Gender and genius in japan: Feminine eminence in masculine culture

The number of distinguished women was hypothesized to fluctuate over consecutive historical periods according to concomitant changes in the dominant male culture. Three conjectures were evaluated using a sample of 2453 Japanese creators and leaders active between 580 and 1959. Applying generational time-series analysis to 69 consecutive 20-year periods, indicators gauged changes in female literary and nonliterary eminence along with male literary activity, power and aggressive behavior, and ideology. Although the emergence of gender-biased belief systems was negatively associated with female distinction in all domains, literary success of both men and women was linked to similar contextual factors, especially a negative association with male power and aggressive activities. The group-level results are interpreted in terms of possible individual and interpersonal processes.I thank Arakaki Makoto for his assistance on this project.