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A measure of androgyny and gender role

Sandra Bem

The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) provides  independent assessments of masculinity and femininity in terms of the respondent’s self-reported possession of socially desirable, stereotypically masculine and feminine personality characteristics. This can also be seen as a measurement of the extent to which respondents spontaneously sort self-relevant information into distinct masculine and feminine categories. The self administering sixty-item questionnaire measures masculinity, femininity, androgyny, and undifferentiated, using the Masculinity and Femininity scales. 

• A total of sixty questions--twenty regarding masculine characteristics, twenty feminine, and twenty neutral
• Includes the short form of thirty questions
• Requires only about ten minutes to complete

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About the Bem

The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) was designed for conducting empirical research on psychological androgyny. It is also used for workshops and counseling on gender awareness. The BSRI contains sixty personality characteristics. Twenty of the characteristics are stereotypically feminine (e.g., affectionate, gentle, understanding, sensitive to the needs of others) and twenty are stereotypically masculine (e.g., ambitious, self-reliant, independent, assertive). The BSRI also contains twenty filler items (e.g., truthful, happy, conceited).

The BSRI is distinguished from most masculinity-femininity scales by the following characteristics:

• Provides independent assessments of masculinity and femininity through self-reported possession of socially desirable, stereotypically masculine and feminine personality traits
• Measures the extent to which respondents spontaneously sort self-relevant information into distinct masculine and feminine categories (under Sandra Bem's gender schema theory)

Contents of Manual

• Procedures for administering and scoring
• Normative data with percentile tables, and information on classifying subjects
• Construction of inventory and psychometric data on scales
• Listing of empirical studies using the BSRI
• Suggestion for further reading on Psychological Androgyny and References

 

Administration

• Self administering (to individuals or large groups)
• Not a timed test (takes approximately 10-15 minutes)
• Age Range: High school students and older

When taking the BSRI, a person is asked to indicate on a seven-point scale how well each of the sixty characteristics describes herself or himself. The scale ranges from 1 ("Never or almost never true") to 7 (Always or almost always true").

1.  love children	____	3. conscientious	____
2. defend my own beliefs	____	4. unsystematic	____

Scales

The items are scored on independent dimensions of masculinity and femininity as well as androgyny and undifferentiate classifications:

• High on masculinity and femininity?  Androgynous
• Low on masculinity and femininity?  Undifferentiated
• High on masculinity and low on femininity?  "Masculine"
• High on femininity and low on masculinity ?  "Feminine"

Scoring

Relatively simple hand-scoring.

Norm Groups

31-65 years old (Adults), greater than 62 years old (Older Adults), Psychiatric Inpatients, and Judges.

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FROM THE BEM

"The concept of psychological androgyny implies that it is possible for an individual to be both compassionate and assertive, both expressive and instrumental, both feminine and masculine, depending upon the situational appropriateness of these various modalities. And it further implies that an individual may even blend these complementary modalities in a single act, such as the ability to fire an employee, if the circumstances warrant it, but with sensitivity for the human emotion that such an act inevitably produces."

--Sandra Bem, Bem Sex Role Inventory Manual

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RELATED LINKS

"Genetic and environmental forces on gender development are difficult to disentangle," says Stanford psychologist Eleanor Maccoby at the APA 2000 Annual Convention.

American Psychotherapy Association Guidelines for Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, & Bisexual Clients