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Androgyny Gender Polarity

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Recommended: Masculinity and Femininity

Androgyny: An Alternative to Gender Polarity?
Maithreyi Krishnaraj
About the author
Maithreyi krishnaraj has been a pioneer in the women studies in the country having regularly contributed too many articles and books on different aspects of - empirical work, methodologies, policy perspectives and development studies. After retiring from women studies center, Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University, Mumbai, she joined as a professor of women and development on invitation to the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, Netherlands. Presently, she is an Honorary fellow at the research center for women studies, Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University, Mumbai. She is author of food security, gender and rural livelihood, …show more content…

The feminist is exposed to rebuild the culturally learned accepted behavior and make attempt against the stigmatize attached to the of disapproval of the unfeminine behavior. The lack of uniformity of the gender construction across the cultures shows its chance for the change. Here the feminist more concerned about the harm done by the “natural” to the women in her everyday life.
As per one school of thought, the “women can be different, but equal.” But this is a fallacy statement, because this paves the way for much …show more content…

Masculinity- femininity was conceptualized in a unidimensional way
2. Masculinity – femininity was seen as bi-polar attributes
3. M-F scales used in item response tests routinely equated males with masculinity and females with femininity.
Sandra Bem first mooted the idea of the different measurement scale for the gender bi-polarity. Some may possess high level of masculinity where as some with femininity. But some with high degree of both .and the index is called Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). The first euphoria faded as criticism began to be voiced against BSRI type psychometrics.
If certain qualities are seen inherent to being female, these then also appear unalterable. But if we claim that they are unique to being female, then we are being in the patriarchal. In a research by Adrienne Rich (1977) and Mary Daly (1973) shows that women are now encrusted with patriarchy-induced attributes and once these are stripped away, women will find their true essence in all its pristine quality.
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