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PubMed1990

Identification and partial purification of embryonic mouse genital protein(s) stimulating phospholipase-A2 and inducing masculinization in vitro.

The present study was designed to test whether phospholipase-A2 stimulatory protein (PLSP) has any role during androgen-induced masculine differentiation. Thus, an investigation was made to identify such a protein in the fetal genital tract and to test whether this protein can produce masculinization in vitro. Fetal tracts (15/batch) containing genital ducts and urogenital sinus from male, female, and testosterone-exposed (40 mg/kg.day, from days 13-17 of gestation) female embryonic mice on day 18 of gestation were fractionated using Bio-Rad P-100 gel filtration, DEAE-cellulose, and carboxymethyl-Sephadex chromatography. Phospholipase-A2 (PLA2) stimulatory activity was identified at every step of purification. The final preparation stimulated both bee venom and mouse genital PLA2; however, it had no effect on PLC. The preparation lost its PLA2 stimulatory activity after pronase treatment. The partially purified PLSP fraction produced two bands (63K and 55K), as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis, and its PLA2 stimulatory activity appeared at the region of 55K on a P-100 gel filtration column. PLSP was also identified in female and testosterone-exposed female genital tracts. However, the specific activity of the female PLSP was much lower than that of the male or testosterone-exposed females. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel analysis of 2-3 micrograms partially purified PLSP revealed the presence of a faint 55K band in the females compared to the presence of a darker 55K band in the male and testosterone-exposed female. The intensity of the 63K band was similar in both sexes. PLSP from the male and testosterone-exposed females maintained and stimulated the Wolffian duct, whereas PLSP from the female tract had no masculinizing effect. Thus, the masculinizing activity of the PLSP preparation appears to correlate with its PLA2 stimulatory activity and 55K band intensity, suggesting the role of PLA2 stimulatory protein in masculine differentiation.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

The femininity and masculinity of partners in heterosexual and homosexual relationships.

This research addressed three questions: (1) Did partners in homosexual relationships perceive themselves as less stereotypically feminine or masculine than partners in heterosexual relationships? (2) Did partners complement or match each other in their self-perceived femininity and masculinity? (3) What was the correlation of partners' femininity and masculinity to their views on attachment and autonomy in their relationships? The high level of androgyny (87%) in the sample precluded making the intended comparisons. There was, however, some evidence in the heterosexual partners to support the assumption of feminine-masculine complementarity and some to support the link between masculinity and devaluation of attachment. In the discussion, questions were raised about the atypicality of the San Francisco Bay Area sample, about the validity and reliability of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire as a measure of social sex-role, and the basic adequacy of questionnaires that assume that self-knowledge is easily elicited from respondents.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

"Masculine love," Renaissance writing, and the "new invention" of homosexuality: an addendum.

Joseph Cady's recent article, "Masculine Love," Renaissance Writing, and the "New Invention' of Homosexuality," Journal of Homosexuality 23.1-2 (1992): 9-40, did much to shed new light on the controversial issue of whether homosexual identity is a relatively late phenomenon (late seventeenth- or early eighteenth-century at the earliest according to scholars of the "constructivist" persuasion) or already existed in the age of the Renaissance and before. Cady argues that homosexual identity is at least as old as the Elizabethan age, and cites from widely divergent sources several early modern instances of the term "masculine love," a term that seems to have been used exclusively to refer to the sexual preference of men for members of their own gender. The present note adds a further example to buttress Cady's case-namely the term "masculine conversation" from Arthur Wilson's History of Great Britain (1653), an account of the reign of James I (who was widely recognized to be sexually attracted to men). The term "conversation" often referred to sexual intercourse, being used in legal discourse to define adultery, and therefore constitutes an even more explicit example of denotative language than those Cady cites. Since Wilson discusses Sir Francis Bacon as well as James I, this brief article explores the historically documentable sexual preferences of these two figures in addition to that of the dramatist Christopher Marlowe and of Bacon's brother Anthony, a diplomat, all of whom seem to have been strongly oriented to "masculine love" and "masculine conversation".

Historiography↗
PubMed2000

Heterosexual masculinity and homophobia: a reaction to the self?

