Are Men and Women Equal in Employment?

EQUALITY was one of the themes of the Fourth World Conference on Women. The motto of the Conference was "Action for Equality, Development and Peace." But is there a real possibility for equality between men and women? Equality in employment remains an important concern. Recently, Zheng Yefu, research worker of the Beijing Academy of Social     

Men and Women Compete for the Dragon Crown

1. Members of the Zhengmingsi Village Women's Dragon Dance Team performed with this 208-meter long dragon, the longest in the world and noted in the Guiness Book of World Records.     

Men’s Work Efforts and the Transition to Fatherhood

In this paper we tested three hypotheses: (a) the transition to fatherhood is associated with an increase in work effort; (b) the positive association (if any) between the transition to fatherhood and work effort is greater for fathers who are married at the time of the transition; and (c) the association (if any) is greater for men who make the transition at younger ages. The data are from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Cohort. The transition to fatherhood was associated with an increase in work effort among young unmarried men, but not for married men. Among married men who were on-time fathers, work effort decreased. Among childless men, the marriage transition was associated with increased work effort.     

Women·Men

Women ofChina 9/1997Women·Men     

Men’s Judgment and Behavior Toward Women Wearing High Heels

Research has consistently shown that the appearance of women’s apparel influences men’s behavior and judgment. However, the effect of women’s shoe heels has received little interest. Female confederates wearing black shoes with 0-, 5-, or 9-cm heels walked on the street. In a first experiment, we examined the number of men in the street who smiled at the female confederate. More smiles were addressed to the confederate with high heels. In a second experiment, the confederates asked men and women to respond to a short survey. It was found that high heels increased males’ but not females’ compliance with the request. In a third experiment, photographs of the same woman’s body profile wearing high heels or not were evaluated by men. Results showed that high heels were associated with greater sexiness, overall physical attractiveness, breast attractiveness, beauty, attractiveness to other men, and willingness to date. All the experiments supported the notion that high heels increase women’s attractiveness to men.     

Psychotherapists’ Stereotypes of Heterosexual,Gay, and Bisexual Men

This study investigated stereotypes of heterosexual, gay, and bisexual men in a sample of 112 psychotherapists. Stereotypes were assessed with an open-ended measure asking participants to list characteristics that they associated with one of the three groups of men. Thematic analysis of these characteristics yielded 14 stereotype categories, including categories that reflected psychosocial difficulties (e.g., Depressed and Anxious), gender roles (e.g., Female Gender Role Attributes), and personality (e.g., Open-Minded). Sexual orientation differences were found for 8 of the 14 categories. For example, therapists were most likely to associate open-mindedness with bisexual men, traditional male gender role attributes with heterosexual men, and intelligence with gay men. Implications of results for practice and training are discussed.     

Men Not Included?

SUMMARY

This paper explores debates about male presence and influence in lesbian families from a critical psychology standpoint. Critical psychology encompasses a variety of radical approaches to psychological research that reject traditional psychological assumptions, concepts and methods and that seek to challenge and resist normative values. To explore aspects of the discursive terrain of male influence and to demonstrate the merits of a critical psychology of lesbian families, excerpts from an interview with a lesbian couple who are members of a planned lesbian/gay family (two mummies and a daddy) are analysed. These excerpts show that debates about male influence create live dilemmas and tensions for the lesbian couple and have important consequences for how lesbian parents negotiate and do family.     

What Motivates Gay and Bisexual Men to Participate in PrEP-Related Research?

Abstract

Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been demonstrated effective at preventing HIV among key populations like gay and bisexual men (GBM). Yet, there remains a continued need to engage GBM in PrEP behavioral and clinical research (e.g., to monitor adherence and retention in the PrEP treatment cascade). Objectives: We report on the factors motivating GBM to participate in a PrEP behavioral study, with the aim of our results to inform future recruitment efforts for future PrEP research. Methods: In 2015–2016, 103 PrEP-using GBM in New York City completed qualitative interviews about their experiences on PrEP. Participants were also asked about factors that motivated them to join the study. Thematic analysis was used analyze the data. Results: We identified 5 salient themes as rationale for joining the study: 58.3% cited altruistic reasons, 32% reported intellectual curiosity in the subject matter, 30.1% indicated that remuneration inspired them, 18.4% indicated that familiarity or referral to the research institute influenced their decision. Conclusions: Researchers attempting to enroll PrEP-using GBM may benefit from attending to the altruistic and intellectually curious nature of this population. Further, researchers may benefit from establishing familiarity among diverse communities of GBM. This in turn may contribute to the successful engagement of GBM for PrEP research.     

The Self-Employment of Men and Women: What are their Motivations?

Do men and women carry different motivations for entering self-employment? Earlier researchers have suggested that, as primary care givers for children and families, women face a more stringent time constraint relative to men. Thus, where men see self-employment as a chance for greater financial opportunity, women see a chance to take work that allows more time at home. This paper investigates this hypothesis using unique data that allow analysis of individual self-employment as a function of traditional economic and demographic variables as well as variables that partially capture individuals’ opinions and perceptions of pecuniary and nonpecuniary aspects of entrepreneurism. Results suggest that men who choose self-employment are influenced principally by pecuniary concerns, while women are influenced principally by family concerns and by the opinions of their family, friends, and peers.     

