Michigan State University Extension
Diversity and Pluralism - 20293042
12/95/
ERIC TITLE NUMBER: ED201930 AUTHOR: Yoder, Janice D.; And Others
TITLE: The Price of a Token.
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1980
NOTE: 19 p.; Paper presented at the Annual Convention of
the American Psychological Association (88th, Montreal,
Quebec, Canada, September 1-5, 1980). Best copy available.
ABSTRACT: As women enter nontraditional occupations and
training programs, tokenism may develop and its
side-effects of visibility, contrast, and assimilation may
appear. Each of these effects was encountered by the first
class of women cadets at the United States Military
Academy, West Point, in 1976, who received great visibility
from the news media.
This visibility led to fears and resentment in dominant
male cadets and placed performance pressures on the token
women. Cadets' concerns about dating best reflected the
effects of contrast; the social interaction of men and
women created uncertainties for the men and isolation for
the women. The stereotype of women's physical subordination
encouraged men to simultaneously protect women, yet fear
preferential treatment and a lowering of Academy standards.
The protection of female cadets most clearly demonstrated
the assimilation of individual cadets into the
stereotypical helpless role of women. An investigation of
the men and women who entered West Point from 1976 to 1980
showed that increased numbers of women, institutional
supports, changes in the dominant group, and cohesivess
among tokens reduced the problems initially experienced by
the token women. (Author/NRB)
KEY DESCRIPTORS: Attitude-Change; Equal-Education;
Females-; Higher-Education; Interpersonal-Relationship;
Sex-Fairness
KEY DESCRIPTORS: *Affirmative-Action; *Competition-;
*Military-Schools; *Role-Perception; *Sex-Stereotypes;
*Tokenism-
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