Friday, September 26, 2008

Self-Esteem at Duke

Recently at Duke University, a group of researchers led by Dr. Steven Asher initiated the Social Relationships Project. This project surveyed a random group of students (freshmen and students) in an attempt to learn more about Duke’s social constructs. One of their findings was a trend in self-esteem: Duke women appear to experience a drop in self-esteem as they progress from freshman to senior year, while Duke men report a higher self-esteem after four years. A linear “self-esteem vs. time spent at Duke” graph for men and women would appear to be an X; thus, the driving force behind this trend has been labeled “the X factor.” What exactly is the X factor? Several key words and phrases have been thrown around in an attempt to explain this trend- “effortless perfection” and “the hook-up culture” are among them.  Since there have already been several attempts to explain how these factors contribute to changes in self-esteem, I will focus on a more specific question: why do these supposedly major components of the campus culture affect Duke men and women differently?

            “Effortless perfection” is, in the words of the Women’s Initiative at Duke, “…the perceived expectation that Duke women should excel in everything. They felt they had to act as if doing so was easy and required no effort whatsoever.” Upon reading this, I wondered why Duke women seem to demonstrate a need to be effortlessly perfect more so than their male counterparts. I think that this phenomenon can be traced back to the fact that traits such as “hard-working” and “diligent” have been traditionally viewed as more masculine traits. This is evidenced by a comparison of gender roles in a traditional family: the husband who works hard all day so he can support his family financially, and the housewife who appears to fulfill all of her domestic duties with ease- think Ward and June Cleaver from the 1960s sitcom Leave it to Beaver. Although this division of labor between men and women is not nearly as clear-cut in modern American society, it is logical to assume that these old stereotypes have some effect how contemporary men and women view each other.

            Another factor that could contribute to the “X factor” is the purported “hook-up culture” at Duke. The Women’s Initiative defines this as “a culture of unpanned sexual encounters, usually fueled by alcohol.” Why might this culture decrease women’s self-esteems while boosting those of men? It seems that the answer to this question is rooted in the social norms of sexuality. Sexual purity is a trait that has always been much more valued in women than in men; as the number of sexual partners she has had increases, a woman’s value decreases. Conversely, a man who has slept with many women is considered impressive (by other men, at least.) If this hook-up culture really does exist at Duke, and if “success” means engaging in as many emotionally meaningless sexual encounters as possible, then the women who succeed are slapped with negative labels while the men who succeed are admired. Logistically, freshmen women are the (sexually) purest demographic, while senior men are the most experienced. Thus, it is easy to see why four years in the “hook-up” culture leads to a decrease in self-esteem for women and an increase for men.

            The hook-up culture and the concept of “effortless perfection” are only two of many things that may contribute to the self-esteem issues that some Duke women develop during their undergraduate years. However, both are unique because they seem to have the opposite effect on men. Thus, these factors deserve to be studied further- such an investigation may determine whether or not the “X factor” can be remedied.

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