Deck 9: Gender and Sexuality: Nature or Nurture

Question 1

Margaret Mead profiled the temperament of men and women among the

A) Arapesh, Zuni, and Arapaho.
B) Arapesh, Washo, and Trobriands.
C) Arapesh, Mbuti, and Nandi.
D) Arapesh, Tchambuli, and Mundugumor.

Answer 1

Arapesh, Tchambuli, and Mundugumor.

Question 2

Among the Tchambuli, Mead noted that

A) distinct male and female roles existed but were opposite of the role models in North American culture.
B) no distinct male and female roles existed.
C) both men and women were maternal.
D) both men and women were non-emotional and business-like.

Answer 2

distinct male and female roles existed but were opposite of the role models in North American culture.

Question 3

Which of the following chromosomal pairs shows that an individual is male?

A) XX
B) XY
C) Xxy
D) YY

Answer 3

XY

Question 4

Sexual dimorphism among humans and other primates refers to

A) biological and behavioral differences between males and females.
B) biological variation between males and females.
C) behavioral forms and how they differ between males and females.
D) skeletal differences between males and females.

Question 5

The most diagnostic feature for determining the sex of a human skeleton is the

A) skull.
B) humerus.
C) pelvis.
D) femur.

Question 6

Gender refers to the

A) ability of an individual to produce sperm or egg.
B) biological designation of male and female.
C) sex of the individual.
D) assigned role of an individual within a society.

Question 7

Throughout Polynesia, third-gender individuals are known as

A) gay.
B) hijra.
C) mahu.
D) berdache.

Question 8

Anthropologist Deborah Elliston noted that the gender-variant roles in Tahiti are legitimized by

A) acknowledgment by the church.
B) longtime participation in that role.
C) an announcement by the person in a public place.
D) registering at a government office.

Question 9

The Zuni recognize the berdache gender person as being

A) neither man nor woman.
B) a woman who cross-dresses.
C) part man and part woman.
D) a man who wears woman's clothes.

Question 10

The hijras of India are

A) men who dress like women and behave like women.
B) emasculated men who take feminine names.
C) men who behave as women in all ways.
D) gay men.

Question 11

One of the roles that hijras take is that they

A) become entertainers on stage.
B) bless male babies at ceremonies.
C) use the supernatural to cure illness.
D) become housemaids.

Question 12

The hijra of India identify ideologically with the

A) Moslem origin story.
B) Koran.
C) Hindu mother goddess.
D) Hindu father god.

Question 13

The practice of designating "female husbands" among the Nandi of Africa serves what purpose?

A) It provides for an additional economic asset for a household.
B) It allows economic security to women who never married.
C) It gives lesbian women an opportunity to marry.
D) It provides a means for women without male heirs to transmit property.

Question 14

In a sample taken from one Nandi community, how many households were headed by female husbands?

A) under 2 percent
B) about 3 percent
C) about 4 percent
D) about 5 percent

Question 15

Which is true of female husbands among the Nandi?

A) They do the same heavy labor as male husbands.
B) They engage in sexual relationships with their wives.
C) They occupy separate dwellings from their wives.
D) They live with their wives just like heterosexual couples.

Question 16

Ernestine Friedl has demonstrated that among foragers

A) gender-defined division of labor is equal.
B) women have the highest status and most of the power.
C) men have the highest status and the most power.
D) control over scarce resources is related to status and power.

Question 17

The Yanomamo origin myth of moonblood supports the belief that men are

A) superior to women.
B) fierce.
C) wise.
D) equal to women.

Question 18

The duality between men and women in the Yanomamo division of labor is based on

A) moonblood.
B) wabu fruit.
C) mother goddess.
D) noreshi.

Question 19

Sex play and experimentation are common among young children of the

A) Trobrianders and the Ju/'hoansi.
B) Nandi and the East Bay people.
C) Zuni and the Mbuti pygmies.
D) Mbuti pygmies and the Mae Enga.

