Measuring feminine gender identity in homosexual males.

Abstract

The appropriateness of measuring “femininity” in homosexual males by means of the usual masculinity-femininity tests is questioned. It is felt that what was called by earlier observers “femininity” or “effeminacy” in males was mainly or solely feminine gender identity (F.G.I.), whereas the masculinity-femininity tests currently used in measuring femininity with males embrace a wider area of differences between males and females than that of gender identity proper. An attempt was made to arrive at a more appropriate scale by first assembling a nucleus of F.G.I. items of high clinical face validity which later could be extended by adding items strongly correlated with this nucleus. The degree of F.G.I. was assessed by means of this scale in transsexual and nontranssexual androphiles (homosexual males who erotically prefer mature partners) and heterosexual control subjects. Results showed that transsexual and heterosexual males were discriminated by F.G.I. scores without any overlap, while nontranssexual androphiles' scores overlapped heavily with those of the controls and only slightly with those of the transsexual males.