Femininity Scales Research Articles

Perceptions of Gender in Classrooms and Associated Expectations of Belonging

The built environment communicates value and belief structures to users. Research on gendered messaging in designed classroom spaces has shown its impact on students; thus, we sought to determine how classroom designs can have different gendered perceptions between those who use the space and those working in the design industry. In two studies, we collected survey data from undergraduates ( n = 97), and then employees at design firms ( n = 88) reacting to masculine versus feminine design patterns in classroom renders. The two groups exhibited strong, opposite correlations between their perceptions of femininity and sense of belonging, plus differences within the femininity scale itself. These findings show the importance of closer examinations of masculinity and femininity as gender constructs, and the need to further study how perceptions of designers differ from the perceptions of users.

Gender-role features of the influence of conformity on the formation of value orientations of adolescents

The article examines the multifaceted phenomenon of adolescents’s value orientations, the mechanisms of its formation, and emphasizes the significant influence of gender-role conformity features on this hierarchy of the individual’s motivational structure. The influence of the level of adolescent conformity on the formation of value orientations of the individual was considered. Since the social situation actively begins to change during the transitional age, adolescents often enter into confrontation with adults, the process of separation begins, and at the same time, adolescents begin to unite in reference groups to strengthen their opinion, receive support and acceptance. Often, with a high level of conformity, they begin to focus on the norms, behavior patterns, sex-role expectations, goals of their peers in order to be accepted by their reference group, which can influence the formation of adolescent value orientations. Were invastigated that the contribution of the phenomenon of conformity to the formation of adolescents’s value orientations is 82.3%. Makes a positive contribution to the formation of such a value orientation as help and mercy to others; does not make such a contribution to the formation of a high social status and people’s management. Separately, it was found that the contribution of gender-role characteristics to the formation of adolescents’ value orientations, is 32.1%. The scale of femininity contributes to the formation of such a value orientation as: love. It does not have such an impact on the formation of such a value orientation as pleasant pastime and recreation. The scale of masculinity contributes to the formation of such value orientations as material well-being and high social status and people management. Does not have such an impact on health as value orientation.

Validation of Ukrainian language versions of gender bias detection inventorie

One of the most common research tools for studying sexism is Sandra Bem's Gender Role Inventory and Peter Glick and Susan Fiske's Ambivalent Sexism Inventory. The aim of our work is to translate the original questionnaire texts for studying gender biases into Ukrainian and to conduct their validation with both professionals and social work clients. The validation of the translated research tools was carried out at the Kyiv Municipal Center for Social Services and included three focus groups with 23 professionals (social workers, psychologists) and a survey of 83 candidates for creating family education forms who underwent training at the center. Mathematical processing of the results was carried out using the IBM SPSS Statistics program, using comparative, descriptive, and correlation analysis. During the work with the questionnaires, participants in the study did not have difficulties in understanding the statements contained in the questionnaires or using the questionnaire keys. Analysis of the survey results using our translation of the S. Bem questionnaire indicates that almost one-third of respondents' answers about women contain high scores on the femininity scale, while their responses about men score high on the masculinity scale. The respondents' answers suggest that their perceptions of women and men as androgynous personalities are complemented by sex-typed perceptions of their qualities. This may indicate support for the candidates for creating family education forms with ambivalent sexism views. The use of the Glick and Fiske questionnaires revealed that respondents demonstrate more benevolent than hostile sexism. At the same time, the level of hostile and benevolent sexism was higher in men than in women. Validation of the Ukrainian versions of two questionnaires in focus groups with professionals and during the survey of candidates for creating family education forms confirmed the possibility of using adapted Ukrainian versions to study gender biases in Ukraine.

