By name or by deed? Identifying the source of the feminist stigma

Prejudice and discrimination against feminists were explored across two contexts, a workplace and a social setting. We examined university students' reactions to a woman who called herself a feminist, behaved like a feminist by challenging sexism, did both, or did neither. In Study 1, participants (N = 177) evaluated a job candidate less favorably when she called herself a feminist after controlling for perceived assertiveness and participants' feminist self‐identification. However, our results showed no evidence of hiring discrimination. In Study 2, participants (N = 184) evaluated a peer less favorably and were less willing to befriend and date her when she called herself a feminist, controlling for perceived assertiveness. Participants were also less willing to befriend her when she behaved like a feminist. The contextual nature of the feminist stigma and the influence of perceived assertiveness are discussed.     

FEMINIST CONTRIBUTIONS TO COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY

In this article we first identify and provide evidence for feminist contributions to counseling psychology in four broad areas. These are policy and leadership in the field, theory and research, training and practice, and recognition of feminist scholarship and contributions by women. In view of the evidence, we conclude that feminist perspectives are irrevocably changing the field of counseling psychology by stimulating the rethinking of its premises and models with regard to normal development and by developing new approaches to inquiry and practice.     

Nurturing a Democratic Community in the Classroom

Thayer-Bacon tells her story in a conversational tone that traces her personal and professional roots as she describes various chapters of her life: first as a philosopher, how she became involved in education, and then how that involvement became a career as a philosopher of education, in a large teacher education program, and now at a research institution. She sketches her philosophical contributions, as a pragmatist, feminist, postmodernist, and cultural studies scholar, to philosophy, philosophy of education, and education.     

Letter to a Friend

In a letter to her younger friend, Elizabeth reflects on topics that arose when she and Barbara met for lunch. These include the emergent groups of women who gather intentionally to explore their own spirituality, and groups of women who gather and unintentionally create community. She sees the shared power in these groups as being politically opposed to the vested power of the therapist in the psychotherapy dyad. Models of "mentally healthy" females are to be found in the writings of feminists whose works emerge from the socio-cultural and economic matrix of their own experiences.     

Dis-Illusioning Psychology: Epistemology and the Contextual Psychology of Ellyn Kaschak

ABSTRACT

Ellyn Kaschak is a pioneer feminist therapist whose contributions to feminist theory, practice, education, and advocacy have spanned the globe over the past 40?+?years. From being a founder of one of the first feminist counseling services in the country in the early 1970s, Kaschak has influenced decades of feminist, family and multi-cultural therapists through her teaching and countless others through her feminist epistemology and theory development and the Mattering Map. This article describes Kaschak’s life and work and the lasting contributions she has made to the field of feminist psychology.     

Feminism and group psychotherapy: an ethical responsibility.

In response to Martin Lakin's (1991) IJGP article, "Some Ethical Issues in Feminist-Oriented Therapy Groups for Women," this article examines recent developments in feminist theory and proposes that a feminist perspective is both ethical and can make significant contributions to the practice of group psychotherapy. The overview of feminist theory focuses on (1) the importance of the social context, (2) contributions and challenges to psychoanalytic and developmental theory, (3) attention to power relations, (4) the connection between the personal and political, and (5) recognition and integration of diversity and difference. Clinical examples illustrate ways in which male and female group therapists can take a feminist perspective and become "ethical advocates."     

Influence tactics as a function of gender,insult, and goal

A laboratory procedure evaluated three theoretical frameworks commonly used to explain gender differences in influence behaviors: the intrapersonal, which predicted main effects for gender; social context, which predicted main effects for situational variables; and sex stratification, an extension of expectation states theory, which predicted gender by situation interactions. Results supported the latter theory, indicating that goals (self-interest or altruism) and target behavior (insulting or not insulting) differentially affected women's and men's behavior. The relative use of reward, coercion, and request influence strategies was examined. Males and females increased their use of each strategy type differentially across trial blocks. Females used request and males used reward increasingly across trial blocks. Only males who were insulted showed an increase in coercion. Contrary to stereotypes, results suggest that males and females may hold similar preferences for strategies they use most to least often, but may switch their choices at different rates.The assistance of the UNCG Research Council and Statistical Consulting Center is acknowledged. Appreciation is expressed to Jacqueline Goodchilds and Barbara Wallston for comments on an earlier draft. This article is dedicated to the memory of Barbara Wallston, who believed in the importance of research on power and gender.     

