The Perpetuation of Subtle Prejudice: Race and Gender Imagery in 1990s Television Advertising

Scholars have long argued that popular consumer culture is both producer and product of social inequality, but few detailed empirical studies have explored the ways that advertising imagery simultaneously constructs stereotypes of race and gender. This article reports on a content analysis of television commercials (n = 1699) aired on programs with high ratings for specific target audiences from 1992 to 1994. Characters in the television commercials enjoy more prominence and exercise more authority if they are White or men. Logistic regression analyses indicate that images of romantic and domestic fulfillment also differ by race and gender, with women and Whites disproportionately shown in family settings and in cross-sex interactions. In general, 1990s television commercials tend to portray White men as powerful, white women as sex objects, African American men as aggressive, and African American women as inconsequential. The authors suggest that these commercial images contribute to the perpetuation of subtle prejudice against African Americans by exaggerating cultural differences and denying positive emotions. Results are discussed in relation to the segmentation of media markets and possibilities for social change.     

Subverting Culture: Promoting HIV/AIDS Prevention Among Puerto Rican and Dominican Women

This article discusses the challenges faced by researchers and interventionists when attempting to promote change in social norms and normative beliefs that promote HIV/AIDS risk-related behaviors among Puerto Rican and Dominican women. The article focuses on the role of culture in HIV/AIDS prevention with women by analyzing the sociohistorical context of some cultural beliefs and by illustrating the tension between risk-related and protective cultural beliefs in research conducted by the authors with women in both New York and Puerto Rico. The authors propose that promoting changes in sex-related social norms and normative beliefs might be constructed as a subversive act and present the challenge this analysis poses for community psychology. They conclude that this conceptualization might be construed as subversive because rather than idealizing culture, it promotes changes that respect diversity within the culture and foster participation in the development of new cultural values, beliefs and norms.     

The Japanese-American: A cross-cultural,cross-sectional study of sex guilt

The purpose of the present investigation is to examine cultural differences in sexual standards and the process of acculturation, using three generations of Japanese-Americans and matched Caucasian-American controls. Japanese-Americans were selected for study because of their generational, ethnic, and social structure. The present study hypothesized a change in sex guilt across the three generations of Japanese-Americans, approximating a bicultural adaptation. The results indicated that although the Japanese-American is a highly acculturated ethnic group, significant cross-cultural differences continue to emerge, especially among Japanese-American women. Furthermore, where gender differences do occur, they favor greater flexibility for men, in general, and for Japanese-American men in comparison to Japanese-American women. Finally, the results suggest that pronounced cultural changes in sexual standards have occurred over the past 70 years.     

Eco-culture,development, and architecture

This article examines the prospects for an authentic regional architecture in the light of alternative development paradigms. It is argued that the failure of orthodox development strategies and the domination of western culture, including architecture, over non-Western cultures, is due to fundamental imbalances between northern and southern economic structures. By contrast, ecodevelopment, appropriate technology and regional architecture all represent significant devolutionary movements toward a global “eco-culture.” A cultural typology placing eco-culture in historical perspective is outlined. It is concluded that, to be fully effective, changes in development patterns in the south have to be matched by equivalent cultural changes in the North.     

BEYOND THE PALE: Jewish identity,radical politics and feminist art in the United States

Historians have not yet recognized how the cultural legacy of East European Jews helped change the status of women artists in the United States. Immigrant Jewish women in general reacted to institutionalized patriarchy with a desire for social change and the will to act to that end. Jewish women who were artists had professional reasons to embrace feminism, given women's virtual exclusion from professional notice. This article focuses on two pioneering feminist artists — Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro — and demonstrates the importance of their Jewish heritage, showing how and why they set in motion important changes in the tumultuous 1970s that continue to resonate in the art world today. An unusually large number of American feminist artists of the 1970s were Jewish. Their heritage resembles that of the Jewish feminist activist Betty Friedan, whose father emigrated from Eastern Europe. Once we examine the linked roles played by Jewish identity and leftist politics in the formation of the feminist art movement in the United States, it becomes evident that activism in the community of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe and the values that they passed on to the next generations made a significant contribution to the success of this movement.     

