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Women as a Social Problem

Conceptual and Practical Issues in Defining Social Problems

  • Chapter
Redefining Social Problems

Part of the book series: Perspectives in Social Psychology ((PSPS))

Abstract

In recent years women have become increasingly visible in social issues recognized by our society. These years have seen the successive parade of the issues of sex roles, woman battering, rape, employment discrimination, sexual harassment, incest, pornography, the aged, and homeless (“shopping bag”) women, followed by a succession of attempted remedies. As social scientists, we may wonder why these particular issues have been targeted for action as social problems; how particular responses to them are carried out; and why the intended solutions may not be lasting. In this chapter I wish to examine the definition and redefinition of social issues, with special attention to women’s relation to them, and to women as social problems themselves. (In this discussion, although I may use the term social problems more often than social issues, I will use the terms almost interchangeably.1)

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, 90024, USA

    Nancy M. Henley

Authors
  1. Nancy M. Henley
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Bank Street College of Education, New York, New York, USA

    Edward Seidman

  2. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA

    Edward Seidman  & Julian Rappaport  & 

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© 1986 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Henley, N.M. (1986). Women as a Social Problem. In: Seidman, E., Rappaport, J. (eds) Redefining Social Problems. Perspectives in Social Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2236-6_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2236-6_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-2238-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-2236-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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