Is there anything (studies, essays, w/e) to suggest that conservatism and liberalism are analogous to conventional gender roles?

That is only because the right still longs for the past days of absolute patriarchy and the left embraces gender equality.

I had a response all lined up but… as “left” as this site is it has come full circle.

Suffice it to say… that sounds accurate enough.

I know some ladies who are so far right they hardly ever use their left hands! Heh!

Seriously though, there is something to this question, but I don’t know of any studies to support it. Me, I just want everyone to have the maximum amount of freedom they can handle. : )

( It’s called Libertarianism. )

Interesting idea….but it really comes down to what you consider masculine and feminine. I don’t really think the characteristics of men and women are so distinct that they could be aligned with particular politics or philosophies. Upbringing and environment has way more to do with the sorts of roles people inhabit than their gender does.

@fundevogel I did specify conventional gender roles.

I think that’s a case of seeing what you want to see, @Nullo. Women weren’t even allowed to vote until recently. How do you explain liberal politicians and policies before that point?

@dappled_leaves I know better than that, having met so many conservative women and liberal men as I have. I am not referring to gender in politics, but rather am comparing archetypes to political philosophies.

@Nullo So, how would you illustrate that point if this was the eighteenth century? Or do you just think that liberal men are “womanly”, whatever that might mean to you?

It suddenly strikes me that perhaps that’s exactly what you’re getting at.

@Nullo What I mean is (and maybe it doesn’t matter to you) is it meaningful to apply qualities like “masculine” and “feminine” to politics if the qualities of masculinity and femininity are imposed on gender by culture rather than a natural characteristic of gender.

Additionally, when you say “conventional gender roles” I’m not 100% sure I know what you mean. I’m guessing that part of it involves associating aggressiveness with men and caregiving with women, but I could be wrong. I could be really wrong. Because I’m not sure of what you understand being conventionally masculine or feminine to be I can’t really evaluate how those traits relate to liberalism and conservatism.

Would “paternal” and “maternal” work better?
One of the criticisms of the Left is that it desires a “nanny state,” an argument that is accompanied with other maternal imagery. I suspect that this is an exaggeration, rather than an outright fabrication. Being the contrast, then, might the conservative Right be more paternal, or the more generic “masculine”?

@dappled_leaves It’s not. You misjudge me. Or pre-judge me.

Can y’all see yet why I was asking for more sources?

[mod says] It seems as if no one is answering the actual question, which is asking for studies and/or literature, and not our opinions. Please get back on track. Thanks!

@Nullo: “Is there anything (studies, essays, w/e) to suggest that conservatism and liberalism are analogous to conventional gender roles?”

I’m not sure what kind of study could possibly have any connection to this question, as it appears to be a question of cultural identification. The neuroscience of left/right liberal/conservative is pretty early and thin right now, and mostly focuses on brain structures.

Your question is interesting, however, because here in the US, there are many that make the liberal = feminine conservative = masculine connection. However, I’m not sure this fabricated connection between loose labels (liberal/conservative) and questionable and fluid social constructs (feminine/masculine) provides us with anything useful. In fact, in my experience, it seems to be a tool for persuading people to adopt a political or moral position by using cultural ideas of gender roles. In other words, it doesn’t provide clarity. Such a claim appears to be merely a way to wrap logical fallacy in gender roles.

Additionally,

@Nullo: “One of the criticisms of the Left is that it desires a “nanny state,” an argument that is accompanied with other maternal imagery. I suspect that this is an exaggeration, rather than an outright fabrication. Being the contrast, then, might the conservative Right be more paternal, or the more generic “masculine”?”

So, if the “right” uses “feminine” imagery in an attempt to discredit their opponents, doesn’t this answer your question. It isn’t that there is something inherently “feminine” about a political position. Political opponents of that position are attempting to exploit existing cultural sexism and tap into fear of the “feminine” to persuade.

Studies have indicated that testosterone levels are connected to status sensitivity. Testosterone makes the individual more concerned about advancing his standing in the group.

You could argue that we see more of this kind of thinking among conservatives than among liberals. Conservatives seem more concerned about American dominance. They’re definitely more concerned about the prime marker of status in our culture—money—and are more comfortable equating wealth with status. They tend to relate to a “winners and losers” view of society, where those with merit (however they define that) rightfully gain ascendency over the less meritorious (who have no business complaining).

Liberals (despite the efforts of conservatives to portray them as “elitists”) tend to think more in egalitarian terms. The interests of society are best served by making sure that all of its members have a decent life. Individuals who are particularly concerned with advancing their own interests while ignoring the needs of others are viewed unfavorably. Money is much less relevant in this view, because it is seen more as a utilitarian commodity than as an indicator of status. It’s a cooperative model instead of a competitive one. It requires less concern with status.

@thorninmud Now you just have to show that males with low testosterone are more female than males with high testosterone…

@dappled_leaves Yeah, can o’ worms there. Makes you realize how crude our whole male-female dichotomy is.

Exactly.

I hope this isn’t too much of a digression for General, but I find it interesting how liberals seem to more easily embrace the notion of compassion as a political principle. When conservatives tried to adopt the term “compassionate” back in the Bush II era (pre 9/11), it was met with a lot of eye-rolling, as I recall, and never really stuck.

This makes me think of a powerful symbol in Mahayana Buddhism. There is an iconic figure who represents the embodiment of compassion, which is seen as the highest human quality. In the earliest days, this figure was represented as being male. But later, it became more often represented in female form. Eventually, many representations kind of split the difference, so that compassion was seen as a figure of very ambiguous gender.

The right is more traditional, the left is more progressive.

Traditional values are patriarchal, or what you call “masculine” ... because they were written and controlled by men. Progressive values, less so.

Right wing means more centralized power while left wing means more evenly divided power amongst the people. The terms right and left wing formulated out of the French Monarchy several centuries ago. Left doesn’t mean liberal and there are several examples of conservative leftism/progressivism such as Marxism, Christian Socialism, Communitarianism, etc just to name a few.

While these ideologies were considered to be leftist they are definitely not liberal. Also while certain leftist ideologies do encourage gender equality, when you take a closer look at some of these ‘leftist’ nations there are some strong gender roles that were/are still kept intact; the old USSR is a good example of this. Gender roles are still considered very important in these countries and many women from Eastern blockade nations are still very conservative or traditional, meaning that the women there still hold to being a wife, mother, family and submissivness to their husbands/men in high regards.

I think that true liberalism (not leftism) supports gender equality, which I don’t see as being either a feminine or masculine concept.

@Qingu But as @thorninmud did, you are putting both concepts on a scale of “masculinity”. Or are you saying that being progressive is a feminine trait?

@dappled_leaves, I don’t think there are inherently/objectively “feminine” and “masculine” traits, but if we throw in the qualifier “traditional” than I suppose you could argue that progressivism’s emphasis on equality and nonviolence skews traditional feminine (women leave the fighting and dominance heirarchies to men, in this fantasy version of gender roles).