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Fearing Fear: Gender and Economic Discourse

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  • Julie A. Nelson

Abstract

Economic Discourse - or the lack of it - about fear is gendered on at least three fronts. First, while masculine-associated notions of reason and mind have historically been prioritized in mainstream economics, fear - along with other emotions and embodiment - has tended to be culturally associated with femininity. Research on cognitive "gender schema", then, may at least partly explain the near absence of discussions of fear within economic research. Second, in the rare cases where fear is discussed in the contemporary economics literature, there is a tendency to (overly-)strongly associate it with women. Finally, historians and philosophers of science have suggested that the failure to consider the full range of human emotions and experience may be itself rooted in fear: a fear of the feminine. This aversion to discussing fear - especially fear as experienced by men - may contribute to serious problems, especially in regard to financial market instability and ecological threats.

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  • Julie A. Nelson, 2013. "Fearing Fear: Gender and Economic Discourse," Working Papers 2013_04, University of Massachusetts Boston, Economics Department.
    • Handle: RePEc:mab:wpaper:2013_04
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    1. Catherine C. Eckel & Philip J. Grossman, 2002. "Sex Differences and Statistical Stereotyping in Attitudes Toward Financial Risk," Monash Economics Working Papers archive-03, Monash University, Department of Economics.
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    7. Julie A. Nelson, 2014. "The power of stereotyping and confirmation bias to overwhelm accurate assessment: the case of economics, gender, and risk aversion," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 211-231, September.
    8. repec:cup:judgdm:v:5:y:2010:i:3:p:159-163 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Nelson, Julie A., 2012. "Is Dismissing the Precautionary Principle the Manly Thing to Do? Gender and the Economics of Climate Change," Working Papers 179102, Tufts University, Global Development and Environment Institute.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mario Cedrini & Marco Novarese, 2015. "The challenge of fear to economics," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 14(1), pages 99-106, June.

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    Keywords

    cognitive schema; fear; gender; risk aversion; stereotypes;
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