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PubMedDate not supplied

The growing commercial value of the male body: a longitudinal survey of advertising in women's magazines.

BACKGROUND: With the advances of feminism, men have gradually relinquished their once-exclusive 'masculine' roles as fighters and breadwinners. In response to this change, the male body may have gained in relative importance as one of the few surviving marks of masculinity. We hypothesized that these trends might be quantified by using a commercial measure such as advertising. METHODS: We examined the proportion of exposed male and female bodies portrayed in advertisements between 1958 and 1998 in two leading American women's magazines. RESULTS: In both magazines, the proportion of undressed women in the advertisements has changed little over the last 40 years, whereas the proportion of undressed men has increased dramatically, especially since the early 1980s. CONCLUSIONS: Trends in commercial advertising offer tentative support for the hypothesis that the male body is increasing in importance as a mark of masculinity--at least as judged from the actions of advertisers seeking to influence women's attitudes.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Microinjection of dihydrotestosterone into the medial preoptic area produces male-like pattern of growth hormone secretion in ovariectomized female rats.

The pattern of growth hormone (GH) secretion is sexually dimorphic in rats. We have previously shown that the secretory pattern in adult ovariectomized (OVX) female rats is masculinized by the administration of a single dose of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a nonaromatizable androgen. To investigate the primary site of action of DHT in the brain, a small amount of DHT was injected directly into a defined area of the brain, and the blood GH profile was observed for 18 h in conscious adult OVX female rats. The bilateral direct injection of 1 microg DHT into the medial preoptic area (MPA) produced a male-like secretory pattern of GH in OVX rats. The masculinizing effects became apparent at 9 h after injection, from which time the episodic GH secretion was produced regularly at intervals of about 150 min, the amplitude of the peak increased and baseline levels were lowered. These parameters, analyzed during 9-18 h after DHT injection, were not different from those in adult male rats. On the contrary, microinjection of DHT into the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the hypothalamic periventricular nucleus, or the hypothalamic arcuate-ventromedial nucleus did not affect the secretory pattern of GH. The data indicate that DHT primarily acts on cells in the MPA through androgen receptors and modulates the secretion of somatostatin and/or GH-releasing hormone secondarily to masculinize the GH secretory pattern in OVX rats.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Sexual differentiation of the brain in songbirds.

The brain regions that control song in zebra finches are much larger in males, who sing, than in females, who do not. Two major theories have been proposed to explain sexual differentiation of the neural song circuit. The 'mammalian' theory suggests that sex steroid secretions of the tests cause masculine development in males. The 'avian' theory suggests that ovarian secretions induce feminine patterns of development in females. Although experimental evidence provides some support for the mammalian theory, neither theory comfortably predicts the outcomes of experiments that bear on the mechanisms of sexual differentiation. In particular, it has been relatively difficult to block sex steroid synthesis and action in genetic males in a way that prevents masculine neural differentiation. Moreover, genetic females that possess large amounts of testicular tissue can have a feminine neural song circuit, suggesting that testicular secretions are not solely responsible for the masculine patterns of differentiation. The results indicate that new theories are needed to explain sexual differentiation of the song system.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Sexual differentiation of brain and behavior: the zebra finch is not just a flying rat.

In rats and other mammals, sex differences in the brain and behavior result from differential secretions of gonadal steroid hormones during early critical periods of neural development. We review the experimental results that support current ideas about the mechanisms of sexual differentiation in mammals, and then apply the same experimental analysis to the study of sexual differentiation of the neural song circuit in the zebra finch (Poephila guttata), a passerine song bird. Administration of estrogen to young female zebra finches causes the female to develop a more masculine song system and to sing as an adult. This estrogenic masculinization is similar to that found for copulatory behavior in mammals. However, striking differences emerge in other aspects of the sexual differentiation process. Experiments that use endocrine agents to block the masculine development in genetic males have so far failed. Moreover, the brain of zebra finches has an unusually high expression of aromatase (estrogen synthetase) in the telencephalon, and estrogen synthesized in the brain from androgen is released into the general circulation. These results suggest that the brain is the primary source of estrogen in the body. If so, then a further understanding of sexual differentiation requires more information on the factors that regulate the cerebral synthesis of estrogen.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Medical and nursing ethics: never the twain?

