What the World Teaches Women

by Rochelle Manor-Bullock, Ph.D.

How do you define "Women's issues" in mental health? There may be many definitions. Popular self-help books bombard us with their perspective: Women Who Love Too Much, Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them, The Ten Stupid Things Women Do. The pervasive media cover issues of eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and sexual abuse (including false memory syndrome).

Frequently, the women who read these books and watch the television talk shows focus on themselves. They search for hope and guidelines to help them in their own struggles. Typically, theories of treatment in clinical settings also focus on the individual women who are having difficulty-how their thoughts and ways of interacting with others are dependent and passive or "pathological" (ill or unhealthy).

Few, however, stop to consider the larger picture. For example: How does being a woman in a culture that overemphasizes the female body as a sex object lead to eating disorders among young women? Or living in a country where an average woman earns 72 cents for every dollar that a man in an equal job earns lead to depression?

Now consider these facts:

• Every 18 seconds a woman is battered.
• Every three minutes a woman is raped.
• One in three girls is sexually abused before age 18.

How does this violence contribute to feelings of anxiety and low self-esteem?

Blaming Women

As Carol Tavris pointed out in The Mismeasure of Women, "when men have problems, society tends to look outward for explanations; when women have problems, society looks inward." One example of this might be theories of codependency that suggest that women who have trouble setting boundaries "enable" their male partners to continue destructive patterns. (As if it is her fault that he is violent, alcoholic, etc.) Another example is the belief that women are raped because of what they wear.

Biological "Imperfection" and Inferiority

Women are twice as likely to suffer from depression as men. Traditional explanations for this include the theory that women are biologically predisposed to depression because of a mutation on the X chromosome. Because women have two X chromosomes, theory states, they are twice as likely to have a mutated gene than men. Also, some suggest that women are more predisposed to depression because of hormonal imbalances due to monthly menstrual cycles. In fact, there are sixteen different classes of theories on premenstrual complications causing depression in women.

As Susan Nolen-Hoeksema illustrated in Sex Differences in Depression, there is no evidence to support that women have greater genetic predisposition to depression. Rather, hormonal research shows that PMS doesn't cause depression, but can make it worse for some women.

In other words, women's biological makeup is not inferior to men's.

Psychological "Imperfections" and Inferiority

Other theories suggest that women are more prone to psychological difficulties because they are, by nature, passive. They're less likely to take risks, more able to be influenced by the others' wishes, and less persistent when faced with challenges.

In a review of research on verbal assertiveness, one researcher concluded that no sex differences exist. Women are just as likely as men to express opinions. While they express themselves verbally, the impact and validation they experience is significantly less than what men experience. It may be likely that women are less assertive in the workplace because they typically have lower status jobs where their opinions are not valued anyway. They learn their assertion produces little change.

Research also disproves the idea that women are dependent. (For example, when a spouse dies, men are much more likely to become depressed than women.) In fact, the opposite is true. Women in relationships are more susceptible to psychological distress than men. A study of junior high students showed that young women in dating relationships were more likely to have symptoms of depression, poorer self-esteem, and declining grades in school than their peers who did not date. For the young men, there was no correlation between dating and depression.

From early adolescence, women become more susceptible to psychological and emotional distress. There is no evidence that this is due to puberty's biological or hormonal changes. Rather, there is considerable evidence that women feel pressured to fit into traditional, passive, feminine sex-roles. They know they often are valued for the beauty of their bodies and not their intellect. They recognize the discrimination in workplaces and reconcile themselves to lower status jobs and less pay than their male peers. It's understandable why many experience emotional distress.

Educational and Occupational Opportunities

The picture appears more encouraging in educational and occupational opportunities. Women's options are increasing (see statistics below).

• the number of women graduates of medical and professional schools rose from 3.5 percent to 32 percent.
• Ph.D. degrees earned by women rose from 11 percent to 37 percent.

In 1990, women represented 55 percent of the college students in the United States.

The number of women in the workforce also continues to rise and now equals the number of men. However, the number of women in positions of status still falls short. Women in higher education are more likely to be in adjunct or assistant faculty positions. Half of males-but only 25 percent of females-are full professors. Women in executive positions are far less than half.

As stated earlier, most women still earn only 72 cents for every $1.00 a man earns in the same job. Some argue that this is because women haven't been in the work force long enough to earn seniority. But women have been earning 60-72 cents on the dollar for more than thirty years. More likely, women are given different titles that merit lower pay (maid vs. custodian). Once women predominate a field, the status and pay associated with that field go down. All stereotypically female occupations such as teachers (vs. college professors), nurses (vs. physicians), and hostesses (vs. maitres d') have lower status than their predominantly male counterparts.