Question 20

Ford and Beach's cross-cultural study of homosexuality found that it was socially accepted as "normal" in what percentage of societies? About

A) 20 percent.
B) 30 percent.
C) 40 percent.
D) 60 percent.

Question 21

Which of the following terms refers to the socially and culturally assigned roles dictating how male and females should behave?

A) sex roles
B) gender roles
C) sexual orientation
D) diversity

Question 22

Gender role refers to

A) the assigned roles of an individual within a society.
B) sexual orientation.
C) the biological distinction between males and females.
D) cultural stereotypes.

Question 23

Which of the following is an example of a third gender role found in India?

A) mahu
B) Zuni
C) berdache
D) hijras

Question 24

All of the following are factors that affect gender roles EXCEPT

A) economic resources
B) ideology
C) sexual behavior
D) kinship

Question 25

The marriage of one woman to another among the Nandi of Africa, serves which of the following?

A) It is a cultural adaptation that allows a woman without male heirs to transmit property.
B) It serves to marry women whose father's cannot give large dowries.
C) It allows the Nandi to practice matrilineal descent in a patrilineal society.
D) It ensures a stable household for a woman who has lost her husband.

Question 26

Among the Yanomamo, the purpose of separate origin myths for males and females reinforces

A) the role of women in a patrilineal society.
B) female dominance over men.
C) the relative position of men over women.
D) none of the above.

Question 27

Anthropological interest in sexuality can be traced back to which of the following anthropologists?

A) Majorie Shostak
B) Regina Smith Oboler
C) Margaret Mead
D) Bronislaw Malinowski

Question 28

The issue of female circumcision generates outrage in North America.According to Kristen Bell, the reason for this is that

A) medical research proves male circumcision is a necessary, healthful practice.
B) culture bound ideas about gender prevent our objectivity.
C) we are more advanced than the cultures that practice female circumcision.
D) only undereducated people practice such customs.

Question 29

Margaret Mead is associated with the following area in cultural anthropology:

A) forensic anthropology.
B) visual anthropology.
C) medical anthropology.
D) psychological anthropology.

Question 30

In Bora Bora, Tahiti, the third gender individual encountered by the author was exceptional at

A) singing.
B) public speaking.
C) dancing.
D) negotiating marriage contracts.

Question 31

Explain sexual dimorphism.

Question 32

How is the sex of a skeleton determined?

Question 33

Why does the author say that the presentation of short examples of human sexuality in an introductory text can present problems?

Question 34

How did Nisa, the Ju/'hoansi woman, describe how children in her society learned about sex?

Question 35

How do Trobriand Islanders learn about sex?

Question 36

What is a noreshi among the Yanomamo, and what is one way that beliefs about noreshi influence the Yanomamo division of labor?

Question 37

Cite two things that cross-cultural research revealed about sexual attractiveness across cultures.

Question 38

What has cross-cultural research revealed about sexual prohibitions across cultures?

Question 39

What were the ancient Greeks' cultural values regarding same-sex relationships?

Question 40

When Margaret Mead began her work, many people believed that men and women were biologically programmed to behave in certain ways.Discuss what was revealed by Mead's work in New Guinea.

Question 41

Who are the hijras? Describe the role of a hijra in Indian society.

Question 42

Discuss one of the following third-gender persons and their role in their society: mahu, berdache, or hijra.

Question 43

Discuss and cite examples of the factors that affect gender roles across cultures.

Question 44

Describe how the Nandi of Africa integrate gender roles to accommodate special circumstances within the culture.

Question 45

Discuss and evaluate the role of ideology in the enculturation of gender roles.Cite a specific example.

Question 46

Present a thesis statement regarding cross-cultural attitudes about human sexual behavior.Support your thesis statement with three specific examples.

Question 47

Discuss the problems associated with using Euro-American constructs about sexual orientation to describe the behaviors and attitudes of other cultures.