|
Functional periodicity is a term that emerged around the late 19th century around the belief, later to be found invalid, that women suffered from physical and mental impairment during their menstrual cycle. Men held a higher status and were regarded as superior to women at this period in time. Many prominent male psychologists promoted the idea of functional periodicity. Women were not seen as being fit for certain types of work, responsibilities, and roles because of this idea.〔Stetter-Hollingworth, L. (1914). Functional periodicity: An experimental study of the mental and motor abilities of women during menstruation. ''Contributions to Education,'' 69.〕 The idea of functional periodicity stems from ancient taboos and rituals that were passed on from generation to generation. It then developed into an actual theory in the twentieth century.〔 Functional periodicity was investigated by a female psychologist named Leta Hollingworth. She made key contributions in the research of functional periodicity, as well as in the feminist movement at the time. Hollingworth, along with her husband Harry Hollingworth, established exceptional research on the idea of functional periodicity and created research studies investigating the science of motor/learning tasks involving the human body.〔Fancher, R., & Rutherford, A. (2012). ''Pioneers of psychology. ''(4th ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.〕 Her research impacted how society viewed women, despite the patriarchal opinions held by many. == Background and history == Functional periodicity was the idea of women being functionally impaired during their menstruation cycle. The untested hypothesis of the time was supported by men, because at this time they dominated society, and this idea helped to keep women in a subordinate position. Women were viewed as not qualified for certain types of work, achievements, and certain responsibilities. The belief also reinforced the stereotype of women being fragile in physical and emotional well-being.〔 Multiple studies were performed to look at mental and physical (motor) abilities during menstruation. Many men concluded that women were not fit for certain work and responsibilities. For example, in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, there was debate about whether or not women should participate in higher education. Many argued that women should not go on to pursue higher education because of the dangers that may be involved relating to physiological circumstances.〔 An example of reasoning using functional periodicity is a quote by Henry Maudsley in 1874. He further states: ‘"This is a matter of physiology, not a matter of sentiment… not a question of two bodies and minds that are in equal physical condition, but if one body and mind capable of sustained and regular hard labor, and of another body and mind which for one quarter of each month, during the best years of life, is more or less sick and unfit for hard work."〔 This quote exemplifies the sexist beliefs expressed during this time period. Because of these opinions and beliefs, the idea of functional periodicity became more relevant in American society. The idea of functional periodicity stems from past cultural superstitions. In the past, menstruation has been thought of as superstitious and taboo.〔 An example of this line of thought comes from the British Medical Journal, which discusses the question of whether or not a menstruating woman can contaminate or damage food by touching it. Many individuals believed in this superstition and reinforced it.〔 Leta Hollingworth was born on the Nebraska frontier in 1886. When she was an adolescent, her mother died, which lead to rough household conditions within the family.〔 Despite the difficulties, she did exceptionally well in school. This drove her to pursue her education further, which resulted in her graduating from University of Nebraska. While studying there, she met Harry Hollingworth and married him soon after.〔 She began teaching while her husband enrolled in a doctoral program at Columbia University, but because she was married she could no longer teach in the state of New York. At the time, this was against the law.〔 This barrier fueled Hollingworth's feminist activism. When she finally got the opportunity to enroll in the psychology program at Columbia University under Edward Thorndike, she took it. At the end of the program, she decided to study functional periodicity for her dissertation research.〔 Hollingworth wanted to investigate the idea of functional periodicity and its assumptions about women.〔 She started by designing two separate studies. The first study that was designed tested men and women on a series of mental and motor tasks while the second study monitored only females over a 30 day period. Her results showed there was no significant difference in physical and emotional tasks when a woman is menstruating and when she is not.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Functional periodicity」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|