Abstract
Gender role perceptions of five objects—Ideal Woman, Ideal Man, Most Women, Most Men and Self—were elicited from 3300 university students, 81% of whom were Caucasian, with 7% Hispanic, 6% African-American, and 4% Asian. Profiles of student responses for the five objects provided a comprehensive updating of 1970s research on student gender roles. Women (N= 1842) and men (N= 1148) students generally preferred an androgynous Ideal Woman. Women also preferred an androgynous Ideal Man, but men preferred a masculine sex-typed Ideal Man. Women and men's perceptions of Most Women and Men continued to be sex-typed. Men's self perceptions were androgynous, while women saw themselves as feminine sex-typed. Findings suggest that little change in students' gender role perceptions has occurred in the past 15 years.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Adams, K., & Landers, A. (1978). Sex differences in dominance behavior.Sex Roles, 4, 215–223.
Basow, S. (1992).Gender stereotypes and roles. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Bem, S. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 155–162.
Bem, S. (1975). Sex role adaptability: One consequence of psychological androgyny.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 634–643.
Bem, S. (1981).Bem Sex Role Inventory: Professional manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Bergen, D., & Williams, J. (1991). Sex stereotypes in the United States revisited: 1972–1988.Sex Roles, 24, 413–423.
Brabeck, M., & Weisgerber, K. (1989). College students' perceptions of men and women choosing teaching and management: The effects of gender and sex role egalitarianism.Sex Roles, 21, 841–857.
Broverman, I., Vogel, S., Broverman, D., Clarkson, F., & Rosenkrantz, P. (1972). Sex role stereotypes: A current appraisal.Journal of Social Issues, 28, 59–78.
Cohen, J. (1988).Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer.Psychological Bulletin, 112, 155–159.
Cook, E. (1985).Psychological androgyny. New York: Pergamon.
Deseran, F., & Falk, W. (1982). Women as generalized other and self theory.Sex Roles, 8, 283–297.
Eagley, A., & Mladinic, A. (1989). Gender stereotypes and attitudes towards women and men.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 15, 543–558.
Etaugh, C., & Spiller, B. (1989). Attitudes towards women: Comparison of traditional-aged and older college students.Journal of College Student Development, 30, 41–46.
Etaugh, C., & Stern, J. (1984). Person perceptions: Effects of employment status, marital status and age of child.Sex Roles, 11, 413–424.
Gilbert, L., Deutsch, C., & Strahan, R. (1978). Feminine and masculine dimensions of the typical, desirable and ideal woman and man.Sex Roles, 4, 767–778.
Grayson, P., & Medalie, J. (1989). The college scene today: Two views.Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 3, 89–105.
Hamrick, F., & Carlisle, W. (1990). Gender diversity in student affairs: Administrative perceptions and recommendations.NASPA Journal, 27, 306–311.
Holland, A., & Andre, T. (1992). College students' attitudes toward women: A three dimensional approach.College Student Journal, 26, 253–259.
Holland, D., & Eisenhart, M. (1988). Moments of discontent: University women and the gender status quo.Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 19, 115–138.
Hudak, M. (1993). Gender schema theory revisited: Men's stereotypes of American women.Sex Roles, 28, 279–293.
Hughes, M. (1989). Feminization of student affairs.NASPA Journal, 27, 18–27.
Kalof, L., & Cargill, T. (1991). Fraternity and sorority membership and gender dominance attitudes.Sex Roles, 25, 417–423.
Komarovsky, M. (1985).Women in college, New York: Basic Books.
Lipps, H. (1933).Sex and gender. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.
Major, B. (1979). Sex role orientation and fear of success: Clarifying an unclear relationship.Sex Roles, 5, 126–129.
Martin, P., & Hummer, R. (1989). Fraternities and rape on campus.Gender and Society, 3, 457–473.
McKee, J., & Sherriffs, A. (1959). Men's and women's beliefs, ideals and self-concepts.American Journal of Sociology, 64, 356–363.
Nettles, E., & Loevinger, J. (1983). Sex role expectations and ego level in relation to problem marriages.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 676–687.
Peters, T., & Waterman, R. (1982).In search of excellence: Lessons from America's best-run companies. New York: Warner.
Pooler, W. (1991). Sex of child preference among college students.Sex Roles, 25, 569–576.
Rogers, C. (1959). Therapy, personality and interpersonal relationships. In S. Koch (ed.),Psychology: A study of a science (Vol. III). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Roper, B., & Labeff, E. (1977). Sex roles and feminism revisited: An intergenerational comparison.Journal of Marriage and the Family, 39, 113–119.
Scher, D. (1984). Sex-role contradictions: Self-perceptions and ideal perceptions.Sex Roles, 10, 651–56.
Silvern, L., & Ryan, V. (1983). A reexamination of masculine and feminine sex-role ideals and conflicts among ideals for the man, woman, and person.Sex Roles, 9, 1223–1248.
Spence, J. (1993). Gender-related traits and gender ideology: Evidence for a multifactorial theory.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 624–635.
Stickel, S., & Bonett, R. (1991). Gender differences in career self efficacy: Combining a career with home and family.Journal of College Student Development, 32, 297–301.
Street, S. (1985). Education and business students: A comparison of self and sex role attitudes.College Student Journal, 19, 86–91.
Street, S., & Meek, P. (1980). Greek and non-Greek student perceptions of sex roles.Journal of the National Association for Women Deans, Administrators, and Counselors, 43, 10–14.
Taylor, M., & Hall, J. (1982). Psychological androgyny: Theories, methods, and conclusions.Psychological Bulletin, 92, 347–366.
Unger, R., & Crawford, M. (1992).Women and gender: A feminist psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Voss, J. (1980). Concepts of self, ideal self and ideal woman held by college men and women: A comparison study.Journal of College Personnel, 21, 50–57.
Werrbach, J., & Gilbert, L. (1987). Men, gender stereotyping, and psychotherapy: Therapists' perceptions of male clients.Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 18, 562–566.
Whitley, B. (1983). Sex role orientation and self esteem: A critical meta-analytic review.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 756–778.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Street, S., Kimmel, E.B. & Kromrey, J.D. Revisiting university student gender role perceptions. Sex Roles 33, 183–201 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01544610
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01544610