I am a MAN?!
Are You More Masculine or Feminine?
Aunty Gan Cheong Spider, you're 59% Masculine. That means you're 41% feminine. When we compare your results with other women it shows that you are somewhat more masculine than average.What does it mean for a woman to be masculine? Masculinity in Western culture involves participation in physical activity and strong analytical skills. But masculinity is more than just liking sports and analyzing problems.
The chart above shows your overall percentages of masculine versus feminine qualities. Whether you have a greater proportion of one or the other, or whether you have roughly equal masculine and feminine qualities, this balance of qualities says something about the type of gender identity that you possess. In this report you'll learn more about your own gender identity, and what qualities were used to determine how masculine and feminine you are. You'll learn how you scored on each of the 12 dimensions that comprise your masculinity and femininity scores, and how your scores compare to men and women in general. Based on your particular gender identity, we'll help you understand how to more successfully communicate with others.So what's the difference between sex and gender? In psychological terms, sex refers to our biological categories of male and female while gender refers to the socially constructed ideas and beliefs about how men and women "should" behave. Masculinity can be defined broadly as the behavior society expects from males, and how a "true man" should think, feel, and act. Likewise, femininity can be defined as the behavior society expects from females, and how a "true woman" should think, feel, and act. A person's gender identity is the extent to which he/she takes on or possesses the qualities and behaviors of each gender as defined by popular culture.This is not to say that females don't possess typical male qualities and vice-versa. In fact, that's what this test is about! Overall, everyone has some of the qualities we will cover below; it's just the extent to which people possess them that varies. It's also important to keep in mind that much has changed in Western culture in the last three decades, and men and women are playing roles and developing behaviors that were not necessarily open to them in the past.
Gender Balance & Identity TypesIt is not uncommon for men to have higher masculine scores than feminine and for women to have higher feminine scores than masculine, but there are also many people whose masculine and feminine qualities are roughly equal to one another. When a person's masculine and feminine qualities are balanced they either have high levels or low levels of both. Each configuration has its own strengths and weaknesses. Your test results indicate that you're Sex-role Transcendent.
The four possible gender types:
Highly Masculine: People who are highly masculine tend to be very action and/or results oriented in the world, but may not be extremely emotionally expressive. Men who are highly masculine often encounter a good deal of social approval, but may have a low degree of role differentiation. In other words, highly masculine men often find their sense of self strongly tied to what they do. The potential down side of this is that if a highly masculine man is having major difficulties related to work, there aren't many other roles in his life that can provide the same sense of satisfaction and boost to his self-esteem.
Women who are highly masculine may be very accomplished or successful in career domains but may encounter some social disapproval for not demonstrating enough traditional feminine qualities. Masculine typed women may also encounter the same difficulties as very masculine men of having their sense of self tied primarily to action-oriented areas of life such as work.
Highly Feminine: People who are highly feminine tend to be very relationship or people oriented, but may not be extremely results focused.Women who are highly feminine typically encounter strong social approval, but in some settings highly feminine women may have difficulty commanding authority or being taken seriously. Highly feminine women tend to invest their sense of self in their various relationship roles (e.g., daughter, friend, wife, mother, co-worker). If one of these roles is causing significant stress or difficulty, feminine women can usually draw support from other established relationships and roles to maintain a positive sense of self.
Men who are highly feminine often have very strong interpersonal skills, but may encounter some social disapproval for not exhibiting enough traditionally masculine qualities. Feminine typed men also often benefit from having a variety of relationship roles in their lives just as very feminine women do, and can usually maintain a positive sense of self in the face of life difficulties or challenges.
Androgynous: People who are androgynous have both strong masculine and strong feminine qualities. Androgynous people tend to be both action and people oriented, and are usually able to successfully take on a diverse range of roles that cross gender-role boundaries.
Sex-role Transcendent: People who are sex-role transcendent have both low masculine and low feminine qualities indicating that gender is not a category that is critical to their sense of self. In other words, sex-role transcendent people develop and maintain their sense of self through roles that are not tied to gender stereotypes.
What Makes You Masculine or Feminine?Tickle has conducted several studies combining the classic psychological approach to gender identity and our own independent research to measure your masculinity and femininity. Here are the traditional qualities of masculinity and femininity:
Masculine:
Sports Fan
Decisive
Leadership
Aggression
Analytical
Principled Individualist
Feminine:
Cheerful
Compassionate
Gentle
Understanding
Timid
Trusting
In addition to these major areas, there are several significant, but less central qualities that comprise the traditional definition of masculinity and femininity. These include things such as:
Masculine:
Focus on action, moving forward and just doing it.
