Gender and literature : a systems study
Authors
Sadowski, Piotr
Issue Date
2001
Degree
Publisher
University Press of America, Inc.
Rights holder
Rights
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Abstract
A Systems Study addresses the notion of gender as a "social construct," and presents evolutionary reasons for human psycho-behavioural differentiation along the lines of sexual dimorphism of the reproductive and the related functions, which produce the main genders of femininity and masculinity, corresponding roughly with the functions of procreation and competition, respectively. These two gender-oriented poles of human behaviour are intermingled in the individual mind to produce a mixture of gender traits that underlie personality and behaviour. A statistical model of the overlap of the masculine and feminine traits generates eight specific gender types: the feminine woman, the womanly women, the womanly man, the androgynous man, the androgynous woman, the manly man, the manly woman, and the masculine man. Characteristics of each type are offered together with examples from a wide range of literary texts.