Sex Roles : Origins , Influences , and Implications for Women

It was with initial reluctance that I agreed to review what I feared would be "one more" sex-role book with its compilation of well-designed, statistically sound, carefully analyzed empirical studies . . . that leave me untouched, uninterested, and unsatisfied. I had but to read the introduction to know that this book was d i f fe ren t and exceptional. Not only did the introduction summarize clearly and interestingly the studies contained in this slim volume, but it linked them together for the reader, commented on the relevance of the findings to the body of knowledge already available, and then thoughtfully reflected on the implications of the issues raised. Then followed a chapter by Sandra Pyke, entitled "Androgyny: A Dead End or a Promise," which was the invited address at the 1978 Proceedings of the Canadian Inaugural Institute on Women. This refreshingly creative piece concluded that "the androgyny construct, while allowing greater latitude for individual expression in certain directions, still perpetuated the femininity/masculinity duality" and is, therefore, a dead end. Pyke takes the stand that the final epoch in sex-role evolution is sex-role transcendence. This position excites me. For the first time in four years I experienced intimacy with an author and her position on sex-role evolution. As I perceive it, transcendence is the key word, key image, and key process for a psychologically liberated discipline. The contributors to this volume also succeeded in transcending the restrictions of rigidity and coldness usually characteristic of empirical studies and scientific objectivity. Most of the discussions on the findings made a move away from literal translations of specific data, and included a broader vision of the whole. This is a positive sign, since psychology is not "literal," and accounts of its "feelings" component must include imagery and symbolism to capture its essence. If psychological writings are to transcend anything, they must first transcend the limitations of "objective empirical recounting." This book is a step in that direction on both levels.