Talk Aims to Bridge the Gender Divide

Helen Sterk, professor of communication arts at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., will discuss “Gender Partnership: A Care Theory Perspective” Wednesday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge inside Westmont’s Kerrwood Hall. The Erasmus Society lecture is free and open to the public.

Sterk, who earned a doctorate in rhetorical studies from the University of Iowa, says we seem to have entered a post-feminist era, or even a feminized era. “Women outnumber men in colleges and universities, in law schools, the church pews and many careers,” she says. “However, a significant wage gap remains; few women sit in seats of American government; men far outnumber women in business leadership.”

On average, Sterk says that women still spend far more time and energy with family care than men. “Popular culture images polarize femininity and masculinity,” she says.

Sterk’s talk will examine ways that these situations may change for the better, leading to equity in gender relations. “Care theory offers intriguing possibilities for transforming gender hierarchy into gender coordination,” she says. “When you balance what is good for oneself with what is good for others, your decision-making, family life, education, government and work life all improve.”

Sterk co-authored a book, “Gender, Culture, and Physicality: Paradoxes and Taboos” (Lexington Press, 2009).