Chapter 7 – Toys

A perspective that questions whether many taken-for-granted features of our social world are natural or inherent; suggests that individuals, groups, cultures, and organizations are shaped by social processes that vary over time and across contexts

The biological characteristics (e.g. reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, hormones) typically classified as male or female

The social and cultural characteristics—including feelings, behaviors, attitudes, consumer choices—associated with masculinity and femininity in a given culture

Having biological sex characteristics (e.g. anatomy, hormones, chromosomes) that do not fit the typical medical definition of male or female

A person’s internal, subjective experience of their gender. One may identify as a man, a woman, or see themselves existing somewhere else on a gender spectrum

A term that refers to people whose gender identity differs from what would be culturally expected based on their sex

A person who is cisgender (or " cis" ) has a gender identity that aligns with the cultural expectations for their biological sex

The cultural assumption that all people fit neatly into one of two sex/gender categories: male/masculine and female/feminine

A set of beliefs, opinions, images, and attitudes that form a loose set of related, normative ideas. In Marxist theory, the term is used to describe ideas that are in some sense distorted, false, and disguise an underlying inequality or exploitation (e.g. sexist ideologies)

The lifelong process of learning social norms and role expectations within a particular society

The people and institutions through which we learn what is expected of us within a particular social context, e.g. family, schooling, media, peers

Often informal, but widely known and accepted ways of doing things within a particular culture

Norms suggesting what behaviors and practices are best suited to a person based on their gender; vary depending on cultural and historical context

The idea that gender is a practice performed in everyday life, rather than a fixed set of traits or roles

The act of penalizing deviations from gender roles in order to promote gender conformity

A narrow, oversimplified portrayal of a particular social group

A system of inequality that differentially privileges men, and organizes difference by positing masculinity in a hierarchal relationship relative to femininity; both a belief system and a form of social organization

A belief system (backed up by patriarchy) that privileges masculinity (and boys/men) and disadvantages femininity (and girls/women)

Knowledge, skills, attitudes, and preferences that are highly valued within a particular culture and allow individuals to consume in a high-status way; can be embodied in our tastes and self-presentation, objectified in our possessions, and conferred by institutions (institutionalized)

Annete Lareau’s term for a parenting practice observed among middle-class Americans in which parents deliberately mould children through controlled interventions to enhance their cognitive and social skills

Annete Lareau’s term for a parenting practice observed among middle-class Americans in which parents put children more squarely in charge of their own leisure, and have more faith that children will develop " naturally" without costly interventions or putting pressure on children to perform

Alison Pugh’s term for a parenting practice in affluent households in which parents emphasize restraint in the face of consumer demands, and attempt to socialize children’s self-control and consumer restraint

Alison Pugh’s term for a parenting practice in low-income households in which parents emphasize buying enough for their children, often saving up in order to provide key consumer items necessary for kids to fit in among their peers

Systems of inequality that organize categories of people into hierarchical tiers; reflects intersecting lines of power based on factors like race, class, and gender

A fictional name assigned to a person, group, or location used when publishing research to ensure the anonymity and privacy of research participants

View of consumer culture, common among Marxists and environmentalists, which sees consumers as manipulated by capitalist forces that encourage reckless spending. This perspecive emphasizes structural influences over individual agency and highlights the negative aspects of consumer culture including overspending, environmental degradation, and exploitation.

View of consumer culture, common among marketing professionals, economists, and some cultural scholars, which sees consumers as free agents who exercise their agency by selecting and transforming the goods they purchase, with the market responding to serve their needs. This perspecive emphasizes individual agency over structural influences.

Alison Pugh’s term for the effort children make, based on their consumer knowledge and skill, to connect with peers and maintain social inclusion when they lack certain consumer goods

The variable in a cause-and-effect relationship that produces the cause

The effect we are trying to explain in a cause-and-effect relationship

Describes when variables are mutually related to and change in relation to one another in a predictable way, such that knowing the value of one variable tells us something about the value of another variable; does NOT imply causation

A relationship between distinct phenomena where a change in one (the cause, or independent variable) produces a concomitant change in another (the effect, or dependent variable)