RESEARCH ARTICLE


Androgyny in the Mirror of Self-Actualisation and Spiritual Health



Itai Ivtzan*, Rita Conneely
Department of Psychology, UCL (University College London), 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AP, Office 413


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Creative Commons License
© 2009 Ivtzan and Conneely.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Psychology, UCL (University College London), 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AP, Office 413; E-mail: i.ivtzan@ucl.ac.uk


Abstract

This study evaluates issues concerning the potential relationship between androgyny (incorporating both male and female features) and Self-Actualisation (fulfilment of one’s fullest potential) while evaluating their role in feminine and non-feminine occupations. 119 participants (half employed in Traditionally-Feminine occupations and the other half in Non-Feminine jobs) answered the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Personal Orientation Inventory (POIl). Those deemed to possess an Androgynous Gender Role, by the BSRI, were found to be significantly more Self-Actualised across almost the entire range (ten out of twelve) of the POIl scales, than those of Non-Androgynous Gender Identities. Thus, the long argued and conflicting assertion for the Self-Actualising benefits of an Androgynous Gender Identity are supported by the current study. No differences were found between the prevalence of Androgyny or achievement of Self- Actualisation between the Experimental (those employed in typically-female fields) and Control (those engaged in traditional-gender or gender-non-specific work) occupation groups; although significant lower numbers of Masculine Men in the Experimental group do verify that Gender Roles continue to be an influential occupational factor.