Fromm read gender roles as socially and economically determined, not essential

Evidence

Fromm also praised Briffault’s sensitivity to social factors. Masculinity and femininity were not reflections of “essential” sexual differences, as the romantics had thought. They were derived instead from differences in life functions, which were in part socially determined. Thus, monogamy was economically fostered by the tending of herds, which necessitated movement and the hegemony of the male shepherd. Briffault, Fromm concluded, had gone beyond mere ethnological concerns to enter the tradition of historical materialism itself, as evidenced by his article in the Zeitschrift on the importance of economic factors for the development of the family. — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 336

Categorization

• XREF: Shows the historical-materialist turn Fromm brought into the Institute, distinct from both romantic matriarchalism and orthodox Freudianism; relevant to critical theory’s gender analysis. — connects to: Occupational roles rather than sex drive gender stereotypes — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2919; Gender is a social power structure rather than a genetic trait.; Observed male-female differences reflect social situation, not fixed essence — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 608 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Womanhood is socially constructed, not biologically destined #corroborates (0.95) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 676
• Observed male-female differences reflect social situation, not fixed essence #corroborates (0.93) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 608
• Occupational roles rather than sex drive gender stereotypes #corroborates (0.88) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2919
• Femininity is a negative imprint of masculine domination, not a natural essence #corroborates (0.85) — Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia, 110
• Gender is a social power structure rather than a genetic trait. #corroborates (0.82)
• The source of gendered conflict is situational dependence, not personal perversity #corroborates (0.78) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1974
• Economic emancipation alone does not place women in a situation identical to men’s #qualifies (0.72) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1920