Feminine Sex Role Research Articles

Gender Roles of Turkish College Level Futsal Players

The purpose of the present study was to compare the gender role among college level male and female futsal players. Therefore, 77 college level futsal players (37 females and 40 males) were selected randomly from a Nationally University Tournament teams in Turkey on March 2016. It was used to determine sex roles using the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The data were analyzed by Mann Whitney U test and the significance level of p was set as .05). Conversely, the feminine sex role was significantly higher female players than males (p <.05). Thus, it seems that the high femininity is an important factor for college-level female futsal players in Turkey.

Alcohol, women’s clothing, and the perception of sexual intent

ABSTRACTThis study investigated factors involved in sexual information processing when alcohol is involved. Seventy-two male and 90 female participants viewed one of four videos of a heterosexual dyad interacting where the females’ clothing (sexualized/non-sexualized) and drink consumed (alcohol/water) was manipulated, and completed personality questionnaires. It was hypothesized the condition containing sexualized clothing, alcohol consumption and a male participant viewing the video would infer the greatest level of perceived sexual intent. Results yielded support for an effect of clothing. Also, men, compared to women, were significantly more socio-sexually inept, sexually pre-occupied, adopted a masculine sex role orientation and held conservative attitudes toward women. However, the feminine sex role orientation was not adopted significantly more by females when compared to males. The results of this study re-affirm the strong link between sexualized clothing and misperception, reinstating the need for clear verbal communication of sexual/platonic intentions. Recommendations are made for future research.

Sex and sex-role differences in specific cognitive abilities

Sex differences in cognitive abilities are a controversial but actively researched topic. The present study examined whether sex-role identity mediates the relationship between sex and sex-typed cognitive abilities. Three hundred nine participants (105 males and 204 females) were tested on a range of visuospatial and language tasks under laboratory conditions. Participants also completed measures of sex-role identity, used to classify them into masculine, feminine, androgynous and undifferentiated groups. While sex differences were found for some but not all measures, significant sex-role differences were found for all spatial and language measures with the exception of a novel 2D Mental Rotation Task. Masculine sex-roles partially mediated the relationship between sex and a composite measure of spatial ability, while feminine sex-roles fully mediated the relationship between sex and a composite measure of language ability. These results suggest that sex-role identity may have greater utility in explaining individual differences in cognitive performance than biological sex alone.

Multi-cultural Adaptation of the O' Kelly Women Beliefs Scale to Samples in the US, India, Colombia, and Mexico

The present exploratory study examined the psychometric properties of the O'Kelly Women's Belief Scales (O'Kelly, 2011) an instrument that measures women, s irrational beliefs about traditional feminine sex role stereotypes, in a multi-cultural sample of 1644 women born and living in the US, India, Colombia, and Mexico. A varimax rotation with cutoff eigenvalues of 3, showed that 43 items loaded into 5 components which accounted for 38.43% of the variance of this multinational version. The items were subsequently grouped into: Irrationality, with a total of 24 items and Rationality, with the 13 items. Analyses indicated a Cronbach's alpha from .72 to .88. Results indicate that this version of the instrument may be used to evaluate both the rational and irrational content of sex-role beliefs of women born in the US, India, Colombia, and Mexico.

Sex related difference in response to experimental pain in first year medical students

–Pain is complex multidimensional experience influenced by physical, psychological, and social factors. In recent years sex differences in responses to pain have received increased attention. Purpose of study was to determine sex differences in experimental pain response. For this study cold pressor test was used to exert experimental pain. 100 medical students (50 boys and 50 girls) participated in study. Subject was asked to submit his hand into container with ice water. Radial pulse was measured before and immediately after test to determine pulse reactivity. Pain threshold and tolerance were measured. Subject was asked to determine intensity of pain during test and rate on VAS. Data was statistically analysed using student t-test and Correlation Coefficient. Pain threshold and pain tolerance were significantly more in boys, Pain rating was significantly more in girls. Pain reactivity was significantly more in girls. In both sexes, baseline pulse showed positive relationship with pain threshold and pain tolerance and negative relationship with pain rating. Women typically displaying greater pain sensitivity than men, but mechanisms underlying differences remain unclear. Possible explanation suggests that men are more motivated to tolerate and suppress expressions of pain because masculine sex role, whereas feminine sex role encourages pain expression. Different pain perception might account for sex difference in pulse reactivity. Hormonal influences may play minor role.