From "Anna O." to Bertha Pappenheim: transforming private pain into public action

Bertha Pappenheim ("Anna O,") was treated for hysteria by Josef Breuer when she was a young adult. As a mature adult she became a leading social worker, writer, and feminist activist in the German Jewish community. This article examines her therapy with Breuer, her own struggle for recovery, and some links between her earlier and later life, in particular the lack of intimate relationships in her life and her work against the victimization of women. Throughout the article psychoanalytic interpretations, social history, and feminist analyses are integrated to provide a contextualized examination of Pappenheim's life.     

If She’s a Feminist it Must Not be Discrimination: The Power of the Feminist Label on Observers’ Attributions About a Sexist Event

This study examined the reactions of 207 undergraduate women (mean age?=?20.6, 91.3% White) from a Northeastern U.S. university to a scenario in which a feminist or non-feminist woman did or did not indicate that gender discrimination was the reason that she was passed over for a leadership role. Participants rated the feminist woman as less a victim of discrimination and as more of a complainer than the non-feminist woman. Participants also had a more positive impression of the woman and rated her as less of a complainer when discrimination was certain or ambiguous than when there was little evidence of discrimination. Discussion considers how a feminist label may lead to discounting the possibility of gender discrimination.     

Further Reflections on Sandra Lipsitz Bem’s Impact

Over 20 years since her last published new work, Sandra Lipsitz Bem’s ideas continue to inspire and influence many contemporary researchers—as reflected in the many excellent papers appearing in the two special issues of Sex Roles. In my review, I highlight how Sandra Bem was repeatedly at the vanguard of the intellectual zeitgeist that shaped the psychology of gender over the last four decades. Notably, Bem was at the forefront of second-wave feminist psychology in the 1970s. In this regard, she challenged androcentric ways of thinking about gender and sexuality. Moreover, she helped to expand our notion of gender and gender identities beyond bipolar or dichotomous models. By extension, her androgyny and gender schema theories pushed people to consider the multifaceted features of gender and sexuality. Bem heralded the benefits of greater flexibility and gender equality for children as well as adults. In addition, she was one of the first psychologists to study how language and gender divisions are intertwined. Finally, she was on the forefront of researchers addressing heterosexism and genderism. The papers appearing in the two special issues are used to illustrate each of these important contributions.     

Norine G. Johnson (1935-2011)

On November 19, 2011, Norine G. Johnson, the ninth woman to serve as president of the American Psychological Association (APA), lost a valiant battle with cancer. Norine's curiosity about her grandmother's strength led to much of her later work on the development of strength and resiliency in adolescent girls and in women. She received her doctorate in 1972, with a minor in child development, and she became one of the first to be considered a pediatric psychologist, a newly emerging specialty. Norine became involved in organized psychology as her children got older. When she learned there had not been a woman president of the Massachusetts Psychological Association (MPA) for almost 50 years, she was appalled. An ardent feminist, who had served on MPA's Board of Directors, she could not let the situation remain that way. She ran for president and won, serving from 1981 to 1983, and then mentored many women colleagues into the role. MPA sent her to the Council of the APA as one of their representatives, and she immediately ran for a seat on the Finance Committee, later serving as chair of the committee. During her tenure on the Finance Committee, she helped create financial policy that changed APA from an organization whose assets were threatened and shrinking to a financially solid association. Norine considered Division 35 (Psychology of Women) to be her home in APA, a place filled with warmth, collegiality, and shared values. She and Judith Worell spearheaded the extremely important and successful 1993 National Conference on Education and Training in Feminist Practice. Norine was elected to the APA Board of Directors in 1997, where she served with distinction, continuing to focus on the financial well-being of the Association. Not surprisingly, she went from that role to being elected APA president. Her focus as president was on the changes in the health care delivery system in the United States. She was a staunch champion of the biopsychosocial model of health. Under her presidential leadership, the APA Mission Statement was amended to add the word "health," confirming the importance of health to the psychological community. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Reflections on receiving an award

Reflecting on the events that culminated in her receiving the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Applied Psychology as a Professional Practice, Canter, an independent practitioner, discusses the road she traveled to become a clinical psychologist and to become involved in professional organizational activities. She believes that this award was given to her because of her contributions to psychology over her lifetime as an effective and hardworking leader, mentor, and role model in her home state of Arizona and nationally. She addresses some of her ideas about effective leadership and mentoring in the American Psychological Association (APA), providing many examples from which she has learned. Canter also shares some thoughts about APA's position as a leader in the development and enforcement of professional ethics.     

