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PubMed1979

Activation of masculine sexual behavior by intracranial estradiol benzoate implants in male rats.

Intracranial implants of estradiol benzoate (EB) were used to explore sites of action for the activation of masculine copulatory behavior in castrated male rats. In experiment 1, 27 or 30 gauge implants were placed unilaterally throughout the hypothalamus and preoptic area. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) was administered subcutaneously (s.c.) to each male. 25 of 42 males with EB implants located in the medial anterior hypothalamic-preoptic area (AHPOA) exhibited ejaculatory patterns on at least 40% of the post-implantation tests. In contrast, only 4 of 18 of the males with implants located posterior to the anterior hypothalamic area displayed this level of response. This difference in the proportion of animals responding for each implant group was statistically significant. Seminal vesicle weights were not correlated with the occurrence of copulation. In experiment 2, either EB-filled or empty cannulae were placed unilaterally in the AHPOA. Half of the males of each group also received DHT s.c. Intracranial EB in conjunction with DHT s.c. resulted in a significantly greater frequency of ejaculatory response than any other treatment. Despite significant differences among the groups in seminal vesicle weights, there was no correlation with occurrence of ejaculatory behavior. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that testosterone (T) exerts its effects upon masculine sexual behavior via conversion to estradiol (E2); and that the principal neural site of action is the AHPOA.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Masculinity-femininity guides sexual union formation in adolescents.

The authors test the idea that patterns of masculinity-femininity (MF) help sort adolescents into romantic couples. Using a nationally representative sample of adolescents in Grades 7 to 12 from a probability sample of secondary schools in the United States, an MF measure was constructed by selecting a set of questionnaire items demonstrating sex differences. For each respondent, the probability of being a boy was predicted. Respondents identified opposite-sex romantic partners within their school. When the partner identified also was interviewed, the authors were able to create MF for both members of the couple. Trichotomizing MF scores for each sex, it was determined that couples with a very masculine boy and very feminine girl are most likely to have sex, and to have sex the soonest. The couples for which both members are in the average MF range for their sex are the quickest to break up. The pattern of MF is a strong influence on the behavior of adolescent romantic couples.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Diagnosing the male steroid user: drug use, body image and disordered masculinity.

As steroid use has gained prominence as a dangerous form of substance abuse, two main sets of discourses have been deployed to investigate and ameliorate this emerging public health threat. This article examines these two discursive frameworks and their constitution of the male steroid user as psychologically disordered, drawing on a range of medical and psychological literature. The first framework understands steroid use as a form of illicit drug use, and constitutes the steroid user as an antisocial and excessively masculine subject. The second locates steroid use within the field of body image disorder, producing the steroid user as a damaged and feminized male, a vivid example of masculinity in crisis. Both of these approaches tend to elide the specificity of steroid use and its associated bodily practices in their eagerness to form it into an easily comprehended entity which can be targeted by medical and legal governance.

Australia↗
PubMed1979

A comparison of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and the Heilbrun Masculinity and Femininity Scales.

This study compares two instruments which have recently been devised to measure sex-role identification, Heilbrun's Masculinity and Femininity Scales and the Bem Sex-Role Inventory. Correlations between the masculine and feminine scales of these instruments were significant for male but not female subjects; intrascale comparisons found no relationship between the Bem scales but moderate correlations between the Heilbrun scales for male subjects. There was agreement between the two measures in classifying approximately 47% of the subjects into one of the four sex-role categories. Misclassification occurred primarily on categories which have been found to show considerable overlap in personality characteristics.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1980

Equating the social desirability of Bem Sex-Role Inventory masculinity and femininity subscales.

Two experiments investigated the social desirability of Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) items. Mean social desirability of the masculinity subscale was significantly higher than that of the femininity subscale in both experiments. A revision of the BSRI femininity subscale was suggested which replaced three items of questionable social value with three more socially desirable items and virtually eliminated the social desirability difference between masculinity and femininity subscales.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1996

Concurrent validity of the MMPI-2 feminine gender role (GF) and masculine gender role (GM) scales.

