The masculine and feminine self-disclosure scale: The politics of masculine and feminine self-presentation

A self-disclosure questionnaire was devised to examine women's and men's willingness to disclose information about the masculine and feminine aspects of themselves. The Masculine and Feminine Self-Disclosure Scale (MFSDS) has four separate subscales: two masculine scales assess the tendency to discuss agentic, instrumental traits and behaviors; and two feminine scales measure the tendency to self-disclose about communal, expressive traits and behaviors. The results indicated that women's and men's disclosure of their masculine-instrumental and feminine-expressive traits and behaviors to a disclosure recipient was tempered by the content of the disclosure and the personal characteristics of the disclosure recipient. These findings were interpreted within a self-presentational analysis that women and men attempted to foster favorable masculine-instrumental and feminine-expressive images for particular persons.Portions of this research were presented at the annual meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, Dallas, Texas, April 1982. Gratitude is extended to Richard Archer for his helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.     

The role of masculine gender role stress in expressivity and social support network factors

This study examined the relationship of masculine gender roles stress (MGRS) to nonverbal and verbal expressivity in positive and negative emotional dyadic role-play situations. The relationship between masculine gender role stress and emotion-focused social support was also explored. Male subjects were differentiated by their appraisals of gender-related situations as stressful; they were rated on nonverbal facial expression and global verbal expressivity in positive and negative emotional situations. It was demonstrated that (a) all subjects were less nonverbally and verbally expressive in situations requiring positive emotional expression than in situations requiring negative emotional expression; (b) high MGRS subjects were less nonverbally expressive than low MGRS participants in both types of situations; (c) however, the high MGRS subjects were less verbally expressive than the lows only under emotionally positive conditions; and (d) while high MGRS subjects did not have smaller social support networks than the lows, they reported less satisfaction with their social support systems. Results were discussed in terms of gender roles and stress-buffering implications.     

Stereotyped connotations of masculine and feminine names

This study was designed to provide a basis to understand better antifeminine stereotyped attitudes that occur in association with a stimulus no more informative about a person than her first name. College students, mostly freshmen and sophomores, ascribed connotative meanings to common and uncommon masculine and feminine first names while imagining either real or ideal persons. The results from 48 subjects disclosed that the semantic dimension of potency (e.g., strength and bravery) is likely to be a fundamentally important connotation associated more with masculine names than with feminine names. Two findings very much supported this conclusion. Thus, the potency dimension was the only one of five dimensions of semantic meaning that: (a) yielded any masculine-feminine difference in the ideal condition, and (b) showed a disfavorable connotation for feminine names in comparison to masculine names in either the real or ideal condition.     

Prenatal gender preference of mothers of feminine and masculine boys: Relation to sibling sex composition and birth order

A mother's (prenatal) wish for a girl has, at times, been implicated as an etiological factor for boyhood femininity or its DSM-III-R diagnostic equivalent, the Gender Identity Disorder of Childhood. In one sample of 52 feminine and 52 nonclinical control boys from Los Angeles, the proportion of mothers who recalled a wish for a girl during the pregnancy did not differ significantly between groups (26.9% vs. 19.2%, respectively); however, in both groups, the maternal wish for a girl was significantly more common in sibships in which all of the proband's older siblings were male. In a second sample of 103 feminine boys from Toronto, the maternal wish for a girl was significantly higher than that found in the Los Angeles sample (43.7% vs. 26.9%), but a control group was not available; as in the Los Angeles sample, the maternal wish for a girl was significantly more common in sibships in which all of the proband's older siblings were male. Implications of these findings for further study of maternal influences on boyhood femininity are discussed.     

On the motivation of quid pro quo sexual harassment in men: relation to masculine gender role stress

Male office workers reported levels of distress elicited by personal violations of a range of masculine gender role expectations, as well as their proclivities to coerce sexual favors from “attractive” subordinate women via bribery or extortion. Sexual harassment proclivity levels were directly correlated with levels of distress related to four dimensions of masculine gender role violations, including acts of subordination to women, public expression of emotional behavior, inadequate heterosexual prowess, and inferiority in athletic and intellectual domains. These findings accord with an interpretation that men's quid pro quo sexual harassment may be motivated by the social punishment of their own failures to conform to masculine gender role expectations, including, but importantly, not limited to the expectation that men should punish women's violations of feminine gender role norms.     

