Deck 9: Gender and Queer Theory

Question 1

A major difference between feminist theory and gender theory is that

A) Feminist theory is written mainly by women, while gender theory is written predominantly by men
B) Feminist theory arose from the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, while gender theory did not
C) Gender theory arose from the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, while gender theory did not
D) In fact, they are the same.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Sociologists assign the concept of ________ to those characteristics that are socially ascribed and the concept of ________ to those that are associated with biology

A) Gender, sex
B) Sex, gender
C) Masculinity, femininity
D) Femininity, masculinity

Answer 2

A

Question 3

When thinking about the role of biology in determining gender, most sociologists

A) Ignore it, and argue that gender is purely a social construction
B) Assign it supremacy, and argue that all social behaviors are reflections of biological structures
C) Recognize that biology exerts an influence on the social, and the causes of gendered behaviors are the result of both biology and social factors
D) Dismiss it as a relic of twentieth century theorizing

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT a problem that Eleanor Jacoby and Carol Jacklin with scientists' objectivity?

A) Overreporting of the significance of findings or an exaggeration of positive results
B) Disagreement in results when data are obtained in different ways
C) Limits because of situational differences
D) Exclusion of the female standpoint

Question 5

Linda Nicholson's theory of "biological foundationalism" argues that

A) Biology is the root of gender differences in society
B) Theories that assign biology a role in gender differences are misguided
C) The body is a rack upon which cultural attributes are cloaked
D) Men and women accomplish gender in their everyday interactions

Question 6

For Judith Lorber, where does gender socialization begin?

A) When children acquire the ability to use language
B) When children enter school and interact with peers
C) When children begin to consume media, such as television and children's music
D) At birth, when parents assign social traits based on a child's genitalia

Question 7

How do people "produce gender," according to Lorber?

A) By conforming to gender stereotypes in everyday interactions
B) By sanctioning those who violate gendered expectations for behavior
C) By abiding by gender stereotypes in social behaviors such as manner of dress, hobbies, etc…
D) All of the above

Question 8

A major finding of Michael Kimmel's studies of masculinity is that

A) There are greater differences between females and males than previously known
B) The penalties women pay for violating gender norms are greater than those paid by men who violate gender norms.
C) The differences between men and women are not as great as the differences among men and women
D) Men and women are different due to genetics

Question 9

Writing in the early 20^th Century, Sigmund Freud viewed homosexuality as

A) A perversion
B) Nonexistent
C) Influenced by family and society
D) A disease that should be cured

Question 10

The key factor though which gender identity emerged in the theory of Jacques Lacan was:

A) Biology
B) Language
C) Dress and outward appearances
D) None of the above

Question 11

Central to the work of Michel Foucault was the idea that

A) Culture precedes nature
B) Nature precedes culture
C) Culture and nature coevolve
D) None of the above

Question 12

For Michel Foucault, sexual nature is constructed through

A) Interactions
B) Language
C) Social structures
D) Discourse

Question 13

For Foucault, gender is a product of

A) Social construction
B) Human agency
C) The media
D) Regulatory practices

Question 14

Judith Butler's most important book is titled:

A) Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity
B) Ain't I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism
C) Paradoxes of Gender
D) The History of Sexuality

Question 15

The unconscious longing for an erotic connection to those of the same sex is known as

A) The Oedipal complex
B) The Electra complex
C) Heterosexual melancholia
D) Homoerotic repression

Question 16

How does queer theory differ from feminist theories?

A) It is more rigid in its and conceptual categories
B) It focuses more on the politics of carnival and transgression
C) It focuses more on the politics of motherhood
D) It is not rooted in social movement struggles

Question 17

Overall, queer theory

A) Aligns with feminism, and challenges heterosexism
B) Aligns with homosexual theory and discourse, and challenges feminism
C) Challenges feminism, and aligns with structuralism
D) Is critical of heterosexually focused society and challenges homosexual theory

Question 18

According to Stephen Seidman, a major breakthrough for the gay and lesbian movement came with

A) The passage of the Civil Rights Act
B) The Stonewall Riots
C) The emergence of a gay and lesbian community built on a shared identity
D) The recognition of same-sex marriage rights in some states

Question 19

A key contribution of Eve Kosofky Sedgewick has been to show that

A) Discourse creates gender categories by controlling the behaviors of men and women
B) Socially acceptable male-to-male relations, including the intensity of feeling and types of desire, have changed with time
C) Gender is accomplished through interaction, and everyday individuals reproduce gender by enacting cultural scripts
D) Most writers in the 19^th century homophobic

Question 20

Karen Martin found that gender is learned mostly thorough

A) the "hidden curriculum" in preschool
B) From parents
C) Through media consumption
D) None of the above

Question 21

Current theories of sex and gender assume that they are inherently connected.

Question 22

For Lacques Lacan, sexual identity is learned through language

Question 23

Queer theory takes lessons from the civil rights movement strategies for justice and change

Question 24

Homosocial desire and homosexual desire describe the same phenomenon

Question 25

Briefly explain the difference between sex, gender, and sexuality

Question 26

What is "identity politics?"

Question 27

How do we "produce gender?"

Question 28

What roles to nature and nurture play in the development of gender? Choose one theory that includes both, and explain how it incorporates them into its explanation of gender development

Question 29

In what ways is queer theory a reaction to feminism? Pick two dimensions along which queer theory diverges from second wave feminism, and explain the diversions.

Question 30

In many ways, poststructuralism and the linguistic turn set the theoretical stage for the emergence of identity politics, gender studies, and queer studies. Why was this the case? In what ways are poststructuralism and these theoretical perspectives alike?