The community based on the iPersonic personality test.
Hidden misogyny
I've just read an interesting study in "Psychology Today" I want to share with you. Some researchers wanted to look at the effect of various forms of misogyny on working women. They confronted women with different discriminating sentences - some of them openly aggressive (like "Women tend to loose their nerves so quickly!" or "Feminists just want to fleece men."), some of them coming along very softly, almost benevolently (like "You will work together only with men, but don't worry, the men will be cooperative and help you to get used to your new job."). The latter ones all suggested things like "women are less competent than men and need their help".
All women then had to take a test showing ther aptitude for a certain job. Women, who had been confronted with openly discriminating statements, did achieve the same results as women who hadn't been confronted with discriminating statements at all. The researchers concluded, that they had recognized the misogyny at once and been able to cope with it therefore. The women who had been confronted with the hidden misogyny however, reached considerably worse results in the test! The researchers suppose that these women hadn't been able to detect the subconcious messages they had been given and therefore weren't armed against their effect. Probably their self-esteem and their trust in their own competence had been harmed by the undercover messages. The researchers therefore think that hidden misogyny is even more dangerous for women than open one, especially in the job area. Like trojans, these messages infiltrate our brains and souls and damage our self-confidence without us even noticing it.
I'd like to know whether you've experienced such effects in your own life in the past? And in general - what do you think: Are women considered to be as competent as men in jobs? Or do you still feel sexual discrimination here and there? Has feminism reached its goals already? Or is there still a lot of work to do?
All women then had to take a test showing ther aptitude for a certain job. Women, who had been confronted with openly discriminating statements, did achieve the same results as women who hadn't been confronted with discriminating statements at all. The researchers concluded, that they had recognized the misogyny at once and been able to cope with it therefore. The women who had been confronted with the hidden misogyny however, reached considerably worse results in the test! The researchers suppose that these women hadn't been able to detect the subconcious messages they had been given and therefore weren't armed against their effect. Probably their self-esteem and their trust in their own competence had been harmed by the undercover messages. The researchers therefore think that hidden misogyny is even more dangerous for women than open one, especially in the job area. Like trojans, these messages infiltrate our brains and souls and damage our self-confidence without us even noticing it.
I'd like to know whether you've experienced such effects in your own life in the past? And in general - what do you think: Are women considered to be as competent as men in jobs? Or do you still feel sexual discrimination here and there? Has feminism reached its goals already? Or is there still a lot of work to do?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Ariella on -
Are women considered to be as competent as men in jobs?
Not in the U.S.! If we don't get paid the same pay for the same work it's obvious that we are not seen as such. Oftentimes, it all depends in what field you go into.
What I find is that sometimes Stay-At-Home Moms (sahms) also feed into this as well. A mother's place is in the home, blah, blah, blah.
Additionally, I find women are generally undervalued as a matter of course. Either you're too "flighty" to do your job or you are "doing nothing all day in the house."
I get little snippets of discrimination here and there. Stupid comments like "graphic design is a dizzy chick job" :eyeroll:
Usually, when people say idiotic comments like that, THEY have no freakin' clue :-)
-
Permalink Reply by eSter on -
the study is interesting..showing how the unscious plays a role in our identity...
I think there's still a rift between the teory and practice: most people that I know wouldn't object to the argument that the potential of a person is independnt from the gender - still when it comes to reality men forget suppositions and let themselves be guided by some knid of inbred primordial idea of female being weaker... it's hormons that influence the perception of the others, I mean, the peer to peer relation which than is reflected on the social level , and women have to spend an amount of energy to go beyond that barrier ... this of course wouln't apply to guys who act with their reason to put it clear "women aren't a priori weaker or less cute than I can be"
this evolutioninstic idea of mine may sound a bit blown up and bleak...
cheers!!
-
Permalink Reply by kring_girl on -
gender discrimination at present? I'm glad I haven't experienced that or at least, I couldn't remember I have at all ;-)
Well, as for my thought, I do understand that in general,women are less able compared to men in most ways ( physically & mentally). In a biblical view, I guess it's because women were made with different purpose than men. I believe that women were created to assist men. So workplace isn't really our expertise because we excel most in family rearing. But hey girls! don't be sad because women now are becoming more verstile. We're great in holding our families and we also do great at work. Only that, if wer'e compared to men, they're better than us. But, of course, that's the problem- comparing. If only people try to understand that sometimes, comparing, between 2 natural beings, doesn't do any good, they wouldn't have reasons for depressing women anymore.
After all, a man can't be as great as he is if he doesn't have a loving woman beside him. Just as what the quote said, "behind every great men is a woman".
Cheers, ladies!
;-D
-
Permalink Reply by Melanie Warren on -
whoa there girl...oh yes, I'm in the midst of an extraordinarily diffulcult limbo situation -- my mate of 3.5 yrs. who not only has PTSD, but being from a different culture -- El Salvadore, we do have some differences, to say the least, as to my female, god-given right to be ONE, to be worthy of an ear. Wow, What a roller coaster... there is a shelter in my city that is, at this moment, expecting my arrival tonight. But we've shed our tears, again, and reached a truce, again. Felicitas, this even has been occurring on the other side of my Canada, the notorious Alberta, where we lived together for 13 months... yes it has given me some serious questions about my own status as a confident person who does in fact count as one. I've been recently bouncing back, again, but from the very bottom these past two weeks, and HERE IS MY THING with ipersonic, thank YOU and Your Soulmate, for being in this world Right Now. Just in Time is an appropriate statement here.
I guess that the equality issue is as hot as ever isn't it? Yes it is alive and well. Unfortunately we can't do anything much about it; but I'm all for change. Your site is part of the solution and I'm thinking of becoming one of the "affiliates" because of what I gain from your creation, your baby...
-
Permalink Reply by Melanie Warren on
-
Yes, there is soo much to do..
-
Permalink Reply by Crystal on -
I've been an electronic technician for about 8 years. This is a predominantly male field. I repeatedly received harder physical and mental tests than my male colleagues. Most do not want women in these jobs. This kind of treatment did not damage my self confidence in any way, it made me strive to work harder. I was able to achieve above and beyond my male colleagues, that is a huge ego booster. I have run across a couple men that felt the need to do everything for me regardless of the task. I'm not sure if they felt that I was incapable of doing my job or if they were just raised to try to be gentlemen. It's hard to discern sometimes. Regardless of the reason these actions at the workplace make me boil over. I've had to perfect the most professional ways of telling them to back off. I have not had to deal with being paid less than my colleagues, I've just had to work harder at proving myself worthy. It does seem as though there are more and more young people that do not respect themselves or others, acting like the pimps and hookers they see on their music videos. It does make me wonder how these actions affect their workplace. Education is the key! I think that there is still a lot of work to be done but it is also up to each individual to respect themselves enough to not allow any discrimination to be done against themselves. If it's being done to you and you don't like it, say something. If no one at work will listen, put it on the news. Do what you need to do to stand up for yourself. No one is alone, they just think they are until they let their voice be heard.
-
Permalink Reply by Felicitas Heyne on -
Well said! Right now, the two sayings are still true: A woman doing the job of a man has to double her efforts to be accepted the same way. And don't forget to blow your own trumpet, no one else will do it for you! I suppose it will take some more generations to change this ...
Welcome to
iPersonic Community
About
Welcome to iPersonic!
With iPersonic you can find like-minded people all over the world. Just take the free personality test!
Felicitas Blog
© 2009 Created by Marcel Heyne on Ning. Create Your Own Social Network