Oriental approaches to masculine and feminine subtle energy principles

According to ancient Indian and Chinese texts the subtle energy (prana or chi) flows through several thousand anatomically indistinguishable channels or meridians (nadis). Three channels are especially important (ida, pingala, and sushumna). The ida and pingala channels correlate with left and right uninostril breathing, respectively. Like yin and yang, they are considered to represent the masculine and feminine principles present in all creation irrespective of sex. From this perspective these principles are assumed to be present simultaneously in persons of both sexes. This suggests that any sex-specific effects of uninostril breathing may be associated with sex-based physiological differences, not with 'masculine' and 'feminine' attributes of the channels (and the corresponding nostrils).     

Construct validity of the relationship profile test: impact of gender, gender role, and gender role stereotype

Research supports the construct validity of the Relationship Profile Test (RPT; Bornstein & Languirand, 2003), a 30-item, self-report measure of destructive overdependence (DO), dysfunctional detachment (DD), and healthy dependency. In this investigation, we assessed the relationships of gender, gender role, and gender role stereotype ratings to RPT subscale scores. In Study 1, we replicated earlier patterns of gender differences in RPT scores, assessed cross-sample consistency in gender difference effect sizes, and provided preliminary nonclinical norms for the RPT subscales. Study 2 showed that--as expected--DO items are perceived as stereotypically feminine, whereas DD items are perceived as stereotypically masculine. In Study 3, we examined the relationships of RPT subscale scores to masculinity, femininity, and androgyny scores. We discuss the theoretical, empirical, and clinical implications of these findings.     

Evaluation of the BSRI masculine and feminine items using desirability and stereotype ratings

This study empirically tested Bem's (1974) assumption that the BSRI Masculinity and Femininity scales measure sex-typed standards of desirable behavior for men and women in American society. The adequacy of items in the two scales was evaluated by Bem's (1974) criteria using two types of desirability and stereotype ratings. Results obtained in all the experimental conditions except one involving Bem's desirability instructions and Bem's rating scale did not support the tested assumption. Implications of these results for revising the BSRI scales were discussed.     

Changes in masculine and feminine traits over time: A meta-analysis

Sixty-three samples providing single-sex means on the Bem Sex-Role Inventory [BSRI; S. L. Bem (1974) “The Measurement of Psychological Androgyny,”Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 42, pp. 155–162] and 40 reporting similar data on the Personal Attributes Questionnaire [PAQ; J. T. Spence and R. L. Helmreich (1978)Masculinity and Feminity, Austin University of Texas Press] for American undergraduates were located and analyzed. Women’s scores on the BSRI-M and PAQ-M (masculine) scales have increased steadily over time (r’s = .74 and .43, respectively). Women’s BSRI-F and PAQ-F (feminine) scale scores do not correlate with year. Men’s BSRI-M scores show a weaker positive relationship with year of administration (r = .47). The effect size for sex differences on the BSRI-M has also changed over time, showing a significant decrease over the twenty-year period. The results suggest that cultural change and environment may affect individual personalities; these changes in BSRI and PAQ means demonstrate women’s increased endorsement of masculine-stereotyped traits and men’s continued nonendorsement of feminine-steretyped traits. A version of this paper was presented at the 1995 annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, August 11–15, New York. I. would like to thank Abigail J. Stewart and Randy J. Larsen for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper.     

Higher levels of state depression in masculine than in feminine nations

Studies using identical measures have identified different levels of depression in different countries or cultures. Until now, however, explanations for such differences, other than methodological ones, have not been empirically addressed. It was hypothesized and found that soft or feminine nations in which both women and men are offered equal opportunities for the fulfillment of multiple social roles that are associated with good self-rated health would score significantly lower on national depression levels than tough or masculine societies in which such opportunities exist to a clearly lesser extent. Analyses of data collected in 14 nations in Europe (total N>5000) demonstrated that higher scores on Hofstede's national masculinity index and lower ones on national wealth were independent predictors of higher national depression levels. National trait neuroticism did not mediate the relationship between national masculinity and national depression levels.     

