Masculinity Femininity Research Articles

Playing Back the Nation: Waria, Indonesian Transvestites

ABSTRACT Waria (better known as banci or béncong), who can be provisionally defined as male-to-female transvestites, are wellknown members of contemporary Indonesian society. Waria are best understood not as a third gender but a male femininity. By exploring how waria reconfigure concepts of authenticity, I address the relationship between the waria subject position and Indonesian national culture.

A study of colour emotion and colour preference. Part I: Colour emotions for single colours

AbstractThis article classifies colour emotions for single colours and develops colour‐science‐based colour emotion models. In a psychophysical experiment, 31 observers, including 14 British and 17 Chinese subjects assessed 20 colours on 10 colour‐emotion scales: warm–cool, heavy–light, modern–classical, clean–dirty, active–passive, hard–soft, tense–relaxed, fresh–stale, masculine–feminine, and like–dislike. Experimental results show no significant difference between male and female data, whereas different results were found between British and Chinese observers for the tense–relaxed and like–dislike scales. The factor analysis identified three colour‐emotion factors: colour activity, colour weight, and colour heat. The three factors agreed well with those found by Kobayashi and Sato et al. Four colour‐emotion models were developed, including warm–cool, heavy–light, active–passive, and hard–soft. These models were compared with those developed by Sato et al. and Xin and Cheng. The results show that for each colour emotion the models of the three studies agreed with each other, suggesting that the four colour emotions are culture‐independent across countries. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 29, 232–240, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.20010

Don't Let the Bastards See you Sweat: Masculinity, Public and Private Space, and the Volunteer Firehouse

In this paper we examine the ways that traditional definitions of masculinity are challenged within the domestic space of the volunteer firehouse. Our aim is to blur the dichotomies of public–private, masculine–feminine, heroic–weak, and moral–immoral. By examining practices associated with being a volunteer firefighter we present deeper and expanded notions of what it means to be a man in this context. Volunteer firefighters create a private space within the firehouse that offers escape from the public demands of masculinity. It is within this space that they can receive and give comfort and experience bonding, friendship, and a deep sense of belonging by embracing emotions normally off limits to men, including self-disclosure, familiarity, and affection. Although acknowledging the masculine hegemony that constructs men's involvement in firefighting and the firehouse, we also highlight the emotional work done by men as they engage in their public and private firefighting roles.

Desirable and Undesirable Androgyny: A Prescription for the Twenty-First Century

If femininity and masculinity are understood as consisting if both positive and negative traits and androgyny is a combination of feminine and masculine traits, then logically androgynous people could manifest any number and combination of positive and negative traits. The traditional notion of androgyny is as an identity that consists of a balance of positive feminine and positive masculine traits. A balance of negative feminine and negative masculine traits could also constitute a part of androgyny, creating the possibility of an undesirable or negative androgyny.

"Kvinnlig maskulinitet" och "manlig femininitet". En möjlighet att överskrida könsdikotomin?

This artide problematises, from a poststructuralist and queer perspective, the linking of men and masculinity, which is common in the main part of Men's Studies. The genealogy of the concepts is discussed and also how Connell, Kimmel and Hearn, the Second Wave feminism and poststructuralists have used them. Judith Halberstam's concepts of "female masculinity" and "male femininity" are then suggested as a fruitful way to exceed the sex dichotomy. By focusing on how both femininity and masculinity are materialised and used in identity constructions of both men and women, it is argued that a more complex understanding of gender is possible. Halberstam's concept is also linked to Lisa Adkin's discussion of gender flexibility in the late modern labour märket, and to Adkin's argument that new gender hierarchies are hidden behind what is supposed to be more equal gender relations. In the last part of the artide the author exemplifies from a study of men in female occupations how men working as nurses, hairdressers and pre-school teachers position themselves by using masculinity and femininity concepts. These men both integrate and position themselves in contrast to femininity and masculinity concepts. While feminine characteristics are highly prefered, femininity connected with gay men is by the heterosexual matrix made unthinkable. In conclusion it is argued that in the future gender researchers need to problematise heterosexual gender presumptions and study how both women and men perform femininity and masculinity.

