The shaping of masculinity: Revisioning boys turning away from their mothers to construct male gender identity

This paper offers an understanding of the nature of the internalization processes involved in the shaping of male gender identity founded on the boy's unique struggles in separating from his mother. The underpinning for the initial development of a sense of masculinity is reconsidered as the author questions the widely held idea of Greenson and Stoller that a boy normatively has to 'dis-identify' from his mother to create his gender identity. Import rather is placed on the conscious and unconscious aspects of the mother's (and father's) pre-oedipal and oedipal relationship with their little boy in order better to understand the nature of the boy's unique identifications and subsequent sense of masculinity. Both the security of the boy's attachment to his mother, in providing the foundation for a transitional turning to an 'other', and the mother's capacity to reflect upon and recognize her own, as well as the father's and her son's, subjectivity and maleness, are crucial in comprehending boys' 'attachment-individuation' process. Likewise, the unconscious paternal and maternal imagos and identifications of both the boy's mother and father, as well as the father's pre-oedipal relationship with his little boy and the boy's mother, are extremely significant in shaping a son's gender identity. The author argues that these early maternal (and paternal) identifications live on in every male and continue to impact the sense of maleness in a dialectical interplay throughout the life span. A maturing gender identity develops from integrating these early, pre-oedipal maternal identifications that no longer need be repudiated nor defensively organized as polarized gender splitting.     

Accessing the multitude within: A psychoanalytic perspective on the transformation of masculinity at mid‐life1

This paper reflects upon the essential components of male identity that commonly are reworked in middle age. The author argues that healthy masculine gender identity involves an ongoing, plastic process of destabilization and reconstruction at various pivotal developmental stages, particularly during middle adulthood. In essence, a man's mature transformation of his sense of masculinity results when finite concepts of gender identity are superseded by an awareness of the complexity of one's multiple, early and diverse gender identifications. A clinical case provides insight into how psychoanalytic treatment can contribute to a new experience of masculinity. The case illustrates how a maturing man, meeting an altered sense of identity in mid‐life, relies less on gender splitting and more on reuniting previously antithetical intrapsychic elements. Why this more pluralistic, polythreaded masculinity frequently must wait until mid‐life is further clarified. Specific importance is attached to the early development of male gender identity as it is founded on the boy's unique struggles in separating from his mother. The foundation for male gender identity formation is reconsidered as the author questions the ‘dis‐identification’ model while explicating how the boy's striving for narcissistic completion shapes the gendered masculine ego ideal. Classically termed ‘phallicism’ is understood both to facilitate and obstruct a man's adult development, while the concept of ‘genitality’ is augmented by the postclassical notion of ‘interiority’. At mid‐life, ‘phallic’ ego ideals (resting on omnipotence, desires for narcissistic completion and gender splitting) are transformed into more realistic, ‘genital’ ego ideals (synthesizing autonomy and connection). The achievement of a mature, less sharply gendered ‘masculine’ ego ideal (revitalizing the foreclosed dimensions of both the early maternal and paternal imagos) occurs as the balance of forces shifts in the direction of true genitality rather than defensive phallicism.     

Janet Taylor Spence: Innovator in the Study of Gender

Janet Spence’s contributions moved gender researchers beyond a simple understanding of psychological gender in terms of individual differences in masculinity and femininity. In early work, she constructed the Personal Attributes Questionnaire, or PAQ, consisting of a masculine and a feminine scale, which she interpreted as assessing the core of psychological masculinity and femininity. Spence subsequently recognized that the masculine, or instrumental, scale reliably predicts only self-assertive, dominant behaviors and that the feminine, or expressive, scale reliably predicts only other-oriented, relational behaviors. Moreover, as her work developed, Spence came to understand this self-ascribed instrumentality and expressiveness, not as gender identity, but as two of the several types of psychological attributes that may become associated with individuals’ self-categorization as male or female. She then defined gender identity as the basic, existential sense of being male or female, which generally corresponds to one’s biological sex. Building on her ideas, we argue that gender identity instead encompasses both the sex categorization of oneself, usually as male or female, and self-assessments on gender-stereotypic instrumental and expressive attributes. These two levels of gender identity are linked by people’s self-stereotyping to the extent that they value their group membership as male or female.     

"I want to be a daddy!": meanings of masculine identifications in girls

This paper suggests revisions in our understanding of feminine identity formation, the girl's negative oedipus complex, and masculine identifications in girls. Analytic material from the cases of three girls is used to explore the various origins and intrapsychic functions of masculine identifications at each phase of the girl's development. Accounts of feminine development based on such concepts as castration shock, primary femininity, primary identification with mother, or core gender identity are seen as oversimplified. Feminine and masculine identifications are neither primary nor secondary, but the product of a long line of development, of ongoing conflict resolution, and of defensive transformations.     

