Androgyny

Question 1

What is androgyny?

Answer 1

• When a person displays a balance of both masculine and feminine characteristics
• Being androgynous is to have the appearance of someone who cannot clearly be identified as male or female

Question 2

How do you measure androgyny?

Answer 2

• Sandra Bem (1974) developed a method for measuring androgyny
• & Suggested that high androgyny is asscociated with better psychological well-being
• Was known as The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)

Question 3

How did Sandra Bem’s scale work?

Answer 3

• Scale presents 20 characterisitics that would commonly be identified as ‘masculine’ (e.g. competitive & aggressive) & 20 that would be typically judged as feminine (e.g. tender & gentle)
• A further 20 neutral traits are also included in the scale.
• Respondents are required to rate themselves on a seven-point rating scale for each item
• (e.g. 1 in ‘never true of me’ & 7 is ‘always true of me’)
• Scores are then classified on the basis of two dimensions (masculinity- femininity and androgynous-undifferentiated)

Question 4

How would the scores of Sandra Bems BSRI test work?

Answer 4

Scores:
High Masculine- Low Feminine - Masculine
Low Masculine- High Feminine- Feminine
High Masculine- High Feminine- Androgynous
Low Feminine- Low masculine- Undifferentiated

Question 5

What is one strength of Bem’s work?

Answer 5

• OS: is that gender identity is measured quantitatively. Bem’s numerical approach is useful for research purposes when it is necessary
• However Janet Spence (1984) argues that there is more to gender identity than a set of behaviours typical of one gender or the other, so qualitive methods of data offer a better way of analysing gender

This suggests that both quantitative together with qualitative approaches may be useful for studying different aspects of gender identity.

Question 6

Give another strength of the BSRI.

Answer 6

• OS: At the time Bem developed the scale, it appeared to be a valid & reliable way of measuring androgyny.
• The scale was developed by asking 50 male & 50 female judges to rate the 200 traits in terms of how much the traits represented ‘maleness’ & ‘femaleness’. The traits that scored the highest in each category become the 20 masculine & 20 feminine traits on the scale.
• The BSRI was then piolted woth over 1000 students & the results broadly corresponded with the participants own description of their gender identity, demonstrating validity.
• A follow up study involving a smaller sample of the same students produced similar scores when the students were tested a month later, demonstrating test-retest reliability.

This gives us reason to believe the test was both valid & reliable

Question 7

Give one disadvantage of the BSRI scale

Answer 7

• The BSRI was developed over 40 years ago and behaviours that are regarded as ‘typical’ and ‘acceptable’ in relation to gender have changed significantly since then.
• Bems scale is made up of stereotypical ideas of masculinity & femininity that may be outdated.
• The scale was also devised using people from the US - Western notions of maleness & femaleness may not be shared across all cultures & societies

This suggests that the BSRI may lack temporal validity and generalisability and not be a suitable measure of gender identitiy today.

Question 8

Give another limitation of the BSRI

Answer 8

• OL: peope may not have an insight into their gender identity
• Asking people to rate themselves on a questionaire relies on people having an understanding of their personality & behaviour that they may not necessarily have.
• Gender is a social construct which may be more open to interpretation than, say, sex
• Furthermore the questionnaires scoring system is subjective & peoples application of the 7 point scale may differ.

This suggests that the BSRI may not be an objective scientific way of assesing gender identity.