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Gender orientation and the Bem Sex Role Inventory: A psychological construct revisited

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Abstract

In 1973, Constantinople revolutionized the conceptualization of male and female sex roles when she advanced that masculinity and femininity were not opposite ends of a unidimensional continuum but rather independent constructs. This gave rise to androgyny theory, which advanced that individuals could be both masculine and feminine, and that in fact, the most healthy gender orientation was one containing elements of both. Nearly two decades after the development of the androgyny theory and the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), one of its most popular measures, it seems prudent to reexamine the androgyny construct and its measurement. This paper does just that. Within the context of a predominantly middle-class, Caucasian population, this study uses factor analysis, reliability estimates, and measures of population agreement to assess the continuing validity and reliability of the BSRI and androgyny theory. While reinforcing the reliability of the BSRI, results raise both methodological and conceptual questions regarding the BSRI and the operationalization of androgyny.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nevada, Reno

    Deborah Ballard-Reisch & Mary Elton

Authors
  1. Deborah Ballard-Reisch
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  2. Mary Elton
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Ballard-Reisch, D., Elton, M. Gender orientation and the Bem Sex Role Inventory: A psychological construct revisited. Sex Roles 27, 291–306 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289930

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289930

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