A Complicated Friendship

The author presents a complicated friendship with a woman who helped to raise her children. As a feminist therapist, the author is aware of the non-egalitarian nature of an employer/employee relationship, resulting in a complicated friendship. She discusses the valuable lessons she learned from her comadre (co-mother or allomother) on poverty, Latino culture, and immigration. The author applies these valuable lessons to her work as a feminist therapist, supervisor, and teacher.     

WHAT DO FEMINISTS BELIEVE?

When a woman says "I am a feminist" what does she mean? What do other people think she means? We asked 71 women to complete the Feminist Perspectives Scale (Henley, Meng, O'Brien, McCarthy, & Sockloskie, 1998) from their own perspective and from the perspective of a "typical feminist." Women who self-identified as feminists had stronger beliefs than those who did not on all feminist perspectives except cultural feminism. Both groups believed that a typical feminist held stronger radical, socialist, and cultural feminist beliefs than they themselves did, although the discrepancies were greater for nonfeminists. Nonfeminists viewed a typical feminist as endorsing stronger cultural feminist views than did feminists. Our results indicate that feminist self-identity is related to endorsement of feminist ideologies, and that both feminists and nonfeminists think that a typical feminist is more extreme than they are. The results also suggest that cultural feminism is a contested ideology; it is not endorsed by feminists, but is ascribed to them by nonfeminists     

Renewal of object relations through dream-work

In this paper I describe my work with a suicidal patient. The patient was a woman who failed to realize her creative potential in a much wished for and unattainable profession of teacher and transferred all her energy and desire for leadership into her family life. The slogan of her life was the pathetic phrase: 'Everything or nothing!' Her views on life differed from those of her husband who, at the age of 48, started a love affair with a 25-year-old woman. In relation to this, the patient became depressed and attempted suicide twice (by poisoning) in two years. From the Toxicology Department she was referred to the Psychiatric Department where she was treated as an out-patient.     

An examination of secondary reinforcement,operant conditioning,and status envy hypotheses in relation to sex-role ideology

A series of predictions concerning adult sex-role ideology was derived from three theoretical approaches commonly applied to the sex-role development of children: secondary reinforcement, operant conditioning by peers, and status envy. Relevant data were collected by means of a questionnaire administered to 635 students at two regional state universities and to nonstudent adults in the surrounding communities. Of these, 226 were classified as having a distinctive contemporary or traditional sex-role ideology by means of a short test developed and validated by the authors for this purpose. Discriminant analyses indicated that each theoretical approach differentiated between contemporary and traditional subjects at levels significantly better than chance. However, the status envy approach, as modified by social learning theory, was most effective and correctly classified 85% of the females and 93% of the males according to their sex-role ideologies. Alternative explanations of results are discussed and an eclectic model is advocated.The authors would like to express their sincere appreciation to Dr. Barbara Wallston for her comments on an earlier draft of this paper, and to Jan Curley for computer assistance.     

Janet Taylor Spence: A Model Role Model

The article summarizes and reflects on the contributions of Janet Taylor Spence in the areas of editing, service to her institutions, and service to her profession. It is based on both the objective record and on the personal experience and observations of the author, a long-time colleague. It reviews the many editorial positions Janet Taylor Spence held, including being editor of the Annual Review of Psychology and Contemporary Psychology, and the award she received from the National Academy of Sciences. It also sketches many of the leadership positions she held, including being president of the American Psychological Association and the first elected president of the Association for Psychological Science. It emphasizes both her outstanding professional and personal qualities.     

The Amazing Life and Times of Oliva Espín

ABSTRACT

Oliva Espín is a prolific feminist and multicultural writer and psychologist who has significantly contributed to feminist therapy throughout her career. This biographical article highlights her many contributions to feminism, feminist psychology, and humankind.     

Virtue Ethics,Social Difference,and the Challenge of an Embodied Politics

Following the revival of virtue theory, some moral theorists have argued that virtue ethics can provide the basis for a radical politics. Such a politics essentially departs from the liberal model of the moral agent as an autonomous reason‐giver. It instead privileges an understanding of the agent as conditioned by her community, and in the case of social oppression and marginalization, communal virtues may become a vehicle for social change. This essay compares political appropriations of virtue theory by Christian theologian Stanley Hauerwas and secular feminist thinkers Lisa Tessman and Margaret Urban Walker. Hauerwas and feminist theorists both embrace a kind of embodied vulnerability as a political virtue, arguing that it enables more genuine social recognition. The virtue feminist critique is more robust than Hauerwas's, however, insofar as it understands mutual recognition to involve acknowledgment of social difference and the concomitant pursuit of justice.