Androgyny

• Androgyny


  Refers to an individual who possesses a balance of both masculine and feminine traits.
• High androgyny


  Associated with psychological well-being as theyre better equipped to adapt to a range of situations and contexts.
• Over-representation of opposite-sex characteristics


  This doesn't qualify as androgyny - a female who's very masculine or a male who's very feminine wouldn't exhibit the necessary balance of male and female traits.
• The Bem sex role inventory (BSRI)


  The first systematic attempt to measure androgyny using a rating scale of 60 traits (20 masculine, 20 feminine and 20 neutral) to produce scores across two dimensions: masculinity-femininity and androgynous-undifferentiated.
• How the BSRI work

  People rate themselves on a 7-point rating scale for each item. Scores are then classified on the basis of two dimensions - masculinity-femininity to androgynous-undifferentiated.
• Evaluation: Quantitative approach (strength)

  A strength of Bem's work is that androgyny is measured quantitatively.

  The numerical approach is useful for research purposes when it's necessary- eg, to quantify a dependent variable.

  Janet Spence argues that there's more to gender than a set of behaviours typical of one fender, so qualitative methods offer a better way of analysing gender.

  One compromises is to combine different scale - eg, the personal attributes questionnaire (PAQ) adds another dimension (instrumentality and expressively) to Bem's masculinity-femininity dimension.

  Suggests that both quantitative together with qualitative approaches may be useful for studying different aspects of androgyny.
• Evaluation: Valid and reliable (strength)

  At the time the BSRI was developed, it appeared to be a valid and reliable way of measuring androgyny.

  Scale was developed by asking 50 male and 50 female judges to rate 200 traits in terms of how much the traits represented 'maleness' and 'femaleness'. The traits that scored highest in each categories became the 20 masculine and 20 feminine traits on the scale.

  BSRI was then piloted with over 1000 students and the results broadly corresponded with the ppts' own description of their gender identity - demonstrates validity.

  A follow-up study involving a smaller sample of the same students produced similar scores when the students were tested a month later - demonstrates test-retest-reliability.

  Gives us a reason to believe that the test was both valid and reliable.
• Evaluation: Self-awareness (limitation)

  A limitation of the BSRI is that people may not have insight into their degree of masculinity, femininity or androgyny.

  Asking people to rate themselves on the questionnaire relies on people having an understanding of the personality and behaviour that they may not necessarily have.

  Gender is a social construct which may be more open to interpretation than sex which is a biological fact.

  The questionnaires scoring system if subjective and people's application of the 7-point scale may differ.

  Suggests that the BSRI may not be an objective, scientific way of assessing masculinity, femininity or androgyny.