Since the development of the revised Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellege, & Kaemmer, 1989), no independent studies have been conducted to validate the new GF and GM scales, the only published study being based on the original standardization sample. To determine the concurrent validity of these scales, our study correlated GF and GM with scores obtained from the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, the Sex Role Behavior Scale, and the Sex Role Identity Scale. Because the sex-role literature has suggested numerous personality correlates of masculinity and femininity, the 16-PF was included to assess this dimension of the new scales, as well as measures of social desirability. Results revealed the GF and GM scales to have low internal consistency and low concurrent validity with established sex-role measures. Relative to construct validity, their patterns of correlation with personality measures suggest that GF and GM are more related to personality traits of interpersonal potency and sensitivity, respectively, than to masculinity and femininity. Overall, although the data yielded by these new scales provide additional information over Scale 5, they do not appear to hold as much promise as hoped for.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

A new perspective on gender orientation measurement with the MMPI-2: development of the Masculine-Feminine Pathology Scale.

A new scale of gender orientation for the MMPI-2 (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-II; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) called the Masculine-Feminine Pathology Scale, or Mfp, was developed as an alternative to the available Mf, GM, and GF scales. It differs from previous scales in its emphasis on symptomatic correlates of gender. Items were included in the new scale if they (a) discriminated between male and female psychiatric patients and (b) were likely to be indicators of psychopathology. Statistical analyses suggested an acceptably reliable but factorially complex scale. When used to predict clinician ratings of global psychopathology, the scale demonstrated incremental validity over both the existing gender-related scales and the traditional clinical scales. Scores at the "feminine" end of the Mfp scale seem to reflect distress characterized by high levels of anxiety. Scores at the "masculine" end of the Mfp scale suggest a more composed interpersonal presentation, which may reflect an amoral attitude. It is suggested that the new scale may prove superior to the existing gender role scales as a supplement to other clinical scales. Avenues for future research with the Mfp scale are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Masculinity and femininity predict optimal mental health: a belated test of the androgyny hypothesis.

In this study, we examined the relationship between psychological androgyny and optimal mental health in a sample of adults seeking career consultation (N = 154). Most earlier research on the subject employed self-report measures of well-being or adjustment. In this study, we employed an "observer-by-proxy" measure of optimal mental health that, although based on self report data, provides an empirically based estimate of ratings that clinicians would make using the California Q-set (Block, 1961/1978). High levels of both masculinity and femininity are associated with higher levels of optimal mental health. These findings represent a rare example of support for the additive androgyny hypothesis and argue for its further study. We also discuss the construct validity of the masculinity and femininity scales we used, and we argue for further study of our mental health measure.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Prostaglandins masculinize the mouse genital tract.

The masculinizing effects of prostaglandins (PGS) PGE2 and PGF2 alpha on mouse fetal genital tract differentiation were studied both in vivo and in vitro. Prenatal exposure to PGE2 and PGF2 alpha on days 11-17 of gestation (the critical period of the differentiation) increased the anogenital distance of the female fetuses in a dose-dependent manner. PGE2 also increased the anogenital distance of male fetuses in the presence of an inhibitor of testosterone synthesis, namely estradiol (2 mg/kg.day), and in the androgen-insensitive Tfmy males. Internally, PGE2 induced the epididymal duct in the females, estrogen-exposed males, and Tfmy males. However, no other changes were noticed in the internal genital tract of these fetuses. To avoid the problems associated with the placental transfer of any external agent, we also studied the effect of PGE2 in an in vitro system. Female genital ducts on day 13 of gestation were cultured in the presence and absence of different concentrations of PGE2 for a total of 6 days. PGE2 at doses 0.2 and 1 microgram/ml induced and stimulated the Wolffian and epididymal ducts. Thus, PGs appear to have a masculinizing role in androgen-induced sexual differentiation.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Immunological identification of the protein-producing masculine differentiation of the Wolffian duct in the fetal mouse: western blot analysis and determination of the biological activity.

