SEX-ROLE PRESSURES AND THE SOCIALIZATION OF THE MALE CHILD

In 1974, Rekers and Lovaas published an article in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) entitled “Behavioral Treatment of Deviant Sex-Role Behaviors in a Male Child,” wherein the authors coached a gender-non-conforming child’s parents to ignore and physically abuse that child when he engaged in gender-non-conforming behaviors. In October 2020, the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (SEAB) and JABA’s editor-in-chief Dr. Linda LeBlanc published a Statement of Concern regarding Rekers and Lovaas (1974), which described some concerns regarding the paper and then provided justification for the journal’s decision to not retract this paper. In this current response, I describe criticisms of JABA’s rationale for not retracting this paper. I note that the criteria used to determine retraction by SEAB and LeBlanc (2020) were not applied in the manner suggested by official retraction guidelines. I describe contemporaneous criticisms of the Rekers and Lovaas (1974) paper (i.e., Winkler ,1977; Nordyke et al., 1977) which were written by a set of authors that included Donald Baer, one of the foundational figures in applied behavior analysis (ABA). I describe the active discussion within the psychological sciences at the time of publication to depathologize homosexuality. I criticize the 2020 Statement of Concern’s focus on damage to the field of ABA as opposed to the harm done to Kirk, and question errors of commission and omission made by SEAB and LeBlanc in the 2020 Statement of Concern. I end with an argument that Rekers and Lovaas (1974) should be retracted from JABA.

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Geschlechtsspezifische Ideale im Wandel der Zeit

Zeitschrift für Differentielle und Diagnostische Psychologie ◽

10.1024/0170-1789.25.3.165 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 165-176 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Karl Ralf Swazina ◽

Karin Waldherr ◽

Kathrin Maier

Keyword(s):

Sex Role ◽

Bem Sex Role Inventory

Zusammenfassung: Ausgehend von vorhandenen Hypothesen einer zeitlichen Veränderung der Sozialen Erwünschtheit der femininen und maskulinen Eigenschaften des Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974 ; Schneider-Düker, 1978 ) für Frauen und Männer wurden im Zuge einer ersten Datenerhebung insgesamt 90 Eigenschaften von 42 Studierenden der Universität Wien eingestuft. Für acht feminine und fünf maskuline Eigenschaften des BSRI wurde eine Abweichung zwischen den neu erhobenen Werten und jenen von 1978 festgestellt. Zusätzlich ergaben sich aus diesem und einem zweiten Datensatz für einige weitere Eigenschaften Hinweise eines zeitlichen Wandels der Sozialen Erwünschtheit. Diese wurden im Zuge einer zusätzlichen Datenerhebung überprüft, wobei jene 90 Eigenschaften nun von 314 StudentInnen eingestuft wurden. Die Ergebnisse der ersten Erhebung konnten bestätigt sowie für weitere sieben maskuline und vier feminine Eigenschaften ein Anstieg der Sozialen Erwünschtheit für das jeweils andere Geschlecht festgestellt werden. Die erfassten Unterschiede zu früheren Normen werden im Sinne einer veränderten Auffassung über weibliche und männliche Ideale in unserer Gesellschaft interpretiert.

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The Relationship of Digit Ratio (2D:4D) and Gender-Role Orientation in Four National Samples

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001.28.2.78 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 78-87 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Stefan J. Troche ◽

Nina Weber ◽

Karina Hennigs ◽

Carl-René Andresen ◽

Thomas H. Rammsayer

Keyword(s):

Gender Role ◽

Sex Role ◽

Role Orientation ◽

Sexually Dimorphic ◽

Gender Role Orientation ◽

Left Hand ◽

Fourth Finger ◽

And Gender ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship

Abstract. The ratio of second to fourth finger length (2D:4D ratio) is sexually dimorphic with women having higher 2D:4D ratio than men. Recent studies on the relationship between 2D:4D ratio and gender-role orientation yielded rather inconsistent results. The present study examines the moderating influence of nationality on the relationship between 2D:4D ratio and gender-role orientation, as assessed with the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, as a possible explanation for these inconsistencies. Participants were 176 female and 171 male university students from Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden ranging in age from 19 to 32 years. Left-hand 2D:4D ratio was significantly lower in men than in women across all nationalities. Right-hand 2D:4D ratio differed only between Swedish males and females indicating that nationality might effectively moderate the sexual dimorphism of 2D:4D ratio. In none of the examined nationalities was a reliable relationship between 2D:4D ratio and gender-role orientation obtained. Thus, the assumption of nationality-related between-population differences does not seem to account for the inconsistent results on the relationship between 2D:4D ratio and gender-role orientation.

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