Up until the 1970s, masculinity and femininity were thought to be on the same continuum. The more masculine you were, the less feminine you were, and vice versa. However, in the 1970s, researchers challenged this notion by suggesting that masculinity and femininity were two separate dimensions and a person could be high or low on both dimensions.
The breakdown of traditional stereotypes about gender has refocused attention on the idea of androgyny. Bem (1977), as we mentioned earlier, suggested that people have different combinations of masculine and feminine traits. She considers those who have a high score on both masculinity and femininity to be androgynous. Androgyny, according to Bem, allows greater flexibility in behavior because people have a greater repertoire of possible reactions to a situation. Bem (1974, 1977, 1981) has tried to show that androgynous individuals can display “masculine” traits (such as independence) and “feminine” traits (such as playfulness with a kitten) when situations call for them.
Due to Bem’s early research on masculinity, femininity, and androgyny, some suggested that androgyny was a desirable state and androgynous attitudes were a solution to the tension between the sexes. There has been more research on gender roles and androgyny since, and androgyny may not be the answer to the world’s gender problems. Suggesting that people should combine aspects of masculinity and femininity may simply reinforce and retain outdated ideas of gender.
Newer research has questioned whether the masculine and feminine traits that Bem used are still valid nearly 30 years later. One study found that although 18 of 20 feminine traits still qualified as feminine, only 8 of 20 masculine traits qualified as masculine (Auster & Ohm, 2000). Traits originally associated with masculinity, such as analytical, individualistic, competitive, self-sufficient, risk-taking, and defends own beliefs, were no longer viewed as strictly masculine traits. These findings reflect recent societal changes that render some masculine traits desirable for both men and women.