Exam Questions Ch.11 Kinship, Marriage, And The Family

1.

Why did Liberian rebel soldiers cross-dress during the civil war in the 1990s?

A)

the rebels were homosexual

B)

they were the only clothes they had access to

C)

they were misogynistic

D)

it distinguished them from the government's soldiers

2.

The early anthropologist who wrote the book Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies and was the first to distinguish between biological sex and gender roles was

A)

Ruth Benedict

B)

Franz Boas

C)

Margaret Mead

D)

Judith Butler

3.

Anthropologists commonly refer to the ideas and social patterns a society uses to organize males, females, and those who do not fit either category as

A)

gender roles

B)

biological sex

C)

gender/sex systems

D)

Transgender

4.

Sexual dimorphism refers to the

A)

different sexual forms, hormones, and chromosomal structures in men and women

B)

similarities in hormones in men's and women's bodies

C)

similarities in chromosomal structures for men and women

D)

different sex organs present in men and women

5.

Individuals who diverge from the male–female norm and exhibit sexual organs and functions somewhere between, including both male and female, are called

A)

transsexual

B)

transgender

C)

Intersexed

D)

cisgendered

6.

A misconception about hormones in society is that

A)

certain hormones are linked to both sexes

B)

they are not important for sexual functioning

C)

sex-specific hormones cause particular behaviors

D)

they are irrelevant

7.

French existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir argued in her book The Second Sex that

A)

throughout history women have been treated as inferior

B)

women are biologically inferior to men

C)

women are more capable than men to be in leadership roles

D)

women could do without men in society

8.

A number of societies have the notion that men are __________ and women are _________.

A)

healthy; sick

B)

good; bad

C)

created; born

D)

born; created

9.

Which term refers to expressions of sex and gender that diverge from the male and female norms which dominate in most societies?

A)

sexuality

B)

intersexed

C)

transgender

D)

gender variance

10.

People everywhere establish their gender/sex identities, including normative categories like “man” or “woman,” through

A)

birth

B)

sexual preferences

C)

sexual practices

D)

social performances

11.

Indiana University biologist Dr. Alfred Kinsey conducted a series of sexuality studies during the 1940s and found that

A)

sexuality is either straight or queer

B)

most people are homosexual

C)

most people are heterosexual

D)

sexuality exists on a continuum

12.

Anthropologist Don Kulick did ethnographic research among the travestis and believes he was accepted into their group because he identified as

A)

female

B)

fluent in Portuguese

C)

a gay man

D)

an anthropologist

13.

The reproductive forms and functions of the body are referred to as our sex.

14.

Gender is the set of cultural expectations for how males and females should behave.

15.

The gender/sex systems refers to the ideas and social patterns a society uses to organize males, females, and those who do not fit either category.

16.

The anthropological study of masculinity includes looking at the ideas and practices of manhood and how gender/sex identities are constructed.

17.

Some societies allow for gender variance, which refers to people who are neither male nor female.

18.

Sexual preferences, desires, and practices are encompassed in the study of sexuality.

19.

As children get older, cultural influences on behavior become much stronger; and as a result, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to isolate biological influences on what it means to be male or female.

A)

True

B)

False

20.

Sex is a simple product of nature and biology.

A)

True

B)

False

21.

The dichotomy between males and females is not two distinct categories but a continuum of sexual possibilities in the human species.

A)

True

B)

False

22.

All feminist anthropologists agree that women's subordination is a human universal.

A)

True

B)

False

23.

In many societies, some people live their lives as neither male nor female.

A)

True

B)

False

24.

All societies differentiate between male and female, but one way Americans are unique in how we do it is that we link gender to

A)

numbers

B)

Colors

C)

body shapes

D)

sounds

25.

Sex-assignment surgery is important because it

A)

improves the biological functions of intersexed people

B)

shows that “sex” is a biological phenomenon

C)

shows that “sex” is constructed upon cultural assumptions

D)

is performed only on girls

26.

Sherry Ortner, a feminist anthropologist, observed that the roots of female subordination lay in the distinction all societies make between

A)

men and women

B)

public and domestic

C)

strength and weakness

D)

nature and culture

27.

According to some, a critical limitation of “second-wave” feminism is that it

A)

ignores differences among women in different cultural groups

B)

failed to acknowledge gender inequalities in a historical perspective

C)

assumes the fight for gender equality was not a global priority

D)

acknowledged the expansive experiences of women around the globe

28.

Anthropologists understand that in order to understand gender/sex inequalities one must study

A)

women

B)

men

C)

both men and women

D)

gender roles

29.

Which of the following is a dilemma facing an ethnographer of transgender people in the United States?

A)

to do good research, one should identify as transgender

B)

how one's research or advocacy can reinforce social inequalities and suffering

C)

it is difficult to work with people who cross-dress as a reflection of their sexual fantasies

D)

transgender people are often too welcoming of ethnographers, encouraging them to become transgender themselves

30.

To understand aggression in society, we have to understand which of the following factor(s)?

