Male-female Relationships Research Articles

Fighting Desires

“Fighting Desires: Henry Miller's Queer Tropic”is an investigation of Tropic of Cancerthat investigates the deeply repressed ho-moerotic desire that periodically surfaces. This reading is dependent upon an interpretation of Eve Sedgwick that proposes male sexuality as a continuum. By looking at the nature of the male-male relationships, as well as the lack of emotion and presence in the male-female relationships, I will show that the most intimate relationships are between men, and that these relationships are expressed through the telling of stories about (heterosexual) sex; this is the function of women within the novel: one has sex with a woman, not for the pleasure that the act brings, but for the pleasure that the recounting of the story to other men brings. Furthermore, I will look at Miller's use of puns within the novel and how they also contribute to a homoerotic reading. None of this is to argue that Miller was not homophobic and sexist-Miller very clearly was-the purpose of this essay is to show the complex nature of sexuality, even within a protagonist who asserts a very defined heterosexuality.

Counter aggression and reconciliation in Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis)

Patterns of aggressive and affiliative behavior, such as counter aggression and reconciliation, are said to covary in the genus Macaca; this is referred to as the systematic variation hypothesis. These behavior patterns constitute a species dominance style. Van Schaik's [1989] socioecological model explains dominance style in macaques in terms of within- and between-group contest competition. Dominance style is also said to correlate with phylogeny in macaques. The present study was undertaken to examine phylogenetic and socioecological explanations of dominance style, as well as the systematic variation hypothesis. We collected data on counter aggression and reconciliation from a habituated group of Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis) at the Tukeswari Temple in Assam, India. The proportion of agonistic episodes that involved counter aggression was relatively low. Counter aggression, however, occurred more often among males than among females, and it was most common when females initiated aggression against males. The conciliatory tendency for this group of Assamese macaques was 11.2%. The frequency of reconciliation was low for fights among males and for fights among females, but reconciliation was particularly rare for opposite-sexed opponents. Female social relationships were consistent with the systematic variation hypothesis, and suggest a despotic dominance style. A despotic dominance style in Assamese macaques weakens the correlation between dominance style and phylogeny in macaques, but it is not inconsistent with the socioecological model. Male-female relationships were not well explained by the despotic-egalitarian framework, and males may well have more tolerant social relationships than do females. Sex differences need to be considered when categorizing species according to dominance style.

Healing ourselves, healing our economy: paid work, unpaid work, and the next stage of feminist economic transformation

This article presents a broad overview of U.S. economic history which identifies a next stage of feminist economic transformation. It identifies three semihistorical stages in the development of the economic self: gender polarization, gender freedom, and gender integration. Contemporary economic values, practices, and institutions-which were constructed on gender polarization between masculine paid economy-centered work and feminine unpaid family-centered work-are currently being undermined by the process of gender integration as individuals of both sexes straddle economy and family, masculinity and femininity, and as social movements organize to inject feminine caring into an increasingly heartless masculine economy. This process is leading to the healing of individuals, male-female relationships, and economic and social institutions, constituting a revolutionary new stage of feminist-inspired change.

The Structural Components of Violence in Black Male-Female Relationships

An Afrocentric perspective provides a point of departure for the understanding of black male-female violence. American society is defined by and derived from core or dominant values, which have differentially impacted its diverse populations. The Lens Model presented in this discourse focuses on these values as being counterproductive for black male-female relationships. Capitalism, racism, sexism and the Judeo-Christian ethic comprise the four-prong institutional or structural value components of the Lens Model. This dynamic framework is instructive as it helps social scientists view domestic violence in black adult relationships from a different perspective. The Lens Model has a connection to the “scientific method” which purports detachment, objectivity, and impartiality.

Fighting Violence Against Women

Lenore Manderson looks at the extensive impact of violence on all areas of women's lives. She argues that the main challenge is to change the culture of masculinity that underpins male-female relationships in such a way as to facilitate or excuse gender-based violence.

Invitation to the Barbecue: Political Correctness, Social Criticism and Family Therapy

Marta Lohyn and Andrew Relph were asked to read and comment on two recent works by Australian‐born social commentators: Germaine Greer's The Whole Woman and Robert Hughes Culture of Complaint: The Fraying of America. As they searched for what relevance these two books could have to family therapy practice, Andrew and Marta found themselves discussing political correctness, the fear of voicing an opinion that differs from the dominant one, attitudes to the personal and the political, and the state of male‐female relationships in 2000.

Healing ourselves, healing our economy: paid work, unpaid work, and the next stage of feminist economic transformation

This article presents a broad overview of U.S. economic history which identifies a next stage of feminist economic transformation. It identifies three semihistorical stages in the development of the economic self: gender polarization, gender freedom, and gender integration. 1 Contemporary economic values, practices, and institutions–which were constructed on gender polarization between masculine paid economy-centered work and feminine unpaid family-centered work–are currently being undermined by the process of gender integration as individuals of both sexes straddle economy and family, masculinity and femininity, and as social movements organize to inject feminine caring into an increasingly heartless masculine economy. This process is leading to the healing of individuals, male-female relationships, and economic and social institutions, constituting a revolutionary new stage of feminist-inspired change.