Sex-role identity and male and female homosexuality

The incidences of sex-role outcome within homosexual and heterosexual male and female young adult samples were compared using a fourfold typology (both masculine and feminine, masculine, feminine, neither masculine nor feminine). Sex-role identity disparities between the female groups were more clear-cut; the most striking difference was the high incidence of masculinity (60%) within the homosexual female group. No significant differences for males were found, although a trend was noted toward higher incidence of femininity and lower incidence of masculinity in homosexuals. The second purpose of the study was to search for possible developmental antecedents to heterosexual deficit in unselected college samples. The same key pattern of psychometric indices was identified for males and females. Low heterosexuality and the closest approximation to the modal sex-role identity among homosexuals of their sex were found in females primarily identified with masculine fathers and low in role consistency and in males primarily identified with feminine mothers and low in role consistency.     

Assessment of sex-role stereotyping among male and female psychologist practitioners

Seventy-seven female and 86 male psychologist practitioners filled out the Bem Sex Rote Inventory to describe either a healthy adult male, healthy adult female, or healthy adult, sex unspecified. Analyzing the data according to Bem's classification of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny produced a significant Scale X Condition interaction with male and female practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine than feminine traits to healthy adult men, yet displaying no comparable differences when rating healthy adult women. Analyzing the data according to Spence's classification of masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated produced a Group X Condition interaction with practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine traits to healthy adult men and significantly more feminine traits to healthy adult women. Reanalyses omitting "masculine" and "feminine" from Bem's fist of sex-typed traits produced nonsignificant results. The relationship of this to recent criticisms of the construct validity of the BSRI and to the validity of earlier results of therapist sex-role bias was discussed.     

The Factor Structure of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

Seventy-seven female and 86 male psychologist practitioners filled out the Bem Sex Rote Inventory to describe either a healthy adult male, healthy adult female, or healthy adult, sex unspecified. Analyzing the data according to Bem's classification of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny produced a significant Scale X Condition interaction with male and female practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine than feminine traits to healthy adult men, yet displaying no comparable differences when rating healthy adult women. Analyzing the data according to Spence's classification of masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated produced a Group X Condition interaction with practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine traits to healthy adult men and significantly more feminine traits to healthy adult women. Reanalyses omitting "masculine" and "feminine" from Bem's fist of sex-typed traits produced nonsignificant results. The relationship of this to recent criticisms of the construct validity of the BSRI and to the validity of earlier results of therapist sex-role bias was discussed.     

BEHAVIORAL TREATMENT OF DEVIANT SEX-ROLE BEHAVIORS IN A MALE CHILD1

This study demonstrated reinforcement control over pronounced feminine behaviors in a male child who had been psychologically evaluated as manifesting “childhood cross-gender identity”. The clinical history of the subject paralleled the retrospective reports of adult transsexuals, including (a) cross-gender clothing preferences, (b) actual or imaginal use of cosmetic articles, (c) feminine behavior mannerisms, (d) aversion to masculine activities, coupled with preference for girl playmates and feminine activities, (e) preference for female role, (f) feminine voice inflection and predominantly feminine content in speech, and (g) verbal statements about the desire or preference to be a girl. The subject was treated sequentially in the clinic and home environments by his mother, trained to be his therapist. The mother was taught to reinforce masculine behaviors and to extinguish feminine behaviors, by using social reinforcement in the clinic and a token reinforcement procedure in the home. During this treatment, his feminine behaviors sharply decreased and masculine behavior increased. The treatment effects were found to be largely response-specific and stimulus-specific; consequently, it was necessary to strengthen more than one masculine behavior and weaken several feminine behaviors, in both clinic and home settings. A multiple-baseline intrasubject design was used to ensure both replication and identification of relevant treatment variables. Follow-up data three years after the treatment began suggests that the boy's sex-typed behaviors have become normalized. This study suggests a preliminary step toward correcting pathological sex-role development in boys, which may provide a basis for the primary prevention of adult transsexualism or similar adult sex-role deviation.     