Characteristics of androgynous,undifferentiated, masculine,and feminine middle-class women

The Bem Sex-Role Inventory was given to a random sample of 369 middle-class, 20–59-year-old women during the second year of a panel study. A median split on the masculine and feminine scores was used to define feminine (47%), androgynous (24%), masculine (10%), and undifferentiated (19%) women. The four groups were compared using analysis of variance and multiple regression techniques on a variety of demographic, attitudinal, time utilization, personality, and health characteristics to investigate the relationships among sex-typing, attitudes, and behavior. Significant demographic, time utilization, personality, and attitudinal differences were generally consistent with sex-typing, but differences in health were not found.Research for this paper was funded by a National Institute of Drug Abuse grant (DA 00847) to L. S. Fidell and J. E. Prather. Correspondence should be addressed to Linda S. Fidell, Department of Psychology, California State University, Northridge, California 91330.     

Instructional control of sex-related motor behavior in extremely masculine or feminine adults

The main purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which apparently sex-typed subjects manipulated behaviors on the Sex Role Motor Behavior Checklist in response to instructions to convey specific sex-role impressions. Extremely masculine and feminine males and females (10–12 per group) were assessed for their ability to change sex-related motor behavior upon request. Subjects were able to produce significant increases in masculine and feminine motor behavior, particularly in the areas of walking and sitting. Many individual behaviors, however, showed small or inconsistent changes. Apparently, many of the motor differences naturally displayed by males and females are either not consciously part of sex-typed adults' concept of given sex roles or are relatively inflexible in this population. Secondary purposes of the study were to identify specific sex-related motor behavior (a) to alter when changes in sex role seem desirable and (b) to utilize as dependent measures in measuring changes in sex role. Walking and sitting were shown to be especially important areas.The authors would like to thank David Millsaps, Reid Smith, Donna Gosnell, Ruth Rankin, and Stephanie Stohr for their assistance.     

Body ego and the preoedipal roots of feminine gender identity

Traditionally, visual cues (that is, seeing the difference between one's own genitals and those of the opposite sex) and the fantasies that they prompt were thought to be the central determinants in the organization of gender identity. More recently attention has been focused on mother-infant interaction patterns, on the construction of the body itself, on its kinesthetic sensations, and on the fantasies that these evoke. These matters are now thought to be equal in importance to the traditional considerations. The resulting concept of a core gender identity has suggested the possibility of various forms of preoedipal genital anxiety. This paper discusses how two experiences common to childhood as well as adulthood--the tumescence of erectile tissue and the involuntary vaginal secretions of sexual arousal--may contribute to the organization of feminine gender identity. Case material, including a close examination of an analytic hour, is presented to show how this process may manifest itself in adult neurotic conflict.     

Cross-cultural and gender differences in childhood amnesia

In two experiments, we examined cross-cultural and gender differences in adults' earliest memories. To do this, we asked male and female adults from three cultural backgrounds (New Zealand European, New Zealand Maori, and Asian) to describe and date their earliest personal memory. Consistent with past research, Asian adults reported significantly later memories than European adults, however this effect was due exclusively to the extremely late memories reported by Asian females. Maori adults, whose traditional culture includes a strong emphasis on the past, reported significantly earlier memories than adults from the other two cultural groups. Across all three cultures, the memories reported by women contained more information than the memories reported by men. These findings support the view that the age and content of our earliest memories are influenced by a wide range of factors including our culture and our gender. These factors must be incorporated into any comprehensive theory of autobiographical memory.     

The assessment of gender role stress for Chinese

The present study aimed to extend the generality of the construct of gender role stress (GRS) to Chinese samples. Specific objectives included (1) devising Chinese versions of the Masculine Gender Role Stress Scale (MGRS) and Feminine Gender Role Stress Scale (FGRS) developed by Eisler and his colleagues (2) examining the relationship between GRS and gender role orientation, and (3) evaluating the concurrent validity of GRS by correlating it with a measure of health adjustment. Fifty-one male and 58 female Chinese college students in Hong Kong participated in Study 1, which aimed to develop Chinese versions of the two GRS scales. Similar to Americans, Chinese male students scored higher on the MGRS scale, but lower on the FGRS scale than Chinese female students. Students' scores on the two GRS scales were independent from their global ratings of stereotypic masculinity and femininity. A second sample, consisting of 46 male and 73 female Chinese nurses, was recruited for Study 2, which evaluated the association between GRS and health adjustment. As hypothesized, a high level of MGRS or FGRS was positively related to a high level of health and mental health disturbances for both male and female nurses.This study was funded in part by the Asia Scholarship for Research on Women 1992/93 of the United Board for Christian Higher Education. The authors would like to thank Professor Richard M. Eisler for his permission to translate the MGRS and FGRS scales into Chinese, and the Association of Hong Kong Nurses for their assistance in data collection.