Low expectations for girls produce their own inferiority complex
Evidence
Inasmuch as the woman wants to be woman, her independent status produces an inferiority complex; inversely, her femininity leads her to doubt her professional opportunities. This is a most important point. A study showed that fourteen-year-old girls believed: “Boys are better; they find it easier to work.” The girl is convinced that she has limited capacities. Because parents and teachers accept that the girl’s level is lower than the boy’s, students readily accept it too; and in truth, in spite of the fact that the curricula are identical, girls’ intellectual growth in secondary schools is given less importance. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1938
Categorization
- XREF: Builds on the earlier chapters’ argument about woman internalizing her situation as Other — here applied to academic self-perception; connects to the social-construction theme throughout The Second Sex. — connects to: Forbidding girls spatial exploits instills a felt sense of inferiority — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 697; The girl’s humility produces her inferiority, not the reverse — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 834; Self-perceived inferiority in girls arises from destined subordination, not vice versa — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 842 (+6 more)
- SEED: Angle: how self-fulfilling ‘girls are weaker students’ beliefs operate identically in philosophy classrooms and math classes a century later — the mechanics Beauvoir describes are still testable.
Broader Connections
- Stereotyped groups unknowingly fulfill others’ negative expectations, locking in their subordination
#expands(0.82) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2944 - Perceived instability plus illegitimacy spurs subordinate groups to reject inferiority
#contradicts(0.80) - Attributing disadvantage to structural causes rather than personal character protects self-esteem.
#contradicts(0.75) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1070