Toward Renewed Constructions of Masculinity and Femininity: Measuring Significant Psychological Differences between Young Men and Women’s Subjective Experiences in Their Romantic Relationships

Abstract

The present study focuses on newly conceptualized and observed significant differences between men and women regarding their subjective experience of their intimate relationships. The experimental paradigm was based on a new theory of masculinity and femininity developed by Lamontagne (2010), proposing one respective factor per dimension. This study (1) re-evaluates Lamontagne's initial findings using a modified qualitative tool and a new quantitative measure: The Questionnaire of Objectality and Subjectality (QOS; Gabbay, 2010); (2) verifies the QOS' psychometric properties; (3) evaluates inter-sex differences on proposed factors; and (4) examines complementarity of femininity and masculinity between romantic partners. The modified qualitative tool, the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI;Bem, 1974), and the QOS were administered to 134 individuals. Findings supported a theoretically coherent factor structure. Subscales demonstrated good reliability and the expected correlations with the BSRI. Gender differences were qualitatively and quantitatively significant. Within couples, partners' relative femininity and masculinity were complementary.