Page 183 - Cultures and Organizations

He, She, and (S)he 159

TABLE 5.3 Key Differences Between Feminine and Masculine Societies
II: Gender and Sex

FEMININE MASCULINE

Being responsible, decisive, Being responsible, decisive, and
ambitious, caring, and gentle is for ambitious is for men; being caring
women and men alike. and gentle is for women.
Girls don’t cheer for boys. Women’s ambition is channeled
toward men’s success.
Women’s liberation means that men Women’s liberation means that
and women take equal shares both at women are admitted to positions so
home and at work. far occupied by men.
Single standard: both sexes are Double standards: men are subjects,
subjects. women objects.
Same norms for showing male or Stronger taboo on showing male than
female nudity female nudity
Explicit discussion of sex, less Taboo on explicit discussion of sex,
implicit symbolism but implicit erotic symbolism
Sex is a way for two persons to relate. Performance for a man can be
exploitation for a woman.
Sexual harassment is a minor issue. Sexual harassment is a big issue.
Homosexuality is considered a fact Homosexuality is considered a threat
of life. to society.

agree that especially on the tough-tender dimension, ethnic groups within
the country vary considerably, with the Javanese taking an extreme posi-
tion toward the tender side. The Dutch consultant said that even some of
the other Indonesians were surprised by the Javanese’s feelings. A Batak

from the island of Sumatra said that he now understood why his Javanese
boss never praised him when he himself felt that praise should have been
due. In feminine cultures, teachers will rather praise weaker students, in
order to encourage them, than openly praise good students. Awards for
excellence—whether for students or for teachers—are not popular; in fact,
excellence is a masculine term. 30
For a number of years Geert taught U.S. students in a semester-long
program of European studies at a Dutch university. To some of the Ameri-
cans, he gave the assignment to interview Dutch students about their goals
in life. The Americans were struck by the fact that the Dutch seemed much