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PubMed1983

Onset of the receptive and proceptive components of feminine sexual behavior in rats following the intravenous administration of progesterone.

The present study was carried out in order to assess the time course of action of progesterone (P) in the facilitation of complete feminine sexual behavior. Female rats (estrogen primed via 5% E2 Silastic capsules) were given 200 micrograms of P either intravenously (iv) or subcutaneously (sc), and tested for estrous behavior at 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, and 4 hr after treatment. Among iv-treated animals, significant amounts of lordosis behavior were seen as early as 1/2 hr, and a dramatic rise in solicitation behavior was observed at 2 hr. Although sc-treated animals displayed significant amounts of lordosis and solicitation behavior at 2 hr, the behavior was not maximal until 4 hr. Intravenous administration of 400 micrograms P was equipotent to 200 micrograms P, whereas 50 micrograms of iv P was relatively ineffective. A dual mechanism hypothesis pertaining to progesterone's actions in the facilitation of both the receptive and proceptive components of feminine sexual behavior in rats is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Influence of androgen on the development of sexual behavior in the rat. II. Time and dosage of androgen administration during the neonatal period and masculine and feminine copulatory behavior in females.

The objective of the present study was to delineate the period of sensitivity to a single androgen exposure during the initial neonatal hours on the development of masculine and feminine copulatory behavior in female rats. Female rats were injected once with either 500, 50, or 5 micrograms testosterone propionate (TP) at either 1 or 24 hr after birth. Following castration in adulthood and TP replacement, the females were tested four times at weekly intervals in prolonged sessions for masculine copulatory behavior. One month following the masculine copulatory tests the females were tested for 3 weeks for feminine copulatory behavior with weekly increasing levels of estradiol benzoate (2.5, 10, and 25 micrograms) and progesterone (200 micrograms). The results demonstrate that a single injection of TP administered at either 1 or 24 hr after birth can significantly increase the capacity of female rats to exhibit ejaculation patterns and that the amount of androgen that is administered is critical in determining the levels of ejaculatory responding. Similarly, the females given high doses (50 and 500 micrograms) of TP at either 1 or 24 hr neonatally were almost completely defeminized. In contrast, however, the females treated with 5 micrograms TP at 1 and 24 hr showed different levels of lordotic performance indicating a greater sensitivity to androgen immediately after birth than at 24 hr in female rats as has been shown in male rats.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1990

Differences in feminine and masculine characteristics in women as a function of handedness: support for the Geschwind/Galaburda theory of brain organization.

The Geschwind/Galaburda testosterone theory successfully predicted differences in feminine sex role identification and behavior between women with anomalous dominance and standard dominance. The women with anomalous dominance (consisting of left-handed and ambidextrous as well as right-handed women with first-degree non-right-handed relatives) were compared to women with standard dominance (right-handed women with all right-handed first-degree relatives) on the Bem Test of Sex Role Identity and a tomboy scale. Across three samples, handedness classifications were related to both tomboy characteristics and sex role identification. In addition, the study showed that the anomalous dominance women had a higher masculine sex role identification as compared to the college normative sample for the Bem, while the standard dominance women had a higher feminine identification than the normative sample.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

The hormone-sensitive early postnatal periods for sexual differentiation of feminine behavior and luteinizing hormone secretion in male and female rats.

The purpose of this study was to determine the duration of the hormone-sensitive postnatal period during which a single injection of testosterone propionate (TP) influences feminine behavior and luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion in male and female rats. Male pups were castrated on the day of birth (day 1) between 6 and 12 h postpartum. On postnatal day 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 female pups and castrated males (fales) were injected subcutaneously with testosterone propionate (TP-500 micrograms). The females were laparotomized at 60 days of age, and ovarian tissue was removed for histological analysis. Female behavior was evaluated at 100 days of age. At 150 days of age, the ability of steroids to facilitate LH secretion was determined. Tests for lordosis indicated a diminished lordotic quotient (LQ) with both females and fales treated with TP on postnatal day 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7. On day 8 or 9, however, the lordotic response was at control levels. Females in all TP treated groups had significantly reduced number of corpora lutea. Females and fales treated with TP on postnatal day 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 failed to exhibit an LH surge as adults. The results indicate that the neural control of feminine behavior (LQ) is hormone-sensitive to a single injection of TP up through the 7th day of postnatal life, whereas the neural substrate regulating LH secretion was sensitive in the present study at least up through day 9 in both fales and females.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Disciplining the feminine: the reproduction of gender contradictions in the mental health care of women with eating disorders.