Sex differences in gender characteristics of Australian nurses and male engineers: A comparative cross-sectional survey

There continue to be assumptions within the nursing literature that nursing is synonymous with a feminine sex role identity. A comparative cross-sectional survey consisting of the Bem Sex Role Inventory and the Australian sex role scale was used to determine sex difference in gender characteristics of Australian nurses and with male engineers. A statistically signifi cant difference in femininity was found between all the samples (F(2,908) = 20.24, p < 0.00001; F(2,908) = 60.13, p < 0.00001). A statistical difference in masculinity was found between female nurses and the two male samples on the two masculine scales (F(2,908) = 12.48, p < 0.000001; F(2,908) = 6.94, p = 0.001). Path analysis found strong significant direct relationships between the samples and expressive orientation (t = 27.67) and self display (t = 12.42). Whilst differences in expressive characteristics were found between male and female nurses, a similar difference was found between male nurses and male engineers, supporting the notion that male nurses perceive themselves as having feminine characteristics essentially required for nursing.

Sex Role Ideology, Relationship Context, and Response to Sexual Coercion in College Females

This study examined the impacts of traditional sex role orientation and relationship context upon women’s responses to sexual coercion in a sample of 114 female undergraduates in the northwestern USA. We examined differences in the amount of time participants allowed a simulated sexually coercive situation to continue, comparing groups based upon the extent to which participants endorsed traditional feminine sex roles on the Sex Role Ideology Scale, as well as the context of the relationship in which such behaviors occurred, which was manipulated as an independent variable. Results indicated that individuals in the long-term relationship condition took significantly longer to terminate the vignette than did their peers. However, no significant effect of traditionality upon response latency was observed.

Gender-Typed Behavioral Examples of Histrionic Personality Disorder

Findings that clinicians diagnose Histrionic Personality Disorder more frequently in women may be due to the feminine gender weighting of the criteria or because the diagnostic label elicits a feminine stereotype. Using a method derived from the act-frequency approach, undergraduates generated behavioral examples of the DSM-IIIR and DSM-IV Histrionic criteria without regard to sex or according to sex role instructions that elicited masculine or feminine sex roles. A national sample of psychologists and psychiatrists rated the representativeness of the symptoms for the Histrionic criteria or for Histrionic Personality Disorder. Feminine behaviors were rated more representative of Histrionic Personality Disorder and somewhat more representative of the Histrionic criteria than masculine behaviors suggesting that the feminine sex role is more strongly associated with the label than the criteria. Masculine behaviors were also rated less representative than sex-unspecified examples. Results provide a possible explanation for the higher rates of diagnosis of Histrionic Personality Disorder in women.

Personality characteristics of male clients of female commercial sex workers in Australia.

The personality characteristics of male clients of female sex workers and their motivations for seeking the services of sex workers were examined. It was hypothesized that clients of sex workers would differ from nonclients in that they would adopt less feminine sex roles, exhibit lower social-sexual effectiveness, and show higher levels of sensation-seeking behavior. Sixty-six clients of sex workers and 60 nonclients volunteered to complete a short questionnaire to assess demographic characteristics, sex role, social-sexual effectiveness, and sensation-seeking behavior. Clients and nonclients did not differ on demographic variables such as age, education, marital status, or occupation. However, clients were significantly less feminine in sex-role orientation, scored lower in social-sexual effectiveness, and scored higher on sensation seeking. Closer analysis of the client group revealed the existence of two distinct subgroups. The first was characterized by low social-sexual effectiveness and appeared motivated to visit sex workers because of an interpersonal need for intimacy. The second was characterized by high sensation seeking and appeared motivated to visit sex workers because of a need for novelty and variety in sexual encounters.

