Life Span Development II: School age and Adolescence 3 (2+1)
Lesson 24 : Gender Identity and Sex Role Stereotypes
Androgynous Individuals
Sandra Bem (1981) introduced the concept of androgyny. Prior to her work masculinity and femininity were seen as polar opposites. Being masculine meant being unfeminine and being feminine meant being unmasculine. She believed that masculinity and femininity are different dimensions of personality rather than merely extremes of a single dimension. In her conceptualization a person can be either high or low on both masculinity and femininity.
Androgyny is the ability to behave in ways traditionally associated with both sexes as the situation warrants. A male or female for example can be nutrient to a child, assertive on the athletic fields and sympathetic with a friend. It all depends on how androgynous you are.
According to Bem (1988) the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics is deemed to have desirable implications for an individual’s behavior regardless of sex.
Participants