Since the publication of Carol Gilligan's In a different voice in 1982, there has been much discussion about masculine and feminine approaches to ethics. It has been suggested that an ethics of care, or a feminine ethics, is more appropriate for nursing practice, which contrasts with the 'traditional, masculine' ethics of medicine. It has been suggested that Nel Noddings' version of an 'ethics of care' (or feminine ethics) is an appropriate model for nursing ethics. The 'four principles' approach has become a popular model for medical or health care ethics. It will be suggested in this article that, whilst Noddings presents an interesting analysis of caring and the caring relationship, this has limitations. Rather than acting as an alternative to the 'four principles' approach, the latter is necessary to provide a framework to structure thinking and decision-making in health care. Further, it will be suggested that ethical separatism (that is, one ethics for nurses and one for doctors) in health care is not a progressive step for nurses or doctors. Three recommendations are made: that we promote a health care ethics that incorporates what is valuable in a 'traditional, masculine ethics', the why (four principles approach) and an 'ethics of care', the 'how' (aspects of Noddings' work and that of Urban Walker); that we encourage nurses and doctors to participate in the 'shared learning' and discussion of ethics; and that our ethical language and concerns are common to all, not split into unhelpful dichotomies.

Beneficence↗

PubMed1977

Differential effectiveness of two classification procedures on the Bem Sex Role Inventory.

Two procedures-a simple median split and a difference/median split method-were used to classify 102 male and 129 female college students into masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated sex role orientations on the basis of their Bern Sex Role Inventory scores. Differences in classification occurred among nearly one-third of the subjects, and as expected, the difference/median split procedure was more successful in predicting sex-role ideology. Using this procedure, masculine-typed females were found to be most profeminist in their attitudes, while low masculinity females were most conservative. No significant differences were obtained for the male groups using either procedure. Future research with the BSRI and related sex-role measures should employ similar comparisons to determine the relative validity of the two procedures.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1982

Psychological androgyny and social desirability.

The concept of psychological androgyny, because of its implications for sex roles, social change, and human development, is presently of special theoretical interest. Psychologically androgynous persons, as identified by the Bern Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), score higher on both its femininity and masculinity scales. Given the psychometric properties of the BSRI, it can be hypothesized that androgynous persons will have higher social desirability scores. Yet, the "masculine male" and the "feminine female" may be the most socially desirable, in that they conform to normative expectations. Consequently it can also be hypothesized that individuals who are either masculine-typed males or feminine-typed females on the BSRI will have the higher social desirability scores. Neither prediction was found to be entirely accurate; instead, androgynous and feminine-typed individuals were found to have higher social desirability scores. Moreover, the data reveal that the BSRI femininity scale has social desirability characteristics which are sex-specific.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1982

Sex-role orientation and psychological adjustment: comparison of MMPI profiles among college women and housewives.

Androgynous, masculine, feminine, and undifferentiated women, as determined by the Bern Sex Role Inventory, were compared on the three validity and ten clinical scales of the MMPI. Two samples of women were included: Female college students and a group of upper middle-class suburban housewives. No significant differences emerged in the housewife sample. Among college women, androgynous and masculine women did not differ in adjustment, and both groups were better adjusted (i.e., less depressed, anxious, tense, and less socially introverted) than the undifferentiated women. A cross-validation study with a comparable student sample essentially replicated the results of the first study. Rather than supporting Bem's (1974) hypothesis of better psychological adjustment in androgynous persons, results were interpreted as providing support for the notion that masculinity is associated with equally good adjustment as androgyny in college women.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Measurement of agency, communion, and emotional vulnerability with the Personal Attributes Questionnaire.

