Judith Worell – Encyclopedia of Women and Gender

Автор: Judith Worell
Название книги: Encyclopedia of Women and Gender
Формат: PDF
Жанр: Политология и Социология
Страницы: 1276
Качество: Изначально компьютерное, E-book

The study of gender differences began in earnest in the 1970s and has since increased dramatically to infiltrate virtually all fields of study in the social and behavioral sciences. Along the way, it was discovered that while women very often think and behave differently than do men, industrialized societies cater to masculine perspectives. The “Psychology of Women” emerged as a field of study focusing on just those areas in which women most often butted against assumed roles. And similarly, in the 1990s, the “Psychology of Men” emerged to focus on the same issues for men.
The Encyclopedia of Gender covers all three areas under one cover, discussing psychological differences in personality, cognition, and behavior, as well as biologically based differences and how those differences impact behavior. Coverage includes studies of these differences in applied settings such as education, business, the home, in politics, sports competition, etc.

Key Features
* Over 100 In-depth chapters by leading scholars in the psychology of women and gender
* Addresses critical questions of similarities and differences in gendering across diverse groups, challenging myths about gender polarization and the “Venus/Mars” distinction
* Broad coverage of topics from theory and method to development, personality, violence, sexuality, close relationships, work, health, and social policy
* Sensitive attention to multicultural and cross-cultural research
* Clearly written, readable, comprehensive, with helpful guides (outline, glossary, reference list)
* Raises difficult questions related to power, inequality, ethics, and social justice
* Challenges the reader to revise established “truths” and to seek further information
* Maintains a feminist and woman-centered focus

When I entered the field of psychology, theory and
research related to women and gender were relatively
invisible. The majority of research within the
social sciences was based on the assumption that
data obtained mainly from the lives and perspectives
of men represented the totality of human experience.
The rise of a revitalized women’s movement provided
the impetus for scholars and researchers to
challenge the absence of knowledge about the lives
of girls and women. In the ensuing years, a plethora
of gender-related scholarship and research produced
an abundant body of literature that changed the direction
of the discipline. We began asking new questions,
naming new problems, confronting the limitations
of traditional research paradigms, and applying
the fruits of our research to issues of human welfare,
public policy, and social justice. The outcome of
these efforts is a revised discipline that provides a
rich source of theory and research on the psychology
of women and gender.
Purpose and Scope
This encyclopedia provides comprehensive coverage
of the many topics that encompass current research
and scholarship on the psychology of women and
gender. The content of these volumes is intended to
be accessible to and informative for students and
scholars from all academic disciplines, as well as interested
readers in the public or corporate domains
who wish to explore and expand their understanding
of the factors that influence the diverse lives of
women and men. Many articles will be particularly
interesting and relevant to those in allied professions
such as nursing, social work, medicine, and the law.
The authors include prominent and outstanding
experts on gender, as well as some excellent emergent
scholars. The articles cover a broad array of
topics related to the psychology of gender, with additional
contributions from allied social sciences including
sociology, anthropology, and communications.
In contrast to earlier considerations of gender
as the study of sex differences, the authors of these
articles present a wide range of perspectives on the
multiple meanings of sex and gender. Many authors
point out that differences among women and groups
of women, for example, are greater than most differences
that may be found between women and
men. Thus, comparisons across the diversity of
women is as important as those between the two
sexes. Our main focus here is on understanding girls
and women in the context of their lives and experiences.
In particular, the importance of context is emphasized
throughout, in recognition that all behavior
is multidetermined and assumes meaning only if
understood within particular cultures, situations, and
historical time frames. Across the articles attention is
given to multicultural issues of diversity in human
experience, including those related to nationality,
economics, sexuality, and racial/ethnic variables. Our
overall goal is to explore through theory and research
how social and cultural influences have structured
and shaped the gender-related roles, behaviors,
well-being, life events, and opportunities afforded to
diverse groups of women and men.