That's a boy's toy: gender-typed knowledge in toddlers as a function of mother's marital status

A child who is highly gender schematic readily uses gender when processing new information. In the current study, we examined whether and how family structure predicts a child's level of gender-typed knowledge (as assessed by a gender-stereotype sorting task) once the category of gender is in place (as assessed by a gender-labeling task). It was predicted that children from more "traditional" family structures (married mothers) would have more gender-typed knowledge compared to children from less traditional families (unmarried mothers). Moreover, we explored if this relationship would be related to, at least in part, the greater frequency of androgynous behaviors (i.e., both masculine and feminine household activities) an unmarried mother performs. Twenty-eight children (age 2 to 3) were tested at local childcare centers. The mother of each child reported her marital status as well as how often she engaged in stereotypically masculine and feminine behaviors. As expected, mothers' marital status was associated with children's level of gender-typed knowledge, such that children with unmarried mothers had less gender-typed knowledge, in part due to the unmarried mother's greater frequency of androgynous behaviors. Implications for children's acquisition of gender-related stereotypes and the possible benefit of having mothers model both masculine and feminine behaviors are discussed.     

Self as the feminine principle

In analytical psychology, ego is associated with consciousness and the masculine principle. Although die feminine principle generally characterizes the unconscious, it was not assigned a psychic structure equivalent to the ego. This paper proposes a model of the psyche where self and ego are the major modes of psychic experience. The self as the 'being' mode represents the feminine principle and functions according to primary process; the ego represents 'doing', the masculine principle and secondary process. Feminine and masculine principles are considered to be of equal significance in both men and women and are not limited to gender.
Jung's concept of the self is related to the Hindu metaphysical concepts of Atman and Brahman, whose source was the older Aryan nature-oriented, pagan religion. The prominence of self in analytical psychology and its predominantly 'feminine' symbolism can be understood as Jung's reaction to the psychoanalytic emphasis on ego and to Freud's 'patriarchal' orientation. In Kabbalah, a similar development took place when the feminine principle of the Shekinah emerged in a central, redemptive role, as a mythic compensation to the overtly patriarchal Judaic religion.
In the proposed model of the psyche neither ego nor self represents the psychic totality. The interplay of both psychic modes/principles constitutes the psyche and the individuation process.     

Integrating male and female elements in a woman's gender identity.

Despite advances in female developmental theory since the 1970s, there remains a lingering tendency to stereotype and polarize gender identity. The key to this puzzle may be found in the legacy of early libido theory, which offers an unintegratable solution for women. This is because in order for a woman to claim femininity according to this early theory, her masculine trends in development must be repudiated and "overcome." A contemporary theory based on primary femininity suggests that this early theoretical "either/or" dilemma puts forward a developmentally immature solution. The analysis of a thirty-year-old woman, and a commentary contrasting "old" and "newer" ways of thinking on the part of the analyst, demonstrate that an interweaving pattern of paternal identifications and male body representations, together with the female body image and female identifications, is necessary to create a mature gender identity portrait. The female body representation and maternal identifications may indeed be enhanced by male internalizations, as happened in this particular instance.     

Does Masculinity Thwart Being Religious? An Examination of Older Men’sReligiousness

Previous work shows a significant relationship between gender orientation and being religious in samples of college–age and adult men. Before entering later life, men with a feminine orientation have greater religious involvement than other men. In a sample of older men from three Massachusetts counties, this study assessed the bearing of men'sgender orientation and gender ideology on their religious involvement. Gender orientation more than masculinity ideology was found to be a reliable predictor of older men'sreligiousness. Similar to studies of younger men, a feminine orientation was a significant determinant of the older men's religious participation, commitment, and intrinsic orientation. Older men who define self in very masculine terms, however, engaged in a quest religiosity. When the masculinity ideology contains norms that prescribe the virtues of a traditional masculinity and acquiring status, men's religious orientation was extrinsic (or means) oriented. These important findings are discussed in terms of how masculinity is at times a barrier to men's private devotion and at other times can be a trigger to questing.     

Childhood Trauma, Adult Sexual Assault, and Adult Gender Expression among Lesbian and Bisexual Women

Several studies have demonstrated that lesbian and bisexual women are more likely than heterosexual women to report childhood abuse and adult sexual assault. It is unknown, however, which sexual minority women are most likely to experience such abuse. We recruited adult sexual minority women living in the US through electronic fliers sent to listservs and website groups inviting them to complete an online survey (N?=?1,243). We examined differences in both childhood abuse and adult sexual assault by women’s current gender identity (i.e., butch, femme, androgynous, or other) and a continuous measure of gender expression (from butch/masculine to femme/feminine), adjusting for sexual orientation identity, age, education, and income. Results indicated that a more butch/masculine current self-assessment of gender expression, but not gender identity, was associated with more overall reported childhood trauma. Although one aspect of gender expression, a more butch/masculine gender role, was associated with adult sexual assault, feminine appearance and a femme gender identity also significantly predicted adult sexual assault. These findings highlight the significance of gender identity and expression in identifying women at greater risk for various abuse experiences.     

