Feminist psychology
Feminist psychology is a form of psychology centered on social structures and gender. Feminist psychology critiques historical psychological research as done from a male perspective with the view that males are the norm. Feminist psychology is oriented on the values and principles of feminism.
Gender issues can be broken down into many different categories and can be rather controversial. They can include the way people identify their gender and how they have been affected by societal structures relating to gender, the role of gender in the individual's life and any other gender related issues.
The main objective behind this field of study is to understand the individual within the larger social and political aspects of society. Feminist psychology places a strong emphasis on women's rights. While Psychoanalysis took shape as a clinical or therapeutic method, feminism took shape as a political strategy.
History
Feminist psychoanalysis
The term feminist psychology was originally coined by Karen Horney. In her book, Feminine Psychology, which is a collection of articles Horney wrote on the subject from 1922–1937, she addresses previously held beliefs about women, relationships, and the effect of society on female psychology.Functionalism, Darwinism and the psychology of women
The beginning of psychology research presents very little information in the way of female psychology. Many women did not fight against oppression because they did not realize they were oppressed in the first place. Once the functionalist movement came about in the United States, academic psychology's study of sex difference and a prototypical psychology of woman were developed.https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/30/7/739.pdf
Anti-feminism after WWII
In 1942 Edward Strecker made "mom-ism" an official pathological syndrome under the APA. Strecker believed that the country was under threat because mothers were not emotionally disconnecting from their children at a young enough age, and the matriarchy was making young men weak and losing their "man power". This fueled that anti-feminist movement; women were in need of psychotherapy to aid their mental illness and further prevent the spread of maternalism. The psychological damage on the family would be severe if a woman chose a career to satisfy her needs as opposed to her feminine domestic role assigned by society. A woman's happiness was not important, she must follow her role. The effect of women having independent thoughts and a thirst for exploring her options was a huge threat to gender, as it resulted in masculine women and feminized men, apparently confounding the nation's youth and dooming their future. Constantinople and Bem both agreed that men and women possess masculinity and femininity, and that having both is being psychologically androgynous and a cause to be psychologically fixed or evaluated.Gender research in the 1960s and 1970s
Esther Greenglass states that in 1972, the field of psychology was still male-dominated, women were totally excluded. The use of the word women in conjunction with psychology was forbidden, men refused to be excluded from the narrative. In her experience of teaching class, or being assistant professors, they had to phrase it in the interest of human beings or gender. Unger's paper "Toward a Redefinition of Sex and Gender" said that the use of gender showed the separation of biological and psychological sex. Psychology of women is feminist because it says women are different from men and that women's behavior cannot be understood outside of context. Feminists in turn compelled psychoanalysts to consider the implications of one of Freud's own, most uncompromising propositions: "that human beings consist of men and women and that this distinction is the most significant one that exists."In Liberating Minds: Consciousness-Raising as a Bridge Between Feminism and Psychology in 1970s Canada, Nora Ruck leads with, "U.S. radical feminist Irene Peslikis warned that equating women's liberating with individual therapy prevented women from truly understanding and fighting the roots of their oppression." Canada was one of the few countries with an academic category within psychology for feminism. They relied on CR groups to build their movement. Ruck describes the process of these CR groups by "bridging the tensions" between the personal and political. The development of CR as a political method in its own right is widely attributed to the New York-based radical feminist collective "Redstockings". CR is also closely tied with radical feminism, which aims to weed out discrimination and segregation based on sex, and through a grassroots movement like socialist feminism, maintains that women's oppression is not a by-product of capitalist oppression but a "primary cause".
Joining the workforce
Women were excluded from Freud's definition of mental health because women wanting jobs was attributed to a masculinity complex or envy of men. Between 1970 and 1980 the percentage of women working outside the home had risen from 43 to 51, in the United States. Although women reported having difficulty juggling the roles of mother and provider, they found a way to be fulfilled void of childbearing.Women continue to be a large percentage of the workforce in psychological positions. In 2013, 68.3 percent of the psychological positions in the United States of America were held by women, and as of 2019 it was 70 percent. This resulted in 2.1 women in the workforce for every 1 man, a drastic shift from Freud's previous school of thought on women in the workforce. The workforce does consider semi-retired psychologists as well; however, women still overtake men when comparing active psychologists, and have less percentage than men for semi-retired and retired psychologists.