Exploring Gender Stereotypes among Prospective Foster Families

One of the acute social work issues in Ukraine is the deinstitutionalization of care for orphans and children left without parental care and the introduction of family care models. It is known that the success of such models largely depends on the motivations and values that inspire parents to place children, the socio-psychological characteristics of family members, gender aspects such as the distribution of household workload, the involvement of men in performing housework and care for children and so on.
 Building on social role theory, we examine gender stereotypes of prospective foster parents in Kyiv, Ukraine. The exploration of femininity and masculinity stereotypes was carried out using the Sex-Role Inventory (Bem, 1974), while the assessment of ambivalent sexism in the attitudes toward women and men was done through using a short version of the methodology of Glick and Fiske (1996). 83 paricipants of the mandatory trainings for prospective foster parents were questioned.
 Our study reveals that the prospective foster parents hold a biased set of beliefs. Almost a third of respondents’ responses concerning women show high indicators on the femininity scale and concerning men – on the masculinity scale. Also, respondents demonstrate a greater extent of benevolent rather than hostile sexism and describe a generalized image of women and men as androgynous individuals. High levels of hostility to feminism, especially among women, have been reported.
 Ukraine has all legal grounds for gender equality. Thus, from the intersectional point of view, the study results highlight the impact of culture and social norms on perceptions of gender and gender stereotyping.
 The paper ends with suggestions on training programs for both prospective foster parents and social workers, enchancing egalitarian family patterns and agency of women.

Marital communication and relationship satisfaction - The differential role of gender patterns

The aim of the study was to examine whether gender schemas differentiate marital communication and relationship satisfaction. Most analyses are conducted with reference to biological sex. Psychological gender distinguishes the construct of gender differences. The study involved 400 people (200 women and 200 men) who were married, economically active and had at least one child. The respondents completed the Marital Communication Questionnaire (KKM), the Masculinity and Femininity Scale (SMiK) and the Relationship Satisfaction Scale. The results obtained indicate a differential role of gender schemas in terms of preferred conversational styles. Psychological gender does not affect relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, the gender patterns evident in the four psychological gender types differentiate the relationship of spouses' communication with their ratings of relationship satisfaction. To conclude, including the construct of psychological gender in the analyses is important from the point of view of research as well as practice. Firstly, it deepens knowledge on relationship satisfaction and communication in marriage, secondly, the knowledge gained may find practical application e.g. in marriage therapy.

Using artistic activities within experiential psychotherapy to alleviate the psychological consequences of female infertility

Female infertility is associated with a wide range of psychological consequences, including heightened depressive and anxiety symptoms, impaired quality of life, and self-esteem. Considering the paucity of data regarding psychological interventions tailored for female infertility, this case study is aimed at providing preliminary evidence related to the treatment protocol and outcomes of an experiential psychotherapy intervention that uses artistic activities tailored for female infertility. The Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), Fertility Quality of Life International (FertiQoL), Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ), Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), and California Psychological Inventory, Femininity Scale (Fe-CPI), were used pre- and post-treatment for assessing psychological correlates of infertility. The psychological treatment consisted of three psychological assessments and seven experiential psychotherapy group sessions. Experiential techniques, mindfulness techniques, and artistic activities were used during the group sessions, in order to modify psychological maladaptive mechanisms associated with female infertility. Self-report results showed that the experiential psychotherapy intervention enhanced the quality of life, coping strategies, and femininity personality trait. Throughout the experiential intervention, the participant redefined her perspective on infertility and motherhood. On the other hand, the participant reported lowered levels of dyadic adjustment at post-treatment. This case study illustrates the beneficial effects of using artistic activities in experiential psychotherapy for female infertility.

GENDER ROLES AND DIMENSIONS OF FAMILY FUNCTIONING AS PREDICTORS OF SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING IN MEN AND WOMEN