Recently, we identified a protein in the developing male reproductive tract of the fetal mouse which induced Wolffian duct differentiation in vitro in the absence of testis or testosterone. In this paper, we further evaluated the masculinizing role of this protein using an immunological approach. Thus, we purified a 72K protein from the 18-day-old male fetal reproductive tracts, prepared an antibody against the protein, and determined the role of this protein in producing masculine differentiation of the Wolffian duct using the polyclonal antibody against the protein. We demonstrate that the antibody reacted with the purified 72K protein, producing only one immunoreactive band around the 72K region in Western blot analysis. However, it reacted with 72K and 63K proteins present in the 18-day-old male reproductive tract. Both of these immunoreactive bands disappeared when the antibody was pretreated with the purified antigen. Nonimmune immunoglobulin G (IgG) produced no reactive bands with the extract of the male reproductive tracts. The IgG preparation of the immune serum specifically prevented Wolffian duct differentiation when tested in organ culture containing 13-day-old fetal male or female reproductive tracts in the presence of testis or testosterone (1 micrograms/ml) in a dose-dependent manner. No effect was found on the development of other organs, namely testis, Mullerian duct, and urogenital sinus, that were included in the organ culture. Nonimmune IgG, as expected, produced no effect on Wolffian duct differentiation. Western blot analysis of male and female reproductive tracts indicated a difference in their reactivities with this antibody. In females, the reactivity to the proteins around the 72K and 63K regions was very weak compared to that found with male proteins in those regions. Both of the above bands of the female reproductive tract disappeared when the antibody was pretreated with an excess of female reproductive tract extract, but in males, only the 63K band disappeared, whereas its 72K band remained. In conclusion, it appears that a 72K protein of the male reproductive tract plays a role in the Wolffian duct differentiation of the fetal mouse.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Prenatal dihydrotestosterone differentially masculinizes tonic and surge modes of luteinizing hormone secretion in sheep.

The control of LH secretion in sheep is sexually differentiated. Males begin to reduce their sensitivity to inhibitory steroid feedback, leading to a pubertal increase in tonic LH secretion by 10 weeks of age, but females remain hypersensitive until 30 weeks. Moreover, only females can respond to the positive feedback action of estradiol to produce a preovulatory LH surge. Prenatal exposure of the female lamb to testosterone masculinizes tonic LH and abolishes the LH surge postnatally. However, the type of steroid involved is not known because testosterone can be converted to estradiol or dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This study tested the hypothesis that DHT, which cannot be converted to an estrogen, masculinizes tonic LH without defeminizing the LH surge. Pregnant ewes were treated with DHT (800, 400, or 200 mg/week) during the critical period for sexual differentiation of gonadotropin secretion (days 30-90; 145 days is term). To evaluate the time of the decrease in responsiveness to steroid inhibition, a constant steroid feedback signal was produced. At 4 weeks of age, androgenized females (800 mg, n = 5; 400 mg, n = 4; 200 mg, n = 5) and control males (n = 7) and females (n = 9) were gonadectomized and implanted with a SILASTIC brand estradiol capsule. Tonic LH secretion in males began to increase at 6.7 +/- 0.5 weeks (mean +/- SEM). In DHT-treated females, the LH increase began at the same time (800 mg DHT, 10.7 +/- 3.9 weeks; 400 mg DHT, 9.9 +/- 5.9 weeks; 200 mg DHT, 7.1 +/- 4.9 weeks). This was several months earlier than in control females (29.1 +/- 0.8 weeks; P < 0.05). After puberty, estradiol induced LH surges in 8 of 9 control females and 11 of 12 DHT-treated females, but not in any control males. These results lead to the hypothesis that in the sheep, distinct requirements exist for differentiation of 2 types of reproductive hormone control systems, and that conversion of testosterone to an estrogen is not essential for both. Aromatization is necessary to prevent the surge control of GnRH from operating in the male, but nonaromatizable androgens differentiate the tonic control to permit high GnRH secretion earlier in life.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Nominal growth hormone pulses in otherwise normal masculine plasma profiles induce intron retention of overexpressed hepatic CYP2C11 with associated nuclear splicing deficiency.