The Committee on Women in Psychology, was founded in 1973. It was founded with the mission " 'to advance psychology as a science and a profession...' — by ensuring that women in all their diversity achieve equality within the psychological community and in the larger society...". There are also journals that focus on women in psychology, such as SAGE, which is recognized by the APA. SAGE journal publishes articles about the mental health of women in the workforce, and what it is like for single mothers in the country, all of which are common topics in feminism as it is. These movements that have occurred over time show a clear shift in culture from Freud's original philosophy on mental health, where women are not only included, but are also part of every aspect of the workforce of psychology. The APA Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology emerged to support and empower women in psychological fields. Women such as Cynthia de las Fuentes are not only pushing for feminist psychology to be a more popular topic, but also do research in why some might be moving away from feminism, and by extension, feminism psychology.
Organizations
Association for Women in Psychology (AWP)
The Association for Women in Psychology was created in 1969 in response to the American Psychological Association's apparent lack of involvement in the Women's Liberation Movement. The organization formed with the purpose of fighting for and raising awareness of feminist issues within the field of psychology. The association focused its efforts toward feminist representation in the APA and finally succeeded in 1973 with the establishment of APA Division 35.Society for the Psychology of Women
APA Division 35, the Society for the Psychology of Women, was established in 1973. It was created to provide a place for all people interested in the psychology of women to access information and resources in the field. The society for the Psychology of Women works to incorporate feminist concerns into the teaching and practice of psychology. Division 35 also runs a number of committees, projects, and programs.Section on Women and Psychology (SWAP)
The Canadian Psychological Association has a section on Women and Psychology, which is meant "to advance the status of women in psychology, promote quity for women in general, and to educate psychologists and the public on topics relevant to women and girls." SWAP supports projects such as Psychology's Feminist Voices.The Journal of Diversity in Higher Education expresses that female psychologists are often considered to be inefficient due to their low contribution in scientific productivity. Hence, women tend to dominate in low level positions than their male counterparts even if they acquire their doctoral degrees.
"They did not show any acknowledgement or appreciation that there was a difference and that there was a need for it, and that was around the time that we were giving a course here interdisciplinary, not in psychology. I still didn't have a course here because they wouldn't let me do it. And the men pretty well called the shots when they told you, you can't do it, you just, you don't do it.".
The Psychology of Women Section (BPS)
The Psychology of Women Section, of the British Psychological Society was created in 1988 to draw together everyone with an interest in the psychology of women, to provide a forum to support research, teaching and professional practice, and to raise an awareness of gender issues and gender inequality in psychology as profession and as practice. POWS is open to all members of the British Psychological Society.Current research
Emotion
A major topic of study within feminist psychology is that of gender differences in emotion. In general, feminist psychologists view emotion as culturally controlled and state that the differences lie in the expression of emotion rather than the actual experience. The way a person shows his or her emotions is defined by socially enforced display rules which guide the acceptable forms of expression for particular people and feelings.Stereotypes of emotion view women as the more emotional sex. However, feminist psychologists point out that women are only viewed as experiencing passive emotions such as sadness, happiness, fear, and surprise more strongly. Conversely, men are viewed to most likely to express emotions of a more dominant nature, such as anger. Feminist psychologists believe that men and women are socialized throughout their lifetimes to view and express emotions differently. From infancy mothers use more facial expression when speaking to female babies and use more emotion words in conversation with them as they get older.
Girls and boys are further socialized by peers where as girls are rewarded for being sensitive and emotional and boys are rewarded for dominance and lack of most emotional expression. Psychologists have also found that women, overall, are more skilled at decoding emotion using non-verbal cues. These signals include facial expression, tone of voice, and posture. Studies have shown gender differences in decoding ability beginning as early as age. The book Man and Woman, Boy and Girl looks at intersex patients in explaining why social factors are more important than biological factors in gender identity and gender roles and brought nature vs nurture issues back into the spotlight.