Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Masculinity”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,045 records · Page 58Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Sexual behavior and sexual orientation of the female rat after hormonal treatment during various stages of development.

The amount of circulating sex steroids during Postnatal Days 30-90 was varied in normally developed and in androgenized female rats. The influence of these manipulations on sexual behavior and sexual orientation was investigated. Normally developed or neonatally androgenized females were ovariectomized and implanted with estradiol through Postnatal Days 30-90 or sham-implanted. The remaining subjects were left intact during that period. The hormonal condition during Postnatal Days 30-90 significantly affected the behavior of normally developed females, but affected the behavior of neonatally androgenized females only to minor extent. Estrogen implants in normally developed females enhanced masculine sexual responses and induced a female-directed sexual orientation. Feminine sexual responses were unaffected by this treatment. Sham-implanted, normally developed females showed a male-directed sexual orientation and fewer masculine sexual responses than subjects which were left intact during Postnatal Days 30-90. Neonatal androgen treatment in general resulted in elevated levels of masculine Neonatal androgen treatment in general resulted in elevated levels of masculine sexual responses, inhibited feminine sexual behavior, and facilitated a female-directed sexual orientation.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

The influence of androgenic and estrogenic hormones on sexual behavior in castrated adult male pigs.

The objectives of these studies were to evaluate the influence of testosterone propionate (TP), estradiol cypionate (EC), dihydrotestosterone propionate (DHTP), EC + TP, EC + DHTP, and TP + DHTP on traits of masculine sexual behavior in castrated adult male pigs of different breeds. Masculine sexual behavior was restored and maintained by TP, whereas EC initially activated sexual behavior, including copulation and ejaculation, but was unable to sustain copulatory behavior for the 8- to 18-week periods that were evaluated. Treatment with DHTP was ineffective for stimulation of sexual behavior; thus, it is suggested that testosterone promotes some aspects of masculine sexual behavior in male pigs via aromatization to estrogen, but both androgen and estrogen are required for maintenance of the full complement of masculine sexual behavior traits.

Androgens↗
PubMed1992

Body positions and movement patterns in female patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Female patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH; N = 33; 11-41 years), simple-virilizing (SV) patients (N = 19), salt-wasting (SW) patients (N = 13), and sister controls (N = 14) were compared with regard to their body positions and movement patterns. Data collection comprised both self assessments and mothers' assessments using 20 sex-dimorphic items with corresponding "more masculine" and "more feminine" versions for each variable, represented in photographs (forced-choice approach). Primarily based on mothers' assessments, single-item results suggested slightly more masculine positions and patterns for female CAH patients compared to sisters, for SW patients more distinct than for SV patients. Results from an 11-item scale ("motor behavior", alpha = 0.59) revealed differences between SW (more masculine) and SV patients for self assessments (P, one-tailed, < 0.09); sisters were in an intermediate position closer to the SV patients. According to mothers' assessments, the CAH patient group as a whole differed (more masculine) from sisters (P < 0.06); this finding was mainly accounted for by the SW group (P < 0.04). Complex analyses on the relationship of motor behavior and intervening variables (e.g., postnatal androgenization, onset of puberty, menarche, height, weight, sexual orientation) revealed very few significant results. Findings rather suggested organizational hormonal effects on body positions and movements prenatally; they are in line with main results from the interview section of the Hamburg CAH study (e.g., "Gender-related behavior"). An approach of this kind seems to be justified for investigating motor behavior in future psychoendocrine studies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Finger length ratio (2D:4D) correlates with physical aggression in men but not in women.

Finger length ratio (2D:4D) is a sexually dimorphic trait. Men have relatively shorter second digits (index fingers) than fourth digits (ring fingers). Smaller, more masculine, digit ratios are thought to be associated with either higher prenatal testosterone levels or greater sensitivity to androgens, or both. Men with more masculine finger ratios are perceived as being more masculine and dominant by female observers, and tend to perform better in a number of physical sports. We hypothesized that digit ratio would correlate with propensity to engage in aggressive behavior. We examined the relationship between trait aggression, assayed using a questionnaire, and finger length ratio in both men and women. Men with lower, more masculine, finger length ratios had higher trait physical aggression scores (r(partial) = -0.21, N = 134, P = 0.028). We found no correlation between finger length ratio and any form of aggression in females. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that testosterone has an organizational effect on adult physical aggression in men.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Prostaglandin-E2: a point of divergence in estradiol-mediated sexual differentiation.