Heterosexual masculinity is the cultural pressure exerted on males to be masculine in traits and heterosexual in orientation or else be viewed as feminine and socially unacceptable. The current study investigated the link between heterosexual masculinity and homophobia in 74 college males. Specifically, gender self-discrepancy (how well males think they fit cultural expectations of how they should act as a man), attribute importance (perceived importance of possessing masculine attributes), and self-esteem were examined as predictors of homophobia. Attribute importance, self-discrepancy along masculine traits, and their interaction significantly predicted degree of homophobia in this sample.

Gender Identity↗
PubMed2000

Differential expression of gender-dependent hepatic isoforms of cytochrome P-450 by pulse signals in the circulating masculine episodic growth hormone profile of the rat.

The masculine profile of growth hormone (GH) secretion characterized by episodic bursts ( approximately 200-300 ng/ml plasma) every 3.5 to 4 h, separated by interpulse periods devoid of detectable hormone, was restored at various peak heights to hypophysectomized, thyroxine-supplemented male rats to determine the minimum signaling amplitudes of the hormone pulse required to maintain male-like expression levels of gender-dependent hepatic cytochrome P-450s (CYP P-450s). Restoration of the pulse to as little as 2.5% of normal elevated CYP2C11 (the predominant isoform in male liver) protein and dependent catalytic activities to approximately 50% of normal, whereas transcript concentrations increased to 150% of physiologic. Renaturalizing the masculine plasma GH profile to 5% of normal was sufficient to increase CYP2C11 protein and catalytic activity to intact levels while further elevating mRNA to approximately 200% of normal (subsequently declining to intact concentrations with physiologic pulses). In dramatic contrast, CYP2C7 (mRNA and protein) declined to barely detectable levels following hypophysectomy and remained completely unresponsive to GH until replaced with the physiologic masculine profile. The repressive effects of the episodic GH profile on CYP2A2 and CYP3A2 expression similarly required replacement of near physiologic pulse amplitudes. Exhibiting an intermediate response to the masculine profile, restoration of 25% of the normal pulse amplitude was sufficient to significantly elevate CYP2A1 and CYP2C6 expression levels in hypophysectomized rats. These findings illustrate the importance of the pulse amplitudes (in addition to the interpulse periods) in the circulating masculine GH profile as differential signals regulating the expression and/or repression of each sex-dependent hepatic P-450 isoform in the rat.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Dopamine activates masculine sexual behavior independent of the estrogen receptor alpha.

Estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) is believed to be a critical part of the regulatory processes involved in normal reproduction and sexual behavior. However, in this study we show the ERalpha is not required for display of masculine sexual behavior. Male and female, ERalpha knock-out (ERalphaKO) and wild-type mice were gonadectomized and implanted with testosterone. Sexual behavior and social preferences were tested after injection of the dopamine agonist, apomorphine (APO), or vehicle. All wild-type mice showed normal masculine behavior, including mounts and pelvic thrusts in females, and ejaculation in males. In agreement with past reports, ERalphaKO mice, given vehicle, failed to show mating behavior. Yet, ERalphaKO males given APO showed masculine copulatory behavior and chemoinvestigatory behavior directed at females. ERalphaKO females, treated with APO, mounted and thrusted when tested with receptive females. HPLC revealed that wild-type and ERalphaKO mice had equivalent catecholamine content in brain regions associated with masculine sexual behavior. These data show that the ERalpha is not essential during development or adulthood for the expression of masculine sexual behavior in mice. Moreover, dopamine can activate sexual behavior via a mechanism that either acts on an ER other than ERalpha or via an estrogen-independent pathway.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

[Masculinity and sexual and reproductive health: a case study among adolescents of Mexico City].