Factor analytic studies of the 24-item Personal Attributes Questionnaire (Spence & Helmreich, 1978) have reported inconsistent results, and a previous confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated inadequate fit for factors corresponding to Masculinity, Femininity, and Masculinity-Femininity scales. In this research, we used CFA in a college sample (N = 382) to evaluate the 3-factor model, and we revised scales by eliminating 6 misspecified items. The revised model fit well in another college sample (N = 230). We renamed the revised scales Agency, Communion, and Emotional Vulnerability. In relation to Five-factor theory, Emotional Vulnerability and Communion correlated well with Neuroticism and Agreeableness, respectively, and Agency had moderate correlations with Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness. Psychometric results in the context of current theory suggest that Agency (Masculinity) may not be a fully adequate measure of the agency construct.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Mom, dad, I'm straight: the coming out of gender ideologies in adolescent sexual-identity development.

Little attention has been given to how femininity and masculinity ideologies impact sexual-identity development. Differentiating violations of conventional femininity and masculinity ideologies as part of an overt process of sexual-identity development in sexual-minority adolescents suggested the possibility of a parallel process among heterosexual adolescents. Based on feminist theory and analysis of heterosexual adolescents narratives about relationships, the importance of negotiating femininity and masculinity ideologies as part of sexual-identity development for all adolescents is described.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Sexual dimorphism in the control of growth hormone secretion.

The secretory pattern of GH in the mature rat is sexually differentiated. In male rats GH is secreted in pulses occurring at regular 3- to 4-h intervals. In females the pulses are lower and plasma GH levels between the pulses are higher than in males. The continuous presence of testosterone appears to be necessary to maintain low basal GH levels in adult male rats. Neonatal, but not prepubertal, gonadectomy decreases GH pulse height in adult male rats to female levels. Administration of testosterone neonatally to castrated animals returns GH pulse height to normal suggesting that neonatal testicular androgen secretion is one determinant for GH pulse height in adult male rats. Administration of testosterone neonatally or during adult life to neonatally ovariectomized rats also produces higher GH pulses. In contrast to testosterone, estrogens elevate basal plasma GH levels and suppress the GH pulses under some conditions. Estrogens may stimulate basal GH secretion by acting directly on the pituitary. The physiological significance of the secretory pattern of GH has been investigated in hypophysectomized rats by simulating different plasma patterns of GH. The results suggest that high, infrequent GH pulses with low plasma GH levels in between (i.e. a masculine plasma GH pattern) promotes growth more effectively than an intermediate, rather constant level of plasma GH (i.e. a feminine plasma GH pattern). Since male sex steroids masculinize the secretory pattern of GH and have only minor growth-promoting effects in hypophysectomized animals it appears that the growth promoting effect of androgens is indirect and is due to an altered secretory pattern of GH. Presumably, neonatal androgen secretion stimulates body growth during adult life by irreversibly masculinizing the secretory pattern of GH. In contrast, estrogens appear to influence body growth by mechanisms that are mainly independent of the secretory pattern of GH. Evidence is accumulating that the secretory pattern of GH in the rat also affects various sexually differentiated hepatic characteristics such as steroid metabolism and prolactin receptor concentration. Thus, a feminization of the liver develops after continuous, but not intermittent, administration of GH to hypophysectomized rats. GH secretion is predominantly regulated by two hypothalamic peptides; GRF, and the GH-release-inhibiting factor, somatostatin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Age Factors↗

PubMed1982

Effects of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, or estradiol administered neonatally on sexual behavior of female ferrets.