A cultural psychological analysis of cultural change

Life experience appears to be transforming in contemporary societies, with changes taking place in Asia being particularly substantial. There is strong public interest in understanding how these changes affect individual psyches. Scientific understanding of this issue, however, has not kept pace with change. Research findings from Western societies, the USA in particular, provide a model for understanding and predicting patterns of cultural change in Asia. However, the applicability of the model in this region requires critical examination. This article presents an overview of the available evidence in this research field, reviewing available psychological research that examines cultural change in the USA, China, Japan, and Australia. This paper's aim is to stimulate interest in this research area within the community of Asian social psychologists as our Asia‐based insights have much to contribute to the fundamental research question at stake, and the nature of the interplay between a changing social ecology, cultural environment, and participating psyches.     

Object-Relations and Cultural Narratives in the Analysis of Racism: Theorizing Subjectivity After Klein and Lacan

This paper discusses two approaches to racism in the psychoanalytic literature—one based on Kleinian object-relations, and another based on Lacan’s theory of language as central to subjectivity. It is argued that the Kleinian method relies on drawing parallels between object-relations at the psychological level and social relations in the external world, and this limits its understanding to a narrow catalogue of psychoanalytic concepts. A Lacanian/post-Lacanian approach begins from the structure of cultural narratives and is more sensitive to social variations. Using examples from anthropology, it is argued that both theories are crucial for a robust analysis of racism.     

The Marxian theory of social change∗

This essay is a logico‐philosophical critique of the Marxian system of sociology with special reference to the theory of social change. To every change in the natural order (taken in conjunction with the technological order) corresponds an appropriate change in the human order, that is, in the system of social relations. This, it is shown, is the fundamental Marxian thesis regarding social equilibrium. And accordingly the key idea regarding social change is that a gradually maturing inherent disproportion between the two orders is the basic condition of social change, eventually leading to the establishment of a new social equilibrium at a higher level.

A close examination of the concept of mode of production and changes therein is attempted in the course of elucidating the above thesis. It is argued that the technological interpretation of the concept of mode of production conflicts with the Marxian anthropology and that we should have a structural interpretation according to which it will refer to the economy as a whole and will include among other elements production relations. This interpretation leads the discussion into one of the central problems of Marxism, namely, the relation between the mode of production and the social system. It is argued that the social system is basic to Marx and after a close analysis of the concept of system it is shown that the Marxian theory of base and superstructure rests mainly on confusion of conceptual orientations. This, it is shown, is connected with a fundamental idea of Marxism, viz., that of a system without a transcendent centre. This essay endeavours to prove that such an idea is logically untenable. Hence the Marxian Laws of Transformation of Quantity into Quality and Negation of Negation are examined and shown logically untenable.

The last section discusses the question about the determinant of technological change and eventually of social change. Three possible Marxian solutions are examined: (a) in terms of needs — it is argued that this is inconsistent with Marx's theory of man and labour; (b) in terms of science and new ideas — it is shown that this ultimately goes contrary to Marxian materialism and positivism; and finally, (c) the systemic solution in terms of the dialectic of nature and man is subjected to logical scrutiny and it is shown that this cannot be consistent and valid without involving a trans‐historical standpoint; for, it is argued, the idea of the self‐directing Humanity on which it rests is a self‐contradictory notion.     

中国人社会认知研究的沿革、趋势与理论建构

社会认知是指个体对社会性客体和社会现象及其关系的感知与理解。根据对象可以分为自我认知、人际认知、群际认知以及以社会决策为核心的社会事件认知。针对以上四个方面, 国内学者开展了一系列有益的探索, 为中国人社会认知的研究做出了先驱性贡献。但无论就理论建构、研究范式还是研究内容而言, 大量研究沿袭了国外研究的预设前提与范畴, 即“本位认知”, 脱离了中国人社会认知滋长的基础--以“差序格局”为基调的传统文化以及当前剧烈的社会变迁背景下转型期的文化。通过梳理与整合涉及社会认知主题的研究及其内在逻辑, 发现中国人社会认知的根本特点为“他位认知”, 并且集中体现为“差序格局”文化衍生与发展的“群际认知(阶层认知)”, 进而尝试围绕“群际认知”这条主线解读与建构中国人社会认知的理论框架, 推进中国人社会认知的深层研究, 具有深刻的理论与现实意义。     

Argumentation,Adversariality, and Social Norms

Janice Moulton's “The Adversary Method: A Philosophical Paradigm” articulated several criticisms of the popular idea of philosophy as adversarial debate. Moulton criticizes it on epistemic grounds, arguing that philosophy's overreliance on adversarial debate is to the detriment of its goals. Some, notably Trudy Govier, have argued in favor of at least a minimal adversariality, governed by norms of respectful argumentation. This paper suggests that Govier's faith in these norms is misplaced, because it neglects the social circumstances of the arguers. While some authors have argued that politeness and aggression apply differently to those of different genders, this paper extends that analysis to social identities other than gender. In fact, given certain assumptions about the philosophy of language, engagement in polite adversarial debate may not even be possible for people occupying certain social locations.     

