The Myth of Male Superiority: Rise and Demise

Abstract

A prolqic literature exists concerning the on'gins and functions of the institutionalixation of sex-role differences. However, persistent problem and sharply divergent views remain. This study attempts to circumvent the naturehurture controversy by utilizing a holisticevolutionary approach to the problem. The reviews of evidence from ethology, developmental psychology, and cross-cultural investigations lead to a social-exchange model involving dqferences in the elasticities of male and female labor contributions in social evolution. Assumptions about future technological progress lead to prediction of the demise of the myth of male supremacy. [sex differences in social evolution, ontogeny of human behavior] INTRODUCTIONDESPITE THE RECENT BURGEONING of literature on gender differences, basic problems remain. Sharply divergent views exist concerning the origins, functions, and persistence of gender differences in socially institutionalized behavior. These range from a "biology-asdestiny" point of view to theories of "cultural conspiracy." A leap from sexual division of labor to attributions of superiority, power, or prestige is frequently tacitly assumed, as if no elaboration is needed. The rapid emergence of data from various academic disciplines warrants further examination of these issues. Disciplinary fragmentation has impeded serious efforts to integrate data from different levels of abstraction. While integration is indeed a difficult endeavor, fragmentation has resulted in only partial explanations and fruitless controversy (e.g., the culture/biology argument). Finally, disciplinary fragmentation, often coupled with personal predilection, has frequently led to exclusive concerns with either cultural universals or variations in gender differences. Obviously, an exclusive focus on either will generate different questions and yield different answers. Here, too, there has been needless argument. This paper seeks to understand the reasons underlying the existence of widespread sexrole asymmetry in human society. To that end, it will be necessary to determine whether there are uniformities in the cross-cultural sexual division of labor and, if such exist, to attempt to understand their origins. Four bodies of data are reviewed: studies of nonWestern societies, evidence provided by nonhuman primates, material from early human ontogeny, and specialized biological studies. These will permit us to present a preliminary formulation of social-exchange theory to account for the institutionalization of asymmetrical sex-linked power and prestige in the development of human society. Given the broad temporal and spatial dimensions of our task, such a formulation can be only tentative and suggestive, rather than definitive. The empirical evidence on which it rests is inferential, rather than direct.Two perspectives have permeated our efforts in this study. The first, an evolutionary perspective, implies that gender differences, whether manifested in biological, psychological, or sociocultural phenomena, are viewed in a histo...

Liberal‐democratic Values and Secondary School: The Case of Georgia

“…Also, research dealing with liberality in adolescence indicates girls are more liberal than boys in their perceptions, including gender-role divisions (Alpert & Breen, 1989). A similar trend is outlined in the classic work of Parker and Parker (1979), who claim that boys are more aggressive and less forgiving than girls.…”

The Division of Labor By Sex and Other Gender-Related Variables: an Exploratory Study

“…This hypothesis is reported by Bacdayan to be consistent with the household structure, pattern of division of labor, and status structure of two Western Bontoc subgroups. Parker and Parker (1979) also isolate a high degree of sex-role differentiation as the precursor of low female status relative to male status. Their argument is based upon the premise that tasks traditionally assigned to males require greater skills of a variety of kinds than do tasks traditionally assigned to females.…”

“…The prediction that differences in the degree to which societies allocate tasks by sex will influence relative male-female status appears in the work of a number of theorists (Bacdayan 1977;Holter 1973;Lamphere 1977;Parker and Parker 1979;Sutton and Makiesky-Barrow 1977). All of these theorists believe that an absence of differentiation of task assignments on the basis of gender promotes high female status.…”

The Varieties of Gender Theory in Sociology

“…Social Exchange Theory has been used by feminist thinkers to explain inequities between spouses (e.g.. Bell & Newby, 1976;Chafetz, 1980Chafetz, , 1990Curtis, 1986;Parker & Parker, 1979), a topic explored in Chapters 17 and 18. They begin by noting that social structural arrangements function to allow most husbands far greater access than their wives to resources that families require and desire.…”

“…Exchange-based spousal inequality tends to handicap women in the labor force, thereby reinforcing macro-level gender inequality (Chafetz, 1990). However, as Parker and Parker (1979;also Chafetz, 1980) note, as women increase their access to resources generated outside the family, the nature of spousal exchanges alters, often resulting in either increased equality or in divorce. Friedman and Diem (1993) review a considerable body of feminist empirical work to demonstrate the implicit Rational Choice Theory inherent in it.…”