year. |
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Term
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Definition
| A psychologist who proposed a cognitive-developmental view of gender typing, where children themselves play an active role in gender-typing, rather than environmental influences. |
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Term
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Definition
| From University of Guelph. Conducted a study on the sexual double standard. Found that twice as many women (67%) than men (35%) felt that men had greater sexual freedom than women. |
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Term
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Definition
| In psychoanalytic theory, a conflict of the phallic stage in which the boy wishes to possess his mother sexually, and perceives his father as a rival for her love. Called an Electra complex in girls. Freud believed that resolution of the Oedipus complex completed gender typing in children. Occurs between ages 3 and 5. |
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Term
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Definition
| Develop from slender structures high in the abdominal cavity. By 10 weeks after conception, they have descended. |
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Term
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Definition
| A professor at University of British Columbia. Does interdisciplinary research on the democratization of health knowledge, social media, and sexual and/or gender minority populations. |
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Term
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Definition
| Surgical creation of an artificial penis. Used by some female-to-male trans people. A series of costly operations. The penis often doesn't work very well. |
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Term
| Prenatal brain organization |
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Definition
| A biological perspective on gender typing. Prenatal sex hormones may masculinize or feminize the brain by creating predispositions that are consistent with gender role stereotypes. One study found that sex differences in toy interest emerge earlier than self-awareness of one's sex. |
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Term
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Definition
| A state characterized by possession of both stereotypical masculine traits and stereotypical feminine traits. An individual who has "masculine" assertiveness and instrumental skills, as well as "feminine" nurturance and cooperation. May lead to an individual being able to meet the demands of various situations and to better express their desires and talents. May be perceived as a desirable goal for people who oppose constraints of traditional gender roles. Critics suggest that some benefits of psychological androgyny are confounded with masculinity. |
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Term
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Definition
| Suggests that although research continues to find evidence for the existence of a sexual double standard among university students, their research also indicates that the nature of the double standard is more complex than previously thought, and that a range of measures are needed to accurately capture sexual attitudes. |
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Term
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Definition
| Argues that masculinity and femininity constitute separate personality dimensions. A person who is highly masculine may also possess feminine traits. |
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Term
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Definition
| An element of gender typing in the cognitive-developmental theory. A concept, or way of interpreting experience or processing information. Children form schemas about gender, then exhibit behaviours that conform to those gender concepts. These developments occur in stages that are entwined with general cognitive development. |
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Term
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Definition
| Gender stereotypes heavily influence the type of relational and sexual advice proposed to couples. In the early 1900s, the husband was presented as the wife's sexual tutor and the initiator of sex. In the period between WWI and WWII, it was emphasized that husbands should provide their wives with sexual pleasure. During the sexual revolution of the 1960s, sex was no longer tied to marriage and "marriage manuals" were renamed "sex manuals", which focused on the need for the couple to master new sexual techniques and maximize pleasure. |
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Term
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Definition
| The prejudgement that a person will possess certain traits because of their gender. Traits are assumed to disqualify the person for certain vocations, or to prevent them from performing adequately in these jobs or some social situations. May lead to interpretation of the same behaviour in different ways, depending on whether it is exhibited by a man or a woman. Children develop stereotypes about "men's work" and "women's work". Can be psychologically damaging. Some progress has been made with respect to gender equality in Canadian society; the feminist movement in Canada has played an important role in this. |
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Term
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Definition
| The process by which males and females develop distinct reproductive anatomy. Many ideas have been proposed over the years to account for it. |
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Term
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Definition
| Men and women are evaluated differently for the same behaviours. Many men and women perceive a sexual double standard. Women are judged more harshly than men for having many sexual partners. Women may be harsher judges of women's behaviour than men. Despite the perception of a double standard, most endorse a single standard. Some endorse a reverse double standard. Research indicates that the nature of the double standard is more complex than originally thought. A range of measures are needed to accurately capture sexual attitudes. |
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Term
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Definition
| Men and women differ in long-term and short-term mating strategies. Qualities that men and women seek are believed to help solve adaptive problems humans have faced throughout evolutionary history. Men are more interested in the short term, preferring sexual variety and placing more value on signals of fertility; more interested in one-night stands. Women are more interested in the long-term, preferring commitment and placing more value on signals of resources and commitment; little to gain from casual encounters. Evolutionary theory seeks human universal behaviours. |
