Gender, Emotion, and the Family (PDF)

Do women express their feelings more than men? Popular stereotypes say they do, but in this provocative book, Leslie Brody breaks with conventional wisdom. Integrating a wealth of perspectives and research--biological, sociocultural, developmental--her work explores the nature and extent of gender differences in emotional expression, as well as the endlessly complex question of how such differences come about. Nurture, far more than nature, emerges here as the stronger force in fashioning gender differences in emotional expression. Brody shows that whether and how men and women express their feelings varies widely from situation to situation and from culture to culture, and depends on a number of particular characteristics including age, ethnicity, cultural background, power, and status. Especially pertinent is the organization of the family, in which boys and girls elicit and absorb different emotional strategies. Brody also examines the importance of gender roles, whether in the family, the peer group, or the culture at large, as men and women use various patterns of emotional expression to adapt to power and status imbalances. Lucid and level-headed, Gender, Emotion, and the Family offers an unusually rich and nuanced picture of the great range of male and female emotional styles, and the variety of the human character.Reviews of this book: Gender, Emotion, and the Family focuses on gender differences in the experience and expression of emotion...[Brody] has gathered an amazing amount of data from innumerable studies...[and gives] a balanced account of the effect of environmental variables on the development of emotion.--Lucy Horwitz, Boston Book ReviewReviews of this book: Finally, an accurate and well-balanced discussion of topics that are on everybody's mind. Brody integrates research on the socialization of violence in boys and of the caretaking role for girls. Both this book and actual scientific research strongly support the role of nurture rather than nature in gender socialization...[A] highly recommended book.--F. Smolucha, ChoiceReviews of this book: Drawing on a wealth of information, [Leslie Brody] illuminates the ways in which men and women, boys and girls, develop and express emotions in the context of the family...This in-depth research addresses many issues, from power in relationships to the physiological expression of emotion; evidence of contradictory findings is detailed. This is a valuable addition to the ever-changing frontiers of behavior research.--Margaret Cardwell, Library JournalReviews of this book: Beyond the main points about the complexities and contingencies of gender differences and their development, the book contains accounts of many, many fascinating studies and intriguing points of view. . . . Brody ultimately succeeds in articulating a comprehensive, thoughtful, and intellectually rigorous review of the research literature on gender differences in emotional expression, from a feminist empiricist perspective. This is an important book to own . . . . a valuable reference for researchers and professionals.--Contemporary PsychologyBrody has formidable mastery of this burgeoning field. Gender, Emotion, and the Family offers new theoretical insights for lay readers and fellow scholars alike. Highly readable, responsible, and original, this will be the major work on the socialization of emotion for a long time to come.--Judith A. Hall, Northeastern UniversityA beautifully written text that integrates theory and research in a sophisticated yet highly readable way. Brody examines the development of emotional experience and expression in the family and the intimate connections between emotion, familial relationships, and gender. Brody's tremendous breadth of scholarship shows in every chapter, and her thoughtful, comprehensive, and insightful responses to the complex questions in the field are a must read for students and scholars alike.--Amy G. Halberstadt, North Carolina State UniversityLeslie Brody provides a careful evaluation of the research data on precisely what the gender differences are--and are not--in emotional experience and expression, but that is only the first strength of her book. With an original and complex transactional theory, she shows how physiological, relational and cultural factors interact in creating gender differences in emotion, and reminds us how peculiar it is to try--as psychologists have!-- to make much of any single factor. Gender, Emotion, and the Family outlines a compelling research agenda that will move the next generation of empirical studies to a new and much more exciting level.--Abigail Stewart, Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies, University of MichiganAn invaluable resource for researchers on all aspects of the psychology and sociology of gender, Gender, Emotion, and the Family comprehensively synthesizes and re-analyzes the enormous research literature on supposed gender differences in emotional expression. Leslie Brody offers a clear and compelling critique of the widespread belief that males and females have essentially different emotional styles. Arguing that apparent gender differences in emotion are closely related to gender differences in dominance and power, Brody illuminates the great diversity of experience and behavior found among members of the same sex, and reminds us of the powerful role played by stereotypes in dictating emotions that men and women should display, and the pressures they feel to conform to those stereotypes.--Elizabeth Aries, Amherst CollegeBrody has formidable mastery of this burgeoning field. Gender, Emotion, and the Family offers new theoretical insights for lay readers and fellow scholars alike. Highly readable, responsible, and original, this will be the major work on the socialization of emotion for a long time to come.--Judith A. Hall, Northeastern UniversityLeslie Brody provides a careful evaluation of the research data on precisely what the gender differences are--and are not--in emotional experience and expression, but that is only the first strength of her book. With an original and complex transactional theory, she shows how physiological, relational and cultural factors interact in creating gender differences in emotion, and reminds us how peculiar it is to try--as psychologists have!-- to make much of any single factor. Gender, Emotion, and the Family outlines a compelling research agenda that will move the next generation of empirical studies to a new and much more exciting level.--Abigail Stewart, University of Michigan