Growing more complex: conceptions of sex roles across adulthood

Conceptions of femininity and masculinity in women who were college freshmen, in their midtwenties, midthirties, and midforties were examined with open-ended questions. Responses were analyzed from the perspective of the hypothesis that these conceptions change over the adult years, becoming more complex with age. Support for this hypothesis was found as the older women revealed a more articulated view of roles, with a tendency to put a greater emphasis on the biological element of their role, and a greater tendency to reject the idea of a general relationship between gender and personality. Younger women put a greater emphasis on physical characteristics in defining the conceptions and were more likely to note chivalry as an important factor between the sexes. Possible reasons for these differences and their implications for research on sex roles are discussed.