The relationships between gender and war are complex. Ways of thinking about gender and war influence the questions asked, the knowledge sought, and the meaning given to evidence. In psychological research, sex role theory is the standard explanation for findings of difference between women and men in attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors related to war. Feminist inquiry suggests several viable alternatives to sex role theory: feminist psychoanalysis, feminist moral theory, and social constructionism. This article examines these four epistemological positions and their potential claims about women's and men's psychological and moral responses to war, peace, and the nuclear threat. Each theory is examined for its utility and limits. We argue that a social constructionist orientation provides a particularly useful way of thinking about and researching both the intersections of gender and war and possible solutions to the human problems posed by war and the nuclear threat.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Addams, J.
(1907). New ideals of peace. Chautauqua, NY: Chautauqua.
2.
Alcoff, L.
(1988). Cultural feminism versus post-structuralism: The identity crisis in feminist theory. Signs, 13, 405-436.
3.
Arkin, W.
, & Dobrofsky, L. R. (1978). Military socialization and masculinity. Journal of Social Issues, 34, 151-168.
4.
Baier, A. C.
(1987). Hume, the women's moral theorist? In E. F. Kittay & D. T. Meyers (Eds.), Women and moral theory (pp. 37-55). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
5.
Basow, S. A.
(1986). Genderstereotypes: Traditions and alteratives. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
6.
Bem, S. L.
(1974). The measurement of psychological androgeny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 155-162.
7.
Bem, S. L.
(1981). Bem sex-role inventory: Professional manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
8.
Benhabib, S.
(1987). The generalized and the concrete other: The KohlbergGilligan controversy and moral theory. In E. F. Kittay & D. T. Meyers (Eds.), Women and moral theory (pp. 154-177). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
9.
Bruner, J.
(1986). Actual minds, possible worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
10.
Bussy, G.
, & Tims, M. (1980). Pioneers forpeace: The women's international league for peace and freedom: 1915-1965. Oxford: Aldin.
11.
Chesler, P.
(1972). Women and madness. New York: Avon.
12.
Chilstrom, G. A.
(1984). Psychological aspects of the arms race. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 24(3), 39-54.
13.
Chodorow, N.
(1978). The reproduction of mothering: Psychoanalysis and the sociology of gender. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
14.
Coles, R.
(1977). Eskimos, Chicanos, Indians. Boston: Little, Brown.
15.
Collins, P. H.
(1989). The social construction of Black feminist thought. Signs, 14, 745-773.
16.
Connell, R. W.
(1987). Gender and power: Society, the person, and sexual politics. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
17.
Craib, I.
(1987). Masculinity and male dominance. Sociological Review, 38, 721-743.
18.
Daly, M.
(1978). Gynlecology: The metaethics of radical feminism. Boston: Beacon.
19.
Di Leonardo, M.
(1985). Morals, mothers, and militarism: Antimilitarism and feminist theory. Feminist Studies, 11, 599-617.
20.
Dinnerstein, D.
(1977). The mermaid and the minotaur: Sexual arrangements and human malaise. New York: Harper & Row.
21.
Easlea, B.
(1983). Fathering the unthinkable: Masculinity, scientists and the nuclear arms race. London: Pluto.
22.
Easlea, B.
(1987). Patriarchy, scientists, and nuclear warriors. In M. Kaufman (Ed.), Beyond patriarchy: Essays by men on pleasure, power, and change (pp. 195-215). New York: Oxford University Press.
23.
Eisenstein, H.
(1983). Contemporary feminist thought. Boston: G. K. Hall.
24.
Eisler, R.
(1987). The chalice and the blade: Our history, our future. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
25.
Elshtain, J. B.
(1982). On beautiful souls, just warriors and feminist consciousness. Women's Studies International Forum, 5, 341-348.
26.
Elshtain, J. B.
(1985). Reflections on war and political discourse: Realism, just war, and feminism in a nuclear age. Political Theory, 13, 39-57.
27.
Emberley, J.
, & Landry, D. (1989). Coverage of Greenham and Greenham as "coverage."Feminist Studies, 15, 485-498.
28.
Enloe, C.
(1984). Does khaki become you? The militarisation of women's lives. Boston, MA: South End.
29.
Epstein, C. F.
(1988). Deceptive distinctions: Sex, gender, and the social order. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
30.
Flax, J.
(1983). Political philosophy and the patriarchal unconscious: A psychoanalytic perspective on epistemology and metaphysics. In S. Harding & M. B. Hintikka (Eds.), Discovering reality: Feminist perspectives on epistemology, metaphysics, methodology, and philosophy of science (pp. 245-282). Boston: D. Reidel.
31.
Flax, J.
(1987). Postmodernism and gender relations in feminist theory. Signs, 12, 621-643.
32.
Frankena, W.
(1973). Ethics (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
33.
Friedan, B.
