Understanding and Undermining the Development of Gender Dichotomies: The Legacy of Sandra Lipsitz Bem

Abstract

Sandra Bem has profoundly affected the ways that gender, gender roles, and gender development have been conceptualized and investigated by generations of scholars. Her legacy also offers an inspiring model of how academic scholarship can promote gender-egalitarian policy and practice. In our review, we identify four ways that Bem's work has shaped gender-development scholarship in general, and our individual and collaborative programs of research in particular. The empirical research and policy we discuss are drawn primarily from the United States, the context in which Bem worked and lived. We begin by describing Bem's analysis and critique of the societal practices that establish gender as a highly salient social category in the first place. We then outline her contributions to gender-schema approaches, including her conceptual work on gender-schema theories and her empirical work on the effects of gender schematicity on memory and selfsocialization. Next we review the parenting strategies Bem suggested and enacted as she attempted to raise gender aschematic, egalitarian children. In the closing section we reflect on Bem's lifelong commitment to connecting the spheres of social science research, personal life, and public policy. In addition to highlighting ways in which her work has already proven to be inspirational for our own and others' scholarship and action, we point to ways that it offers rich ideas for future research and action that may clarify gender-developmental processes and may further reduce the constraining effects of societal gender dichotomies on new generations of children.

Further Reflections on Sandra Lipsitz Bem’s Impact

“…Many of the papers in both special issues of Sex Roles have related Bem's ideas to our understanding of children's gender development (current issue: Bukowski et al 2016;Fleming et al 2016;Pauletti et al 2016; also in prior issue: Liben and Bigler 2015;Martin et al 2016;Menon 2016). Furthermore, in the present issue, Lemaster et al (2015) took a lifespan developmental approach to examine variations in psychological androgyny across adulthood (also see Keener and Strough 2016;Mehta and Dementieva 2016;Starr and Zurbriggen 2016, in the first special issue).…”

“…The survey did not define Bcontroversial^for the respondents; yet, the word seems befitting when one considers it is synonymous with argumentative and contentious. Namely, Sandra Bem helped to start an argument in psychology about the meanings of gender and sexuality; moreover, she contested the status quo in society (Bem 1993(Bem , 1998also see Balzer Carr et al 2015;Dean and Tate 2016, in this issue;and see Golden and McHugh 2016;Liben and Bigler 2015, in the previous special issue).…”

“…We see other psychologists advancing gender schema theories (Liben and Signorella 1980;Markus et al 1982;Martin and Halverson 1981) at the same time that schematic-processing models in cognitive psychology were being extended to the study of gender. In the first special issue of Sex Roles, Starr and Zurbriggen (2016) as well as Liben and Bigler (2015) presented comprehensive reviews of Bem's gender schema theory and its impact.…”

“…In addition, Lips (2016) offered a thoughtful concluding article after the first special issue that distilled many of the key themes across papers (and shared by many of the papers in the current issue). Also, authors in each issue have written excellent review articles summarizing, interpreting, and extending Bem's ideas and work (Balzer Carr et al 2015;Dean and Tate 2016;Golden and McHugh 2016;Liben and Bigler 2015;Martin et al 2016;Starr and Zurbriggen 2016). Furthermore, most of the empirical studies reported in these issues included extensive discussions of Bem's ideas and impact.…”

Oh the Places We’ll Go! Where will Sandra Bem’s Work Lead Us Next?

“…As a feminist and social advocate, the promotion of gender equality was at the core of all of Bem's work and carried over into her own life (Carr et al 2015). Bem also served as a model for scholar activism, moving theory and research on gender beyond academia to shape both political (e.g., social policy) and personal (e.g., parenting, romantic relationships) outcomes Liben and Bigler 2016). In this way, the work of Sandra Bem laid the groundwork for contemporary feminist theory and research and has influenced the academic and personal lives of generations of gender scholars .…”