OBJECTIVE: To understand how the social construction and expression of masculinity among male adolescents and young adults are related to sexual health and reproductive risks. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was carried out in an underserved and a popular area of Mexico City. Eighteen focal groups and 18 individual interviews were applied to a sample of males from three age groups: 10 to 14, 15 to 19, and 20 to 24 years. Data analysis was performed inductively through open codification of the verbal transcriptions. These were used to create more abstract concepts and search for relationships among them. RESULTS: This paper centers on interpretations of masculinity as expressed by the youngsters themselves. Our research sheds light on what youngsters do and say to "be men". Their ideas and practices produce different forms of masculinity through which risk behavior is manifested, as well as specific speech and dressing styles, and ways of courting and "going steady". These behaviors and their meanings are associated with sexual and reproductive health risk taking. CONCLUSIONS: The traditional model of masculinity characteristic of both social settings involves poor communication about sexuality in couple relationships, which results in infrequent protection and exposure to Sexually Transmitted Infections and unwanted pregnancies. On the other hand, their economic living conditions prevent them from fully practicing central elements of their own concept of masculinity, such as being a hard worker, a provider, and a responsible person. These unmet needs may cause frustration, aggression, and domestic violence.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Masculinity and femininity in nursing.

The concept of the "ideal nurse" was rated by 186 undergraduate and graduate nursing students on the 24-item Personal Attributes Questionnaire. PAQ contains independent subscales that measure masculinity and femininity as well as a bipolar subscale in which masculinity and femininity represent opposite endpoints on a single continuum. The ideal nurse was rated as being highly masculine, highly feminine, and midway between masculine and feminine endpoints on the bipolar subscale. Compared to undergraduate females, graduate and male nursing students rated the ideal nurse as being more masculine. Implications of these findings in the field of nursing are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

The study of men and masculinity as an important multicultural competency consideration.

Gender issues in multicultural competencies do not generally include the study of men and masculinity. This article outlines a rationale for the inclusion of men and masculinity by drawing parallels with Whiteness and privilege as integral aspects of multicultural competency. Additionally, by including the study of men and masculinity into multicultural competency, issues such as heterosexism, patriarchy, homophobia, and sexism that are aspects of dominant masculinity can be addressed. Simultaneously, training clinicians to work with men may mean more effective and improved services than currently available. The article concludes with several multicultural competencies for clinicians when working with men that use Sue, Arredondo, and McDavis (1992) framework of multicultural competencies.

Cultural Diversity↗
PubMed2005

Toxic masculinity as a barrier to mental health treatment in prison.

The current article addresses gender issues that become magnified in prison settings and contribute to heightened resistance in psychotherapy and other forms of mental health treatment. Toxic masculinity involves the need to aggressively compete and dominate others and encompasses the most problematic proclivities in men. These same male proclivities foster resistance to psychotherapy. Some of the stresses and complexities of life in men's prisons are explored. The relation between hegemonic masculinity and toxic masculinity is examined. The discussion proceeds to the interplay between individual male characteristics and institutional dynamics that intensify toxic masculinity. A discussion of some structural obstacles to mental health treatment in prison and resistances on the part of prisoners is followed by some general recommendations for the therapist in this context.

Gender Identity↗
PubMed1990

Hormonal control of neuron number in sexually dimorphic spinal nuclei of the rat: IV. Masculinization of the spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus with testosterone metabolites.

The spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB) is a sexually dimorphic motor nucleus in the rat lumbar spinal cord. SNB motoneurons and their perineal target muscles are present in adult males but reduced or absent in females. This sexual dimorphism is due to the presence of androgen during development; females treated with testosterone (T) perinatally have a masculine SNB system. To assess whether masculinization of the SNB could involve the conversion of testosterone into its active metabolites, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and estrogen, we examined the development of the SNB in females treated perinatally with estrogen alone or in combination with dihydrotestosterone. Counts of motoneurons in the developing SNB in all groups showed the typical prenatal increase followed by a differential postnatal decline; the incidence of degenerating cells reflected this decline. Motoneuron numbers and the frequency of degenerating cells in females treated with estrogen (E) alone did not differ from those of normal females, with both groups losing large numbers of motoneurons and having a high incidence of degenerating cells. In contrast, females treated with both estrogen and dihydrotestosterone did not show the female-typical decline in motoneuron number and had a low, masculine incidence of degenerating cells. By postnatal day 10, females treated with estrogen and dihydrotestosterone had a fully masculine SNB motoneuron number, suggesting that dihydrotestosterone alone or in conjunction with estrogen may be involved in the development of the sexually dimorphic SNB system.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Early estrogen treatment of female zebra finches masculinizes the brain pathway for learned vocalizations.