(1963). The feminine mystique. New York: Dell.
34.
Friedman, M.
(1984). The nuclear threat and the hidden human image. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 24, 65-76.
35.
Fussell, P.
(1975). The Great War and modern memory. New York: Oxford University Press.
36.
Gergen, K. J.
(1985). The social constructionist movement in modern psychology. American Psychologist, 40, 266-275.
37.
Gilligan, C.
(1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
38.
Gilligan, C.
(1987). Moral orientation and moral development. In E. F. Kittay & D. T. Meyers (Eds.), Women and moral theory (pp. 19-33). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefleld.
39.
Goodman, N.
(1984). Of mind and other matters. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
40.
Greene, C.
, & Maccoby, E. (1986). How different is the different voice?Signs, 11, 310-316.
41.
Greening, T.
(1986). Passion bearers and peace psychology. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 26(4), 98-105.
42.
Hamilton, S. B.
, Knox, T. A., Keilin, W. G., & Chavez, E. L. (1987). In the eyes of the beholder: Accounting for variability in attitudes and cognitive/ affective reactions toward the threat of nuclear war. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 17, 927-952.
43.
Hanley, L.
(1991). Writing war: Fiction, gender, and memory. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
44.
Harding, S.
(1981). What is the real material base of patriarchy and capital? In L. Sargent (Ed.), Women and revolution (pp. 135-163). Boston: South End.
45.
Hare-Mustin, R. T.
, & Marecek, J. (1988). The meaning of difference: Gender theory, postmodernism, and psychology. American Psychologist, 43, 465-472.
46.
Hare-Mustin, R. T.
, & Marecek, J. (1990). Gender and the meaning of difference: Postmodernism and psychology. In R. T. Hare-Mustin &J. Marecek (Eds.), Making a difference: Psychology and the construction of gender (pp. 22-64). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
47.
Harstock, N.
(1983). The feminist standpoint: Developing the ground for a specifically feminist historical materialism. In S. Harding & M. B. Hintikka (Eds.), Discovering reality: Feminist perspectives on epistemology, metaphysics, methodology, and philosophy of science (pp. 283-310). Boston: D. Reidel.
48.
Harstock, N.
(1990). Foucault on power: A theory for women? In L. J. Nichelson (Ed.), Feminism Ipostmodernism (pp. 157-175). New York: Routledge.
49.
Jacklin, C. N.
(1981). Methodological issues in the study of sex-related differences. Developmental Review, 1, 266-273.
50.
Jensen, M. P.
(1987). Gender, sex roles, and attitudes toward war and nuclear weapons. Sex roles, 17, 253-267.
51.
Johnson, M. J.
(1989, August). Gender issues in nuclear threat research. Paper presented at the Annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, New Orleans, LA.
52.
Kaufman, M.
(1987). The construction of masculinity and the triad of men's violence. In M. Kaufman (Ed.), Beyond patriarchy: Essays by men on pleasure, power, and change (pp. 1-29). New York: Oxford University Press.
53.
Kimmel, P. R.
(1985). Learning about peace: Choices and the U.S. Institute of Peace as seen from two different perspectives. American Psychologist, 40, 536-541.
54.
Komarovsky, M.
(1946). Cultural contradictions and sex roles. American Journal of Sociology, 52, 184-189.
55.
Komarovsky, M.
(1950). Functional analysis of sex roles. American Sociological Review, 15, 508-516.
56.
Kull, S.
(1984). War as a species disorder. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 24(3), 55-64.
57.
Lauter, E.,
& Rupprecht, C. S. (1985). Feminist archetypal theory. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.
58.
Linton, R.
(1936). The study of man. New York: Appleton-Century.
59.
Lyons, N. P.
(1983). Two perspectives: On self, relationships, and morality. Harvard Educational Review, 53, 125-145.
60.
Mack, J. E.
(1988). The challenge of political self-responsibility in the nuclear age. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 28(3), 75-87.
61.
Markus, H.
, & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41, 954-969.
62.
McAllister, P.
(Ed.). (1982). Reweaving the web of life: Feminism and non-violence. Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers.
63.
Mead, M.
(1940). War is only an invention, not a biological necessity. Asia, 40, 402-405.
64.
Mehan, H.
, & Wills, J. (1988). MEND: A nurturing voice in the nuclear arms debate:Social Problems, 35, 363-383.
65.
Messner, M.
(1990). Boyhood, organized sports, and the construction of masculinities. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 18, 416-444.
66.
Miller, J. B.
(1976). Toward a new psychology of women. Boston: Beacon.
67.
Millett, K.
(1970). Sexual politics. New York: Doubleday.
68.
Newcomb, M. D.
(1986). Nuclear attitudes and reactions: Associations with depression, drug use, and quality of life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 906-920.
69.
Newcomb, M. D.
