Sex, Gender, and Androgyny

The psychology of gender is one of the most debated areas in the discipline. This lesson introduces the fundamental distinctions between sex and gender, examines the concept of androgyny, and explores cognitive explanations of how children develop their understanding of gender.

Key Definition: Sex refers to the biological differences between males and females, determined by chromosomes (XX/XY), hormones, and reproductive anatomy. Gender refers to the psychological and cultural differences associated with being masculine or feminine — including attitudes, behaviours, and social roles.

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Sex versus Gender

It is essential to distinguish between sex (biological) and gender (psychological/social):

Concept	Nature	Determined by	Examples
Sex	Biological	Chromosomes, hormones, anatomy	XX = female, XY = male; testosterone, oestrogen; genitalia
Gender	Psychological/social	Culture, socialisation, cognition	Masculinity, femininity; gender roles; gender identity

Key Definition: Gender identity is a person's internal sense of their own gender — whether they identify as male, female, both, or neither. It may or may not correspond to their biological sex.

Key Definition: Gender roles are the behaviours, attitudes, and personality traits that a given culture considers appropriate for males or females. These vary across cultures and historical periods.

Gender Roles and Stereotypes

Gender stereotypes are widely held beliefs about the characteristics typically associated with men and women:

• Masculine stereotypes: assertive, independent, competitive, unemotional, physically strong
• Feminine stereotypes: nurturing, empathetic, cooperative, emotional, physically delicate

These stereotypes influence socialisation from birth — parents, teachers, peers, and media all transmit messages about "appropriate" gendered behaviour.

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Androgyny

The Concept of Androgyny

Key Definition: Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine personality traits in roughly equal measure. An androgynous person scores high on both masculinity and femininity, rather than being strongly gender-typed.

Sandra Bem (1974) argued that rigid gender typing is psychologically limiting. She proposed that androgynous individuals are more psychologically healthy and adaptable because they can draw on both masculine and feminine traits as the situation demands.

The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)

Bem (1974) developed the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) to measure androgyny. The BSRI consists of 60 attributes:

• 20 masculine items (e.g., assertive, independent, ambitious)
• 20 feminine items (e.g., affectionate, sympathetic, gentle)
• 20 neutral (filler) items (e.g., happy, truthful, reliable)

Participants rate how well each attribute describes them on a 7-point scale.

Classification:

Score Pattern	Classification
High masculine, low feminine	Masculine sex-typed
Low masculine, high feminine	Feminine sex-typed
High masculine, high feminine	Androgynous
Low masculine, low feminine	Undifferentiated

Evaluation of the BSRI and Androgyny

Strengths (AO3):

• The BSRI has high test-retest reliability — scores are consistent over time (Bem, 1974).
• The concept of androgyny challenges the assumption that there are only two gender categories, promoting a more flexible view of gender.
• Research supports Bem's claim that androgynous individuals are more psychologically flexible: they show better adjustment and higher self-esteem in some studies (Flaherty & Dusek, 1980).

Limitations (AO3):

• Temporal validity: The BSRI was developed in the 1970s. What counts as "masculine" or "feminine" has changed significantly since then (e.g., "ambitious" is no longer considered exclusively masculine).
• Oversimplification: Reducing gender to two dimensions (masculinity and femininity) measured by adjective checklists is reductive. Gender is far more complex than a set of personality traits.
• Social desirability: Participants may respond in ways they think are socially desirable rather than accurately describing themselves.
• Assumes masculinity and femininity are independent dimensions. Some psychologists argue they are not truly independent — a person's expression of masculinity may influence their femininity.

Exam Tip: The BSRI is a favourite target for AO3 questions. Focus on its temporal validity (developed in the 1970s — culturally outdated) and the problem of reducing gender to personality traits.

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Kohlberg's Cognitive-Developmental Theory (1966)

Lawrence Kohlberg proposed that children's understanding of gender develops through three stages, each representing a qualitative shift in cognitive understanding.

The Three Stages

Stage	Age	Description
Gender identity	~2 years	The child can correctly label themselves and others as male or female, but does not understand that gender is fixed.
Gender stability	~4 years	The child understands that gender is stable over time (e.g., "I am a boy, and I will be a man when I grow up"), but thinks gender can change if external appearances change.
Gender constancy	~6–7 years	The child understands that gender is constant regardless of changes in appearance, clothing, or activities. This is similar to Piaget's concept of conservation.

Key Features of Kohlberg's Theory