The preoptic area of the mammalian forebrain is a critical substrate for the development and maintenance of many sexually dimorphic behaviors relevant to reproduction. Normal development of the male rodent brain requires completion of two processes: (1) masculinization-induction of the male phenotype, and (2) defeminization-removal of the female phenotype. Both processes, although distinct, are largely directed by the same steroid, estradiol. Whether estradiol achieves both ends via the same or separate mechanisms has been unknown. Here, we report that prostaglandin-E(2) (PGE(2)) acting downstream of estradiol, is necessary and sufficient to masculinize sexual behavior but does not affect defeminization of sexual behavior or maternal behavior. Moreover, the volume of the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area predicts defeminization of sexual behavior, but not masculinization of sexual behavior. Another sexually dimorphic cellular endpoint regulated by estradiol, spinophilin protein expression in the mediobasal hypothalamus, was not affected by PGE(2). Thus, PGE(2) is a key divergence point in the downstream actions of estradiol to simultaneously masculinize and defeminize sexual behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Postnatal testicular secretions partially restore the disturbances in reproductive activity caused by prenatal hormonal manipulation.

Male rats that prenatally had been exposed to an antiestrogen, nitromifene citrate (CI 628), showed evidence of impaired defeminization and masculinization in adulthood, suggesting a role of endogenous estrogen for the sexual differentiation of the male. The present study was undertaken to investigate a possible role of postnatal testicular secretions for the above behavioral effects. Male rats were exposed prenatally to CI 628 (1 mg/rat) or saline, and castrated on Day 0, Day 10, or Day 90 after birth. After treatment with gonadal hormones in adulthood, the males were tested for feminine and masculine sexual behavior and for sexual orientation, both when sexually naive and after they had acquired sexual experience. The following conclusions were drawn: 1. Permanent deficits of lordotic behavior were observed in all experimental groups, suggesting the importance of prenatal estrogen for the defeminization process. 2. Hop/darting and ear wiggling behaviors were enhanced in Day-0 and Day-10 castrates, and blocked in the Day-90 castrates. The restitution of these behaviors to normal levels in Day-90 castrates suggests that, in addition to prenatal estrogen, postnatal testicular secretions also are involved in the behavioral defeminization process. 3. Prenatal estrogen contributes to masculinization as evidenced by the impaired ejaculatory behavior observed in all experimental groups. 4. Male-typical sexual orientation toward the female seems to be facilitated by prenatal estrogen. Both the masculinization and the defeminization of male-typical sexual orientation toward a female were impaired by castration at birth and at Day 10 in the experimental animals, but a full restoration of the sexual orientation toward females was seen in Day-90 castrates, suggesting the restorative role of postnatal testicular secretions for these processes.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

The relationship of gender, gender identity, and coping strategies in late adolescents.

The relationships among gender, gender identity, and coping in late adolescents were examined. One hundred sixty-nine late adolescents completed measures assessing their masculinity and femininity, as well as their use of coping strategies. Females endorsed greater use of emotion-focused coping strategies than males. Late adolescents who were high in masculinity endorsed higher levels of problem-focused coping strategies than those who were low in masculinity. In contrast, late adolescents who were high in femininity endorsed higher levels of emotion-focused coping strategies than those who were low in femininity. Neither the gender nor the masculinity and femininity of late adolescents were predictive of the use of avoidant coping strategies. Overall, gender identity made an important and independent contribution to the endorsement of coping strategy use. These results emphasize the importance of assessing both gender and gender identity with regard to coping in late adolescents.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1988

Adolescent sex-role orientation and ego identity.

This study investigated the relationship between sex-role development and ego development in a sample of 9th-12th grade Anglo-American and Mexican-American students attending high school in a southwestern state. All students were administered: (a) the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (Grotevant and Adams, 1984) as a measure of ego development (i.e., diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, and identity achievement), and (b) the Personal Attributes Questionnaire Short Form (Spence, Helmreich and Stapp, 1975) as a measure of masculinity and femininity. Results indicated no ethnic differences in the relationship between ego identity and masculinity/femininity. Adolescents who were identity achieved on ideological identity formation had significantly higher levels of masculinity than did moratorium, foreclosed, and diffused individuals. For interpersonal identity, identity achieved adolescents had higher levels of both masculinity and femininity than did individuals who were foreclosed, diffused, or in moratorium. Discussion centered on these results in light of the additional finding that there was little shared variance (eta2) between masculinity, femininity and ego identity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Facilitation of male-like coital behavior in female rats by kindling.