Philanderers, Cuckolds, and Wily Women

In this essay on working-class families in a Brazilian, urban neighborhood, it is considered how, through jokes and gossip about sexual transgressions, men and women use and are affected by culturally accepted definitions of masculinity. Focusing on spontaneous speech events and placing the husband-wife relationship within a social context in which mothers and sisters exert an enormous influence over their male relatives, new dimensions of male-female power relations are glimpsed that might be overlooked by methodologies more centered on hegemonic norms. The observations suggest that particular economic and political circumstances have contributed to a situation in which images of masculine honor, although ostensibly reinforcing male privileges, are wielded by women as effective weapons against their husbands as well as against female rivals.

Tourists and strippers: Liminal theater

This paper is based upon participant observation at a striptease club in Australia. It is argued that striptease is a forgotten section of sex tourism that within its rituals both challenges and exemplifies generally understood notions of male–female relationships. Simple dominant male–subordinate female or dominant female–submissive male explanations continually break down as the ritual is deconstructed. The paper is a contribution, albeit incomplete, to the literature of sex tourism. Further, in examining a situation of social touristic marginality, the striptease club has parallels with other forms of tourism wherein the constructs of power are subject to a gaze whereby the normal is made strange and the strange, normal.

?These Girls TodayNa War-O?: Premarital Sexuality and Modern Identity in Southeastern Nigeria

Over the past few decades several related changes have contributed to increasing the prevalence of premarital sexual relations in Nigeria. Demographic transformations such as rising age at marriage and increasing levels of urban migration are playing a part in changing the nature of male-female relationships. Sexual relationships are being socially constructed as an appropriate expression of intimacy but also as a statement about a particular kind of modern identity. This article examines the social context of premarital sexual relations among young people in Igbo-speaking southeastern Nigeria. In particular the paper explores conflicts between contemporary sexual identities and traditional models of gender and family as these tensions unfold in premarital sexual and reproductive decision making. (authors)

Men, children and the future of the family in the third millennium

This paper examines the effects of demographic change on the foundations of the family. The “first” demographic transition — the massive declines in fertility and mortality — is shown to have undermined the traditional male–female relationship based on parenthood. This has led to the gender revolution in the public sphere. The “second” demographic transition — the increases in divorce and cohabitation — is shown to have undermined the father–child relationship, reflecting women's control over children, a control that increased continually during the first demographic transition. This paper argues that the gender revolution needs to be brought into the family, increasing women's ability to compete in employment and men's ability both to choose whether to assume parental responsibility and to maintain active parental roles with their children.

Supply Response in an Agrarian Economy with Non-Symmetric Gender Relations

There is a growing recognition that gender relations matter for supply response to devaluation and other structural adjustment policies in sub-Saharan Africa. But, most household models that introduce gender differentiation nevertheless preserve an essential symmetry between male and female household members, and do not capture elements of subordination or coercion in male–female relations. This paper seeks to contribute by developing a model based on Stackelberg-type equations, in which the husband occupies the position of “firstmover,” reflecting his power to set the parameters for women's choices. The model is contextualized with reference to Tanzania.

What Are Teens Telling Us About Sexual Health? Results of the Second Annual Youth Conference of the Pennsylvania Coalition to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

On April 29, 1999 the Pennsylvania Coalition to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (PCPTP) held its Second Annual Youth Conference. The Conference, held at the State Capitol Building in Harrisburg, PA, was designed to listen to teens and gather detailed information from them about their sexual lives and how adults can enhance the sexual health of today's youth. In small discussion groups conducted by trained facilitators, 120 teens from across Pennsylvania shared their thoughts, feelings, and opinions on 9 specific topics related to teen sexuality: talking with parents about sex, communicating in male-female relationships, the decision to abstain, contraceptive decision-making, high-risk sexual behavior, body image, media images of sexuality, sexual orientation, and sexual decision-making. The conference demonstrated that if adults will just listen, teens have much so share about important issues in their lives.

Dating Aggression Among Low Income African American Youth

Prevalence of aggression inflicted and sustained in dating relationships was investigated for 171 low income African American youth. More women were victims of choking, attempted forced intercourse, and hurt feelings. As perpetrators, more women reported making threats, throwing objects, and hitting their partner. However, men perpetrated more serious sexual and psychological aggression, including forced breast fondling, attempted forced intercourse, and making a partner feel inferior and degrading her. Women victims of sexual aggression, when compared to nonvictims, expressed more agreement with adversarial sexual beliefs regarding male-female relationships. More than one third of the participants endorsed antagonistic beliefs concerning Black male-female relationships. Suggestions for intervention are presented.