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Term
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Definition
| Developed the psychoanalytic theory of gender typing. Explained gender typing in terms of identification. Thought that appropriate gender typing required that boys come to identify with their fathers, and girls with their mothers. Identification is completed as children resolve their Oedipus or Electra complex. |
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Term
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Definition
| A psychological perspective on gender typing. Explains gender-typed behaviour in terms of processes such as observational learning, identification, and socialization. |
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Term
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Definition
| A process of gender typing, in social-cognitive theory. The process by which an individual is guided into socially acceptable behaviour patterns through information, rewards, and punishment. Plays a role in gender typing. when a baby comes into the world, it is treated according to its gender. |
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Term
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Definition
| A fixed, oversimplified, sometimes distorted, but conventional idea about a group of people. Men's stereotypes include: being more logical, initiating and dictating sexual encounters, constant readiness and desire for sex, and higher numbers of sexual partners. Women's stereotypes include: being more emotional, taking a passive role in sexual encounters, and lack of interest in sex. |
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Term
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Definition
| Develop from slender structures high in the abdominal cavity. Produce androgens in the embryo. By 10 weeks after conception, they have descended. Four months after conception, they descend into the scrotal sac through the inguinal canal. |
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Term
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Definition
| The most important androgen. The male sex hormone that fosters development of male sex characteristics, and is connected with sex drive. Spurs differentiation of the Wolffian duct system into the epididymis, vas deferens, and seminal vesicles. Causes the hypothalamus of a male fetus to become insensitive to estrogen. Without testosterone, the hypothalamus of a female fetus remains sensitive to estrogen. |
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Term
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Definition
Third sex
Refers to people who are considered neither women nor men. May represent an intermediate state between man and woman, a state of being both, or a state of being neither. Includes ladyboys of Thailand, two-spirits of North America, and hijras of South-Central Asia. |
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Term
| Traditional sexual script |
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Definition
| A sexual script based on stereotypical standard for sexual behaviour that dictates that males take an assertive and active role in heterosexual interactions while women take a receptive and passive role. Children learn at an early age that men usually approach women and initiate sexual interactions, whereas women serve as the gatekeepers in romantic relationships. Embedded in the larger stereotype that men are sexually aggressive and women are sexually passive. Men are expected to have a higher number of sexual partners. |
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Term
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Definition
| A community-based research project that examined the impact of social exclusion and discrimination on the health of the trans community. Results in Ontario indicate that there is an even split between female-to-male (54%) and male-to-female (47%) trans people. Participants identified with a range of sexual orientations and cultural and ethno-racial groups. 48% were living full-time in their felt gender, 30% part-time, and 22% were not living in their felt gender at all. 59% became aware that their gender did not match their bodies before the age of 10. Approximately 25% had completed medical transition. Almost all had experiences of transphobia and discrimination. |
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Term
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Definition
Trans
Transsexual
A person whose gender identity is different from their assigned sex at birth. Language related to transgender identities has changed over time; it needs to reflect and be respective of the transgender community. Male-to-female transgender people tend to fall into two categories: men who are extremely feminine, and men who are sexually aroused by the idea of becoming women. Trans activists have contested the idea that some transgender people are motivated to seek gender reassignment by erotic interest. Often transgender people show cross-gender preferences in play and dress early in childhood. Research on attitudes towards trans people suggests that students are divided in terms of liking and disliking them; more negative attitudes are reported towards trans people than towards gay or lesbian people. Research suggests that hearing directly from a trans person is the best way to learn about transgender issues, generating understanding and empathy. |
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Term
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Definition
| The activities that some trans people may use to begin living as the gender with which they identify, rather than the gender they were assigned at birth. May include changing their name, as well as the way they dress, and possibly medical treatments such as hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery. Motivations may include incongruity between genital anatomy and genital identity. |
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Term
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Definition
| A disorder in which a female has just one X sex chromosome: an X pattern, rather than XX. Affects one in 2,500 females. May not naturally undergo puberty, usually beginning hormone treatments to spur growth of secondary sex characteristics. |
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Term
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Definition
| A fertilized ovum. The beginning of a new human being, only 0.04 cm long. After fertilization, it divides repeatedly. |
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