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Gender polarization is a concept in
Gendered Society – Basic Concepts
, Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, "... Another aspect of such a list of gender traits is that there is no overlap ... societies and cultures create polarized version of gender where one is the opposite of the other...Popular culture is indeed a major conveyor ... "Questioning Gender: A Sociological Exploration, Robyn Ryle, Pine Forge Press, 2012
Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, Chapter 4 page 135, "..Gender polarization ... describes the way in which behaviors and attitudes that are viewed as appropriate for men are seen as inappropriate for women and vice versa...." The theory is an extension of the
as accessed Aug. 24, 2010 (no author or date & boldfacing omitted). According to Bem, gender polarization begins when natural sex differences are exaggerated in culture; for example, women have less hair than men, and men have more muscles than women, but these physical differences are exaggerated culturally when women remove hair from their faces and legs and armpits, and when men engage in body building exercises to emphasize their muscle mass.Sandra Lipsitz Bem, A Nation Divided: Diversity, Inequality, and Community in American Society, edited by Phyllis Moen, Donna Dempster-McClain, Henry A. Walker, Cornell University Press, 1999
Gender, Sexuality and Inequality: When Many Become One, Who is the One and What Happens to the Others?
Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, (page 78) "...Gender polarization at the simplest level is just the cultural exaggeration of whatever sex differences exist naturally ..." She explained that gender polarization goes further, when cultures construct "differences from scratch to make the sexes even more different from one another than they would otherwise be", perhaps by dictating specific hair styles for men and women, which are noticeably distinct, or separate clothing styles for men and women. When genders become polarized, according to the theory, there is no overlap, no shared behaviors or attitudes between men and women; rather, they are distinctly opposite. She argued that these distinctions become so "all-encompassing" that they "pervade virtually every aspect of human existence", not just hairstyles and clothing but how men and women express emotion and experience sexual desire.1993, Yale University, The Lenses of Gender: Transforming the Debate on Sexual Inequality, Sandra L. Bem
Gender polarization
Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, (see chapter 4 page 80:) "...gender polarization,...Social life is so linked to this distinction that the all-encompassing division between male and female would still pervade virtually every aspect of human existence..." She argued that male-female differences are "superimposed on so many aspects of the social world that a cultural connection is thereby forged between sex and virtually every other aspect of human experience".Greenbaum, Vicky. “Seeing through the Lenses of Gender: Beyond Male/Female Polarization.” English Journal 88.3 (January 1999): 96–99
Seeing through the Lenses of Gender: Beyond Male/Female Polarization
Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, (Bem) "...gender polarization: ... superimposed on so many aspects of the social world that a cultural connection is thereby forged between sex and virtually every other aspect of human experience..." Bem saw gender polarization as an organizing principle upon which many of the basic institutions of a society are built.Polygendered and Ponytailed: The Dilemma of Femininity and the Female Athlete, 2009, Women's Press, Dayna B. Daniels
Gender polarization
Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, (see page 29) "...Gender polarization can be defined as the organizing principle upon which many cultures and their social institutions have been created... For example, rules based on gender polarization have been codified into law. In western society in the fairly recent past, such rules have prevented women from voting, holding political office, going to school, owning property, serving in the armed forces, entering certain professions, or playing specific sports. For example, the first modern Olympics was a male-only sporting event from which women were excluded, and this has been identified as a prime example of gender polarization. In addition, the term has been applied to
Engendering Children (chapter)
Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, (page 183+) "...Gender polarization organizes the daily lives of children from the moment they are born: pink vs. blue to dolls vs. trucks...." Children learn by observing others and by direct tutelage what they "can and cannot do in terms of gendered behavior", according to Elizabeth Lindsey and Walter Zakahi.Sex Differences and Similarities in Communication, edited by Kathryn Dindia, Daniel J. Canary, chapter by A. Elizabeth Lindsey and Walter R. Zakahi
Perceptions of Men and Women Departing from the Conventional Sex-Role
Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, (see page 273+) "...Initiation to gender polarization begins early in life. ..." Bem argued that gender polarization defines mutually exclusive scripts for being male and female. The scripts can have a powerful influence on how a person develops; for example, if a person is a male, then he will likely grow to develop specific ways of looking at the world, with certain behaviors seen as 'masculine', and learn to dress, walk, talk, and even think in a socially-approved way for men. Further, any deviation from these scripts was seen as problematic, possibly defined as "immoral acts" which flout religious customs, or seen as "psychologically pathological". Bem argued that because of past polarization, women were often restricted to family-oriented roles in the private sphere, while men were seen as professional representatives in the
Gender polarization is a concept in sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...
by American psychologist Sandra Bem
Sandra Ruth Lipsitz Bem (June 22, 1944 – May 20, 2014) was an American psychologist known for her works in androgyny and gender studies. Her pioneering work on gender roles, gender polarizationPolygendered and Ponytailed: The Dilemma of Femini ...
which states that societies tend to define femininity
Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered f ...
and masculinity
Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors ...
as polar opposite gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most culture ...
s, such that male-acceptable behaviors and attitudes are not seen as appropriate for women, and vice versa.Christine Monnier, 2011, Global SociologyGendered Society – Basic Concepts
, Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, "... Another aspect of such a list of gender traits is that there is no overlap ... societies and cultures create polarized version of gender where one is the opposite of the other...Popular culture is indeed a major conveyor ... "Questioning Gender: A Sociological Exploration, Robyn Ryle, Pine Forge Press, 2012
Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, Chapter 4 page 135, "..Gender polarization ... describes the way in which behaviors and attitudes that are viewed as appropriate for men are seen as inappropriate for women and vice versa...." The theory is an extension of the
sex and gender distinction
Though the terms '' sex'' and ''gender'' have been used interchangeably since at least the fourteenth century, in contemporary academic literature they usually have distinct meanings. ''Sex'' generally refers to an organism's biological sex, while ...
