The Passive Female: Her Comparative Image by Class and Culture in Women's Magazine Fiction

Abstract

Passivity, a trait prevalent in all oppressed groups, is hypothesized to be ideal in women regardless of class or culture. Using indicators of passivity drawn from a sample of 202 examples of women's magazine fiction of working class and middle class audiences in the United States and Latin America, the image of female passivity is upheld. There are significant differences by culture, with the Latin American fiction stressing passivity more. Differences by class are also found, although not so marked as the cultural differences. Middle class fiction is more likely to stress passivity than working class fiction. These differences-and the similarities-among class and culture are related to the position of women in the different settings.