Latitudes of Masculinity: Reactions to Sex‐Role Deviance in Men

Abstract

The popular assumption that the male role, as traditionally defined in our society, is narrowly defined and that men who deviate from that role risk devaluation is reexamined. Two studies are presented which did not support the hypothesis that the adult male role is restrictive. A review of the literature relevant to the latitudes of acceptable masculine behavior is presented and a reconceptualization of the definition of the adult male role is proposed.

Effects of occupational choice and sex-role preferences on the attractiveness of competent men and women

“…Indeed, Broverman et al (1972) found college men more likely to assign stereotypically feminine attributes to males than masculine attributes to females when asked to describe the most desirable traits for men and women-a finding which may indicate that males consider men freer to become like women than are women to become like men! Similarly, there is some evidence that men are more likely than women to characterize themselves as androg-ynous (Bem, 1974;Ruble & Higgins, 1976), and that males are free to endorse traditionally "feminine" solutions to social problems without undermining their attractiveness to either men or women (O'Leary & Donoghue, 1978). Thus, a perusal of the literature suggests that the male sex role is probably much less restictive than is commonly assumed.…”

Self‐stereotyping and self‐enhancement in gender groups

“…Studies based on memory paradigms such as recall of information about gendered targets (e.g., Bem, 1981;Frable and Bem, 1985) portray dissimilarities between cognitive styles of processing of information in men and women. Women tend to use gender-related schemas, especially bipolar, more intensively than men (Gonen and Lansky, 1968;Pichevin, 1990, O'Leary andDonoghue, 1978) and more uniformly across situations (Mills and Tyrrell, 1983). Several theoretical arguments have been offered that substantiate these conjectures.…”

Sources of prejudice and how they interact

“…This finding is consistent with past research. A number of researchers have found that gender nonconformity is viewed negatively (Horn, 2007;Lehavot & Lambert, 2007), and more so in males than in females (Sandnabba & Ahlberg, 1999;Cahill & Adams, 1997;Fagot, 1977;Martin, 1990;Preston & Stanley, 1987;Carter & McCloskey, 1983O'Leary & Donoghue, 1978;Hemmer & Kleiber, 1981). Thus, in the current study, the method used to manipulate gender conformity was not sufficient to convey gender nonconformity.…”

“…Previous research found that gender nonconformity was viewed more negatively in males than in females (Sandnabba & Ahlberg, 1999;Cahill & Adams, 1997;Fagot, 1977;Martin, 1990;Preston and Stanley, 1987;Carter & McCloskey, 1983O'Leary & Donoghue, 1978;Hemmer & Kleibar, 1981). One possible explanation for lack of difference in ratings of gender-conforming individuals as a function of sex include the possibility that attitudes have changed somewhat in recent years (e.g., the metrosexual movement), as noted above.…”

“…One possible reason for this belief could be adults' perceptions that boys fitting the "sissy" profile will be less well psychologically adjusted than their peers and are more likely to be gay in adulthood (Martin, 1990). Both parents and peers often accept gender nonconforming girls (Carter & McCloskey, 1983O'Leary & Donoghue, 1978), who are often referred to as tomboys. Tomboys are not only more accepted than feminine boys, but they are even ascribed positive attributes, including being viewed as popular and showing leadership to peers (Hemmer & Kleiber, 1981).…”