8.12 Glossary

Cisgender: when an individual’s gender identity matches the sex and gender categories they were; assigned at birth.

Doing gender: gender “is something that one does, and does recurrently, in interaction with others” (West & Zimmerman (2002, p. 16).

Gender binary: a system or structure that recognizes only two gender categories: boy/girl or man/woman. 

Gender-expansive: how a person’s sex and gender identity may change over time.

Gender frames: how people use gender to decide how to interact with others.

Gender harassment:  a person is put-down because of their sex or gender.

Gender identity: the gender category an individual identifies with, which may or may not match their birth sex.

Gender nonconforming: how a person’s identity or behavior does not conform to norms linked with their gender.

Gender socialization: the process by which people learn the expectations of behavior and attitudes associated with one’s gender.

Gender structure theory: draws attention to how gender is a system of inequality interwoven into every part of society.

Gender wage gap: the difference between men’s and women’s median earnings.

Gendered sexual socialization: how individuals learn sexual norms linked with their gender.

Gendered substructures: the policies and norms that on the surface are gender-neutral but in practice advantage or disadvantage people based on their gender.

Glass ceiling: the invisible barriers that prevent women from making it to the top of their occupation.

Glass escalator: the invisible support that men receive in women-dominated occupations, leading to faster promotion compared to women in those occupations.

Gross domestic product (GDP): the market value of all goods and services over a given time in a nation.

Harassment: actions, words, or both that are directed towards an individual with the intent of making the person feel unsafe or distressed. 

Heteronormativity: how heterosexuality is institutionalized as legitimate and privileged, while other forms of sexuality are oppressed.

Intersex: includes an array of conditions when anatomy, chromosomes, or other physical features do not correspond neatly to a binary sex category.

Labor force participation rate: compares the percentage of working-age people (16 or older) who are employed or actively seeking work to the overall size of the population, excluding those in the military, living in a nursing home, or incarcerated.

Sex categorization: based mainly on the form of an infant’s external genitalia.

Sex-segregated occupation: occupations where either men or women predominantly work in the profession.

Sexism: prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behaviors directed towards individuals or groups based on their perceived sex or gender.

Sexual harassment: legally defined by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (2022) as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.” 

Sexual identity: (or sexual orientation) refers to how individuals label their sexuality. 

Sexual scripts: the norms and expectations of sexual interactions.

Sexual socialization: how people learn the expectations of behavior and attitudes associated with sexual behaviors and sexuality.

Sexuality: includes feelings, emotions, and behaviors about sexual activity.

Structural sexism: how gender inequality is entrenched in social systems.

Transgender: a person’s gender identity does not match their assigned birth sex and gender.