androgyny

• ao1: defining androgyny

  • androgyny relates to appearance as being neither female nor male.
  • Psychologically it refers to the presence of a balance of masculine and feminine traits, behaviours and attitudes. For example, someone who is sensitive at home but aggressive at work.
• ao1: defining androgyny

  • Bem (1974) suggested that high androgyny is associated with psychological well-being.
  • Individuals who have a balance of masculine and feminine traits are better equipped to adapt to a range of situations.
  • Androgyny needs to be distinguished from over- representation of opposite-sex characteristics.
  • For example, a female who is very masculine or a male who is very feminine would not exhibit the necessary balance of male and female traits and may not be androgynous.
• ao1: measuring androgyny- bem sex role inventory

  • items on the BSRI are masculine, feminine or neutral
  • Masculine items include dominant, competitive and athletic.
  • Female items include gentle, affectionate and sympathetic.
  • Neutral items are characteristics which do not apply more specifically to one sex than another, including sincere, friendly and unpredictable
• ao1: measuring androgyny (BSRI)

  • BSRI has 60 questions and a 7-point scale
  • BSRI has 20 feminine, 20 masculine and 20 neutral trait items.
  • Participants use a 7-point rating scale to rate each trait (1 is 'never true of me' and 7 is 'always true of me').
• ao1: measuring androgyny (BSRI)


  • In total there are four categorisations that can be made:

  1. A masculine categorisation results from a high score on masculine items and low score on feminine items.
  2. A feminine categorisation results from a high feminine score and a low masculine score.
• ao1: measuring androgyny BSRI

  • The other two categorisations are consistently high or consistently low:

  1. An androgynous categorisation results from a high score on both masculine and feminine scales.
  2. An undifferentiated categorisation results from a low score on both the masculine and feminine scales.
• ao3: one strength is that a strength is that gender indentity is measured quantitatively.

  • Bem's numerical approach is useful when it is necessary to quantify a dependent variable but Spence (1984) suggests a qualitative approach may represent gender identity better.
  • One compromise is to combine different scales. For example, the PAQ adds another dimension (instrumentality and expressivity) to Bem's masculinity-femininity dimension.
  • suggests that quantitative together with qualitative approaches may be useful for studying different aspects of gender identity.
• What is PAQ?

  Personal Attribute Questionnaire
• ao3: Another strength is that the BSRI has been found to be both valid and reliable.

  • Development of the scale involved 50 males and 50 females judging 200 traits in terms of gender desirability. The top 20 in each case were used. Piloting with 1000 students showed the BSRI reflected their gender identity (validity).
  • A follow-up study involving a smaller sample of the same students produced similar scores when the students were tested a month later, suggesting high test- retest reliability.
  • suggests that the BSRI had a degree of both validity and reliability at the time it was developed.
• ao3: Counterpoint

  • Stereotypical ideas of masculinity and femininity have changed since the BSRI was developed 40 years ago. Also, it was devised by a panel who were all from the US.
  • This suggests that the BSRI may lack temporal validity and be culturally biased and not a suitable measure of gender identity today.
• ao3: One limitation is people may lack insight into their gender identity.

  • Gender is a social construct which may be more open to interpretation than, say, sex (which is a biological fact).
  • Furthermore, the questionnaire's scoring system is subjective and people's application of the 7-point scale may differ.
  • This suggests that the BSRI may not be a scientific way of assessing gender identity.