Difference between revisions of "androgyny"

Revision as of 01:18, 5 April 2006

Androgyny

Androgyny is the state of indeterminate gender, or characteristics of gender. Androgynous traits are those that either have no gender value, or have some aspects generally attributed to the opposite gender. Physiological androgyny (compare intersex), dealing with physical traits, is distinct from behavioral androgyny which deals with personal and social anomalies in gender, and from psychological androgyny, which is a matter of gender identity. A psychologically androgynous person is commonly known as an androgyne, although there is a politicized version known as genderqueer.

The morpheme andr- means 'man', and the morpheme -gyn- means 'woman', derived from Greek.

Gender roles are the different social roles of men and women, which vary with changes in culture. It's important to understand the difference between social characteristics of gender and separate these from sexual physiology and sexual behaviours.

As people gradually became aware of their facility for self-determination, gender, and the established roles within society, began to be tested with this newfound concept of self.

See also

• List of transgender-related topics

References

• Bem, Sandra L. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 42, 155-62

External links

• Sandra Bem and androgyny
• Androgyny Rarely Asked Questions