Gender differences in erotic plasticity--evolutionary or sociocultural forces? Comment on Baumeister (2000)

R. F. Baumeister (2000) argued that there are gender differences in erotic plasticity, meaning that women are more influenced by cultural and social factors than men are. He attributed the gender difference in erotic plasticity to evolutionary, biological forces. We propose an alternative account of the data using a multifactor sociocultural model that rests on 4 assertions: (a) Men have more power than women on many levels including the institutional and the interpersonal levels, (b) education increases women's power, (c) groups with less power (women) pay more attention to and adapt their behavior more to the group with more power (men) than the reverse, and (d) gender roles powerfully shape behavior, and heterosexuality is a more important element of the male role than the female role.     

Up and down in middle age: monotonic and nonmonotonic changes in roles, status, and personality

It is proposed that personality (conceptualized in terms of motives and psychological resources) changes normatively not only from young adulthood to middle age but also within middle age and that these changes take place in relation to social and biosocial change over the same period. Data from 123 women studied at ages 27, 43, 52, and 61 largely supported hypotheses about change in social roles, status, health, motives, personality characteristics, emotion regulation, and relationships. Noteworthy aspects of the findings were substantial curvilinear change within middle age and associations of work involvement and physical health with personality change during late middle age.     

Walking as a ‘Radicalized’ Critical Psychological Method? A Review of Academic,Artistic and Activist Contributions to the Study of Social Environments

The study of social environments is a neglected site of research not only in psychology, but across academic disciplines ranging from human geography to cultural studies. This paper will review contributions to studying social environments through academic writings, situationism and psychogeographical groups. It will be argued that disorientating walking practices can be used as a means to reflect on experiences of places in order to begin to think how social environments could be radically changed. It is important to question the taken for granted ways that people make sense of urban environments. It is argued that psychogeographic practice can be used to extend qualitative epistemologies and methods to argue for a ‘turn to place’ in psychology and to open up new methods and approaches in critical psychology. Finally, the implications for radicalizing critical psychological research methods will be considered in relation to the current status of critical psychology, which suffers from an apathetic vision of radicalism and criticality.     

Problematizing culture: Discourses on integration in Norway

How does one, in a society which traditionally has been perceived as homogenous and egalitarian, debate issues of immigration and increasing cultural diversity? This article analyses the notion of integration as it has been used and constructed in Norwegian politics from the 1970s until today. It is argued that culture has emerged as an increasingly problematic dimension in integration policy and public debate. While cultural diversity must be accommodated and celebrated, certain cultural practices, especially in relation to women, have also appeared as increasingly threatening to what is considered as fundamental values in Norwegian society.     

A “Wife’s Duty” and Social Suffering: Sexual Assault in Marital Relationships in Vietnam

ABSTRACT

Sexual assault in marital relationships tends to be somewhat neglected in Vietnam compared to other forms of domestic violence. This relative neglect does not occur because of a lack of concern for abused women among Vietnamese people. Rather, it is due to structural barriers, cultural assumptions and stigma associated with sexuality, sexual violence, domestic violence, and secrecy, or misunderstanding on the part of many abused Vietnamese women. Yet, these women confront a variety of emotional, bodily, and social assaults from their husbands. Suffering is commonly expressed by abused Vietnamese women as they narrate their experiences of the violence. Abused women express their suffering as bodily and emotional pain, shame, frustration, disorientation, and social marginalization. Contemporary marital sexual violence and domestic violence more broadly in Vietnam are linked to the state’s emergent political and economic goals, as well as gender and kinship ideologies drawn upon in support of these goals. These processes have resulted in abused women experiencing social suffering derived from intersecting Vietnamese state, cultural, and social forces. I suggest institutional practices, and non-supportive perspectives and approaches of some professionals and state employees assisting abused women, have made addressing marital sexual violence a difficult and painful process, as well as an additional source of suffering. Second, layered upon these structural and cultural barriers has been the neglect by some professionals of intersecting inequalities based on gender, class, and disability. Third, some institutions in Vietnam provide more effective and beneficial assistance to abused women, making the process of acquiring assistance complex.     