Subjective well-being (a positive attitude towards life and positive affectivity) as an important indicator of mental health attracts a lot of attention in the field of positive psychology. For the sake of improving mental health, research was mainly focused on identifying factors related to it. So far, findings indicate there is a need for a better understanding of the characteristics of both individual and family environments. To that end, the aim of this study was to examine gender differences and what contributes to the subjective well-being of men and women. The study examined gender roles, masculinity and femininity, aspects of family functioning, education and the number of children. The sample included 1417 respondents who are married or in a relationship (586 men, 802 women), and the following questionnaires were used: a shorter versions of the Subjective Well-Being Scale, the Masculinity and Femininity Scale and the Family Functioning Scale, as part of the larger PORPOS2 battery. The results showed that masculinity and femininity, and adequate communication in the family are important indicators of a positive attitude towards the life of both genders. Masculinity and satisfaction with communication play a significant role when it comes to the positive affectivity in both men and women. The level of cohesiveness also plays an important role in the subjective well-being of men, and the number of children is a negative predictor of both dimensions of subjective well-being in women. Based on these results, we can conclude that a better understanding of the subjective well-being of men and women requires a more focused approach, which can be important in both research and psychotherapeutic work.

Analysis of the relationship between psychological gender and risk perception style and attitudes towards safety in a group of women and men

The aim of the research was to analyse the relationship between psychological gender and risk perception style and the manifestation of pro-safe attitudes. The study involved 507 people in the age range 20–64 years, including 257 women and 250 men. Variables were measured using the following methods: Znajmiecka-Sikora’s questionnaire of attitudes towards safety (PwB), Zaleśkiewicz’s questionnaire of the individual risk perception style (SIRI) and Lipińska-Grobelny and Gorczycka’s scale of masculinity and femininity (SMiK). The obtained results prove that psychological gender significantly differentiates risk perception style and attitudes towards safety. The feminine dimension has been shown to strengthen safe attitudes and minimize risk-taking, while the masculine dimension weakens attitudes towards safety and strengthens risk propensity.

Comparing self-categorisation approaches to measuring gender identity

This article compares two different measures of gender identity. Drawing on an online survey conducted with a representative sample of Americans that included both a single bipolar scale and separate masculinity and femininity scales, we compare how the same people respond depending on how gender identity is measured. The results of validation tests suggest that a single bipolar scale performs just as well in differentiating among those with sex-typical gender identities but separate masculinity and femininity scales are needed for studies investigating the political behaviour and preferences of those with sex-atypical identities.

Gratitude is female. Biological sex, socio-cultural gender versus gratitude and positive orientation

BackgroundAccording to previous studies, women experience emotions more frequently and intensively than men, and also reveal greater sensitivity to emotions of other people. Relationships turn out to be more complicated in the case of socio-cultural gender. The objective of the study was to search for relations between biological sex, socio-cultural gender, gratitude and positive orientation.Participants and procedureThe study involved 238 participants (125 women and 113 men). The average age of the participants was 33.28 (SD = 8.95). The following research tools were employed: the Masculinity and Femininity Scale, the Gratitude Questionnaire and the Positivity Scale. To determine the significance of differences, Student’s t-test and analy-sis of variance (ANOVA) were used. In order to establish the relationships between variables, Pearson’s corre-lation coefficient and linear regression were applied. The significance of the mediation model was tested using Sobel’s test.ResultsBiological sex and socio-cultural gender differentiated the results of gratitude. Femininity was associated with higher scores on the scales of gratitude and positive orientation. Gratitude showed a correlation with positive orientation.ConclusionsWomen exhibit a higher level of gratitude than men. Androgynous people show a higher level of gratitude than people who are sex-typed, undifferentiated and cross-sex-typed. Sex-typed women show a higher level of gratitude compared to sex-typed men. Women who are cross-sex-typed display a lower level of gratitude than cross-sex-typed men. Gratitude is a mediator of the relationship between femininity and positive orientation.

On the Functional Relationships Among Sexual Orientation, Masculine and Feminine Gender Role Orientation, and Sociosexual Orientation in Young Heterosexual and Lesbian Women