Why Do Older Adults Have Sex? Approach and Avoidance Sexual Motives Among Older Women and Men

Although many older adults reportedly maintain an active sex life, limited research has focused on the reasons they engage in sex. The present study identified and described sexual motives in the second half of life reported by 47 older adults. Twenty-four men (51%) and 23 women (49%) aged 60–91 (M = 66, SD = 8.1) were interviewed. In-depth interviews were thematically analyzed using the theory of motivational approach-avoidance and personal-interpersonal motivational framework. Five main themes were identified: (a) to maintain overall functioning, (b) to feel young again, (c) to feel attractive and desirable, (d) from lust to love, and (e) from “getting sex” to “giving sex.” Investigating sexual motives in the second half of life can improve the understanding of older adults’ sexual behavior, function, and satisfaction.     

Sexual and Reproductive Health Knowledge Among Men and Women Aged 15 to 49 Years in Metropolitan Tehran

Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge is an important predictor of an individual’s sexual behavior; however, little is known regarding this issue among Iranians. This study assessed sexual and reproductive health knowledge among men and women aged 15 to 49 years in Tehran. A total of 755 men and women aged 15 to 49 years were recruited using multistage, random cluster sampling in June 2014. An illustrative anonymous questionnaire endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) was used to collect the data. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed. The results showed that men and women were moderately knowledgeable about sexual and reproductive health (mean score of SRH knowledge = 39, range: 26 to 52); however, myths and misperceptions prevailed in different aspects of SRH. For example, only 45% of women and 38.7% of men accurately knew that a person infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can look healthy. Friends were identified as the primary or secondary source of knowledge about puberty and sex-related issues. A multivariate analysis showed that being female (coefficient = 0.139, p < 0.001) and being married (coefficient = 0.180, p < 0.001) were significant predictors of better SRH knowledge, while being young (age group 15 to 24) was a significant determinant of poor SRH knowledge (coefficient = ?0.161, p < 0.001) when other influencing factors were controlled. Culturally appropriate and age-specific comprehensive education is recommended, particularly for men, the unmarried, and the younger generation in Iran.     

What Do Men Want?

Abstract

Men play a key role in determining good sexual health outcomes for themselves and their sexual partners. However, many interventions and much of the programmatic focus and effort in reproductive and sexual health care delivery, are focused on women. This paper shows how international goals for development (the Millennium Development Goals), and international agreements on population and development (such as that agreed at the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo,1994) cannot be met without the full and active involvement of men. We argue that achieving international goals and targets requires more than simply encouraging men to take more responsibility for their actions, it requires a detailed understanding of men's own concerns in the field of sexual health and a commitment to address those concerns to achieve better sexual health for all.

Using examples from south Asia, the paper explores the evidence surrounding the burden of men's sexual ill-health in the Region. We find that while public health programmes are (rightly) focused on controlling HIV (and sexually transmitted infections to some degree), evidence from population-based surveys of men across south Asia shows that men are most concerned with ‘psycho-sexual conditions’ including discharge syndromes, weakness, and erectile dysfunction. There is evidence that some of these conditions may be linked to higher rates of risk-taking and gender-based violence in some men. We further review patterns of care seeking for men reporting these and other sexual health problems.

We conclude that the challenges facing public health professionals are how to ensure that men receive interventions which are appropriate (and affordable and accessible and of high quality) for addressing their own sexual health concerns whilst also meeting wider public health goals of improving population levels of sexual and reproductive health.     

Implicit and Explicit Sexual Attitudes: How Are They Related to Sexual Desire and Sexual Satisfaction in Men and Women?

This article examines individual variability in sexual desire and sexual satisfaction by exploring the relation between these sexual aspects and sexual attitudes (implicit and explicit) and by taking gender into account, as this has been shown to be an influential factor. A total of 28 men and 33 women living in heterosexual relationships completed questionnaires assessing sexual desire (dyadic, solitary), sexual satisfaction, and explicit sexual attitudes. An adapted version of the Affect Misattribution Procedure was used to assess implicit sexual attitudes. Results showed higher levels of dyadic and solitary sexual desire in men than in women. No gender differences were found regarding sexual satisfaction or sexual attitudes. High dyadic sexual desire was associated with positive implicit and explicit sexual attitudes, regardless of gender. However, solitary sexual desire was significantly higher in men than women and was associated, in women only, with positive implicit sexual attitudes, suggesting that solitary sexual desire may fulfill different functions in men and women. Finally, sexual satisfaction depended on the combination of explicit and implicit sexual attitudes in both men and women. This study highlights the importance of considering both implicit and explicit sexual attitudes to better understand the mechanisms underlying individual variability in sexual desire and satisfaction.     