A)

the availability of weapons and cultural attitudes toward violence

B)

fixed and innate notions of violence behavior

C)

the absence of the state in promoting or preventing conflicts

D)

the biological basis of violence

31.

A key finding of anthropologist Matthew Gutmann's fieldwork on masculinity in Mexico is that

A)

women cause their own subordination by being submissive

B)

women support machismo by supporting domineering men

C)

women challenge men's domination over them by arguing and issuing ultimatums

D)

women prefer macho men

32.

Hijras interest anthropologists mainly because they are

A)

exotic

B)

increasingly acting as prostitutes

C)

homosexual

D)

a reflection of a gender/sex system that sees meaning in combining male and female

33.

Anthropologists reject the idea that same-sex sexuality is a fixed and exclusive condition because

A)

gender is biologically determined

B)

of the research of Dr. Bronislaw Malinowski

C)

of cross-cultural research that shows sexual practices and sexuality is variable throughout a lifetime

D)

sexuality is established at birth and remains the same throughout the lifespan

34.

One of the reasons it is important to develop culturally sensitive campaigns to address a health crisis like HIV/AIDS is that

A)

gay sex causes the disease

B)

what some people think is gay sex is not considered to be the case by others

C)

gay sex is about passivity and activity

D)

gay sex is a reflection of a permanent condition

35.

Cross-dressing rebel soldiers in Liberia is an excellent illustration of what?

A)

the fact that gender identities are rooted in local concepts and practices

B)

the strange perversions of certain soldiers

C)

the inequality between male and female

D)

how hormones shape human behavior

36.

The central point of anthropological arguments about hormones is that they are not sex-specific and they do not by themselves cause aggression and violence.

37.

Margaret Mead's comparative study of sexual differences in three Papua New Guinea societies is important because it is among the first studies to make a distinction between biological sex and cultural gender.

38.

Sex-assignment surgery performed on intersex people demonstrates clearly how cultural assumptions about sexual dichotomy shape ideas about the biological basis of sex.

39.

A key illustration of a biocultural perspective on male and female differences is how anthropologists are rethinking sexual dimorphism among the human species.

40.

One of the reasons intersex individuals interest anthropologists is how unusual and strange it is in a sexually dimorphic species.

A)

True

B)

False

41.

The notion of “ritualized homosexuality” developed by Gilbert Herdt was problematic because Western notions of homosexuality do not easily apply cross-culturally.

A)

True

B)

False

42.

In nearly all societies with any degree of social stratification, more men are in leadership roles than women, not only in political roles but also in economic and social roles involving trade, exchange, kinship relations, ritual participation, and dispute resolution.

A)

True

B)

False

43.

The debate over male and female inequality was never adequately resolved because there was not enough evidence to prove either side.

A)

True

B)

False

44.

A biocultural perspective on gender variance would emphasize all of the following except the

A)

unique social role occupied by people who are neither male nor female

B)

relative allocation of sex-specific hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen, that influence whether a person is male or female

C)

role of genetic mutations in producing intersex individuals

D)

distinction many societies make between gender variance and sexuality

45.

Which of the following observations would be least likely to come from an anthropologist who shares Simone de Beauvoir's notion of “second sex”?

A)

gender inequality is universal

B)

men subordinate women

C)

Western models of male–female relations cannot be universalized

D)

egalitarian relations between male and female are rare, if not impossible

46.

What is the main implication of Don Kulick’s story about “coming out in the field” for other anthropologists who do not necessarily study in a gay community?

A)

developing a research project in a city can be especially challenging

B)

developing rapport sometimes relies on sharing a lot in common with your subjects

C)

you should never do research in a community where you are not welcome

D)

you should study communities that are most exotic to you

47.

An anthropologist who studies how societies control sexuality would likely be most interested in the following situations

A)

obstacles in access to birth control

B)

the activities in a club or bar whose clientele is gay or lesbian

C)

how the research of Dr. Alfred Kinsey was immoral

D)

the political activities of transgender activists

48.

How might an advocate of using the new terminology “gender/sex system” analyze the example of cross-dressing Liberian rebel soldiers that opens the chapter?

49.

One of Margaret Mead's major insights is that there are important cultural influences on male–female difference. Give three examples from your own life where you can see these cultural influences.

50.

What are the primary strengths of viewing male–female differences through a biocultural lens?

51.

How would you apply the insights about human sexuality in this chapter to a study of the LGBTQ community on your campus?

52.

If you were working on a campaign for sexual equality, what role do you think anthropological insights about relations between women and men should play in your work?

53.

If you were asked to study the sexuality of US college students, what anthropologically informed concerns and perspectives would you bring to the issue?

54.

How is gender different from sex?

55.

Why does American culture construct gender differences in the way that it does?

56.

Gender/sex inequalities are reproduced and performed in everyday life. How? Discuss using examples.

57.

Why are anthropologists skeptical of biological determinism as it relates to human sex and sexuality? How do they study these matters without falling into its opposite, cultural determinism?