Telencephalic nucleus HVC and its two efferent targets, RA and X, play essential roles in the production of complex, learned vocalizations in the male zebra finch. Normal females do not produce these learned vocalizations; HVC, RA, and X are small in volume, and HVC and RA are not synaptically connected. We have shown that estrogen treatment during development causes females to learn and produce male-like vocalizations. This article describes the neural masculinization of these E2 females, replicating and extending the work of others. Female zebra finches were treated with 17 beta-estradiol (E2) at hatching, at 14-22 days of age, or as adults. In adulthood, the volumes of nucleus RA and area X were measured and the efferent projections of nucleus HVC examined using the anterograde tracer PHA-L. Early, sustained E2 treatment caused the greatest increase in the volume of RA and X, the innervation of RA and X by HVC axons, and the masculinization of auditory responses of cells in RA. Treatments that lasted for a shorter period or started later in development resulted in different patterns of partial brain masculinization. E2 treatment in adulthood had no effect on the volume of RA or X or their innervation by HVC. Bilateral lesions of the tracheosyringeal nerves or of HVC had the same effects on the male-typical vocalizations produced by E2 females as they do on the vocalizations produced by males. These results demonstrate that the neural masculinization of telencephalic nuclei induced by E2 treatment sets up a functional circuit in females similar to one in males that enables the learning and production of complex vocalizations.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2001

Men, masculinity and food: interviews with Finnish carpenters and engineers.

This study explores how Finnish men from two occupational groups describe food in their everyday life. The concept of masculinity is used in interpreting men's food-related behaviours and beliefs. Data are drawn from semi-structured interviews in the 1990s with twenty carpenters and twenty engineers involved in the building trade. The paper presents analyses of the similarities and differences in how the men talked about meat; vegetables; beer and wine as parts of meals; food as energy, health and pleasure; and cooking. The results show variation both between and within occupational groups. The men did not stress the role of meat, but rather emphasised the role of vegetables. The carpenters tended to favour meat whereas the engineers had a more positive attitude to vegetables. Eating was described as an everyday routine needed to refuel the body and stay healthy. In addition, the engineers talked about the pleasures of eating. The men described cooking as optional or exceptional. The carpenters seemed to more actively embrace hegemonic masculinity and reject what is feminine than the engineers, who have reformulated their definition of masculinity to encompass concerns with health. This study suggests that both masculinity and occupational class play a role in male food-related practices and preferences.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Intersexual dominance, masculinized genitals and prenatal steroids: comparative data from lemurid primates.

Masculinization of female genitalia and female intersexual dominance distinguish spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) and Malagasy primates (Lemuriformes) from most other mammals. An unusual prenatal endocrine environment has been proposed to proximately underlie the development of these traits in hyenas. To examine whether female dominance and genital masculinization are similarly enhanced by the prenatal environment in lemurid primates, we measured androgen and estrogen excretion in pregnant wild redfronted lemurs (Eulemur fulvus rufus). Our results showed that estrogen levels during the second phase of gestation were much higher in females carrying a male fetus than in female-carrying mothers. This may indicate the onset of testicular activity in male fetuses, because androgens of fetal origin are aromatized to maternal estrogens. Levels of androgen excretion were similar in all mothers regardless of the fetus' sex, which may suggest that androgen-independent mechanisms also contribute to female masculinization. The much higher androgen/estrogen ratio in female-carrying mothers indicates that relative, rather than absolute, prenatal steroid concentrations may play a role in female masculinization.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Testicular volume and masculine identity in men with unilateral cryptorchidism: results of a community-based survey in Korea.

