Data from the authors' previous research (1979, 1980, 1987), consisting of responses to five masculinity-femininity (M-F), two esteem, and two social desirability instruments, were reanalyzed. The subjects were 104 male and 133 female college students who completed the: Bem Sex Role Inventory, Personal Attributes Questionnaire, ANDRO instrument…

Research has shown sex differences in performance favoring males are likely to be reported on cognitive tasks requiring spatial skills. It has also been suggested that the reason why individuals who describe themselves as masculine also tend to do well on spatial tasks may be a function of activity preference. To examine the relationship among…

Recent investigations of gender are fostering structurally deterministic explanations by focusing exclusively on social processes. A balanced understanding of femininity involves considering psychic forces in conjunction with social factors. An interpretation of Freud currently being articulated in Europe delineates unconscious forces fruitfully…

Examines existing analyses of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and further investigates the psychometric adequacy of the instrument. Proposes a revision with 10 items each measuring masculinity and femininity. (PD)

Four hundred undergraduates were asked to describe their construals of male and female stereotypes. Results support the notion that people's perceptions of maleness are more stereotypically framed than their perceptions of femaleness, suggesting that more draconian notions of gender appropriateness are applied to males than to females in our…

Results of 2 experiments involving 305 college students suggest that instructor gender role is more important than instructor gender in affecting student evaluations and that both female and male students prefer instructors with both feminine and masculine characteristics, regardless of gender. (SLD)

Presents two studies articulating the features of everyday conceptions of masculinity and femininity and determines the dimensions that underlie these constructs. Results show that conceptions of masculinity and femininity do exist, that they can be articulated, that lay conceptions of masculinity and femininity are multidimensional, and that…

Explores the inferior position of women librarians in the Australian workforce and presents a case study of Jean Arnot. Topics include women's financial status as related to marital status; barriers in the recruitment and promotion processes; issues of health; and salary differences. (67 references) (LRW)

Children of 4 to 10 years of age were told about children whose sex was not specified and who had a masculine or feminine toy or characteristic. Results indicated that children first learn characteristics relevant to their own sex, and that older children's stereotypic judgments about gender are more extreme than those of younger children. (BC)

Investigated relationships between deception and self-perception of traditionally masculine and feminine characteristics. Elementary students completed sex role inventories, then boys completed questionnaires on masculine, feminine, and neutral topics. Questionnaires allowed opportunity for deception regarding knowledge level. Feminine boys…

Androgyny research has been hampered by a dependency upon traditional masculine and feminine sex roles for definition. Bakan's (1966) concept of agency and communion, which parallels masculinity and femininity, refers to behavioral competencies, involving a style or manner of interacting with the environment devoid of gender designations and…

The role of the teacher as a mediator of traditional cultural attitudes and the socialization of males in society were examined. A study was made of six male preservice teachers who were interviewed and observed in elementary school classroom settings to determine how their perspectives of masculinity and femininity were conveyed to the students.…

A multitrait-multimethod matrix analysis indicated the following: (1) trait and behavior measures of masculinity and femininity showed little convergence; (2) trait masculinity did not meet the criteria for discrimination from self-esteem; and (3) trait masculinity was more strongly correlated with self-esteem than was behavior masculinity.…

Masculinity and femininity were related to multiple dimensions of self-concept in responses from 962 high school students. It was found that masculinity and femininity each contributed positively and uniquely to the prediction of well-differentiated facets of self-concept. (Author/LMO)

Presents survey results from 981 undergraduate students on the conflicting demands on young women, such as spousal obligations, marriage-career aspirations, and perceived degree of liberalism-conservatism pertaining to women's place in society. Concluding comments focus on the dilemma posed by new opportunities through structural change and the…