Speaking from the Heart: Gender and the Social Meaning of Emotion (Studies in Emotion and Social Interaction) [Hardcover]

Stephanie A. Shields (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 22, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0521802970 | ISBN-13: 978-0521802970

Who is called "emotional"? And what does it mean? How do we know that a person is "speaking from the heart"? The prevailing stereotype is that she is emotional, while he is not. In Speaking From the Heart, Stephanie Shields uses examples from everyday life, contemporary culture and the latest research to illustrate how culturally shared beliefs about emotion are used to shape our identities as women and men and she exposes the historically shifting and tacit assumptions these beliefs are based on. Everything from nineteenth century ideals of womanhood, to baseball and the new man is considered in the context of how emotion effects our everyday lives. Shields argues that the question of anger is the fundamental paradox in the emotional female/unemotional male stereotype: the stereotype of emotionality is female, but the stereotype of anger, a prototypic emotion, is male. Why is it that anger, which is so often portrayed as childish (peevish, irritable, testy, sullen, cranky, touchy, irked), and the essence of the apparently uncontrollable, irrational character of emotion, is masculine? Is there a difference (either conceptually or behaviorally) between masculine anger and the anger of immature tantrums? Is anger, in fact, viewed as emotionality when displayed or experienced by adult men? Stephanie A. Shields is Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies at The Pennsylvania State University. She served as Director of Women's Studies at the University of California, Davis and more recently at Penn State. Her research and numerous articles address the intersection of the psychology of emotion, the psychology of gender and feminist psychology. This is her first book.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This fresh analysis...is important for anyone interested in gender or emotion, in the past or present."
--Susan J. Matt, Weber State University, Journal of Social History


"[A]n engaging, illuminating, and panoramic book. Speaking from the Heart is filled with provocative insights."
--American Journal of Sociology


"This is an extraordinarily well-written book....Excellent interdisciplinary scholarship, intelligent theoretical analyses, and lucid writing...make this book an important piece of scholarly work in the field of psychology and related disciplines."
--Sex Roles


"Shields presents a persuasive case for the dual social construction of gender and emotional expressivity. Regardless of one's theoretical perspective, this book is important and recommended for lower- and upper- division undergraduates, graduate sudents, and researchers interested in the study of emotion."
--Choice


"One doesn't often come upon this type of scholarly book. Stephanie Shields has succeeded in writing a book that is intellectually challenging, refreshing and inspiring...[A] fantastic book that I would like to recommend strongly to anyone interested in emotion, in gender, or both."
--Psychology of Women Quarterly

Book Description

In Speaking From the Heart Professor Shields uses examples from everyday life, contemporary culture and the latest research, to illustrate how culturally shared beliefs about emotion are used to shape our identities as women and men and exposes the historically shifting and tacit assumptions these beliefs are based on. This fascinating exploration of gender and emotion covers everything from nineteenth century ideals of womanhood, to baseball and the new man and is a must read for anyone interested in the way emotion effects our everyday lives.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 230 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (July 22, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521802970
• ISBN-13: 978-0521802970
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,539,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful review of a little examined topic, May 4, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Speaking from the Heart: Gender and the Social Meaning of Emotion (Studies in Emotion and Social Interaction) (Hardcover)

Women are overwhelmingly stereotyped to be the "emotional sex" while men are thought to be "emotionally repressed". Do these stereotypes have any truth to them, and how do they effect our everyday lives? Shields has a wonderful writing style that makes this book accessible despite being packed dense with empirical findings. It's must reading for anybody interested in how Western culture uses emotion to define what's male and what's female. Both men and women should find it eye-opening. Highly recommended!

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just a pretty cover....., August 13, 2008

By 

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This review is from: Speaking from the Heart: Gender and the Social Meaning of Emotion (Studies in Emotion and Social Interaction) (Hardcover)

If you have the desire to learn what the professionals know about the complex topic of emotions, then you will find this to be a valuable book. Stephanie Shields shows how our Western culture influences how we 'do' emotion to the extent that it qualifies what is appropriate or inappropriate behavior for boys/men or girls/women. Shields did incredible leg work to research numerous studies and does a great job of interrelating previously learned information with her own findings and beliefs. Because Shields goes to great length to explain the technical jargon associated with research and psychology, this book can be enjoyed by both professionals and general readers. Undoubtedly, you will gain information about gender and emotions within the context of the Western culture, but ultimately learn something about yourself in the process. I highly recommend this book--it's a "good read".