Gender polarization
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Gender polarization is a concept that what is feminine cannot be masculine and what is masculine cannot be feminine. It is expected of men and women to display stereotypic gender roles. It utilizes the differences between the two groups of male and female to designate particular characteristics to group members of one group and not the other. Sandra Bem describes the relationship between men and women as a division of social responsibilities. Women are seen suitable for private concerns, such as familial issues, and men as the public representatives, or professional individuals. Women should know just enough about professional business that allows her to empathize with her husband when needed and is denied access to power through other political and professional aspects.[1] In her book, The Lenses of Gender, Bem mentions that there is still hope for the dismantling of gender polarization. By dissolving the use of gender polarization the distinction between male and female would no longer be the dimension around which culture is organized. She recommended that a social revolution as well as a psychological revolution would need to take place in order to widen the viewpoint of a person’s sex being completely given by nature.
"The Lenses of Gender"
In Sandra Lipsitz Bem’s book, gender polarization is believed to operate in two related ways:
1. It defines mutually exclusive scripts for being male and female.
2. It defines any person or behavior that deviates from these scripts as problematic. Problems, in this case, are defined as immoral acts that defy religious perspectives or which are psychologically pathological.
These two processes create an effect that constructs and naturalizes a gender polarizing link among the sex and personality characteristics which are held by varying individuals. Nineteenth and twentieth century scientists were said to be the front runners in the distinction between the two genders. They created a cultural requirement that a person’s sex must match the gender of the psyche by looking at the majority of behavior. This formed the cultural value that was solely given to heterosexuality, which evolved as a special case of gender polarization.[2]
Gender/Culture
In order to know a culture’s views and opinions on gender, it is vital to first know about the policies and lifestyle conditions in their society. Limited resources may require pressure to have fewer children. Also, the control of these resources may be tied up in political issues which could affect the structure of a society the roles that are placed on men and women. Many cultures have differing views of what is considered male and female roles:[3]
1. Beliefs about what is considered men’s work and women’s work will differ from culture to culture.
2. Women are permitted to express their emotions more freely in some cultures, but in the Middle East and South Africa men are also taught to be just as emotional or sometimes more emotional than women. In Asian cultures, emotions are suppressed by both genders.
3. Daily contact is permitted in North American cultures, where men and women are kept in close proximity through work environments. However, in the Middle East, women are secluded from all men, except relatives, by wearing veils.
See also
References
- ^ Bem, S. (1995). Dismantling Gender Polarization and Compulsory Heterosexuality: Should We Turn the Volume Down or Up?. Journal of Sex Research, 32(4), 329-334.
- ^ Bem, S. (1993). Gender polarization. The lenses of gender: transforming the debate on sexual inequality, (p. 80-82). Binghamton, NY: Vail-Ballou Press.
- ^ Forden, C., Hunter, A.E., & Birns, B. (1999). The longest war: gender and culture. Readings in the psychology of women. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.