Sex Role Charactersitics of Males in Nursing

Sex role stereotypes are widely held concepts that attribute unique sets of characteristics to each sex. The feminine sex role stereotype coupled with the nature of nursing work, renders the profession more appropriate for females. Due to the pressures imposed by hegemonic masculinities, it is perceived that male nurses, as a consequence of their biological sex, are unable to possess the feminine sex role. A survey design was used to ascertain differences in sex role identity between male and female nurses in a contemporary Australian work force. The short form of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) was distributed to 98 nurses to determine their perceived sex role identity. There was no significant difference between male and female nurses in masculine and feminine scores, and sex type categories. The results of this preliminary investigation supports the view that a significant proportion of male nurses see themselves having the personal attributes synonymous with the feminine sex role.

Effects of Adherence to Traditional Female Sex Roles on Compliance with Diabetic Regimens: A Case History

This article investigates the possible association between adherence to traditional feminine sex roles, poor compliance with treatment for diabetes, and the onset of diabetic retinopathy. The authors present a case study and suggestions for health care professionals and future research in this area.

The emergence of gender difference in depressed mood during adolescence: The role of intensified gender socialization.

The prevalence of depressive mood was examined in a representative and nationwide sample of approximately 12,000 Norwegian adolescents. From the age of 14, girls scored 0.5 SD above boys in depressed mood, a difference that was stable throughout the adolescent period. At the age of 12, no gender difference was found. The gender difference was due to girls becoming more depressed from 13 to 14 years of age. An extended version of the gender intensification hypothesis (J. P. Hill & M. E. Lynch, 1983) was tested as an explanation for the gender difference in depressed mood. Structural equation modeling and regression analyses showed that the gender difference could be explained, in part, by increased developmental challenges for girls--pubertal development, dissatisfaction with weight and attainment of a mature female body, and increased importance of feminine sex role identification. Depressed mood was not associated with masculinity or school change, as had been predicted.

Breast cancer, personality and the feminine role

This article argues that it may be illuminating to look at breast cancer also from a cultural point of view. It is built around a hypothesis which proposes that, on a certain level, breast cancer can be seen as an attempt by women to rid themselves of the breast as a symbol of some of the essential aspects of their femininity, as feminine qualities are seen as of little import in today's industrialized Western world. The argumentation begins by showing that there is a certain type of personality which is prone to cancer: One of the main characteristics of this personality is either the repression or the inability to express or feel anger. Furthermore, studies on sex-roles and defence mechanisms have shown that persons with feminine sex-role orientations use more repressive, self-blaming defence mechanisms. The author finally goes on to discuss the psychic mechanisms thought to lie behind somatization and cancer as a psychosomatic disease.

Sex differences in the experience of depressed mood state over fifteen years.

A study was conducted to examine sex differences in frequency, duration and severity of experience of depressed mood state in a non-clinical group and to consider how such findings contribute to the understanding of sex differences in depressive experience. A cohort of 156 subjects, assessed initially in 1978 in their last year of teacher training, was reassessed at 5-yearly intervals over 15 years. On each occasion, the subjects completed self-report ratings of experience of "normal depression" and measures of neuroticism, trait depression, self-esteem and sex role. The study found no sex differences in the number or duration of episodes. Women reported more symptoms per episode and some specific symptoms (including tearfulness, appetite and weight gain) more often. The number of symptoms was correlated with neuroticism, self-esteem and trait depression scores, and with gender but not sex role. The number of episodes was related to trait depression and self-esteem but not neuroticism. The results showed that there are links between female gender, neuroticism and number of symptoms experienced during depressed mood state episodes. These links are related more to female gender than to feminine sex role or premenstrual problems, and are reflected in the severity of affective change (and some specific symptoms) but not in the number of episodes.

Men in nursing: issues of gender segregation and hidden advantage.