Phobic anxiety in 11 nations: part II. Hofstede’s dimensions of national cultures predict national-level variations

Hofstede’s dimensions of national cultures termed Masculinity–Femininity (MAS) and Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) ( Hofstede, 2001) are proposed to be of relevance for understanding national-level differences in self-assessed fears. The potential predictive role of national MAS was based on the classical work of Fodor ( Fodor, 1974). Following Fodor, it was predicted that masculine (or tough) societies in which clearer differentiations are made between gender roles (high MAS) would report higher national levels of fears than feminine (or soft/modest) societies in which such differentiations are made to a clearly lesser extent (low MAS). In addition, it was anticipated that nervous-stressful-emotionally-expressive nations (high UAI) would report higher national levels of fears than calm-happy and low-emotional countries (low UAI), and that countries high on both MAS and UAI would report the highest national levels of fears. A data set comprising 11 countries ( N > 5000) served as the basis for analyses. As anticipated, (a) high MAS predicted higher national levels of Agoraphobic fears and of Bodily Injury–Illness–Death fears; (b) higher scores on both UAI and MAS predicted higher national scores on Bodily Injury–Illness–Death fears, fears of Sexual and Aggressive Scenes, and Harmless Animals fears; (c) higher UAI predicted higher national levels of Harmless Animals, Bodily Injury–Illness–Death, and Agoraphobic fears.

Masculinity-femininity guides sexual union formation in adolescents.

The authors test the idea that patterns of masculinity-femininity (MF) help sort adolescents into romantic couples. Using a nationally representative sample of adolescents in Grades 7 to 12 from a probability sample of secondary schools in the United States, an MF measure was constructed by selecting a set of questionnaire items demonstrating sex differences. For each respondent, the probability of being a boy was predicted. Respondents identified opposite-sex romantic partners within their school. When the partner identified also was interviewed, the authors were able to create MF for both members of the couple. Trichotomizing MF scores for each sex, it was determined that couples with a very masculine boy and very feminine girl are most likely to have sex, and to have sex the soonest. The couples for which both members are in the average MF range for their sex are the quickest to break up. The pattern of MF is a strong influence on the behavior of adolescent romantic couples.

SENSIBILITY AND GENEALOGY IN THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY FAMILY PORTRAIT: THE COLLECTION AT KEDLESTON HALL

This article analyses Nathaniel Hone's portrait of Lord and Lady Scarsdale (1761) and the significance that such images have for our understanding of the eighteenth-century family. It first discusses the imagery of the painting and places it in the context of the shift that occurred in family portraiture between 1740 and 1760. Whilst earlier images presented stiffly posed figures, later portraits such as that by Hone came to focus on the sitters' affective relationships. The article argues that, whilst aesthetic influences played a part in this transition, it was chiefly prompted by the sentimentalization of familial ideals. Such ‘promenade portraits’ encapsulated the companionate marriage, hailed as a blend of masculine rationality and feminine tenderness. However, once contextualized within the state rooms for which it was conceived, the Hone portrait also reveals more ‘traditional’ concerns. It makes formal references to accompanying portraits of Stuart monarchs and dignitaries, emphasizing the tory affiliations of the Scarsdales and their loyalty to the Stuart dynasty. The state rooms also contain a portrait of Lord Scarsdale as a baby with his parents and his deceased elder brother. This image affirms the continuation of the male line in the face of high infant mortality rates, a statement that is confirmed in the Hone painting.

Cross-cultural differences and information systems developer values

The increasingly global nature of software development and the increasing diversity in the information systems (IS) workforce have led to failures arising from inadequate understanding of cultural influences on IS design and development. This study aims to examine the relationship between the cultural background and development values of IS developers through a field survey in Singapore and the United States. The relationship between two cultural dimensions (individualism–collectivism and masculinity–femininity) and three development values (technical, economic, and socio-political) of IS developers were investigated. A model relating cultural dimensions to development values was formulated. The findings indicate that both individualism–collectivism and masculinity–femininity are related to the technical, economic, and socio-political values of IS developers (including DSS developers). Implications for further research and practice are discussed.

The Androgen Receptor Gene and Psychological Traits: Are Results Consistent in Sweden and Australia?

Studies in Sweden and Australia have examined the relationship between number of CAG repeats in the androgen receptor gene and psychological traits — three Masculinity-Femininity (M-F) measures in Australia, and the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) in Sweden. The present study derived M-F scales from the KSP items, and scales corresponding to several KSP scales from the items of the inventories used in Australia, to permit cross-validation of the Australian results in the Swedish sample, and vice versa. The derivation of scales was facilitated by the fact that items from both inventories had been used with a large twin sample in the US. Correlation of the derived scales with androgen receptor gene CAG-repeat scores for women in the Australian and Swedish samples failed to provide clear evidence of replication of either set of original correlations in the other sample, although there were a few hints of consistency. It was concluded that if the number of CAG repeats on this gene is related to psychological traits at all, the relationship is a weak one.