in sociology in which sex refers to the biological differences between men and women, while gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most culture ...
refers to the cultural differences between them, such that ''gender'' describes the "socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women". Programmes and Projects > Gender, Women and Health))">''What do we mean by "sex" and "gender"?'' (World Health Organization (WHO > Programmes and Projects > Gender, Women and Health))as accessed Aug. 24, 2010 (no author or date & boldfacing omitted). According to Bem, gender polarization begins when natural sex differences are exaggerated in culture; for example, women have less hair than men, and men have more muscles than women, but these physical differences are exaggerated culturally when women remove hair from their faces and legs and armpits, and when men engage in body building exercises to emphasize their muscle mass.Sandra Lipsitz Bem, A Nation Divided: Diversity, Inequality, and Community in American Society, edited by Phyllis Moen, Donna Dempster-McClain, Henry A. Walker, Cornell University Press, 1999
Gender, Sexuality and Inequality: When Many Become One, Who is the One and What Happens to the Others?
Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, (page 78) "...Gender polarization at the simplest level is just the cultural exaggeration of whatever sex differences exist naturally ..." She explained that gender polarization goes further, when cultures construct "differences from scratch to make the sexes even more different from one another than they would otherwise be", perhaps by dictating specific hair styles for men and women, which are noticeably distinct, or separate clothing styles for men and women. When genders become polarized, according to the theory, there is no overlap, no shared behaviors or attitudes between men and women; rather, they are distinctly opposite. She argued that these distinctions become so "all-encompassing" that they "pervade virtually every aspect of human existence", not just hairstyles and clothing but how men and women express emotion and experience sexual desire.1993, Yale University, The Lenses of Gender: Transforming the Debate on Sexual Inequality, Sandra L. Bem
Gender polarization
Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, (see chapter 4 page 80:) "...gender polarization,...Social life is so linked to this distinction that the all-encompassing division between male and female would still pervade virtually every aspect of human existence..." She argued that male-female differences are "superimposed on so many aspects of the social world that a cultural connection is thereby forged between sex and virtually every other aspect of human experience".Greenbaum, Vicky. “Seeing through the Lenses of Gender: Beyond Male/Female Polarization.” English Journal 88.3 (January 1999): 96–99
Seeing through the Lenses of Gender: Beyond Male/Female Polarization
Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, (Bem) "...gender polarization: ... superimposed on so many aspects of the social world that a cultural connection is thereby forged between sex and virtually every other aspect of human experience..." Bem saw gender polarization as an organizing principle upon which many of the basic institutions of a society are built.Polygendered and Ponytailed: The Dilemma of Femininity and the Female Athlete, 2009, Women's Press, Dayna B. Daniels
Gender polarization
Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, (see page 29) "...Gender polarization can be defined as the organizing principle upon which many cultures and their social institutions have been created... For example, rules based on gender polarization have been codified into law. In western society in the fairly recent past, such rules have prevented women from voting, holding political office, going to school, owning property, serving in the armed forces, entering certain professions, or playing specific sports. For example, the first modern Olympics was a male-only sporting event from which women were excluded, and this has been identified as a prime example of gender polarization. In addition, the term has been applied to
literary criticism
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. ...
.
According to Scott Coltrane and Michele Adams, gender polarization begins early in childhood when girls are encouraged to prefer pink over blue, and when boys are encouraged to prefer toy trucks over dolls, and the male-female distinction is communicated to children in countless ways.Gender and Families, Scott Coltrane, Michele Adams, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2008Engendering Children (chapter)
Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, (page 183+) "...Gender polarization organizes the daily lives of children from the moment they are born: pink vs. blue to dolls vs. trucks...." Children learn by observing others and by direct tutelage what they "can and cannot do in terms of gendered behavior", according to Elizabeth Lindsey and Walter Zakahi.Sex Differences and Similarities in Communication, edited by Kathryn Dindia, Daniel J. Canary, chapter by A. Elizabeth Lindsey and Walter R. Zakahi
Perceptions of Men and Women Departing from the Conventional Sex-Role
Retrieved Aug. 22, 2014, (see page 273+) "...Initiation to gender polarization begins early in life. ..." Bem argued that gender polarization defines mutually exclusive scripts for being male and female. The scripts can have a powerful influence on how a person develops; for example, if a person is a male, then he will likely grow to develop specific ways of looking at the world, with certain behaviors seen as 'masculine', and learn to dress, walk, talk, and even think in a socially-approved way for men. Further, any deviation from these scripts was seen as problematic, possibly defined as "immoral acts" which flout religious customs, or seen as "psychologically pathological". Bem argued that because of past polarization, women were often restricted to family-oriented roles in the private sphere, while men were seen as professional representatives in the
public sphere
The public sphere (german: Öffentlichkeit) is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action. A "Public" is "of or concerning the ...
. Cultures vary substantially by what is considered to be appropriate for masculine and feminine roles, and by how emotions are expressed.Forden, C., Hunter, A.E., & Birns, B. (1999). The longest war: gender and culture. Readings in the psychology of women. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
See also
*Gender binary
The gender binary (also known as gender binarism) is the classification of gender into two distinct, opposite forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system, cultural belief, or both simultaneously. Most cultures use a gender binary ...
*Gender discrimination
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primar ...
*Gender identity
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...
*Gender role
A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cen ...
*Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" ...
*Separate spheres
Terms such as separate spheres and domestic–public dichotomy refer to a social phenomenon within modern societies that feature, to some degree, an empirical separation between a domestic or private sphere and a public or social sphere. This o ...
*Stereotypes
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
References