The Myth of Female Passivity
November 21, 2005
Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom. - George Washington Carver
This article will tell the story of incorrect, misdirected expectations in the program of research, which was designed to examine why women are less aggressive than men. Perhaps we researchers were misled because, like many others, we resisted the notion of female aggressiveness as an idea inconsistent with our understanding of femininity and females. We were influenced by the stereotypes and myths about female passivity.
In sum, although we have depended entirely on laboratory procedures for measuring aggression, we are convinced of the usefulness of our findings for helping understand female aggressiveness in the intimate context. Indeed, the program of research reviewed in the following pages indicates that, rather than supporting myths of female nonaggressiveness (Whie & Kowlaski, 1994), the findings suggest that women are capable of and willing [emphasis added] to direct harm to others.
Both males and females aggressors retaliated more strongly against males than against females.
Although we initiated this lengthy program of research with a premise consistent with the myth of female passivity, the results revealed our error.
These conclusions apply in the context of interaction with strangers as well as in the more specific case of intimate violence.
As suggested in the introduction to this article, the program of research reviewed here produced results consistent with Archer (2000) report that, in the context of intimate relationships, the differences between men and women in the use of physical aggression are very slight and men are more likely to inflict injury than women are.
None of the above can is attributed to me or men. All of the above paragraphs appear in the September 2005 issue of Psychology of WomenQuarterly.
They are written by an author who identifies herself as a feminist in a journal that identifies itself as a feminist journal. So much for the myth that it is only men who are willing to acknowledge that women can be just as aggressive and coercive as some men.
What most ideological feminist seen unable or unwilling to understand is that they have become the very same people they rail against. They need to look inward rather than outward for solutions. When they come to terms with themselves, we will all be able to move on.