Masculinity–femininity as a national characteristic and its relationship with national agoraphobic fear levels: Fodor’s sex role hypothesis revitalized

Hofstede’s dimension of national culture termed Masculinity–Femininity [ Hofstede (1991). Cultures and organizations: software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill] is proposed to be of relevance for understanding national-level differences in self-assessed agoraphobic fears. This prediction is based on the classical work of Fodor [ Fodor (1974). In: V. Franks & V. Burtle (Eds.), Women in therapy: new psychotherapies for a changing society. New York: Brunner/Mazel]. A unique data set comprising 11 countries (total N=5491 students) provided the opportunity of scrutinizing this issue. It was hypothesized and found that national Masculinity (the degree to which cultures delineate sex roles, with masculine or tough societies making clearer differentiations between the sexes than feminine or modest societies do) would correlate positively with national agoraphobic fear levels (as assessed with the Fear Survey Schedule—III). Following the correction for sex and age differences across national samples, a significant and large effect-sized national-level (ecological) r=+0.67 ( P=0.01) was found. A highly feminine society such as Sweden had the lowest, whereas the champion among the masculine societies, Japan, had the highest national Agoraphobic fear score.

Handedness, sexual orientation, and gender-related personality traits in men and women.

This study assessed large numbers of heterosexual and homosexual men and women on handedness and gender-related personality traits. Initial analyses employed a dichotomous measure of handedness (right-handed vs. non-right-handed). For men and women combined, homosexual participants had 50% greater odds of being non-right-handed than heterosexual participants, a statistically significant difference. Homosexual men had 82% greater odds of being non-right-handed than heterosexual men, a statistically significant difference, whereas homosexual women had 22% greater odds of being non-right-handed than heterosexual women, a nonsignificant difference. When participants were classified into five graduated categories of handedness, both men and women showed significant homosexual-heterosexual differences in handedness distributions. Within groups, handedness showed a number of weak but statistically significant associations with sex-typed occupational preferences, self-ascribed masculinity, and self-ascribed femininity, but not with instrumentality or expressiveness. Rates of non-right-handedness were virtually identical for heterosexual men and women, suggesting that sex differences in handedness may result from higher rates of homosexuality in men.

Gender context effects on homophone words

We examined whether a context marked for grammatical gender can constrain the processing of homophone words in French. Homophones whose different meanings are associated with words of different genders (e.g., /sεl/, meaning salt masculine or saddle feminine) were used in two cross- modal semantic priming experiments. In the first experiment, in which homophones were presented in isolation, facilitation was found for targets related to both the masculine (e.g., “poivre”, pepper) and the feminine (e.g., "cheval", horse) meanings of the homophones. In the second experiment, in which homophones were presented with a gender-marked definite article (e.g., /lasεl/, the saddle), facilitation was found for targets related to the meaning matching the gender information given by the article (e.g., “cheval”). No facilitation was found for targets related to the meaning mismatching the gender information (e.g., “poivre”). These findings are discussed in relation to the locus of the gender-context effect and the representation of homophone words.

A cross-cultural longitudinal analysis of the meaning of work and the socialization process of career starters

This research examines the cultural variations in the socialization process of youth, from seven different countries during their transition into the world of work. It represents one of the very few longitudinal studies among young career starters and their work values. We study the extent to which work centrality is trans-national or culturally/nationally specific. The most significant increase in work centrality was found to occur during the second year of employment. At the national level, cultural differences were identified using Hofstede’s (1980) measures. Countries low in uncertainty avoidance were shown to have increased work centrality, while those high in masculinity–femininity appeared weakly influential.

Gender and masculinity–femininity ratings of tracheoesophageal speech

Tracheoesophageal (TE) speech is frequently characterized as low pitched and hoarse. In laryngeal speakers, these features are most often associated with males. Because lower pitch and hoarseness are anticipated for male and female TE speakers, one might predict that females are at risk for being perceived as male. The purposes of this pilot study were to assess the reliability and accuracy of listeners’ perceptions of TE speaker gender and to evaluate the relationship between gender ratings and masculinity–femininity ratings. Twenty-five naı̈ve listeners rated the gender and the masculinity–femininity of 12 TE speakers from audio recordings of a reading passage. Listeners were able to reliably rate gender and masculinity–femininity. They accurately identified speaker gender at a high rate that was comparable for males and females. However, female speakers, despite being accurately identified as female, were at an elevated risk of being rated as masculine or neutral on the masculinity–femininity scale. Learning outcomes: As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to: (1) describe the reliability and accuracy of listener perceptions of the gender and the degree of masculinity–femininity of TE speakers; and (2) discuss the relationship between TE speaker gender identification and masculinity–femininity ratings for males and females, respectively.