Groups of female ferrets born in the laboratory received sc Silastic capsules containing testosterone (T), 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), 17 beta-estradiol (E), or no steroid for 15 days beginning on the day of birth; an additional group of male ferrets received empty sc capsules neonatally. All ferrets were gonadectomized at 11 weeks of age and were subsequently tested for masculine and feminine sexual behaviors while being treated consecutively over an 8-month period with several different gonadal steroids. The ability to display masculine sexual behavior was studied in the absence of replacement hormones and during a counterbalanced sequence of treatments with Silastic capsules containing T, E, or DHT. The maximal amount of neck grip, mount, and pelvic thrusting behavior displayed, regardless of adult endocrine treatment, was significantly greater in control male and neonatally T-treated females than in females that had received no hormone, E, or DHT neonatally. Animals in all five groups displayed equivalent increments in sexual receptivity in response to daily sc injections of increasing dosages of estradiol benzoate. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of plasma collected from newborn female ferrets revealed no binding of either [3H]E or [3H]T, whereas two binding peaks were found for [3H]DHT. After the administration of androgen in adulthood, equivalent clitoral growth and ossification occurred in females given either T or DHT neonatally. These results suggest that in ferrets, behavioral masculinization occurs in response to neonatal exposure to T itself and not to its major neural metabolites, E and DHT. They also show that behavioral defeminization fails to occur in ferrets even after neonatal exposure to pharmacological amounts of E, T, or DHT.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Prenatal androgens time neuroendocrine sexual maturation.

The present study determined whether exposure to gonadal steroids in utero dictates the postnatal control of gonadotropin secretion in the lamb. There is a marked sex difference in the timing of neuroendocrine sexual maturation in sheep; while male lambs undergo a reduction in sensitivity to inhibitory gonadal steroid feedback by 10 weeks of age, females remain hypersensitive until 30 weeks. The hypothesis was tested that prenatal androgens advance the time of the decrease in feedback sensitivity, and hence the pubertal increase in pulsatile gonadotropin secretion. Pregnant ewes were injected each week with 100 mg testosterone cypionate im from 30-90 days of gestation (term is approximately 150 days). Five female lambs were born with masculinized external genitalia (penis and scrotum). These females, together with eight androgenized males, eight control males, and eight control females, were gonadectomized at 2 weeks of age and implanted with a Silastic capsule of estradiol to produce a constant steroid feedback signal. Blood samples were collected twice weekly to monitor trends in LH secretion. For determination of LH pulse frequency, samples were collected frequently (every 12 min for 4 h) at various intervals between 5 and 32 weeks of age. In males, a sustained increase in LH from biweekly blood samples, indicative of reduced sensitivity to inhibitory steroid feedback, began at 10.1 +/- 1.4 weeks (mean +/- SE) of age in control males and at 5.4 +/- 0.1 weeks in androgenized males. By contrast, control females remained hypersensitive much longer as evidenced by the delay in the LH rise until 27.2 +/- 0.8 weeks. The response of the five androgenized females was intermediate; LH increased at 4, 7, 16, 20, and 21 weeks of age with an early increase of LH being associated with more pronounced masculinization of the genitalia. Patterns of pulsatile LH secretion reflected differences in serum LH measured from biweekly blood samples. For example, at 20 weeks of age, before the pubertal LH rise in female lambs, no pulses were evident in control females, whereas LH pulse frequency averaged 1.6 +/- 0.7 pulses/4 h in androgenized females. At this age, postpubertal males had 2.8 +/- 0.5 LH pulses/4 h. These results lead to the conclusion that in the sheep, prenatal androgens can masculinize patterns of gonadotropin secretion, and that the timing of reproductive neuroendocrine maturation after birth is programmed by androgens in utero.

Androgens↗

PubMed2000

Behavioral effects of prenatal versus postnatal androgen excess in children with 21-hydroxylase-deficient congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Systematic behavioral studies show that females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (CAH) are masculinized and defeminized in several ways; compared to their sisters, they play more with boys' toys, are more likely to use aggression when provoked, and show less interest in infants. We studied the extent to which these behavioral changes could be attributed to high levels of androgens in the prenatal vs. postnatal periods in 23 girls with CAH, aged 3-12 yr. Sex-atypical behavior was significantly associated with degree of inferred prenatal, but not postnatal, androgen excess; marked boy-typical play was associated with severe salt-wasting CAH, early age at diagnosis, and moderate genital masculinization at birth, but not with bone age advance, concurrent or cumulative high levels of 17-hydroxyprogesterone, or accelerated growth velocity in early childhood. Aggression and interest in infants were not consistently associated with indicators of prenatal or postnatal androgen excess, probably because those behaviors were measured less reliably than was toy play. The results are consistent with the idea that behavioral masculinization in girls with CAH results from high levels of androgens during fetal development and not in postnatal life.

Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital↗

PubMed1990

Hormone-sensitive stages in the sexual differentiation of laryngeal muscle fiber number in Xenopus laevis.

The number of muscle fibers in the vocal organ of the adult male African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, exceeds that of adult females. This sex difference is the result of rapid fiber addition in males between the end of metamorphosis, post-metamorphic stage 0 (PM0) and PM2. At PM0, male and female frogs have similar numbers of laryngeal muscle fibers. Males then add more muscle fibers than females and achieve an adult value that is 1.7 times the female number. Males castrated at PM0 have the same fiber number as females. Ovariectomy at PM0 does not alter muscle fiber addition in females. Gonadectomy at PM2 has no effect on fiber addition in either sex. Females attain masculine muscle fiber number if their ovaries are replaced with a testis at metamorphosis. Exogenous testosterone treatment at PM0 significantly increases fiber number in females but not in males. Exogenous testosterone given at PM2 has no effect on fiber number in females but decreases fiber number in males. We conclude that the testes are necessary for the marked addition of laryngeal muscle fibers seen in male X. laevis between PM0 and PM2. The masculine pattern of muscle fiber addition can be induced in females provided with a testis. Androgen secretion from the testes most probably accounts for masculinization of laryngeal muscle fiber number. After PM2, androgens are no longer necessary for muscle fiber addition and cannot increase fiber number in females.

Androgens↗

PubMed1989

Origin of müllerian duct and its later development in relation to Wolffian duct and anogenital distance in the rat.

On day 14 of fetal life in the rat, Müllerian (paramesonephric) duct in both sexes was first observed close to Wolffian (mesonephric) duct. Its caudal end joined Wolffian duct at about the level of the middle of gonadal anlage. Thereafter, Müllerian duct became independent of Wolffian duct through its whole length. Therefore, the main part of Müllerian duct may be formed by budding from Wolffian duct. On day 16, the anogenital distance in male started to increase with thickening of Wolffian duct and disappearance of Müllerian duct. Castration of male fetuses on day 19 stopped later masculinizing development. Therefore, it is clear that the fetal testis is an organ crucial for the masculinization of the urogenital tract as it activates the secretion of masculinizing hormone(s).

Animals↗

PubMed1983

A comparison among three measures of social sex-role.

This study compared the De Cecco-Shively Social Sex-Role Inventory (DSI) with the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ). The analysis, comparing methods of femininity and masculinity trait description, assessment, and scoring procedures among the instruments, was obtained by administering the three inventories to a sample of seventy-nine respondents. Femininity and masculinity scores in each inventory were then classified by assigning these scores to appropriate quadrants according to median splits. Additionally, Pearson product-moment correlations were calculated in order to compare the overall femininity and masculinity scores among each of the three measures. The BSRI and PAQ were found to be in somewhat closer agreement with each other than with the DSI. The DSI provides for measurement of a greater spectrum of types of variables, and also allows more flexibility regarding personal and situational factors associated with assessment of social sex-role.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Looking for love: a reading of Apartment Zero.

Asserting that gay male identity exists in the unstable frontier between culturally-defined notions of femininity and masculinity, this paper makes a close reading of the recent film Apartment Zero. This reading highlights the paradoxically aggressive and loving contest over the signs or trophies of masculinity--ranging from a soldier's cape to the phallus itself--which characterizes both homosocial and homosexual relations among men. Concluding that contrary to recent critical clichés, no subject can possess "the gaze," this paper describes the powerful desire to appropriate the signifiers of masculinity: a desire which can never be fully satisfied.

Argentina↗