Kindling is a model of epilepsy and brain plasticity. When applied to the medial preoptic area (MPOA) of non-copulating male rats kindling induces masculine sexual behavior. In order to test if kindling could facilitate male-like coital behavior in female rats, sexually naive females were ovariectomized and kindled in the amygdala (AMG) or the MPOA until an intermediate stage (between 1 and 3, MPOA1-3) or until stage 5 (MPOA5 group). Once kindling was established, females were treated with 2.5 mg/Kg of testosterone propionate (TP) for 15 days. Male-like coital behavior was evaluated on days 5, 10 and 15 of treatment. Subjects were then injected with a TP dose of 5 mg/kg for 15 days and tested in the same way as with the lower dose. The number of mounts was significantly increased and the mount latency was significantly reduced in the MPOA1-3 group when tested 5 days after treatment with the low dose of TP. The same facilitation was observed in MPOA1-3 and MPOA5 groups on day 10 of treatment with the low dose of TP. When the animals were under the high dose of TP treatment, the number of intromissions was increased in all experimental groups (including the AMG kindled group) in comparison to sham animals. In a second experiment we evaluated if the facilitation of male-like coital behavior induced by kindling was produced by a modification of the response of the vomeronasal system to sexually relevant cues. Ovariectomized females were stimulated until they reached kindling stage 2, then they were treated with 2.5 mg/kg of TP for 5 days. After animals were exposed for 90 min to clean sawdust or sawdust soiled by estrous females they were perfused. Fos was detected by immunocytochemistry along the vomeronasal pathway. No differences were found in Fos responses between sham and MPOA kindled females. The facilitation of masculine sexual behavior observed in AMG kindled females may be a consequence of the propagation of the AD to other brain regions involved in the expression of masculine sexual behavior. We propose that masculine sexual behavior is facilitated in MPOA kindled female rats by local neural changes produced by this kind of stimulation without modifying the response of the vomeronasal system to sexually relevant cues.

Amygdala↗
PubMed2004

(Dis)embodying gender and sexuality in testicular cancer.

Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged 15-34. Although post-treatment prognosis is generally very good, the impact on sexuality, gender identity and fertility is amplified in this age group. A Canadian study of men with testicular cancer explores how men (re)consider questions of sexuality and gender post diagnosis and treatment. Semi-structured interviews with 40 men were analyzed using thematic decomposition, an analytic technique that combines discursive approaches with thematic analysis. The theoretical framework that guides this work relies on material discursive approaches. From an analytic stance, this perspective is concerned with a focus on the ways in which both subjectivity and the body are experienced and constituted in language. In particular, we are concerned with how these men interpret the (altered) male body as a locus of gender signification and gender disruption. Men in this study construct testicular cancer as alternately inhibiting and enhancing masculinity and sexuality. Disruption interpolates with potentiality. A discourse of precarious masculinity predominates these accounts, wherein the link between anatomy and masculinity is simultaneously asserted and disavowed. Constructions of anatomical essentialism (i.e., testicular integrity is equated with masculinity) are juxtaposed against construals of anatomical superfluousness (i.e., other sites of sexuality and male identity are emphasized as being more central).

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMed2000

Doing health, doing gender: teenagers, diabetes and asthma.

Although most research linking health disadvantage with gender has focused on women, recent work indicates that hegemonic masculinities can also place the health of men at risk. The importance of comparing the experiences of women and men has been emphasised and this paper focuses on the ways in which the social constructions of femininities and masculinities affect how teenagers live with asthma or diabetes. The majority of girls incorporated these conditions and the associated treatment regimens into their social and personal identities, showing a greater adaptability to living with asthma or diabetes. However, this could have detrimental effects in terms of control, as girls sometimes lowered expectations for themselves. In addition, two aspects of the treatment regimens, diet and exercise, were found to disadvantage girls and advantage boys, because of contemporary meanings of femininities and masculinities. The social construction of femininities meant that these conditions were not seen as the threat that they were by the majority of boys interviewed, who made every effort to keep both conditions outside their personal and social identities by passing. The majority of boys maintained a 'valued' identity by feeling in control of their body and their condition. However, for the small minority of boys who were no longer able to pass the impact of chronic illness led to a 'disparaged' identity. The interaction of gender and health is seen as a complex two-way process, with aspects of contemporary femininities and masculinities impacting on the management of these conditions, and aspects of these conditions impacting in gendered ways upon the constructions of gender.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Gender presentation: perceptual and acoustical analyses of voice.

