Gender and Sex
Gender: generally understood as socially constructed, creates the prism through which we understand masculinity and femininity, normative roles, attributes, and behaviours for "men" and "women"; includes pluralities (range of diverse options of gender embodiment), contradictions (within and between masculinity and femininity), and relations of power and hegemony; a "socially produced and historically changing aspect of identity that is shaped by cultural and institutional discourse within a society" (Weedon 138); “an activity that is performed in response to institutional and social norms and is capable of pluralities - both masculinities and femininities" (Swensen 139).
Sex: often understood as biological difference between "male" and "female", seen as rooted in genitalia, seen as determining ones gender.
Masculinity: there are multiple masculinities at any given time in any given place; they vary by age, race, nationality, sexuality, etc.; within every culture there is a single form of masculinity which is most highly valued and becomes hegemonic; domestic masculinity is a way of negotiating with hegemonic or other forms of dominant masculinity.
Gendered division of labour: often emphasizes a division between production and reproduction (Counihan 175); domestic labour is devalued and usually invisible; the industrial revolution and transition to a capitalist society was responsible for the shift to a heavily-gendered division of labour; there is a stigma for men who take on domestic work and women who do not; concealing domestic labour may further romanticize and devalue domesticity. |
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Culture and Identity
Culture: what seems regular or normal to you, often equated with nationality within anthropology; elements of culture include boundaries (who is an insider and who is an outsider), transmission (where you learn about culture), limited fluidity (changes from time to place), and an overlap with other collectivities (region, age, class, nationality).
Intersectionality: the concept that suggests that the experiences of women will also be influenced by race, class, disability, sexuality, etc.; experiences of oppression are simultaneous and overlapping.
Cultural appropriation: the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation is the context of oppression and dominance; in the context of food, it can also be referred to as "cultural food colonialism". |
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