Gender Differences in Alcohol Use and Alcohol-Related Problems: Do They Hold for Lesbians and Gay Men?

ABSTRACT

Research regarding gender differences in alcohol use and alcohol-related problems finds that men drink more and suffer higher rates of alcohol-related problems compared with women. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether these differences also exist between lesbians and gay men. A sample of 335 lesbians and gay men were recruited through lesbian and gay events, Listservs, and friendship networks. Items from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2000 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 2000. National household survey on drug abuse: Main findings 1998, Rockville, MD: Author.  [Google Scholar]) measured alcohol consumption. The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (Selzer, 1971 Selzer, M. L. 1971. The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test: The quest for a new diagnostic instrument. American Journal of Psychiatry, 127: 89–94. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and the Drinker Inventory of Consequences (Miller, Tonigan, & Longabaugh, 1995 Miller, W. R., Tonigan, J. S. and Longabaugh, R. 1995. “The drinker inventory of consequences (DrInC): An instrument for assessing adverse consequences of alcohol abuse test manual”. In National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Project Match, Monograph Series, 4, Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  [Google Scholar]) measured alcohol-related problems. Gay men tended to drink more often than lesbians, but there were no significant gender differences regarding alcohol-related problems. Research, theoretical, and clinical implications are discussed.     

Social Work Educators’ Attitudes Toward Gay Men and Lesbians: A National Assessment

A sample of 927 U.S. social work educators expressed limited negative attitudes toward lesbians and slightly more negative attitudes toward gay men in this cross-sectional, national study using standardized survey instruments with proven psychometric properties. Faculty most likely to express negative attitudes toward lesbians included those employed at a religiously affiliated university (whether sectarian or non-sectarian), identifying as African-American and male, working in an urban or suburban setting (rather than a rural one), and having probationary tenure-track status. These individual and institutional characteristics accounted for 7.8% of the variance in social work educators’ negative attitudes toward lesbians. Faculty most likely to express negative attitudes toward gay men included those identifying as African-American, employed at a religiously affiliated university, identifying as heterosexual and male. These variables explained 12.4% of the variance in social work educators’ negative attitudes toward gay men. Implications for social work education are addressed and suggestions generated regarding how social work educators and their educational programs can ensure that they are preparing competent, unbiased practitioners who can advance social justice and reduce oppression among gay and lesbian clients.     

Rising Rates of Cohabitation and the Odds of Repartnering: Does the Gap Between Men and Women Disappear?

Men are more likely to repartner than women. This pattern might reflect gender disparities in barriers to repartnering. When rates of cohabitation increase, the gender disparity might shrink, as cohabitation is a less institutionalized form of coresidential partnership and therefore has lower entry barriers in comparison to marriage. Using event-history models applied to Czech data from the Generations and Gender Survey, we show that the odds of repartnering were indeed higher among men than among women in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. No significant change in the gender effect, however, was found. Similarly, the analysis revealed no change in the effect of gender on the odds of entering cohabitation rather than marriage.     

Does Family Matter to HIV‐Positive Men Who Have Sex With Men?

Most studies have indicated that friends or families of choice provide more support to HIV‐positive men who have sex with men (MSM) than members of the family of origin. The creation of families of choice by MSM has been viewed as a means of creating a support system in the absence of traditional family. The purpose of this study is to explore if HIV‐positive MSM believe family of origin is important. Data were drawn from a qualitative study of HIV disclosure to family. Responses to the question, “How important is family to you?” are explored. Results suggest that for many HIV‐positive MSM, relationships with family of origin are very important. While not definitive, data to be presented are provocative and challenge notions of the significance of family of origin to marginalized populations.     

Men and Masculinities in International Development: ‘Men‐streaming’ Gender and Development?

The inclusion of men and masculinities in gender and development policies and practices has emerged in the last decade as a critical component for achieving gender equality and women's empowerment. This article analyses the contemporary character and progress towards ‘men‐streaming’ of gender and development, and argues that implicit in any action towards gender equality and working with men is the requirement to base action on a clear understanding of the politics of masculinities and the relational aspects of gender equity and equality.     

The Ins and Outs of Transmasculine Embodiment: Commentary on Griffin Hansbury's “Middle Men”

This response paper attempts to explicate the more subtle levels of textual meaning contained in the linear taxonomy that Griffin Hansbury employs to introduce his readers to FTM experience. To this end, a relational interpretive strategy is used. This approach seeks to create a richer interchange with Hansbury's ideas through a discussion of the interplay between the various components of his essay and the corresponding responses of the reader. Factors that contribute to the psychoanalytic precepts supporting the unreflexive pathologizing of trans persons are outlined, including tenets basic to psychoanalytic theory and technique. Of these, the sense of gender disequilibrium that trans phenomena produces in the preconscious experience of the analyst is highlighted. As a supplement to Hansbury's reference list, a briefly annotated bibliography provides references for those interested in further deconstructing the problems of transsexuality within psychoanalysis.