Margaret Cavendish on Gender,Nature, and Freedom

Some scholars have argued that Margaret Cavendish was ambivalent about women's roles and capabilities, for she seems sometimes to hold that women are naturally inferior to men, but sometimes that this inferiority is due to inferior education. I argue that attention to Cavendish's natural philosophy can illuminate her views on gender. In section II I consider the implications of Cavendish's natural philosophy for her views on male and female nature, arguing that Cavendish thought that such natures were not fixed. However, I argue that although Cavendish thought women needed to be better educated, and could change if they had such an education, she also thought their education should reinforce the feminine virtues. Section III examines Cavendish's notorious “Preface to the Reader” (from The Worlds Olio), where Cavendish claims that women are naturally inferior in strength and intelligence to men. Section IV addresses another notorious Cavendish text, “Female Orations,” arguing that its message is similar to that of the “Preface to the Reader.” Nonetheless, although Cavendish held conventional views about male and female nature and appropriate gender roles, she also recognized how social institutions could limit women's freedom; section V explores the complexities of Cavendish's critique of one such institution, patriarchal marriage.     

Race,Gender, and Class Distinctions Among Aging Middle Class Black and White Women: Implications for Feminist Interventions

Although Black¹For the sake of simplicity, the generic terms Black and White are used to denote differences between the two groups of women. and White women’s relationships have received considerable attention, the important questions of how and if these relationships change with age and social class have received less attention. This article using the metaphor of intersectionality, and grounding women’s relationships in historically and contextually relevant frameworks, provides an understanding of the social and cultural tensions that continue to influence the standpoints of aging middle class Black and White women. The authors pose many probing questions about whether or not aging middle class Black and White women are capable of developing genuine friendships rather than superficial acquaintanceships. The article concludes with implications for Black and White feminist therapists, which highlight the necessity for personal reflections about issues of power and oppression and how they permeate interactions, depth of historical knowledge, and the promotion of positive aging techniques. Each of these and others help to forge a greater understanding of relationship building between these two groups of heterogeneouswomen.     

Finding a home: Developmental and neurobiological perspectives on cultural models

This article looks at cultural models in the light of human development, and neurobiological findings in motivation, learning, and cognition. It is argued that at the individual level, the acquisition of cultural models relies on several innate, neurobiologically based motivational, learning, and cognitive systems. These are: (a) a primary motivation to form social bonds which is driven by affect; (b) highly specialized social learning circuits, involving, but not limited to, mirror neuron systems, that facilitate the encoding of social information through implicit, embodied, imitational learning processes; and (c) the formation of culturally based templates for behavior and cognition centered around structures, collectively known as the “default mode network,” which is essential to self‐understanding, autobiographical memory, social cognition, prospection, and theory‐of‐mind. Cultural models, it is argued, are acquired through innate motivational processes that tie the individual emotionally to a secure base of familiar people and customs. This instinctual desire for proximity to others facilitates the efficient, largely implicit, patterning of knowledge and expectations. Shared knowledge and expectations, in turn, create a common, mostly implicit or unconscious, experience of subjectivity within groups. This allows each individual to automatically and effortlessly interact with similarly enculturated others.     

What If? The Farther Shores of Neuroethics

Neuroscience is clearly making enormous progress toward understanding how human brains work. The implications of this progress for ethics, law, society, and culture are much less clear. Some have argued that neuroscience will lead to vast changes, superseding much of law and ethics. The likely limits to the explanatory power of neuroscience argue against that position, as do the limits to the social relevance of what neuroscience will be able to explain. At the same time neuroscience is likely to change societies through increasing their abilities to predict future behavior, to infer subjective mental states by observing physical brain states (??read minds??), to provide evidence in some cases relevant to criminal responsibility, to provide new ways to intervene to ??treat antisocial brains,?? and to enhance healthy brains. Neuroscience should make important cultural changes in our special, and specially negative, views of ??mental?? versus ??physical?? illness by showing that mental illness is a dysfunction of a physical organ. It will not likely change our beliefs, implicit or explicit, in free will, or spark a new conflict between science and religion akin to the creationism controversy.     

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.