This study investigated the perceptual and acoustical characteristics of vocal presentation in both the masculine and the feminine modes by the same group of male subjects. Listeners (N = 88) evaluated 22 voice samples by using 18 semantic differential scales and 57 adjectives. The 22 voice samples were provided by 11 biologically male speakers, who described themselves as heterosexual crossdressers. Each speaker read a standard passage under controlled conditions. In one reading, they demonstrated their typical masculine voice and in the other they spoke in their feminine voice. Acoustical analyses included mean fundamental frequency, frequency range, overall passage duration, and duration of a sample of stressed vowels. Results indicated that listeners heard significant differences between masculine and feminine presentations across the 11 speakers and the 18 semantic differential scales. Masculine-feminine and high-low pitch were the most salient scales in the perceptual judgments. Acoustical analyses indicated wide variation according to speaker and condition. Clinical applications are provided.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Sex-role traits and the comorbidity of symptoms of disordered eating and problem drinking.

The symptoms of problem drinking and disordered eating were studied independently in relation to sex-role traits and also for evidence of comorbidity in a student sample of 217 women. The participants completed surveys that assessed positive and negative sex-role traits, reported drinking levels, alcohol dependence, problem drinking, bulimic symptoms, dietary restraint, and drive for thinness. Eating symptoms were related to both the negative and positive traits of Femininity, but self-descriptions involving negative traits (passivity, dependence, unassertiveness, etc.) showed the strongest relationship. High scores on identification with the traits typically labelled as Masculinity were related to drinking but there was an important difference between drinking per se (which was related to Positive Masculinity) and drinking found to be associated with drinking problems, which was related to Negative Masculinity (aggression, showing-off, rudeness, etc.). Feminine traits were also related to drinking. Low identification with the traits of Negative Femininity was associated with non-problem drinking, whereas low identification with the traits of Positive Femininity were associated with problem-related drinking. Young women who displayed comorbid symptoms described themselves by a high identification with the traits of both Negative Masculinity and Negative Femininity. It was argued that comorbidity reveals a more extreme form of the sex-role conflict previously described in relation to disordered control over both eating and drinking when considered independently.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Testing the prenatal hormone hypothesis of tic-related disorders: gender identity and gender role behavior.

The hypothesis that prenatal masculinization of the brain increases risk of tic disorders in postnatal life was tested by measuring gender and gender role behavior in 89 children and adults with a clinical diagnosis of Tourette syndrome or obsessive compulsive disorder and 67 healthy, unaffected children and adults. Consistent with this hypothesis, a tic disorder in females was associated with more gender dysphoria, increased masculine play preferences, and a more typically "masculine" pattern of performance on two sex-typed spatial tasks. Males with tic disorders reported increased masculine play preferences, and the strength of these preferences was positively associated with the severity of tic symptoms. In addition, unlike their female counterparts, males with tic disorders showed a relative impairment in mental rotation ability. These behavioral profiles are consistent with those of children who have verifiable elevations in prenatal androgen levels. These findings therefore support the hypothesis that an altered androgen-dependent process of sexual differentiation during prenatal life may contribute to the development of tic-related disorders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Gender-related traits in transsexuals and nontranssexuals.

Thirty-eight male-to-female (M-to-F) transsexuals, 7 female-to-male (F-to-M) transsexuals, 135 nontranssexual men, and 225 nontranssexual women were assessed on the following: gender diagnosticity (GD) measures, which assessed male- vs. female-typical occupational and hobby preferences; instrumentality; expressiveness; self-ascribed masculinity; and self-ascribed femininity. M-to-F transsexuals differed strongly and significantly from nontranssexual men on GD and self-ascribed femininity (effect sizes from 1.84 to 3.40) and more weakly on instrumentality, expressiveness, and self-ascribed masculinity (effect sizes from 0.40 to 0.56). F-to-M transsexuals differed strongly and significantly from nontranssexual women on GD and on self-ascribed masculinity and femininity (effect sizes from 2.45 to 3.97), but not on instrumentality or expressiveness (effect sizes of 0.07 and 0.39). The degree to which the six assessed gender-related traits distinguished transsexual from nontranssexuals was strongly correlated with the degree to which these same traits distinguished nontranssexual men from nontranssexual women. Using comparison data from past research, M-to-F transsexuals were quite similar to gay men on all gender-related traits except self-ascribed femininity, but F-to-M transsexuals were considerably more masculine than lesbian women on all gender-related traits except for instrumentality and expressiveness.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Hormonal mechanisms underlying aberrant sexual differentiation in male rats prenatally exposed to alcohol, stress, or both.