The relationships between codependency and femininity and masculinity

Feminist writers critical of the codependency model have argued that codependency refers to an overly strong conformity to the traditional feminine role. Canonical correlation analysis using data from 192 first-year university students found a moderate association between codependency and gender-role identification. The specific nature of this association varied with different aspects of codependency. External focus (approval seeking) was associated with high scores on the negative aspects of femininity and low scores on positive aspects of masculinity. Self-sacrificing was associated with high positive femininity and low negative masculinity. Women scored higher than men on one aspect of codependency: external focus. Although the data are broadly consistent with a feminist critique of codependency, the relationship between codependency and gender-role identification appears to be more complex than previously suggested.

Strategic quest and the search for the primal mother

This paper seeks to offer a Jungian perspective on the purposive behaviour of organizations and to throw light on the recent preoccupation with various organizational initiatives such as quality management, benchmarking, and even strategic approaches to HRD. The paper is unconventional in its approach in that it seeks to engage with the issues it discusses in both its form and its content. The purpose of the paper is to give attention to feminine aspects of the organization and, in particular, to the relegation of the feminine from the organization and, by implication, from social life. Here the feminine equates to the Jungian anima, the archetype of the male feminine. The ideas in the paper operate in the space between the organization as regulation and purposive rationality and the organization as living, physical bodies: between the Law and the Body. The form of the paper replicates these divisions and so text boxes run throughout the text to exemplify the captured otherness which is a central concern of the paper. The rationale for the text boxes is understated to allow the relationship between the rational and the physical to remain playful and ambivalent (see Baudrillard 1990). The paper is concerned with the questing behaviour of organizations and the expression of loss of the feminine, with the construction of masculine emblems that seek to substitute for the lost feminine, and with the impossibility of fulfilment.

Determinants of insurance pervasiveness: a cross-national analysis

Macroeconomic variables have previously been studied to better understand the varying degree of insurance pervasiveness across countries, but the impact of sociocultural variables on the degree of insurance pervasiveness has not been extensively researched. Using data from a representative sample of 37 countries across the globe, we find that certain cultural and sociopolitical variables can significantly influence the level of insurance pervasiveness. Specifically, we find that the masculine–feminine dimension of national culture, aggregate income, sociopolitical stability, and government regulation have statistically significant effects. Besides being additions to this body of knowledge, these results provide important revelations that represent valuable information to various constituents of the insurance industry.

Feminine values and happy life-expectancy in nations

Cross-national studies suggest that people are happier in feminine nations that are also economically affluent. The first objective of the present study was to replicate this finding with a quality of life index which is more comprehensive than the usual measures of subjective well-being. This comprehensive indicator termed Happy Life-Expectancy (HLE) combines subjective happiness with objective longevity. As predicted, in the richer countries, HLE was higher in feminine nations ( r=−0.51, n=14, P<0.05, one-tailed), whereas in the poorer nations HLE did not correlate with national masculinity–femininity ( r=−0.27, n=13, NS). A second objective was to examine the mechanisms behind the significant relationship in the richer countries. Contrary to expectation, the findings could not be explained by national differences in private freedom.

On Deconstructing and Reconstructing Masculinity–Femininity

Based on a review of past research, a model is presented that integrates the study of masculinity–femininity (M-F), masculinity (M), and femininity (F) with the broader study of personality and individual differences. The model conceptualizes gender-related traits in terms of (1) the vocational/interest circumplex and (2) the Big Five and interpersonal circumplex models of personality. The first approach yields M-F as a bipolar trait that overlaps substantially with the People–Things dimension of vocational interests, and the second yields M primarily as instrumentality (or agency) and F as expressiveness (or communion). In the present model M-F, M, and F are each cohesive trait dimensions that show substantial discriminant validity from one another. M-F correlates with a number of important criteria, including self- and other-rated M-F, sexual orientation, transsexual vs nontranssexual status, scholastic aptitude and achievement, mortality risk, and social dominance and prejudice in men. M (instrumentality) and F (expressiveness) correlate most strongly with interpersonal kinds of behavior and adjustment. The current model resolves a number of theoretical controversies and suggests directions for future research.