We determined the influence of cryptorchidism on testicular volume and masculine identity in young men living in a community. Of the 27,202 men aged 20 years dwelling in the community, we randomly selected a 10% sampling fraction of whom 2,080 men (a response rate of 77.0%) agreed to participate in the study. All volunteers underwent a standard evaluation, including a detailed medical history and physical examination. For the evaluation of the influence of cryptorchidism on masculine identity, we used the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). Among participants, 38 (1.8%) had cryptorchidism or a history of surgery for cryptorchidism (right 15, left 21, bilateral 2). In total, 29 had had undergone surgery (mean age at the time of operation; 8.9+/-3.9 years, range; 2-19 years). Of 25 men who had undergone orchiopexy due to unilateral cryptorchidism, the testicular volume of the affected side was significantly smaller than that of the contralateral side. Of the 36 patients with unilateral cryptorchidism, the contralateral testicular volume of men who had undergone orchiopexy was not different with that of those who had undergone orchiectomy or had not undergone surgery. When we compared the scores for masculinity and femininity using the BSRI between men with and without testis in the scrotum, there were no differences between the two groups. Our results demonstrate that delayed orchiopexy does not improve the testicular volume of the affected side or the masculine identity in men with unilateral cryptorchidism. In addition, these findings suggest that there is a need to increase the awareness of cryptorchidism among all parties involved in the health care of children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Role for prenatal estrogen in the development of masculine sexual behavior in the male ferret.

Previous studies have shown that neonatal exposure to testosterone is essential for coital masculinization in male ferrets. In the present experiments, masculine sexual behavior was diminished in male ferrets by prenatal exposure to drugs which inhibited estrogenic stimulation of the brain. Similarly timed prenatal treatments with testosterone failed to masculinize the behavior of female offspring. We hypothesize that prenatal exposure of the male ferret to estrogen, derived from the neural aromatization of circulating androgen, may sensitize the developing brain to the subsequent masculinizing action of testosterone shortly after birth.

Androstatrienes↗
PubMed1991

Bisexual behavior in the male rat: influence of masculine sexual activity on the display of lordosis behavior.

Sexually inexperienced male Wistar rats (strain WI in our colony) known to very infrequently display spontaneous lordosis behavior (Schaeffer et al., 1990b) were used. A first group was tested four times at 5-day intervals for lordosis with vigorous stimulus males (heterotypic sexual behavior), immediately following testing for masculine sexual activity with highly receptive females (homotypic sexual behavior). A small number of animals displayed lordosis during the first test, but more and more animals displayed this behavior from the first to the fourth test. There was no relationship between the degree of masculine sexual activity--intromission without ejaculation or ejaculation--and the occurrence of lordosis behavior. A second group was tested only once for both masculine sexual activity and lordosis behavior as above and afterwards three times at 5-day intervals for lordosis behavior in the absence of any previous testing for masculine sexual activity. A few animals displayed lordosis during their first test. As compared to the first group, the animals which had not displayed lordosis in the first test never showed lordosis responses in the following tests. It is concluded that both homotypic and heterotypic sexual interactions are required for the display of lordosis behavior in the strain of Wistar rats used in this study.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Neonatal androgen influences sexual motivation but not the masculine copulatory motor pattern in the rat.

Masculine sexual responses displayed by female rats, were compared to those of males. Twenty-five percent of females mounted and 19% showed intromission behavior, but none of them displayed the ejaculation pattern. Masculine sexual behavior was displayed in all stages of the estrous cycle. Accelerometric and spectrum frequency analysis of electrical signals generated by pelvic movements during mounting and intromission showed that these patterns were identical in both sexes excepting that mount duration in females was longer than in males. Neonatal androgenization of females increased the display of intromission patterns. Treatment of ovariectomized rats, androgenized or not, with either estradiol benzoate or testosterone propionate stimulated masculine sexual behavior. The ejaculatory pattern was only displayed by neonatally androgenized females. Mounting and intromission motor patterns of females under steroid treatment, and ejaculations of neonatally androgenized females, were similar to those of males. The results show that the organization of the movements involved in masculine sexual behavior in rats are identical in both sexes, thus suggesting that the neural circuits controlling these behaviors could be identical. Neonatal or postpubertal androgen in the rat influences the frequency with which male-like responses are displayed, but not their temporal (frequency, rhythm) or dynamic (acceleration, vigour) characteristics.

Animals↗