Changes in masculinity and femininity across the family life cycle: A reexamination.

Rather than remaining fixed once adulthood is reached, such personality characteristics as masculinity and femininity have been shown to fluctuate systematically as a function of the individual's current family lifestage (i.e., cohabiting, married, expecting a first child, parenthood; Abrahams, Feldman, & Nash, 1978; Feldman, Biringen, & Nash, 1981). These workers concluded that the anticipation and presence of children have strong consequences for the masculinity and femininity of their parents. However, findings from 582 Australian survey respondents showed that the individual's involvement in the adult world of work and study has a greater impact on his or her masculinity and femininity scores than a nurturant role toward children. In a combined sample of dating, cohabiting, and married couples and divorced partners, employed women had lower femininity, and their male partners slightly lower masculinity, than nonemployed women and their partners, respectively. Women engaged in tertiary study had lower femininity scores than women who were not. It is concluded that previous studies in this area may have been too hasty in identifying the presence or absence of children as the key feature of the family life cycle affecting masculinity and femininity, instead of the employment or education of the female partner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)