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Shyness in women and children has traditionally been seen as endearing and ‘cute’ (Scott 2004a)<ref>.Scott, S. (2004a) The shell, the stranger and the competent other: towards a sociology of shyness, Sociology, 38, 1, 121–37.</ref>, and men are given more social stigma as being shy. Media representations of shy male characters focus on the barriers this poses to success at work and in personal relationships (Scott 2003),<ref>Scott, S. (2003) Towards a Sociology of Shyness. PhD thesis. School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University.</ref> where the shyness in romantic situations (Gilmartin 1987)<ref>Gilmartin, B.G. (1987) Shyness and Love: Causes, Consequences and Treatment. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.</ref> implies a tragic, “failure”, to assert one’s masculinity. Shyness is shown as a ‘feminine’ trait in the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem 1974)<ref>Bem, S.L. (1974) The measurement of psychological androgyny, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 152–62.</ref>, alongside moodiness, gullibility, soft-spokenness, compassion and unpredictability. Being, “mentally healthy”, typically implies masculine instead of feminine traits (Broverman et al. 1970)<ref>Broverman, I.K., Broverman, D.M., Clarkson, F.E. Rosencrantz, P.S. and Vogel, S.R. (1970). Sex-role stereotypes and clinical judgements of mental health, Journal of Counselling and Clinical Psychology, 34, 1, 1–7.</ref>. Therefore, shyness being a feminine trait would explain why shyness has been seen as an undesirable attribute, particularly in men. Besides mainstream culture, the relatively underground network of men’s websites acknowledge this phenomena as well, just more to-the-point: | Shyness in women and children has traditionally been seen as endearing and ‘cute’ (Scott 2004a)<ref>.Scott, S. (2004a) The shell, the stranger and the competent other: towards a sociology of shyness, Sociology, 38, 1, 121–37.</ref>, and men are given more social stigma as being shy. Media representations of shy male characters focus on the barriers this poses to success at work and in personal relationships (Scott 2003),<ref>Scott, S. (2003) Towards a Sociology of Shyness. PhD thesis. School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University.</ref> where the shyness in romantic situations (Gilmartin 1987)<ref>Gilmartin, B.G. (1987) Shyness and Love: Causes, Consequences and Treatment. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.</ref> implies a tragic, “failure”, to assert one’s masculinity. Shyness is shown as a ‘feminine’ trait in the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem 1974)<ref>Bem, S.L. (1974) The measurement of psychological androgyny, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 152–62.</ref>, alongside moodiness, gullibility, soft-spokenness, compassion and unpredictability. Being, “mentally healthy”, typically implies masculine instead of feminine traits (Broverman et al. 1970)<ref>Broverman, I.K., Broverman, D.M., Clarkson, F.E. Rosencrantz, P.S. and Vogel, S.R. (1970). Sex-role stereotypes and clinical judgements of mental health, Journal of Counselling and Clinical Psychology, 34, 1, 1–7.</ref>. Therefore, shyness being a feminine trait would explain why shyness has been seen as an undesirable attribute, particularly in men. Besides mainstream culture, the relatively underground network of men’s websites acknowledge this phenomena as well, just more to-the-point: | ||
==Shyness as desirable in China but not in Canada== | ==Shyness as desirable in China but not in Canada/US== | ||
Shyness and sensitivity has been found in a study to be a highly desired trait among Shanghai schoolchildren.(Chen, Rubin and Sun 1992)<ref>https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1992.tb01698.x</ref> "Shy" and "senstive" children were found to be the most sought-out as friends (aka not ostracized). In contrast, the researchers found the opposite in a Canadian setting, with the non-shy being the most sought-after as friends. This is similar to a general stereotype that being shy can be a social asset outside certain Western countries, suggesting aversion to shyness is a cultural, rather than a biological trait. Shyness is also promoted as valuabe by adults. Shy, reticent, and quiet children are called "guai" in Mandarin, which means "good" or "wellbehaved." Also, children who are sensitive and reticent are said to be "dongshi" (understanding) in China, which is a commonly used term for praising a child there. | ===School peer acceptance=== | ||
Shyness and sensitivity has been found in a study to be a highly desired trait among Shanghai schoolchildren.(Chen, Rubin and Sun 1992)<ref>https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1992.tb01698.x</ref> "Shy" and "senstive" children were found to be the most sought-out as friends (aka not ostracized). In contrast, the researchers found the opposite in a Canadian setting, with the non-shy being the most sought-after as friends. This is similar to a general stereotype that being shy can be a social asset outside certain Western countries, suggesting aversion to shyness is a cultural, rather than a biological trait. | |||
===General acceptance==- | |||
Shyness is also promoted as valuabe by adults. Shy, reticent, and quiet children are called "guai" in Mandarin, which means "good" or "wellbehaved." Also, children who are sensitive and reticent are said to be "dongshi" (understanding) in China, which is a commonly used term for praising a child there. In contrast, in the United States, shyness is usually viewed as deviant and immature (Cheek & Buss, 1981; Rubin & Asendorpf, in press).<ref>https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1982-07755-001</ref> | |||
==Female stigmatization== | ==Female stigmatization== | ||