Another sad loss this week: psychologist Sandra Bem, a pioneer in the empirical study of gender roles, passed away on Tuesday, May 20th. Here is the most complete obituary I could find so far, which details nicely her scientific contributions and the practical impact they had in gender policies. For example, it was largely based on her scientific work that the infamous practice of segregating classified job listings under "Male Help Wanted" and "Female Help Wanted" columns was finally abandoned, after a 1973 decision of the US Supreme Court ruling against the practice. (The case was against a particular press, but within a year all other newspapers in the country changed how their classified ads were listed.)
There are many other aspects of Sandra Bem’s life and work worth mentioning, but let me focus on two of them. As an undergraduate in 1965, she met Daryl Bem, then a young assistant professor, and a romantic relationship between them began. (Yes, there are successful stories too, apparently…) Initially, she did not want to get married, as this course of events seemed to preclude the professional path she had in mind for herself. But Daryl was not deterred, and so together they agreed on an arrangement that would allow her to flourish professionally, and which would basically consist in what is now known as equally shared parenting – an ideal that many couples aspire to, but which remains a challenge to implement (speaking from personal experience!). The ‘experiment’ was largely successful, and Sandra narrates all the ups and downs of raising two children (a boy and a girl) on this model in her 1998 book An Unconventional Family. (I’ve been meaning to read the book for years, and now may well be the time to stop procrastinating.)
The second aspect is how she died: suicide. She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s four years ago, and after various treatment which however did not sufficiently slow down the progression of the disease, she decided to put an end to her life while still being able to make the decision herself. She died peacefully surrounded by friends and family. (The story reminded me of a very moving film I saw many years ago, It’s my party.)
And while the work of pioneers such as Sandra and Daryl Bem did much to improve the situation of women both in the professional and the domestic sphere, this body of work remains topical precisely because we are still a long way from achieving a good balance, for both women and men. (Among other things, men suffer a great deal with the pressure to conform to ideals of masculinity, so breaking away from these gender stereotypes is in everybody’s advantage, ultimately. Gender issues are everybody's issues.)
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