The small but growing number of men in the nursing profession does not herald a progressive integration of masculine and feminine sex roles. The evidence presented in this paper suggests that even in female-dominated occupations such as nursing, patriarchal gender relations which reflect a high valuation of all that is male and masculine, play a significant role in situating a disproportionate number of men in administrative and elite specialty positions. At the heart of this gender dynamic is the need to separate the masculine from the lesser valued feminine. Male nurses do this by employing strategies that allow them to distance themselves from female colleagues and the quintessential feminine image of nursing itself, as a prerequisite to elevating their own prestige and power. They are aided in this task by patriarchal cultural institutions that create and perpetuate male advantage, as well as by women nurses themselves who, consciously or unconsciously, nurture the careers of men colleagues.

Sex Role Orientation and Fear

Data from previous studies suggest that women report higher levels of fear than men do and that individuals who identify with the feminine sex role report higher levels of fear than do individuals who identify with the masculine sex role (Carey, Dusek, & Spector, 1988; Dillon, Wolf, & Katz, 1985). The relationship between sex role orientation and fear was investigated further in the present study, using self-report and behavioral measures. The female participants reported significantly higher levels of fear than did the male participants. Individuals who identified with a feminine sex role reported significantly higher levels of fear than did individuals who identified with a masculine sex role. However, we found no significant difference in behavioral fear among the various sex-typed groups.

Bulimia: An Empirical Analysis of Psychodynamic Theory

This study examined two aspects of psychodynamic theory concerning bulimia nervosa, that bulimic patients ascribe to a traditionally feminine sex-role and that bulimic women have difficulty differentiating emotional from visceral sensations. 18 bulimic and 18 control women were administered the Bem Sex-role Inventory and the Eating Disorder Inventory. Contrary to dynamic theory, bulimic women were not more likely classified as traditionally feminine than control subjects; however, significantly more controls than bulimic women were classified as androgynous. Analysis of scores on the Eating Disorder Inventory's Interoceptive Awareness scale indicated a significant difference between bulimic persons and controls, providing strong support for the hypothesis that bulimic women have a difficult time differentiating emotional from visceral sensations.

Commentary: A New Formula for Gendering Products and Brands

Gendering a product or brand means associating its image with a sex role stereotype in the minds of consumers. Examines, using research, the requirements and prohibitions of contemporary masculine and feminine sex roles and the kinds of consumers who do and do not adhere to them. Provides ten specific recommendations for choosing a product or brand gendering strategy, based on target market demographics and the tendency for different groups to prefer gendered products or brands over those that are ungendered.

The contribution of dream masochism to the sex ratio difference in major depression

Twenty-five women and twenty-one men undergoing divorce had three laboratory nights of sleep on two occasions 1 year apart. On the third night, dream reports were elicited from subjects for each period of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Three groups differing on dream “masochism” were compared on personality, sex role, and social adjustment. Women “masochistic” dreamers had significantly higher scores on a scale of negative aspects of traditional feminine sex role identity than men or women without such dreams. They also showed less improvement at followup and had more need for emotional support. Dream masochism may be a continuing cognitive characteristic that contributes to the vulnerability of women to major depression.

Aggression, sex role measures, and Kohut's psychology of the self

Recent controversies concerning the relationship between aggression and sex role development were evaluated in light of Heinz Kohut's psychoanalytic psychology of the self. Masculinity roughly corresponded to grandiose elements of Kohut's bipolar self while femininity was linked to its idealizing sector. As predicted, self-reported aggressiveness reflected an immature grandiosity; and associations of assertiveness with both masculine and grandiose personality styles supported Kohut's claim that adjustment can evolve out of more aggressive forms of self-functioning. Socially desirable forms of femininity had the advantage of being incompatible with aggressiveness, but they also failed to promote assertiveness. Androgynous, masculine, feminine, and undifferentiated sex roles displayed largely predictable parallels with synthetic, internal, external, and archaic narcissistic styles. As in previous research, therefore, Kohut's theory proved useful in examining the mental health implications of traditional sex roles.