Even when educational requirements and job skills are equal, women still tend to earn less. One study looked at 123 people who earned their MBA degree from Stanford. Three years after graduation, the women earned an average of $4,000 less than their male counterparts with the same degree, same years of experience, and same likelihood of having families. Furthermore, the males had higher status titles such as "executive." The good news is that there are some fields in which the salary gap between men and women is closing. The difference is smallest in college and university administration, engineering, and library science.

Some theories on sex difference in depression and other psychological disorders say women's traditional choices place them at greater risk for distress. Women who work at home may feel their sense of identity and accomplishment is limited to the "success" of their family and home. When they suffer marital or family discord, they have few other sources of esteem to fall back on. This makes them more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.

Homemakers also often suffer from exhaustion. The average homemaker/mother clocks about 90 hours per week in housework and child care. The average working husband/father clocks 60 hours per week in housework, child care, and paid employment combined. Women who feel their husbands undervalue and don't appreciate their work are more likely to be depressed. Men, who gain satisfaction and esteem from their job, have less distress when marital or family discord arises. When men retire, however, their rates of susceptibility to depression rise to equal women's because they lost the other sources of positive feedback and satisfaction their job provided.

Women who work outside the home are not immune to the effects of stress and depression, however. Employed mothers do two to three times more housework and child care than employed fathers. Those who feel the division of labor is not equal are more likely to suffer from depression or anxiety. In cultures that place the same value on women's work and men's work (such as in the Old Order Amish communities of Pennsylvania), the rates of depression among men and women are equal.

Aggression Against Women

Sexual harassment is another source of concern for working women. In a study of federal employees, 42 percent of women reported being sexually harassed at work in a two-year period. Additionally, women are likely to be victims of physical and emotional violence by the men in their lives. The statistics are shocking and sobering. In one study, 20 percent of women interviewed had been punched, hit, or slapped by a male relative, friend, or acquaintance. Each year, more than 90,000 women report rape or attempted rape. In a random telephone survey of women in South Carolina, 44 percent said they had been sexually assaulted at least once in their lives. Over 22 percent had been the victim of more than one attack. Overall, a woman has a 46 percent chance of being the victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime. This kind of trauma has long-lasting negative psychological and emotional effects.

There is a direct relationship between people who are victims of assault developing other problems.

We Are What We Learn to Be

As Sanford and Donovan point out in Women and Self-Esteem, we learn about ourselves by the way others treat us and what they tell us about ourselves. If a child is consistently rewarded for a behavior, the chances of showing that behavior again increase.

From the time they're toddlers and even infants, males are reinforced for assertiveness, emotional control, and autonomy. Females are reinforced for being quiet, sensitive to males' emotions, and nurturing. Society tells females they must be thin, pretty, and young to attract males' attention. Think of role models like Barbie, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. Many women go to great lengths-including starvation and surgery-to look thin and youthful.

A woman who is taught from childhood that she is of less value than males, for instance, easily may come to believe it and her lack of faith in her own value will predispose her to depression and passivity, which, in turn, will make it easier for others to keep her down-down being her 'proper place.' (p. xv Women and Self-Esteem).

For many women, this conditioning is so integral to their view of themselves, it's nearly impossible for them to even question its validity.

Challenging the Myths

When we consider the "women's issues" in psychology today, we must be careful not to focus solely on the individual woman and "her pathology." Women are not passive, dependent, and emotionally weak. Rather, when women face physical and emotional threats, when they have less earning power and live in relative poverty, when they don't have equal status positions of power in organizations, when they are physically devalued for not maintaining an impossible standard of beauty, the result often is psychological and emotional distress.

Women must understand themselves within the culture that teaches them about themselves. A critical aspect in healing and no longer feeling discouraged and helpless is challenging these destructive myths and assumptions. By learning to value female qualities and rejecting impossible standards, women discover strength and confidence in themselves.

In this Today, female professionals address several aspects of our culture that affect women's psychological and emotional well-being. We invite you to look closely at the pressures and societal messages that influence the environment in which women live. It is through examining what the world teaches women, challenging the myths, and speaking out for change, perhaps women-and men-can help direct change in our communities and empower women to better emotional and psychological health.