Perceived Masculinity and Femininity in Ongoing Opposite Sex Relationships

Date of Award

2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Raghavan, Chemba

Keywords

Gender Roles, Relationships, Bem Sex Role Inventory

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

This thesis explores differences in attraction between actual opposite sex friendships and romantic relationships as a function of gender role perception. Past research (Kulik & Harackiewicz, 1979; McCutcheon, 1988; Desrochers, 1995) tested this area extensively using fictional gender role profiles, indicating that males associate 'feminine' with 'beautiful.' Participants completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1974) 3 times to evaluate the gender roles of themselves, and their current or most recent opposite sex friends, and their romantic partners. It was hypothesized that, in contrast to past research, men will prefer androgynous females romantically and platonically, with women preferring androgynous males both romantically and platonically. Analyses included Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests and chi-squares. Results indicated no significant difference between men and women's preferences in platonic and romantic gender roles, with the exception of males preferring feminine gender roles more romantically. The results suggest that past research methods should change to accommodate changing gender roles.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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