Restoration of circulating masculine GH profiles at minipulse amplitudes (i.e. approximately 10% of normal) to hypophysectomized male rats and neonatal administration of monosodium glutamate (MSG), producing a similar plasma GH profile, both result in an overexpression (approximately 200-300%) of CYP2C11 messenger RNA (mRNA), the predominant hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) drug-metabolizing enzyme in adult male rats. Coincident with the severalfold elevation in transcript level is a modest 10-30% overexpression of CYP2C11 protein and its catalytic activities. Using hepatic tissue from adult, neonatally MSG-treated rats, we have cloned a variant species of CYP2C11 mRNA containing all of the essential elements of a full-length complementary DNA, including initiating codon, termination codon, and polyadenylase tail. In addition, the transcript contains a 742-bp intervening sequence (identical to the complete terminal intron) between the last and penultimate exons, and an intron-specific oligo probe for Northern blotting demonstrates the presence of the variant transcript in liver of MSG-treated rats. Associated with the overexpression and intron retention of the transcript is a 50% reduction in the nuclear splicing capacity of the liver for model precursor CYP2C11 mRNA. It is proposed that this splicing defect may be a consequence of the mini-GH pulses (secreted in otherwise normal masculine plasma profiles) signaling abnormal processing of precursor CYP2C11 mRNA to produce a substantial portion of intron retained, nontranslatable transcript.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Fetal protection against masculinization with hyperreactio luteinalis and virilization.

In a unique patient with secondary amenorrhea and hirsutism prior to pregnancy, lutein cysts with hyperreactio luteinalis enlarged the ovaries to a diameter of 25 cm during pregnancy. The purpose of the study was to explore the possibility that placental aromatization of androgens may be a metabolic barrier that offers protection against masculinization of a female fetus. Maternal serum, umbilical cord serum and lutein cyst fluid were analyzed for testosterone, progesterone and estradiol content. The cardinal clinical findings were marked maternal virilization but no fetal masculinization. At the time of delivery, massive ovarian production of testosterone and a large maternal-fetal testosterone gradient were found. The maternal arm vein testosterone level, 15,000 ng/dl, was about 100 times normal level, the material ovarian vein level was 51,800 ng/dl, while the cord blood level was only 465 ng/dl. At the same time there was an increase in fetal cord blood estradiol to 33 ng/ml, a 7-fold increase compared to normal cord levels. A protective mechanism for the fetus may exist when maternal androgens are markedly elevated due to a maternal endocrinopathy concurrent with pregnancy. Our data are compatible with the concept that placental aromatization of androgens may function as a metabolic barrier, thus offering protection to the fetus from excessive maternal androgens. Another facet of the protective mechanism may be increased fetal exposure to potent estrogens, which may buffer the influence of androgens reaching the fetus.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Gender please, without the gender police: rethinking pain in archetypal narratives of butch, transgender, and FTM masculinity.

Why is it that many of the often-cited narratives about butch, FTM, and/or transgender masculinity happen to be fictions that highlight suffering as a de facto rite of passage for the butch, FTM, or transgendered protagonist? This essay attempts to answer that question, first by outlining the "coherentist assumptions" of lesbian feminism and the forms of gender-policing that cast butch, FTM, and transgendered subjectivities as "false consciousness." It then analyzes the practice of anchoring butch, FTM, and/or transgender identity claims in pain-filled narratives such as "The Well of Loneliness," "Stone Butch Blues," and "Boys Don't Cry." While these narratives do important cultural work-exposing the violence heaped upon butches, FTMs, and transgendered guys-it may be time to imagine alternative narratives that are less invested in suffering as a barometer of masculine authenticity.

Female↗
PubMed2004

The shaping of masculinity: Revisioning boys turning away from their mothers to construct male gender identity.

This paper offers an understanding of the nature of the internalization processes involved in the shaping of male gender identity founded on the boy's unique struggles in separating from his mother. The underpinning for the initial development of a sense of masculinity is reconsidered as the author questions the widely held idea of Greenson and Stoller that a boy normatively has to 'dis-identify' from his mother to create his gender identity. Import rather is placed on the conscious and unconscious aspects of the mother's (and father's) pre-oedipal and oedipal relationship with their little boy in order better to understand the nature of the boy's unique identifications and subsequent sense of masculinity. Both the security of the boy's attachment to his mother, in providing the foundation for a transitional turning to an 'other', and the mother's capacity to reflect upon and recognize her own, as well as the father's and her son's, subjectivity and maleness, are crucial in comprehending boys' 'attachment-individuation' process. Likewise, the unconscious paternal and maternal imagos and identifications of both the boy's mother and father, as well as the father's pre-oedipal relationship with his little boy and the boy's mother, are extremely significant in shaping a son's gender identity. The author argues that these early maternal (and paternal) identifications live on in every male and continue to impact the sense of maleness in a dialectical interplay throughout the life span. A maturing gender identity develops from integrating these early, pre-oedipal maternal identifications that no longer need be repudiated nor defensively organized as polarized gender splitting.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Hormonal correlates of 'masculinization' in female spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta). 1. Infancy to sexual maturity.

