Page 204 - Cultures and Organizations
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180 DIMENSIONS OF NATIONAL CULTURES
TABLE 5.6 Key Differences Between Feminine and Masculine Societies
V: Politics and Religion
FEMININE MASCULINE
Welfare society ideal; help for the Performance society ideal; support
needy for the strong
Permissive society Corrective society
Immigrants should integrate. Immigrants should assimilate.
Government aid for poor countries Poor countries should help
themselves.
The environment should be preserved: The economy should continue
small is beautiful. growing: big is beautiful.
International confl icts should International confl icts should be
be resolved by negotiation and resolved by a show of strength or by
compromise. fi ghting.
More voters place themselves left of More voters place themselves in the
center. political center.
Politics are based on coalitions with The political game is adversarial, with
polite political manners. frequent mudslinging.
Many women are in elected political Few women are in elected political
positions. positions.
Tender religions Tough religions
In Christianity, more secularization; In Christianity, less secularization:
stress on loving one’s neighbor stress on believing in God
Dominant religions give equal roles to Dominant religions stress the male
both sexes. prerogative.
Religions are positive or neutral about Religions approve sex for procreation
sexual pleasure. rather than recreation.
Origins of Masculinity-Femininity Differences
In human thinking the issue of the equality or inequality between the sexes
is as old as religion, ethics, and philosophy themselves. Genesis, the fi rst
book of the Judaeo-Christian Old Testament (which was codified in the
fi fth century b.c.), contains two confl icting versions of the creation of the
sexes. The first, Genesis 1:27–28, states: