Masculinity Femininity Research Articles

The old man as woman: detecting stereotypes of aged men with a femininity scale.

Male and female college students (N = 244), divided into seven experimental groups, rated women in general and men age 65 significantly higher in femininity than men at four younger ages and men in general. Ratings were made on the Broverman, et al. (1970) masculine-feminine (MF) scale. It appears that both women in general and aged men are viewed through the same "femininity" stereotype, which is largely a perception of psychological timidity. Relatively high femininity ratings for men age 55 indicate that these characteristics are believed to increase in men as a function of the aging process. Results also suggest that the students' MF ratings of "men in general" are based primarily on their perceptions of young men.

The effects of sex, sex-stereotyped descriptions, and institution on evaluations of teachers

The author studied the effects of sex of subject and teacher, sex-stereotyped descriptions of teacher, and institutional level on evaluations of teachers. Subjects were 16 male and 16 female students, each evaluating 16 randomly ordered descriptions of teachers on the dimensions of competent—incompetent, warm—cold, hardworking—not hardworking, feminine—masculine, intelligent—not intelligent, a superior teacher—an inferior teacher, and should be rehired—should not be rehired. The teachers were described 1) with male or female names, 2) as teaching nursery school, elementary school, high school, or college, and 3) as possessing traits stereotyped as masculine or feminine, forming a 2×2×4×2 design. The teachers described as masculine were rated much more positively on all variables except warmth. Female teachers were seen as warmer and more feminine than male teachers, and female subjects rated the teachers as more intelligent than male subjects. The difference in ratings of teachers with masculine versus feminine characteristics on the superiority and rehiring measures increased as the institutional level increased from nursery school to elementary school to high school to college.

Inferences about the femininity of competent women and their implications for likability

Male (N=59) and female (N=60) college students were given a written protocol describing a competent, achievement-oriented female stimulus person (SP) with either a masculine or feminine pattern of vocational and avocational interests. Three groups were given a masculine-pattern protocol and one group was given a feminine-pattern one. They were then asked to rate the SP on likability in work and social settings, femininity, and a number of other personal attributes. Two groups given the masculine-pattern protocol were also supplied with the SP's responses to items from a “personality” test answered in a predominantly feminine (Masculine—Feminine SP) or masculine (Masculine-Masculine SP) direction. The remaining groups (Masculine-Neutral and Feminine-Neutral SPs) were given no additional information. In agreement with previous findings, the Masculine-Neutral SP was liked more in social settings than was the Feminine-Neutral one. It was hypothesized and confirmed that the Masculine-Neutral SP would be perceived as similar to the Masculine-Feminine SP in femininity and likability and that both these SPs would be judged to be higher on these characteristics than the Masculine-Masculine. Complex results were obtained from the ratings of other attributes. Overall, they indicated that the Masculine-Feminine SP, in whom femininity was explicitly suggested, received the weakest ratings on a series of achievement-related attributes and the Masculine-Neutral SP the strongest.

Advancement of masculine differentiation of the brain by synthetic LH-releasing hormone (LH-RH) in the male rat.

Effect of neonatal treatment with synthetic LH-RH on the development of gonadotropin (GTH) regulation was studied. Newborn male rats were injected with 0.01-1μg LH-RH from Day 1 (=the day of birth) to Day 2, and castrated on Day 3. Significant stimulation of testicular weight and histology was recognized in the rats receiving 0.1 or 1μg of LH-RH when examined upon castration on Day 3. To estimate the secretory pattern of GTH ovarian transplantation was performed around Day 30. At autopsy on Day 60, 100% of rats receiving 1μg LH-RH were masculinized. All the rats had polyfollicular masculine ovarian grafts. When the dosage decreased to 0.1μg, 60% of the injected rats were masculinized. A further decrease in the incidence of masculinized males were obtained by injection of 0.01μg of LH-RH: 40% of the treated rats were of the masculine type. In these males, advancement of differentiation of the masculine pattern of GTH secretion apparently occurred, because neonatal castration on Day 3 failed to produce “feminine males.” In contrast, rats treated with saline alone became “feminine males.” Most of this group of rats had a typical feminine ovarian graft which contained numerous healthy corpora lutea and developing follicles. These results suggest possible participation of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis in the masculinizing process of GTH regulation.

Effect of LH or HCG on Differentiation of Masculine Pattern of Gonadotropin Regulation in the Male Rat

Newborn male rats were injected with varying doses of LH or HCG from Day 1 (=the day of birth) to Day 2 and castrated on Day 3. At approximately 30 days of age they received subcutaneous ovarian transplantation. At autopsy on Day 60, ovarian grafts from saline controls contained numerous corpora lutea. Most of the saline-treated rats become “feminine males”. However, neonatal treatment with LH or HCG significantly reduced the incidence of “feminine males”. The minimal effective dose which is capable of masculinizing gonadotropin (GTH) regulation in a majority of rats seemed to exist between 1μg and 0.1μg for LH, and around 0.1 IU for HCG. Most of the rats receiving above the dose had a polyfollicular ovarian graft. These results suggest that if GTH level in the neonatal male rat is increased by injection of exogenous hormone the masculinization of GTH regulation is accelerated.

Effect of gonadotropins on neonatal testicular activity and sexual differentiation of the brain in the rat.

SummaryNeonatal treatment of male rats with HCG or LH caused marked hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the interstitial cells when the testicular histology was examined upon castration at 3 days of age. In these males, advancement of differentiation of the masculine pattern of GTH release apparently occurred. Most of the rats which received HCG or LH injection (s) neonatally had a polyfollicular ovarian graft when examined at autopsy on Day 60, whereas castration on Day 3 still produced “feminine males” at high incidence in rats injected with FSH or saline alone neonatally. Only a small number of rats (2/11, 2/16, respectively) were masculinized. These results suggest possible participation of GTH in the regulation of the neonatal testicular activity and the masculinization of the rat brain.We express our appreciation to Dr. C. H. Sawyer for his valuable criticism. We also express our thanks to the Hormone Distribution Section, NIAMD, Bethesda, MD for the LH and FSH used in this study.

Language meaning (gender shaping) among deaf and hearing students.

To evaluate the meaning of words within the language system for both deaf and hearing students and to determine whether substantially different meanings exist for these groups, 53 deaf students and 69 non-deaf students were randomly selected from classes of senior English at the Virginia School for the Deaf in Staunton, Virginia, and the Wilson Memorial High School in Fishersville, Virginia. The Gender Association Survey1 which is based on semantic differential tests was administered in February of 1971. Ss reacted to abstract and concrete English nouns on a masculinity, femininity continuum. MAN Masculine Feminine

Parent-child relationships and sexual identity in male and female homosexuals and heterosexuals.

This article includes two studies of reported parent-child relations and sexual identity : one of a population of 84 white, well-educated female homosexuals and their 94 matched heterosexual controls and the other of a group of 127 similarly welleducated, white male homosexuals and their 123 heterosexual matched controls. Female homosexuals reported having had more negative relations with their fathers in childhood that female heterosexuals, although a wide variety of parent-daught er relations was reported by both groups. The female homosexuals were neither mother nor father identified, but they were more distant from both parents and other people than their controls. The female homosexuals also reported a more masculine childhood than the heterosexuals, and they were more masculine on an objective measure of masculinity-f emininity. Compared with their controls, the male homosexuals reported more close-binding, intimate mothers and hostile, detached fathers than the heterosexual controls. As with the two female groups, a wide variety of parentson relations was reported. Homosexual males were not more mother identified than their controls, but, like the female group, they were more distant from parents and other people than the matched controls. Male homosexuals reported more feminine childhoods, and they were less masculine than controls on a masculinity-femininity test. Considerable attention has been focused on the psychological factors involved in homosexuality. Today, most students in the area realize that a homosexual adjustment has exceptionally complex determining components, but they agree that one profitable approach is the study of the relationship between parents and the prehomosexual child, especially as this affects the child's sex-role identification. Few research workers have studied female homosexuality. Thus, little is known about parent-child interactions among prehomosexual females and the relations of these interactions with later sexual identity; and the little research that has been conducted is inconsistent in its results. Looking at homosexuals in Britain, Bene (1965) found no differences between female homosexuals and the heterosexual controls in their reported feelings toward their mothers. In contrast, Gundlach and Riess (1968) found that homosexual females more often reported feeling neglected and ignored by their mothers,

Masculinity-femininity: an exception to a famous dictum?

The major tests of masculinity-femininity (M-F) in adults are reviewed with special attention to the ways in which their construction and use reflect three untested assumptions about the nature of ...

Performance of paranoid schizophrenics and passive-aggressives on two masculinity-feminity tests.

The masculinity-femininity (M-F) dimension was assessed for 15 male paranoid schizophrenics and 15 passive-aggressives. It was hypothesized that the paranoid schizophrenics score in a feminine direction, obtain more feminine scores than the passive-aggressives, and that the latter obtain masculine scores on two M-F tests. These hypotheses were derived chiefly from psychoanalytical theory. Results indicated that there were no significant differences between the two groups on either test and that both groups were able to score in the masculine direction. Thus, the passive-aggressives scored in the predicted direction, but the paranoid schizophrenics did not. Alternate explanations which emphasize no disturbance for paranoid schizophrenics in the M-F dimension were proposed. The reality-orienting effects of drugs and heightened sensitivity were also considered.

Dimensionality of MF.

ABSTRACT This study sought, through a factor analysis of 450 masculine-feminine (MF) items from nine established sources such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MNK), to determine whether in a college sample of 523 students there were a small number of factors common to both sexes, or if the MF scale consisted of so many weak factors that the practice of giving people scores on it should be abandoned. Only 39% of the items discriminated the sexes. Of the nine item factors in females and ten in males, four occurred in both sexes. These MF factors were neuroticism and religiousity (feminine), and power and scientific interests (masculine). The need for four homogeneous, orthogonal MF scales based on these dimensions is requisite for any rational exploration of MF in relation to sex-role identification, achievement, homosexuality, etc.

The "bedrock" of masculinity and femininity: bisexuality.

From his first psychoanalytic writings to his last, Freud was concerned about the relationship of biological forces, which he called the "bedrock," to human psychology. No such theme was more constant than constitutional bisexuality, which he always believed influenced object choice and the degree of a person's masculinity and femininity. In analysis, one could not penetrate the wish for a penis in females or the repudiation (fear of) femininity in males, because they are the "bedrock," ultimately determined by consitutional bisexuality. This paper suggests that, recent work showing how biological forces can change gender behavior in animals notwithstanding, these fundamental qualities in men and women can be caused by quite nonbiological forces-the family psychodynamics that help shape gender identity in infancy.

The M-F Scale: Yesterday and Today

The problem studied was the measurement of Masculinity—Femininity (M—F) by scales so labelled on personality inventories. One hundred-twenty items from three representative scales were administered...

Relationship between Masculinity-Femininity and Creativity as Measured by the Franck Drawing Completion Test

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that creative Ss share more of the traits commonly associated with the opposite sex than do noncreative Ss. The Franck Drawing Completion Test (FDCT) protocols of 240 high school students, equally divided in terms of sex and creative-versus-control status, were analyzed. The results confirmed the validity of the masculinity-femininity (M-F) scale of the FDCT for adolescents ( p < .001) but did not support the hypothesis. The principal explanation for the latter finding seems to be that the FDCT does not measure those aspects of the M-F variable which creative Ss share with the opposite sex. Previous studies with the FDCT have also confirmed its validity as a measure of M-F but have been unable to specify exactly which aspect of M-F it taps.

Application of birefringent coatings to glass-fiber reinforced plastic

Humphreys (this issue) reanalyzed the data of Welsh and Baucom (1977) and stated that their conclusions were unsupportable. Humphreys's criticisms are inappropriate since his findings are based upon a measure of masculinity-femininity (M-F) which is different from the previous approach and based upon a sample which is somewhat different. Thus he addresses issues which are inconsistent with Welsh and Baucom's focus. Finally, Humphreys's insistence on correlational analysis to the exclusion of extreme groups design is viewed as inappropriately limiting.

The relation between psychometric measures of anxiety and masculinity-femininity

Prior developmental studies led to the expectation that inappropriate sex typing would be associated with higher anxiety for boys but not for girls. The relation of anxiety to masculinity-femininity (M-F) was studied in preadolescents from five ethnically diverse schools. Differential predictions were made for boys and girls. Psychometric procedures were used to obtain scores on both major variables. The Pupil Perceptions Test (PPT) was developed to measure sex-typed role perceptions of elementary school age children. M-F scores from the PPT were shown to be independent of general intelligence. Anxiety was significantly related to M-F for boys but not for girls. The hypothesized relations were supported.

Measuring the Mystique

A sample of 517 freshman women at a large state university was studied in order to learn whether differences might be discerned on the basis of rank on the SVIB Masculinity‐Femininity (MF) Scale. This scale divided the sample so that 30 per cent ranked high, 55 per cent average, and 15 per cent low in MF. No differences were found among the three groups in college of enrollment, reason for finishing college, most important factor in choosing an occupation, or parental expectation of educational level. On the California Psychological Inventory scores, subjects in the high MF group scored high in Dominance, Capacity for Status, Sociability, and Femininity. The average MF group, as compared with the low MF group, tested high in Good Impression and Femininity and low in Psychological Mindedness and Responsibility. The high MF group scored higher on the CPI Femininity scale than did the low MF group.

A Discriminant Analysis of the Mmpi for Female College Students in Health and Education

THE MAIN purpose of this investigation was to see if a number of curriculum groups in the health related professions could be differentiated from each other on the basis of personality variables as measured by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Considerable effort is being ex pended at the University of Florida's College of Health Related Professions to find personality, ap titude, interest, and other differences among stu dents in the health related professions (i. e. Occu pational Therapy, Physical Therapy) which will ul timately enable counselors to function more effec tively in the advising of students into and out of these professions. There have been a number of studies where the MMPI was used to determine personality differ ences among college majors. Lough (7) found the MMPI to be of little or no value for detecting differ ences among women students in liberal arts, nurs ing, and teacher training. Norman and Redlo (8) found that certain scales differentiated certain cur ricula from each other for seven curriculum groups of female students. Clark (2) found that profiles for each of a large number of college majors (13 majors for males and 12 majors for females) showed few significant differences from the average college pro f i le. It is of interest to note that the majority of these differences were on the Masculinity-Femi ninity scale, which is interpreted by many investi gators as an interest scale. Harder (5) found no MMPI differences among business, education, and engineering students that were useful is describing these groups. The results of these studies have not been partic ularly encouraging. However, in all of the above studies, the data were handled in a most inefficient manner. The most efficient manner to handle mul tivariate data of this nature is through the use of dis criminant function analysis. Discriminant analysis I involves considering the complete test vector or pro file in a single analysis. Univariate analyses such as those used in the above-mentioned studies do not take into account.the intercorrelations among the measures and consequently do not make full use of the data. For example, it is possible that not one single variable out of a number of variables will sig nificantly differentiate among the groups, while a test of significance involving the complete profile will yield significant differences among these groups. Furthermore, discriminant analysis indicates not only whether the groups differ significantly f r o m one another, but also the practicality of these differ ences, e.g. the effectiveness with which individuals can be predicted to belong to various groups on the basis of their test scores. Discriminant analysis answers this question. Excellent re views of dis criminant analysis are given by TatsuokaandTiede man (10) and Creager (4). Theoretical and computa tional details are treated in detail by Rao (9) and Kendall (6). It is possible that the MMPI would yield useful differences among college majors if the data were handled by multivariate techniques. Consequently, discriminant analysis was utilized in the present in vestigation. The college majors of most interest to the pres ent investigator were Medical Technology (MT), Oc cupational Therapy (OT), and Physical Therapy (PT), since these are the undergraduate educational pro grams in the College of Health Related Professions. However, two other groups were included in the analysis for comparison purposes. These groups are Nursing (N) students and Education (E) majors. Although Ns are not in the College of Health Related Professions, their roles are similar to those of stu dents in these professions. The Es, of course, are the furthest removed from the Health Related P r o I fessions.

Stereotypical M-F as related to two Szondi test assumptions.

Abstract To determine whether degree of liking for photographed faces (L-D) is related to tested masculinity-femininity (M-F) of persons portrayed, or whether, instead, L-D is related only to the M-F stimulus values of photographs (stereotypical M-F), 60 photographs of males of known M-F were Q-sorted, in terms of L-D, by 220 Ss. Only one of 220 rs between L-D Q-sorts and “true” M-F was significant at the .01 level, but 46 of 220 rs between L-D Q-sorts and stereotypical M-F were significant at the .01 level. The findings appear to contradict the Szondi Test assumption that “true” personality differences are perceived as a basis for liking or disliking photographed faces. To determine whether Ss whose L-D Q-sorts are positively related to their M-F Q-sorts can be differentiated in terms of their own M-F scores from Ss for whom no such positive relationship occurs, 36 males and 50 females were asked to make L-D Q-sorts and M-F Q-sorts of the same set of photographs and to take the Terman-Miles Attitude-Interest Analysis Test. Findings supported the hypothesis that personality characteristics of Ss are related to their liking for faces in which such characteristics are perceived.

Masculinity and Femininity: A Factor Analytic Study

The concepts of typical masculinity and typical femininity (i.e., stereotypes), and also ideal masculinity and ideal femininity, were rated by 40 male and 40 female college students. The judgments were made by means of the Concept Meaning Measure, a semantic differential of masculinity and femininity, which was constructed on the basis of six hypothesized factors. Factor analysis of the results yielded two major factors, potency and social behavior, in each of the four concepts. The analysis of the stereotypes also resulted in five additional factors—activity, emotion, form, tactility, with another one, a residual, for masculinity and one, dependability, for femininity. The ideal concepts had six additional factors which were not as clearly delineated and suggest a more complex relationship than exists in the stereotypes. The obtained factors, in general, matched the factors which had been hypothesized, but the outstanding quality of the two major factors had not been predicted. The correspondence of the hypothesized and obtained factors was much more satisfactory for the stereotypes than for the ideal concepts. The relative importance of the various factors and the implications concerning social change were discussed.