When it comes to personal safety, attack, defend, and run only if necessary.
Ability to use maps and find the way.
Creative interests in the direction of building structures.
A tendency to mind one's own business.
Smiling almost exclusively as an expression of emotion.
Highly circumscribed physicality among friends. Shaking hands is manly; hugs are not.
Feminine:
Focus on calm, relaxed interpersonal interactions.
When it comes to personal safety, run, defend, and attack only as a last resort.
Ability to seek help when needed.
Creative interests in the direction of artistic endeavors.
A tendency to get involved in others problems.
Smiling as an integral part of day-to-day interaction, regardless of personal emotion.
High degree of latitude for physically expressing affection to friends. Hugs or kisses are okay, but a handshake is unusual.
Furthermore, Tickle's research shows that certain behavioral stereotypes still hold true when it comes to masculinity and femininity. In fact, when considering all of the other aspects that go into a person's gender identification, these stereotypes still stand out as indicators of femininity and masculinity. Highly feminine people are significantly more likely to say that they like the color pink and that they wear lipstick than are people who are masculine. Highly masculine people are much more likely than those who are feminine to say that sex on the first date is okay and that they lift weights. While society's expectations about the roles that men and women can play has certainly changed in the past several decades, our notions of what is truly masculine and what is truly feminine remains somewhat tied to very traditional beliefs. Masculinity is related to being strong, virile, and powerful, while femininity is related to being soft, attractive, and warm.
What Traditional Masculine Qualities Do You Possess?
In this section, you'll learn how you scored on six major characteristics that comprise a traditional view of masculinity. Each of your scores is plotted in the chart below, alongside the average scores for women and men.
Sports Fan
A key component of masculinity is about being physically active. More than that, highly masculine people are drawn to sports. While a feminine person might do aerobics, a masculine person plays individual or team sports. Within this aspect of masculinity are the qualities of both physical prowess and competitiveness. The attraction of watching, playing, and winning at sports is a uniquely masculine quality. You scored relatively low in the area of liking sports compared to other people. When making choices about how you spend your time, there are many other activities you would choose before playing some kind of sport. Watching sports is probably also something that is not high on your list of favorite things. You're not highly competitive, at least not in terms of physical performance.
Decisive
Making decisions quickly and easily is a traditionally masculine quality. This dimension is associated with a certain boldness, responsibility and clarity of purpose. There's no wishy-washiness, dithering, or second-guessing. When a decision is needed, whether it's easy or difficult, stepping up and making it is the masculine approach.Decision-making is probably not your strongest quality. When facing an important decision, you may be slowed down by concerns about the consequences of the various options. Sometimes when facing a decision, you are concerned about what other people will think of you. You do not seek out and may even actively avoid roles and situations in which you would face difficult, high-pressure choices.
Leader
Ever heard the phrase "alpha male?" A desire to be the top dog, the big cheese, or the head honcho is another important aspect of masculinity. This traditional quality of masculinity involves not only being in charge, but also a sense of determination, a desire to distinguish one's self, and to be successful.You seem to have moderately strong leadership abilities. You're not driven to always be in charge, although you could probably handle a position of power if it came your way. You're interested in success, but it's not the only thing you value. It's most likely that while you may find yourself in leadership positions, you don't tend to actively pursue them.
Aggressive
Although masculinity is a psychosocial construct, describing what a given society considers to be appropriate behavior for males, there is at least one aspect of it with clear ties to biology, and that is aggression. Biologically speaking males have higher levels of testosterone than females. High levels of testosterone are related to aggressive behavior. Does that mean that all men are aggressive and that women are not aggressive? No. It means that, in general, males are more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior than females and because of that the societal definition of masculinity has developed to include aggression. More specifically, a tendency to react to conflict with hostility and even violence is highly masculine.You tend to be moderately aggressive. If you're provoked enough you may respond with force, although that's probably not your primary response mode. On occasion you may find your temper getting the best of you, but usually you can control it. You're not likely to be the one initiating or escalating a conflict, but you will defend yourself when necessary.
Analytical
The analytical aspect of masculinity is characterized by logic and reason. It involves a love of complex thinking and a desire to find the root cause of almost any problem. In contrast to the sports playing quality of masculinity, the analytical quality is all about the mental game.You're not extremely analytical. You're probably not driven to understand the minute details of how things work the way they do or why things happen a certain way. It's likely that you approach the world in a more intuitive way rather than in a hard, cold, factual manner. You tend to avoid roles and situations in which you must analyze and think extensively about complex, difficult problems.
