Sex typing and the avoidance of cross-sex behavior

Abstract

This article presents evidence for the hypothesis that cross-sex behavior is motivationally problematic for sex-typed individuals and that they actively avoid it as a result. In particular, when asked to indicate which of a series of paired activities they would prefer to perform for pay while being photographed, sex-typed subjects were more likely than either androgynous or sex-reversed subjects to prefer sex-appropriate activity and to resist sex-inappropriate activity, even though such choices cost them money. Moreover, actually engaging in cross-sex behavior caused sex-typed subjects to report greater psychological discomfort and more negative feelings about themselves.