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Showing papers in "Women & Politics in 1987"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the tradition of political theory, women and sexuality are rarely mentioned When discussed, they are almost always treated together-women become nearly synonomous with sexuality while men, regarded as political or intellectual subjects, are disassociated from sex This essay explores the implications of this phenomenon for political theory's construction of women, sex, and politics as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In the tradition of political theory, women and sexuality are rarely mentioned When discussed, they are almost always treated together-women become nearly synonomous with sexuality while men, regarded as political or intellectual subjects, are disassociated from sex This essay explores the implications of this phenomenon for political theory's construction of women, sex, and politics It also examines the implications of the historical association of women with sex for contemporary feminist political thinking The essay concludes with considerations of the ways in which traditionally gendered sexuality needs to be recast in order to liberate both women and politics from this history

16 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper used a quasiexperimental design to examine adolescents' attitudes toward female political candidates and found that females were more willing than males and blacks were more likely than whites to vote for the female candidate.
Abstract: During the past two decades there has been an increase in the number of women who campaign for and attain political office. This clearly has the potential to influence attitudes toward women in politics. In particular, it has the potential to influence the attitudes of adolescents, who, according to socialization theory, are especially affected by role models. In this study we used a quasiexperimental design to examine adolescents' attitudes toward female political candidates. We found that the junior and senior high school students we surveyed did not, as a group, use candidate sex as a voting cue. However, females were more willing than males and blacks were more willing than whites to vote for the female candidate.

16 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Aristotle tried to justify subordinate roles for women by providing two arguments to illustrate their inferiority to men as discussed by the authors, one is biological, the other is ethical, and both arguments failed due to their own lack of merit.
Abstract: Aristotle tries to justify subordinate roles for women by providing two arguments to illustrate their inferiority to men. The first argument is biological, the second is ethical. The paper examines each of the arguments in turn. The first argument fails due to its own lack of merit, but even if it were to succeed, it cannot justify subordinate roles for women in the political sphere, only an ethical or political argument can do so. But alas, Aristotle's ethical argument not only fails when examined on its own merits, it also subverts important elements of his thought, particularly his views of the highest forms of friendship.

16 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Carol Gilligan's In a Different Voice as discussed by the authors is a response to the developmental theory of Lawrence Kohlberg and his associates, arguing that women are not inferior to men as moral reasoners.
Abstract: Carol Gilligan's In a Different Voice is a response to the developmental theory of Lawrence Kohlberg and his associates. Gilligan is primarily concerned with correcting what she sees as a gender bias in Kohlberg's methodology and interpretation of women's moral reasoning. Women, she argues, are not inferior to men as moral reasoners. They are different, and they operate according to different standards and goals. This paper considers the implications of Gilligan's ideas for theories of women's political participation and critiques recent publications of three scholars (Virginia Sapiro, Ethel Klein, Keith Poole & Harmon Zeigler) in terms of how well their research facilitates incorporating Gilligan's concerns. Questions to be addressed include the following: are our definitions of "political participation" adequate to accomodate women's experience? Is there a bias in political science's understanding of women and political participation, a bias which does not acknowledge the differences in women's thought ...

12 citations






Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors explores the question of why these problems have persisted from an epistemological perspective by placing women in development within the prevailing discourses of "gender," "development," and "development research." Definitions of what women can and cannot do are determined by gender discourse; it may be willing to consider the constraints on women posed by the gender discourse if these constraints affect the economic success of projects, but otherwise its assumptions and methodology have not been receptive to the c...
Abstract: The adverse impact of policies of development agencies toward poor women of developing countries has been documented since the 1970s. Policy proposals have included training programs, research and data collection on women and allocation of resources to employ more women professionals to set up and monitor programs related to women and development. The implementation of these policies has been minimal and explanations of why have redirected us to the original problems. This article explores the question of why these problems have persisted from an epistemological perspective by placing women in development within the prevailing discourses of "gender," "development," and "development research." Definitions of what women can and cannot do are determined by gender discourse; it may be willing to consider the constraints on women posed by the gender discourse if these constraints affect the economic success of projects, but otherwise its assumptions and methodology have, in general, not been receptive to the c...

5 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper reviewed conceptual difficulties in studying women and politics and assesses the impact that liberalism and selected research traditions have had on findings, and called for a broader epistemological and methodological base and for more openness to new approaches that will facilitate bridging the gap between qualitative and quantitative research.
Abstract: This paper reviews conceptual difficulties in studying women and politics and assesses the impact that liberalism and selected research traditions have had on findings. The authors call for a broader epistemological and methodological base and for more openness to new approaches that will facilitate bridging the gap between qualitative and quantitative research.


Journal ArticleDOI

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors explored the impact of experiencing sexual abuse, fear of sexual abuse and knowing of someone who has experienced such abuse on individuals' political orientations and behavior and found that abuse and fear of abuse are associated with increased efficacy, involvement, and participaiton.
Abstract: This paper explores the impact of experiencing sexual abuse, fear of sexual abuse, and knowing of someone who has experienced such abuse on individuals' political orientations and behavior. Data come from a piolt study of 240 student respondents. Findings reveal that abuse and fear of abuse are associated with increased efficacy, involvement, and participaiton. Reasons for the results are discussed as well as directions for future study.