The male offspring of rats exposed to restraint stress, alcohol, or both during late pregnancy show normally masculinized genitalia; however, sexual differentiation of behavior is dissociated from the external morphology. In contrast to controls, males exposed prenatally to stress, alcohol, or a combination of these factors exhibited the female lordotic pattern. Thus, all 3 prenatal treatments led to incomplete behavioral defeminization. Behavioral masculinization was not altered by fetal alcohol exposure alone, but a significant number of males that experienced prenatal stress alone failed to copulate. A more severe disruption of behavioral masculinization occurred when stress and alcohol were combined. Very few males exposed to the combination treatment mated with females. This study attempted to relate the effects of these treatments on sexual behavior to the postparturitional surge in plasma testosterone (T) that is known to influence the process of sexual differentiation. Prenatally stressed males, like control males showed a large, brief surge in plasma T that peaked 1 hr after delivery. Altered defeminization and masculinization were seen in prenatally stressed males, despite a normal postparturitional T surge. Fetal alcohol exposure, with or without concomitant stress, depressed T to the same extent right after birth and led to a similarly blunted T surge 1 hr later. Thus, equal disruption of the neonatal T pattern occurred in alcohol-alone males, who showed normal male copulatory behavior, and in alcohol-plus-stress males, whose behavior was severely attenuated. The results suggest that consideration of abnormal exposure to T during prenatal ontogeny may be required to understand the atypical sexual behaviors associated with these treatments.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed2002

Relationships among childhood sex-atypical behavior, spatial ability, handedness, and sexual orientation in men.

Moderate support was obtained in a sample of 101 gay, bisexual, and heterosexual males for the perinatal hormone theory, which hypothesizes that attenuated levels of androgens during critical periods of male fetal development fail to masculinize and defeminize the brain. Affected individuals develop female-typical sexual orientation (assessed here by a pie chart) and cerebral organization, reflected in visual-spatial abilities and gender nonconformity. Handedness, also thought to reflect in utero hormone exposure, was evaluated. Gay and bisexual males reported greater femininity and lesser masculinity than heterosexuals, with bisexuals intermediate in masculinity, suggesting a common biological mediator for homoeroticism and sex atypicality. Among bisexual males, increased masculinity was related to enhanced performance on all spatial tasks. Group mean differences in spatial ability and handedness were not found; however, among bisexuals, poorer visual-spatial performance predicted increased homoeroticism and right-handedness positively correlated with all spatial tasks. If perinatal hormones contribute to a generalized feminization of the brain, the current data indicate that it is most apparent among bisexual males. Sexing of their brains may involve several sexually dimorphic regions that are related in a continuous manner. Inferred cerebral feminization was more circumscribed among gay and heterosexual males, for whom childhood sex atypicality was most highly-distinguishing. Unspecified mechanisms responsible for homoeroticism in them may differ from those that produce same-sex attractions in bisexuals and thus have relatively little impact on other components of cerebral feminization.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Processing of grammatical gender in a three-gender system: experimental evidence from Russian.

Four experiments investigated the effect of grammatical gender on lexical access in Russian. Adjective-noun pairs were presented auditorily, using a cued-shadowing technique in which subjects must repeat the second word (the target noun), following adjectives that are either concordant or discordant with the noun's gender. Experiment 1 demonstrates gender priming with unambiguous adjectives and phonologically transparent masculine or feminine nouns. Experiment 2 examines priming for transparent nouns against a neutral baseline (possible only for feminines and neuters), revealing that priming is due primarily to inhibition from discordant gender. Experiment 3 demonstrates gender priming with phonologically opaque masculine and feminine nouns. Experiment 4 returns to transparent masculine and feminine nouns with a different kind of baseline, using three versions of a single word root (prost--simple, in the feminine adjectival form prostaja, masculine adjectival form prostoj, and the adverbial form prosto), and shows that gender can also facilitate lexical access, at least for feminine nouns. We conclude that Russian listeners can exploit gender agreement cues "on-line," helping them to predict the identity of an upcoming word.

Adolescent↗