This paper provides insights into the way gendered assumptions operate within health care interventions for women with eating disorders. A multidisciplinary sample of Australian health care workers were interviewed about their approaches to treatment, and discourse analysis was used to uncover the discursive dynamics and power relations characterising their accounts of intervention. The paper demonstrates a contradictory positioning of anorexic patients in relation to autonomy and control within the two common psychiatric interventions of bed rest intervention and psychotherapy. The paper argues that this is based on gendered assumptions about selfhood and femininity in eating disorders that are reproduced in the therapeutic relationship through the operation of a gendered parent-child dynamic, with the health care worker as father or mother, and the anorexic patient as daughter. One of the main effects of this is to re-inscribe rather than challenge the discursive 'double bind' of femininity that has been widely implicated by post-structural feminists in producing eating disorders in the first place. The paper also considers the widely acknowledged problem of resistance to treatment in anorexia as a function of controlling treatments, and discusses psychiatrists' perspectives on addressing this dilemma. Finally, the paper examines the potential of feminist-informed understandings of eating disorders for overcoming the gendered dilemmas inherent within the dominant psycho-medical treatment paradigm.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2005

Commitment to relationships and preferences for femininity and apparent health in faces are strongest on days of the menstrual cycle when progesterone level is high.

Previous studies of changes in women's behavior during the menstrual cycle have offered insight into the motivations underpinning women's preferences for social cues associated with possible direct benefits (e.g., investment, low risk of infection) and indirect benefits (e.g., offspring viability). Here we sought to extend this work by testing for systematic variation in women's preferences for male and female faces and in their attitudes to their romantic relationship during the menstrual cycle. In Study 1, we found partnered women's reported commitment to their romantic relationship and preferences for femininity in male and female faces were strongest on days of the menstrual cycle when progesterone levels are increased (and fertility is low). Happiness in relationships did not change across the cycle. In Study 2, we found that the effect of cycle phase on women's preference for feminine faces was independent of increased attraction to apparent health in faces during the luteal phase. Collectively, these findings are further evidence that women's preferences for social cues associated with possible direct benefits and commitment to relationships are strongest during conditions characterized by raised progesterone level, while attraction to men displaying cues associated with possible indirect benefits is strongest when women are most fertile.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

"It's just part of being a woman": cervical screening, the body and femininity.

This paper explores the importance of cervical screening discourses in framing women's perceptions of femininity. In-depth interviews with 35 women -- which focused on experiences of, and feelings about, cervical screening -- highlighted how medical discourses embedded within the cervical screening programme shape the feelings of normalcy and sense of obligation associated with having smear tests. With the introduction of the invitation based call and re-call programme in the UK, cervical screening has moved from an ad hoc system to a programme of mass surveillance and regulation of women's bodies. The paper highlights the ways in which cervical screening discourses were negotiated, accepted and resisted by the women interviewed. Possible theoretical explanations as to why cervical screening discourses have become important in framing femininity are discussed. The paper concludes by suggesting that the meaning and objective of mass screening programmes must be brought into question and reconsidered by feminists and those involved with the planning, implementation, research and use of screening services.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Gender stereotypes and the relationship between masculinity and femininity: a developmental analysis.

This study investigated developmental shifts in (a) the use of global gender stereotypes (base rates) and individuating gender-relevant information when making social judgments and (b) the perceived association between masculinity and femininity. Interviews/surveys of kindergartners, 3rd graders, 7th graders, 10th graders, and college students (N = 491) were conducted, in which Ss were presented with descriptions of boys or girls with stereotypical or counterstereotypical attributes and asked to judge other characteristics these boys or girls might have. The data indicated that (a) reliance on gender labels as judgment cues remains stable developmentally, (b) use of individuating information (particularly masculine individuating information) increases with age, and (c) the relationship between masculinity and femininity becomes increasingly negative with age, suggesting that gender may initially be viewed in dualistic terms but later as a unidimensional construct.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Differentiated additive androgyny model: relations between masculinity, femininity, and multiple dimensions of self-concept.

Masculinity (M) and femininity (F) were related to multiple dimensions of self-concept in 2 large studies. Androgyny theory predicts that M and F contribute positively to self-concept, but the effect of F has been nil in research using global self measures. Here, consistent with the new differentiated additive model, the relative contribution of M and F varied substantially, depending on the area of self-concept; F contributed more positively to self-concept facets that were more stereotypically feminine. Support for the model was consistent across self-responses and responses by significant others (Study 1) and across 5 age groups in early-to-middle adolescence (Study 2).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Longitudinal and behavioral analysis of masculinity and femininity in marriage.

Spouses' masculinity and femininity were examined in relation to longitudinal change in marital satisfaction and behavior displayed in a problem-solving discussion. Results indicated, first, that wives' satisfaction declined to the extent that their husband endorsed fewer desirable masculine traits (Study 1) and more undesirable masculine traits (Study 2). Second, masculinity and femininity covaried with problem-solving behavior, particularly for behavioral sequences involving husbands' responses to wives' negative behavior. Finally, the relation between husbands' masculinity and change in wives' satisfaction was not mediated by husbands' behavior; instead, sex role and behavioral variables made independent contributions to change in wives' satisfaction. These results are important because they highlight the value of examining intraindividual and interpersonal variables when determining how marriages improve and deteriorate.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Relation of drinking and eating to masculinity and femininity.

