Androgyny

• Androgyny refers to a gender role characterised by a balance of both masculine and feminine traits.
• Androgyny refers to the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics.
• Individuals who are seen to be androgynous show high levels of both male and female stereotypical characteristics.
• Androgyny is not related to biology or sexual orientation; it is purely related to attitudes, beliefs and behaviours.
• Within Psychology androgyny refers to a personality type that is characterised by a balance of masculine and feminine traits.
• It is believed that individuals who are androgynous are better equipped to adapt to a range of situations.
• Both men and women can be androgynous.
• Society tends to assume that males are masculine and females are feminine. The two gender role identities are therefore seen as mutually exclusive; a person cannot be both masculine and feminine.
• Psychologists have suggested that some people are not influenced by sex-role stereotypes and will not be forced into adopting a masculine or feminine gender role.
• People who develop high levels of both masculine and feminine traits as part of their gender role identity are categorised as androgynous.
• Tests of gender role identity used to assume that masculinity and femininity were opposite ends of the same spectrum of gender. Gender role identity could be assessed as either high in masculinity or high in femininity.
• In the 1970s, Sandra Bem developed the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI).
• The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) is a test which includes 60 items related to masculine, feminine or gender-neutral behaviour.
• The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) is a questionnaire consisting of 20 stereotypical masculine statements, 20 stereotypical female statements and 20 gender neutral statements.
• On the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) examples of masculine statements are aggressive, competitive, independent and self-reliant.
• On the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) examples of feminine statements are affectionate, gentle and softly spoken.
• On the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) examples of neutral statements are happy, friendly, likeable and reliable.
• When using the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) participants would rate each statement on a scale of 1 to 7.
• On the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) a rating of 1 stipulates the characteristic is never true of the individual, whereas a rating of 7 is always true of the individual.
• On the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) scores are classified on the basis of two dimensions; masculine-feminine and androgynous-undifferentiated.
• To be regarded as androgynous Bem suggested individuals must score highly in masculinity and highly in femininity on the BSRI.
• The BSRI is a self-report measure used to categorise gender role behaviour.
• One strength of the BSRI is that it measures androgyny in a quantifiable way allowing comparisons to be made between individuals.
• Bem (1974) presented data from a study using the BSRI and found that 34% of males and 27% of females tested as androgynous. This suggests androgyny is a common trait and exists as a separate category of gender role to masculine and feminine.
• Peters & Cantrell (1993) used measures assessing the quality of relationships along with the BSRI and found that females who scored high on androgyny had the best relationships.
• Burchardt & Serbin (1982) found that there was a negative correlation between androgyny score and depression scores, suggesting a flexible gender role may protect against mental health problems.
• Flaherty & Dusek (1980) found self-esteem to be higher in those categorised as androgynous, suggesting a flexible gender role is positive.
• Holt & Ellis (1998) found that all but two of the adjectives used in the original BSRI questionnaire were still valid in measuring gender role identity. This suggests that the BSRI has temporal validity years after its development.
• The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) has been shown to have good test-retest reliability, suggesting that the categorisations made are consistent over time.
• The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) is easy to complete and produces quantitative data which makes reliable comparisons between individuals easier.
• The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) can be criticised for being culturally biased as it was developed in the USA and may not apply to other cultures.
• One limitation of the BSRI is that people may not have an insight into their own degree of masculinity, femininity or androgyny.
• Self-report scales like the BSRI may be subject to the social desirability effect, as people may select characteristics, they think should reflect their gender role.
• Gender is a social construct which may be open to more interpretation than sex and subjective opinions on a questionnaire such as the BSRI may not be valid.
• Bem place great emphasis on the idea the androgynous individuals are more psychologically healthy and a better placed to deal with situations. This has been challenged by Adams & Sherer (1985) who suggest that people with a greater proportion of masculine traits are better adjusted, as they are more highly valued in individualistic cultures.
• Spence (1984) argues that there is more to gender than a set of behaviours typical of one gender or the other.
• Alternative questionnaires such as the Personal Attribute Questionnaire (PAQ) add another dimension of instrumentality-expressivity to Bem’s masculine-feminine dimension.
• Theories of androgyny explain how individuals can be different depending on the context they are in; a female athlete can be highly competitive on the field but may be extremely nurturing at home with her children.