Abstract
The Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) is a widely used instrument for measuring gender role perceptions, but questions have been raised regarding whether its items reflect contemporary views on gender. A recent study (Holt & Ellis, 1998) revalidated all but 2 of the 40 adjectives included in the masculine and feminine BSRI indices for a predominantly European American undergraduate sample in a rural Southern town. We examined whether European Americans in a different geographical area and 2 samples of African Americans would show similar findings. Study participants were recruited in undergraduate management courses in 2 universities and included 62 European American women, 69 European American men, 40 African American women, and 31 African American men in a large Northeastern city and 56 African American women and 33 African American men in a small Southern city. Findings indicated that European American men in the urban Northeast and African American men in the South gave the most traditional ratings, whereas European American women in the urban Northeast expressed the most liberal views. European American women considered only 4 of the 40 BSRI items to be differentially desirable for women and men, a considerable departure from the findings of Holt and Ellis (1998) as well as Bem (1974).
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
AFL-CIO. (1998). Facts about working women. Retrieved from www.aflcio.org/women/wwfacts.htm
Arrighi, B. A., & Maume, D. J., Jr. (2000). Workplace subordination and men's avoidance of housework. Journal of Family Issues, 21, 464–487.
Bailey, W. T., Silver, N. C., & Oliver, K. A. (1990). Women's rights and roles: Attitudes among Black and White students. Psychological Reports, 66, 1143–1146.
Bem, S. L. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 155–162.
Bem, S. L. (1977). On the utility of alternative procedures for assessing psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 45, 196–205.
Bem, S. L. (1981). Scoring guide for the Bem Sex-Role Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Bianchi, S. M., Milkie, M. A., Sayer, L. C., & Robinson, J. P. (2000). Is anyone doing the housework? Trends in the gender division of household labor. Social Forces, 79, 191–227.
Blanchard-Fields, F., Suhrer-Roussel, L., & Hertzog, C. (1994). A confirmatory factor analysis of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory: Old questions, new answers. Sex Roles, 30, 423–457.
Blee, K. M., & Tickamyer, A. R. (1995). Racial differences in men's attitudes about women's gender roles. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 21–30.
Broman, C. L. (1991). Gender, work-family roles, and psychological well-being of Blacks. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 509–521.
Burgess, N. J. (1994). Gender roles revisited: The development of the "woman's place" among African American women in the United States. Journal of Black Studies, 24, 391–401.
Burnett, J. W., Anderson, W. P., & Heppner, P. P. (1995). Gender roles and self-esteem: A consideration of environmental factors. Journal of Counseling and Development, 73, 323–332
Chang, L., & McBrideChang, C. (1997). Self-and peer-ratings of female and male roles and attributes. Journal of Social Psychology, 137, 527–529.
Coltrane, S. (2000). Research on household labor: Modeling and measuring the social embeddedness of routine family work. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 1208–1233.
Duncan, L. E., Peterson, B. E., & Winter, D. G. (1997). Authoritarianism and gender roles: Toward a psychological analysis of hegemonic relationships. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 41–49.
Ferree, M. M. (1991). The gender division of labor in two-earner marriages: Dimensions of variability and change. Journal of Family Issues, 12, 158–180.
Gibbons, J. L., Hamby, B. A., & Dennis, W. D. (1997). Researching gender-role ideologies internationally and cross-culturally. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 151–170.
Hatchett, S., Veroff, J., & Douvan, E. (1995). Marital stability among Black and White couples in early marriage. In M. D. Tucker & C. Mitchell-Kernan (Eds.), The decline in early marriage among African Americans (pp. 177–218). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Holt, C. L., & Ellis, J. B. (1998). Assessing the current validity of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory. Sex Roles, 39, 929–941.
Jackson, L. A., Hodge, C. N., & Ingram, J. M. (1994). Gender and self-concept: A reexamination of stereotypic differences and the role of gender attitudes. Sex Roles, 30, 615–630.
Landrine, H., Klonoff, E. A., & Brown-Collins, A. (1992). Cultural diversity and methodology in feminist psychology: Critique, proposal, empirical example. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 16, 145–163.
Lichter, D. T., McLaughlin, D. K., Kephart, G., & Landry, D. J. (1992). Race and the retreat from marriage: A shortage of marriageable men? American Sociological Review, 57, 781–799.
Lindsey, L. L. (1994). Gender roles: A sociological perspective (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Loo, R., & Thorpe, K. (1998). Attitudes toward women's roles in society: A replication after 20 years. Sex Roles, 39, 903–912.
Lueptow, L. B., Garovich-Szabo, L., & Lueptow, M. B. (2001). Social change and the persistence of sex typing: 1974–1997. Social Forces, 80, 1–35.
McCollum, V. J. C. (1997). Evolution of the African American family personality: Considerations for family therapy. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 25, 219–229.
McHugh, M. C., & Frieze, I. H. (1997). The measurement of gender-role attitudes: A review and commentary. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 1–16.
Orbuch, T. L., & Custer, L. (1995). The social context of married women's work and its impact on Black husbands and White husbands. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 333–345.
Orbuch, T. L., & Eyster, S. L. (1997). Division of household labor among Black couples and White couples. Social Forces, 76, 301–332.
Pennell, G. E., & Ogilvie, D. M. (1995). You and me as she and he: The meaning of gender-related concepts in other-and self-perception. Sex Roles, 33, 29–57.
Powell, G. N., & Butterfield, D. A. (1989). The "good manager." Group and Organization Studies, 14, 216–233.
Powell, S. R., & Yanico, B. J. (1991). A multi-method attitude study about women's roles and issues. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 15, 97–101.
Rosenfield, S. (1992). The costs of sharing: Wives' employment and husbands' mental health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 33, 213–225.
Shelton, J. N., & Sellers, R. M. (2000). Situational stability and variability in African American racial identity. Journal of Black Psychology, 26(1), 27–51.
Spence, J. T., & Hahn, E. D. (1997). The Attitudes Toward Women Scale and attitude change in college students. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 17–34.
Staples, R. (1991). Black male genocide: The final solution. In B. Bowser (Ed.), Black male adolescents: Parenting and education in community context (pp. 39–57). Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
Street, S., Kimmel, E. B., & Kromrey, J. D. (1995). Revisiting university student gender role perceptions. Sex Roles, 33, 183–201.
Tucker, M. B., & Taylor, R. J. (1989). Demographic correlates of relationship status among Black Americans. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 655–665.
Twenge, J. M. (1997a). Attitudes toward women: 1970–1995. A meta-analysis. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 35–51.
Twenge, J. M. (1997b). Changes in masculine and feminine traits over time: A meta-analysis. Sex Roles, 36, 305–325.
Twenge, J. M. (1999). Mapping gender: The multifactorial approach and the organization of gender-related attributes. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 23, 485–502.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (2000). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (2001). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2001. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Konrad, A.M., Harris, C. Desirability of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory Items for Women and Men: A Comparison Between African Americans and European Americans. Sex Roles 47, 259–271 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021386727269
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021386727269