Principled Individualist
The principled individualist component of masculinity is reminiscent of the American cowboy. This is a quality or set of qualities about being one of a kind, and not just another face in the crowd. It's also about living by a certain code of honor, and standing up for what you believe in.In most cases you'd rather blend in with the crowd than be the center of attention. You're probably able to adapt your behavior to a variety of different situations and aren't someone who rigidly adheres to a black and white worldview. You may be pessimistic about some things, but in general you're approach to life tends to be somewhat practical and realistic.
What Traditional Feminine Qualities Do You Possess?In this section, you'll learn how you scored on six major characteristics that comprise a traditional view of femininity. Each of your scores is plotted in the chart below, alongside the average scores for women and men.
Cheerful
As the label suggests, this quality of femininity is about presenting yourself to the world in a positive, energetic, upbeat manner. In addition to suggesting a generally happy demeanor, this aspect of femininity is about seeing the silver lining and maintaining an optimistic view even in the face of adversity. No one is likely to describe you as perky. You can even be a bit cynical or pessimistic. You don't tend to be someone who simply paints a smile on your face even if you're feeling down. When you're happy, you're happy, and when you're not — you're not. Other people
who are extremely perky, peppy and sunny may even annoy you.
Compassionate
A key element of femininity is caring and compassion. This quality is about relating to others and, more specifically, it's about the extent to which a person has a softhearted, tender, and sympathetic approach toward others. Showing kindness and affection are also parts of this traditional feminine quality. You are moderately caring and compassionate. You have a warm and tenderhearted side, but you may be more likely to show it to those who are closest to you and not just to everyone. You're comfortable expressing affection in certain situations. You might be moved to help every person who needs it, but you're also aware of the practical limitations of trying to fix every wrong in the world. While you sometimes find yourself in care-giving situations, you probably don't actively seek them out.
Gentle
The gentle aspect of femininity is about a quality of warmth and softness. It involves having a pleasant, easy-going nature, and not approaching things in a harsh or rough manner even in times of conflict or stress.You are not especially gentle. You tend more toward energy, power and intensity in your demeanor. When you get angry or frustrated, you tend to express it. You're not likely to want to quickly smooth things over or just turn the other cheek. You may find that quiet, calm, tranquil settings can be boring. Although you're not opposed to peacefulness, you thrive on a certain amount of stress. You may even pride yourself on being a little rough around the edges.
Understanding
The understanding quality of femininity is somewhat similar to the masculine analytical quality, but in this case the object of analysis is people. Being understanding involves having empathy, and an ability to take in another person's perspective. It's about having insight into why people do what they do. You may find it difficult to understand people sometimes. You tend to have trouble seeing things from other people's perspectives, and you may not always completely empathize with people's problems and struggles. Others' motivations and goals tend to be somewhat of a mystery to you. Being a therapist is probably not something that you would strongly consider doing because you're not likely to have the interest or inclination to listen to people's problems and figure out how and why they got to that point. You may tend to avoid roles and situations that would require you to be extremely understanding of other people.
Timid
The timid quality of femininity involves not wanting to speak up in some settings. Being timid includes feeling shy at times, and having a hard time voicing an opinion in some circumstances. There is a reluctance to express strong negative emotions. You tend to be very timid. In a crowd you would prefer to simply blend in. You're not someone who seeks the spotlight; in fact you can be very self-conscious. In a social setting you're more likely to watch from the sidelines than to jump into discussions. You connect better with people on a one-on-one basis, but when you first meet someone you may feel somewhat awkward and unsure, especially if it's a dating situation. When you feel angry or sad you may have a tendency to hide those feelings around other people.
Trusting
The trusting quality of femininity involves believing things too readily. This includes a tendency to not only believe what other people tell you, but also to have a difficult time discerning when someone is lying. This characteristic involves a level of optimism and belief in others that approaches gullibility.
You tend to be extremely trusting. When a friend tells you something you're not likely to have any doubts about the credibility of the information. Even when a stranger tells you something, you are also likely to believe it. You may, in fact, have a difficult time telling if you're being lied to, and you may recall times in the past when you eventually discovered that you had been deceived. You tend to see the best in people, and you tend to have a positive, optimistic outlook on life. --> DAMN TRUE! I particularly hate tis characteristic of mine!Seems like I can quit being an Aunty Gan Cheong Spider n 'promote' myself to b an UNCLE Spider! Haha...