Until fairly recent times, very few women exhibited Type A behavior. In part, this was due to the fact that human females (like sub-human primate females) do not possess the aggressiveness, typical of males, that is generally associated with the male hormone testosterone. . . .until very recently, an aura of intractable hopelessness attended whatever insecurities women possessed. For every one woman who chose struggle as a means of relieving her insecurities, 99 others submissively and hopelessly accepted their lot. Type A behavior cannot flourish in the absence of struggle. Indeed, an attitude of hopelessness and Type A behavior are antithetical. Beginning in the 1970s, however, women have achieved an ever-increasing number of victories in their fight to attain parity with men in all phases of human activity. They have successfully entered the professions, commerce, and industry. . . . Under the circumstances, it is hardly surprising that many women would begin discarding their former shrouds of hopelessness in favor of a variety of struggles aimed at ridding themselves of their old insecurities and gaining new levels of self-esteem.