The relationship between desirable and undesirable aspects of masculinity and femininity and drinking and eating was investigated. A sample of 144 university women in Australia completed questionnaires that assessed masculinity and femininity, reported drinking, alcohol dependence, eating restraint, frequency of dieting, and overeating. Evidence of a common underlying dimension linking aspects of problem drinking and overeating to undesirable masculine characteristics was found. The results are consistent with the view that women engage in excessive consummatory behaviors such as binging to deal with their gender-role conflict.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Feminine gender identity and physical aggressiveness in heterosexual and homosexual pedophiles.

This study explored the differences among six groups of adult males in retrospective self-reports of childhood gender identity and physical aggressiveness. The three groups of homosexual men preferred prepubescent, pubescent, or physically mature sexual partners. The three groups of heterosexual men preferred prepubescent partners, normal sexual interaction with physically mature partners (controls), or anomalous interaction with physically mature partners. Childhood gender identity was measured with the Feminine Gender Identity Scale (FGIS), and boyhood aggressiveness was measured with the Physical Aggressiveness Scale (PAS). Duncan tests at the .05 level showed that the FGIS differentiated the homosexuals who preferred mature partners from the five other groups; whereas the PAS differentiated all homosexual groups from all heterosexual groups. These results suggest that male homosexuals in general tend to be unaggressive in boyhood, whereas only those who prefer mature sexual partners show significant levels of feminine identification.

Aggression↗
PubMed2004

Contextualizing smoking: masculinity, femininity and class differences in smoking in men and women from three generations in the west of Scotland.

The epidemiology of smoking, and contemporary and historical accounts of tobacco consumption, together suggest that the patterning of smoking by class, gender and gender role identities may differ markedly for people born at different stages in the establishment and demise of smoking in the 20th century. Here, we report an analysis that examines this assertion using empirical data collected from men and women living in the west of Scotland, an area with high rates of smoking, who were born in the 1930s, 1950s and 1970s. Class trends in smoking were less apparent for men than for women in the older two cohorts and there was little evidence of class patterning in either sex in the youngest participants. There was little relationship between the measures of gender role orientation and current smoking amongst men. Amongst women, the strongest association was between smoking and a well-validated measure of 'femininity' in the 1950s cohort; each unit increase in 'femininity' score increased the odds of being a smoker by 46%. In this same cohort of women, there was also a weaker relationship between smoking and higher masculinity scores. These results are discussed in the context of continuing use of gendered imagery to exploit new markets in the developing world.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Coping with bereavement in relation to different feminine gender roles.

The effect of gender role on coping with conjugal bereavement was studied in 44 Norwegian widows. A "traditional" and a "modern" feminine gender role were juxtaposed. Information was collected by two semi-structured interviews concerning coping with bereavement, and by a health inventory (UHI). The information was analysed qualitatively in relation to central elements in the coping process (appraisals, problems, coping strategies, self-evaluations of coping, future expectancies of coping, and relevance of external resources). The findings revealed considerable differences in coping between the two gender roles, favouring the modern feminine gender role.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Malignant wounds in women with breast cancer: feminine and sexual perspectives.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: . The aim of this article is to investigate the way malignant fungating wounds affect femininity, sexuality and daily life in women with progressive breast cancer. Malignant wounds occur when the underlying localized tumour filtrates into the skin, blood capillaries and/or lymph vessels. DESIGN: The study was a prospective and exploratory intervention study. The intervention was tested on 12 consecutively selected women with progressive breast cancer and malignant fungating wounds. METHODS: The 12 women participated in a 4-week wound care intervention programme that comprised evidence-based wound care principles and psychosocial support. Data were generated by means of interviewing prior to and following the intervention period. RESULTS: The women described how malodorous and oozing wounds trigger anxiety about seepage, prevent them from wearing feminine attire and cause them to suppress the need for physical closeness and sexual activity. The results showed that by using modern wound care products, the patients could be secured against seepage and odour. The women experienced a sense of comfort, were able to dress again as they wished, no longer felt caged in and isolated and were given a sense of freedom which they had not felt for a long time. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention succeeded in increasing breast cancer patients' psychosocial well-being and reducing social isolation. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: There is a lack of standard methods of practice for care of malignant wounds in women with breast cancer. This article describes an intervention for wound care which could improve daily live in women with progressive breast cancer.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2005

Psychological masculinity-femininity via the gender diagnosticity approach: heritability and consistency across ages and populations.