Content
The articles in this volume are comprehensive and
cover topics in depth rather than in condensed formats.
Each article reviews a theme that is important
to the psychology of gender in human experience
and includes a glossary of relevant concepts and
timely references that will be invaluable for further
reading. Although the content is ordered alphabetically
by title, we conceptualized and developed it
more broadly according to significant topical areas.
A sample of these topics is summarized below.
The basis of most psychological research rests on
theoretical structures that provide a framework and
assumptions about human nature and experience.
Several articles discuss theories of gender development
from the perspectives of evolutionary psychology,
biology and genetics, social construction, psychoanalysis,
social roles, social learning, gender
schemas, the history of gender study, and the feminist
movement. Next we considered that in examining
theories and questions related to women and
gender, researchers depend upon a variety of quantitative
and qualitative methods. Standard empirical
methods of research and analysis, as well as some
newer approaches to understanding people’s lives,
are carefully explained and evaluated. Several articles
examine the characteristics of feminist research
and the implications of research on sex differences
for our understandings of gender. Then, since gender
development is multidetermined, we present reviews
of major periods and issues in women’s development,
including cognitive development, gender acquisition
and expression in childhood and adolescence, children’s
play patterns, marriage, motherhood, childcare
options, divorce and child custody, mid-life,
menopause, and aging.
Psychologists have traditionally been interested in
personality; we review the research on gender-related
personal characteristics such as social identity, selfesteem,
empathy, emotional expressiveness, assertiveness,
anger, humor, leadership, ethical/moral
judgment, personal and social power, entitlement,
and aggression. Health and mental health are important
to the well-being of girls and women; we
cover topics on life satisfaction, health care, stress
and coping, trauma, depression, eating disorders,
agoraphobia, anxiety, body image, attractiveness,
safer sex behaviors, reproductive technologies, abortion,
substance abuse, chronic illiness, disability, psychiatric
diagnosis, and recovered memories. Various approaches to psychotherapy and counseling are included
to consider alternatives for women’s healing
and well-being. In all these articles, implications
across cultures and social policy are integrated.
Moving to dyadic and community relationships, we
explore research on friendship, love, intimacy, lesbian
and heterosexual partnering, family, sexuality and sexual
desire, and social support. Since most women are
involved in heterosexual relationships at some time in
their lives, we include an article on men and conceptions
of masculinity. Societal or cultural contributions
to gender development are reflected in articles on parenting
in diverse cultures, academic and achievement
options, educational settings, school climate, media influences,
and participation in sports and athletics.
Gender-related research on work and employment environments
is covered in articles on affirmative action,
mentoring, nontraditional careers, work–family balance,
career achievement, women in the military, and
employment-related sexual harassment.
The gender-related effects of biased experiences and
minority status include articles on stereotyping, prejudice,
androcentrism, test bias, self-fulfilling prophesies,
ethnicity and sexual orientation, and poverty. A
number of articles cover the critical research area of
gender-related violence and implications for social
policy. Violence in the lives of women is addressed in
reviews of child physical and sexual abuse, emotional
abuse, women-battering, rape, sexual misconduct with
clients in therapy, hate crimes, prostitution and the
sex industry, media violence, torture, and imprisonment.
As an important factor in implementing social
policy, we include an article on political behavior. We
anticipate that the many exciting and interesting reviews
in these volumes will stimulate readers to explore
further in their own areas of interest.
Collaboration
An original and ambitious enterprise such as this
could not have been accomplished without the collaboration
of a distinguished, capable, and hardworking
Executive Advisory Board. Together, we
generated the topics to be covered and the names of
article authors who could best contribute to the excellence
of the reviews. I am grateful to these colleagues
for their wisdom and perspective in selecting
an outstanding group of eminent and accomplished
authors. I appreciate their continuing interest and
support in bringing these volumes to fruition. I am also grateful for and appreciative of the efforts of
each of the superb article authors, who carved out
time in their crowded schedules to help us complete
this outstanding work.
Finally, I thank the staff at Academic Press for
their sustained involvement and support. I thank
Nikki Levy for her insight in initiating the development
and production of these volumes and for her
generosity in negotiating an acceptable range of titles,
and Barbara Makinster for her consummate patience
and skills in arranging the mechanics of the
production with both efficiency and grace. I am confident
that these volumes will represent an outstanding
and useful contribution to our understanding
and appreciation of the lives of women and men in
the context of the realities of contemporary society.
Judith Worell