Fundamentals of Midwifery: A Textbook for Students (28 page)

Ethnicity
A multifaceted quality that refers to the group to which people belong, and/or are perceived to belong, as a result of certain shared characteristics, including geographical and ances- tral origins, but particularly cultural traditions and languages.
Family
Form of social grouping.
Family displays
Everyday activities in which family members communicate to each other and to those around them that they are family.
Feminism
View that women should have equal rights to men and that everyone is equal.
Gender
A socially constructed identity which is based around a person’s biological sex.
Patriarchy
Society in which men are the most powerful and influential.
Race
A group of people related by common descent or heredity.
Sexual orientation
General attraction a person feels towards one sex or the other (or both).
Sexuality
Sexual characteristics, meanings and social practices.