Sandra Bem, an American psychologist, is best known for her controversial work on gender schemas and the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, for which she won many awards. Her work was central in challenging fixed notions of gender roles and differences, and the damaging consequences of gender stereotypes. For Bem the personal was most definitely political, her beliefs reflected in the way she lived her life. She entered into an explicitly ‘egalitarian marriage’, a revolutionary stance at the time, & raised her children to defy traditional gender roles (documented brilliantly in her autobiography An Unconventional Family). She took her own life in 2014, 4 years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
further reading
Bem, S. L. (1981). Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex typing. Psychological review, 88(4), 354-364.
Bem, S. L. (1998). An unconventional family. Yale: Yale University Press.
additional links
this is an interesting post, when do you write like this again?
I am so interested to learn more about Sandra Bem. I was her student twice, once taking “Lenses of Gender” as a freshman at Cornell, and another time taking a senior level class ( about 9 students) examining sex roles with a critical eye. I was having a difficult time at Cornell and she graciously invited me into her home to discuss my difficulty in her class and my recent poor performance on a test. She really cared. I’ll never forget her genuine support and compassion. She was ahead of her time and was a major influence on my world view. Thank you, Dr. Bem!