ABSTRACT The present study investigated the mutual interplay of sexual orientation, masculine and feminine gender role orientation, and sociosexual orientation in young women. To ensure cross-sample validity, 323 heterosexual women and 323 lesbian women, ranging in age from 18 to 29 years, were matched for possible confounding variables. Lesbian women scored significantly higher (d = 0.27) on the Desire subscale of the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory, but not on the Behavior (d = 0.07) and Attitude subscales (d = 0.11). Concerning gender role orientation, heterosexual women were characterized by significantly higher scores on the Femininity scale (d = 0.20), whereas lesbian women showed more pronounced masculine gender role orientation (d = 0.16). Structural equation modeling revealed two functionally distinct relationships between sexual orientation and sociosexuality, on the one hand, and between gender role orientation and sociosexuality, on the other hand. Sociosexual desire was exclusively associated with a woman’s sexual orientation with no indication of any mediating effect of gender role orientation. Sociosexual behavior was positively related to a woman’s level of masculine gender role orientation, while sociosexual attitude was positively associated with masculine and negatively associated with feminine gender role orientation, irrespective of sexual orientation.

Analisa Tingkat Androgenitas pada Mahasiswa

This research aimed to measure the level of androgyny of Sanata Dharma University students. The subjects were 100 students of Sanata Dharma University consisted of men and women of age 18 to 22 years old participating the research. There search uses quantitative approach parallel with descriptive method. The only variable is androgyny, which composed of masculinity and femininity equally in one individual. The instrument to measure is Bem Sex Role Inventory which adopted to Indonesian language. The test was taken to measure the androgyny by descriptive analysis and gender roles division based on group median scores of masculine and feminine scale. The analysis has resulted in greater masculine mean empirical value than mean theoretical value {87,28 >73,5} which exposing higher average of the group than its average theoretical value, therefore means the subjects has the tendency of high masculinity. In addition, the analysis has resulted in larger feminine mean empirical value than its average theoretical value, consequently means the research subject has the tendency of high femininity {88,43 >70} which featuring higher average group value than its average theoretical, which means widely the research subject has the tendency of high femininity. All things considered, the gender roles division from 100 students have explained that 70% of them have androgyny gender roles, while other 30% have masculinity, femininity and or undifferentiated. Finally, the students of Sanata Dharma University aged of 18 to 22 years old mostly have gender roles of androgyny

The influence of gender threat on social distance toward minority groups

Gender threat triggers compensatory mechanisms and motivation to restore and reaffirm gender identity. The aim of the present research is to verify whether gender threat will influence social distance toward homosexual people, refugees, and disabled people. It was predicted that men in gender threat conditions would manifest higher social distance toward groups when compared with the control condition. Due to the exploratory nature of the study, no hypotheses were formulated for women. Sixty-six individuals (30 men and 36 women) aged from 18 to 24 participated in the experiment. After completing the Masculinity and Femininity Scale, participants in the gender threat condition found out that they possess high levels of feminine attributes (men) or high levels of masculine traits (women). Participants in the control group did not receive feedback about the levels of their femininity and masculinity.The analyses showed that both men and women, after receiving the information that their psychological gender was incompatible with their biological sex, declared stronger social distance and colder feelings toward the majority of the groups, including people with disabilities. At the same time, women, regardless of the research condition, declared warmer feelings toward these groups than men. The results of the study indicate that gender threat may be a potential mechanism which explains prejudices toward other groups. However, the results obtained among females require replication in future studies.

Translation and Cross-cultural Adaptation of Traditional Masculinity and Femininity Scale (TMF-s) for use with Brazilian University Students