From Xin nüxing to Liren xing: Changing Conceptions of the “New Woman” in Republican Era Chinese Films

Gender politics in the male-dominated world of republican era leftist filmmaking is exemplified quite well in cinematic portrayals of the New Woman. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, the concept of the New Woman conveyed in Chinese films shifted so dramatically that a study of the changes sheds considerable light not only on male-female relationships, but also on the general social and political context of that era.

Mariological Memory in The Winter's Tale and Henry VIII

The Winter's Tale and Henry VIII are built on a paradox--their women protagonists acquire increased moral authority even while they are being demoted and persecuted. The structure of these plays supports this empowering through a series of spectacles of female fictive kinship. While male kinship, especially patrilineage, is central to the construction of Shakespeare's histories and tragedies, female fictive lineage is crucial to the vision of these two plays. Henry VIII and The Winter's Tale visually and verbally construct succession through a series of mutually sympathetic female figures who are not necessarily biologically related: Hermione/Paulina/Perdita; Katherine/Anne/Elizabeth. Shakespeare draws on a range of sources to represent women as inheriting intangible but important strengths from one another. This paper will explore how two of these sources--Marian mythology and the historical events of Henry VIII's relations with his wives and children--function in rich interplay with one another in both plays. The plays appeal to the audience's collective memory of both sources. Elements of Mariology critique male-female relations and suggest visionary resolutions which resonate with the medieval past and look forward to an imagined Utopian future. 1

Male–male dimensions of male–female battering: A new look at domestic violence.

The field of domestic violence has concentrated its theories, research, and treatment methods on the male-female dimensions of the problem. However, male-male issues also play a crucial role. The authors explain how traditional male socialization and rigid sex role stereotyping can have emotional and behavioral consequences that are displaced onto male-female relationships. In particular, humiliation is a potent and pervasive social mechanism that dominates male psychology, causing multiple problems in male self-esteem and interpersonal relations. Humiliation is the social form of shame and is deeply rooted in the same-sex relations of childhood groups, rituals of passage, and problematic relationships with father figures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Self-Reinforcing Dominance Interactions Between Virtual Males and Females. Hypothesis Generation for Primate Studies

Although in group-living primates an individual's dominance position is a consequence of its social skills with both sexes, there are few data and hardly any theory on male-female dominance relationships. In order to stimulate a systematic study on this topic, I present a simple individual- oriented model on inter-sexual dominance and how it is influenced by species characteristics of primates, such as intensity of aggression and sex ratio. The model represents a virtual world inhab ited by entities that do nothing except grouping and performing dominance interactions in which the effects of winning and losing are self-reinforcing. VirtualMales start out with a higher winning tendency and are characterized by a higher intensity of aggression than VirtualFemales. To ensure comparability to behavioral patterns of real animals, I record the same behavioral aspects of the artificial entities as have been collected for real primates. Results show that due to the high impact of acts in fiercely aggressive VirtualSpecies, the variation in dominance values is larger than in mild ones. As a consequence, the rank of the most subordinate VirtualMale is lower than that of the lowest-ranking mild VirtualMale and, counter-intuitively, VirtualMales dominate relatively fewer VirtualFemales in fierce than mild species. Correspondence of model results to findings on primates allows us to use insight obtained from the model to derive hypotheses on the relation between intensity of aggression, sex ratio, male mounting behavior and female choice of primates.

'More Intimate Than Violence': Sexual Violation in Sarah Dunant's Transgressions

Horeck looks at what happens when a feminist author attempts to rewrite one of culture's most powerful narratives: the story of female victimization and male sexual violence. Exploring the controversy surrounding Sarah Dunant's 1997 thriller Transgressions , a novel accused of being 'anti-feminist' for its alleged depiction of female sexual arousal in a rape scene, she asks after feminism's fictional investment in images of rape. What kind of cultural work are images of sexual violence being made to perform for feminist crime writers? Her contention is that Dunant's novel exemplifies the purchase that rape holds for feminism as a scenario for working through questions of female agency and male-female sexual relations. Through her represenation of the female translator's attempt to rewrite a dominant cultural narrative of male brutality and female victimization, Dunant is thematizing the difficult work of the feminist crime writer. But while the novel's fictional representation of sex and violence can be read as an attempt to unsettle governing gender codes, Horeck argues that it also inadvertently shows up the limitations of the female crime writer's attempt to fight 'fantasy with fantasy'.

"These Girls Today Na War-O ": Premarital Sexuality and Modern Identity in Southeastern Nigeria

Over the past few decades, several related changes have contributed to increasing the prevalence of premarital sexual relations in Nigeria. Demographic transformations such as rising age at marriage and increasing levels of urban migration are playing a part in changing the nature of male-female relationships. Sexual relationships are being socially constructed as an appropriate expression of intimacy, but also as a statement about a particular kind of modern identity. This article examines the social context of premarital sexual relations among young people in Igbo-speaking southeastern Nigeria. In particular, the paper explores conflicts between contemporary sexual identities and traditional models of gender and family as these tensions unfold in premarital sexual and reproductive decision making.