Women are in danger at every moment. Prone to stalking, rape, and abuse, women are so easy to put down. Women should be openly intimate and just give it up to men whenever they want it. Men are physically stronger and obviously more powerful in every way... Wait a minute! What's being said right now? Why is it that people fall into these stereotypical beliefs? When a relationship falls to violence, who is the intiater? There are too many cases of gender inequality when it comes to violence, so I looked further into the outcomes of partner violence and outcomes.
There has been a lot of psychological studies on rapists and overall effects of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). In the study, "Gender Differences in Intimate Partner Violence Outcomes" looks into the effects of IPV in women, mostly because there are more cases of women being violently abused, whether it is physical or mental. Men are expected to have this power over women. As the study explains, women truly are more prone to these issues because of the stereotype but men have effects as well. The key thing I took from this study was that "even if there were no gender difference at all in the effect of IPV on these outcomes, base rates in the general population would lead us to expect gender differences in prevalence rates in the population of people victimized by IPV—that is, twice as many women victimized by IPV would experience depression, anxiety, or posttraumatic stress as compared to men victimized by IPV." With that being said, IPV is a gender stereotype as well, since we expect men to be the villians and women, the victims.
Violence is a building block to power for anyone. Since men are physically stronger, they are also more apt to be violent, knowing they can overwhelm women. Violence can be triggered by multiple things, but why do men seek this power over women? There is one movie that stands out so much to me when it comes to gender roles and relationships, relating to violence. Below is the opening clip of "Black and Blue"(1999).
Right from the start this movie sums up a lot of what the relationship is like. The husband has everything backing him up, being stronger and especially being a detective. This halts the wife from running and open up about the victimization. Further in the movie, she does end up building up the courage to run away with her son, but I believe her relationship with her husband is a very good example of what can cause IPV.
Violence can cause a change in power very quickly as it can instill fear and helplessness. Victims fall weak, rather than standing up for themselves, and as they are usually women, this supports the stereotypes of genders, regarding gender power.
Reference: Psychology of Violence. Advance online publication. Caldwell, J. E., Swan, S. C., & Woodbrown, V. D. (2011, November 14). Gender Differences in Intimate Partner Violence Outcomes. doi:10.1037/a0026296
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Why can't we all just get along?!
Cooperation is a key aspect of the relationship between genders that initiates power. Both men and women must work together in every day situations to get through. Whether it be in a relationship, co-workers, or other cases, genders will always have to cooperate in one way or another. Where do the rough patches happen though? Is cooperation easier for men or women? Why do we get so aggravated with each other? Relationships between males and females vary due to their cooperation, in same-sex and mixed-sex situations. There are so many instances that girls can't stand other girls, while guys compete too much with other guys. On the other hand, men and women constantly live in the stereotypical expectations as we fight for power, while trying to get the other to cooperate. The article "Sex Differences in Cooperation: A Meta-Analytic Review of Social Dilemmas" explains the perspectives of each gender, as psychologists, Daniel Balliet, Norman P. Li, Shane J. Macfarlan, and Mark Van Vugt, carried out this study.
Power is constantly desired by both genders. Men expect to recieve respect and power, while women must step up to demand it. Respect and power, are they the same thing? Some may so, but I think you can definately respect someone without giving them power and even moreso give power to someone who you don't actually respect, but you fear. Men enjoy the thrill of power. According to the study, men are "more independent, assertive, ambitious, and dominant" while women are more like housewives who are "less selfish, more caring, friendly, and emotionally expressive" which can cause the cooperation status to alter. We are more likely to cooperate with someone who is friendly and nurturing, rather than overbearing. In same-sex relationships, women are easier to cooperate with since they are open minded, but on the other hand there is constant judging and lack of trust. Women may be emotionally blunt, but there are fall backs. Men, of course, are competing for "social dominance" constantly, so they will never cooperate easily with one another. For same-sex relationships, it is more likely that both genders will be successfully cooperative in repeated instances, as they adjust and become aware. As for mixed-sex relationships, women are surprisingly easier. I say "surprisingly" because stereotypically women are the prosecuters in relationships.
In television and other media, there are examples of the cooperation between genders. As seen in the clip below from "Boy Meets World", men and women in relationships may not always understand each other which can lead to lack of cooperation and even rebellion but they can work it out... as this ends in humor...
The matter of context is a whole other matter. Power is generated by confidence and when a gender enters a situation that is fitting to their knowledge, they will recieve power. Stereotypically, men would take over in mechanical or active actions, while women are better mentally and analytically. When, where, how, and what is going on definately matters when it comes to cooperation.
Power is constantly desired by both genders. Men expect to recieve respect and power, while women must step up to demand it. Respect and power, are they the same thing? Some may so, but I think you can definately respect someone without giving them power and even moreso give power to someone who you don't actually respect, but you fear. Men enjoy the thrill of power. According to the study, men are "more independent, assertive, ambitious, and dominant" while women are more like housewives who are "less selfish, more caring, friendly, and emotionally expressive" which can cause the cooperation status to alter. We are more likely to cooperate with someone who is friendly and nurturing, rather than overbearing. In same-sex relationships, women are easier to cooperate with since they are open minded, but on the other hand there is constant judging and lack of trust. Women may be emotionally blunt, but there are fall backs. Men, of course, are competing for "social dominance" constantly, so they will never cooperate easily with one another. For same-sex relationships, it is more likely that both genders will be successfully cooperative in repeated instances, as they adjust and become aware. As for mixed-sex relationships, women are surprisingly easier. I say "surprisingly" because stereotypically women are the prosecuters in relationships.
In television and other media, there are examples of the cooperation between genders. As seen in the clip below from "Boy Meets World", men and women in relationships may not always understand each other which can lead to lack of cooperation and even rebellion but they can work it out... as this ends in humor...
The matter of context is a whole other matter. Power is generated by confidence and when a gender enters a situation that is fitting to their knowledge, they will recieve power. Stereotypically, men would take over in mechanical or active actions, while women are better mentally and analytically. When, where, how, and what is going on definately matters when it comes to cooperation.
Reference:
Balliet, Daniel, Li, Norman P., Macfarlan, Shane J., Van Vugt, Mark (2011). Sex Differences in Cooperation: A Meta-Analytic Review of Social Dilemmas. Psychological Bulletin, 2011, Vol. 137, No. 6, 881-909. 2011 American Psychological Association.
Balliet, Daniel, Li, Norman P., Macfarlan, Shane J., Van Vugt, Mark (2011). Sex Differences in Cooperation: A Meta-Analytic Review of Social Dilemmas. Psychological Bulletin, 2011, Vol. 137, No. 6, 881-909. 2011 American Psychological Association.
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