AbstractMen and women seem to have different susceptibilities to disease and dissimilar responses to pain. These differences are not well understood. Understanding those variations between men and women from the perspective of gender identity can contribute to disparities observed in the health field. Since 1980, efforts have been made to develop instruments that can help to categorize individuals according to their own gender perception. One of these, recently developed, is the Traditional Masculinity and Femininity Scale (TMFs). The advantage of this scale is to allow the gender self-identification without the need for attributes. The aim of this study is to present the process of cross cultural adaptation of the TMFs for applicability in studies in the Brazilian population. The cross-cultural adaptation followed the steps: 1) authorization by the authors; 2) initial translation into Portuguese; 3) cultural, conceptual, experimental and idiomatic adaptation to the target population; 4) retroversion; 5) assessment by a revision committee; and 6) pretest. The equivalence of measurement, corresponding to the psychometric properties to a gold standard, is in progress. In conclusion, the original version of the TMF scale, having been translated, culturally adapted, and validated into Brazilian Portuguese has proven to be a reliable instrument that is easy to use, and can be used in both clinical practice and clinical trials in the evaluation of gender identity.Keywords: Gender Identity. Transcultural Adaptation. Surveys and Questionnaires.ResumoHomens e mulheres parecem ter diferentes suscetibilidades às doenças e respostas diferentes à dor. Essas disparidades não são bem compreendidas. A compreensão dessas variações entre homens e mulheres na perspectiva da identidade de gênero pode contribuir para as disparidades observadas no campo da saúde. Desde a década de 1980, esforços têm sido feitos para desenvolver instrumentos que possam ajudar a categorizar os indivíduos de acordo com sua própria percepção de gênero. Uma delas, recentemente desenvolvida, é a Escala de Masculinidade e Feminilidade Tradicionais (TMFs). A vantagem desta escala é permitir a auto identificação do gênero sem a necessidade de atributos. O objetivo deste estudo é apresentar o processo de adaptação transcultural dos TMFs para aplicabilidade em estudos na população brasileira. A adaptação transcultural seguiu os passos: 1) autorização dos autores; 2) tradução inicial para o português; 3) adaptação cultural, conceitual, experimental e idiomática à população-alvo; 4) retroversão; 5) avaliação por um comitê de revisão; e 6) pré-teste. A equivalência de medida, correspondente às propriedades psicométricas de um padrão ouro, está em andamento. Em conclusão, a versão original da escala TMF, traduzida, adaptada culturalmente e validada para o português brasileiro, mostrou-se um instrumento confiável e de fácil utilização, podendo ser utilizada tanto na prática clínica quanto nas pesquisas para a avaliação da identidade de gênero.Palavras-chave: Identidade de Gênero. Adaptação Transcultural. Inquéritos e Questionários.

Acoustic Features of Transfeminine Voices and Perceptions of Voice Femininity

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships between acoustic measures of transfeminine voices and both self- and listener ratings of voice femininity. Connected speech samples were collected from 12 transfeminine individuals (M = 36.3 years, SD = 10.6 years) and a control group of five cisgender (cis) women and five cis men (M = 35.3 years, SD = 13.3 years). The acoustic measures of fundamental frequency (fo), fo variation, formant frequencies, and vocal intensity were calculated from these samples. Transfeminine speakers rated their own voices on a five-point scale of voice femininity. Twenty inexperienced listeners heard an excerpt of each speech sample and rated the voices on the same five-point scale of voice femininity. Spearman's rank-order correlation coefficients were calculated to measure the relationships between the acoustic variables and ratings of voice femininity. Significant positive correlations were found between fo and both self-ratings (r = 0.712, P = 0.009) and listener ratings of voice femininity (r = 0.513, P < 0.001). Significant positive correlations were found between intensity and both self-ratings (r = 0.584, P = 0.046) and listener ratings of voice femininity (r = 0.584, P = 0.046). No significant correlations were found between fo variation or formant frequencies and perceptual ratings of voice femininity. A Pearson's chi-square test of independence showed that the distribution of self- and listener ratings differed significantly (χ2 = 9.668, P = 0.046). Self- and listener ratings were also shown to be strongly correlated (r = 0.912, P < 0.001). This study provides further evidence to support the selection of training targets in voice feminization programs for transfeminine individuals and promotes the use of self-ratings of voice as an important outcome measure.

Cross-sectional associations between gender-linked personality traits and use of weight-loss and muscle-building products among U.S. young adults

ABSTRACTThis study examined the cross-sectional associations between gender-linked personality traits and use of products for weight loss and muscle building using data from young adults participating in Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health who completed the short-form Bem Sex-Role Inventory (n = 3,343). Among men, a higher score on the masculinity scale was associated with greater odds of diet pill use, legal performance-enhancing substance (PES) use, and illicit PES use, while a higher score on the femininity scale was associated with lower odds of illicit PES use. These findings can inform interventions for men with weight/shape concerns.