(1988). Background, personality, and behavioral correlates of nuclear anxiety. Personality and Individual Differences, 9, 379-389.
70.
Parsons, T.
(1942). Age and sex in the social structure of the United States. American Sociological Review, 7, 604-616.
71.
Parsons, T.
(1951). The social system. New York: Free Press.
72.
Parsons, T.
, & Bales, R. F. (1956). Family socialization and interaction process. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
73.
Polkinghorne, D.
(1983). Methodology for the human sciences: Systems of inquiry. Albany: State University of New York Press.
74.
President's Commission. (1970). The report of the president's commission on an all-volunteer armed force. London: Collier Books/Macmillan.
75.
Raymond, J.
(1979). The transsexual empire: The making of the she-male. Boston: Beacon.
76.
Remarque, E. M.
(1975).All quiet on the western front. New York: Fawcett.
77.
Rosaldo, M. Z.
(1980). The use and abuse of anthropology: Reflections on feminism and cross-cultural understanding. Signs, 5, 389-417.
78.
Rubenfeld, F.
(1986). What sustains us: the role of connections. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 26, 117-126.
79.
Rubin, L. B.
(1983). Intimate strangers: Men and women together. New York: Harper & Row.
80.
Ruddick, S.
(1984). Preservation love and military destruction: Some reflections on mothering and peace. In J. Trebilcot (Ed.), Mothering: Essays in feminist theory (pp. 231-262). New York: Rowmand Allan.
81.
Ruddick, S.
(1987). Remarks on the sexual politics of reason. In E. F. Kittay & D. T. Meyers (Eds.), Women and moral theory (pp. 237-260). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
82.
Ruether, R. R.
(1985). Feminism and peace. In B. H. Andolsen, C. E. Gudorf, & M. D. Pellauer (Eds.), Women's consciousness, women's conscience: A reader in feminist ethics (pp. 71-74). San Francisco: Harper & Row.
83.
Sanday, P. R.
(1981). Female power and male dominance: On the origins of sexual inequality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
84.
Segal, L.
(1988). Is the future female?2: Troubled thoughts on contemporary feminism. New York: Peter Bedrick.
85.
Silver, B. R.
(1991). The authority of anger: Three Guineas as case study. Signs, 16, 340-370.
86.
Solomon, L. N.
(1986). Building the image of peace. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 26, 108-116.
87.
Spence, J. T.
, Helmreich, R. L., & Stapp, J. (1974). The personal attributes questionaire: A measure of sex-role stereotypes and masculinityfemininity. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 32, 29-39.
88.
Spretnak, C.
(Ed.). (1982). The politics of women's spirituality: Essays on the rise of spiritual power within the feminist movement. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday.
89.
Spretnak, C.
(1983). Naming the cultural forces that push us toward war. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 23(3), 104-114.
90.
Stack, C. B.
(1986). The culture of gender: Women and men of color. Signs, 11, 321-324.
91.
Steihm, J.
(1982). The protected, the protector, the defender. Women's Studies International Forum, 5, 367-376.
92.
Swerdlow, A.
(1982). Ladies' day at the capitol: Women strike for peace versus HUAC. Feminist Studies, 8, 493-520.
93.
Thorne, B. (1980). Gender... How is it best conceptualized? Unpublished manuscript.
94.
Tronto, J. C.
(1987). Beyond gender difference to a theory of care. Signs: Journal of Women on Culture and Society, 12, 644-663.
95.
Unger, R. K.
(1979). Toward a redefinition of sex and gender. American Psychologist, 34, 1085-1094.
96.
Wainwright, H.
(1983). The women who wire up the weapons. In D. Thompson (Ed.), Over our dead bodies: Women against the bomb (pp. 136-145). London: Virago.
97.
Walker, L.
(1984). Sex differences in the development of moral reasoning: A critical review. Child Development, 55, 667-691.
98.
West, C.
, & Zimmerman, D. H. (1991). Doing gender. In J. Lorber & S. A. Farrell (Eds.), The social construction of gender (pp. 13-37). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
99.
Williams, C. L.
(1989). Gender differences at work: Women and men in nontraditional occupations. Berkeley: University of California Press.
100.
Woolf, V.
(1938). Three Guineas. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
101.
Zur, O.
(1989). War myths: Exploration of the dominant collective beliefs about warfare. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 29(3), 297-327.
102.
Zur, O.
, & Glendinning, C. (1987). Men/women, war/peace: A systems approach. In M. Macy (Ed.), Solutions for a troubled world (pp. 107-121). Boulder, CO: Earthview.
103.
Zur, O.
, & Morrison, A. (1989). Gender and war: Reexamining attitudes. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 59, 528-533.
104.
Zur, O.
, Morrison, A., & Zaretsky, E. (1985, April). Men, women, and war: Gender differences in attitudes towards war. Paper presented at the Western Psychological Association Meeting, San Jose, CA.