Several aspects of the Gender Diagnosticity (GD) approach of Lippa (1995) to measuring the psychological trait of masculinity-femininity within sexes were explored in four samples ranging from 363 to 5,859 individuals, including Swedish and Australian adults, U.S. elderly, and Australian adolescents. Two ways of deriving GD scales yielded highly similar results. Moderate stability of individual differences was found across ages 12 to 16 among adolescents, but substantial shifts over age occurred in relationships with Eysenck scales. Considerable generality of GD scales was obtained across languages and populations. Substantial heritabilities (about 40%) and minimal effects of shared family environments suggest that within-sex masculinity-femininity behaves as a fairly typical personality trait. Cross-age continuity appeared mainly to reflect the influence of the genes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Evaluation of modifications of the traditional patch test in assessing the chemical irritation potential of feminine hygiene products.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The first main objective of the work presented in this paper was to investigate ways of optimizing the current arm patch test protocol by (1) increasing the sensitivity of the test in order to evaluate more effectively the products that are inherently non-irritating, and/or (2) reducing the costs of these types of studies by shortening the protocol. The second main objective was to use the results of these studies and the results of the parallel studies conducted using the behind-the-knee method to better understand the contribution of mechanical irritation to the skin effects produced by these types of products. In addition, we were interested in continuing the evaluation of sensory effects and their relationship to objective measures of irritation. METHODS: Test materials were prepared from three, currently marketed feminine protection pads. Wet and dry samples were applied to the upper arm using the standard 24-h patch test. Applications were repeated daily for 4 consecutive days. The test sites were scored for irritation prior to the first patch application, and 30-60 min after removal of each patch. Some test sites were treated by tape stripping the skin prior to the initial patch application. In addition, in one experiment, panelists were asked to keep a daily diary describing any sensory skin effects they noticed at each test site. RESULTS: All protocol variations ([intact skin/dry samples], [compromised skin/dry samples], [intact skin/wet samples], and [compromised skin/wet samples]) gave similar results for the products tested. When compared to the behind-the-knee test method, the standard upper arm patch test gave consistently lower levels of irritation when the test sites were scored shortly after patch removal, even though the sample application was longer (24 vs. 6 h) in the standard patch test. The higher level of irritation in the behind-the-knee method was likely due to mechanical irritation. The sensory skin effects did not appear to be related to a particular test product or a particular protocol variation. However, the mean irritation scores at those sites where a sensory effect was reported were higher than the mean irritation scores at those sites were no sensory effects were reported. CONCLUSIONS: All four protocol variations of the standard upper arm patch test can be used to assess the inherent chemical irritant properties of feminine protection products. For these products, which are inherently non-irritating, tape stripping and/or applying wet samples does not increase the sensitivity of the patch test method. Differences in irritation potential were apparent after one to three 24-h applications. Therefore, the standard patch test protocol can be shortened to three applications without compromising our ability to detect differences in the chemical irritation produced by the test materials. The patch test can be used to evaluate effectively the inherent chemical irritation potential of these types of products. However, this method is not suitable for testing the mechanical irritation due to friction that occurs during product use. There is no relationship between specific test conditions, i.e., compromised skin and/or testing wet samples and reports of perceived sensory reactions. However, there seems to be a clear relationship between sensory reactions and objective irritation scores.

Absorbent Pads↗
PubMed1984

Correlation of muscarinic receptor induction in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus with the activation of feminine sexual behavior by estradiol.

The administration of the steroid hormone, 17 beta-estradiol (E2) to ovariectomized rats increases the levels of muscarinic cholinergic receptors by 20-40% in the hypothalamic area. Using microdissection techniques, this increase has been shown to occur in hypothalamic subregions that possess high levels of intracellular receptors for E2. Among these regions is the ventromedial nucleus (VMN), which may be the principal target site in the rat brain for the activation of feminine sexual behavior by E2. In this study, we have further characterized the increase in muscarinic binding within the VMN after E2 and show that it satisfies many of the criteria for an important regulatory mechanism by which E2 could activate sexual behavior: (1) Using quantitative receptor autoradiography, it was determined that the increase in [3H]-QNB binding in the VMN after E2 results from an increase in the number of receptors rather than a change in the affinity of the binding. (2) The increase in VMN muscarinic receptors as determined by the binding of [3H]-QNB to microdissected homogenates occurred by 18-24 h after exposure to E2, the earliest time at which sexual behavior is facilitated. (3) Increased muscarinic receptors did not occur in the VMN of male rats, which show little activation of feminine sexual behavior after E2 exposure. (4) Muscarinic receptors in the VMN of female rats are induced at 24 h by a 6 h exposure to E2, the minimum length of time that is sufficient for E2 to activate sexual behavior. A 4 h exposure to E2 is insufficient to activate both sexual behavior and induce muscarinic receptors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