Janet Taylor Spence: Innovator in the Study of Gender

Janet Spence’s contributions moved gender researchers beyond a simple understanding of psychological gender in terms of individual differences in masculinity and femininity. In early work, she constructed the Personal Attributes Questionnaire, or PAQ, consisting of a masculine and a feminine scale, which she interpreted as assessing the core of psychological masculinity and femininity. Spence subsequently recognized that the masculine, or instrumental, scale reliably predicts only self-assertive, dominant behaviors and that the feminine, or expressive, scale reliably predicts only other-oriented, relational behaviors. Moreover, as her work developed, Spence came to understand this self-ascribed instrumentality and expressiveness, not as gender identity, but as two of the several types of psychological attributes that may become associated with individuals’ self-categorization as male or female. She then defined gender identity as the basic, existential sense of being male or female, which generally corresponds to one’s biological sex. Building on her ideas, we argue that gender identity instead encompasses both the sex categorization of oneself, usually as male or female, and self-assessments on gender-stereotypic instrumental and expressive attributes. These two levels of gender identity are linked by people’s self-stereotyping to the extent that they value their group membership as male or female.

Gender roles in social network sites from generation Y

One of the fundamental and most commonly used communication tools by the generation Y or Millennials are online social networks. The first objective of this study is to model the effects that exercise social participation, community integration and trust in community satisfaction, as an antecedent of routinization. Besides, we propose as a second objective checking if gender roles proposed to underlie the different behaviors that develop social network users. An empirical study was carried out on a sample of 1,448 undergraduate students that are SNS users from Generation Y. First, we applied a structural equation modeling approach to test the proposed model. Second, we followed a methodology using a scale of masculinity and femininity to categorize the sample obtaining three groups: feminine, masculine, and androgynous.

Relationships between MMPI Scales under Defensive Attitude and Safety and Health Indices

Objective:This study aims to analyze the relationships between personality factors measured by Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scales and the indices of safety and health in the shipbuilding industry.BR Background: Many researches reported that there were significant relationships between some MMPI subscales and traffic and industrial accidents.BR Method: This study analyzes 230 male workers in shipyard for their MMPI scores gathered during recruitment process and their safety and health indices from the performance record during their working period. χ2-test and one-way ANOVA are used for finding the statistical significance for personality factors. The conventional grouping rule for MMPI scales and other grouping criteria considering the attitude of positive answer for the MMPI test during recruitment process are used for analysis.BR Results: The Hypomania (Ma) and Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) scales of the MMPI are the main factors related to the safety and health related indices for most grouping rules. Depression (D), Psychasthenia (Pt), Hypochondriasis (Hs), Schizophrenia (Sc), and Masculinity and Femininity (Mf) scales are also related to the safety and health indices.BR Conclusion and Application: The results can be used for understanding the psychological factors in human behaviors and safety and can help professional personnel take the necessary steps in improving safety on the job and also in providing the effective teaching of safe work methods.

Transgression and Gender

Human activity is determined to a great extent by not only biological sex but also gender. The aim of the study was to examine relationships between transgression and types of gender. A population of 558 individuals (399 women and 159 men) aged 19–25 (mean age: 22.6) were studied. The age of the women ranged from 19 to 24 (mean age: 22.4) and of the men—from 19 to 25 (mean age: 22.8). In order to examine the intensity of transgression, the Polish version of the chronic self-destructiveness scale was applied. The gender was studied by means of the Polish version of the Bem sex role inventory. Androgynous women achieved the highest and feminine men—the lowest scores on the transgression scale. In women, the masculinity scale positively correlated with the transgression scale, whereas the femininity scale did not significantly correlate with transgression, although the coefficient was negative. No statistically significant correlations were found in men (although the coefficients were positive). Biological sex and gender were qualitative variables that differentiated the intensity of transgression. Equilibrium between the psychological dimension of femininity and the psychological dimension of masculinity was vital for transgressive tendencies, particularly in women. Androgynous women showed rather the adaptive aspect of transgression.