This report is concerned with hormone concentrations accompanying sexual maturation in a highly 'masculinized' female mammal, the spotted hyaena, Crocuta crocuta. Plasma concentrations of testosterone, androstenedione and oestrogen were determined by radioimmunoassay in a longitudinal study of 12 female and eight male hyaenas 2.5-62.5 months old. Concentrations of testosterone were significantly higher in males than in females after 26.5 months of age, but earlier measurements did not differ between sexes. Mean testosterone concentrations in adult female hyaenas (0.4-0.5 ng ml-1) were similar to those in several other female mammals that do not display a 'masculine' profile, but mean concentrations of androstenedione (2.5-5.5 ng ml-1) in female hyaenas were significantly higher than in males (1.0-2.0 ng ml-1), at most ages. Oestrogen could not be detected (less than 0.03 ng ml-1) in females until about 14 months of age and then increased (to approximately 0.13 ng ml-1) between 18 and 30 months; oestrogen remained undetectable in males. This rise in oestrogen in females corresponded to nipple enlargement and to changes in the size and elasticity of the urogenital meatus, permitting copulation and parturition through the clitoris. Gonadectomy (two males and four females) at 4-7 months resulted in nondetectable concentrations of testosterone and oestrogen and a marked attenuation in androstenedione (to approximately 0.39 ng ml-1), indicating that the gonads are the major source of these three steroids. Gonadectomy also eliminated sex differences in weight, nipple development and elasticity of the urogenital meatus.

Aging↗
PubMed1994

Effect of exposure to morphine throughout gestation on feminine and masculine adult sexual behaviour in golden hamsters.

Adult female hamsters were treated with a long-acting form of morphine before mating and throughout pregnancy; the drug was gradually withdrawn during lactation. The offspring produced were gonadectomized as adults and tested for their ability to display feminine and masculine sexual behaviour after appropriate hormonal priming. Chronic exposure to morphine during development resulted in males that showed an increase in both feminine and masculine sexual behaviour when compared with controls.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Androgens and masculinization of genitalia in the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta). 1. Urogenital morphology and placental androgen production during fetal life.

According to common understanding of sexual differentiation, the formation and development of a penile clitoris in female spotted hyaenas requires the presence of naturally circulating androgens during fetal life. The purpose of the present study was to determine potential source(s) of such fetal androgens by investigating the timing of urogenital development and placental production of androgen during early and mid-gestation. Fetuses determined to be female by molecular techniques (lack of SRY gene) at days 33 and 48 of gestation had undifferentiated gonads, but the clitoris was already 'masculinized' and was generally similar to the phallus of a 50-day-old male fetus. Wolffian and Müllerian ducts terminated at the urogenital sinus in both sexes and a urethra was present along the entire length of the clitoris and penis. The adrenal gland was large and histologically differentiated at 33 days. Steroid gradients across the uterus (a drop in delta 4-androstenedione, with increases in oestrogen and androgen), and high androstenedione in ovarian veins indicated that ovarian androstenedione was metabolized and secreted as testosterone by the placenta throughout gestation. In vitro, whole or homogenized placentae at days 48 and 58 of gestation (110 days total) metabolized radiolabelled androstenedione into testosterone and oestradiol; the specific enzymatic activity of early placental tissues was higher than at later stages. A human placental homogenate had higher aromatase activity but did not produce testosterone unless aromatase was inhibited. Infusion of labelled androstenedione into the uterine arteries of hyaenas demonstrated the conversion of this substrate into testosterone and oestradiol and their secretion into the fetal circulation. Evidently, androgen is produced by the placenta and secreted into the fetal circulation from early in pregnancy when masculinization is first evident, before differentiation of the fetal ovary.

Androgens↗