androgyny and BMI Flashcards
define androgyny
individuals who display equal levels of masculine and feminine traits/characteristics
what was the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)
-Bem challenged the 2 gender identities by adding ‘androgynous’
-by ‘psychological androgyny’ she was referring to behavioural and emotional traits rather than physical androgyny.
-being androgynous means that you have a balance of both masculine and feminine thinking eg assertive but kind and caring
how did the BSRI measure androgyny
-includes 60 characteristics:
20 ‘masculine’, eg competitive
20 ‘feminine’ eg gender
20 neutral eg truthful
-respondents rate themselves on a 7 point rating scale (1=never etc)
-scores are calculated in terms of:
masculine-femininity and androgynous-undifferentiated
what were the BEM’s findings
-more people were androgynous than the extremes of high femininity/masculinity
-masculinity and femininity are independent traits and not inevitably linked to sex
-a person can score high or low on either or both regardless of their sex
why did Bem think that androgynous people were more psychologically healthy
-androgynous people are more comfortable with who they are, as there are not forced expectations upon them of how they ‘should’ behave
-argues that Western culture encourages boys to inhibit the ‘feminine’ side, vice versa
-allows people to handle situations in flexible ways, and androgynous people don’t suppress themselves to fit in with sex-role stereotypes
what’re 2 strengths for androgyny and the BSRI
BSRI’s high internal validity and test-retest reliability
Bem’s numerical approach
whatre 2 limitations of androgyny and BSRI
Bem’s category lacks temporal validity and cultural relativity
questionnaires as a format
how has the BSRI’s high internal validity and test-retest validity supported androgyny
developed by asking 50 male and 50 females to rate 200 traits in term of how desirable they are for men and women, with the highest 20 traits for each category becoming used.
BSRI was then piloted with >1,000 students and results broadly corresponded with participants’ own description of their gender identity.
a follow up study, a month later, revealed similar scores showing high internal validity/test-retest reliability
how is Bem’s numerical approach a support for Andorgyny
Bem’s approach is useful to quantify a dependent variable but Spence suggested that a qualitative approach represents gender identity better.
compromised in the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ), adding instrumentality and expressivity as a dimension, suggesting that the use together of qualitative/quantitative may be useful for studying different aspects of gender identity
how does the BSRI lack temporal validity and cultural relativity?
developed >40 years ago, the ‘typical’/‘acceptable’ behaviours have significantly changed. Bem’s scale may be seen as outdated in its stereotypical ideas. additionally, the scale used a panel of judges from the US, and the Western ideas of ‘maleness’/‘femaleness’ may not be shared across all cultures and societies
how does the questionnaire format limit the BSRI
-asking people to rate themselves relies on an understanding of their personality and behaviour they may not necessarily have.
-gender is also a hypothetical constrict which is much more open to interpretation than the biological fact of sex.
-social desirability bias may also be present.
-a scoring system is also subjective of interpretations of the meaning of each point of the 7-point scale.
