Sex Typing and the Avoidance of Cross-Sex Behavior

This article presents evidence for the hypothesis that cross-sex behavior is motivationally problematic for sex-typed individuals and that they actively avoid it as a result. In particular, when asked to indicate which of a series of paired activities they would prefer to perform for pay while being...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality and social psychology 1976-01, Vol.33 (1), p.48-54
Main Authors: Bem, Sandra L, Lenney, Ellen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Androgyny
Avoidance
Avoidance Learning
Conflict (Psychology)
Female
Feminism
Gender Identity
Human
Humans
Identification (Psychology)
Male
Personality Inventory
Self Concept
Sex Role Attitudes
Sex Roles
Stereotyped Behavior
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Summary:This article presents evidence for the hypothesis that cross-sex behavior is motivationally problematic for sex-typed individuals and that they actively avoid it as a result. In particular, when asked to indicate which of a series of paired activities they would prefer to perform for pay while being photographed, sex-typed subjects were more likely than either androgynous or sexreversed subjects to prefer sex-appropriate activity and to resist sex-inappropriate activity, even though such choices cost them money. Moreover, actually engaging in cross-sex behavior caused sex-typed subjects to report greater psychological discomfort and more negative feelings about themselves.
ISSN:0022-3514
1939-1315
DOI:10.1037/h0078640