INSTRUMENTAL AND EXPRESSIVE TRAITS, TRAIT STEREOTYPES, AND SEXIST ATTITUDES What Do They Signify?

College students rated die typical male and female student and themselves on 22 instrumental (I) and 16 expressive (E) items from the PAQ (Spence & Helmreich, 1978) and the BSRI (Bern, 1974), as well as on the BSRI items "masculine" and "feminine." They also completed measures of gender stereotypes and sexist attitudes. Significant gender stereotypes were found on all but two I and E items in both genders. Significant gender differences in self-report were found on all the E items but on only 41% of the I items, confirming our hypotheses that societal changes have led women to develop more agentic self-conceptions. The pattern of relationships found between the self-report, stereotype, and attitude measures supports the utility of a multidimensional approach to gender. Responses to the items "masculine" and "feminine" confirm the implications of our hypothesis that these items primarily assess men's and women's basic sense of gender identity.     

Adolescents’ Perceptions of Masculine and Feminine Values in Sport and Physical Education: A Study of Gender Differences

In present study we investigated possible gender differences in how 357 secondary-school students valued the importance of masculine and feminine characteristics within sport and physical education and how their ratings of values were related to their participation in gendered sport. The results indicated that boys rated appearance strength, sports competence, endurance strength, and masculinity as significantly more important than did girls. Girls rated appearance good looking face, appearance slender, and femininity as significantly more important than did boys. Further, more boys participated in traditionally masculine sports, whereas girls to a greater extent participated in traditionally feminine sports. A discriminant function analysis separated the masculine sport group from the feminine sport group, which suggests that higher scores on the masculine function were indicative of lower value on appearance slender and flexibility, accompanied by higher value on appearance strength and masculinity. For the feminine sport group, this pattern was the opposite.     

Client Gender and Sex Role: Predictors of Counselors' Impressions and Expectations

Researchers of this study questioned: Are clients (male or female) with self-reported “masculine” versus “feminine” role orientations viewed more favorably by counselors? Which is more predictive of the counselor's impressions: the client's gender or his or her sex role orientation? Results suggested that highly masculine and highly feminine clients (regardless of gender) are perceived as more socially skilled and likely to experience a positive therapeutic outcome. Gender did not uniquely predict counselors' impressions. Highly feminine women clients, however, were viewed as more socially skilled than were highly feminine men. On average, clients were viewed as friendly and submissive.     

GENDER ROLE AND POLITICAL OFFICE

Women are less represented in prestigious national political offices than they are in state and local offices. How this underrepresentation may be related to perceived characteristics of office and candidate are explored in the two studies described here. In Study 1, the "masculinity/femininity" of local, state, and national offices was analyzed; all levels of office were rated as more "masculine" than "feminine." In Study 2, the sex as well as the gender role of a hypothetical presidential candidate was varied. "Masculine" and male candidates were evaluated as being more competent on presidential tasks such as dealing with terrorism; "feminine" and female candidates were rated higher on tasks such as solving problems in our educational system. Men, regardless of gender role, were perceived as being more likely to win a presidential election, and "masculine" tasks were evaluated as being more important than "feminine" presidential tasks. Implications for future female politicians are discussed.     

The impact of family status on gender identity and on sex-typing of household tasks in Israel

The author examined differences in sex-typing of household tasks (adult gender roles and children's chores) and differences in gender identity among adult Israelis. The author compared 2 groups of participants: single people without children (single-family participants; n = 62) and married people with children (full-family participants; n = 62). Regarding sex-typing of household tasks and direct assessments of masculine and feminine identity, there were no differences between single-family participants and full-family participants. However, family status affected self-assessments of gender identity that were based on cultural definitions of masculine and feminine attributes. Furthermore, correlations between direct assessments of gender identity and sex-typing of household tasks differed according to family status.     

Gender traits and identities in a "masculine" organization: the Israeli police force

Gender and occupational identities were examined within the Israeli police force, a stereotypically masculine organization. The principal hypothesis was that women in this organizational setting did not reject their gender identity. Rather, they self-attributed more traditionally masculine traits in addition to their feminine traits. This was especially so among women going through particularly intense occupational and organizational socialization needed for field jobs. The findings only partially confirmed the hypothesis. Most women in the sample considered themselves to be highly feminine, even though they self-attributed masculine traits. Although the women, like their male colleagues, ranked occupational identity higher than gender identity, their feminine identity (usually in contrast with the masculine organizational context) was not repressed and their gender identity was as strong as that of the men.