Androgyny

Androgyny is

A BALANCE of masculine and feminine characteristics

Bem (1974) said

High androgyny is associated with psychological wellbeing

Measuring androgyny

Bem sex role inventory

Masculine - dominant, competitive, athletic

Feminine - gentle, affectionate, sympathetic

Neutral - sincere, friendly, unpredictable

items on the BSRI

20 feminine, 20 masculine, 20 neutral items

Each rated on a 7 point scale

Masculine Categorisation

High score on masculine, low on feminine

Feminine categorisation

Low on masculine, high on feminine

Androgynous categorisation

High score on both

Undifferentiated categorisation

Low score on both

Strength is gender is measured quantitatively

Numerical approach is useful when it is necessary to quantify a dependant variable

Spence suggests qualitative may represent gender better

Compromise is to combine different scales

Suggests quantitative with qualitative may be useful for different aspects of gender identity

Another strength is BSRI is valid and reliable

Development of scale involved 50 of each gender judging 200 traits in terms of gender desirability

Top 20 were used and 1000 pilot students showed BSRI reflected their gender identity

When some students were retested a month later they produced similar scores

High validity and test-retest reliability

One limitation is people may lack insight into their gender identity

Gender is a social construct which may be more open to interpretation than sex

Furthermore questionnaires scoring system is subjective and applicatio of 7 point scale may differ

BSRI may nnto be a scientific way of assessing gender identity