Lecture Notes: Masculinity and Femininity in Societies

Key Concepts

• Masculine vs. Feminine
  • Not the same as male and female.
  • Masculine and feminine refer to being "manlike" and "womanlike."
  • A man can be feminine, and a woman can be masculine.

Historical Context

• Anthropological Studies
  • Since the 1930s, studies have looked at gender role divisions in societies.
  • Margaret Mead, an influential female American anthropologist, played a key role in these studies.

Definitions

• Masculine Society

  • Emotional gender roles are distinct.
  • Boys are expected to be assertive, tough, and focus on material success.
  • Girls focus on quality of life.

• Feminine Society

  • Weaker role separation; men can be modest and tender.
  • Balance between family and work.
  • Fathers and mothers both deal with facts and feelings in the family.

Societal Characteristics

• Masculine Societies

  • Work prevails over family.
  • Fathers deal with facts; mothers with feelings.
  • Admire the strong, disdain the weak.
  • Boys don't cry, and girls don't fight.
  • Religion focuses on a powerful god.
  • Sex is about performance.

• Feminine Societies

  • Balance family and work.
  • Both parents deal with feelings and facts.
  • Sympathy for the weak.
  • Both genders may cry, neither should fight.
  • Religion focuses on fellow humans.
  • Sex is a way for couples to relate.

Measurement

• Masculinity Index (MAS)
  • Ranges from 0 (most feminine) to 100 (most masculine).
  • Examples of scores:
    • Japan has the highest masculinity score.
    • Italy, Mexico, China, Britain, Germany, USA also high.
    • Arab countries, France, Russia, Thailand, Costa Rica, Denmark, Netherlands on the feminine side.
  • No relationship between a country's wealth and its masculinity or femininity.

Correlations and Implications

• Functional Illiteracy

  • Higher in masculine societies.

• Poverty

  • More prevalent in masculine societies.
  • Masculine: Poverty is blamed on laziness.
  • Feminine: Poverty blamed on bad luck.

• Aid and Spending

  • Feminine societies spend more on aid to poorer countries.

• Marketing and Consumer Behavior

  • In masculine societies, food shoppers are women.
  • In feminine societies, both genders shop for food.

• Employer-Employee Relations

  • Masculine: Salary is more important than leisure.
  • Feminine: Leisure is as important as salary.
  • Feminine societies have longer vacations.

• Social Media Use

  • Masculine: Used for fact gathering.
  • Feminine: Used for building rapport and relationships.

Stability Over Time

• Masculinity and femininity are transferred within families.
• Tend to be stable, rooted in history.
• Example: 16th-century Britain (masculine) vs. Holland (feminine).

Limitations in Data

• The World Values Survey and other American surveys lack data related to femininity.
• In the USA, femininity is a taboo, and the society is very masculine.

Conclusion

• At the societal level, masculinity and femininity are stable dimensions.