  We investigate the stellar masses of strongly barred spiral galaxies. Our
analysis is based on a sample of ~14000 visually-classified nearby galaxies
given in Nair & Abraham 2010(a). The fraction of barred spiral galaxies is
found to be a strong function of stellar mass and star formation history, with
a minimum near the characteristic mass at which bimodality is seen in the
stellar populations of galaxies. We also find bar fractions are very sensitive
to the central concentration of galaxies below the transition mass but not
above it. This suggests that whatever process is causing the creation of the
red and blue sequences is either influencing, or being influenced by,
structural changes which manifest themselves in the absence of bars. As a
consequence of strong bar fractions being sensitive to the mass range probed,
our analysis helps resolve discrepant results on the reported evolution of bar
fractions with redshift.
